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Sample records for human lens cortex

  1. Diffusion of nanoparticles into the capsule and cortex of a crystalline lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schachar, Ronald A; Chen Wei; Woo, Boon K; Pierscionek, Barbara K; Zhang, Xing; Ma, Lun

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the ability of fluorescent nanoparticles to diffuse into a crystalline lens. Intact porcine lenses from five-month-old pigs, intact human lenses obtained from three donors aged 41, 42 and 45 years, and sections of human lens cortex obtained from four donors aged 11, 19, 32, and 34 years were incubated for 72 h at 7 deg. C in aqueous solutions of green (566 nm) and red (652 nm) fluorescent water soluble cadmium tellurium (CdTe) nanoparticles. As demonstrated by fluorescent and confocal microscopy, the CdTe nanoparticles diffused into the porcine and human lens capsule and into human cortical lens fibres; however, the nanoparticles did not pass through the intact lens capsule. Nanoparticles can be used as a method for studying intracellular structure and biochemical pathways within the lens capsule and cortical lens fibres to further understand cataractogenesis and may serve as a carrier for chemotherapeutic agents for the potential treatment of primary and secondary cataracts

  2. A modified-simple technique of removing the lens cortex during cataract surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyung Eun Han

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe here a surgical technique of removing the remaining cortex after phacoemulsification without performing the conventional irrigation/aspiration (I/A procedure. In this technique, the remaining cortex attached to the posterior capsule was separated and dissected into several pieces by continuous irrigation with balanced salt solution, which was supplied through a syringe attached to a bent, blunt-tip needle. Approximately, 10 s of manual irrigation separated most of the remaining cortex from the posterior capsule. Then, the capsular bag was inflated with an ophthalmic viscoelastic device (OVD, and this pushed the separated cortex toward the capsular fornix mechanically. An intraocular lens was inserted into the capsular bag, following which the remaining cortex and OVD were removed concomitantly using an automated I/A handpiece. This technique is a simple and easy maneuver to remove the cortex from all areas, including the subincisional area, and reduce the possibility of a posterior capsule tear.

  3. Hyperelastic modelling of the crystalline lens: Accommodation and presbyopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanchares, Elena; Navarro, Rafael; Calvo, Begoña

    2012-01-01

    Purpose The modification of the mechanical properties of the human crystalline lens with age can be a major cause of presbyopia. Since these properties cannot be measured in vivo, numerical simulation can be used to estimate them. We propose an inverse method to determine age-dependent change in the material properties of the tissues composing the human crystalline lens. Methods A finite element model of a 30-year-old lens in the accommodated state was developed. The force necessary to achieve full accommodation in a 30-year-old lens of known external geometry was computed using this model. Two additional numerical models of the lens corresponding to the ages of 40 and 50 years were then built. Assuming that the accommodative force applied to the lens remains constant with age, the material properties of nucleus and cortex were estimated by inverse analysis. Results The zonular force necessary to reshape the model of a 30-year-old lens from the accommodated to the unaccommodated geometry was 0.078 newton (N). Both nucleus and cortex became stiffer with age. The stiffness of the nucleus increased with age at a higher rate than the cortex. Conclusions In agreement with the classical theory of Helmholtz, on which we based our model, our results indicate that a major cause of presbyopia is that both nucleus and cortex become stiffer with age; therefore, a constant value of the zonular forces with aging does not achieve full accommodation, that is, the accommodation capability decreases.

  4. Capsular 'pits' in the human lens.

    OpenAIRE

    Harris, M. L.; Brown, N. A.; Shun-Shin, G. A.; Smith, G. T.

    1992-01-01

    The lens capsule is an atypical basement membrane surrounding the lens epithelial cells and lens fibres which make up the remainder of the human lens. A seemingly unreported morphological change visible in the lens capsule with the biomicroscope is described.

  5. [Representation and mathematical analysis of human crystalline lens].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tălu, Stefan; Giovanzana, Stefano; Tălu, Mihai

    2011-01-01

    The surface of human crystalline lens can be described and analyzed using mathematical models based on parametric representations, used in biomechanical studies and 3D solid modeling of the lens. The mathematical models used in lens biomechanics allow the study and the behavior of crystalline lens on variables and complex dynamic loads. Also, the lens biomechanics has the potential to improve the results in the development of intraocular lenses and cataract surgery. The paper presents the most representative mathematical models currently used for the modeling of human crystalline lens, both optically and biomechanically.

  6. Photosensitized oxidation in the ocular lens: evidence for photosensitizers endogenous to the human lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zigler, J.S. Jr.; Goosey, J.D.

    1981-01-01

    Numerous investigators have attempted to associate near UV light exposure with various changes which occur to lens crystallins during aging and cataractogenesis. Recently it was shown that in vitro singlet oxygen mediated oxidation of lens crystallins produces effects very similar to those documented for crystallins from old or cataractous lenses and it was suggested that near UV photodynamic effects may play a major role in vivo in aging in the human lens. It has now been shown that certain oxidation products of tryptophan which have been identified in human lens can act as near UV photosensitizers, producing singlet oxygen. The insoluble protein fraction from human cataracts was shown to have the capacity to act as a photosensitizer. An age-related increase in photosensitizing capacity was also demonstrated in the soluble crystallins from human lens. These findings are discussed with respect to development of pigmented nuclear cataracts. (author)

  7. Thioredoxin, thioredoxin reductase, and alpha-crystallin revive inactivated glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase in human aged and cataract lens extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hong; Lou, Marjorie F; Fernando, M Rohan; Harding, John J

    2006-10-02

    To investigate whether mammalian thioredoxin (Trx) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), with or without alpha-crystallin can revive inactivated glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in both the cortex and nucleus of human aged clear and cataract lenses. The lens cortex (including capsule-epithelium) and the nucleus were separated from human aged clear and cataract lenses (grade II and grade IV) with similar average age. The activity of GAPDH in the water-soluble fraction after incubation with or without Trx or/and TrxR for 60 min at 30 degrees C was measured spectrophotometrically. In addition, the effect of a combination of Trx/TrxR and bovine lens alpha-crystallin was investigated. GAPDH activity was lower in the nucleus of clear lenses than in the cortex, and considerably diminished in the cataractous lenses, particularly in the nucleus of cataract lenses grade IV. Trx and TrxR were able to revive the activity of GAPDH markedly in both the cortex and nucleus of the clear and cataract lenses. The percentage increase of activity in the cortex of the clear lenses was less than that of the nucleus in the presence of Trx and TrxR, whereas it was opposite in the cataract lenses. The revival of activity in both the cortex and nucleus from the cataract lenses grade II was higher than that of the grade IV. Moreover, Trx alone, but not TrxR, efficiently enhanced GAPDH activity. The combination of Trx and TrxR had greater effect than that of either alone. In addition, alpha(L)-crystallin enhanced the activity in the cortex of cataract grade II with Trx and TrxR present. However, it failed to provide a statistically significant increase of activity in the nucleus. This is the first evidence to show that mammalian Trx and TrxR are able to revive inactivated GAPDH in human aged clear and cataract lenses, and alpha-crystallin helped this effect. The inactivation of GAPDH during aging and cataract development must be caused in part by disulphide formation and in part by

  8. Goat's eye integrated with a human cataractous lens: A training model for phacoemulsification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengupta, Sabyasachi; Dhanapal, Praveen; Nath, Manas; Haripriya, Aravind; Venkatesh, Rengaraj

    2015-03-01

    A relatively simple and inexpensive technique to train surgeons in phacoemulsification using a goat's eye integrated with a human cataractous nucleus is described. The goat's eye is placed on a bed of cotton within the lumen of a cylindrical container. This is then mounted on a rectangular thermocol so that the limbus is presented at the surgical field. After making a clear corneal entry with a keratome, the trainer makes a 5-5.5 mm continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis in the anterior lens capsule, creates a crater of adequate depth in the cortex and inserts the human nucleus within this crater in the goat's capsular bag. The surgical wound is sutured, and the goat's eye is ready for training. Creating the capsulorhexis with precision and making the crater of adequate depth to snugly accommodate the human nucleus are the most important steps to prevent excessive wobbling of the nucleus while training.

  9. Lipid-protein interactions in plasma membranes of fiber cells isolated from the human eye lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raguz, Marija; Mainali, Laxman; O'Brien, William J; Subczynski, Witold K

    2014-03-01

    The protein content in human lens membranes is extremely high, increases with age, and is higher in the nucleus as compared with the cortex, which should strongly affect the organization and properties of the lipid bilayer portion of intact membranes. To assess these effects, the intact cortical and nuclear fiber cell plasma membranes isolated from human lenses from 41- to 60-year-old donors were studied using electron paramagnetic resonance spin-labeling methods. Results were compared with those obtained for lens lipid membranes prepared from total lipid extracts from human eyes of the same age group [Mainali, L., Raguz, M., O'Brien, W. J., and Subczynski, W. K. (2013) Biochim. Biophys. Acta]. Differences were considered to be mainly due to the effect of membrane proteins. The lipid-bilayer portions of intact membranes were significantly less fluid than lipid bilayers of lens lipid membranes, prepared without proteins. The intact membranes were found to contain three distinct lipid environments termed the bulk lipid domain, boundary lipid domain, and trapped lipid domain. However, the cholesterol bilayer domain, which was detected in cortical and nuclear lens lipid membranes, was not detected in intact membranes. The relative amounts of bulk and trapped lipids were evaluated. The amount of lipids in domains uniquely formed due to the presence of membrane proteins was greater in nuclear membranes than in cortical membranes. Thus, it is evident that the rigidity of nuclear membranes is greater than that of cortical membranes. Also the permeability coefficients for oxygen measured in domains of nuclear membranes were significantly lower than appropriate coefficients measured in cortical membranes. Relationships between the organization of lipids into lipid domains in fiber cells plasma membranes and the organization of membrane proteins are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Properties of Fiber Cell Plasma Membranes Isolated from the Cortex and Nucleus of the Porcine Eye Lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mainali, Laxman; Raguz, Marija; O’Brien, William J.; Subczynski, Witold K.

    2012-01-01

    The organization and physical properties of the lipid bilayer portion of intact cortical and nuclear fiber cell plasma membranes isolated from the eyes lenses of two-year-old pigs were studied using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin-labeling. Membrane fluidity, hydrophobicity, and the oxygen transport parameter (OTP) were assessed from the EPR spectra of precisely positioned spin labels. Intact cortical and nuclear membranes, which include membrane proteins, were found to contain three distinct lipid environments. These lipid environments were termed the bulk lipid domain, boundary lipid domain, and trapped lipid domain (lipids in protein aggregates). The amount of boundary and trapped lipids was greater in intact nuclear membranes than in cortical membranes. The properties of intact membranes were compared with the organization and properties of lens lipid membranes made of the total lipid extracts from the lens cortex or nucleus. In cortical lens lipid membranes, only one homogenous environment was detected, which was designated as a bulk lipid domain (phospholipid bilayer saturated with cholesterol). Lens lipid membranes prepared from the lens nucleus possessed two domains, assigned as a bulk lipid domain and a cholesterol bilayer domain (CBD). In intact nuclear membranes, it was difficult to discriminate the CBD, which was clearly detected in nuclear lens lipid membranes because the OTP measured in the CBD is the same as in the domain formed by trapped lipids. The two domains unique to intact membranes—namely, the domain formed by boundary lipids and the domain formed by trapped lipids—were most likely formed due to the presence of membrane proteins. It is concluded that formation of rigid and practically impermeable domains is enhanced in the lens nucleus, indicating changes in membrane composition that may help to maintain low oxygen concentration in this lens region. PMID:22326289

  11. Altered DNA Methylation and Expression Profiles of 8-Oxoguanine DNA Glycosylase 1 in Lens Tissue from Age-related Cataract Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yong; Li, Fei; Zhang, Guowei; Kang, Lihua; Qin, Bai; Guan, Huaijin

    2015-01-01

    Oxidative stress and DNA damage contribute to the pathogenesis of age-related cataract (ARC). Most oxidative DNA lesions are repaired via the base excision repair (BER) proteins including 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1). This study examined DNA methylation of CpG islands upstream of OGG1 and their relation to the gene expression in lens cortex from ARC patients. The clinical case-control study consisted of 15 cortical type of ARC patients and 15 age-matched non-ARC controls who received transparent lens extraction due to vitreoretinal diseases. OGG1 expression in lens cortex was analyzed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The localization and the proportion of cells positive for OGG1 were determined by immunofluorescence. Bisulfite-sequencing PCR (BSP) was performed to evaluate the methylation status of CpG islands near OGG1 in DNA extracted from lens cortex. To test relationship between the methylation and the expression of the gene of interest, 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-dC) was used to induce demethylation of cultured human lens epithelium B-3 (HLE B-3). To test the role of OGG1 in the repair of cellular damage, HLE B-3 was transfected with OGG1 vector, followed by ultraviolet radiation b (UVB) exposure to induce apoptosis. The mRNA and protein levels of OGG1 were significantly reduced in the lens cortex of ARC. Immunofluorescence showed that the proportion of OGG1-positive cells decreased significantly in ARC cortex in comparison with the control. The CpG island in first exon of OGG1 displayed hypermethylation in the DNA extracted from the lens cortex of ARC. Treatment of HLEB-3 cells with 5-Aza-dC upregulated OGG1 expression. UVB-induced apoptosis was attenuated after transfection with OGG1. A reduced OGG1 expression was correlated with hypermethylation of a CpG island of OGG1 in lens cortex of ARC. The role of epigenetic change in OGG1 gene in the susceptibility to oxidative stress induced cortical ARC is warranted to further study.

  12. Human lens colouration, age and cataract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Truscott, R.J.W.; Garner, B.; Hood, B.

    1999-01-01

    Full text: The human lens biosynthesises UV filter compounds which effectively remove light in the 300-400nm band. These chemicals are present either as an aid to visual acuity, or to filter out damaging UV radiation. The primate UV filters are 3-hydroxykynurenine analogues derived from the metabolism of tryptophan. We have recently demonstrated that these endogenous UV filters are not innocuous, but are in fact capable of binding to proteins, including the crystalline proteins which make up the bulk of the lens. Thus, over time, the levels of protein - bound UV filters increase and this results in the human lens becoming progressively more yellow as we age. This colouration affects our colour vision and it may also be responsible for the brown colour of lenses which is the hallmark of age-related nuclear cataract. An understanding of the intrinsic instability of the endogenous UV filters, combined with changes in the internal transport of these and other small molecular weight compounds including antioxidants, such as glutathione, is allowing us to gain an insight into the processes responsible for the development of age-related cataract: the major cause of world blindness

  13. Goat′s eye integrated with a human cataractous lens: A training model for phacoemulsification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabyasachi Sengupta

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A relatively simple and inexpensive technique to train surgeons in phacoemulsification using a goat′s eye integrated with a human cataractous nucleus is described. The goat′s eye is placed on a bed of cotton within the lumen of a cylindrical container. This is then mounted on a rectangular thermocol so that the limbus is presented at the surgical field. After making a clear corneal entry with a keratome, the trainer makes a 5-5.5 mm continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis in the anterior lens capsule, creates a crater of adequate depth in the cortex and inserts the human nucleus within this crater in the goat′s capsular bag. The surgical wound is sutured, and the goat′s eye is ready for training. Creating the capsulorhexis with precision and making the crater of adequate depth to snugly accommodate the human nucleus are the most important steps to prevent excessive wobbling of the nucleus while training.

  14. Composite modified Luneburg model of human eye lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Correa, J E; Balderas-Mata, S E; Pierscionek, B K; Chávez-Cerda, S

    2015-09-01

    A new lens model based on the gradient-index Luneburg lens and composed of two oblate half spheroids of different curvatures is presented. The spherically symmetric Luneburg lens is modified to create continuous isoindicial contours and to incorporate curvatures that are similar to those found in a human lens. The imaging capabilities of the model and the changes in the gradient index profile are tested for five object distances, for a fixed geometry and for a fixed image distance. The central refractive index decreases with decreasing object distance. This indicates that in order to focus at the same image distance as is required in the eye, a decrease in refractive power is needed for rays from closer objects that meet the lens surface at steeper angles compared to rays from more distant objects. This ensures a highly focused image with no spherical aberration.

  15. A novel lens epithelium gene, LEP503, is highly conserved in different vertebrate species and is developmentally regulated in postnatal rat lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Y; Sachs, G; Athmann, C

    2000-02-01

    The development of the lens is dependent on the proliferation of lens epithelial cells and their differentiation into fiber cells near the lens bow/equator. Identification of genes specifically expressed in the lens epithelial cells and their functions may provide insight into molecular events that regulate the processes of lens epithelial cell differentiation. In this study, a novel lens epithelium gene product, LEP503, identified from rat by a subtractive cDNA cloning strategy was investigated in the genome organization, mRNA expression and protein localization. The genomic sequences for LEP503 isolated from rat, mouse and human span 1754 bp, 1694 bp and 1895 bp regions encompassing the 5'-flanking region, two exons, one intron and 3'-flanking region. All exon-intron junction sequences conform to the GT/AG rule. Both mouse and human LEP503 genes show very high identity (93% for mouse and 79% for human) to rat LEP503 gene in the exon 1 that contains an open reading frame coding for a protein of 61 amino acid residues with a leucine-rich domain. The deduced protein sequences also show high identity (91% between mouse and rat and 77% between human and rat). Western blot shows that LEP503 is present as a specific approximately 6.9 kDa band in the water-insoluble-urea-soluble fraction of lens cortex where lens epithelium is included. Immuno-staining shows that LEP503 is localized in the epithelial cells along the entire anterior surface of rat lens. Developmentally, LEP503 is expressed at a low level at newborn, and then the expression level increases by about ten-fold around postnatal day 14 and remains at this high level for about 25 days before it drops back to the low level by postnatal day 84. These data suggest that the LEP503 may be an important lens epithelial cell gene involving the processes of epithelial cell differentiation. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

  16. A Class I UV-Blocking (senofilcon A) Soft Contact Lens Prevents UVA-induced Yellow Fluorescence and NADH loss in the Rabbit Lens Nucleus in vivo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giblin, Frank J.; Lin, Li-Ren; Simpanya, Mukoma F.; Leverenz, Victor R.; Fick, Catherine E.

    2012-01-01

    It is known that fluorescence, much of it caused by UVA light excitation, increases in the aging human lens, resulting in loss of sharp vision. This study used an in vivo animal model to investigate UVA-excited fluorescence in the rabbit lens, which contains a high level of the UVA chromophore NADH, existing both free and bound to λ-crystallin. Also, the ability of a Class I (senofilcon A) soft contact lens to protect against UVA-induced effects on the rabbit lens was tested. Rabbit eyes were irradiated with UVA light in vivo (100 mW/cm2 on the cornea) for 1 hour using monochromatic 365 nm light. Irradiation was conducted in the presence of either a senofilcon A contact lens, a minimally UV-absorbing lotrafilcon A contact lens, or no contact lens at all. Eyes irradiated without a contact lens showed blue 365 nm-excited fluorescence initially, but this changed to intense yellow fluorescence after 1 hour. Isolated, previously irradiated lenses exhibited yellow fluorescence originating from the lens nucleus when viewed under 365 nm light, but showed normal blue fluorescence arising from the cortex. Previously irradiated lenses also exhibited a faint yellow color when observed under visible light. The senofilcon A contact lens protected completely against the UVA-induced effects on fluorescence and lens yellowing, whereas the lotrafilcon A lens showed no protection. The UVA-exposure also produced a 53% loss of total NADH (free plus bound) in the lens nucleus, with only a 13% drop in the anterior cortex. NADH loss in the nucleus was completely prevented with use of a senofilcon A contact lens, but no significant protection was observed with a lotrafilcon A lens. Overall, the senofilcon A lens provided an average of 67% protection against UVA-induced loss of four pyridine nucleotides in four different regions of the lens. HPLC analysis with fluorescence detection indicated a nearly six-fold increase in 365 nm-excited yellow fluorescence arising from lens nuclear

  17. Mechanism research of miR-181 regulating human lens epithelial cell apoptosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Qin

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the expression of miR-181 in the lens tissue of cataract and the regulating mechanism of miR-181 on apoptosis of human lens epithelial cell.METHODS:Real time q-PCR was used to measure the expression of miR-181 in the anterior lens capsules of age-related cataract and human lens epithelial cell apoptosis model. miR-181 mimic and inhibitor were transfected using Lipofectamine 2 000 to regulate the expression of miR-181, and then Real time q-PCR was used to verify transfection efficiency. Flow cytometry was used to detect the change of cell apoptosis rate. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the expression of miR-181 was significantly higher in both the anterior lens capsules of age-related cataract and human lens epithelial cell apoptosis model; the relative expression of miR-181 in lens epithelial cells transfected with miR-181 mimic was increased, whereas decreased in cells transfected with miR-181 inhibitor; the apoptosis rate of cells transfected with miR-181 mimic was increased, while reduced in miR-181 inhibitor group. Each result was statistically significant(PCONCLUSION: High expression of miR-181 is detected in anterior lens capsule of age-related cataract. miR-181 might play a certain role in the pathogenesis of cataract via promoting human lens epithelial cell apoptosis. miR-181 probably becomes a new approach for the nonoperative treatment of cataract, but the concrete mechanism still needs to be further studied.

  18. KCC isoforms in a human lens epithelial cell line (B3) and lens tissue extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misri, Sandeep; Chimote, Ameet A; Adragna, Norma C; Warwar, Ronald; Brown, Thomas L; Lauf, Peter K

    2006-11-01

    We recently reported potassium-chloride cotransporter activity in human lens epithelial B3 (HLE-B3) cells. The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate in these cells as well as in human lens tissue the potassium-chloride cotransport (KCC) isoforms by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. Of the four KCC genes known to encode the respective proteins and their spliced variants, RT-PCR with both rat and human primers revealed the predicted cDNA fragments of KCC1, KCC3a, KCC3b, and KCC4 but not KCC2 in both HLE-B3 cells and in human lens tissue extracts from cataractous patients. Polyclonal rabbit (rb) anti-rat (rt) and anti-human (hm) antibodies against rtKCC1 and hmKCC3, respectively, and a commercially available rb-anti-mouse (ms) KCC4 antibody were used. Rb anti-rtKCC1-ECL3 [against epitopes within the large extracellular loop 3 (ECL3)] revealed a 150kDa band in HLE-B3 cells consistent with the known molecular weight of KCC1. Rb anti-hmKCC3-ECL3 yielded three bands of 150, 122 and 105kDa, evidence for the presence of KCC3a, KCC3b and possibly KCC3c isoforms. The 122 and 112kDa bands were also demonstrated by rb anti-hmKCC3-CTD [the C-terminal domain (CTD)]. Rb anti-msKCC4 antibody only showed a 100kDa band in HLE-B3 cells. In the human lens tissues, a 115kDa protein was detected with rb anti-rtKCC1-ECL3 and a 100kDa band with rb anti-msKCC4, however, no bands with rb anti-hmKCC3-ECL3 or rb anti-hmKCC3-CTD. Fluorescence microscopy revealed immunocytochemical cytoplasmic and membrane labeling of HLE-B3 cells with anti-KCC1, -KCC3 (laser confocal microscopy) and -KCC4 antibodies and a Cy3-tagged secondary antibody. Hence HLE-B3 cells expressed proteins of the KCC1, KCC3a, b, and KCC4 isoforms, whereas surgically removed cataractous lens tissue expressed only those of KCC1 and KCC4.

  19. A Class I UV-blocking (senofilcon A) soft contact lens prevents UVA-induced yellow fluorescence and NADH loss in the rabbit lens nucleus in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giblin, Frank J; Lin, Li-Ren; Simpanya, Mukoma F; Leverenz, Victor R; Fick, Catherine E

    2012-09-01

    It is known that fluorescence, much of it caused by UVA light excitation, increases in the aging human lens, resulting in loss of sharp vision. This study used an in vivo animal model to investigate UVA-excited fluorescence in the rabbit lens, which contains a high level of the UVA chromophore NADH, existing both free and bound to λ-crystallin. Also, the ability of a Class I (senofilcon A) soft contact lens to protect against UVA-induced effects on the rabbit lens was tested. Rabbit eyes were irradiated with UVA light in vivo (100 mW/cm(2) on the cornea) for 1 h using monochromatic 365 nm light. Irradiation was conducted in the presence of either a senofilcon A contact lens, a minimally UV-absorbing lotrafilcon A contact lens, or no contact lens at all. Eyes irradiated without a contact lens showed blue 365 nm-excited fluorescence initially, but this changed to intense yellow fluorescence after 1 h. Isolated, previously irradiated lenses exhibited yellow fluorescence originating from the lens nucleus when viewed under 365 nm light, but showed normal blue fluorescence arising from the cortex. Previously irradiated lenses also exhibited a faint yellow color when observed under visible light. The senofilcon A contact lens protected completely against the UVA-induced effects on fluorescence and lens yellowing, whereas the lotrafilcon A lens showed no protection. The UVA-exposure also produced a 53% loss of total NADH (free plus bound) in the lens nucleus, with only a 13% drop in the anterior cortex. NADH loss in the nucleus was completely prevented with use of a senofilcon A contact lens, but no significant protection was observed with a lotrafilcon A lens. Overall, the senofilcon A lens provided an average of 67% protection against UVA-induced loss of four pyridine nucleotides in four different regions of the lens. HPLC analysis with fluorescence detection indicated a nearly six-fold increase in 365 nm-excited yellow fluorescence arising from lens nuclear

  20. The lens and cataracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, Andrew G

    2004-08-01

    It is conservatively estimated that some form of lens opacity is present in 5% to 7% of horses with otherwise clinically normal eyes.These opacities can range from small epicapsular remnants of the fetal vasculature to dense and extensive cataract. A cataract is defined technically as any opacity or alteration in the optical homogeneity of the lens involving one or more of the following: anterior epithelium, capsule, cortex, or nucleus. In the horse, cataracts rarely involve the entire lens structure (ie, complete cataracts) and are more usually localized to one anatomic landmark or sector of the lens. Complete cataracts are invariably associated with overt and significant visual disability. Focal or incomplete cataracts alone seldom cause any apparent visual dysfunction in affected horses,however.

  1. Mapping visual cortex in monkeys and humans using surface-based atlases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Essen, D. C.; Lewis, J. W.; Drury, H. A.; Hadjikhani, N.; Tootell, R. B.; Bakircioglu, M.; Miller, M. I.

    2001-01-01

    We have used surface-based atlases of the cerebral cortex to analyze the functional organization of visual cortex in humans and macaque monkeys. The macaque atlas contains multiple partitioning schemes for visual cortex, including a probabilistic atlas of visual areas derived from a recent architectonic study, plus summary schemes that reflect a combination of physiological and anatomical evidence. The human atlas includes a probabilistic map of eight topographically organized visual areas recently mapped using functional MRI. To facilitate comparisons between species, we used surface-based warping to bring functional and geographic landmarks on the macaque map into register with corresponding landmarks on the human map. The results suggest that extrastriate visual cortex outside the known topographically organized areas is dramatically expanded in human compared to macaque cortex, particularly in the parietal lobe.

  2. Dating the time of birth: A radiocarbon calibration curve for human eye-lens crystallines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kjeldsen, Henrik; Heinemeier, Jan; Heegaard, Steffen; Jacobsen, Christina; Lynnerup, Niels

    2010-01-01

    Radiocarbon bomb-pulse dating has been used to measure the formation age of human eye-lens crystallines. Lens crystallines are special proteins in the eye-lens that consist of virtually inert tissue. The experimental data show that the radiocarbon ages to a large extent reflect the time of birth, in accordance with expectations. Moreover, it has been possible to develop an age model for the formation of the eye-lens crystallines. From this model a radiocarbon calibration curve for lens crystallines has been calculated. As a consequence, the time of birth of humans can be determined with an accuracy of a few years by radiocarbon dating.

  3. Dating the time of birth: A radiocarbon calibration curve for human eye-lens crystallines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kjeldsen, Henrik, E-mail: kjeldsen@phys.au.d [AMS 14C Dating Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Aarhus (Denmark); Heinemeier, Jan [AMS 14C Dating Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Aarhus (Denmark); Heegaard, Steffen [Eye Pathology Section, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Jacobsen, Christina; Lynnerup, Niels [Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark)

    2010-04-15

    Radiocarbon bomb-pulse dating has been used to measure the formation age of human eye-lens crystallines. Lens crystallines are special proteins in the eye-lens that consist of virtually inert tissue. The experimental data show that the radiocarbon ages to a large extent reflect the time of birth, in accordance with expectations. Moreover, it has been possible to develop an age model for the formation of the eye-lens crystallines. From this model a radiocarbon calibration curve for lens crystallines has been calculated. As a consequence, the time of birth of humans can be determined with an accuracy of a few years by radiocarbon dating.

  4. Human primary visual cortex topography imaged via positron tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwartz, E.L.; Christman, D.R.; Wolf, A.P.

    1984-01-01

    The visuotopic structure of primary visual cortex was studied in a group of 7 human volunteers using positron emission transaxial tomography (PETT) and 18 F-labeled 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose ([ 18 F]DG). A computer animation was constructed with a spatial structure which was matched to estimates of human cortical magnification factor and to striate cortex stimulus preferences. A lateralized cortical 'checker-board' pattern of [ 18 F]DG was stimulated in primary visual cortex by having subjects view this computer animation following i.v. injection of [ 18 F]DG. The spatial structure of the stimulus was designed to produce an easily recognizable 'signature' in a series of 9 serial PETT scans obtained from each of a group of 7 volunteers. The predicted lateralized topographic 'signature' was observed in 6 of 7 subjects. Applications of this method for further PETT studies of human visual cortex are discussed. (Auth.)

  5. Age-related changes in spectral transmittance of the human crystalline lens in situ.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakanishi, Yoshihito; Awano, Masakazu; Mizota, Atsushi; Tanaka, Minoru; Murakami, Akira; Ohnuma, Kazuhiko

    2012-01-01

    It was the aim of this study to measure spectral transmission of the human crystalline lens in situ. The crystalline lens was illuminated by one of four light-emitting diodes of different colors. The relative spectral transmittance of the human crystalline lens was measured with the Purkinje-Sanson mirror images over a wide range of ages. The study evaluated 36 crystalline lenses of 28 subjects aged 21-76 years. There was a significant correlation between the age and spectral transmittance for blue light. Spectral transmittance of the crystalline lens in situ could be measured with Purkinje-Sanson mirror images. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  6. Body Topography Parcellates Human Sensory and Motor Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuehn, Esther; Dinse, Juliane; Jakobsen, Estrid; Long, Xiangyu; Schäfer, Andreas; Bazin, Pierre-Louis; Villringer, Arno; Sereno, Martin I; Margulies, Daniel S

    2017-07-01

    The cytoarchitectonic map as proposed by Brodmann currently dominates models of human sensorimotor cortical structure, function, and plasticity. According to this model, primary motor cortex, area 4, and primary somatosensory cortex, area 3b, are homogenous areas, with the major division lying between the two. Accumulating empirical and theoretical evidence, however, has begun to question the validity of the Brodmann map for various cortical areas. Here, we combined in vivo cortical myelin mapping with functional connectivity analyses and topographic mapping techniques to reassess the validity of the Brodmann map in human primary sensorimotor cortex. We provide empirical evidence that area 4 and area 3b are not homogenous, but are subdivided into distinct cortical fields, each representing a major body part (the hand and the face). Myelin reductions at the hand-face borders are cortical layer-specific, and coincide with intrinsic functional connectivity borders as defined using large-scale resting state analyses. Our data extend the Brodmann model in human sensorimotor cortex and suggest that body parts are an important organizing principle, similar to the distinction between sensory and motor processing. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  7. Dose conversion coefficients for neutron exposure to the lens of the human eye

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manger, Ryan P.; Bellamy, Michael B.; Eckerman, Keith F.

    2011-01-01

    Dose conversion coefficients for the lens of the human eye have been calculated for neutron exposure at energies from 1 x 10 -9 to 20 MeV and several standard orientations: anterior-to-posterior, rotational and right lateral. MCNPX version 2.6.0, a Monte Carlo-based particle transport package, was used to determine the energy deposited in the lens of the eye. The human eyeball model was updated by partitioning the lens into sensitive and insensitive volumes as the anterior portion (sensitive volume) of the lens being more radiosensitive and prone to cataract formation. The updated eye model was used with the adult UF-ORNL mathematical phantom in the MCNPX transport calculations.

  8. Dose conversion coefficients for neutron exposure to the lens of the human eye

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manger, R. P.; Bellamy, M. B.; Eckerman, K. F.

    2012-01-01

    Dose conversion coefficients for the lens of the human eye have been calculated for neutron exposure at energies from 1 x 10 -9 to 20 MeV and several standard orientations: anterior-to-posterior, rotational and right lateral. MCNPX version 2.6.0, a Monte Carlo-based particle transport package, was used to determine the energy deposited in the lens of the eye. The human eyeball model was updated by partitioning the lens into sensitive and insensitive volumes as the anterior portion (sensitive volume) of the lens being more radiosensitive and prone to cataract formation. The updated eye model was used with the adult UF-ORNL mathematical phantom in the MCNPX transport calculations. (authors)

  9. Characterizing synaptic protein development in human visual cortex enables alignment of synaptic age with rat visual cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, Joshua G. A.; Jones, David G.; Williams, C. Kate; Murphy, Kathryn M.

    2015-01-01

    Although many potential neuroplasticity based therapies have been developed in the lab, few have translated into established clinical treatments for human neurologic or neuropsychiatric diseases. Animal models, especially of the visual system, have shaped our understanding of neuroplasticity by characterizing the mechanisms that promote neural changes and defining timing of the sensitive period. The lack of knowledge about development of synaptic plasticity mechanisms in human cortex, and about alignment of synaptic age between animals and humans, has limited translation of neuroplasticity therapies. In this study, we quantified expression of a set of highly conserved pre- and post-synaptic proteins (Synapsin, Synaptophysin, PSD-95, Gephyrin) and found that synaptic development in human primary visual cortex (V1) continues into late childhood. Indeed, this is many years longer than suggested by neuroanatomical studies and points to a prolonged sensitive period for plasticity in human sensory cortex. In addition, during childhood we found waves of inter-individual variability that are different for the four proteins and include a stage during early development (visual cortex and identified a simple linear equation that provides robust alignment of synaptic age between humans and rats. Alignment of synaptic ages is important for age-appropriate targeting and effective translation of neuroplasticity therapies from the lab to the clinic. PMID:25729353

  10. Vitrectorhexis and lens aspiration with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation in spherophakia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Haddad, Christiane; Khatib, Lama

    2012-07-01

    We describe a technique that uses the vitrector to perform successful lens aspiration and posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in children with spherophakia and anterior lens subluxation. After an anterior chamber maintainer is placed, the ocutome is introduced through a limbal incision to perform a circular vitrectorhexis to avoid excessive manipulation of the unstable lens followed by gentle cortex aspiration. A foldable IOL is injected into the sulcus (3-piece IOL) or bag (1-piece IOL) if the capsule is sufficiently stable. Through a pars plana incision, the ocutome is then used to perform a posterior capsulotomy to prevent late posterior capsule opacification. In our patient, sulcus IOL placement was more stable than in-the-bag placement. Neither author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Copyright © 2012 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. No turnover in lens lipids for the entire human lifespan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Jessica R; Levchenko, Vladimir A; Blanksby, Stephen J; Mitchell, Todd W; Williams, Alan; Truscott, Roger J W

    2015-03-11

    Lipids are critical to cellular function and it is generally accepted that lipid turnover is rapid and dysregulation in turnover results in disease (Dawidowicz 1987; Phillips et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2013). In this study, we present an intriguing counter-example by demonstrating that in the center of the human ocular lens, there is no lipid turnover in fiber cells during the entire human lifespan. This discovery, combined with prior demonstration of pronounced changes in the lens lipid composition over a lifetime (Hughes et al., 2012), suggests that some lipid classes break down in the body over several decades, whereas others are stable. Such substantial changes in lens cell membranes may play a role in the genesis of age-related eye disorders. Whether long-lived lipids are present in other tissues is not yet known, but this may prove to be important in understanding the development of age-related diseases.

  12. Effects of photobleaching on selected advanced glycation end products in the human lens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Thomas; Raghavan, Cibin T; Nahomi, Rooban

    2015-01-01

    at examining the optical and biochemical effects of the proposed treatment.MethodsHuman donor lenses were photobleaced using a 445 nm cw laser. Lens optical quality was assessed before and after photobleaching by light transmission and scattering. The concentration of the advanced glycation end products (AGEs...... of the photobleaching treatment on lens optical parameters but we could not associate the optical findings to a change in the concentration of the AGEs we measured. This finding suggests that other AGEs were responsible for the observed photobleaching of the human lens after laser treatment. The biochemical nature...

  13. Functional organization and visual representations in human ventral lateral prefrontal cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annie Wai Yiu Chan

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Recent neuroimaging studies in both human and non-human primates have identified face selective activation in the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex even in the absence of working memory demands. Further, research has suggested that this face-selective response is largely driven by the presence of the eyes. However, the nature and origin of visual category responses in the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex remain unclear. Further, in a broader sense, how do these findings relate to our current understandings of lateral prefrontal cortex? What do these findings tell us about the underlying function and organization principles of the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex? What is the future direction for investigating visual representations in this cortex? This review focuses on the function, topography, and circuitry of the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex to enhance our understanding of the evolution and development of this cortex.

  14. Transglutaminase involvement in UV-A damage to the eye lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weinreb, Orly; Dovrat, A.

    1996-01-01

    Solar radiation is believed to be one of the major environmental factors involved in lens cataractogenesis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the mechanisms by which UV-A at 365 nm causes damage to the eye lens. Bovine lenses were placed in special culture cells for pre-incubation of 24 hr. The lenses were positioned so that the anterior surface faced the incident UV-A radiation source and were maintained in the cells during irradiation. After irradiation, lens optical quality was monitored throughout the culture period and lens epithelium, cortex and nuclear samples were taken for biochemical analysis. Transglutaminase activity in the lens was affected by the radiation. The activity of transglutaminase in lens epithelium cortex and nucleus increased as a result of the irradiation and then declined towards control levels during the culture period, as the lens recovered from the UV-A damage. Specific lens proteins αB and βB1 crystallins (the enzyme substrates) were analyzed by SDS polyacrylamid gel electrophoreses and immunoblotting with specific antibodies. Seventy-two hours after irradiation of 44.8 J cm -2 UV-A, αB crystallins were affected as was shown by the appearance of aggregation and degradation products. Some protein changes seem to be reversible. It appears that transglutaminase may be involved in the mechanism by which UV-A causes damage to the eye lens. (Author)

  15. Dating the time of birth: A radiocarbon calibration curve for human eye-lens crystallines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjeldsen, Henrik; Heinemeier, Jan; Heegaard, Steffen

    2010-01-01

    Radiocarbon bomb-pulse dating has been used to measure the formation age of human eye-lens crystallines. Lens crystallines are special proteins in the eye-lens that consist of virtually inert tissue. The experimental data show that the radiocarbon ages to a large extent reflect the time of birth...

  16. Influence of a prolonged period of low-dosage x-rays on the optic and ultrastructural appearances of cataract of the human lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayes, B.P.; Fisher, R.F.

    1979-01-01

    Human lenses extracted for cataract 26 years after long-term exposure to an imperfectly shielded radium source were examined by slit-lamp photography, thin-section light microscopy, and electron microscopy. Anterior epithelial cells were fibroblast-like, and germinal epithelium and vacuolated cortical fibres had accumulated at the equator. A zone of light scatter at the anterior pole corresponded to an area of breakdown of cortical lens fibres, where unusual feathery fibres were orientated perpendicular to the lens surface. Two zones of light scatter separated by a 250-micrometer clear interval were seen in the posterior cortex. The zone at the posterior pole corresponded to an area of fibre liquefaction and large rounded membrane whorls, while the deeper zone comprised small flattened membrane whorls. The characteristic plaques of swollen abnormal cells described in previous histological studies of x-ray cataract were not present. This and other differences probably reflect the extremely long time course and repeated subliminal doses to which the patient was exposed. (author)

  17. Acanthamoeba keratitis in a non-contact lens wearer with human immunodeficiency virus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Birgitte Rønde; Kronborg, Gitte

    2003-01-01

    , and was treated with various topical antibiotics and steroids. 13 months after symptom onset the eye was removed owing to serious scarring of cornea and unbearable pain. Microbiological and histopathological examination of the cornea showed Acanthamoeba. In non-contact lens wearers suffering from Acanthamoeba......Acanthamoeba keratitis is potentially blinding and often associated with contact lens wearing. A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patient, a non-contact lens wearer, presented with keratitis. She experienced a protracted course of disease, characterized by exacerbations and remissions...

  18. Is orbital volume associated with eyeball and visual cortex volume in humans?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearce, Eiluned; Bridge, Holly

    2013-01-01

    In humans orbital volume increases linearly with absolute latitude. Scaling across mammals between visual system components suggests that these larger orbits should translate into larger eyes and visual cortices in high latitude humans. Larger eyes at high latitudes may be required to maintain adequate visual acuity and enhance visual sensitivity under lower light levels. To test the assumption that orbital volume can accurately index eyeball and visual cortex volumes specifically in humans. Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques are employed to measure eye and orbit (n = 88) and brain and visual cortex (n = 99) volumes in living humans. Facial dimensions and foramen magnum area (a proxy for body mass) were also measured. A significant positive linear relationship was found between (i) orbital and eyeball volumes, (ii) eyeball and visual cortex grey matter volumes and (iii) different visual cortical areas, independently of overall brain volume. In humans the components of the visual system scale from orbit to eye to visual cortex volume independently of overall brain size. These findings indicate that orbit volume can index eye and visual cortex volume in humans, suggesting that larger high latitude orbits do translate into larger visual cortices.

  19. Approach motivation in human cerebral cortex

    OpenAIRE

    Casasanto, Daniel; Brookshire, Geoffrey

    2018-01-01

    Different regions of the human cerebral cortex are specialized for different emotions, but the principles underlying this specialization have remained unknown. According to the sword and shield hypothesis, hemispheric specialization for affective motivation, a basic dimension of human emotion, varies across individuals according to the way they use their hands to perform approach- and avoidance-related actions. In a test of this hypothesis, here we measured approach motivation before and afte...

  20. Different alpha crystallin expression in human age-related and congenital cataract lens epithelium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jing; Zhou, Sheng; Guo, Minfei; Li, Yuting; Gu, Jianjun

    2016-05-28

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the different expressions of αA-crystallin and αB-crystallin in human lens epithelium of age-related and congenital cataracts. The central part of the human anterior lens capsule approximately 5 mm in diameter together with the adhering epithelial cells, were harvested and processed within 6 hours after cataract surgery from age-related and congenital cataract patients or from normal eyes of fresh cadavers. The mRNA and soluble protein levels of αA-crystallin and αB-crystallin in the human lens epithelium were detected by real-time PCR and western blots, respectively. The mRNA and soluble protein expressions of αA-crystallin and αB-crystallin in the lens epithelium were both reduced in age-related and congenital cataract groups when compared with the normal control group. However, the degree of α-crystallin loss in the lens epithelium was highly correlated with different cataract types. The α-crystallin expression of the lens epithelium was greatly reduced in the congenital cataract group but only moderately decreased in the age-related cataract group. The reduction of αA-crystallin soluble protein levels in the congenital cataract group was approximately 2.4 fold decrease compared with that of the age-related cataract group, while an mRNA fold change of 1.67 decrease was observed for the age-related cataract group. Similarly, the reduction of soluble protein levels of αB-crystallin in the congenital cataract group was approximately a 1.57 fold change compared with that of the age-related cataract group. A 1.75 fold change for mRNA levels compared with that of the age-related cataract group was observed. The results suggest that the differential loss of α-crystallin in the human lens epithelium could be associated with the different mechanisms of cataractogenesis in age-related versus congenital cataracts, subsequently resulting in different clinical presentations.

  1. Hierarchy of transcriptomic specialization across human cortex captured by myelin map topography

    OpenAIRE

    Murray, John; Martin, William; Bernacchia, Alberto; Anticevic, Alan; Ji, Jie; Navejar, Natasha; Eckner, William; Demirtas, Murat; Burt, Joshua

    2017-01-01

    Hierarchy provides a unifying principle for the macroscale organization of anatomical and functional properties across primate cortex, yet the microscale bases of hierarchical specialization across human cortex are poorly understood. Anatomical hierarchy is conventionally informed by invasively measured laminar patterns of long-range cortico-cortical projections, creating the need for a principled proxy measure of hierarchy in humans. Moreover, cortex exhibits a transcriptional architecture c...

  2. The primary motor and premotor areas of the human cerebral cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chouinard, Philippe A; Paus, Tomás

    2006-04-01

    Brodmann's cytoarchitectonic map of the human cortex designates area 4 as cortex in the anterior bank of the precentral sulcus and area 6 as cortex encompassing the precentral gyrus and the posterior portion of the superior frontal gyrus on both the lateral and medial surfaces of the brain. More than 70 years ago, Fulton proposed a functional distinction between these two areas, coining the terms primary motor area for cortex in Brodmann area 4 and premotor area for cortex in Brodmann area 6. The parcellation of the cortical motor system has subsequently become more complex. Several nonprimary motor areas have been identified in the brain of the macaque monkey, and associations between anatomy and function in the human brain are being tested continuously using brain mapping techniques. In the present review, the authors discuss the unique properties of the primary motor area (M1), the dorsal portion of the premotor cortex (PMd), and the ventral portion of the premotor cortex (PMv). They end this review by discussing how the premotor areas influence M1.

  3. Contribution of the crystalline lens gradient refractive index to the accommodation amplitude in non-human primates: in vitro studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maceo, Bianca M; Manns, Fabrice; Borja, David; Nankivil, Derek; Uhlhorn, Stephen; Arrieta, Esdras; Ho, Arthur; Augusteyn, Robert C; Parel, Jean-Marie

    2011-11-30

    The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of the gradient refractive index to the change in lens power in hamadryas baboon and cynomolgus monkey lenses during simulated accommodation in a lens stretcher. Thirty-six monkey lenses (1.4-14.1 years) and twenty-five baboon lenses (1.8-28.0 years) were stretched in discrete steps. At each stretching step, the lens back vertex power was measured and the lens cross-section was imaged with optical coherence tomography. The radii of curvature for the lens anterior and posterior surfaces were calculated for each step. The power of each lens surface was determined using refractive indices of 1.365 for the outer cortex and 1.336 for the aqueous. The gradient contribution was calculated by subtracting the power of the surfaces from the measured lens power. In all lenses, the contribution of the surfaces and gradient increased linearly with the amplitude of accommodation. The gradient contributes on average 65 ± 3% for monkeys and 66 ± 3% for baboons to the total power change during accommodation. When expressed in percent of the total power change, the relative contribution of the gradient remains constant with accommodation and age in both species. These findings are consistent with Gullstrand's intracapsular theory of accommodation.

  4. Lens Accommodation, Ocular Convergence and the Brain(Physiology of Vision)

    OpenAIRE

    坂東, 武彦; 戸田, 春男; 安藤, 誠男; 高木, 峰夫; 吉沢, 豊久; 原, 直人; Bando, Takehiko; Toda, Haruo; Ando, Tomoo; Takagi, Mineo; Yoshizawa, Toyohisa; Hara, Naoto

    1993-01-01

    Experimental findings obtained by our group were reviewed, and functional significance of the visual association cortex in controlling lens accommodation and ocular convergence was discussed. By intracortical microstimulation in an extrastriate visual area in the cat, lens accommodation and vergence eye movement were evoked. In the same cortical area, a group of neurons was also activated in correlation with lens accommodation or ocular convergence. In addition, after the lesion in this area,...

  5. Radiocarbon dating of the human eye lens crystallines reveal proteins without carbon turnover throughout life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lynnerup, Niels; Kjeldsen, Henrik; Heegaard, Steffen

    2008-01-01

    , there is no subsequent remodelling of these fibers, nor removal of degraded lens fibers. Human tissue ultimately derives its (14)C content from the atmospheric carbon dioxide. The (14)C content of the lens proteins thus reflects the atmospheric content of (14)C when the lens crystallines were formed. Precise radiocarbon...

  6. Maps of space in human frontoparietal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerde, Trenton A; Curtis, Clayton E

    2013-12-01

    Prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) are neural substrates for spatial cognition. We here review studies in which we tested the hypothesis that human frontoparietal cortex may function as a priority map. According to priority map theory, objects or locations in the visual world are represented by neural activity that is proportional to their attentional priority. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we first identified topographic maps in PFC and PPC as candidate priority maps of space. We then measured fMRI activity in candidate priority maps during the delay periods of a covert attention task, a spatial working memory task, and a motor planning task to test whether the activity depended on the particular spatial cognition. Our hypothesis was that some, but not all, candidate priority maps in PFC and PPC would be agnostic with regard to what was being prioritized, in that their activity would reflect the location in space across tasks rather than a particular kind of spatial cognition (e.g., covert attention). To test whether patterns of delay period activity were interchangeable during the spatial cognitive tasks, we used multivariate classifiers. We found that decoders trained to predict the locations on one task (e.g., working memory) cross-predicted the locations on the other tasks (e.g., covert attention and motor planning) in superior precentral sulcus (sPCS) and in a region of intraparietal sulcus (IPS2), suggesting that these patterns of maintenance activity may be interchangeable across the tasks. Such properties make sPCS in frontal cortex and IPS2 in parietal cortex viable priority map candidates, and suggest that these areas may be the human homologs of the monkey frontal eye field (FEF) and lateral intraparietal area (LIP). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Dissociation of object and spatial visual processing pathways in human extrastriate cortex

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haxby, J.V.; Grady, C.L.; Horwitz, B.; Ungerleider, L.G.; Mishkin, M.; Carson, R.E.; Herscovitch, P.; Schapiro, M.B.; Rapoport, S.I. (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (USA))

    1991-03-01

    The existence and neuroanatomical locations of separate extrastriate visual pathways for object recognition and spatial localization were investigated in healthy young men. Regional cerebral blood flow was measured by positron emission tomography and bolus injections of H2(15)O, while subjects performed face matching, dot-location matching, or sensorimotor control tasks. Both visual matching tasks activated lateral occipital cortex. Face discrimination alone activated a region of occipitotemporal cortex that was anterior and inferior to the occipital area activated by both tasks. The spatial location task alone activated a region of lateral superior parietal cortex. Perisylvian and anterior temporal cortices were not activated by either task. These results demonstrate the existence of three functionally dissociable regions of human visual extrastriate cortex. The ventral and dorsal locations of the regions specialized for object recognition and spatial localization, respectively, suggest some homology between human and nonhuman primate extrastriate cortex, with displacement in human brain, possibly related to the evolution of phylogenetically newer cortical areas.

  8. Characterizing synaptic protein development in human visual cortex enables alignment of synaptic age with rat visual cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua G.A Pinto

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Although many potential neuroplasticity based therapies have been developed in the lab, few have translated into established clinical treatments for human neurologic or neuropsychiatric diseases. Animal models, especially of the visual system, have shaped our understanding of neuroplasticity by characterizing the mechanisms that promote neural changes and defining timing of the sensitive period. The lack of knowledge about development of synaptic plasticity mechanisms in human cortex, and about alignment of synaptic age between animals and humans, has limited translation of neuroplasticity therapies. In this study, we quantified expression of a set of highly conserved pre- and post-synaptic proteins (Synapsin, Synaptophysin, PSD-95, Gephyrin and found that synaptic development in human primary visual cortex continues into late childhood. Indeed, this is many years longer than suggested by neuroanatomical studies and points to a prolonged sensitive period for plasticity in human sensory cortex. In addition, during childhood we found waves of inter-individual variability that are different for the 4 proteins and include a stage during early development (<1 year when only Gephyrin has high inter-individual variability. We also found that pre- and post-synaptic protein balances develop quickly, suggesting that maturation of certain synaptic functions happens within the first year or two of life. A multidimensional analysis (principle component analysis showed that most of the variance was captured by the sum of the 4 synaptic proteins. We used that sum to compare development of human and rat visual cortex and identified a simple linear equation that provides robust alignment of synaptic age between humans and rats. Alignment of synaptic ages is important for age-appropriate targeting and effective translation of neuroplasticity therapies from the lab to the clinic.

  9. Subplate in the developing cortex of mouse and human

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Wei Zhi; Hoerder-Suabedissen, Anna; Oeschger, Franziska M

    2010-01-01

    Abstract The subplate is a largely transient zone containing precocious neurons involved in several key steps of cortical development. The majority of subplate neurons form a compact layer in mouse, but are dispersed throughout a much larger zone in the human. In rodent, subplate neurons are among...... several genes that are specifically expressed in the subplate layer of the rodent dorsal cortex. Here we examined the human subplate for some of these markers. In the human dorsal cortex, connective tissue growth factor-positive neurons can be seen in the ventricular zone at 15-22 postconceptional weeks...... growth factor- and nuclear receptor-related 1-positive cells are two distinct cell populations of the human subplate. Furthermore, our microarray analysis in rodent suggested that subplate neurons produce plasma proteins. Here we demonstrate that the human subplate also expresses alpha2zinc...

  10. Potential pre-cataractous markers induced by low-dose radiation effects in cultured human lens cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakely, E.; McNamara, M.; Bjornstad, K.; Chang, P.

    The human lens is one of the most radiosensitive organs of the body. Cataract, the opacification of the lens, is a late-appearing response to radiation damage. Recent evidence indicates that exposure to relatively low doses of space radiation are associated with an increased incidence and early appearance of human cataracts (Cucinotta et al., Radiat. Res. 156:460-466, 2001). Basic research in this area is needed to integrate the early responses of various late-responding tissues into our understanding and estimation of radiation risk for space travel. In addition, these studies may contribute to the development of countermeasures for the early lenticular changes, in order to prevent the late sequelae. Radiation damage to the lens is not life threatening but, if severe, can affect vision unless surgically corrected with synthetic lens replacement. The lens, however, may be a sensitive detector of radiation effects for other cells of ectodermal origin in the body for which there are not currently clear endpoints of low-dose radiation effects. We have investigated the dose-dependent expression of several radiation-responsive endpoints using our in vitro model of differentiating human lens epithelial cells (Blakely et al., Investigative Ophthalmology &Visual Sciences, 41(12):3898-3907, 2000). We have investigated radiation effects on several gene families that include, or relate to, DNA damage, cytokines, cell-cycle regulators, cell adhesion molecules, cell cytoskeletal function and apoptotic cell death. In this paper we will summarize some of our dose-dependent data from several radiation types, and describe the model of molecular and cellular events that we believe may be associated with precataractous events in the human lens after radiation exposure. This work was supported by NASA Grant #T-965W.

  11. The protective effect of resveratrol on human lens epithelial cells against ultraviolet-induced apoptosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xue - Fang Chen

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the protective effect of resveratrol on human lens epithelial cells against ultraviolet-induced apoptosis. METHODS:Subcultured human lens epithelial cell line, ultraviolet induced cell apoptosis, 20μmol/L resveratrol pretreated cell, the indicators change was observed: rate of apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and apoptosis-related factors of caspses-3 and caspase-9 were detected by colorimetric detection, ultrastructure changes were observed under transmission electron microscope. RESULTS: Flow cytometry instrument testing found that resveratrol can suppress the apoptosis induced by ultraviolet irradiation, caspses-3 and caspase-9 content in positive control group were significantly higher than that of the negative control group at the same time period, the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05; caspses-3 and caspase-9 content in experimental group were lower than that in the positive control group at the same time, the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05. In addition, the damage of human lens epithelial cells was alleviated with the incubation time of resveratrol elongated. CONCLUSION:Resveratrol may inhibit ultraviolet-induced apoptosis of human lens epithelial cells, it has preventive function against radioactive cataract, and it can provide reliable evidence for pursuing effective medicine to prevent and treat cataract.

  12. Acanthamoeba keratitis in a non-contact lens wearer with human immunodeficiency virus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Birgitte Rønde; Kronborg, Gitte

    2003-01-01

    Acanthamoeba keratitis is potentially blinding and often associated with contact lens wearing. A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patient, a non-contact lens wearer, presented with keratitis. She experienced a protracted course of disease, characterized by exacerbations and remissions......, and was treated with various topical antibiotics and steroids. 13 months after symptom onset the eye was removed owing to serious scarring of cornea and unbearable pain. Microbiological and histopathological examination of the cornea showed Acanthamoeba. In non-contact lens wearers suffering from Acanthamoeba...... keratitis the diagnosis is delayed, pathognomonic features are often not seen and visual outcome is usually poor. There is no known relation between HIV infection and Acanthamoeba keratitis....

  13. Intraoperative intrinsic optical imaging of human somatosensory cortex during neurosurgical operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Katsushige; Nariai, Tadashi; Momose-Sato, Yoko; Kamino, Kohtaro

    2017-07-01

    Intrinsic optical imaging as developed by Grinvald et al. is a powerful technique for monitoring neural function in the in vivo central nervous system. The advent of this dye-free imaging has also enabled us to monitor human brain function during neurosurgical operations. We briefly describe our own experience in functional mapping of the human somatosensory cortex, carried out using intraoperative optical imaging. The maps obtained demonstrate new additional evidence of a hierarchy for sensory response patterns in the human primary somatosensory cortex.

  14. Neuronal synchronization in human parietal cortex during saccade planning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Werf, J. van der; Buchholz, V.N.; Jensen, O.; Medendorp, W.P.

    2009-01-01

    Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have implicated the human posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in sensorimotor integration and saccade planning However, the temporal dynamics of the underlying physiology and its relationship to observations in non-human primates have been difficult to pin

  15. Vitamin C degradation products and pathways in the human lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemet, Ina; Monnier, Vincent M

    2011-10-28

    Vitamin C and its degradation products participate in chemical modifications of proteins in vivo through non-enzymatic glycation (Maillard reaction) and formation of different products called advanced glycation end products. Vitamin C levels are particularly high in selected tissues, such as lens, brain and adrenal gland, and its degradation products can inflict substantial protein damage via formation of advanced glycation end products. However, the pathways of in vivo vitamin C degradation are poorly understood. Here we have determined the levels of vitamin C oxidation and degradation products dehydroascorbic acid, 2,3-diketogulonic acid, 3-deoxythreosone, xylosone, and threosone in the human lens using o-phenylenediamine to trap both free and protein-bound adducts. In the protein-free fraction and water-soluble proteins (WSP), all five listed degradation products were identified. Dehydroascorbic acid, 2,3-diketogulonic acid, and 3-deoxythreosone were the major products in the protein-free fraction, whereas in the WSP, 3-deoxythreosone was the most abundant measured dicarbonyl. In addition, 3-deoxythreosone in WSP showed positive linear correlation with age (p degradation product bound to human lens proteins provides in vivo evidence for the non-oxidative pathway of dehydroascorbate degradation into erythrulose as a major pathway for vitamin C degradation in vivo.

  16. Monocular Visual Deprivation Suppresses Excitability in Adult Human Visual Cortex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lou, Astrid Rosenstand; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard; Paulson, Olaf Bjarne

    2011-01-01

    The adult visual cortex maintains a substantial potential for plasticity in response to a change in visual input. For instance, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that binocular deprivation (BD) increases the cortical excitability for inducing phosphenes with TMS. Here, we...... of visual deprivation has a substantial impact on experience-dependent plasticity of the human visual cortex.......The adult visual cortex maintains a substantial potential for plasticity in response to a change in visual input. For instance, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that binocular deprivation (BD) increases the cortical excitability for inducing phosphenes with TMS. Here, we...... employed TMS to trace plastic changes in adult visual cortex before, during, and after 48 h of monocular deprivation (MD) of the right dominant eye. In healthy adult volunteers, MD-induced changes in visual cortex excitability were probed with paired-pulse TMS applied to the left and right occipital cortex...

  17. Age-dependent Fourier model of the shape of the isolated ex vivo human crystalline lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urs, Raksha; Ho, Arthur; Manns, Fabrice; Parel, Jean-Marie

    2010-06-01

    To develop an age-dependent mathematical model of the zero-order shape of the isolated ex vivo human crystalline lens, using one mathematical function, that can be subsequently used to facilitate the development of other models for specific purposes such as optical modeling and analytical and numerical modeling of the lens. Profiles of whole isolated human lenses (n=30) aged 20-69, were measured from shadow-photogrammetric images. The profiles were fit to a 10th-order Fourier series consisting of cosine functions in polar-co-ordinate system that included terms for tilt and decentration. The profiles were corrected using these terms and processed in two ways. In the first, each lens was fit to a 10th-order Fourier series to obtain thickness and diameter, while in the second, all lenses were simultaneously fit to a Fourier series equation that explicitly include linear terms for age to develop an age-dependent mathematical model for the whole lens shape. Thickness and diameter obtained from Fourier series fits exhibited high correlation with manual measurements made from shadow-photogrammetric images. The root-mean-squared-error of the age-dependent fit was 205 microm. The age-dependent equations provide a reliable lens model for ages 20-60 years. The contour of the whole human crystalline lens can be modeled with a Fourier series. Shape obtained from the age-dependent model described in this paper can be used to facilitate the development of other models for specific purposes such as optical modeling and analytical and numerical modeling of the lens. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Phototoxicity and cytotoxicity of fullerol in human lens epithelial cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, Joan E.; Wielgus, Albert R.; Boyes, William K.; Andley, Usha; Chignell, Colin F.

    2008-01-01

    The water-soluble, hydroxylated fullerene [fullerol, nano-C 60 (OH) 22-26 ] has several clinical applications including use as a drug carrier to bypass the blood ocular barriers. We have assessed fullerol's potential ocular toxicity by measuring its cytotoxicity and phototoxicity induced by UVA and visible light in vitro with human lens epithelial cells (HLE B-3). Accumulation of nano-C 60 (OH) 22-26 in the cells was confirmed spectrophotometrically at 405 nm and cell viability estimated using MTS and LDH assays. Fullerol was cytotoxic to HLE B-3 cells maintained in the dark at concentrations higher than 20 μM. Exposure to either UVA or visible light in the presence of > 5 μM fullerol-induced phototoxic damage. When cells were pretreated with non-toxic antioxidants: 20 μM lutein, 1 mM N-acetyl cysteine, or 1 mM L-ascorbic acid prior to irradiation, only the singlet oxygen quencher-lutein significantly protected against fullerol photodamage. Apoptosis was observed in lens cells treated with fullerol whether or not the cells were irradiated, in the order UVA > visible light > dark. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed that in the presence of the endogenous lens protein α-crystallin, large aggregates of fullerol were reduced. In conclusion, fullerol is both cytotoxic and phototoxic to human lens epithelial cells. Although the acute toxicity of water-soluble nano-C 60 (OH) 22-26 is low, these compounds are retained in the body for long periods, raising concern for their chronic toxic effect. Before fullerols are used to deliver drugs to the eye, they should be tested for photo- and cytotoxicity in vivo

  19. Femtosecond laser-induced cavitations in the lens of the human eye

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessel, Line; Nymand, Jose; Harbst, Michael

    2007-01-01

    attempted to define the cavitation threshold in the human lens in vitro using multiphoton effects base d on radiation from a femtosecond 800 nm Ti:Sapphire laser. Cavitations were observed from pulse energy densities exceeding 16 mJ/cm2, but only after several minutes of exposure and not as a result...... laser effects in the len s that have a potential for therapeutic application and treatment of eye dis ease though further studies are needed to shed light on the nature of the formation of delayed cavitations....

  20. UVA photolysis using the protein-bound sensitizers present in human lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortwerth, B.J.; Olesen, P.R.

    1994-01-01

    This research was undertaken to demonstrate that the protein-bound chromophores in aged human lens can act as sensitizers for protein damage by UVA light. The water-insoluble (WI) proteins from pooled human and bovine lenses were solubilized by sonication in water and illuminated with UV light similar in output to that transmitted by the cornea. Analysis of the irradiated proteins showed a linear decrease in sulfhydryl groups with a 30% loss after 2 h. No loss was seen when native α-crystallin was irradiated under the same conditions. A 25% loss of histidine residues was also observed with the human lens WI fraction, and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels indicated considerable protein cross-linking. Similar photodamage was seen with a WI fraction from old bovine lenses. While the data show the presence of UVA sensitizers, some histidine destruction and protein cross-linking were also obtained with α-crystallin and with lysozyme which argue that part of the histidine loss in the human WISS was likely due to tryptophan acting as a sensitizer. (Author)

  1. Herniation of the anterior lens capsule

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pereira Nolette

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Herniation of the anterior lens capsule is a rare abnormality in which the capsule bulges forward in the pupillary area. This herniation can be mistaken for an anterior lenticonus where both the capsule and the cortex bulge forward. The exact pathology behind this finding is still unclear. We report the clinical, ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM and histopathological findings of a case of herniation of the anterior lens capsule. UBM helped to differentiate this entity from anterior lenticonus. Light microscopy revealed capsular splitting suggestive of capsular delamination and collection of fluid (aqueous in the area of herniation giving it a characteristic appearance.

  2. Nanoceria have no genotoxic effect on human lens epithelial cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pierscionek, Barbara K; Yasseen, Akeel A [School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, BT52 1SA (United Kingdom); Li, Yuebin; Schachar, Ronald A; Chen, Wei [Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019 (United States); Colhoun, Liza M, E-mail: b.pierscionek@ulster.ac.uk, E-mail: weichen@uta.edu [Centre for Vision and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen' s University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, Belfast, BT12 6BA (United Kingdom)

    2010-01-22

    There are no treatments for reversing or halting cataract, a disease of the structural proteins in the eye lens, that has associations with other age-related degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. The incidence of cataract and associated conditions is increasing as the average age of the population rises. Protein folding diseases are difficult to assess in vivo as proteins and their age-related changes are assessed after extraction. Nanotechnology can be used to investigate protein changes in the intact lens as well as for a potential means of drug delivery. Nanoparticles, such as cerium oxide (CeO{sub 2}) which have antioxidant properties, may even be used as a means of treating cataract directly. Prior to use in treatments, nanoparticle genotoxicity must be tested to assess the extent of any DNA or chromosomal damage. Sister chromatid exchanges were measured and DNA damage investigated using the alkaline COMET assay on cultured human lens epithelial cells, exposed to 5 and 10 {mu}g ml{sup -1} of CeO{sub 2} nanoparticles (nanoceria). Nanoceria at these dosages did not cause any DNA damage or significant increases in the number of sister chromatid exchanges. The absence of genotoxic effects on lens cells suggests that nanoceria, in the doses and exposures tested in this study, are not deleterious to the eye lens and have the potential for use in studying structural alterations, in developing non-surgical cataract treatments and in investigating other protein folding diseases.

  3. Cortico-Cortical Receptive Field Estimates in Human Visual Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koen V Haak

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Human visual cortex comprises many visual areas that contain a map of the visual field (Wandell et al 2007, Neuron 56, 366–383. These visual field maps can be identified readily in individual subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI during experimental sessions that last less than an hour (Wandell and Winawer 2011, Vis Res 718–737. Hence, visual field mapping with fMRI has been, and still is, a heavily used technique to examine the organisation of both normal and abnormal human visual cortex (Haak et al 2011, ACNR, 11(3, 20–21. However, visual field mapping cannot reveal every aspect of human visual cortex organisation. For example, the information processed within a visual field map arrives from somewhere and is sent to somewhere, and visual field mapping does not derive these input/output relationships. Here, we describe a new, model-based analysis for estimating the dependence between signals in distinct cortical regions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI data. Just as a stimulus-referred receptive field predicts the neural response as a function of the stimulus contrast, the neural-referred receptive field predicts the neural response as a function of responses elsewhere in the nervous system. When applied to two cortical regions, this function can be called the cortico-cortical receptive field (CCRF. We model the CCRF as a Gaussian-weighted region on the cortical surface and apply the model to data from both stimulus-driven and resting-state experimental conditions in visual cortex.

  4. Light-focusing human micro-lenses generated from pluripotent stem cells model lens development and drug-induced cataract in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Patricia; Kabir, Md Humayun; Srivastava, Tarini; Mason, Michele E; Dewi, Chitra U; Lim, Seakcheng; Yang, Andrian; Djordjevic, Djordje; Killingsworth, Murray C; Ho, Joshua W K; Harman, David G; O'Connor, Michael D

    2018-01-09

    Cataracts cause vision loss and blindness by impairing the ability of the ocular lens to focus light onto the retina. Various cataract risk factors have been identified, including drug treatments, age, smoking and diabetes. However, the molecular events responsible for these different forms of cataract are ill-defined, and the advent of modern cataract surgery in the 1960s virtually eliminated access to human lenses for research. Here, we demonstrate large-scale production of light-focusing human micro-lenses from spheroidal masses of human lens epithelial cells purified from differentiating pluripotent stem cells. The purified lens cells and micro-lenses display similar morphology, cellular arrangement, mRNA expression and protein expression to human lens cells and lenses. Exposing the micro-lenses to the emergent cystic fibrosis drug Vx-770 reduces micro-lens transparency and focusing ability. These human micro-lenses provide a powerful and large-scale platform for defining molecular disease mechanisms caused by cataract risk factors, for anti-cataract drug screening and for clinically relevant toxicity assays. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  5. Equivalent refractive index of the human lens upon accommodative response

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hermans, E.A.; Dubbelman, M.; van der Heijde, R.G.L.; Heethaar, R.M.

    2008-01-01

    PURPOSE.: To experimentally verify the suggestion of Gullstrand (1909), i.e., that the equivalent refractive index of the human lens increases with accommodation. METHODS.: The left eye of five subjects was focused on different accommodation stimuli, while the right eye was imaged with Scheimpflug

  6. A dimensionless ordered pull-through model of the mammalian lens epithelium evidences scaling across species and explains the age-dependent changes in cell density in the human lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jun Jie; Wu, Weiju; Tholozan, Frederique M.; Saunter, Christopher D.; Girkin, John M.; Quinlan, Roy A.

    2015-01-01

    We present a mathematical (ordered pull-through; OPT) model of the cell-density profile for the mammalian lens epithelium together with new experimental data. The model is based upon dimensionless parameters, an important criterion for inter-species comparisons where lens sizes can vary greatly (e.g. bovine (approx. 18 mm); mouse (approx. 2 mm)) and confirms that mammalian lenses scale with size. The validated model includes two parameters: β/α, which is the ratio of the proliferation rate in the peripheral and in the central region of the lens; and γGZ, a dimensionless pull-through parameter that accounts for the cell transition and exit from the epithelium into the lens body. Best-fit values were determined for mouse, rat, rabbit, bovine and human lens epithelia. The OPT model accounts for the peak in cell density at the periphery of the lens epithelium, a region where cell proliferation is concentrated and reaches a maximum coincident with the germinative zone. The β/α ratio correlates with the measured FGF-2 gradient, a morphogen critical to lens cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. As proliferation declines with age, the OPT model predicted age-dependent changes in cell-density profiles, which we observed in mouse and human lenses. PMID:26236824

  7. Spindle neurons of the human anterior cingulate cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimchinsky, E. A.; Vogt, B. A.; Morrison, J. H.; Hof, P. R.; Bloom, F. E. (Principal Investigator)

    1995-01-01

    The human anterior cingulate cortex is distinguished by the presence of an unusual cell type, a large spindle neuron in layer Vb. This cell has been noted numerous times in the historical literature but has not been studied with modern neuroanatomic techniques. For instance, details regarding the neuronal class to which these cells belong and regarding their precise distribution along both ventrodorsal and anteroposterior axes of the cingulate gyrus are still lacking. In the present study, morphological features and the anatomic distribution of this cell type were studied using computer-assisted mapping and immunocytochemical techniques. Spindle neurons are restricted to the subfields of the anterior cingulate cortex (Brodmann's area 24), exhibiting a greater density in anterior portions of this area than in posterior portions, and tapering off in the transition zone between anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, a majority of the spindle cells at any level is located in subarea 24b on the gyral surface. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that the neurofilament protein triple was present in a large percentage of these neurons and that they did not contain calcium-binding proteins. Injections of the carbocyanine dye DiI into the cingulum bundle revealed that these cells are projection neurons. Finally, spindle cells were consistently affected in Alzheimer's disease cases, with an overall loss of about 60%. Taken together, these observations indicate that the spindle cells of the human cingulate cortex represent a morphological subpopulation of pyramidal neurons whose restricted distribution may be associated with functionally distinct areas.

  8. A Model of Representational Spaces in Human Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guntupalli, J Swaroop; Hanke, Michael; Halchenko, Yaroslav O; Connolly, Andrew C; Ramadge, Peter J; Haxby, James V

    2016-06-01

    Current models of the functional architecture of human cortex emphasize areas that capture coarse-scale features of cortical topography but provide no account for population responses that encode information in fine-scale patterns of activity. Here, we present a linear model of shared representational spaces in human cortex that captures fine-scale distinctions among population responses with response-tuning basis functions that are common across brains and models cortical patterns of neural responses with individual-specific topographic basis functions. We derive a common model space for the whole cortex using a new algorithm, searchlight hyperalignment, and complex, dynamic stimuli that provide a broad sampling of visual, auditory, and social percepts. The model aligns representations across brains in occipital, temporal, parietal, and prefrontal cortices, as shown by between-subject multivariate pattern classification and intersubject correlation of representational geometry, indicating that structural principles for shared neural representations apply across widely divergent domains of information. The model provides a rigorous account for individual variability of well-known coarse-scale topographies, such as retinotopy and category selectivity, and goes further to account for fine-scale patterns that are multiplexed with coarse-scale topographies and carry finer distinctions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  9. Three-Dimensional Cataract Crystalline Lens Imaging With Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Castro, Alberto; Benito, Antonio; Manzanera, Silvestre; Mompeán, Juan; Cañizares, Belén; Martínez, David; Marín, Jose María; Grulkowski, Ireneusz; Artal, Pablo

    2018-02-01

    To image, describe, and characterize different features visible in the crystalline lens of older adults with and without cataract when imaged three-dimensionally with a swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system. We used a new SS-OCT laboratory prototype designed to enhance the visualization of the crystalline lens and imaged the entire anterior segment of both eyes in two groups of participants: patients scheduled to undergo cataract surgery, n = 17, age range 36 to 91 years old, and volunteers without visual complains, n = 14, age range 20 to 81 years old. Pre-cataract surgery patients were also clinically graded according to the Lens Opacification Classification System III. The three-dimensional location and shape of the visible opacities were compared with the clinical grading. Hypo- and hyperreflective features were visible in the lens of all pre-cataract surgery patients and in some of the older adults in the volunteer group. When the clinical examination revealed cortical or subcapsular cataracts, hyperreflective features were visible either in the cortex parallel to the surfaces of the lens or in the posterior pole. Other type of opacities that appeared as hyporeflective localized features were identified in the cortex of the lens. The OCT signal in the nucleus of the crystalline lens correlated with the nuclear cataract clinical grade. A dedicated OCT is a useful tool to study in vivo the subtle opacities in the cataractous crystalline lens, revealing its position and size three-dimensionally. The use of these images allows obtaining more detailed information on the age-related changes leading to cataract.

  10. Radiocarbon Dating of the Human Eye Lens Crystallines Reveal Proteins without Carbon Turnover throughout Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynnerup, Niels; Kjeldsen, Henrik; Heegaard, Steffen; Jacobsen, Christina; Heinemeier, Jan

    2008-01-01

    Background Lens crystallines are special proteins in the eye lens. Because the epithelial basement membrane (lens capsule) completely encloses the lens, desquamation of aging cells is impossible, and due to the complete absence of blood vessels or transport of metabolites in this area, there is no subsequent remodelling of these fibers, nor removal of degraded lens fibers. Human tissue ultimately derives its 14C content from the atmospheric carbon dioxide. The 14C content of the lens proteins thus reflects the atmospheric content of 14C when the lens crystallines were formed. Precise radiocarbon dating is made possible by comparing the 14C content of the lens crystallines to the so-called bomb pulse, i.e. a plot of the atmospheric 14C content since the Second World War, when there was a significant increase due to nuclear-bomb testing. Since the change in concentration is significant even on a yearly basis this allows very accurate dating. Methodology/Principal Findings Our results allow us to conclude that the crystalline formation in the lens nucleus almost entirely takes place around the time of birth, with a very small, and decreasing, continuous formation throughout life. The close relationship may be further expressed as a mathematical model, which takes into account the timing of the crystalline formation. Conclusions/Significance Such a life-long permanence of human tissue has hitherto only been described for dental enamel. In confront to dental enamel it must be held in mind that the eye lens is a soft structure, subjected to almost continuous deformation, due to lens accommodation, yet its most important constituent, the lens crystalline, is never subject to turnover or remodelling once formed. The determination of the 14C content of various tissues may be used to assess turnover rates and degree of substitution (for example for brain cell DNA). Potential targets may be nervous tissues in terms of senile or pre-senile degradation, as well as other highly

  11. Radiocarbon dating of the human eye lens crystallines reveal proteins without carbon turnover throughout life.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niels Lynnerup

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Lens crystallines are special proteins in the eye lens. Because the epithelial basement membrane (lens capsule completely encloses the lens, desquamation of aging cells is impossible, and due to the complete absence of blood vessels or transport of metabolites in this area, there is no subsequent remodelling of these fibers, nor removal of degraded lens fibers. Human tissue ultimately derives its (14C content from the atmospheric carbon dioxide. The (14C content of the lens proteins thus reflects the atmospheric content of (14C when the lens crystallines were formed. Precise radiocarbon dating is made possible by comparing the (14C content of the lens crystallines to the so-called bomb pulse, i.e. a plot of the atmospheric (14C content since the Second World War, when there was a significant increase due to nuclear-bomb testing. Since the change in concentration is significant even on a yearly basis this allows very accurate dating. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our results allow us to conclude that the crystalline formation in the lens nucleus almost entirely takes place around the time of birth, with a very small, and decreasing, continuous formation throughout life. The close relationship may be further expressed as a mathematical model, which takes into account the timing of the crystalline formation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Such a life-long permanence of human tissue has hitherto only been described for dental enamel. In confront to dental enamel it must be held in mind that the eye lens is a soft structure, subjected to almost continuous deformation, due to lens accommodation, yet its most important constituent, the lens crystalline, is never subject to turnover or remodelling once formed. The determination of the (14C content of various tissues may be used to assess turnover rates and degree of substitution (for example for brain cell DNA. Potential targets may be nervous tissues in terms of senile or pre

  12. Specific metabolomics adaptations define a differential regional vulnerability in the adult human cerebral cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosanna Cabré

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Brain neurons offer diverse responses to stresses and detrimental factors during development and aging, and as a result of both neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. This multiplicity of responses can be ascribed to the great diversity among neuronal populations. Here we have determined the metabolomic profile of three healthy adult human brain regions—entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, and frontal cortex—using mass spectrometry-based technologies. Our results show the existence of a lessened energy demand, mitochondrial stress, and lower one-carbon metabolism (particularly restricted to the methionine cycle specifically in frontal cortex. These findings, along with the better antioxidant capacity and lower mTOR signaling also seen in frontal cortex, suggest that this brain region is especially resistant to stress compared to the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus, which are more vulnerable regions. Globally, our results show the presence of specific metabolomics adaptations in three mature, healthy human brain regions, confirming the existence of cross-regional differences in cell vulnerability in the human cerebral cortex.

  13. Hippocampus, Perirhinal Cortex, and Complex Visual Discriminations in Rats and Humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hales, Jena B.; Broadbent, Nicola J.; Velu, Priya D.; Squire, Larry R.; Clark, Robert E.

    2015-01-01

    Structures in the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex, are known to be essential for the formation of long-term memory. Recent animal and human studies have investigated whether perirhinal cortex might also be important for visual perception. In our study, using a simultaneous oddity discrimination task, rats with…

  14. Gamma crystallins of the human eye lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vendra, Venkata Pulla Rao; Khan, Ismail; Chandani, Sushil; Muniyandi, Anbukkarasi; Balasubramanian, Dorairajan

    2016-01-01

    Protein crystallins co me in three types (α, β and γ) and are found predominantly in the eye, and particularly in the lens, where they are packed into a compact, plastic, elastic, and transparent globule of proper refractive power range that aids in focusing incoming light on to the retina. Of these, the γ-crystallins are found largely in the nuclear region of the lens at very high concentrations (>400 mg/ml). The connection between their structure and inter-molecular interactions and lens transparency is an issue of particular interest. We review the origin and phylogeny of the gamma crystallins, their special structure involving the use of Greek key supersecondary structural motif, and how they aid in offering the appropriate refractive index gradient, intermolecular short range attractive interactions (aiding in packing them into a transparent ball), the role that several of the constituent amino acid residues play in this process, the thermodynamic and kinetic stability and how even single point mutations can upset this delicate balance and lead to intermolecular aggregation, forming light-scattering particles which compromise transparency. We cite several examples of this, and illustrate this by cloning, expressing, isolating and comparing the properties of the mutant protein S39C of human γS-crystallin (associated with congenital cataract-microcornea), with those of the wild type molecule. In addition, we note that human γ-crystallins are also present in other parts of the eye (e.g., retina), where their functions are yet to be understood. There are several 'crucial' residues in and around the Greek key motifs which are essential to maintain the compact architecture of the crystallin molecules. We find that a mutation that replaces even one of these residues can lead to reduction in solubility, formation of light-scattering particles and loss of transparency in the molecular assembly. Such a molecular understanding of the process helps us construct the

  15. Noninvasive studies of human visual cortex using neuromagnetic techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aine, C.J.; George, J.S.; Supek, S.; Maclin, E.L.

    1990-01-01

    The major goals of noninvasive studies of the human visual cortex are: to increase knowledge of the functional organization of cortical visual pathways; and to develop noninvasive clinical tests for the assessment of cortical function. Noninvasive techniques suitable for studies of the structure and function of human visual cortex include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission tomography (SPECT), scalp recorded event-related potentials (ERPs), and event-related magnetic fields (ERFs). The primary challenge faced by noninvasive functional measures is to optimize the spatial and temporal resolution of the measurement and analytic techniques in order to effectively characterize the spatial and temporal variations in patterns of neuronal activity. In this paper we review the use of neuromagnetic techniques for this purpose. 8 refs., 3 figs

  16. Dose conversion coefficients for photon exposure of the human eye lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behrens, R.; Dietze, G.

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, several papers dealing with the eye lens dose have been published, because epidemiological studies implied that the induction of cataracts occurs even at eye lens doses of less than 500 mGy. Different questions were addressed: Which personal dose equivalent quantity is appropriate for monitoring the dose to the eye lens? Is a new definition of the dose quantity Hp(3) based on a cylinder phantom to represent the human head necessary? Are current conversion coefficients from fluence to equivalent dose to the lens sufficiently accurate? To investigate the latter question, a realistic model of the eye including the inner structure of the lens was developed. Using this eye model, conversion coefficients for electrons have already been presented. In this paper, the same eye model—with the addition of the whole body—was used to calculate conversion coefficients from fluence (and air kerma) to equivalent dose to the lens for photon radiation from 5 keV to 10 MeV. Compared to the values adopted in 1996 by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the new values are similar between 40 keV and 1 MeV and lower by up to a factor of 5 and 7 for photon energies at about 10 keV and 10 MeV, respectively. Above 1 MeV, the new values (calculated without kerma approximation) should be applied in pure photon radiation fields, while the values adopted by the ICRP in 1996 (calculated with kerma approximation) should be applied in case a significant contribution from secondary electrons originating outside the body is present.

  17. Dose conversion coefficients for photon exposure of the human eye lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Behrens, R; Dietze, G

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, several papers dealing with the eye lens dose have been published, because epidemiological studies implied that the induction of cataracts occurs even at eye lens doses of less than 500 mGy. Different questions were addressed: Which personal dose equivalent quantity is appropriate for monitoring the dose to the eye lens? Is a new definition of the dose quantity H p (3) based on a cylinder phantom to represent the human head necessary? Are current conversion coefficients from fluence to equivalent dose to the lens sufficiently accurate? To investigate the latter question, a realistic model of the eye including the inner structure of the lens was developed. Using this eye model, conversion coefficients for electrons have already been presented. In this paper, the same eye model-with the addition of the whole body-was used to calculate conversion coefficients from fluence (and air kerma) to equivalent dose to the lens for photon radiation from 5 keV to 10 MeV. Compared to the values adopted in 1996 by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the new values are similar between 40 keV and 1 MeV and lower by up to a factor of 5 and 7 for photon energies at about 10 keV and 10 MeV, respectively. Above 1 MeV, the new values (calculated without kerma approximation) should be applied in pure photon radiation fields, while the values adopted by the ICRP in 1996 (calculated with kerma approximation) should be applied in case a significant contribution from secondary electrons originating outside the body is present.

  18. Growth of the human lens in the Indian adult population: Preliminary observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashik Mohamed

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: The eye lens grows throughout life by the addition of new cells inside the surrounding capsule. How this growth affects the properties of the lens is essential for understanding disorders such as cataract and presbyopia. Aims: To examine growth of the human lens in the Indian population and compare this with the growth in Western populations by measuring in vitro dimensions together with wet and dry weights. Settings and Design: The study was conducted at the research wing of a tertiary eye care center in South India and the study design was prospective. Materials and Methods: Lenses were removed from eye bank eyes and their dimensions measured with a digital caliper. They were then carefully blotted dry and weighed before being placed in 5% buffered formalin. After 1 week fixation, the lenses were dried at 80 °C until constant weight was achieved. The constant weight was noted as the dry weight of the lens. Statistical Analysis Used: Lens parameters were analyzed as a function of age using linear and logarithmic regression methods. Results: Data were obtained for 251 lenses, aged 16-93 years, within a median postmortem time of 22 h. Both wet and dry weights increased linearly at 1.24 and 0.44 mg/year, respectively, throughout adult life. The dimensions also increased continuously throughout this time. Conclusions: Over the age range examined, lens growth in the Indian population is very similar to that in Western populations.

  19. [fs-Lentotomy: presbyopia reversal by generating gliding planes inside the crystalline lens].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubatschowski, H; Schumacher, S; Wegener, A; Fromm, M; Oberheide, U; Hoffmann, H; Gerten, G

    2009-12-01

    Based on the Helmholtz theory for accommodation, increasing sclerosis of the lens nucleus and cortex is the main cause for the development of presbyopia. Existing therapies, however, do not reverse the stiffness of the crystalline lens and thus do not regain real accommodation ability. A new approach to restore the flexibility of the lens has been realised by utilising the non-linear interaction of ultrafast laser pulses with transparent tissue, the so-called photodisruption. This process has been used to create micro-incisions which act as gliding planes inside the crystalline lens without opening the eye globe. This treatment method, known as fs-lentotomy, enables regeneration of real dynamic accommodation. For the first time, 3D structures for gliding planes were successfully generated in experiments with human donor lenses of different ages. An average increase in anterior-posterior lens thickness of 100 mum accompanied by a decrease of equatorial lens diameter was observed as a direct consequence of fs-lentotomy. This is attributed to the increased flexibility, as the force of the capsule bag moulds the lens tissue more spherically. Moreover, in vivo experiments on rabbit eye lenses did not induce an increasing opacification (cataract) over a six-month follow-up period. However, the incisions were still detectable using Scheimpflug imaging and histopathological techniques, although the visibility of the incisions was declining. Furthermore, no side effects were observed during the wound healing process and during a six-months follow-up period. Based on these findings fs-lentotomy might have the potential to become a procedure for the reversal of presbyopia. Copyright Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart . New York.

  20. Functional sex differences in human primary auditory cortex

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruytjens, Liesbet; Georgiadis, Janniko R.; Holstege, Gert; Wit, Hero P.; Albers, Frans W. J.; Willemsen, Antoon T. M.

    2007-01-01

    Background We used PET to study cortical activation during auditory stimulation and found sex differences in the human primary auditory cortex (PAC). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 10 male and 10 female volunteers while listening to sounds (music or white noise) and during a

  1. Myo/Nog cells: targets for preventing the accumulation of skeletal muscle-like cells in the human lens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacquelyn Gerhart

    Full Text Available Posterior capsule opacification (PCO is a vision impairing condition that arises in some patients following cataract surgery. The fibrotic form of PCO is caused by myofibroblasts that may emerge in the lens years after surgery. In the chick embryo lens, myofibroblasts are derived from Myo/Nog cells that are identified by their expression of the skeletal muscle specific transcription factor MyoD, the bone morphogenetic protein inhibitor Noggin, and the epitope recognized by the G8 monoclonal antibody. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that depletion of Myo/Nog cells will prevent the accumulation of myofibroblasts in human lens tissue. Myo/Nog cells were present in anterior, equatorial and bow regions of the human lens, cornea and ciliary processes. In anterior lens tissue removed by capsulorhexis, Myo/Nog cells had synthesized myofibroblast and skeletal muscle proteins, including vimentin, MyoD and sarcomeric myosin. Alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA was detected in a subpopulation of Myo/Nog cells. Areas of the capsule denuded of epithelial cells were surrounded by Myo/Nog cells. Some of these cell free areas contained a wrinkle in the capsule. Depletion of Myo/Nog cells eliminated cells expressing skeletal muscle proteins in 5-day cultures but did not affect cells immunoreactive for beaded filament proteins that accumulate in differentiating lens epithelial cells. Transforming growth factor-betas 1 and 2 that mediate an epithelial-mesenchymal transition, did not induce the expression of skeletal muscle proteins in lens cells following Myo/Nog cell depletion. This study demonstrates that Myo/Nog cells in anterior lens tissue removed from cataract patients have undergone a partial differentiation to skeletal muscle. Myo/Nog cells appear to be the source of skeletal muscle-like cells in explants of human lens tissue. Targeting Myo/Nog cells with the G8 antibody during cataract surgery may reduce the incidence of PCO.

  2. Amodal processing in human prefrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamber-Rosenau, Benjamin J; Dux, Paul E; Tombu, Michael N; Asplund, Christopher L; Marois, René

    2013-07-10

    Information enters the cortex via modality-specific sensory regions, whereas actions are produced by modality-specific motor regions. Intervening central stages of information processing map sensation to behavior. Humans perform this central processing in a flexible, abstract manner such that sensory information in any modality can lead to response via any motor system. Cognitive theories account for such flexible behavior by positing amodal central information processing (e.g., "central executive," Baddeley and Hitch, 1974; "supervisory attentional system," Norman and Shallice, 1986; "response selection bottleneck," Pashler, 1994). However, the extent to which brain regions embodying central mechanisms of information processing are amodal remains unclear. Here we apply multivariate pattern analysis to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to compare response selection, a cognitive process widely believed to recruit an amodal central resource across sensory and motor modalities. We show that most frontal and parietal cortical areas known to activate across a wide variety of tasks code modality, casting doubt on the notion that these regions embody a central processor devoid of modality representation. Importantly, regions of anterior insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex consistently failed to code modality across four experiments. However, these areas code at least one other task dimension, process (instantiated as response selection vs response execution), ensuring that failure to find coding of modality is not driven by insensitivity of multivariate pattern analysis in these regions. We conclude that abstract encoding of information modality is primarily a property of subregions of the prefrontal cortex.

  3. Characterization of the Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen on the Biochemical and Optical Properties of the Bovine Lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Julie C; Vaghefi, Ehsan; Li, Bo; Nye-Wood, Mitchell G; Donaldson, Paul J

    2016-04-01

    To assess the morphologic, biochemical, and optical properties of bovine lenses treated with hyperbaric oxygen. Lenses were exposed to hyperbaric nitrogen (HBN) or hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) for 5 or 15 hours, lens transparency was assessed using bright field microscopy and lens morphology was visualized using confocal microscopy. Lenses were dissected into the outer cortex, inner cortex, and core, and glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) measured. Gel electrophoresis and Western blotting were used to detect high molecular weight aggregates (HMW) and glutathione mixed protein disulfides (PSSG). T2-weighted MRI was used to measure lens geometry and map the water/protein ratio to allow gradient refractive index (GRIN) profiles to be calculated. Optical modeling software calculated the change in lens optical power, and an anatomically correct model of the light pathway of the bovine eye was used to determine the effects of HBN and HBO on focal length and overall image quality. Lenses were transparent and lens morphology similar between HBN- and HBO-treated lenses. At 5- and 15-hour HBO exposure, GSH and GSSG were depleted and MDA increased in the core. Glutathione mixed protein disulfides were detected in the outer and inner cortex only with no appearance of HMW. Optical changes were detectable only with 15-hour HBO treatment with a decrease in the refractive index of the core, slightly reduced lens thickness, and an increase in optimal focal length, consistent with a hyperopic shift. This system may serve as a model to study changes that occur with advanced aging rather than nuclear cataract formation per se.

  4. Preprocessing of emotional visual information in the human piriform cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulze, Patrick; Bestgen, Anne-Kathrin; Lech, Robert K; Kuchinke, Lars; Suchan, Boris

    2017-08-23

    This study examines the processing of visual information by the olfactory system in humans. Recent data point to the processing of visual stimuli by the piriform cortex, a region mainly known as part of the primary olfactory cortex. Moreover, the piriform cortex generates predictive templates of olfactory stimuli to facilitate olfactory processing. This study fills the gap relating to the question whether this region is also capable of preprocessing emotional visual information. To gain insight into the preprocessing and transfer of emotional visual information into olfactory processing, we recorded hemodynamic responses during affective priming using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Odors of different valence (pleasant, neutral and unpleasant) were primed by images of emotional facial expressions (happy, neutral and disgust). Our findings are the first to demonstrate that the piriform cortex preprocesses emotional visual information prior to any olfactory stimulation and that the emotional connotation of this preprocessing is subsequently transferred and integrated into an extended olfactory network for olfactory processing.

  5. [Expression of thioredoxin-2 in human lens epithelial cells with oxidative damage and its significance].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Che, Xuanyi; Zhao, Qingxia; Li, Di

    2018-03-28

    To explore whether thioredoin-2 (Trx-2) is involved in the development of cataract and to study the effect of Trx-2 on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced injury in human lens epithelial cells.
 Methods: A total of 10 volunteers (removing the lens due totraumatism) and 30 patients received phacoemulsification (age more than 60 years) were selected. The expression of Trx-2 protein in lens epithelial cells from cataract patients and volunteers were detected by the immunohistochemical streptavidin-peroxidase (SP) method. SRA01/04 cells were cultured and were divided into six groups according to different treatment: a control group, H2O2-treated groups at 20, 50 or 
100 μmol/L, a negative control group (transfected with pCMV6 plasmid plus 100 μmol/L H2O2), and a Trx-2 overexpression group (transfected with pCMV6-Trx-2 plasmid plus 100 μmol/L H2O2). Methyl thiazolyltetrazolium (MTT) assay and flow cytometry was performed to measure the cell viability and apoptosis for SRA01/04 cells, respectively. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), the content of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in human lens epithelial cells were measured via chemical chromatometry. Western blot was used to measure the protein levels of Trx-2, B-cell lymphoma 2 protein (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) and caspase-3.
 Results: Compared with the volunteers, the expression of Trx-2 was significantly decreased in lens epithelial cells in patients with cataract (PTrx-2 protein in the 20, 50 or 100 μmol/L H2O2 groups was decreased (all PTrx-2 and Bcl-2 expression and up-regulated Bax and caspase-3 expression (all PTrx-2 overexpression group (PTrx-2 and Bcl-2 expression and down-regulated Bax and caspase-3 expression (PTrx-2 might be involved in the apoptosis of lens epithelial cells in patients with cataract. The overexpression of Trx-2 obviously attenuated H2O2-induced injury of human lens epithelial cells, which might be associated with the

  6. Task-specific reorganization of the auditory cortex in deaf humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bola, Łukasz; Zimmermann, Maria; Mostowski, Piotr; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Marchewka, Artur; Rutkowski, Paweł; Szwed, Marcin

    2017-01-24

    The principles that guide large-scale cortical reorganization remain unclear. In the blind, several visual regions preserve their task specificity; ventral visual areas, for example, become engaged in auditory and tactile object-recognition tasks. It remains open whether task-specific reorganization is unique to the visual cortex or, alternatively, whether this kind of plasticity is a general principle applying to other cortical areas. Auditory areas can become recruited for visual and tactile input in the deaf. Although nonhuman data suggest that this reorganization might be task specific, human evidence has been lacking. Here we enrolled 15 deaf and 15 hearing adults into an functional MRI experiment during which they discriminated between temporally complex sequences of stimuli (rhythms). Both deaf and hearing subjects performed the task visually, in the central visual field. In addition, hearing subjects performed the same task in the auditory modality. We found that the visual task robustly activated the auditory cortex in deaf subjects, peaking in the posterior-lateral part of high-level auditory areas. This activation pattern was strikingly similar to the pattern found in hearing subjects performing the auditory version of the task. Although performing the visual task in deaf subjects induced an increase in functional connectivity between the auditory cortex and the dorsal visual cortex, no such effect was found in hearing subjects. We conclude that in deaf humans the high-level auditory cortex switches its input modality from sound to vision but preserves its task-specific activation pattern independent of input modality. Task-specific reorganization thus might be a general principle that guides cortical plasticity in the brain.

  7. Learning-dependent plasticity in human auditory cortex during appetitive operant conditioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puschmann, Sebastian; Brechmann, André; Thiel, Christiane M

    2013-11-01

    Animal experiments provide evidence that learning to associate an auditory stimulus with a reward causes representational changes in auditory cortex. However, most studies did not investigate the temporal formation of learning-dependent plasticity during the task but rather compared auditory cortex receptive fields before and after conditioning. We here present a functional magnetic resonance imaging study on learning-related plasticity in the human auditory cortex during operant appetitive conditioning. Participants had to learn to associate a specific category of frequency-modulated tones with a reward. Only participants who learned this association developed learning-dependent plasticity in left auditory cortex over the course of the experiment. No differential responses to reward predicting and nonreward predicting tones were found in auditory cortex in nonlearners. In addition, learners showed similar learning-induced differential responses to reward-predicting and nonreward-predicting tones in the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens, two core regions of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system. This may indicate a dopaminergic influence on the formation of learning-dependent plasticity in auditory cortex, as it has been suggested by previous animal studies. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Estimates of segregation and overlap of functional connectivity networks in the human cerebral cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeo, B T Thomas; Krienen, Fenna M; Chee, Michael W L; Buckner, Randy L

    2014-03-01

    The organization of the human cerebral cortex has recently been explored using techniques for parcellating the cortex into distinct functionally coupled networks. The divergent and convergent nature of cortico-cortical anatomic connections suggests the need to consider the possibility of regions belonging to multiple networks and hierarchies among networks. Here we applied the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model and spatial independent component analysis (ICA) to solve for functionally coupled cerebral networks without assuming that cortical regions belong to a single network. Data analyzed included 1000 subjects from the Brain Genomics Superstruct Project (GSP) and 12 high quality individual subjects from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). The organization of the cerebral cortex was similar regardless of whether a winner-take-all approach or the more relaxed constraints of LDA (or ICA) were imposed. This suggests that large-scale networks may function as partially isolated modules. Several notable interactions among networks were uncovered by the LDA analysis. Many association regions belong to at least two networks, while somatomotor and early visual cortices are especially isolated. As examples of interaction, the precuneus, lateral temporal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex participate in multiple paralimbic networks that together comprise subsystems of the default network. In addition, regions at or near the frontal eye field and human lateral intraparietal area homologue participate in multiple hierarchically organized networks. These observations were replicated in both datasets and could be detected (and replicated) in individual subjects from the HCP. © 2013.

  9. The Digital Future of Humanities through the Lens of DIY Culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roued-Cunliffe, Henriette

    2017-01-01

    This paper asks the question: Do the humanities by necessity have a digital future? It argues that the answer to this question is both yes and no. The argument looks through the lens of DIY culture as an attempt to try and understand the future for the humanities in terms of both cultural material...... and processes. The argument is made first by examining the case of information sharing within DIY culture as an expression of current day cultural material. Secondly, it illustrated how traditional humanities scholarship, such as reading ancient documents, compares to it’s DIY equivalent within family history...

  10. Functional and structural mapping of human cerebral cortex: solutions are in the surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Essen, D. C.; Drury, H. A.; Joshi, S.; Miller, M. I.

    1998-01-01

    The human cerebral cortex is notorious for the depth and irregularity of its convolutions and for its variability from one individual to the next. These complexities of cortical geography have been a chronic impediment to studies of functional specialization in the cortex. In this report, we discuss ways to compensate for the convolutions by using a combination of strategies whose common denominator involves explicit reconstructions of the cortical surface. Surface-based visualization involves reconstructing cortical surfaces and displaying them, along with associated experimental data, in various complementary formats (including three-dimensional native configurations, two-dimensional slices, extensively smoothed surfaces, ellipsoidal representations, and cortical flat maps). Generating these representations for the cortex of the Visible Man leads to a surface-based atlas that has important advantages over conventional stereotaxic atlases as a substrate for displaying and analyzing large amounts of experimental data. We illustrate this by showing the relationship between functionally specialized regions and topographically organized areas in human visual cortex. Surface-based warping allows data to be mapped from individual hemispheres to a surface-based atlas while respecting surface topology, improving registration of identifiable landmarks, and minimizing unwanted distortions. Surface-based warping also can aid in comparisons between species, which we illustrate by warping a macaque flat map to match the shape of a human flat map. Collectively, these approaches will allow more refined analyses of commonalities as well as individual differences in the functional organization of primate cerebral cortex.

  11. Characterizing synaptic protein development in human visual cortex enables alignment of synaptic age with rat visual cortex

    OpenAIRE

    Pinto, Joshua G. A.; Jones, David G.; Williams, C. Kate; Murphy, Kathryn M.

    2015-01-01

    Although many potential neuroplasticity based therapies have been developed in the lab, few have translated into established clinical treatments for human neurologic or neuropsychiatric diseases. Animal models, especially of the visual system, have shaped our understanding of neuroplasticity by characterizing the mechanisms that promote neural changes and defining timing of the sensitive period. The lack of knowledge about development of synaptic plasticity mechanisms in human cortex, and abo...

  12. Characterizing synaptic protein development in human visual cortex enables alignment of synaptic age with rat visual cortex

    OpenAIRE

    Joshua G.A Pinto; David G Jones; Kate eWilliams; Kathryn M Murphy; Kathryn M Murphy

    2015-01-01

    Although many potential neuroplasticity based therapies have been developed in the lab, few have translated into established clinical treatments for human neurologic or neuropsychiatric diseases. Animal models, especially of the visual system, have shaped our understanding of neuroplasticity by characterizing the mechanisms that promote neural changes and defining timing of the sensitive period. The lack of knowledge about development of synaptic plasticity mechanisms in human cortex, and a...

  13. Developmental changes in GABAergic mechanisms in human visual cortex across the lifespan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua G A Pinto

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Functional maturation of visual cortex is linked with dynamic changes in synaptic expression of GABAergic mechanisms. These include setting the excitation-inhibition balance required for experience-dependent plasticity, as well as, intracortical inhibition underlying development and aging of receptive field properties. Animal studies have shown developmental regulation of GABAergic mechanisms in visual cortex. In this study, we show for the first time how these mechanisms develop in the human visual cortex across the lifespan. We used Western blot analysis of postmortem tissue from human primary visual cortex (n=30, range: 20 days to 80 years to quantify expression of 8 pre- and post-synaptic GABAergic markers. We quantified the inhibitory modulating cannabinoid receptor (CB1, GABA vesicular transporter (VGAT, GABA synthesizing enzymes (GAD65/GAD67, GABAA receptor anchoring protein (Gephyrin, and GABAA receptor subunits (GABAA∝1, GABAA∝2, GABAA∝3. We found a complex pattern of changes, many of which were prolonged and continued well into into the teen, young adult, and even older adult years. These included a monotonic increase or decrease (GABAA∝1, GABAA∝2, a biphasic increase then decrease (GAD65, Gephyrin, or multiple increases and decreases (VGAT, CB1 across the lifespan. Comparing the balances between the pre- and post-synaptic markers we found 3 main transitions (early childhood, early teen years, aging when there were rapid switches in the composition of the GABAergic signaling system, indicating that functioning of the GABAergic system must change as the visual cortex develops and ages. Furthermore, these results provide key information for translating therapies developed in animal models into effective treatments for amblyopia in humans.

  14. A Simple Model of the Accommodating Lens of the Human Eye

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oommen, Vinay; Kanthakumar, Praghalathan

    2014-01-01

    The human eye is often discussed as optically equivalent to a photographic camera. The iris is compared with the shutter, the pupil to the aperture, and the retina to the film, and both have lens systems to focus rays of light. Although many similarities exist, a major difference between the two systems is the mechanism involved in focusing an…

  15. Decoding of faces and face components in face-sensitive human visual cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David F Nichols

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available A great challenge to the field of visual neuroscience is to understand how faces are encoded and represented within the human brain. Here we show evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI for spatially distributed processing of the whole face and its components in face-sensitive human visual cortex. We used multi-class linear pattern classifiers constructed with a leave-one-scan-out verification procedure to discriminate brain activation patterns elicited by whole faces, the internal features alone, and the external head outline alone. Furthermore, our results suggest that whole faces are represented disproportionately in the fusiform cortex (FFA whereas the building blocks of faces are represented disproportionately in occipitotemporal cortex (OFA. Faces and face components may therefore be organized with functional clustering within both the FFA and OFA, but with specialization for face components in the OFA and the whole face in the FFA.

  16. The Effects of Context and Attention on Spiking Activity in Human Early Visual Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Self, Matthew W; Peters, Judith C; Possel, Jessy K; Reithler, Joel; Goebel, Rainer; Ris, Peterjan; Jeurissen, Danique; Reddy, Leila; Claus, Steven; Baayen, Johannes C; Roelfsema, Pieter R

    2016-03-01

    Here we report the first quantitative analysis of spiking activity in human early visual cortex. We recorded multi-unit activity from two electrodes in area V2/V3 of a human patient implanted with depth electrodes as part of her treatment for epilepsy. We observed well-localized multi-unit receptive fields with tunings for contrast, orientation, spatial frequency, and size, similar to those reported in the macaque. We also observed pronounced gamma oscillations in the local-field potential that could be used to estimate the underlying spiking response properties. Spiking responses were modulated by visual context and attention. We observed orientation-tuned surround suppression: responses were suppressed by image regions with a uniform orientation and enhanced by orientation contrast. Additionally, responses were enhanced on regions that perceptually segregated from the background, indicating that neurons in the human visual cortex are sensitive to figure-ground structure. Spiking responses were also modulated by object-based attention. When the patient mentally traced a curve through the neurons' receptive fields, the accompanying shift of attention enhanced neuronal activity. These results demonstrate that the tuning properties of cells in the human early visual cortex are similar to those in the macaque and that responses can be modulated by both contextual factors and behavioral relevance. Our results, therefore, imply that the macaque visual system is an excellent model for the human visual cortex.

  17. The Effects of Context and Attention on Spiking Activity in Human Early Visual Cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew W Self

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Here we report the first quantitative analysis of spiking activity in human early visual cortex. We recorded multi-unit activity from two electrodes in area V2/V3 of a human patient implanted with depth electrodes as part of her treatment for epilepsy. We observed well-localized multi-unit receptive fields with tunings for contrast, orientation, spatial frequency, and size, similar to those reported in the macaque. We also observed pronounced gamma oscillations in the local-field potential that could be used to estimate the underlying spiking response properties. Spiking responses were modulated by visual context and attention. We observed orientation-tuned surround suppression: responses were suppressed by image regions with a uniform orientation and enhanced by orientation contrast. Additionally, responses were enhanced on regions that perceptually segregated from the background, indicating that neurons in the human visual cortex are sensitive to figure-ground structure. Spiking responses were also modulated by object-based attention. When the patient mentally traced a curve through the neurons' receptive fields, the accompanying shift of attention enhanced neuronal activity. These results demonstrate that the tuning properties of cells in the human early visual cortex are similar to those in the macaque and that responses can be modulated by both contextual factors and behavioral relevance. Our results, therefore, imply that the macaque visual system is an excellent model for the human visual cortex.

  18. Functional sex differences in human primary auditory cortex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruytjens, Liesbet; Georgiadis, Janniko R.; Holstege, Gert; Wit, Hero P.; Albers, Frans W.J.; Willemsen, Antoon T.M.

    2007-01-01

    We used PET to study cortical activation during auditory stimulation and found sex differences in the human primary auditory cortex (PAC). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 10 male and 10 female volunteers while listening to sounds (music or white noise) and during a baseline (no auditory stimulation). We found a sex difference in activation of the left and right PAC when comparing music to noise. The PAC was more activated by music than by noise in both men and women. But this difference between the two stimuli was significantly higher in men than in women. To investigate whether this difference could be attributed to either music or noise, we compared both stimuli with the baseline and revealed that noise gave a significantly higher activation in the female PAC than in the male PAC. Moreover, the male group showed a deactivation in the right prefrontal cortex when comparing noise to the baseline, which was not present in the female group. Interestingly, the auditory and prefrontal regions are anatomically and functionally linked and the prefrontal cortex is known to be engaged in auditory tasks that involve sustained or selective auditory attention. Thus we hypothesize that differences in attention result in a different deactivation of the right prefrontal cortex, which in turn modulates the activation of the PAC and thus explains the sex differences found in the activation of the PAC. Our results suggest that sex is an important factor in auditory brain studies. (orig.)

  19. Functional sex differences in human primary auditory cortex

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruytjens, Liesbet [University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Groningen (Netherlands); University Medical Center Utrecht, Department Otorhinolaryngology, P.O. Box 85500, Utrecht (Netherlands); Georgiadis, Janniko R. [University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Groningen (Netherlands); Holstege, Gert [University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Uroneurology, Groningen (Netherlands); Wit, Hero P. [University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Groningen (Netherlands); Albers, Frans W.J. [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department Otorhinolaryngology, P.O. Box 85500, Utrecht (Netherlands); Willemsen, Antoon T.M. [University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Groningen (Netherlands)

    2007-12-15

    We used PET to study cortical activation during auditory stimulation and found sex differences in the human primary auditory cortex (PAC). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 10 male and 10 female volunteers while listening to sounds (music or white noise) and during a baseline (no auditory stimulation). We found a sex difference in activation of the left and right PAC when comparing music to noise. The PAC was more activated by music than by noise in both men and women. But this difference between the two stimuli was significantly higher in men than in women. To investigate whether this difference could be attributed to either music or noise, we compared both stimuli with the baseline and revealed that noise gave a significantly higher activation in the female PAC than in the male PAC. Moreover, the male group showed a deactivation in the right prefrontal cortex when comparing noise to the baseline, which was not present in the female group. Interestingly, the auditory and prefrontal regions are anatomically and functionally linked and the prefrontal cortex is known to be engaged in auditory tasks that involve sustained or selective auditory attention. Thus we hypothesize that differences in attention result in a different deactivation of the right prefrontal cortex, which in turn modulates the activation of the PAC and thus explains the sex differences found in the activation of the PAC. Our results suggest that sex is an important factor in auditory brain studies. (orig.)

  20. Acid phosphatase and lipid peroxidation in human cataractous lens epithelium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasavada Abhay

    1993-01-01

    Full Text Available The anterior lens epithelial cells undergo a variety of degenerative and proliferative changes during cataract formation. Acid phosphatase is primarily responsible for tissue regeneration and tissue repair. The lipid hydroperoxides that are obtained by lipid peroxidation of polysaturated or unsaturated fatty acids bring about deterioration of biological membranes at cellular and tissue levels. Acid phosphatase and lipid peroxidation activities were studied on the lens epithelial cells of nuclear cataract, posterior subcapsular cataract, mature cataract, and mixed cataract. Of these, mature cataractous lens epithelium showed maximum activity for acid phosphatase (516.83 moles of p-nitrophenol released/g lens epithelium and maximum levels of lipid peroxidation (86.29 O.D./min/g lens epithelium. In contrast, mixed cataractous lens epithelium showed minimum activity of acid phosphatase (222.61 moles of p-nitrophenol released/g lens epithelium and minimum levels of lipid peroxidation (54.23 O.D./min/g lens epithelium. From our study, we correlated the maximum activity of acid phosphatase in mature cataractous lens epithelium with the increased areas of superimposed cells associated with the formation of mature cataract. Likewise, the maximum levels of lipid peroxidation in mature cataractous lens epithelium was correlated with increased permeability of the plasma membrane. Conversely, the minimum levels of lipid peroxidation in mixed cataractous lens epithelium makes us presume that factors other than lipid peroxidation may also account for the formation of mixed type of cataract.

  1. Finite element modelling of radial lentotomy cuts to improve the accommodation performance of the human lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burd, H J; Wilde, G S

    2016-04-01

    The use of a femtosecond laser to form planes of cavitation bubbles within the ocular lens has been proposed as a potential treatment for presbyopia. The intended purpose of these planes of cavitation bubbles (referred to in this paper as 'cutting planes') is to increase the compliance of the lens, with a consequential increase in the amplitude of accommodation. The current paper describes a computational modelling study, based on three-dimensional finite element analysis, to investigate the relationship between the geometric arrangement of the cutting planes and the resulting improvement in lens accommodation performance. The study is limited to radial cutting planes. The effectiveness of a variety of cutting plane geometries was investigated by means of modelling studies conducted on a 45-year human lens. The results obtained from the analyses depend on the particular modelling procedures that are employed. When the lens substance is modelled as an incompressible material, radial cutting planes are found to be ineffective. However, when a poroelastic model is employed for the lens substance, radial cuts are shown to cause an increase in the computed accommodation performance of the lens. In this case, radial cuts made in the peripheral regions of the lens have a relatively small influence on the accommodation performance of the lens; the lentotomy process is seen to be more effective when cuts are made near to the polar axis. When the lens substance is modelled as a poroelastic material, the computational results suggest that useful improvements in lens accommodation performance can be achieved, provided that the radial cuts are extended to the polar axis. Radial cuts are ineffective when the lens substance is modelled as an incompressible material. Significant challenges remain in developing a safe and effective surgical procedure based on this lentotomy technique.

  2. Dynamic expression of calretinin in embryonic and early fetal human cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miriam eGonzalez-Gomez

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Calretinin (CR is one of the earliest neurochemical markers in human corticogenesis. In embryos from Carnegie stages (CS 17 to 23, calbindin (CB and CR stain opposite poles of the incipient cortex suggesting early regionalization: CB marks the neuroepithelium of the medial boundary of the cortex with the choroid plexus (cortical hem. By contrast, CR is confined to the subventricular zone (SVZ of the lateral and caudal ganglionic eminences at the pallial-subpallial boundary (PSB, or antihem, from where CR+/Tbr1- neurons migrate toward piriform cortex and amygdala as a component of the lateral cortical stream. At CS 19, columns of CR+ cells arise in the rostral cortex, and contribute at CS 20 to the monolayer of horizontal Tbr1+/CR+ and GAD+ cells in the preplate. At CS 21, the pioneer cortical plate appears as a radial aggregation of CR+/Tbr1+ neurons, which cover the entire future neocortex and extend the first corticofugal axons. CR expression in early human corticogenesis is thus not restricted to interneurons, but is also present in the first excitatory projection neurons of the cortex. At CS 21/22, the cortical plate is established following a lateral to medial gradient, when Tbr1+/CR- neurons settle within the pioneer cortical plate, and thus separate superficial and deep pioneer neurons. CR+ pioneer neurons disappear shortly after the formation of the cortical plate. Reelin+ Cajal-Retzius cells begin to express CR around CS21 (7/8 PCW. At CS 21-23, the CR+ SVZ at the PSB is the source of CR+ interneurons migrating into the cortical SVZ. In turn, CB+ interneurons migrate from the subpallium into the intermediate zone following the fibers of the internal capsule. Early CR+ and CB+ interneurons thus have different origins and migratory routes. CR+ cell populations in the embryonic telencephalon take part in a complex sequence of events not analyzed so far in other mammalian species, which may represent a distinctive trait of the initial steps

  3. Simulations of simple Bovine and Homo sapiens outer cortex ocular lens membrane models with a majority concentration of cholesterol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Mark; Wang, Eric; Zhuang, Xiaohong; Klauda, Jeffery B

    2017-11-21

    The lipid composition of bovine and human ocular lens membranes has been probed, and a variety of lipids have been found including phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), sphingomyelin (SM), and cholesterol (CHOL) with cholesterol being present in particularly high concentrations. In this study, we use the all-atom CHARMM36 force field to simulate binary, ternary, and quaternary mixtures as models of the ocular lens. High concentration of cholesterol, in combination with different and varying diversity of phospholipids (PL) and sphingolipids (SL), affect the structure of the ocular lens lipid bilayer. The following analyses were done for each simulation: surface area per lipid, component surface area per lipid, deuterium order parameters (S CD ), electron density profiles (EDP), membrane thickness, hydrogen bonding, radial distribution functions, clustering, and sterol tilt angle distribution. The S CD show significant bilayer alignment and packing in cholesterol-rich bilayers. The EDP show the transition from liquid crystalline to liquid ordered with the addition of cholesterol. Hydrogen bonds in our systems show the tendency for intramolecular interactions between cholesterol and fully saturated lipid tails for less complex bilayers. But with an increased number of components in the bilayer, the acyl chain of the lipids becomes a less important characteristic, and the headgroup of the lipid becomes more significant. Overall, cholesterol is the driving force of membrane structure of the ocular lens membrane where interactions between cholesterol, PL, and SL determine structure and function of the biomembrane. The goal of this work is to develop a baseline for further study of more physiologically realistic ocular lens lipid membranes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Emergence of Complex Behavior in Biomembranes edited by Marjorie Longo. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the human primary visual cortex during visual stimulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miki, Atsushi; Abe, Haruki; Nakajima, Takashi; Fujita, Motoi; Watanabe, Hiroyuki; Kuwabara, Takeo; Naruse, Shoji; Takagi, Mineo.

    1995-01-01

    Signal changes in the human primary visual cortex during visual stimulation were evaluated using non-invasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The experiments were performed on 10 normal human volunteers and 2 patients with homonymous hemianopsia, including one who was recovering from the exacerbation of multiple sclerosis. The visual stimuli were provided by a pattern generator using the checkerboard pattern for determining the visual evoked potential of full-field and hemifield stimulation. In normal volunteers, a signal increase was observed on the bilateral primary visual cortex during the full-field stimulation and on the contra-lateral cortex during hemifield stimulation. In the patient with homonymous hemianopsia after cerebral infarction, the signal change was clearly decreased on the affected side. In the other patient, the one recovering from multiple sclerosis with an almost normal visual field, the fMRI was within normal limits. These results suggest that it is possible to visualize the activation of the visual cortex during visual stimulation, and that there is a possibility of using this test as an objective method of visual field examination. (author)

  5. The development of human visual cortex and clinical implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siu CR

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Caitlin R Siu,1 Kathryn M Murphy1,2 1McMaster Integrative Neuroscience Discovery and Study (MiNDS Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 2Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada Abstract: The primary visual cortex (V1 is the first cortical area that processes visual information. Normal development of V1 depends on binocular vision during the critical period, and age-related losses of vision are linked with neurobiological changes in V1. Animal studies have provided important details about the neurobiological mechanisms in V1 that support normal vision or are changed by visual diseases. There is very little information, however, about those neurobiological mechanisms in human V1. That lack of information has hampered the translation of biologically inspired treatments from preclinical models to effective clinical treatments. We have studied human V1 to characterize the expression of neurobiological mechanisms that regulate visual perception and neuroplasticity. We have identified five stages of development for human V1 that start in infancy and continue across the life span. Here, we describe these stages, compare them with visual and anatomical milestones, and discuss implications for translating treatments for visual disorders that depend on neuroplasticity of V1 function. Keywords: development, human visual cortex, amblyopia, synaptic plasticity, glutamatergic, GABAergic, receptors

  6. Intraocular lens fabrication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salazar, Mike A. (Albuquerque, NM); Foreman, Larry R. (Los Alamos, NM)

    1997-01-01

    This invention describes a method for fabricating an intraocular lens made rom clear Teflon.TM., Mylar.TM., or other thermoplastic material having a thickness of about 0.025 millimeters. These plastic materials are thermoformable and biocompatable with the human eye. The two shaped lenses are bonded together with a variety of procedures which may include thermosetting and solvent based adhesives, laser and impulse welding, and ultrasonic bonding. The fill tube, which is used to inject a refractive filling material is formed with the lens so as not to damage the lens shape. A hypodermic tube may be included inside the fill tube.

  7. An analytical method for predicting the geometrical and optical properties of the human lens under accommodation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheil, Conor J; Bahrami, Mehdi; Goncharov, Alexander V

    2014-05-01

    We present an analytical method to describe the accommodative changes in the human crystalline lens. The method is based on the geometry-invariant lens model, in which the gradient-index (GRIN) iso-indicial contours are coupled to the external shape. This feature ensures that any given number of iso-indicial contours does not change with accommodation, which preserves the optical integrity of the GRIN structure. The coupling also enables us to define the GRIN structure if the radii and asphericities of the external lens surfaces are known. As an example, the accommodative changes in lenticular radii and central thickness were taken from the literature, while the asphericities of the external surfaces were derived analytically by adhering to the basic physical conditions of constant lens volume and its axial position. The resulting changes in lens geometry are consistent with experimental data, and the optical properties are in line with expected values for optical power and spherical aberration. The aim of the paper is to provide an anatomically and optically accurate lens model that is valid for 3 mm pupils and can be used as a new tool for better understanding of accommodation.

  8. Transcranial static magnetic field stimulation of the human motor cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliviero, Antonio; Mordillo-Mateos, Laura; Arias, Pablo; Panyavin, Ivan; Foffani, Guglielmo; Aguilar, Juan

    2011-01-01

    Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate in healthy humans the possibility of a non-invasive modulation of motor cortex excitability by the application of static magnetic fields through the scalp. Static magnetic fields were obtained by using cylindrical NdFeB magnets. We performed four sets of experiments. In Experiment 1, we recorded motor potentials evoked by single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex before and after 10 min of transcranial static magnetic field stimulation (tSMS) in conscious subjects. We observed an average reduction of motor cortex excitability of up to 25%, as revealed by TMS, which lasted for several minutes after the end of tSMS, and was dose dependent (intensity of the magnetic field) but not polarity dependent. In Experiment 2, we confirmed the reduction of motor cortex excitability induced by tSMS using a double-blind sham-controlled design. In Experiment 3, we investigated the duration of tSMS that was necessary to modulate motor cortex excitability. We found that 10 min of tSMS (compared to 1 min and 5 min) were necessary to induce significant effects. In Experiment 4, we used transcranial electric stimulation (TES) to establish that the tSMS-induced reduction of motor cortex excitability was not due to corticospinal axon and/or spinal excitability, but specifically involved intracortical networks. These results suggest that tSMS using small static magnets may be a promising tool to modulate cerebral excitability in a non-invasive, painless, and reversible way. PMID:21807616

  9. 21 CFR 886.1400 - Maddox lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Maddox lens. 886.1400 Section 886.1400 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1400 Maddox lens. (a) Identification. A Maddox lens is a device...

  10. Oxygen transport through soft contact lens and cornea: Lens characterization and metabolic modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhabra, Mahendra

    The human cornea requires oxygen to sustain metabolic processes critical for its normal functioning. Any restriction to corneal oxygen supply from the external environment (e.g., by wearing a low oxygen-permeability contact lens) can lead to hypoxia, which may cause corneal edema (swelling), limbal hyperemia, neovascularization, and corneal acidosis. The need for adequate oxygen to the cornea is a major driving force for research and development of hypertransmissible soft contact lenses (SCLs). Currently, there is no standard technique for measuring oxygen permeability (Dk) of hypertransmissible silicone-hydrogel SCLs. In this work, an electrochemistry-based polarographic apparatus was designed, built, and operated to measure oxygen permeability in hypertransmissible SCLs. Unlike conventional methods where a range of lens thickness is needed for determining oxygen permeabilities of SCLs, this apparatus requires only a single lens thickness. The single-lens permeameter provides a reliable, efficient, and economic tool for measuring oxygen permeabilities of commercial hypertransmissible SCLs. The single-lens permeameter measures not only the product Dk, but, following modification, it measures separately diffusivity, D, and solubility, k, of oxygen in hypertransmissible SCLs. These properties are critical for designing better lens materials that ensure sufficient oxygen supply to the cornea. Metabolism of oxygen in the cornea is influenced by contact-lens-induced hypoxia, diseases such as diabetes, surgery, and drug treatment, Thus, estimation of the in-vivo corneal oxygen consumption rate is essential for gauging adequate oxygen supply to the cornea. Therefore, we have developed an unsteady-state reactive-diffusion model for the cornea-contact-lens system to determine in-vivo human corneal oxygen-consumption rate. Finally, a metabolic model was developed to determine the relation between contact-lens oxygen transmissibility (Dk/L) and corneal oxygen deficiency. A

  11. Distinct Oscillatory Frequencies Underlie Excitability of Human Occipital and Parietal Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samaha, Jason; Gosseries, Olivia; Postle, Bradley R

    2017-03-15

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of human occipital and posterior parietal cortex can give rise to visual sensations called phosphenes. We used near-threshold TMS with concurrent EEG recordings to measure how oscillatory brain dynamics covary, on single trials, with the perception of phosphenes after occipital and parietal TMS. Prestimulus power and phase, predominantly in the alpha band (8-13 Hz), predicted occipital TMS phosphenes, whereas higher-frequency beta-band (13-20 Hz) power (but not phase) predicted parietal TMS phosphenes. TMS-evoked responses related to phosphene perception were similar across stimulation sites and were characterized by an early (200 ms) posterior negativity and a later (>300 ms) parietal positivity in the time domain and an increase in low-frequency (∼5-7 Hz) power followed by a broadband decrease in alpha/beta power in the time-frequency domain. These correlates of phosphene perception closely resemble known electrophysiological correlates of conscious perception of near-threshold visual stimuli. The regionally differential pattern of prestimulus predictors of phosphene perception suggests that distinct frequencies may reflect cortical excitability in occipital versus posterior parietal cortex, calling into question the broader assumption that the alpha rhythm may serve as a general index of cortical excitability. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Alpha-band oscillations are thought to reflect cortical excitability and are therefore ascribed an important role in gating information transmission across cortex. We probed cortical excitability directly in human occipital and parietal cortex and observed that, whereas alpha-band dynamics indeed reflect excitability of occipital areas, beta-band activity was most predictive of parietal cortex excitability. Differences in the state of cortical excitability predicted perceptual outcomes (phosphenes), which were manifest in both early and late patterns of evoked activity, revealing the time

  12. Identity-specific coding of future rewards in the human orbitofrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, James D; Gottfried, Jay A; Tobler, Philippe N; Kahnt, Thorsten

    2015-04-21

    Nervous systems must encode information about the identity of expected outcomes to make adaptive decisions. However, the neural mechanisms underlying identity-specific value signaling remain poorly understood. By manipulating the value and identity of appetizing food odors in a pattern-based imaging paradigm of human classical conditioning, we were able to identify dissociable predictive representations of identity-specific reward in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and identity-general reward in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Reward-related functional coupling between OFC and olfactory (piriform) cortex and between vmPFC and amygdala revealed parallel pathways that support identity-specific and -general predictive signaling. The demonstration of identity-specific value representations in OFC highlights a role for this region in model-based behavior and reveals mechanisms by which appetitive behavior can go awry.

  13. Intraocular lens fabrication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salazar, M.A.; Foreman, L.R.

    1997-07-08

    This invention describes a method for fabricating an intraocular lens made from clear Teflon{trademark}, Mylar{trademark}, or other thermoplastic material having a thickness of about 0.025 millimeters. These plastic materials are thermoformable and biocompatable with the human eye. The two shaped lenses are bonded together with a variety of procedures which may include thermosetting and solvent based adhesives, laser and impulse welding, and ultrasonic bonding. The fill tube, which is used to inject a refractive filling material is formed with the lens so as not to damage the lens shape. A hypodermic tube may be included inside the fill tube. 13 figs.

  14. The incorporation of 2-[14C]glycine into porcine lens protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Y.B.; Kauffman, R.G.; DeVenecia, G.

    1977-01-01

    A series of experiments was conducted to estimate the apparent turnover rate of lens soluble protein, the incorporation rate of 2-[ 14 C]glycine into various soluble protein components and the effect of nutritional stress on the disappearance of radioactivity with time. Evidence is presented that there are two fractions of soluble lens protein with different turnover rates: one is a fast turnover fraction with a half-life of 20.8 hr and the other is a metabolically inert fraction with an infinitely long half-life. It is postulated that the fast turnover fraction is present in the newly-formed younger fibers in the periphery, whereas the inert fraction is in the old lens fibers of the cortex and nucleus. Sephadex G-200 column chromatography was used to separate the soluble lens protein into four components: A, B, C and D in the order of elution. The changes in specific activities of the four components with the time course after injection were followed. Prolonged starvation did not affect the disappearance of carbon incorporated into lens protein with the time course after injection, suggesting normal synthesis and degradation of lens protein without regard to dietary stress. (author)

  15. Frequency specific modulation of human somatosensory cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matteo eFeurra

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Oscillatory neuronal activities are commonly observed in response to sensory stimulation. However, their functional roles are still the subject of debate. One way to probe the roles of oscillatory neural activities is to deliver alternating current to the cortex at biologically relevant frequencies and examine whether such stimulation influences perception and cognition. In this study, we tested whether transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS over the primary somatosensory cortex (SI could elicit tactile sensations in humans in a frequency dependent manner. We tested the effectiveness of tACS over SI at frequency bands ranging from 2 to 70 Hz. Our results show that stimulation in alpha (10-14 Hz and high gamma (52-70 Hz frequency range produces a tactile sensation in the contralateral hand. A weaker effect was also observed for beta (16-20 Hz stimulation. These findings highlight the frequency-dependency of effective tACS over SI with the effective frequencies corresponding to those observed in previous EEG/MEG studies of tactile perception. Our present study suggests that tACS could be used as a powerful online stimulation technique to reveal the causal roles of oscillatory brain activities.

  16. Low Doses of Ethanol Enhance LTD-like Plasticity in Human Motor Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuhl, Anna; Müller-Dahlhaus, Florian; Lücke, Caroline; Toennes, Stefan W; Ziemann, Ulf

    2015-12-01

    Humans liberally use ethanol for its facilitating effects on social interactions but its effects on central nervous system function remain underexplored. We have recently described that very low doses of ethanol abolish long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity in human cortex, most likely through enhancement of tonic inhibition [Lücke et al, 2014, Neuropsychopharmacology 39:1508-18]. Here, we studied the effects of low-dose ethanol on long-term depression (LTD)-like plasticity. LTD-like plasticity was induced in human motor cortex by paired associative transcranial magnetic stimulation (PASLTD), and measured as decreases of motor evoked potential input-output curve (IO-curve). In addition, sedation was measured by decreases in saccade peak velocity (SPV). Ethanol in two low doses (EtOH<10mM, EtOH<20mM) was compared to single oral doses of alprazolam (APZ, 1mg) a classical benzodiazepine, and zolpidem (ZLP, 10 mg), a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic, in a double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled crossover design in ten healthy human subjects. EtOH<10mM and EtOH<20mM but not APZ or ZLP enhanced the PASLTD-induced LTD-like plasticity, while APZ and ZLP but not EtOH<10mM or EtOH<20mM decreased SPV. Non-sedating low doses of ethanol, easily reached during social drinking, enhance LTD-like plasticity in human cortex. This effect is most likely explained by the activation of extrasynaptic α4-subunit containing gamma-aminobutyric type A receptors by low-dose EtOH, resulting in increased tonic inhibition. Findings may stimulate cellular research on the role of tonic inhibition in regulating excitability and plasticity of cortical neuronal networks.

  17. Pax6- and Six3-mediated induction of lens cell fate in mouse and human ES cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond M Anchan

    Full Text Available Embryonic stem (ES cells provide a potentially useful in vitro model for the study of in vivo tissue differentiation. We used mouse and human ES cells to investigate whether the lens regulatory genes Pax6 and Six3 could induce lens cell fate in vitro. To help assess the onset of lens differentiation, we derived a new mES cell line (Pax6-GFP mES that expresses a GFP reporter under the control of the Pax6 P0 promoter and lens ectoderm enhancer. Pax6 or Six3 expression vectors were introduced into mES or hES cells by transfection or lentiviral infection and the differentiating ES cells analyzed for lens marker expression. Transfection of mES cells with Pax6 or Six3 but not with other genes induced the expression of lens cell markers and up-regulated GFP reporter expression in Pax6-GFP mES cells by 3 days post-transfection. By 7 days post-transfection, mES cell cultures exhibited a>10-fold increase over controls in the number of colonies expressing γA-crystallin, a lens fiber cell differentiation marker. RT-PCR and immunostaining revealed induction of additional lens epithelial or fiber cell differentiation markers including Foxe3, Prox1, α- and β-crystallins, and Tdrd7. Moreover, γA-crystallin- or Prox1-expressing lentoid bodies formed by 30 days in culture. In hES cells, Pax6 or Six3 lentiviral vectors also induced lens marker expression. mES cells that express lens markers reside close to but are distinct from the Pax6 or Six3 transduced cells, suggesting that the latter induce nearby undifferentiated ES cells to adopt a lens fate by non-cell autonomous mechanisms. In sum, we describe a novel mES cell GFP reporter line that is useful for monitoring induction of lens fate, and demonstrate that Pax6 or Six3 is sufficient to induce ES cells to adopt a lens fate, potentially via non-cell autonomous mechanisms. These findings should facilitate investigations of lens development.

  18. Plasticity resembling spike-timing dependent synaptic plasticity: the evidence in human cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Müller-Dahlhaus

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP has been studied extensively in a variety of animal models during the past decade but whether it can be studied at the systems level of the human cortex has been a matter of debate. Only recently newly developed non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS have made it possible to induce and assess timing dependent plasticity in conscious human subjects. This review will present a critical synopsis of these experiments, which suggest that several of the principal characteristics and molecular mechanisms of TMS-induced plasticity correspond to those of STDP as studied at a cellular level. TMS combined with a second phasic stimulation modality can induce bidirectional long-lasting changes in the excitability of the stimulated cortex, whose polarity depends on the order of the associated stimulus-evoked events within a critical time window of tens of milliseconds. Pharmacological evidence suggests an NMDA receptor mediated form of synaptic plasticity. Studies in human motor cortex demonstrated that motor learning significantly modulates TMS-induced timing dependent plasticity, and, conversely, may be modulated bidirectionally by prior TMS-induced plasticity, providing circumstantial evidence that long-term potentiation-like mechanisms may be involved in motor learning. In summary, convergent evidence is being accumulated for the contention that it is now possible to induce STDP-like changes in the intact human central nervous system by means of TMS to study and interfere with synaptic plasticity in neural circuits in the context of behaviour such as learning and memory.

  19. Parcellation of the human orbitofrontal cortex based on gray matter volume covariance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Huaigui; Qin, Wen; Qi, Haotian; Jiang, Tianzi; Yu, Chunshui

    2015-02-01

    The human orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is an enigmatic brain region that cannot be parcellated reliably using diffusional and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) because there is signal dropout that results from an inherent defect in imaging techniques. We hypothesise that the OFC can be reliably parcellated into subregions based on gray matter volume (GMV) covariance patterns that are derived from artefact-free structural images. A total of 321 healthy young subjects were examined by high-resolution structural MRI. The OFC was parcellated into subregions-based GMV covariance patterns; and then sex and laterality differences in GMV covariance pattern of each OFC subregion were compared. The human OFC was parcellated into the anterior (OFCa), medial (OFCm), posterior (OFCp), intermediate (OFCi), and lateral (OFCl) subregions. This parcellation scheme was validated by the same analyses of the left OFC and the bilateral OFCs in male and female subjects. Both visual observation and quantitative comparisons indicated a unique GMV covariance pattern for each OFC subregion. These OFC subregions mainly covaried with the prefrontal and temporal cortices, cingulate cortex and amygdala. In addition, GMV correlations of most OFC subregions were similar across sex and laterality except for significant laterality difference in the OFCl. The right OFCl had stronger GMV correlation with the right inferior frontal cortex. Using high-resolution structural images, we established a reliable parcellation scheme for the human OFC, which may provide an in vivo guide for subregion-level studies of this region and improve our understanding of the human OFC at subregional levels. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. The neural dynamics of reward value and risk coding in the human orbitofrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yansong; Vanni-Mercier, Giovanna; Isnard, Jean; Mauguière, François; Dreher, Jean-Claude

    2016-04-01

    The orbitofrontal cortex is known to carry information regarding expected reward, risk and experienced outcome. Yet, due to inherent limitations in lesion and neuroimaging methods, the neural dynamics of these computations has remained elusive in humans. Here, taking advantage of the high temporal definition of intracranial recordings, we characterize the neurophysiological signatures of the intact orbitofrontal cortex in processing information relevant for risky decisions. Local field potentials were recorded from the intact orbitofrontal cortex of patients suffering from drug-refractory partial epilepsy with implanted depth electrodes as they performed a probabilistic reward learning task that required them to associate visual cues with distinct reward probabilities. We observed three successive signals: (i) around 400 ms after cue presentation, the amplitudes of the local field potentials increased with reward probability; (ii) a risk signal emerged during the late phase of reward anticipation and during the outcome phase; and (iii) an experienced value signal appeared at the time of reward delivery. Both the medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex encoded risk and reward probability while the lateral orbitofrontal cortex played a dominant role in coding experienced value. The present study provides the first evidence from intracranial recordings that the human orbitofrontal cortex codes reward risk both during late reward anticipation and during the outcome phase at a time scale of milliseconds. Our findings offer insights into the rapid mechanisms underlying the ability to learn structural relationships from the environment. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Research progress on the measurement of human lens thickness in vivo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Huan Yang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The precise measurement in lens thickness in vivo, provides great application value for intraocular accommodation and ametropia development mechanism research. And it has great clinical significance for the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and cataract. Currently, many ultrasonic methods and optical methods are used in measuring lens thickness. The measurement principles, advantages, disadvantages and the accuracy of the instruments are summarized in this paper. Among these methods, Orbscan II, Pentacam, Lenstar and AS-OCT can be used to measure lens thickness instead of A-scan. More important is the fact that UL-OCT can dynamically monitor the change of the lens thickness with intraocular accommodation. Choosing an instrument with higher measuring accuracy to examine the lens thickness, can provide more accurate and convincing lens thickness data for clinical and scientific research.

  2. Saturation in Phosphene Size with Increasing Current Levels Delivered to Human Visual Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosking, William H; Sun, Ping; Ozker, Muge; Pei, Xiaomei; Foster, Brett L; Beauchamp, Michael S; Yoshor, Daniel

    2017-07-26

    Electrically stimulating early visual cortex results in a visual percept known as a phosphene. Although phosphenes can be evoked by a wide range of electrode sizes and current amplitudes, they are invariably described as small. To better understand this observation, we electrically stimulated 93 electrodes implanted in the visual cortex of 13 human subjects who reported phosphene size while stimulation current was varied. Phosphene size increased as the stimulation current was initially raised above threshold, but then rapidly reached saturation. Phosphene size also depended on the location of the stimulated site, with size increasing with distance from the foveal representation. We developed a model relating phosphene size to the amount of activated cortex and its location within the retinotopic map. First, a sigmoidal curve was used to predict the amount of activated cortex at a given current. Second, the amount of active cortex was converted to degrees of visual angle by multiplying by the inverse cortical magnification factor for that retinotopic location. This simple model accurately predicted phosphene size for a broad range of stimulation currents and cortical locations. The unexpected saturation in phosphene sizes suggests that the functional architecture of cerebral cortex may impose fundamental restrictions on the spread of artificially evoked activity and this may be an important consideration in the design of cortical prosthetic devices. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding the neural basis for phosphenes, the visual percepts created by electrical stimulation of visual cortex, is fundamental to the development of a visual cortical prosthetic. Our experiments in human subjects implanted with electrodes over visual cortex show that it is the activity of a large population of cells spread out across several millimeters of tissue that supports the perception of a phosphene. In addition, we describe an important feature of the production of phosphenes by

  3. Spectral analysis and comparison of mineral deposits forming in opacified intraocular lens and senile cataractous lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shan-Yang; Chen, Ko-Hwa; Lin, Chih-Cheng; Cheng, Wen-Ting; Li, Mei-Jane

    2010-10-01

    This preliminary report was attempted to compare the chemical components of mineral deposits on the surfaces of an opacified intraocular lens (IOL) and a calcified senile cataractous lens (SCL) by vibrational spectral diagnosis. An opacified intraocular lens (IOL) was obtained from a 65-year-old male patient who had a significant decrease in visual acuity 2-years after an ocular IOL implantation. Another SCL with grayish white calcified plaque on the subcapsular cortex was isolated from a 79-year-old male patient with complicated cataract after cataract surgery. Optical light microscope was used to observe both samples and gross pictures were taken. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman microspectroscopic techniques were employed to analyze the calcified deposits. The curve-fitting algorithm using the Gaussian function was also used to quantitatively estimate the chemical components in each deposit. The preliminary results of spectral diagnosis indicate that the opacified IOL mainly consisted of the poorly crystalline, immature non-stoichiometric hydroxyapatite (HA) with higher content of type B carbonated apatites. However, the calcified plaque deposited on the SCL was comprised of a mature crystalline stoichiometric HA having higher contents of type A and type B carbonate apatites. More case studies should be examined in future.

  4. Ascorbic acid glycation of lens proteins produces UVA sensitizers similar to those in human lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortwerth, B.J.; Linetsky, Mikhail; Olesen, P.R.

    1995-01-01

    Soluble calf lens proteins were extensively glycated during a 4 week incubation with ascorbic acid in the presence of oxygen. Amino acids analysis of the dialyzed proteins removed at weekly intervals showed an increasing loss of lysine, arginine and histidine, consistent with the extensive protein cross-linking observed. Irradiation of the dialyzed samples with UVA light (1.0 kJ/cm 2 total illumination through a 338 nm cutoff filter) caused an increasing loss of tryptophan, an additional loss of histidine and the production of micromolar concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. No alteration in amino acid content and no photolytic effects were seen in proteins incubated without ascorbic acid in proteins incubated with glucose for 4 weeks. The rate of hydrogen peroxide formation was linear with each glycated sample with a maximum production of 25 nmol/mg protein illuminated. The possibility that the sensitizer activity was due to an ascorbate-induced oxidation of tryptophan was eliminated by the presence of a heavy metal ion chelator during the incubation and by showing equivalent effects with ascorbate-incubated ribonuclease A, which is devoid of tryptophan. The ascorbate-incubated samples displayed increasing absorbance at wavelengths above 300 nm and increasing fluorescence (340/430) as glycation proceeded. The spectra of the 4 week glycated proteins were identical to those obtained with a solubilized water-insoluble fraction from human lens, which is known to have UVA sensitizer activity. (Author)

  5. Three-dimensional ray tracing in spherical and elliptical generalized Luneburg lenses for application in the human eye lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Correa, J E; Coello, V; Garza-Rivera, A; Puente, N P; Chávez-Cerda, S

    2016-03-10

    Ray tracing in spherical Luneburg lenses has always been represented in 2D. All propagation planes in a 3D spherical Luneburg lens generate the same ray tracing, due to its radial symmetry. A geometry without radial symmetry generates a different ray tracing. For this reason, a new ray tracing method in 3D through spherical and elliptical Luneburg lenses using 2D methods is proposed. The physics of the propagation is shown here, which allows us to make a ray tracing associated with a vortex beam. A 3D ray tracing in a composite modified Luneburg lens that represents the human eye lens is also presented.

  6. Frequency-Selective Attention in Auditory Scenes Recruits Frequency Representations Throughout Human Superior Temporal Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riecke, Lars; Peters, Judith C; Valente, Giancarlo; Kemper, Valentin G; Formisano, Elia; Sorger, Bettina

    2017-05-01

    A sound of interest may be tracked amid other salient sounds by focusing attention on its characteristic features including its frequency. Functional magnetic resonance imaging findings have indicated that frequency representations in human primary auditory cortex (AC) contribute to this feat. However, attentional modulations were examined at relatively low spatial and spectral resolutions, and frequency-selective contributions outside the primary AC could not be established. To address these issues, we compared blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the superior temporal cortex of human listeners while they identified single frequencies versus listened selectively for various frequencies within a multifrequency scene. Using best-frequency mapping, we observed that the detailed spatial layout of attention-induced BOLD response enhancements in primary AC follows the tonotopy of stimulus-driven frequency representations-analogous to the "spotlight" of attention enhancing visuospatial representations in retinotopic visual cortex. Moreover, using an algorithm trained to discriminate stimulus-driven frequency representations, we could successfully decode the focus of frequency-selective attention from listeners' BOLD response patterns in nonprimary AC. Our results indicate that the human brain facilitates selective listening to a frequency of interest in a scene by reinforcing the fine-grained activity pattern throughout the entire superior temporal cortex that would be evoked if that frequency was present alone. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Optical properties of the medulla and the cortex of human scalp hair

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kharin, Aleksey; Varghese, Babu; Verhagen, Rieko; Uzunbajakava, Natallia

    2009-03-01

    An increasing number of applications, including non- or minimally invasive diagnostics and treatment as well as various cosmetic procedures, has resulted in a need to determine the optical properties of hair and its structures. We report on the measurement of the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex and the medulla of blond, gray, and Asian black human scalp hair at a 633-nm wavelength. Our results show that for blond and gray hair the total attenuation coefficient of the medulla is more than 200 times higher compared to that of the cortex. This difference is only 1.5 times for Asian black hair. Furthermore, we present the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex of blond, gray, light brown, and Asian black hair measured at wavelengths of 409, 532, 633, 800, and 1064 nm. The total attenuation coefficient consistently decreases with an increase in wavelength, as well as with a decrease in hair pigmentation. Additionally, we demonstrate the dependence of the total attenuation coefficient of the cortex and the medulla of Asian black hair on the polarization of incident light. A similar dependence is observed for the cortex of blond and gray hair but not for the medulla of these hair types.

  8. FoxO3a Serves as a Biomarker of Oxidative Stress in Human Lens Epithelial Cells under Conditions of Hyperglycemia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilangovan Raju

    Full Text Available Forkhead box 'O' transcription factors (FoxOs are implicated in the pathogenesis of type2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Abnormal activity of FoxOs was reported in the glucose and insulin metabolism. Expression of FoxO proteins was reported in ocular tissues; however their function under hyperglycemic conditions was not examined.Human lens epithelial cell line was used to study the function of FoxO proteins. Immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and Western blotting were employed to detect the FoxO proteins under the conditions of hyperglycemia.In this study we examined the role of FoxO3a in hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress in human lens epithelial cells. FoxO3a protein expression was elevated in a dose- and time-dependent fashion after high glucose treatment. Anti-oxidant defense mechanisms of the lens epithelial cells were diminished as evidenced from loss of mitochondrial membrane integrity and lowered MnSOD after 72 h treatment with high glucose. Taken together, FoxO3a acts as a sensitive indicator of oxidative stress and cell homeostasis in human lens epithelial cells during diabetic conditions.FoxO3a is an early stress response protein to glucose toxicity in diabetic conditions.

  9. Triglycerides in the Human Kidney Cortex: Relationship with Body Size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bobulescu, Ion Alexandru; Lotan, Yair; Zhang, Jianning; Rosenthal, Tara R.; Rogers, John T.; Adams-Huet, Beverley; Sakhaee, Khashayar; Moe, Orson W.

    2014-01-01

    Obesity is associated with increased risk for kidney disease and uric acid nephrolithiasis, but the pathophysiological mechanisms underpinning these associations are incompletely understood. Animal experiments have suggested that renal lipid accumulation and lipotoxicity may play a role, but whether lipid accumulation occurs in humans with increasing body mass index (BMI) is unknown. The association between obesity and abnormal triglyceride accumulation in non-adipose tissues (steatosis) has been described in the liver, heart, skeletal muscle and pancreas, but not in the human kidney. We used a quantitative biochemical assay to quantify triglyceride in normal kidney cortex samples from 54 patients undergoing nephrectomy for localized renal cell carcinoma. In subsets of the study population we evaluated the localization of lipid droplets by Oil Red O staining and measured 16 common ceramide species by mass spectrometry. There was a positive correlation between kidney cortex trigyceride content and BMI (Spearman R = 0.27, P = 0.04). Lipid droplets detectable by optical microscopy had a sporadic distribution but were generally more prevalent in individuals with higher BMI, with predominant localization in proximal tubule cells and to a lesser extent in glomeruli. Total ceramide content was inversely correlated with triglycerides. We postulate that obesity is associated with abnormal triglyceride accumulation (steatosis) in the human kidney. In turn, steatosis and lipotoxicity may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity-associated kidney disease and nephrolithiasis. PMID:25170827

  10. Attentional load modulates responses of human primary visual cortex to invisible stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahrami, Bahador; Lavie, Nilli; Rees, Geraint

    2007-03-20

    Visual neuroscience has long sought to determine the extent to which stimulus-evoked activity in visual cortex depends on attention and awareness. Some influential theories of consciousness maintain that the allocation of attention is restricted to conscious representations [1, 2]. However, in the load theory of attention [3], competition between task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli for limited-capacity attention does not depend on conscious perception of the irrelevant stimuli. The critical test is whether the level of attentional load in a relevant task would determine unconscious neural processing of invisible stimuli. Human participants were scanned with high-field fMRI while they performed a foveal task of low or high attentional load. Irrelevant, invisible monocular stimuli were simultaneously presented peripherally and were continuously suppressed by a flashing mask in the other eye [4]. Attentional load in the foveal task strongly modulated retinotopic activity evoked in primary visual cortex (V1) by the invisible stimuli. Contrary to traditional views [1, 2, 5, 6], we found that availability of attentional capacity determines neural representations related to unconscious processing of continuously suppressed stimuli in human primary visual cortex. Spillover of attention to cortical representations of invisible stimuli (under low load) cannot be a sufficient condition for their awareness.

  11. Probabilistic tractography recovers a rostrocaudal trajectory of connectivity variability in the human insular cortex

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cerliani, Leonardo; Thomas, Rajat M.; Jbabdi, Saad; Siero, Jeroen C. W.; Nanetti, Luca; Crippa, Alessandro; Gazzola, Valeria; D'Arceuil, Helen; Keysers, Christian

    The insular cortex of macaques has a wide spectrum of anatomical connections whose distribution is related to its heterogeneous cytoarchitecture. Although there is evidence of a similar cytoarchitectural arrangement in humans, the anatomical connectivity of the insula in the human brain has not yet

  12. The Encoding of Sound Source Elevation in the Human Auditory Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trapeau, Régis; Schönwiesner, Marc

    2018-03-28

    Spatial hearing is a crucial capacity of the auditory system. While the encoding of horizontal sound direction has been extensively studied, very little is known about the representation of vertical sound direction in the auditory cortex. Using high-resolution fMRI, we measured voxelwise sound elevation tuning curves in human auditory cortex and show that sound elevation is represented by broad tuning functions preferring lower elevations as well as secondary narrow tuning functions preferring individual elevation directions. We changed the ear shape of participants (male and female) with silicone molds for several days. This manipulation reduced or abolished the ability to discriminate sound elevation and flattened cortical tuning curves. Tuning curves recovered their original shape as participants adapted to the modified ears and regained elevation perception over time. These findings suggest that the elevation tuning observed in low-level auditory cortex did not arise from the physical features of the stimuli but is contingent on experience with spectral cues and covaries with the change in perception. One explanation for this observation may be that the tuning in low-level auditory cortex underlies the subjective perception of sound elevation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study addresses two fundamental questions about the brain representation of sensory stimuli: how the vertical spatial axis of auditory space is represented in the auditory cortex and whether low-level sensory cortex represents physical stimulus features or subjective perceptual attributes. Using high-resolution fMRI, we show that vertical sound direction is represented by broad tuning functions preferring lower elevations as well as secondary narrow tuning functions preferring individual elevation directions. In addition, we demonstrate that the shape of these tuning functions is contingent on experience with spectral cues and covaries with the change in perception, which may indicate that the

  13. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation reduces psychophysically measured surround suppression in the human visual cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel P Spiegel

    Full Text Available Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS is a safe, non-invasive technique for transiently modulating the balance of excitation and inhibition within the human brain. It has been reported that anodal tDCS can reduce both GABA mediated inhibition and GABA concentration within the human motor cortex. As GABA mediated inhibition is thought to be a key modulator of plasticity within the adult brain, these findings have broad implications for the future use of tDCS. It is important, therefore, to establish whether tDCS can exert similar effects within non-motor brain areas. The aim of this study was to assess whether anodal tDCS could reduce inhibitory interactions within the human visual cortex. Psychophysical measures of surround suppression were used as an index of inhibition within V1. Overlay suppression, which is thought to originate within the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN, was also measured as a control. Anodal stimulation of the occipital poles significantly reduced psychophysical surround suppression, but had no effect on overlay suppression. This effect was specific to anodal stimulation as cathodal stimulation had no effect on either measure. These psychophysical results provide the first evidence for tDCS-induced reductions of intracortical inhibition within the human visual cortex.

  14. Single lens to lens duplication: The missing link

    OpenAIRE

    Bhatt, Rupal; Jethani, Jitendra; Saluja, Praveen; Bharti, Vinay

    2008-01-01

    Congenital anomalies of the lens include a wide range from lens coloboma to primary aphakia and doubling of lens. There have been few case reports of double lens; the etiology suggested is metaplastic changes in the surface ectoderm that leads to formation of two lens vesicles and hence resulting in double lens. We report a case with bilobed lens, which raises the possibility of explaining the etiology of double lens.

  15. Intrinsic frequency biases and profiles across human cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellem, Monika S; Wohltjen, Sophie; Gotts, Stephen J; Ghuman, Avniel Singh; Martin, Alex

    2017-11-01

    Recent findings in monkeys suggest that intrinsic periodic spiking activity in selective cortical areas occurs at timescales that follow a sensory or lower order-to-higher order processing hierarchy (Murray JD, Bernacchia A, Freedman DJ, Romo R, Wallis JD, Cai X, Padoa-Schioppa C, Pasternak T, Seo H, Lee D, Wang XJ. Nat Neurosci 17: 1661-1663, 2014). It has not yet been fully explored if a similar timescale hierarchy is present in humans. Additionally, these measures in the monkey studies have not addressed findings that rhythmic activity within a brain area can occur at multiple frequencies. In this study we investigate in humans if regions may be biased toward particular frequencies of intrinsic activity and if a full cortical mapping still reveals an organization that follows this hierarchy. We examined the spectral power in multiple frequency bands (0.5-150 Hz) from task-independent data using magnetoencephalography (MEG). We compared standardized power across bands to find regional frequency biases. Our results demonstrate a mix of lower and higher frequency biases across sensory and higher order regions. Thus they suggest a more complex cortical organization that does not simply follow this hierarchy. Additionally, some regions do not display a bias for a single band, and a data-driven clustering analysis reveals a regional organization with high standardized power in multiple bands. Specifically, theta and beta are both high in dorsal frontal cortex, whereas delta and gamma are high in ventral frontal cortex and temporal cortex. Occipital and parietal regions are biased more narrowly toward alpha power, and ventral temporal lobe displays specific biases toward gamma. Thus intrinsic rhythmic neural activity displays a regional organization but one that is not necessarily hierarchical. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The organization of rhythmic neural activity is not well understood. Whereas it has been postulated that rhythms are organized in a hierarchical manner across

  16. Our Faces in the Dog's Brain: Functional Imaging Reveals Temporal Cortex Activation during Perception of Human Faces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura V Cuaya

    Full Text Available Dogs have a rich social relationship with humans. One fundamental aspect of it is how dogs pay close attention to human faces in order to guide their behavior, for example, by recognizing their owner and his/her emotional state using visual cues. It is well known that humans have specific brain regions for the processing of other human faces, yet it is unclear how dogs' brains process human faces. For this reason, our study focuses on describing the brain correlates of perception of human faces in dogs using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. We trained seven domestic dogs to remain awake, still and unrestrained inside an MRI scanner. We used a visual stimulation paradigm with block design to compare activity elicited by human faces against everyday objects. Brain activity related to the perception of faces changed significantly in several brain regions, but mainly in the bilateral temporal cortex. The opposite contrast (i.e., everyday objects against human faces showed no significant brain activity change. The temporal cortex is part of the ventral visual pathway, and our results are consistent with reports in other species like primates and sheep, that suggest a high degree of evolutionary conservation of this pathway for face processing. This study introduces the temporal cortex as candidate to process human faces, a pillar of social cognition in dogs.

  17. Neural representations of social status hierarchy in human inferior parietal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiao, Joan Y; Harada, Tokiko; Oby, Emily R; Li, Zhang; Parrish, Todd; Bridge, Donna J

    2009-01-01

    Mental representations of social status hierarchy share properties with that of numbers. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that the neural representation of numerical magnitude lies within a network of regions within inferior parietal cortex. However the neural basis of social status hierarchy remains unknown. Using fMRI, we studied subjects while they compared social status magnitude of people, objects and symbols, as well as numerical magnitude. Both social status and number comparisons recruited bilateral intraparietal sulci. We also observed a semantic distance effect whereby neural activity within bilateral intraparietal sulci increased for semantically close relative to far numerical and social status comparisons. These results demonstrate that social status and number comparisons recruit distinct and overlapping neuronal representations within human inferior parietal cortex.

  18. [Magnetic resonance imaging study of effects of accommodation on human lens morphological characters].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Sui-lian; Zhang, Ai; Shi, Jian-jing; Zhou, Yun-xin

    2013-11-05

    To evaluate the effects of accommodation on lens morphological characters. From January 2011 to June 2011, magnetic resonance images of eyes were acquired from 30 subjects aged 20 to 24 years during accommodation and at rest. The optimal images were analyzed by Autocad 2010 to obtain the total lens cross-sectional area (CSA) and CSA of anterior and posterior portions of lens, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, lens diameter, vitreous chamber depth and axial length during accommodation and at rest. Paired-t test was performed. The anterior curvature radius (mm), posterior curvature radius (mm), CSA of anterior portion (mm(2)), CSA of posterior portion (mm(2)), total lens CSA (mm(2)) was (8.7 ± 0.8), (6.2 ± 0.5), (7.5 ± 2.1), (12.0 ± 2.6), (20 ± 4) during relaxed accommodation; anterior curvature radius (mm), posterior curvature radius (mm), CSA of anterior portion (mm(2)), CSA of posterior portion (mm(2)), total lens CSA (mm(2)) was (7.1 ± 1.3), (5.6 ± 0.5), (14.7 ± 2.9), (12.2 ± 2.1) and (27 ± 4) during accommodation. The total lens CSA (t = -11.556, P 0.05) under a statistically independent accommodative state. There was significant difference in the anterior chamber depth (t = 4.366, P 0.05) and axial length (t = 0.418, P > 0.05) under accommodative states. During accommodation, the anterior chamber depth decreases, lens thickness increases and diameter of lens decreases while anterior portions and total lens CSA increase. There are insignificant changes in posterior portions of lens CSA, vitreous chamber depth and axial length. The accommodative changes in CSA indicate that the anterior portion of lens may be related with the properties of anterior capsule and lens material, the position of zonular attachments and the location of fetal nucleus. Helmholtz theory is supported.

  19. Neurochemical Characterization of PSA-NCAM+ Cells in the Human Brain and Phenotypic Quantification in Alzheimer's Disease Entorhinal Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Helen C; Swanson, Molly E V; Dieriks, B Victor; Turner, Clinton; Faull, Richard L M; Curtis, Maurice A

    2018-02-21

    Polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) is widely expressed in the adult human brain and facilitates structural remodeling of cells through steric inhibition of intercellular NCAM adhesion. We previously showed that PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity is decreased in the entorhinal cortex in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Based on available evidence, we hypothesized that a loss of PSA-NCAM + interneurons may underlie this reduction. PSA-NCAM expression by interneurons has previously been described in the human medial prefrontal cortex. Here we used postmortem human brain tissue to provide further evidence of PSA-NCAM + interneurons throughout the human hippocampal formation and additional cortical regions. Furthermore, PSA-NCAM + cell populations were assessed in the entorhinal cortex of normal and AD cases using fluorescent double labeling and manual cell counting. We found a significant decrease in the number of PSA-NCAM + cells per mm 2 in layer II and V of the entorhinal cortex, supporting our previous description of reduced PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity. Additionally, we found a significant decrease in the proportion of PSA-NCAM + cells that co-labeled with NeuN and parvalbumin, but no change in the proportion that co-labeled with calbindin or calretinin. These results demonstrate that PSA-NCAM is expressed by a variety of interneuron populations throughout the brain. Furthermore, that loss of PSA-NCAM expression by NeuN + cells predominantly contributes to the reduced PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity in the AD entorhinal cortex. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Plasticity in the Human Visual Cortex: An Ophthalmology-Based Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Andreia Martins Rosa; Maria Fátima Silva; Sónia Ferreira; Joaquim Murta; Miguel Castelo-Branco

    2013-01-01

    Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to reorganize the function and structure of its connections in response to changes in the environment. Adult human visual cortex shows several manifestations of plasticity, such as perceptual learning and adaptation, working under the top-down influence of attention. Plasticity results from the interplay of several mechanisms, including the GABAergic system, epigenetic factors, mitochondrial activity, and structural remodeling of synaptic con...

  1. The Effects of Context and Attention on Spiking Activity in Human Early Visual Cortex

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Self, Matthew W.; Peters, Judith C.; Possel, Jessy K.; Reithler, Joel; Goebel, Rainer; Ris, Peterjan; Jeurissen, Danique; Reddy, Leila; Claus, Steven; Baayen, Johannes C.; Roelfsema, Pieter R.

    2016-01-01

    Here we report the first quantitative analysis of spiking activity in human early visual cortex. We recorded multi-unit activity from two electrodes in area V2/V3 of a human patient implanted with depth electrodes as part of her treatment for epilepsy. We observed well-localized multi-unit receptive

  2. The Effects of Context and Attention on Spiking Activity in Human Early Visual Cortex

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Self, Matthew W; Peters, Judith C; Possel, Jessy K; Reithler, Joel; Goebel, Rainer; Ris, Peterjan; Jeurissen, Danique; Reddy, Leila; Claus, Steven; Baayen, Johannes C; Roelfsema, Pieter R

    Here we report the first quantitative analysis of spiking activity in human early visual cortex. We recorded multi-unit activity from two electrodes in area V2/V3 of a human patient implanted with depth electrodes as part of her treatment for epilepsy. We observed well-localized multi-unit receptive

  3. Lens artifacts in human fetal eyes - the challenge of interpreting the histomorphology of human fetal lenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herwig, Martina C; Müller, Annette M; Klarmann-Schulz, Ute; Holz, Frank G; Loeffler, Karin U

    2014-01-01

    Evaluation of the lens, including cataractous changes, is often of paramount importance in the classification of fetal syndromes or forensic questions. On histology, the crystalline lens is - especially in fetal and infant eyes - an organ susceptible to numerous artifacts. Thus, the aim of our study was to study various factors (including fixatives) that might have an impact on lens histomorphology. Twenty eyes from ten fetuses (formalin fixation: n = 10, glutaraldehyde fixation: n = 10), matched for gestational age and abortion (spontaneous vs. induced), were investigated macroscopically and by light microscopy. Sections were stained with routine hematoxylin & eosin (H&E), and periodic acid schiff (PAS). The age of the fetal eyes ranged from 15 to 36 weeks of gestation. Lens artifacts were analyzed and compared to fetal and adult lenses with definitive cataractous changes. In addition, 34 eyes from 27 fetuses with trisomy 21 were investigated for lens changes. All lenses showed artifacts of varying extent, in particular globules, vacuoles, clefts, anterior/posterior capsular separation, subcapsular proteinaceous material, fragmentation of the lens capsule/epithelium, and a posterior umbilication. Glutaraldehyde-fixed lenses displayed less artifacts compared to those fixed in formalin. Slight differences in the appearance of artifacts were found dependent on the fixative (formaldehyde vs glutaraldehyde) and the kind of abortion (iatrogenous vs spontaneous). The gestational age did not have a significant influence on the type and extent of lens artifacts. The lenses from fetuses with trisomy 21 displayed similar lens artifacts with no specific findings. Alterations in fetal lens morphology are extremely frequent and variable. These artifacts have to be carefully taken into account when interpreting post-mortem findings. Thus, the postmortem diagnosis of a fetal cataract should be made with great caution, and should include, in adherence to our proposed

  4. Formation of hydroxyl radicals in the human lens is related to the severity of nuclear cataract

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garner, B; Davies, Michael Jonathan; Truscott, R J

    2000-01-01

    Recent studies have identified specific hydroxylated amino acid oxidation products which strongly suggest the presence of hydroxyl radical (HO.)-damaged proteins in human cataractous lenses. In the present study, the ability of early stage (type II) and advanced (type IV) nuclear cataractous lens...

  5. Regulation of potassium transport in human lens epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauf, Peter K; Warwar, Ronald; Brown, Thomas L; Adragna, Norma C

    2006-01-01

    The major K influx pathways and their response to thiol modification by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and protein kinase and phosphatase inhibitors were characterized in human lens epithelial B3 (HLE-B3) cells with Rb as K congener. Ouabain (0.1 mM) and bumetanide (5 microM) discriminated between the Na/K pump ( approximately 35% of total Rb influx) and Na-K-2Cl cotransport (NKCC) ( approximately 50%). Cl-replacement with nitrate or sulfamate revealed 100 microM, activated the Na/K pump and abolished NKCC but did not affect KCC. The data suggest at least partial inverse regulation of KCC and NKCC in HLE-B3 cells by signaling cascades involving serine, threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation equilibria.

  6. Cerebral Microcirculation and Oxygen Tension in the Human Secondary Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linninger, A. A.; Gould, I. G.; Marinnan, T.; Hsu, C.-Y.; Chojecki, M.; Alaraj, A.

    2013-01-01

    The three-dimensional spatial arrangement of the cortical microcirculatory system is critical for understanding oxygen exchange between blood vessels and brain cells. A three-dimensional computer model of a 3 × 3 × 3 mm3 subsection of the human secondary cortex was constructed to quantify oxygen advection in the microcirculation, tissue oxygen perfusion, and consumption in the human cortex. This computer model accounts for all arterial, capillary and venous blood vessels of the cerebral microvascular bed as well as brain tissue occupying the extravascular space. Microvessels were assembled with optimization algorithms emulating angiogenic growth; a realistic capillary bed was built with space filling procedures. The extravascular tissue was modeled as a porous medium supplied with oxygen by advection–diffusion to match normal metabolic oxygen demand. The resulting synthetic computer generated network matches prior measured morphometrics and fractal patterns of the cortical microvasculature. This morphologically accurate, physiologically consistent, multi-scale computer network of the cerebral microcirculation predicts the oxygen exchange of cortical blood vessels with the surrounding gray matter. Oxygen tension subject to blood pressure and flow conditions were computed and validated for the blood as well as brain tissue. Oxygen gradients along arterioles, capillaries and veins agreed with in vivo trends observed recently in imaging studies within experimental tolerances and uncertainty. PMID:23842693

  7. Structural and functional analyses of human cerebral cortex using a surface-based atlas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Essen, D. C.; Drury, H. A.

    1997-01-01

    We have analyzed the geometry, geography, and functional organization of human cerebral cortex using surface reconstructions and cortical flat maps of the left and right hemispheres generated from a digital atlas (the Visible Man). The total surface area of the reconstructed Visible Man neocortex is 1570 cm2 (both hemispheres), approximately 70% of which is buried in sulci. By linking the Visible Man cerebrum to the Talairach stereotaxic coordinate space, the locations of activation foci reported in neuroimaging studies can be readily visualized in relation to the cortical surface. The associated spatial uncertainty was empirically shown to have a radius in three dimensions of approximately 10 mm. Application of this approach to studies of visual cortex reveals the overall patterns of activation associated with different aspects of visual function and the relationship of these patterns to topographically organized visual areas. Our analysis supports a distinction between an anterior region in ventral occipito-temporal cortex that is selectively involved in form processing and a more posterior region (in or near areas VP and V4v) involved in both form and color processing. Foci associated with motion processing are mainly concentrated in a region along the occipito-temporal junction, the ventral portion of which overlaps with foci also implicated in form processing. Comparisons between flat maps of human and macaque monkey cerebral cortex indicate significant differences as well as many similarities in the relative sizes and positions of cortical regions known or suspected to be homologous in the two species.

  8. Neuromodulatory neurotransmitters influence LTP-like plasticity in human cortex: a pharmaco-TMS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korchounov, Alexei; Ziemann, Ulf

    2011-08-01

    Long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic efficacy is considered a fundamental mechanism of learning and memory. At the cellular level a large body of evidence demonstrated that the major neuromodulatory neurotransmitters dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and acetylcholine (ACh) influence LTP magnitude. Noninvasive brain stimulation protocols provide the opportunity to study LTP-like plasticity at the systems level of human cortex. Here we applied paired associative stimulation (PAS) to induce LTP-like plasticity in the primary motor cortex of eight healthy subjects. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design, the acute effects of a single oral dose of the neuromodulatory drugs cabergoline (DA agonist), haloperidol (DA antagonist), methylphenidate (indirect NE agonist), prazosine (NE antagonist), tacrine (ACh agonist), and biperiden (ACh antagonist) on PAS-induced LTP-like plasticity were examined. The antagonists haloperidol, prazosine, and biperiden depressed significantly the PAS-induced LTP-like plasticity observed under placebo, whereas the agonists cabergoline, methylphenidate, and tacrine had no effect. Findings demonstrate that antagonists in major neuromodulatory neurotransmitter systems suppress LTP-like plasticity at the systems level of human cortex, in accord with evidence of their modulating action of LTP at the cellular level. This provides further supportive evidence for the known detrimental effects of these drugs on LTP-dependent mechanisms such as learning and memory.

  9. Functional connection between posterior superior temporal gyrus and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in human.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garell, P C; Bakken, H; Greenlee, J D W; Volkov, I; Reale, R A; Oya, H; Kawasaki, H; Howard, M A; Brugge, J F

    2013-10-01

    The connection between auditory fields of the temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex has been well characterized in nonhuman primates. Little is known of temporofrontal connectivity in humans, however, due largely to the fact that invasive experimental approaches used so successfully to trace anatomical pathways in laboratory animals cannot be used in humans. Instead, we used a functional tract-tracing method in 12 neurosurgical patients with multicontact electrode arrays chronically implanted over the left (n = 7) or right (n = 5) perisylvian temporal auditory cortex (area PLST) and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for diagnosis and treatment of medically intractable epilepsy. Area PLST was identified by the distribution of average auditory-evoked potentials obtained in response to simple and complex sounds. The same sounds evoked little if there is any activity in VLPFC. A single bipolar electrical pulse (0.2 ms, charge-balanced) applied between contacts within physiologically identified PLST resulted in polyphasic evoked potentials clustered in VLPFC, with greatest activation being in pars triangularis of the IFG. The average peak latency of the earliest negative deflection of the evoked potential on VLPFC was 13.48 ms (range: 9.0-18.5 ms), providing evidence for a rapidly conducting pathway between area PLST and VLPFC.

  10. Changes in the distribution of lens calcium during development of x-ray cataract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hightower, K.R.; Giblin, F.J.; Reddy, V.N.

    1983-01-01

    The present study was designed to examine the possible role of calcium in the opacification of x-ray-induced cataract in rabbit. The results demonstrate that the concentration of calcium in x-rayed lenses, just prior to lens hydration (7.5 weeks postirradiation), was twice that present in contralateral control lenses. At this stage of immature cataract, the lens nucleus remained transparent and maintained a normal level of calcium, but the lens cortex, containing regions of subcapsular opacification, accumulated a level of calcium that was twice that of the control. In the completely opaque mature cataract, (8-9 weeks post x-ray), both the cortex and nucleus had gained significant amounts of calcium. As the concentration of total calcium increased in the immature x-ray cataract, the amount of the cation bound to membranes and insoluble proteins of the cytosol also increased comparably. However, the relative proportion of calcium in the various fractions remained unaltered in the immature cataract; in both control lenses and immature cataracts, 20% of the total calcium remained in the membrane pellet and 70% was located in the soluble protein fraction. Only in the mature stage of cataract was a shift in the distribution of calcium apparent, as the proportion of calcium in the soluble protein fraction increased to 90%. Although only 7% of the total calcium in a mature cataract was bound to membrane, the amount represented a fivefold increase over the control. The results of this study demonstrate that an elevation in lens calcium accompanies the opacification process in x-ray cataract. The work also suggests that changes in calcium levels are not likely to result from inactivation of Ca-ATPase

  11. Aberration design of zoom lens systems using thick lens modules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jinkai; Chen, Xiaobo; Xi, Juntong; Wu, Zhuoqi

    2014-12-20

    A systematic approach for the aberration design of a zoom lens system using a thick lens module is presented. Each component is treated as a thick lens module at the beginning of the design. A thick lens module refers to a thick lens component with a real lens structure, like lens materials, lens curvatures, lens thicknesses, and lens interval distances. All nine third-order aberrations of a thick lens component are considered during the design. The relationship of component aberrations in different zoom positions can be approximated from the aberration shift. After minimizing the aberrations of the zoom lens system, the nine third-order aberrations of every lens component can be determined. Then the thick lens structure of every lens component can be determined after optimization according to their first-order properties and third-order aberration targets. After a third optimization for minimum practical third-order aberrations of a zoom lens system, the aberration design using the thick lens module is complete, which provides a practical zoom lens system with thick lens structures. A double-sided telecentric zoom lens system is designed using the thick lens module in this paper, which shows that this method is practical for zoom lens design.

  12. The effects of high-Dk rigid contact lens center thickness, material permeability, and blinking on the oxygen uptake of the human cornea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Hope Patterson; Fink, Barbara A; Mitchell, Lynn G; Hill, Richard M

    2005-06-01

    The human corneal oxygen uptake responses associated with the static (nonblinking) and dynamic (blinking) wear of five rigid gas-permeable materials with high oxygen permeabilities were determined for three different center thicknesses and compared with the responses for the normal open eye and severe hypoxic stress (static wear of polymethylmethacrylate). Corneal oxygen uptake rates were measured with a Clark-type polarographic electrode during two sessions with each of 10 human subjects. Measurements were made on the right eye for the normal open eye (air) and after 5 minutes of static and dynamic wear of polymethylmethacrylate and five rigid gas-permeable contact lens materials: Fluoroperm 92 (paflufocon A, Dk = 92), Fluoroperm 151 (paflufocon D, Dk = 151), 1992 Menicon SF-P (melafocon A, Dk = 102), 1995 Menicon SF-P (melafocon A, Dk = 159), and Menicon Z (tisilfocon A, Dk = 163-250). Lenses were manufactured in three different center thicknesses (0.12, 0.16, and 0.20 mm), with all other parameters remaining constant. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used and included lens material (five levels), blinking condition (two levels), and lens thickness (three levels) as within-subject effects. Significant differences were found in corneal oxygen responses to lens material (p Dk rigid lens materials studied here, moderate changes in lens thickness or material permeability may result in modest differences in corneal hypoxic relief, whereas blinking results in no significant improvement to corneal oxygenation.

  13. Robust selectivity to two-object images in human visual cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agam, Yigal; Liu, Hesheng; Papanastassiou, Alexander; Buia, Calin; Golby, Alexandra J.; Madsen, Joseph R.; Kreiman, Gabriel

    2010-01-01

    SUMMARY We can recognize objects in a fraction of a second in spite of the presence of other objects [1–3]. The responses in macaque areas V4 and inferior temporal cortex [4–15] to a neuron’s preferred stimuli are typically suppressed by the addition of a second object within the receptive field (see however [16, 17]). How can this suppression be reconciled with rapid visual recognition in complex scenes? One option is that certain “special categories” are unaffected by other objects [18] but this leaves the problem unsolved for other categories. Another possibility is that serial attentional shifts help ameliorate the problem of distractor objects [19–21]. Yet, psychophysical studies [1–3], scalp recordings [1] and neurophysiological recordings [14, 16, 22–24], suggest that the initial sweep of visual processing contains a significant amount of information. We recorded intracranial field potentials in human visual cortex during presentation of flashes of two-object images. Visual selectivity from temporal cortex during the initial ~200 ms was largely robust to the presence of other objects. We could train linear decoders on the responses to isolated objects and decode information in two-object images. These observations are compatible with parallel, hierarchical and feed-forward theories of rapid visual recognition [25] and may provide a neural substrate to begin to unravel rapid recognition in natural scenes. PMID:20417105

  14. Crystalline lens and refractive development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iribarren, Rafael

    2015-07-01

    Individual refractive errors usually change along lifespan. Most children are hyperopic in early life. This hyperopia is usually lost during growth years, leading to emmetropia in adults, but myopia also develops in children during school years or during early adult life. Those subjects who remain emmetropic are prone to have hyperopic shifts in middle life. And even later, at older ages, myopic shifts are developed with nuclear cataract. The eye grows from 15 mm in premature newborns to approximately 24 mm in early adult years, but, in most cases, refractions are maintained stable in a clustered distribution. This growth in axial length would represent a refractive change of more than 40 diopters, which is compensated by changes in corneal and lens powers. The process which maintains the balance between the ocular components of refraction during growth is still under study. As the lens power cannot be measured in vivo, but can only be calculated based on the other ocular components, there have not been many studies of lens power in humans. Yet, recent studies have confirmed that the lens loses power during growth in children, and that hyperopic and myopic shifts in adulthood may be also produced by changes in the lens. These studies in children and adults give a picture of the changing power of the lens along lifespan. Other recent studies about the growth of the lens and the complexity of its internal structure give clues about how these changes in lens power are produced along life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Bioinspired adaptive gradient refractive index distribution lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Kezhen; Lai, Chuan-Yar; Wang, Jia; Ji, Shanzuo; Aldridge, James; Feng, Jingxing; Olah, Andrew; Baer, Eric; Ponting, Michael

    2018-02-01

    Inspired by the soft, deformable human eye lens, a synthetic polymer gradient refractive index distribution (GRIN) lens with an adaptive geometry and focal power has been demonstrated via multilayer coextrusion and thermoforming of nanolayered elastomeric polymer films. A set of 30 polymer nanolayered films comprised of two thermoplastic polyurethanes having a refractive index difference of 0.05 were coextruded via forced-assembly technique. The set of 30 nanolayered polymer films exhibited transmission near 90% with each film varying in refractive index by 0.0017. An adaptive GRIN lens was fabricated from a laminated stack of the variable refractive index films with a 0.05 spherical GRIN. This lens was subsequently deformed by mechanical ring compression of the lens. Variation in the optical properties of the deformable GRIN lens was determined, including 20% variation in focal length and reduced spherical aberration. These properties were measured and compared to simulated results by placido-cone topography and ANSYS methods. The demonstration of a solid-state, dynamic focal length, GRIN lens with improved aberration correction was discussed relative to the potential future use in implantable devices.

  16. The motor cortex drives the muscles during walking in human subjects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Tue Hvass; Willerslev-Olsen, Maria; Conway, B A

    2012-01-01

    Indirect evidence that the motor cortex and the corticospinal tract contribute to the control of walking in human subjects has been provided in previous studies. In the present study we used coherence analysis of the coupling between EEG and EMG from active leg muscles during human walking...... area and EMG from the anterior tibial muscle was found in the frequency band 24–40 Hz prior to heel strike during the swing phase of walking. This signifies that rhythmic cortical activity in the 24–40 Hz frequency band is transmitted via the corticospinal tract to the active muscles during walking...

  17. Developing the Regulatory Utility of the Exposome: Mapping Exposures for Risk Assessment through Lifestage Exposome Snapshots (LEnS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, Rachel M; Smith, Marissa N; Faustman, Elaine M

    2017-08-07

    Exposome-related efforts aim to document the totality of human exposures across the lifecourse. This field has advanced rapidly in recent years but lacks practical application to risk assessment, particularly for children's health. Our objective was to apply the exposome to children's health risk assessment by introducing the concept of Lifestage Exposome Snapshots (LEnS). Case studies are presented to illustrate the value of the framework. The LEnS framework encourages organization of exposome studies based on windows of susceptibility for particular target organ systems. Such analyses will provide information regarding cumulative impacts during specific critical periods of the life course. A logical extension of this framework is that regulatory standards should analyze exposure information by target organ, rather than for a single chemical only or multiple chemicals grouped solely by mechanism of action. The LEnS concept is a practical refinement to the exposome that accounts for total exposures during particular windows of susceptibility in target organ systems. Application of the LEnS framework in risk assessment and regulation will improve protection of children's health by enhancing protection of sensitive developing organ systems that are critical for lifelong health and well-being. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1250.

  18. Role of Aquaporin 0 in lens biomechanics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sindhu Kumari, S.; Gupta, Neha [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Shiels, Alan [Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (United States); FitzGerald, Paul G. [Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA (United States); Menon, Anil G. [University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Mathias, Richard T. [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); SUNY Eye Institute, NY (United States); Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan, E-mail: kulandaiappan.varadaraj@stonybrook.edu [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); SUNY Eye Institute, NY (United States)

    2015-07-10

    together they help to confer fiber cell shape, architecture and integrity. To our knowledge, this is the first report identifying the involvement of an aquaporin in lens biomechanics. Since accommodation is required in human lenses for proper focusing, alteration in the adhesion and/or water channel functions of AQP0 could contribute to presbyopia. - Highlights: • AQP0 aids in lens biomechanics. • AQP0 provides lens stiffness. • AQP0 is critical for lens transparency. • AQP0 could play a significant role in lens accommodation in human. • Alteration in the function(s) of lens AQP0 could lead to presbyopia.

  19. Role of Aquaporin 0 in lens biomechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sindhu Kumari, S.; Gupta, Neha; Shiels, Alan; FitzGerald, Paul G.; Menon, Anil G.; Mathias, Richard T.; Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan

    2015-01-01

    confer fiber cell shape, architecture and integrity. To our knowledge, this is the first report identifying the involvement of an aquaporin in lens biomechanics. Since accommodation is required in human lenses for proper focusing, alteration in the adhesion and/or water channel functions of AQP0 could contribute to presbyopia. - Highlights: • AQP0 aids in lens biomechanics. • AQP0 provides lens stiffness. • AQP0 is critical for lens transparency. • AQP0 could play a significant role in lens accommodation in human. • Alteration in the function(s) of lens AQP0 could lead to presbyopia

  20. Dopamine release in human striatum induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Sang Soo; Yoon, Eun Jin; Kim, Yu Kyeong; Lee, Won Woo; Kim, Sang Eun [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2005-07-01

    Animal study suggests that prefrontal cortex plays an important Animal studies suggest that prefrontal cortex plays an important role in the modulation of dopamine (DA) release in subcortical areas. However, little is known about the relationship between DA release and prefrontal activation in human. We investigated whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) influences DA release in human striatum with SPECT measurements of striatal binding of [123I)iodobenzamide (IBZM), a DA D2 receptor radioligand that is sensitive to endogenous DA. Five healthy male volunteers (age, 25{+-}2 yr) were studied with brain [123I]IBZM SPECT under three conditions (resting, Sham stimulation, and active rTMS over left DLPFC), while receiving a bolus plus constant infusion of [123I]IBZM DLPFC was defined as a 6 cm anterior and 1cm lateral from the primary motor cortex. rTMS session consisted of three blocks, in each block, 15 trains of 2 see duration were delivered with 10 Hz stimulation frequency, 100% motor threshold, and between-train intervals of 10 sec. Striatal V3', calculated as (striatal - occipital) / occipital activity ratio, was measured under equilibrium condition, at baseline and after sham and active rTMS. Sham stimulation did not affect striatal V3'. rTMS over DLPFC induced reduction of V3' in the ipsilateral and contralateral striatum by 9.7% {+-} 1.3% and 10.6% {+-} 3.2%, respectively, compared with sham procedures (P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively), indicating striatal DA release elicited by rTMS over DLPFC. V3' reduction in the ipsilateral caudate nucleus was greater than that in the contralateral caudate nucleus (9.9% {+-} 4.5% vs. 6.6% {+-} 3.1%, P < 0.05). These data demonstrate DA release in human striatum induced by rTMS over DLPFC, supporting that cortico-striatal fibers originating in prefrontal cortex are involved in local DA release.

  1. Dopamine release in human striatum induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Sang Soo; Yoon, Eun Jin; Kim, Yu Kyeong; Lee, Won Woo; Kim, Sang Eun

    2005-01-01

    Animal study suggests that prefrontal cortex plays an important Animal studies suggest that prefrontal cortex plays an important role in the modulation of dopamine (DA) release in subcortical areas. However, little is known about the relationship between DA release and prefrontal activation in human. We investigated whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) influences DA release in human striatum with SPECT measurements of striatal binding of [123I)iodobenzamide (IBZM), a DA D2 receptor radioligand that is sensitive to endogenous DA. Five healthy male volunteers (age, 25±2 yr) were studied with brain [123I]IBZM SPECT under three conditions (resting, Sham stimulation, and active rTMS over left DLPFC), while receiving a bolus plus constant infusion of [123I]IBZM DLPFC was defined as a 6 cm anterior and 1cm lateral from the primary motor cortex. rTMS session consisted of three blocks, in each block, 15 trains of 2 see duration were delivered with 10 Hz stimulation frequency, 100% motor threshold, and between-train intervals of 10 sec. Striatal V3', calculated as (striatal - occipital) / occipital activity ratio, was measured under equilibrium condition, at baseline and after sham and active rTMS. Sham stimulation did not affect striatal V3'. rTMS over DLPFC induced reduction of V3' in the ipsilateral and contralateral striatum by 9.7% ± 1.3% and 10.6% ± 3.2%, respectively, compared with sham procedures (P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively), indicating striatal DA release elicited by rTMS over DLPFC. V3' reduction in the ipsilateral caudate nucleus was greater than that in the contralateral caudate nucleus (9.9% ± 4.5% vs. 6.6% ± 3.1%, P < 0.05). These data demonstrate DA release in human striatum induced by rTMS over DLPFC, supporting that cortico-striatal fibers originating in prefrontal cortex are involved in local DA release

  2. Colored Contact Lens Dangers

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... With Proper Contact Lens Care Apr 23, 2018 Solar Eclipse Inflicts Damage in the Shape of the ... edging closer, thanks to a wave of new technologies aiming to fix failing eye parts with human- ...

  3. Can reliable values of Young's modulus be deduced from Fisher's (1971) spinning lens measurements?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burd, H J; Wilde, G S; Judge, S J

    2006-04-01

    The current textbook view of the causes of presbyopia rests very largely on a series of experiments reported by R.F. Fisher some three decades ago, and in particular on the values of lens Young's modulus inferred from the deformation caused by spinning excised lenses about their optical axis (Fisher 1971) We studied the extent to which inferred values of Young's modulus are influenced by assumptions inherent in the mathematical procedures used by Fisher to interpret the test and we investigated several alternative interpretation methods. The results suggest that modelling assumptions inherent in Fisher's original method may have led to systematic errors in the determination of the Young's modulus of the cortex and nucleus. Fisher's conclusion that the cortex is stiffer than the nucleus, particularly in middle age, may be an artefact associated with these systematic errors. Moreover, none of the models we explored are able to account for Fisher's claim that the removal of the capsule has only a modest effect on the deformations induced in the spinning lens.

  4. Short wavelength light filtering by the natural human lens and IOLs -- implications for entrainment of circadian rhythm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brøndsted, Adam Elias; Lundeman, Jesper Holm; Kessel, Line

    2013-01-01

    Photoentrainment of circadian rhythm begins with the stimulation of melanopsin containing retinal ganglion cells that respond directly to blue light. With age, the human lens becomes a strong colour filter attenuating transmission of short wavelengths. The purpose of the study was to examine the ...

  5. Adrenergic receptors in frontal cortex in human brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cash, R; Raisman, R; Ruberg, M; Agid, Y

    1985-02-05

    The binding of three adrenergic ligands ([3H]prazosin, [3H]clonidine, [3H]dihydroalprenolol) was studied in the frontal cortex of human brain. alpha 1-Receptors, labeled by [3H]prazosin, predominated. [3H]Clonidine bound to two classes of sites, one of high affinity and one of low affinity. Guanosine triphosphate appeared to lower the affinity of [3H]clonidine for its receptor. [3H]Dihydroalprenolol bound to three classes of sites: the beta 1-receptor, the beta 2-receptor and a receptor with low affinity which represented about 40% of the total binding, but which was probably a non-specific site; the beta 1/beta 2 ratio was 1/2.

  6. Colored Contact Lens Dangers

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... valid prescription that includes the brand name, lens measurements, and expiration date. Purchase the colored contact lenses ... with human-made versions. U.S. News Highlights the Value of Ophthalmologists APR 20, 2018 By Dan T. ...

  7. The contribution of the human posterior parietal cortex to episodic memory

    OpenAIRE

    Sestieri, Carlo; Shulman, Gordon L.; Corbetta, Maurizio

    2017-01-01

    The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is traditionally associated with attention, perceptual decision making and sensorimotor transformations, but more recent human neuroimaging studies support an additional role in episodic memory retrieval. In this Opinion article, we present a functional–anatomical model of the involvement of the PPC in memory retrieval. Parietal regions involved in perceptual attention and episodic memory are largely segregated and often show a push–pull relationship, poten...

  8. Pentacam Scheimpflug quantitative imaging of the crystalline lens and intraocular lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosales, Patricia; Marcos, Susana

    2009-05-01

    To implement geometrical and optical distortion correction methods for anterior segment Scheimpflug images obtained with a commercially available system (Pentacam, Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH). Ray tracing algorithms were implemented to obtain corrected ocular surface geometry from the original images captured by the Pentacam's CCD camera. As details of the optical layout were not fully provided by the manufacturer, an iterative procedure (based on imaging of calibrated spheres) was developed to estimate the camera lens specifications. The correction procedure was tested on Scheimpflug images of a physical water cell model eye (with polymethylmethacrylate cornea and a commercial IOL of known dimensions) and of a normal human eye previously measured with a corrected optical and geometrical distortion Scheimpflug camera (Topcon SL-45 [Topcon Medical Systems Inc] from the Vrije University, Amsterdam, Holland). Uncorrected Scheimpflug images show flatter surfaces and thinner lenses than in reality. The application of geometrical and optical distortion correction algorithms improves the accuracy of the estimated anterior lens radii of curvature by 30% to 40% and of the estimated posterior lens by 50% to 100%. The average error in the retrieved radii was 0.37 and 0.46 mm for the anterior and posterior lens radii of curvature, respectively, and 0.048 mm for lens thickness. The Pentacam Scheimpflug system can be used to obtain quantitative information on the geometry of the crystalline lens, provided that geometrical and optical distortion correction algorithms are applied, within the accuracy of state-of-the art phakometry and biometry. The techniques could improve with exact knowledge of the technical specifications of the instrument, improved edge detection algorithms, consideration of aspheric and non-rotationally symmetrical surfaces, and introduction of a crystalline gradient index.

  9. Inhibition in the Human Auditory Cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koji Inui

    Full Text Available Despite their indispensable roles in sensory processing, little is known about inhibitory interneurons in humans. Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials cannot be recorded non-invasively, at least in a pure form, in humans. We herein sought to clarify whether prepulse inhibition (PPI in the auditory cortex reflected inhibition via interneurons using magnetoencephalography. An abrupt increase in sound pressure by 10 dB in a continuous sound was used to evoke the test response, and PPI was observed by inserting a weak (5 dB increase for 1 ms prepulse. The time course of the inhibition evaluated by prepulses presented at 10-800 ms before the test stimulus showed at least two temporally distinct inhibitions peaking at approximately 20-60 and 600 ms that presumably reflected IPSPs by fast spiking, parvalbumin-positive cells and somatostatin-positive, Martinotti cells, respectively. In another experiment, we confirmed that the degree of the inhibition depended on the strength of the prepulse, but not on the amplitude of the prepulse-evoked cortical response, indicating that the prepulse-evoked excitatory response and prepulse-evoked inhibition reflected activation in two different pathways. Although many diseases such as schizophrenia may involve deficits in the inhibitory system, we do not have appropriate methods to evaluate them; therefore, the easy and non-invasive method described herein may be clinically useful.

  10. Retinal images in the human eye with implanted intraocular lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zając, Marek; Siedlecki, Damian; Nowak, Jerzy

    2007-04-01

    A typical proceeding in cataract is based on the removal of opaque crystalline lens and inserting in its place the artificial intraocular lens (IOL). The quality of retinal image after such procedure depends, among others, on the parameters of the IOL, so the design of the implanted lens is of great importance. An appropriate choice of the IOL material, especially in relation to its biocompatibility, is often considered. However the parameter, which is often omitted during the IOL design is its chromatic aberration. In particular lack of its adequacy to the chromatic aberration of a crystalline lens may cause problems. In order to fit better chromatic aberration of the eye with implanted IOL to that of the healthy eye we propose a hybrid - refractive-diffractive IOL. It can be designed in such way that the total longitudinal chromatic aberration of an eye with implanted IOL equals the total longitudinal chromatic aberration of a healthy eye. In this study we compare the retinal image quality calculated numerically on the basis of the well known Liou-Brennan eye model with typical IOL implanted with that obtained if the IOL is done as hybrid (refractive-diffractive) design.

  11. Level of action of cathodal DC polarisation induced inhibition of the human motor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitsche, Michael A; Nitsche, Maren S; Klein, Cornelia C; Tergau, Frithjof; Rothwell, John C; Paulus, Walter

    2003-04-01

    To induce prolonged motor cortical excitability reductions by transcranial direct current stimulation in the human. Cathodal direct current stimulation was applied transcranially to the hand area of the human primary motor cortex from 5 to 9 min in separate sessions in twelve healthy subjects. Cortico-spinal excitability was tested by single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. Transcranial electrical stimulation and H-reflexes were used to learn about the origin of the excitability changes. Neurone specific enolase was measured before and after the stimulation to prove the safety of the stimulation protocol. Five and 7 min direct current stimulation resulted in motor cortical excitability reductions, which lasted for minutes after the end of stimulation, 9 min stimulation induced after-effects for up to an hour after the end of stimulation, as revealed by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Muscle evoked potentials elicited by transcranial electric stimulation and H-reflexes did not change. Neurone specific enolase concentrations remained stable throughout the experiments. Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation is capable of inducing prolonged excitability reductions in the human motor cortex non-invasively. These changes are most probably localised intracortically.

  12. Visual attentional load influences plasticity in the human motor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamke, Marc R; Hall, Michelle G; Lye, Hayley F; Sale, Martin V; Fenlon, Laura R; Carroll, Timothy J; Riek, Stephan; Mattingley, Jason B

    2012-05-16

    Neural plasticity plays a critical role in learning, memory, and recovery from injury to the nervous system. Although much is known about the physical and physiological determinants of plasticity, little is known about the influence of cognitive factors. In this study, we investigated whether selective attention plays a role in modifying changes in neural excitability reflecting long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity. We induced LTP-like effects in the hand area of the human motor cortex using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). During the induction of plasticity, participants engaged in a visual detection task with either low or high attentional demands. Changes in neural excitability were assessed by measuring motor-evoked potentials in a small hand muscle before and after the TMS procedures. In separate experiments plasticity was induced either by paired associative stimulation (PAS) or intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS). Because these procedures induce different forms of LTP-like effects, they allowed us to investigate the generality of any attentional influence on plasticity. In both experiments reliable changes in motor cortex excitability were evident under low-load conditions, but this effect was eliminated under high-attentional load. In a third experiment we investigated whether the attentional task was associated with ongoing changes in the excitability of motor cortex, but found no difference in evoked potentials across the levels of attentional load. Our findings indicate that in addition to their role in modifying sensory processing, mechanisms of attention can also be a potent modulator of cortical plasticity.

  13. Segregation of the human medial prefrontal cortex in social cognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danilo eBzdok

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available While the human medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC is widely believed to be a key node of neural networks relevant for socio-emotional processing, its functional subspecialization is still poorly understood. We thus revisited the often assumed differentiation of the mPFC in social cognition along its ventral-dorsal axis. Our neuroinformatic analysis was based on a neuroimaging meta-analysis of perspective-taking that yielded two separate clusters in the ventral and dorsal mPFC, respectively. We determined each seed region’s brain-wide interaction pattern by two complementary measures of functional connectivity: co-activation across a wide range of neuroimaging studies archived in the BrainMap database and correlated signal fluctuations during unconstrained (resting cognition. Furthermore, we characterized the functions associated with these two regions using the BrainMap database. Across methods, the ventral mPFC was more strongly connected with the nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, posterior cingulate cortex, and retrosplenial cortex, while the dorsal mPFC was more strongly connected with the inferior frontal gyrus, temporo-parietal junction, and middle temporal gyrus. Further, the ventral mPFC was selectively associated with action execution, olfaction, and reward related tasks, while the dorsal mPFC was selectively associated with perspective-taking and episodic memory retrieval. The ventral mPFC is therefore predominantly involved in sensory-driven, approach/avoidance-modulating, and evaluation-related processing, whereas the dorsal mPFC is predominantly involved in internally driven, memory-informed, and metacognition-related processing in social cognition.

  14. Ultrastructural effects of silicone oil on the clear crystalline lens of the human eye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soliman, Wael; Sharaf, Mohamed; Abdelazeem, Khaled; El-Gamal, Dalia; Nafady, Allam

    2018-03-01

    To evaluate light and electron microscopic changes of the anterior capsule and its epithelium after clear lens extraction of vitrectomized myopic eyes with silicone oil tamponade. This prospective, controlled, non-randomized, interventional study included 20 anterior lens capsular specimens that were excised during combined clear lens extraction and silicone oil removal from previously vitrectomized highly myopic patients with silicone oil tamponade for previous retinal detachment surgeries. The specimens were examined via light microscopy and electron microscopy and compared with 20 anterior capsule specimens removed during clear lens extraction of non-vitrectomized highly myopic eyes. Light microscopic examination of clear lens anterior capsule specimens of vitrectomized myopic eyes filled with silicone oil showed relatively more flat cells with irregular outline of lens' epithelial cells with wide intercellular spaces, deeply stained nuclei, and multiple intracytoplasmic vacuoles. Scanning electron microscopy revealed collagenous surfaces filled with multiple pits, depressions, and abnormal deposits. Transmission electron microscopy revealed lens epithelial cells with apoptotic changes, many cytoplasmic vacuoles, and filopodia-like protrusions between lens epithelial cells and the capsule. Epithelial proliferation and multilayering were also observed. silicone oil may play a role in the development of apoptotic and histopathological changes in clear lens epithelial cells. Clarity of the lens at the time of silicone oil removal does not indicate an absence of cataractous changes. We found justification of combined clear lens extraction and silicone oil removal or combined phacovitrectomy when silicone oil injection is planned, but further long-term studies with larger patient groups are required.

  15. Attention to Color Sharpens Neural Population Tuning via Feedback Processing in the Human Visual Cortex Hierarchy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartsch, Mandy V; Loewe, Kristian; Merkel, Christian; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Schoenfeld, Mircea A; Tsotsos, John K; Hopf, Jens-Max

    2017-10-25

    Attention can facilitate the selection of elementary object features such as color, orientation, or motion. This is referred to as feature-based attention and it is commonly attributed to a modulation of the gain and tuning of feature-selective units in visual cortex. Although gain mechanisms are well characterized, little is known about the cortical processes underlying the sharpening of feature selectivity. Here, we show with high-resolution magnetoencephalography in human observers (men and women) that sharpened selectivity for a particular color arises from feedback processing in the human visual cortex hierarchy. To assess color selectivity, we analyze the response to a color probe that varies in color distance from an attended color target. We find that attention causes an initial gain enhancement in anterior ventral extrastriate cortex that is coarsely selective for the target color and transitions within ∼100 ms into a sharper tuned profile in more posterior ventral occipital cortex. We conclude that attention sharpens selectivity over time by attenuating the response at lower levels of the cortical hierarchy to color values neighboring the target in color space. These observations support computational models proposing that attention tunes feature selectivity in visual cortex through backward-propagating attenuation of units less tuned to the target. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Whether searching for your car, a particular item of clothing, or just obeying traffic lights, in everyday life, we must select items based on color. But how does attention allow us to select a specific color? Here, we use high spatiotemporal resolution neuromagnetic recordings to examine how color selectivity emerges in the human brain. We find that color selectivity evolves as a coarse to fine process from higher to lower levels within the visual cortex hierarchy. Our observations support computational models proposing that feature selectivity increases over time by attenuating the

  16. Optical coherence tomography visualizes neurons in human entorhinal cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnain, Caroline; Augustinack, Jean C.; Konukoglu, Ender; Frosch, Matthew P.; Sakadžić, Sava; Varjabedian, Ani; Garcia, Nathalie; Wedeen, Van J.; Boas, David A.; Fischl, Bruce

    2015-01-01

    Abstract. The cytoarchitecture of the human brain is of great interest in diverse fields: neuroanatomy, neurology, neuroscience, and neuropathology. Traditional histology is a method that has been historically used to assess cell and fiber content in the ex vivo human brain. However, this technique suffers from significant distortions. We used a previously demonstrated optical coherence microscopy technique to image individual neurons in several square millimeters of en-face tissue blocks from layer II of the human entorhinal cortex, over 50  μm in depth. The same slices were then sectioned and stained for Nissl substance. We registered the optical coherence tomography (OCT) images with the corresponding Nissl stained slices using a nonlinear transformation. The neurons were then segmented in both images and we quantified the overlap. We show that OCT images contain information about neurons that is comparable to what can be obtained from Nissl staining, and thus can be used to assess the cytoarchitecture of the ex vivo human brain with minimal distortion. With the future integration of a vibratome into the OCT imaging rig, this technique can be scaled up to obtain undistorted volumetric data of centimeter cube tissue blocks in the near term, and entire human hemispheres in the future. PMID:25741528

  17. Tinting of intraocular lens implants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zigman, S.

    1982-01-01

    Intraocular lens (IOL) implants of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) lack an important yellow pigment useful as a filter in the visual process and in the protection of the retina from short-wavelength radiant energy. The ability to produce a yellow pigment in the PMMA used in IOL implants by exposure to near-ultraviolet (UV) light was tested. It was found that the highly cross-linked material in Copeland lens blanks was tinted slightly because of this exposure. The absorptive properties of lens blanks treated with near-UV light in this way approached that of the absorptive properties of human lenses. This finding shows that it is possible to alter IOL implants simply so as to induce a pale-yellow pigment in them to improve the visual process and to protect the retinas of IOL users

  18. Tinting of intraocular lens implants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zigman, S.

    1982-06-01

    Intraocular lens (IOL) implants of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) lack an important yellow pigment useful as a filter in the visual process and in the protection of the retina from short-wavelength radiant energy. The ability to produce a yellow pigment in the PMMA used in IOL implants by exposure to near-ultraviolet (UV) light was tested. It was found that the highly cross-linked material in Copeland lens blanks was tinted slightly because of this exposure. The absorptive properties of lens blanks treated with near-UV light in this way approached that of the absorptive properties of human lenses. This finding shows that it is possible to alter IOL implants simply so as to induce a pale-yellow pigment in them to improve the visual process and to protect the retinas of IOL users.

  19. Genes expressed in specific areas of the human fetal cerebral cortex display distinct patterns of evolution.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelle Lambert

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The developmental mechanisms through which the cerebral cortex increased in size and complexity during primate evolution are essentially unknown. To uncover genetic networks active in the developing cerebral cortex, we combined three-dimensional reconstruction of human fetal brains at midgestation and whole genome expression profiling. This novel approach enabled transcriptional characterization of neurons from accurately defined cortical regions containing presumptive Broca and Wernicke language areas, as well as surrounding associative areas. We identified hundreds of genes displaying differential expression between the two regions, but no significant difference in gene expression between left and right hemispheres. Validation by qRTPCR and in situ hybridization confirmed the robustness of our approach and revealed novel patterns of area- and layer-specific expression throughout the developing cortex. Genes differentially expressed between cortical areas were significantly associated with fast-evolving non-coding sequences harboring human-specific substitutions that could lead to divergence in their repertoires of transcription factor binding sites. Strikingly, while some of these sequences were accelerated in the human lineage only, many others were accelerated in chimpanzee and/or mouse lineages, indicating that genes important for cortical development may be particularly prone to changes in transcriptional regulation across mammals. Genes differentially expressed between cortical regions were also enriched for transcriptional targets of FoxP2, a key gene for the acquisition of language abilities in humans. Our findings point to a subset of genes with a unique combination of cortical areal expression and evolutionary patterns, suggesting that they play important roles in the transcriptional network underlying human-specific neural traits.

  20. The complexity of the calretinin-expressing progenitors in the human cerebral cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nevena V Radonjic

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The complex structure and function of the cerebral cortex critically depend on the balance of excitation and inhibition provided by the pyramidal projection neurons and GABAergic interneurons, respectively. The calretinin-expressing (CalR+ cell is a subtype of GABAergic cortical interneurons that is more prevalent in humans than in rodents. In rodents, CalR+ interneurons originate in the caudal ganglionic eminence (CGE from Gsx2+ progenitors, but in humans it has been suggested that a subpopulation of CalR+ cells can also be generated in the cortical ventricular/subventricular zone (VZ/SVZ. The progenitors for cortically generated CalR+ subpopulation in primates are not yet characterized. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify patterns of expression of the transcription factors (TFs that commit cortical stem cells to the CalR fate, with a focus on Gsx2. First, we studied the expression of Gsx2 and its downstream effectors, Ascl1 and Sp8 in the cortical regions of the fetal human forebrain at midgestation. Next, we established that a subpopulation of cells expressing these TFs are proliferating in the cortical SVZ, and can be co-labeled with CalR. The presence and proliferation of Gsx2+ cells, not only in the ventral telencephalon (GE as previously reported, but also in the cerebral cortex suggests cortical origin of a subpopulation of CalR+ neurons in humans. In vitro treatment of human cortical progenitors with Sonic hedgehog (Shh, an important morphogen in the specification of interneurons, decreased levels of Ascl1 and Sp8 proteins, but did not affect Gsx2 levels. Taken together, our ex-vivo and in vitro results on human fetal brain suggest complex endogenous and exogenous regulation of TFs implied in the specification of different subtypes of CalR+ cortical interneurons.

  1. Lens stem cells may reside outside the lens capsule: an hypothesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyer Rita A

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In this paper, we consider the ocular lens in the context of contemporary developments in biological ideas. We attempt to reconcile lens biology with stem cell concepts and a dearth of lens tumors. Historically, the lens has been viewed as a closed system, in which cells at the periphery of the lens epithelium differentiate into fiber cells. Theoretical considerations led us to question whether the intracapsular lens is indeed self-contained. Since stem cells generate tumors and the lens does not naturally develop tumors, we reasoned that lens stem cells may not be present within the capsule. We hypothesize that lens stem cells reside outside the lens capsule, in the nearby ciliary body. Our ideas challenge the existing lens biology paradigm. We begin our discussion with lens background information, in order to describe our lens stem cell hypothesis in the context of published data. Then we present the ciliary body as a possible source for lens stem cells, and conclude by comparing the ocular lens with the corneal epithelium.

  2. Understanding the Dorsal and Ventral Systems of the Human Cerebral Cortex: Beyond Dichotomies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borst, Gregoire; Thompson, William L.; Kosslyn, Stephen M.

    2011-01-01

    Traditionally, characterizations of the macrolevel functional organization of the human cerebral cortex have focused on the left and right cerebral hemispheres. However, the idea of left brain versus right brain functions has been shown to be an oversimplification. We argue here that a top-bottom divide, rather than a left-right divide, is a more…

  3. GABAA receptor subunit gene expression in human prefrontal cortex: comparison of schizophrenics and controls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbarian, S.; Huntsman, M. M.; Kim, J. J.; Tafazzoli, A.; Potkin, S. G.; Bunney, W. E. Jr; Jones, E. G.; Bloom, F. E. (Principal Investigator)

    1995-01-01

    The prefrontal cortex of schizophrenics is hypoactive and displays changes related to inhibitory, GABAergic neurons, and GABAergic synapses. These changes include decreased levels of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the enzyme for GABA synthesis, upregulation of muscimol binding, and downregulation of benzodiazepine binding to GABAA receptors. Studies in the visual cortex of nonhuman primates have demonstrated that gene expression for GAD and for several GABAA receptor subunit polypeptides is under control of neuronal activity, raising the possibility that similar mechanisms in the hypoactive prefrontal cortex of schizophrenics may explain the abnormalities in GAD and in GABAA receptor regulation. In the present study, which is the first of its type on human cerebral cortex, levels of mRNAs for six GABAA receptor subunits (alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 5, beta 1, beta 2, gamma 2) and their laminar expression patterns were analyzed in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenics and matched controls, using in situ hybridization histochemistry and densitometry. Three types of laminar expression pattern were observed: mRNAs for the alpha 1, beta 2, and gamma 2 subunits, which are the predominant receptor subunits expressed in the mature cortex, were expressed at comparatively high levels by cells of all six cortical layers, but most intensely by cells in lower layer III and layer IV. mRNAs for the alpha 2, alpha 5, and beta 1 subunits were expressed at lower levels; alpha 2 and beta 1 were expressed predominantly by cells in layers II, III, and IV; alpha 5 was expressed predominantly in layers IV, V, and VI. There were no significant changes in overall mRNA levels for any of the receptor subunits in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenics, and the laminar expression pattern of all six receptor subunit mRNAs did not differ between schizophrenics and controls. Because gene expression for GABAA receptor subunits is not consistently altered in the prefrontal cortex of

  4. Encoding of frequency-modulation (FM) rates in human auditory cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Hidehiko; Kakigi, Ryusuke

    2015-12-14

    Frequency-modulated sounds play an important role in our daily social life. However, it currently remains unclear whether frequency modulation rates affect neural activity in the human auditory cortex. In the present study, using magnetoencephalography, we investigated the auditory evoked N1m and sustained field responses elicited by temporally repeated and superimposed frequency-modulated sweeps that were matched in the spectral domain, but differed in frequency modulation rates (1, 4, 16, and 64 octaves per sec). The results obtained demonstrated that the higher rate frequency-modulated sweeps elicited the smaller N1m and the larger sustained field responses. Frequency modulation rate had a significant impact on the human brain responses, thereby providing a key for disentangling a series of natural frequency-modulated sounds such as speech and music.

  5. FDTD analysis of temperature elevation in the lens of human and rabbit models due to near-field and far-field exposures at 2.45 GHz

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oizumi, T.; Laakso, I.; Hirata, A.; Fujiwara, O.; Watanabe, S.; Taki, M.; Kojima, M.; Sasaki, H.; Sasaki, K.

    2013-01-01

    The eye is said to be one of the most sensitive organs to microwave heating. According to previous studies, the possibility of microwave-induced cataract formation has been experimentally investigated in rabbit and monkey eyes, but not for the human eye due to ethical reasons. In the present study, the temperature elevation in the lens, the skin around the eye and the core temperature of numerical human and rabbit models for far-field and near-field exposures at 2.45 GHz are investigated. The temperature elevations in the human and rabbit models were compared with the threshold temperatures for inducing cataracts, thermal pain in the skin and reversible health effects such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. For plane-wave exposure, the core temperature elevation is shown to be essential both in the human and in the rabbit models as suggested in the international guidelines and standards. For localised exposure of the human eye, the temperature elevation of the skin was essential, and the lens temperature did not reach its threshold for thermal pain. On the other hand, the lens temperature elevation was found to be dominant for the rabbit eye. (authors)

  6. FDTD analysis of temperature elevation in the lens of human and rabbit models due to near-field and far-field exposures at 2.45 GHz.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oizumi, Takuya; Laakso, Ilkka; Hirata, Akimasa; Fujiwara, Osamu; Watanabe, Soichi; Taki, Masao; Kojima, Masami; Sasaki, Hiroshi; Sasaki, Kazuyuki

    2013-07-01

    The eye is said to be one of the most sensitive organs to microwave heating. According to previous studies, the possibility of microwave-induced cataract formation has been experimentally investigated in rabbit and monkey eyes, but not for the human eye due to ethical reasons. In the present study, the temperature elevation in the lens, the skin around the eye and the core temperature of numerical human and rabbit models for far-field and near-field exposures at 2.45 GHz are investigated. The temperature elevations in the human and rabbit models were compared with the threshold temperatures for inducing cataracts, thermal pain in the skin and reversible health effects such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. For plane-wave exposure, the core temperature elevation is shown to be essential both in the human and in the rabbit models as suggested in the international guidelines and standards. For localised exposure of the human eye, the temperature elevation of the skin was essential, and the lens temperature did not reach its threshold for thermal pain. On the other hand, the lens temperature elevation was found to be dominant for the rabbit eye.

  7. Dopamine-dependent changes in the functional connectivity between basal ganglia and cerebral cortex in humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Williams, D; Tijssen, M; van Bruggen, G; Bosch, A; Insola, A; Di Lazzaro, V; Mazzone, P; Oliviero, A; Quartarone, A; Speelman, H; Brown, P

    2002-01-01

    We test the hypothesis that interaction between the human basal ganglia and cerebral cortex involves activity in multiple functional circuits characterized by their frequency of oscillation, phase characteristics, dopamine dependency and topography. To this end we took recordings from

  8. Chemosensory Learning in the Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edmund eRolls

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Taste is a primary reinforcer. Olfactory-taste and visual-taste association learning takes place in the primate including human orbitofrontal cortex to build representations of flavour. Rapid reversal of this learning can occur using a rule-based learning system that can be reset when an expected taste or flavour reward is not obtained, that is by negative reward prediction error, to which a population of neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex responds. The representation in the orbitofrontal cortex but not the primary taste or olfactory cortex is of the reward value of the visual / olfactory / taste / input as shown by devaluation experiments in which food is fed to satiety, and by correlations with the activations with subjective pleasantness ratings in humans. Sensory-specific satiety for taste, olfactory, visual, and oral somatosensory inputs produced by feeding a particular food to satiety are implemented it is proposed by medium-term synaptic adaptation in the orbitofrontal cortex. Cognitive factors, including word-level descriptions, modulate the representation of the reward value of food in the orbitofrontal cortex, and this effect is learned it is proposed by associative modification of top-down synapses onto neurons activated by bottom-up taste and olfactory inputs when both are active in the orbitofrontal cortex. A similar associative synaptic learning process is proposed to be part of the mechanism for the top-down attentional control to the reward value vs the sensory properties such as intensity of taste and olfactory inputs in the orbitofrontal cortex, as part of a biased activation theory of selective attention.

  9. [Neuroanatomy of Frontal Association Cortex].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takada, Masahiko

    2016-11-01

    The frontal association cortex is composed of the prefrontal cortex and the motor-related areas except the primary motor cortex (i.e., the so-called higher motor areas), and is well-developed in primates, including humans. The prefrontal cortex receives and integrates large bits of diverse information from the parietal, temporal, and occipital association cortical areas (termed the posterior association cortex), and paralimbic association cortical areas. This information is then transmitted to the primary motor cortex via multiple motor-related areas. Given these facts, it is likely that the prefrontal cortex exerts executive functions for behavioral control. The functional input pathways from the posterior and paralimbic association cortical areas to the prefrontal cortex are classified primarily into six groups. Cognitive signals derived from the prefrontal cortex are conveyed to the rostral motor-related areas to transform them into motor signals, which finally enter the primary motor cortex via the caudal motor-related areas. Furthermore, it has been shown that, similar to the primary motor cortex, areas of the frontal association cortex form individual networks (known as "loop circuits") with the basal ganglia and cerebellum via the thalamus, and hence are extensively involved in the expression and control of behavioral actions.

  10. Word Recognition in Auditory Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWitt, Iain D. J.

    2013-01-01

    Although spoken word recognition is more fundamental to human communication than text recognition, knowledge of word-processing in auditory cortex is comparatively impoverished. This dissertation synthesizes current models of auditory cortex, models of cortical pattern recognition, models of single-word reading, results in phonetics and results in…

  11. Development and function of human cerebral cortex neural networks from pluripotent stem cells in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirwan, Peter; Turner-Bridger, Benita; Peter, Manuel; Momoh, Ayiba; Arambepola, Devika; Robinson, Hugh P C; Livesey, Frederick J

    2015-09-15

    A key aspect of nervous system development, including that of the cerebral cortex, is the formation of higher-order neural networks. Developing neural networks undergo several phases with distinct activity patterns in vivo, which are thought to prune and fine-tune network connectivity. We report here that human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cerebral cortex neurons form large-scale networks that reflect those found in the developing cerebral cortex in vivo. Synchronised oscillatory networks develop in a highly stereotyped pattern over several weeks in culture. An initial phase of increasing frequency of oscillations is followed by a phase of decreasing frequency, before giving rise to non-synchronous, ordered activity patterns. hPSC-derived cortical neural networks are excitatory, driven by activation of AMPA- and NMDA-type glutamate receptors, and can undergo NMDA-receptor-mediated plasticity. Investigating single neuron connectivity within PSC-derived cultures, using rabies-based trans-synaptic tracing, we found two broad classes of neuronal connectivity: most neurons have small numbers (40). These data demonstrate that the formation of hPSC-derived cortical networks mimics in vivo cortical network development and function, demonstrating the utility of in vitro systems for mechanistic studies of human forebrain neural network biology. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  12. Deconstructing white matter connectivity of human amygdala nuclei with thalamus and cortex subdivisions in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abivardi, Aslan; Bach, Dominik R

    2017-08-01

    Structural alterations in long-range amygdala connections are proposed to crucially underlie several neuropsychiatric disorders. While progress has been made in elucidating the function of these connections, our understanding of their structure in humans remains sparse and non-systematic. Harnessing diffusion-weighted imaging and probabilistic tractography in humans, we investigate connections between two main amygdala nucleus groups, thalamic nuclei, and cortex. We first parcellated amygdala into deep (basolateral) and superficial (centrocortical) nucleus groups, and thalamus into six subregions, using previously established protocols based on connectivity. Cortex was parcellated based on T1-weighted images. We found substantial amygdala connections to thalamus, with different patterns for the two amygdala nuclei. Crucially, we describe direct subcortical connections between amygdala and paraventricular thalamus. Different from rodents but similar to non-human primates, these are more pronounced for basolateral than centrocortical amygdala. Substantial white-matter connectivity between amygdala and visual pulvinar is also more pronounced for basolateral amygdala. Furthermore, we establish detailed connectivity profiles for basolateral and centrocortical amygdala to cortical regions. These exhibit cascadic connections with sensory cortices as suggested previously based on tracer methods in non-human animals. We propose that the quantitative connectivity profiles provided here may guide future work on normal and pathological function of human amygdala. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3927-3940, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Exon microarray analysis of human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in alcoholism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzardo, Ann M; Gunewardena, Sumedha; Wang, Kun; Butler, Merlin G

    2014-06-01

    Alcohol abuse is associated with cellular and biochemical disturbances that impact upon protein and nucleic acid synthesis, brain development, function, and behavioral responses. To further characterize the genetic influences in alcoholism and the effects of alcohol consumption on gene expression, we used a highly sensitive exon microarray to examine mRNA expression in human frontal cortex of alcoholics and control males. Messenger RNA was isolated from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC; Brodmann area 9) of 7 adult alcoholic (6 males, 1 female, mean age 49 years) and 7 matched controls. Affymetrix Human Exon 1.0 ST array was performed according to standard procedures and the results analyzed at the gene level. Microarray findings were validated using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and the ontology of disturbed genes characterized using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Decreased mRNA expression was observed for genes involved in cellular adhesion (e.g., CTNNA3, ITGA2), transport (e.g., TF, ABCA8), nervous system development (e.g., LRP2, UGT8, GLDN), and signaling (e.g., RASGRP3, LGR5) with influence over lipid and myelin synthesis (e.g., ASPA, ENPP2, KLK6). IPA identified disturbances in network functions associated with neurological disease and development including cellular assembly and organization impacting on psychological disorders. Our data in alcoholism support a reduction in expression of dlPFC mRNA for genes involved with neuronal growth, differentiation, and signaling that targets white matter of the brain. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  14. Timing, timing, timing: Fast decoding of object information from intracranial field potentials in human visual cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hesheng; Agam, Yigal; Madsen, Joseph R.; Kreiman, Gabriel

    2010-01-01

    Summary The difficulty of visual recognition stems from the need to achieve high selectivity while maintaining robustness to object transformations within hundreds of milliseconds. Theories of visual recognition differ in whether the neuronal circuits invoke recurrent feedback connections or not. The timing of neurophysiological responses in visual cortex plays a key role in distinguishing between bottom-up and top-down theories. Here we quantified at millisecond resolution the amount of visual information conveyed by intracranial field potentials from 912 electrodes in 11 human subjects. We could decode object category information from human visual cortex in single trials as early as 100 ms post-stimulus. Decoding performance was robust to depth rotation and scale changes. The results suggest that physiological activity in the temporal lobe can account for key properties of visual recognition. The fast decoding in single trials is compatible with feed-forward theories and provides strong constraints for computational models of human vision. PMID:19409272

  15. cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of bovine lens alpha-crystallin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spector, A.; Chiesa, R.; Sredy, J.; Garner, W.

    1985-01-01

    This communication reports that the A1 and B1 chains of bovine lens alpha-crystallin are phosphorylated. The conclusion is based on the following evidence: (i) When soluble preparations from lens cortex are incubated with [gamma- 32 P]ATP, a cAMP-dependent labeling of a high molecular weight protein is obtained. (ii) After NaDodSO 4 /PAGE, the label is found in two bands with Mr 22,000 and 20,000, corresponding to the B and A chains of alpha-crystallin, respectively. (iii) Isoelectric focusing indicates that the radioactivity is almost exclusively in bands with pI values of 5.58 and 6.70, corresponding to the A1 and B1 chains, respectively. (iv) Similar results are obtained in experiments of [ 32 P]orthophosphate incorporation in lens organ culture. (v) Analyses of the digested protein indicate the label is exclusively in phosphoserine. (vi) 31 P NMR analyses of native, proteolytically digested, and urea-treated alpha-crystallin gives a chemical shift of 4.6 ppm relative to 85% H 3 PO 4 at pH 7.4, suggesting that the phosphate is covalently bound to a serine in the protein. An abundance of approximately one phosphate per four or five monomer units was found. (vii) Similar results were obtained by chemical analyses of independently prepared alpha-crystallin samples. The results are consistent with the view that the A1 and B1 chains arise as result of the phosphorylation of directly synthesized A2 and B2 polypeptides. It is suggested that this metabolically controlled phosphorylation may be associated with the terminal differentiation of the lens epithelial cell and the intracellular organization of the lens fiber cell

  16. Regions of mid-level human visual cortex sensitive to the global coherence of local image patches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannion, Damien J; Kersten, Daniel J; Olman, Cheryl A

    2014-08-01

    The global structural arrangement and spatial layout of the visual environment must be derived from the integration of local signals represented in the lower tiers of the visual system. This interaction between the spatially local and global properties of visual stimulation underlies many of our visual capacities, and how this is achieved in the brain is a central question for visual and cognitive neuroscience. Here, we examine the sensitivity of regions of the posterior human brain to the global coordination of spatially displaced naturalistic image patches. We presented observers with image patches in two circular apertures to the left and right of central fixation, with the patches drawn from either the same (coherent condition) or different (noncoherent condition) extended image. Using fMRI at 7T (n = 5), we find that global coherence affected signal amplitude in regions of dorsal mid-level cortex. Furthermore, we find that extensive regions of mid-level visual cortex contained information in their local activity pattern that could discriminate coherent and noncoherent stimuli. These findings indicate that the global coordination of local naturalistic image information has important consequences for the processing in human mid-level visual cortex.

  17. Implied motion because of instability in Hokusai Manga activates the human motion-sensitive extrastriate visual cortex: an fMRI study of the impact of visual art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osaka, Naoyuki; Matsuyoshi, Daisuke; Ikeda, Takashi; Osaka, Mariko

    2010-03-10

    The recent development of cognitive neuroscience has invited inference about the neurosensory events underlying the experience of visual arts involving implied motion. We report functional magnetic resonance imaging study demonstrating activation of the human extrastriate motion-sensitive cortex by static images showing implied motion because of instability. We used static line-drawing cartoons of humans by Hokusai Katsushika (called 'Hokusai Manga'), an outstanding Japanese cartoonist as well as famous Ukiyoe artist. We found 'Hokusai Manga' with implied motion by depicting human bodies that are engaged in challenging tonic posture significantly activated the motion-sensitive visual cortex including MT+ in the human extrastriate cortex, while an illustration that does not imply motion, for either humans or objects, did not activate these areas under the same tasks. We conclude that motion-sensitive extrastriate cortex would be a critical region for perception of implied motion in instability.

  18. Liquid lens: advances in adaptive optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Shawn Patrick

    2010-12-01

    'Liquid lens' technologies promise significant advancements in machine vision and optical communications systems. Adaptations for machine vision, human vision correction, and optical communications are used to exemplify the versatile nature of this technology. Utilization of liquid lens elements allows the cost effective implementation of optical velocity measurement. The project consists of a custom image processor, camera, and interface. The images are passed into customized pattern recognition and optical character recognition algorithms. A single camera would be used for both speed detection and object recognition.

  19. Reorganization of the Human Somatosensory Cortex in Hand Dystonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Jose Catalan

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Abnormalities of finger representations in the somatosensory cortex have been identified in patients with focal hand dystonia. Measuring blood flow with positron emission tomography (PET can be use to demonstrate functional localization of receptive fields. Methods: A vibratory stimulus was applied to the right thumb and little finger of six healthy volunteers and six patients with focal hand dystonia to map their receptive fields using H215O PET. Results: The cortical finger representations in the primary somatosensory cortex were closer to each other in patients than in normal subjects. No abnormalities were found in secondary somatosensory cortex, but the somatotopy there is less well distinguished. Conclusions: These data confirm prior electrophysiological and functional neuroimaging observations showing abnormalities of finger representations in somatosensory cortex of patients with focal hand dystonia.

  20. Xanthophylls and alpha-tocopherol decrease UVB-induced lipid peroxidation and stress signaling in human lens epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chitchumroonchokchai, Chureeporn; Bomser, Joshua A; Glamm, Jayme E; Failla, Mark L

    2004-12-01

    Epidemiological studies suggest that consumption of vegetables rich in the xanthophylls lutein (LUT) and zeaxanthin (ZEA) reduces the risk for developing age-related cataract, a leading cause of vision loss. Although LUT and ZEA are the only dietary carotenoids present in the lens, direct evidence for their photoprotective effect in this organ is not available. The present study examined the effects of xanthophylls and alpha-tocopherol (alpha-TC) on lipid peroxidation and the mitogen-activated stress signaling pathways in human lens epithelial (HLE) cells following ultraviolet B light (UVB) irradiation. When presented with LUT, ZEA, astaxanthin (AST), and alpha-TC as methyl-beta-cyclodextrin complexes, HLE cells accumulated the lipophiles in a concentration- and time-dependent manner with uptake of LUT exceeding that of ZEA and AST. Pretreatment of cultures with either 2 micromol/L xanthophyll or 10 micromol/L alpha-TC for 4 h before exposure to 300 J/m(2) UVB radiation decreased lipid peroxidation by 47-57% compared with UVB-treated control HLE cells. Pretreatment with the xanthophylls and alpha-TC also inhibited UVB-induced activation of c-JUN NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 by 50-60 and 25-32%, respectively. There was substantial inhibition of UVB-induced JNK and p38 activation for cells containing xanthophylls/mg, respectively, whereas >2.3 nmol alpha-TC/mg protein was required to significantly decrease UVB-induced stress signaling. These data suggest that xanthophylls are more potent than alpha-TC for protecting human lens epithelial cells against UVB insult.

  1. Tuning In to Sound: Frequency-Selective Attentional Filter in Human Primary Auditory Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Costa, Sandra; van der Zwaag, Wietske; Miller, Lee M.; Clarke, Stephanie

    2013-01-01

    Cocktail parties, busy streets, and other noisy environments pose a difficult challenge to the auditory system: how to focus attention on selected sounds while ignoring others? Neurons of primary auditory cortex, many of which are sharply tuned to sound frequency, could help solve this problem by filtering selected sound information based on frequency-content. To investigate whether this occurs, we used high-resolution fMRI at 7 tesla to map the fine-scale frequency-tuning (1.5 mm isotropic resolution) of primary auditory areas A1 and R in six human participants. Then, in a selective attention experiment, participants heard low (250 Hz)- and high (4000 Hz)-frequency streams of tones presented at the same time (dual-stream) and were instructed to focus attention onto one stream versus the other, switching back and forth every 30 s. Attention to low-frequency tones enhanced neural responses within low-frequency-tuned voxels relative to high, and when attention switched the pattern quickly reversed. Thus, like a radio, human primary auditory cortex is able to tune into attended frequency channels and can switch channels on demand. PMID:23365225

  2. Inducing homeostatic-like plasticity in human motor cortex through converging corticocortical inputs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pötter-Nerger, Monika; Fischer, Sarah; Mastroeni, Claudia

    2009-01-01

    Transcranial stimulation techniques have revealed homeostatic-like metaplasticity in the hand area of the human primary motor cortex (M1(HAND)) that controls stimulation-induced changes in corticospinal excitability. Here we combined two interventional protocols that induce long-term depression......TMS) of the left dorsal premotor cortex (PMD) was first applied to produce an LTP-like increase (5 Hz rTMS) or LTD-like decrease (1 Hz rTMS) in corticospinal excitability in left M1(HAND) via premotor-to-motor inputs. Following PMD rTMS, paired-associative stimulation (PAS) was applied to the right median nerve...... and left M1(HAND) to induce spike-time-dependent plasticity in sensory-to-motor inputs to left M1(HAND). We adjusted the interstimulus interval to the N20 latency of the median nerve somatosensory-evoked cortical potential to produce an LTP-like increase (PAS(N20+2ms)) or an LTD-like decrease (PAS(N20-5ms...

  3. Near UV radiation effect on the lens and retina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zigman, S.

    1987-01-01

    The discussion presented in this paper indicates that the retina of a diurnal animal with a natural UV-absorbing lens (ie: the gray squirrel) is susceptible to near-UV damage from environmental sources only after the lens has been removed. This suggests that it is very important to protect against near-UV exposure of human eyes after cataract surgery

  4. Auditory Connections and Functions of Prefrontal Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bethany ePlakke

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The functional auditory system extends from the ears to the frontal lobes with successively more complex functions occurring as one ascends the hierarchy of the nervous system. Several areas of the frontal lobe receive afferents from both early and late auditory processing regions within the temporal lobe. Afferents from the early part of the cortical auditory system, the auditory belt cortex, which are presumed to carry information regarding auditory features of sounds, project to only a few prefrontal regions and are most dense in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC. In contrast, projections from the parabelt and the rostral superior temporal gyrus (STG most likely convey more complex information and target a larger, widespread region of the prefrontal cortex. Neuronal responses reflect these anatomical projections as some prefrontal neurons exhibit responses to features in acoustic stimuli, while other neurons display task-related responses. For example, recording studies in non-human primates indicate that VLPFC is responsive to complex sounds including vocalizations and that VLPFC neurons in area 12/47 respond to sounds with similar acoustic morphology. In contrast, neuronal responses during auditory working memory involve a wider region of the prefrontal cortex. In humans, the frontal lobe is involved in auditory detection, discrimination, and working memory. Past research suggests that dorsal and ventral subregions of the prefrontal cortex process different types of information with dorsal cortex processing spatial/visual information and ventral cortex processing non-spatial/auditory information. While this is apparent in the non-human primate and in some neuroimaging studies, most research in humans indicates that specific task conditions, stimuli or previous experience may bias the recruitment of specific prefrontal regions, suggesting a more flexible role for the frontal lobe during auditory cognition.

  5. Auditory connections and functions of prefrontal cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plakke, Bethany; Romanski, Lizabeth M.

    2014-01-01

    The functional auditory system extends from the ears to the frontal lobes with successively more complex functions occurring as one ascends the hierarchy of the nervous system. Several areas of the frontal lobe receive afferents from both early and late auditory processing regions within the temporal lobe. Afferents from the early part of the cortical auditory system, the auditory belt cortex, which are presumed to carry information regarding auditory features of sounds, project to only a few prefrontal regions and are most dense in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). In contrast, projections from the parabelt and the rostral superior temporal gyrus (STG) most likely convey more complex information and target a larger, widespread region of the prefrontal cortex. Neuronal responses reflect these anatomical projections as some prefrontal neurons exhibit responses to features in acoustic stimuli, while other neurons display task-related responses. For example, recording studies in non-human primates indicate that VLPFC is responsive to complex sounds including vocalizations and that VLPFC neurons in area 12/47 respond to sounds with similar acoustic morphology. In contrast, neuronal responses during auditory working memory involve a wider region of the prefrontal cortex. In humans, the frontal lobe is involved in auditory detection, discrimination, and working memory. Past research suggests that dorsal and ventral subregions of the prefrontal cortex process different types of information with dorsal cortex processing spatial/visual information and ventral cortex processing non-spatial/auditory information. While this is apparent in the non-human primate and in some neuroimaging studies, most research in humans indicates that specific task conditions, stimuli or previous experience may bias the recruitment of specific prefrontal regions, suggesting a more flexible role for the frontal lobe during auditory cognition. PMID:25100931

  6. Uncovering a context-specific connectional fingerprint of human dorsal premotor cortex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moisa, Marius; Siebner, Hartwig R; Pohmann, Rolf

    2012-01-01

    Primate electrophysiological and lesion studies indicate a prominent role of the left dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) in action selection based on learned sensorimotor associations. Here we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to human left PMd at low or high intensity while right...... to directly assess how stimulation of left PMd modulates task-related brain activity depending on the mode of movement selection. Relative to passive viewing, both tasks activated a frontoparietal motor network. Compared with low-intensity TMS, high-intensity TMS of left PMd was associated with an increase...

  7. A Correlation of Thin Lens Approximation to Thick Lens Design by Using Coddington Factors in Lens Design and Manufacturing

    OpenAIRE

    FARSAKOĞLU, Ö. Faruk

    2014-01-01

    The effect of Coddington factors on aberration functions has been analysed using thin lens approximation. Minimizing spherical aberrations of singlet lenses using Coddington factors in lens design depending on lens manufacturing is discussed. Notation of lens test plate pairs used in lens manufacturing is also presented in terms of Coddington shape factors.

  8. Plasticity in the Human Visual Cortex: An Ophthalmology-Based Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, Andreia Martins; Silva, Maria Fátima; Murta, Joaquim

    2013-01-01

    Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to reorganize the function and structure of its connections in response to changes in the environment. Adult human visual cortex shows several manifestations of plasticity, such as perceptual learning and adaptation, working under the top-down influence of attention. Plasticity results from the interplay of several mechanisms, including the GABAergic system, epigenetic factors, mitochondrial activity, and structural remodeling of synaptic connectivity. There is also a downside of plasticity, that is, maladaptive plasticity, in which there are behavioral losses resulting from plasticity changes in the human brain. Understanding plasticity mechanisms could have major implications in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular diseases, such as retinal disorders, cataract and refractive surgery, amblyopia, and in the evaluation of surgical materials and techniques. Furthermore, eliciting plasticity could open new perspectives in the development of strategies that trigger plasticity for better medical and surgical outcomes. PMID:24205505

  9. Plasticity in the Human Visual Cortex: An Ophthalmology-Based Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreia Martins Rosa

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to reorganize the function and structure of its connections in response to changes in the environment. Adult human visual cortex shows several manifestations of plasticity, such as perceptual learning and adaptation, working under the top-down influence of attention. Plasticity results from the interplay of several mechanisms, including the GABAergic system, epigenetic factors, mitochondrial activity, and structural remodeling of synaptic connectivity. There is also a downside of plasticity, that is, maladaptive plasticity, in which there are behavioral losses resulting from plasticity changes in the human brain. Understanding plasticity mechanisms could have major implications in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular diseases, such as retinal disorders, cataract and refractive surgery, amblyopia, and in the evaluation of surgical materials and techniques. Furthermore, eliciting plasticity could open new perspectives in the development of strategies that trigger plasticity for better medical and surgical outcomes.

  10. Cerebral cortex modulation of pain

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yu-feng XIE; Fu-quan HUO; Jing-shi TANG

    2009-01-01

    Pain is a complex experience encompassing sensory-discriminative, affective-motivational and cognitiv e-emotional com-ponents mediated by different mechanisms. Contrary to the traditional view that the cerebral cortex is not involved in pain perception, an extensive cortical network associated with pain processing has been revealed using multiple methods over the past decades. This network consistently includes, at least, the anterior cingulate cortex, the agranular insular cortex, the primary (SⅠ) and secondary somatosensory (SⅡ) cortices, the ventrolateral orbital cortex and the motor cortex. These corti-cal structures constitute the medial and lateral pain systems, the nucleus submedius-ventrolateral orbital cortex-periaque-ductal gray system and motor cortex system, respectively. Multiple neurotransmitters, including opioid, glutamate, GABA and dopamine, are involved in the modulation of pain by these cortical structures. In addition, glial cells may also be in-volved in cortical modulation of pain and serve as one target for pain management research. This review discusses recent studies of pain modulation by these cerebral cortical structures in animals and human.

  11. Severe cell reduction in the future brain cortex in human growth-restricted fetuses and infants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Samuelsen, Grethe B; Pakkenberg, Bente; Bogdanović, Nenad

    2007-01-01

    with controls. The daily increase in brain cells in the future cortex was only half of that of the controls. In the 3 other developmental zones, no significant differences in cell numbers could be demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: IUGR in humans is associated with a severe reduction in cortical growth...

  12. Dose conversion coefficients for electron exposure of the human eye lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Behrens, R; Dietze, G; Zankl, M

    2009-01-01

    Recent epidemiological studies suggest a rather low dose threshold (below 0.5 Gy) for the induction of a cataract of the eye lens. Some other studies even assume that there is no threshold at all. Therefore, protection measures have to be optimized and current dose limits for the eye lens may be reduced in the future. Two questions arise from this situation: first, which dose quantity is related to the risk of developing a cataract, and second, which personal dose equivalent quantity is appropriate for monitoring this dose quantity. While the dose equivalent quantity H p (0.07) has often been seen as being sufficiently accurate for monitoring the dose to the lens of the eye, this would be questionable in the case when the dose limits were reduced and, thus, it may be necessary to generally use the dose equivalent quantity H p (3) for this purpose. The basis for a decision, however, must be the knowledge of accurate conversion coefficients from fluence to equivalent dose to the lens. This is especially important for low-penetrating radiation, for example, electrons. Formerly published values of conversion coefficients are based on quite simple models of the eye. In this paper, quite a sophisticated model of the eye including the inner structure of the lens was used for the calculations and precise conversion coefficients for electrons with energies between 0.2 MeV and 12 MeV, and for angles of radiation incidence between 0 deg. and 45 deg. are presented. Compared to the values adopted in 1996 by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the new values are up to 1000 times smaller for electron energies below 1 MeV, nearly equal at 1 MeV and above 4 MeV, and by a factor of 1.5 larger at about 1.5 MeV electron energy.

  13. Encoding of Touch Intensity But Not Pleasantness in Human Primary Somatosensory Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laubacher, Claire M.; Olausson, Håkan; Wang, Binquan; Spagnolo, Primavera A.; Bushnell, M. Catherine

    2016-01-01

    Growing interest in affective touch has delineated a neural network that bypasses primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Several recent studies, however, have cast doubt on the segregation of touch discrimination and affect, suggesting that S1 also encodes affective qualities. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to examine the role of S1 in processing touch intensity and pleasantness. Twenty-six healthy human adults rated brushing on the hand during fMRI. Intensity ratings significantly predicted activation in S1, whereas pleasantness ratings predicted activation only in the anterior cingulate cortex. Nineteen subjects also received inhibitory rTMS over right hemisphere S1 and the vertex (control). After S1 rTMS, but not after vertex rTMS, sensory discrimination was reduced and subjects with reduced sensory discrimination rated touch as more intense. In contrast, rTMS did not alter ratings of touch pleasantness. Our findings support divergent neural processing of touch intensity and pleasantness, with affective touch encoded outside of S1. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Growing interest in affective touch has identified a neural network that bypasses primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Several recent studies, however, cast doubt on the separation of touch discrimination and affect. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to demonstrate the representation of touch discrimination and intensity in S1, but the representation of pleasantness in the anterior cingulate cortex, not S1. Our findings support divergent neural processing of touch intensity and pleasantness, with affective touch encoded outside of S1. Our study contributes to growing delineation of the affective touch system, a crucial step in understanding its dysregulation in numerous clinical conditions such as autism, eating disorders, depression, and chronic pain. PMID:27225773

  14. Immunohistochemical studies of lens crystallins in the dysgenetic lens (dyl) mutant mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brahma, S.K.; Sanyal, S.

    1984-01-01

    The lens in the dyl mutant mice shows a persistent lens-ectodermal connection as well as degeneration and extrusion of lens materials after the initial differentiation of the fibres. Immunohistochemical investigation of the ontogeny of the lens crystallins in this developing mutant lens has been

  15. Sharing of secondary electrons by in-lens and out-lens detector in low-voltage scanning electron microscope equipped with immersion lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumagai, Kazuhiro; Sekiguchi, Takashi

    2009-03-01

    To understand secondary electron (SE) image formation with in-lens and out-lens detector in low-voltage scanning electron microscopy (LV-SEM), we have evaluated SE signals of an in-lens and an out-lens detector in LV-SEM. From the energy distribution spectra of SEs with various boosting voltages of the immersion lens system, we revealed that the electrostatic field of the immersion lens mainly collects electrons with energy lower than 40eV, acting as a low-pass filter. This effect is also observed as a contrast change in LV-SEM images taken by in-lens and out-lens detectors.

  16. Signal-enhancement reflective pulse oximeter with Fresnel lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Shuang-Chao; Sun, Ching-Cherng

    2016-09-01

    In this paper, a new reflective pulse oximeter is proposed and demonstrated with implanting a Fresnel lens, which enhances the reflected signal. An optical simulation model incorporated with human skin characteristics is presented to evaluate the capability of the Fresnel lens. In addition, the distance between the light emitting diode and the photodiode is optimized. Compared with the other reflective oximeters, the reflected signal light detected by the photodiode is enhanced to more than 140%.

  17. Aversive learning shapes neuronal orientation tuning in human visual cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McTeague, Lisa M; Gruss, L Forest; Keil, Andreas

    2015-07-28

    The responses of sensory cortical neurons are shaped by experience. As a result perceptual biases evolve, selectively facilitating the detection and identification of sensory events that are relevant for adaptive behaviour. Here we examine the involvement of human visual cortex in the formation of learned perceptual biases. We use classical aversive conditioning to associate one out of a series of oriented gratings with a noxious sound stimulus. After as few as two grating-sound pairings, visual cortical responses to the sound-paired grating show selective amplification. Furthermore, as learning progresses, responses to the orientations with greatest similarity to the sound-paired grating are increasingly suppressed, suggesting inhibitory interactions between orientation-selective neuronal populations. Changes in cortical connectivity between occipital and fronto-temporal regions mirror the changes in visuo-cortical response amplitudes. These findings suggest that short-term behaviourally driven retuning of human visual cortical neurons involves distal top-down projections as well as local inhibitory interactions.

  18. Orbitofrontal cortex contribution to working memory. N-back ERP study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakao, Yoshiaki; Tamura, Toshiyo; Kodabashi, Atsushi; Fujimoto, Toshiro; Yarita, Masaru

    2011-01-01

    Remarkable progress in cognitive neuroscience has revealed the involvement of the prefrontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex in human working memory, but the orbitofrontal cortex is still one of the least understood regions in the human brain. To elucidate the contribution of the orbitofrontal cortex to human working memory, we studied electroencephalography (EEG) P300 activity in n-back task. We elicited early P3 around 300 ms and late P3 around 360 ms of P300 components in n-back event related potentials (ERP). The amplitudes of the respective peaks changed depending on the working memory load (0-back, 1-back, 2-back, 3-back). We used source analysis to evaluate the orbitofrontal cortex in P3 components. A source model was constructed with the sources seeded from fMRI meta-analysis of n-back task and additional sources in the orbitofrontal cortex and the visual cortex estimated with P100 and late P3 components in the n-back ERP. This source model had more than 99% of GOF (goodness of fit) in n-back ERP. It gave us an insight of brain activity at the positions where sources existed. Early P3 was mainly produced by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, the inferior parietal lobule, the medial posterior parietal and the visual cortex. Late P3 was mainly produced by the medial premotor, the lateral premotor, the frontal pole and the orbitofrontal cortex. The contribution of the frontal pole and the orbitofrontal cortex had peaks around 390 ms which were later than late P3 component. In this study, the method to evaluate the orbitofrontal cortex activity in n-back ERP was provided. Our results elicited the involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex in late P3 component of n-back ERP. (author)

  19. The Correlation between Daily Lens Wear Duration and Dry Eye Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubis, Rodiah Rahmawaty; Gultom, Monica Tumiar Hanna

    2018-05-20

    To analyze the correlation between the daily lens wear duration and dry eye syndrome. This study was an analytic cross sectional study using consecutive sampling conducted among the students in Economy and Bussiness Faculty and Faculty of Humanities in University of Sumatera Utara aged between 17 to 23 that wore contact lens continously for at least a year and 5 days a week. The symptoms were assessed using Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire-8 (CLDEQ-8) and interview about their contact lens comfort; eye drops usage, contact lens washing habit, daily circumstances, places to buy contact lens and personal experince in wearing contact lens. The questionnaire was completed by 53 students. All of them were female and wore softlens wearers. The mean duration of daily wear was 8.19 ± 2.20 hours. The most common symptom experienced was dry eye and the least symptom experienced was removing lens. The most frequent symptom experienced was closing eyes and the least frequent symptom experienced was removing lenses. This study used Exact Test as analysis statistic method. The result was p > 0.05 which means there is no correlation between daily lens wear duration and dry eye syndrome. This study showed that dry eye syndrome was not correlated with daily lens wear duration, but affected by many factors such as contact lens, lens care solution, eye drops usage and environment.

  20. The contribution of the human posterior parietal cortex to episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sestieri, Carlo; Shulman, Gordon L; Corbetta, Maurizio

    2017-02-17

    The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is traditionally associated with attention, perceptual decision making and sensorimotor transformations, but more recent human neuroimaging studies support an additional role in episodic memory retrieval. In this Opinion article, we present a functional-anatomical model of the involvement of the PPC in memory retrieval. Parietal regions involved in perceptual attention and episodic memory are largely segregated and often show a push-pull relationship, potentially mediated by prefrontal regions. Moreover, different PPC regions carry out specific functions during retrieval - for example, representing retrieved information, recoding this information based on task demands, or accumulating evidence for memory decisions.

  1. Non-invasive bleaching of the human lens by femtosecond laser photolysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessel, L.; Eskildsen, Lars; Poel, Mike van der

    2010-01-01

    . Reducing blindness from cataract requires solutions that can be applied outside operating theatres. Cataract is a protein conformational disease characterized by accumulation of light absorbing, fluorescent and scattering protein aggregates. The aim of the study was to investigate whether these compounds...... by a non-invasive procedure based on femtosecond laser photolysis. Cataract is a disease associated with old age. At the current technological stage, lens aging is delayed but with a treatment covering the entire lens volume complete optical rejuvenation is expected. Thus, femtosecond photolysis has...

  2. Representation of visual gravitational motion in the human vestibular cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Indovina, Iole; Maffei, Vincenzo; Bosco, Gianfranco; Zago, Myrka; Macaluso, Emiliano; Lacquaniti, Francesco

    2005-04-15

    How do we perceive the visual motion of objects that are accelerated by gravity? We propose that, because vision is poorly sensitive to accelerations, an internal model that calculates the effects of gravity is derived from graviceptive information, is stored in the vestibular cortex, and is activated by visual motion that appears to be coherent with natural gravity. The acceleration of visual targets was manipulated while brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In agreement with the internal model hypothesis, we found that the vestibular network was selectively engaged when acceleration was consistent with natural gravity. These findings demonstrate that predictive mechanisms of physical laws of motion are represented in the human brain.

  3. Encoding and retrieval of artificial visuoauditory memory traces in the auditory cortex requires the entorhinal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xi; Guo, Yiping; Feng, Jingyu; Liao, Zhengli; Li, Xinjian; Wang, Haitao; Li, Xiao; He, Jufang

    2013-06-12

    Damage to the medial temporal lobe impairs the encoding of new memories and the retrieval of memories acquired immediately before the damage in human. In this study, we demonstrated that artificial visuoauditory memory traces can be established in the rat auditory cortex and that their encoding and retrieval depend on the entorhinal cortex of the medial temporal lobe in the rat. We trained rats to associate a visual stimulus with electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex using a classical conditioning protocol. After conditioning, we examined the associative memory traces electrophysiologically (i.e., visual stimulus-evoked responses of auditory cortical neurons) and behaviorally (i.e., visual stimulus-induced freezing and visual stimulus-guided reward retrieval). The establishment of a visuoauditory memory trace in the auditory cortex, which was detectable by electrophysiological recordings, was achieved over 20-30 conditioning trials and was blocked by unilateral, temporary inactivation of the entorhinal cortex. Retrieval of a previously established visuoauditory memory was also affected by unilateral entorhinal cortex inactivation. These findings suggest that the entorhinal cortex is necessary for the encoding and involved in the retrieval of artificial visuoauditory memory in the auditory cortex, at least during the early stages of memory consolidation.

  4. Integration of Visual and Proprioceptive Limb Position Information in Human Posterior Parietal, Premotor, and Extrastriate Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limanowski, Jakub; Blankenburg, Felix

    2016-03-02

    The brain constructs a flexible representation of the body from multisensory information. Previous work on monkeys suggests that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and ventral premotor cortex (PMv) represent the position of the upper limbs based on visual and proprioceptive information. Human experiments on the rubber hand illusion implicate similar regions, but since such experiments rely on additional visuo-tactile interactions, they cannot isolate visuo-proprioceptive integration. Here, we independently manipulated the position (palm or back facing) of passive human participants' unseen arm and of a photorealistic virtual 3D arm. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed that matching visual and proprioceptive information about arm position engaged the PPC, PMv, and the body-selective extrastriate body area (EBA); activity in the PMv moreover reflected interindividual differences in congruent arm ownership. Further, the PPC, PMv, and EBA increased their coupling with the primary visual cortex during congruent visuo-proprioceptive position information. These results suggest that human PPC, PMv, and EBA evaluate visual and proprioceptive position information and, under sufficient cross-modal congruence, integrate it into a multisensory representation of the upper limb in space. The position of our limbs in space constantly changes, yet the brain manages to represent limb position accurately by combining information from vision and proprioception. Electrophysiological recordings in monkeys have revealed neurons in the posterior parietal and premotor cortices that seem to implement and update such a multisensory limb representation, but this has been difficult to demonstrate in humans. Our fMRI experiment shows that human posterior parietal, premotor, and body-selective visual brain areas respond preferentially to a virtual arm seen in a position corresponding to one's unseen hidden arm, while increasing their communication with regions conveying visual

  5. Probing the corticospinal link between the motor cortex and motoneurones: some neglected aspects of human motor cortical function

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Nicolas Caesar; Butler, Jane E.; Taylor, Janet L.

    2010-01-01

    of the discharge of motor units have revealed that the rapidly conducting corticospinal axons (stimulated at higher intensities) contribute to drive motoneurones in normal voluntary contractions. There are also major non-linearities generated at a spinal level in the relation between corticospinal output...... magnetic stimulation of the human motor cortex have highlighted the capacity of the cortex to modify its apparent excitability in response to altered afferent inputs, training and various pathologies. Studies using cortical stimulation at 'very low' intensities which elicit only short-latency suppression...

  6. Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation of human primary visual cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Wonhye; Kim, Hyun-Chul; Jung, Yujin; Chung, Yong An; Song, In-Uk; Lee, Jong-Hwan; Yoo, Seung-Schik

    2016-09-01

    Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is making progress as a new non-invasive mode of regional brain stimulation. Current evidence of FUS-mediated neurostimulation for humans has been limited to the observation of subjective sensory manifestations and electrophysiological responses, thus warranting the identification of stimulated brain regions. Here, we report FUS sonication of the primary visual cortex (V1) in humans, resulting in elicited activation not only from the sonicated brain area, but also from the network of regions involved in visual and higher-order cognitive processes (as revealed by simultaneous acquisition of blood-oxygenation-level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging). Accompanying phosphene perception was also reported. The electroencephalo graphic (EEG) responses showed distinct peaks associated with the stimulation. None of the participants showed any adverse effects from the sonication based on neuroimaging and neurological examinations. Retrospective numerical simulation of the acoustic profile showed the presence of individual variability in terms of the location and intensity of the acoustic focus. With exquisite spatial selectivity and capability for depth penetration, FUS may confer a unique utility in providing non-invasive stimulation of region-specific brain circuits for neuroscientific and therapeutic applications.

  7. A Human Rights Lens on Full Employment and Decent Work in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diane F. Frey

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available On September 25, 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs as the blueprint for a global partnership for peace, development, and human rights for the period 2016 to 2030. The 2030 agenda follows on the heels of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, adopted in 2001, which set the international development agenda for the period 2001 to 2015. This article uses a human rights lens to demonstrate that the MDGs and the SDGs have not addressed full employment and decent work in a manner that is consistent with the Decent Work Agenda of the International Labour Organization and international human rights legal obligations of the UN member countries. It concludes that the new 2030 development agenda sadly aligns with market-based economic growth strategies rather than the realization of the human rights to full employment and decent work for all.

  8. Effects of selective attention on the electrophysiological representation of concurrent sounds in the human auditory cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidet-Caulet, Aurélie; Fischer, Catherine; Besle, Julien; Aguera, Pierre-Emmanuel; Giard, Marie-Helene; Bertrand, Olivier

    2007-08-29

    In noisy environments, we use auditory selective attention to actively ignore distracting sounds and select relevant information, as during a cocktail party to follow one particular conversation. The present electrophysiological study aims at deciphering the spatiotemporal organization of the effect of selective attention on the representation of concurrent sounds in the human auditory cortex. Sound onset asynchrony was manipulated to induce the segregation of two concurrent auditory streams. Each stream consisted of amplitude modulated tones at different carrier and modulation frequencies. Electrophysiological recordings were performed in epileptic patients with pharmacologically resistant partial epilepsy, implanted with depth electrodes in the temporal cortex. Patients were presented with the stimuli while they either performed an auditory distracting task or actively selected one of the two concurrent streams. Selective attention was found to affect steady-state responses in the primary auditory cortex, and transient and sustained evoked responses in secondary auditory areas. The results provide new insights on the neural mechanisms of auditory selective attention: stream selection during sound rivalry would be facilitated not only by enhancing the neural representation of relevant sounds, but also by reducing the representation of irrelevant information in the auditory cortex. Finally, they suggest a specialization of the left hemisphere in the attentional selection of fine-grained acoustic information.

  9. Post-lens tear turbidity and visual quality after scleral lens wear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carracedo, Gonzalo; Serramito-Blanco, Maria; Martin-Gil, Alba; Wang, Zicheng; Rodriguez-Pomar, Candela; Pintor, Jesús

    2017-11-01

    The aim was to evaluate the turbidity and thickness of the post-lens tear layer and its effect on visual quality in patients with keratoconus after the beginning of lens wear and before lens removal at the end of eight hours. Twenty-six patients with keratoconus (aged 36.95 ± 8.95 years) participated voluntarily in the study. The sample was divided into two groups: patients with intrastromal corneal ring (ICRS group) and patients without ICRS (KC group). Distance visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity, pachymetry, post-lens tear layer height and post-lens tear layer turbidity (percentage area occupied and number of particles per mm 2 ) were evaluated with optical coherence tomography before and after wearing a scleral lens. A significant increase of turbidity was found in all groups assessed (p turbidity parameters with distance VA but no correlation between turbidity and post-lens tear layer thickness at the beginning was found (p > 0.05). A strong correlation in all groups between the post-lens tear layer at the beginning and differences of tear layer thickness between two measures was also found (p turbidity. © 2017 Optometry Australia.

  10. Disinfection capacity of PuriLens contact lens cleaning unit against Acanthamoeba.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Thomas S; Hyon, Joon Young; Song, Jae Kyung; Reviglio, Victor E; Spahr, Harry T; O'Brien, Terrence P

    2004-01-01

    The PuriLens contact lens system is indicated for cleaning and disinfection of soft (hydrophilic) contact lenses by means of subsonic agitation to remove lens deposits and microorganisms, and ultraviolet irradiation of the storage solution for disinfection. The capacity of the PuriLens system to disinfect storage solutions contaminated with known concentrations of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acanthamoeba species was evaluated. An in vitro assessment of the antibacterial and antiparasitic efficacy of the PuriLens system was performed. Separated batches of the storage solution for the cleansing system were contaminated with stock strains of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. A comparison of the microbiologic content was made between the solution before and after the cycle. The PuriLens system effectively eradicated S. aureus and P. aeruginosa organisms after a 15-minute cycle. However, viable cysts of acanthamoeba were recovered in the solution after the 15-minute cycle. The PuriLens system is highly efficient in protecting against contamination with common bacterial ocular pathogens. Acanthamoeba cysts, however, can survive in the solution or contact lens bath undergoing integrated subsonic debridement and indirect ultraviolet light disinfection. Use of chemical disinfecting solutions that contain agents such as chlorhexidine or other cationic antiseptics may be advisable in conjunction with use of the PuriLens device, especially in high-risk settings.

  11. Context-dependent spatially periodic activity in the human entorhinal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadasdy, Zoltan; Nguyen, T Peter; Török, Ágoston; Shen, Jason Y; Briggs, Deborah E; Modur, Pradeep N; Buchanan, Robert J

    2017-04-25

    The spatially periodic activity of grid cells in the entorhinal cortex (EC) of the rodent, primate, and human provides a coordinate system that, together with the hippocampus, informs an individual of its location relative to the environment and encodes the memory of that location. Among the most defining features of grid-cell activity are the 60° rotational symmetry of grids and preservation of grid scale across environments. Grid cells, however, do display a limited degree of adaptation to environments. It remains unclear if this level of environment invariance generalizes to human grid-cell analogs, where the relative contribution of visual input to the multimodal sensory input of the EC is significantly larger than in rodents. Patients diagnosed with nontractable epilepsy who were implanted with entorhinal cortical electrodes performing virtual navigation tasks to memorized locations enabled us to investigate associations between grid-like patterns and environment. Here, we report that the activity of human entorhinal cortical neurons exhibits adaptive scaling in grid period, grid orientation, and rotational symmetry in close association with changes in environment size, shape, and visual cues, suggesting scale invariance of the frequency, rather than the wavelength, of spatially periodic activity. Our results demonstrate that neurons in the human EC represent space with an enhanced flexibility relative to neurons in rodents because they are endowed with adaptive scalability and context dependency.

  12. Avalanche analysis from multi-electrode ensemble recordings in cat, monkey and human cerebral cortex during wakefulness and sleep.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nima eDehghani

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Self-organized critical states are found in many natural systems, from earthquakes to forest fires, they have also been observed in neural systems, particularly, in neuronal cultures. However, the presence of critical states in the awake brain remains controversial. Here, we compared avalanche analyses performed on different in vivo preparations during wakefulness, slow-wave sleep and REM sleep, using high-density electrode arrays in cat motor cortex (96 electrodes, monkey motor cortex and premotor cortex and human temporal cortex (96 electrodes in epileptic patients. In neuronal avalanches defined from units (up to 160 single units, the size of avalanches never clearly scaled as power-law, but rather scaled exponentially or displayed intermediate scaling. We also analyzed the dynamics of local field potentials (LFPs and in particular LFP negative peaks (nLFPs among the different electrodes (up to 96 sites in temporal cortex or up to 128 sites in adjacent motor and pre-motor cortices. In this case, the avalanches defined from nLFPs displayed power-law scaling in double logarithmic representations, as reported previously in monkey. However, avalanche defined as positive LFP (pLFP peaks, which are less directly related to neuronal firing, also displayed apparent power-law scaling. Closer examination of this scaling using the more reliable cumulative distribution function (CDF and other rigorous statistical measures, did not confirm power-law scaling. The same pattern was seen for cats, monkey and human, as well as for different brain states of wakefulness and sleep. We also tested other alternative distributions. Multiple exponential fitting yielded optimal fits of the avalanche dynamics with bi-exponential distributions. Collectively, these results show no clear evidence for power-law scaling or self-organized critical states in the awake and sleeping brain of mammals, from cat to man.

  13. The Effect of the Crystalline Lens on Central Vault After Implantable Collamer Lens Implantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Meng-Ying; Chen, Qian; Zeng, Qing-Yan

    2017-08-01

    To identify associations between crystalline lens-related factors and central vault after Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) (Staar Surgical, Monrovia, CA) implantation. This retrospective clinical study included 320 eyes from 186 patients who underwent ICL implantation surgery. At 1 year after surgery, the central vault was measured using anterior segment optical coherence tomography. Preoperative anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, lens position (lens position = anterior chamber depth + 1/2 lens thickness), and vault were analyzed to investigate the effects of lens-related factors on postoperative vault. The mean vault was 513 ± 215 µm at 1 year after surgery. Vault was positively correlated with preoperative anterior chamber depth (r = 0.495, P lens position (r = 0.371, P lens thickness (r = -0.262, P lens position than eyes in the other two vault groups (which had vaults ≥ 250 µm) (P lens position less than 5.1 mm had greatly reduced vaults (P lens could have an important influence on postoperative vault. Eyes with a shallower anterior chamber and a forward lens position will have lower vaults. [J Refract Surg. 2017;33(8):519-523.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

  14. TMS-induced neural noise in sensory cortex interferes with short-term memory storage in prefrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bancroft, Tyler D; Hogeveen, Jeremy; Hockley, William E; Servos, Philip

    2014-01-01

    In a previous study, Harris et al. (2002) found disruption of vibrotactile short-term memory after applying single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to primary somatosensory cortex (SI) early in the maintenance period, and suggested that this demonstrated a role for SI in vibrotactile memory storage. While such a role is compatible with recent suggestions that sensory cortex is the storage substrate for working memory, it stands in contrast to a relatively large body of evidence from human EEG and single-cell recording in primates that instead points to prefrontal cortex as the storage substrate for vibrotactile memory. In the present study, we use computational methods to demonstrate how Harris et al.'s results can be reproduced by TMS-induced activity in sensory cortex and subsequent feedforward interference with memory traces stored in prefrontal cortex, thereby reconciling discordant findings in the tactile memory literature.

  15. Efficient generation of lens progenitor cells from cataract patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaodi Qiu

    Full Text Available The development of a technique to induce the transformation of somatic cells to a pluripotent state via the ectopic expression of defined transcription factors was a transformational event in the field of regenerative medicine. The development of this technique also impacted ophthalmology, as patient-specific induced pluripotent stemcells (iPSCs may be useful resources for some ophthalmological diseases. The lens is a key refractive element in the eye that focuses images of the visual world onto the retina. To establish a new model for drug screening to treat lens diseases and investigating lens aging and development, we examined whether human lens epithelial cells (HLECs could be induced into iPSCs and if lens-specific differentiation of these cells could be achieved under defined chemical conditions. We first efficiently reprogrammed HLECs from age-related cataract patients to iPSCs with OCT-4, SOX-2, and KLF-4. The resulting HLEC-derived iPS (HLE-iPS colonies were indistinguishable from human ES cells with respect to morphology, gene expression, pluripotent marker expression and their ability to generate all embryonic germ-cell layers. Next, we performed a 3-step induction procedure: HLE-iPS cells were differentiated into large numbers of lens progenitor-like cells with defined factors (Noggin, BMP and FGF2, and we determined that these cells expressed lens-specific markers (PAX6, SOX2, SIX3, CRYAB, CRYAA, BFSP1, and MIP. In addition, HLE-iPS-derived lens cells exhibited reduced expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT markers compared with human embryonic stem cells (hESCs and fibroblast-derived iPSCs. Our study describes a highly efficient procedure for generating lens progenitor cells from cataract patient HLEC-derived iPSCs. These patient-derived pluripotent cells provide a valuable model for studying the developmental and molecular biological mechanisms that underlie cell determination in lens development and cataract

  16. A functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of visual hallucinations in the human striate cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abid, Hina; Ahmad, Fayyaz; Lee, Soo Y; Park, Hyun W; Im, Dongmi; Ahmad, Iftikhar; Chaudhary, Safee U

    2016-11-29

    Human beings frequently experience fear, phobia, migraine and hallucinations, however, the cerebral mechanisms underpinning these conditions remain poorly understood. Towards this goal, in this work, we aim to correlate the human ocular perceptions with visual hallucinations, and map them to their cerebral origins. An fMRI study was performed to examine the visual cortical areas including the striate, parastriate and peristriate cortex in the occipital lobe of the human brain. 24 healthy subjects were enrolled and four visual patterns including hallucination circle (HCC), hallucination fan (HCF), retinotopy circle (RTC) and retinotopy cross (RTX) were used towards registering their impact in the aforementioned visual related areas. One-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate the significance of difference between induced activations. Multinomial regression and and K-means were used to cluster activation patterns in visual areas of the brain. Significant activations were observed in the visual cortex as a result of stimulus presentation. The responses induced by visual stimuli were resolved to Brodmann areas 17, 18 and 19. Activation data clustered into independent and mutually exclusive clusters with HCC registering higher activations as compared to HCF, RTC and RTX. We conclude that small circular objects, in rotation, tend to leave greater hallucinating impressions in the visual region. The similarity between observed activation patterns and those reported in conditions such as epilepsy and visual hallucinations can help elucidate the cortical mechanisms underlying these conditions. Trial Registration 1121_GWJUNG.

  17. The status of intercellular junctions in established lens epithelial cell lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dave, Alpana; Craig, Jamie E; Sharma, Shiwani

    2012-01-01

    Cataract is the major cause of vision-related disability worldwide. Mutations in the crystallin genes are the most common known cause of inherited congenital cataract. Mutations in the genes associated with intercellular contacts, such as Nance-Horan Syndrome (NHS) and Ephrin type A receptor-2 (EPHA2), are other recognized causes of congenital cataract. The EPHA2 gene has been also associated with age-related cataract, suggesting that intercellular junctions are important in not only lens development, but also in maintaining lens transparency. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression and localization of the key cell junction and cytoskeletal proteins, and of NHS and EPHA2, in established lens epithelial cell lines to determine their suitability as model epithelial systems for the functional investigation of genes involved in intercellular contacts and implicated in cataract. The expression and subcellular localization of occludin and zona occludens protein-1 (ZO-1), which are associated with tight junctions; E-cadherin, which is associated with adherence junctions; and the cytoskeletal actin were analyzed in monolayers of a human lens epithelial cell line (SRA 01/04) and a mouse lens epithelial cell line (αTN4). In addition, the expression and subcellular localization of the NHS and EPHA2 proteins were analyzed in these cell lines. Protein or mRNA expression was respectively determined by western blotting or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and localization was determined by immunofluorescence labeling. Human SRA 01/04 and mouse αTN4 lens epithelial cells expressed either the proteins of interest or their encoding mRNA. Occludin, ZO-1, and NHS proteins localized to the cellular periphery, whereas E-cadherin, actin, and EPHA2 localized in the cytoplasm in these cell lines. The human SRA 01/04 and mouse αTN4 lens epithelial cells express the key junctional proteins. The localization patterns of these proteins suggest that

  18. Independent delta/theta rhythms in the human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Mormann

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Theta oscillations in the medial temporal lobe (MTL of mammals are involved in various functions such as spatial navigation, sensorimotor integration, and cognitive processing. While the theta rhythm was originally assumed to originate in the medial septum, more recent studies suggest autonomous theta generation in the MTL. Although coherence between entorhinal and hippocampal theta activity has been found to influence memory formation, it remains unclear whether these two structures can generate theta independently. In this study we analyzed intracranial electroencephalographic (EEG recordings from 22 patients with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis undergoing presurgical evaluation prior to resection of the epileptic focus. Using a wavelet-based, frequency-band-specific measure of phase synchronization, we quantified synchrony between 10 different recording sites along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampal formation in the non-epileptic brain hemisphere. We compared EEG synchrony between adjacent recording sites (i within the entorhinal cortex, (ii within the hippocampus, and (iii between the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. We observed a significant interregional gap in synchrony for the delta and theta band, indicating the existence of independent delta/theta rhythms in different subregions of the human MTL. The interaction of these rhythms could represent the temporal basis for the information processing required for mnemonic encoding and retrieval.

  19. Lipid alterations in lipid rafts from Alzheimer's disease human brain cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín, Virginia; Fabelo, Noemí; Santpere, Gabriel; Puig, Berta; Marín, Raquel; Ferrer, Isidre; Díaz, Mario

    2010-01-01

    Lipid rafts are membrane microdomains intimately associated with cell signaling. These biochemical microstructures are characterized by their high contents of sphingolipids, cholesterol and saturated fatty acids and a reduced content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Here, we have purified lipid rafts of human frontal brain cortex from normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and characterized their biochemical lipid composition. The results revealed that lipid rafts from AD brains exhibit aberrant lipid profiles compared to healthy brains. In particular, lipid rafts from AD brains displayed abnormally low levels of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA, mainly 22:6n-3, docosahexaenoic acid) and monoenes (mainly 18:1n-9, oleic acid), as well as reduced unsaturation and peroxidability indexes. Also, multiple relationships between phospholipids and fatty acids were altered in AD lipid rafts. Importantly, no changes were observed in the mole percentage of lipid classes and fatty acids in rafts from normal brains throughout the lifespan (24-85 years). These indications point to the existence of homeostatic mechanisms preserving lipid raft status in normal frontal cortex. The disruption of such mechanisms in AD brains leads to a considerable increase in lipid raft order and viscosity, which may explain the alterations in lipid raft signaling observed in AD.

  20. Role of Aquaporin 0 in lens biomechanics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sindhu Kumari, S; Gupta, Neha; Shiels, Alan; FitzGerald, Paul G; Menon, Anil G; Mathias, Richard T; Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan

    2015-07-10

    fiber cell shape, architecture and integrity. To our knowledge, this is the first report identifying the involvement of an aquaporin in lens biomechanics. Since accommodation is required in human lenses for proper focusing, alteration in the adhesion and/or water channel functions of AQP0 could contribute to presbyopia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Exploratory Metabolomic Analyses Reveal Compounds Correlated with Lutein Concentration in Frontal Cortex, Hippocampus, and Occipital Cortex of Human Infant Brain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacqueline C Lieblein-Boff

    Full Text Available Lutein is a dietary carotenoid well known for its role as an antioxidant in the macula, and recent reports implicate a role for lutein in cognitive function. Lutein is the dominant carotenoid in both pediatric and geriatric brain tissue. In addition, cognitive function in older adults correlated with macular and postmortem brain lutein concentrations. Furthermore, lutein was found to preferentially accumulate in the infant brain in comparison to other carotenoids that are predominant in diet. While lutein is consistently related to cognitive function, the mechanisms by which lutein may influence cognition are not clear. In an effort to identify potential mechanisms through which lutein might influence neurodevelopment, an exploratory study relating metabolite signatures and lutein was completed. Post-mortem metabolomic analyses were performed on human infant brain tissues in three regions important for learning and memory: the frontal cortex, hippocampus, and occipital cortex. Metabolomic profiles were compared to lutein concentration, and correlations were identified and reported here. A total of 1276 correlations were carried out across all brain regions. Of 427 metabolites analyzed, 257 were metabolites of known identity. Unidentified metabolite correlations (510 were excluded. In addition, moderate correlations with xenobiotic relationships (2 or those driven by single outliers (3 were excluded from further study. Lutein concentrations correlated with lipid pathway metabolites, energy pathway metabolites, brain osmolytes, amino acid neurotransmitters, and the antioxidant homocarnosine. These correlations were often brain region-specific. Revealing relationships between lutein and metabolic pathways may help identify potential candidates on which to complete further analyses and may shed light on important roles of lutein in the human brain during development.

  2. Measurement of Crystalline Lens Volume During Accommodation in a Lens Stretcher.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marussich, Lauren; Manns, Fabrice; Nankivil, Derek; Maceo Heilman, Bianca; Yao, Yue; Arrieta-Quintero, Esdras; Ho, Arthur; Augusteyn, Robert; Parel, Jean-Marie

    2015-07-01

    To determine if the lens volume changes during accommodation. The study used data acquired on 36 cynomolgus monkey lenses that were stretched in a stepwise fashion to simulate disaccommodation. At each step, stretching force and dioptric power were measured and a cross-sectional image of the lens was acquired using an optical coherence tomography system. Images were corrected for refractive distortions and lens volume was calculated assuming rotational symmetry. The average change in lens volume was calculated and the relation between volume change and power change, and between volume change and stretching force, were quantified. Linear regressions of volume-power and volume-force plots were calculated. The mean (± SD) volume in the unstretched (accommodated) state was 97 ± 8 mm3. On average, there was a small but statistically significant (P = 0.002) increase in measured lens volume with stretching. The mean change in lens volume was +0.8 ± 1.3 mm3. The mean volume-power and volume-load slopes were -0.018 ± 0.058 mm3/D and +0.16 ± 0.40 mm3/g. Lens volume remains effectively constant during accommodation, with changes that are less than 1% on average. This result supports a hypothesis that the change in lens shape with accommodation is accompanied by a redistribution of tissue within the capsular bag without significant compression of the lens contents or fluid exchange through the capsule.

  3. The human dorsal premotor cortex facilitates the excitability of ipsilateral primary motor cortex via a short latency cortico-cortical route

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groppa, Sergiu; Schlaak, Boris H; Münchau, Alexander

    2012-01-01

    In non-human primates, invasive tracing and electrostimulation studies have identified strong ipsilateral cortico-cortical connections between dorsal premotor- (PMd) and the primary motor cortex (M1(HAND) ). Here, we applied dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation (dsTMS) to left PMd and M1......(HAND) through specifically designed minicoils to selectively probe ipsilateral PMd-to-M1(HAND) connectivity in humans. A suprathreshold test stimulus (TS) was applied to M1(HAND) producing a motor evoked potential (MEP) of about 0.5 mV in the relaxed right first dorsal interosseus muscle (FDI......) facilitation did not change as a function of CS intensity. Even at higher intensities, the CS alone failed to elicit a MEP or a cortical silent period in the pre-activated FDI, excluding a direct spread of excitation from PMd to M1(HAND). No MEP facilitation was present while CS was applied rostrally over...

  4. THE THEORY OF CIVILIZATIONS THROUGH THE LENS OF CONTEMPORARY HUMANITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. V. Danylova

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. This paper invites reflections on the further development of civilizational theory through the lens of contemporary humanities. It argues that philosophy is one of the key dimensions of the integral theory of civilizations. The purpose is to promote dialogue-rich interdisciplinary civilizational approach with philosophical understanding of human essence at its core. Methodology. The author has used comparative historical analysis, along with hermeneutical methodology and interdisciplinary approach. Theoretical basis and results. Faced with the challenges of our time, researchers are turning to the civilizational approach, according to which world history appears to us as a colourful spectrum of the options for the development of humanity. At the present stage of scientific development the integral theory of civilizations seems to be the most productive tool for the interpretation of the events taking place in our world. Origianlity. The problem of human being is a key factor in understanding the dynamics of civilizational process and designing a promising theory of civilizations. Philosophy should occupy an important place in the development of a new theory of civilizations: philosophy is the spiritual quintessence of every epoch, every cultural and civilizational community. In particular, a new theory has to take into account both classic and contemporary investigations in the field of philosophical anthropology and theory of values. The increasing threat posed by the clash of civilizations can become a swan song of humanity. For the preservation and further development of the world civilization, there is no other choice but to elaborate the strategies, mechanisms for consultation and dialogue, cooperation and partnership of civilizations and states. That is why the urgent task is to create the certain philosophical position that will contribute to mutual understanding. Conclusions. It is important to involve philosophers in the

  5. Cortical thickness development of human primary visual cortex related to the age of blindness onset.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qiaojun; Song, Ming; Xu, Jiayuan; Qin, Wen; Yu, Chunshui; Jiang, Tianzi

    2017-08-01

    Blindness primarily induces structural alteration in the primary visual cortex (V1). Some studies have found that the early blind subjects had a thicker V1 compared to sighted controls, whereas late blind subjects showed no significant differences in the V1. This implies that the age of blindness onset may exert significant effects on the development of cortical thickness of the V1. However, no previous research used a trajectory of the age of blindness onset-related changes to investigate these effects. Here we explored this issue by mapping the cortical thickness trajectory of the V1 against the age of blindness onset using data from 99 blind individuals whose age of blindness onset ranged from birth to 34 years. We found that the cortical thickness of the V1 could be fitted well with a quadratic curve in both the left (F = 11.59, P = 3 × 10 -5 ) and right hemispheres (F = 6.54, P = 2 × 10 -3 ). Specifically, the cortical thickness of the V1 thinned rapidly during childhood and adolescence and did not change significantly thereafter. This trend was not observed in the primary auditory cortex (A1), primary motor cortex (M1), or primary somatosensory cortex (S1). These results provide evidence that an onset of blindness before adulthood significantly affects the cortical thickness of the V1 and suggest a critical period for cortical development of the human V1.

  6. Immunocytochemical expression of monocarboxylate transporters in the human visual cortex at midgestation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayol, Laurence; Baud, Olivier; Monier, Anne; Pellerin, Luc; Magistretti, Pierre; Evrard, Philippe; Verney, Catherine

    2004-01-31

    Lactate and the other monocarboxylates are a major energy source for the developing brain. We investigated the immunocytochemical expression of two monocarboxylate transporters, MCT1 and MCT2, in the human visual cortex between 13 and 26 post-ovulatory weeks. We used immunoperoxidase and immunofluorescence techniques to determine whether these transporters co-localized with markers for blood vessels (CD34), neurons (microtubule-associated protein 2 [MAP2], SMI 311), radial glia (vimentin), or astrocytes (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], S100beta protein). MCT1 immunoreactivity was visible in blood vessel walls as early as the 13th week of gestation mainly in the cortical plate and subplate. At this stage, less than 10% of vessels in the ventricular layer expressed MCT1, whereas all blood vessels walls showed this immunoreactivity at the 26th gestational week. Starting at the 19th week of gestation, sparse MCT1 positive cell bodies were detected, some of them co-localized with MAP2 immunoreactivity. MCT2 immunoreactivity was noted in astrocytic cell bodies from week 19 and spread subsequently to the astrocyte end-feet in contact with blood vessels. MCTs immunoreactivities were most marked in the subplate and deep cortical plate, where the most differentiated neurons were located. Our findings suggest that monocarboxylate trafficking between vessels (MCT1), astrocytes (MCT2) and some postmitotic neurons (MCT1) could develop gradually toward 20 gestational weeks (g.w.). These data suggest that lactate or other monocarboxylates could represent a significant energy source for the human visual cortex at this early stage.

  7. Eye lens radiation exposure in Greek interventional cardiology personnel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thrapsanioti, Zoi; Askounis, Panagiotis; Carinou, Eleftheria; Datseris, Ioannis; Diamanti, Ramza Anastasia; Papathanasiou, Miltiadis

    2017-01-01

    The lens of the eye is one of the radiosensitive tissues of the human body; if exposed to ionizing radiation can develop radiation-induced cataract at early ages. This study was held in Greece and included 44 Interventional Cardiologists (ICs) and an unexposed to radiation control group of 22 persons. Of the note, 26 ICs and the unexposed individuals underwent special eye examinations. The detected lens opacities were classified according to LOCS III protocol. Additionally, the lens doses of the ICs were measured using eye lens dosemeters. The mean dose to the lenses of the ICs per month was 0.83 ± 0.59 mSv for the left and 0.35 ± 0.38 mSv for the right eye, while the annual doses ranged between 0.7 and 11 mSv. Regarding the lens opacities, the two groups did not differ significantly in the prevalence of either nuclear or cortical lens opacities, whereas four ICs were detected with early stage subcapsular sclerosis. Though no statistically difference was observed in the cohort, the measured doses indicate that the eye doses received from the ICs can be significant. To minimize the radiation-induced risk at the eye lenses, the use of protective equipment and appropriate training on this issue is highly recommended. (authors)

  8. Persistent neural activity in auditory cortex is related to auditory working memory in humans and nonhuman primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ying; Matysiak, Artur; Heil, Peter; König, Reinhard; Brosch, Michael

    2016-07-20

    Working memory is the cognitive capacity of short-term storage of information for goal-directed behaviors. Where and how this capacity is implemented in the brain are unresolved questions. We show that auditory cortex stores information by persistent changes of neural activity. We separated activity related to working memory from activity related to other mental processes by having humans and monkeys perform different tasks with varying working memory demands on the same sound sequences. Working memory was reflected in the spiking activity of individual neurons in auditory cortex and in the activity of neuronal populations, that is, in local field potentials and magnetic fields. Our results provide direct support for the idea that temporary storage of information recruits the same brain areas that also process the information. Because similar activity was observed in the two species, the cellular bases of some auditory working memory processes in humans can be studied in monkeys.

  9. Encoding model of temporal processing in human visual cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stigliani, Anthony; Jeska, Brianna; Grill-Spector, Kalanit

    2017-12-19

    How is temporal information processed in human visual cortex? Visual input is relayed to V1 through segregated transient and sustained channels in the retina and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). However, there is intense debate as to how sustained and transient temporal channels contribute to visual processing beyond V1. The prevailing view associates transient processing predominately with motion-sensitive regions and sustained processing with ventral stream regions, while the opposing view suggests that both temporal channels contribute to neural processing beyond V1. Using fMRI, we measured cortical responses to time-varying stimuli and then implemented a two temporal channel-encoding model to evaluate the contributions of each channel. Different from the general linear model of fMRI that predicts responses directly from the stimulus, the encoding approach first models neural responses to the stimulus from which fMRI responses are derived. This encoding approach not only predicts cortical responses to time-varying stimuli from milliseconds to seconds but also, reveals differential contributions of temporal channels across visual cortex. Consistent with the prevailing view, motion-sensitive regions and adjacent lateral occipitotemporal regions are dominated by transient responses. However, ventral occipitotemporal regions are driven by both sustained and transient channels, with transient responses exceeding the sustained. These findings propose a rethinking of temporal processing in the ventral stream and suggest that transient processing may contribute to rapid extraction of the content of the visual input. Importantly, our encoding approach has vast implications, because it can be applied with fMRI to decipher neural computations in millisecond resolution in any part of the brain. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  10. Frequency-specific attentional modulation in human primary auditory cortex and midbrain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riecke, Lars; Peters, Judith C; Valente, Giancarlo; Poser, Benedikt A; Kemper, Valentin G; Formisano, Elia; Sorger, Bettina

    2018-07-01

    Paying selective attention to an audio frequency selectively enhances activity within primary auditory cortex (PAC) at the tonotopic site (frequency channel) representing that frequency. Animal PAC neurons achieve this 'frequency-specific attentional spotlight' by adapting their frequency tuning, yet comparable evidence in humans is scarce. Moreover, whether the spotlight operates in human midbrain is unknown. To address these issues, we studied the spectral tuning of frequency channels in human PAC and inferior colliculus (IC), using 7-T functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) and frequency mapping, while participants focused on different frequency-specific sounds. We found that shifts in frequency-specific attention alter the response gain, but not tuning profile, of PAC frequency channels. The gain modulation was strongest in low-frequency channels and varied near-monotonically across the tonotopic axis, giving rise to the attentional spotlight. We observed less prominent, non-tonotopic spatial patterns of attentional modulation in IC. These results indicate that the frequency-specific attentional spotlight in human PAC as measured with FMRI arises primarily from tonotopic gain modulation, rather than adapted frequency tuning. Moreover, frequency-specific attentional modulation of afferent sound processing in human IC seems to be considerably weaker, suggesting that the spotlight diminishes toward this lower-order processing stage. Our study sheds light on how the human auditory pathway adapts to the different demands of selective hearing. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. AutoLens: Automated Modeling of a Strong Lens's Light, Mass and Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nightingale, J. W.; Dye, S.; Massey, Richard J.

    2018-05-01

    This work presents AutoLens, the first entirely automated modeling suite for the analysis of galaxy-scale strong gravitational lenses. AutoLens simultaneously models the lens galaxy's light and mass whilst reconstructing the extended source galaxy on an adaptive pixel-grid. The method's approach to source-plane discretization is amorphous, adapting its clustering and regularization to the intrinsic properties of the lensed source. The lens's light is fitted using a superposition of Sersic functions, allowing AutoLens to cleanly deblend its light from the source. Single component mass models representing the lens's total mass density profile are demonstrated, which in conjunction with light modeling can detect central images using a centrally cored profile. Decomposed mass modeling is also shown, which can fully decouple a lens's light and dark matter and determine whether the two component are geometrically aligned. The complexity of the light and mass models are automatically chosen via Bayesian model comparison. These steps form AutoLens's automated analysis pipeline, such that all results in this work are generated without any user-intervention. This is rigorously tested on a large suite of simulated images, assessing its performance on a broad range of lens profiles, source morphologies and lensing geometries. The method's performance is excellent, with accurate light, mass and source profiles inferred for data sets representative of both existing Hubble imaging and future Euclid wide-field observations.

  12. Activation of the insular cortex during dynamic exercise in humans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Williamson, James; Nobrega, A C; McColl, R

    1997-01-01

    role as a site for regulation of autonomic activity. 2. Eight subjects were studied during voluntary active cycling and passively induced cycling. Additionally, four of the subjects underwent passive movement combined with electrical stimulation of the legs. 3. Increases in regional cerebral blood flow...... during active, but not passive cycling. There were no significant changes in rCBF for the right insula. Also, the magnitude of rCBF increase for leg primary motor areas was significantly greater for both active cycling and passive cycling combined with electrical stimulation compared with passive cycling...... alone. 5. These findings provide the first evidence of insular activation during dynamic exercise in humans, suggesting that the left insular cortex may serve as a site for cortical regulation of cardiac autonomic (parasympathetic) activity. Additionally, findings during passive cycling with electrical...

  13. Optical integration of Pancharatnam-Berry phase lens and dynamical phase lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ke, Yougang; Liu, Yachao; Zhou, Junxiao; Liu, Yuanyuan; Luo, Hailu; Wen, Shuangchun

    2016-01-01

    In the optical system, most elements such as lens, prism, and optical fiber are made of silica glass. Therefore, integrating Pancharatnam-Berry phase elements into silica glass has potential applications in the optical system. In this paper, we take a lens, for example, which integrates a Pancharatnam-Berry phase lens into a conventional plano-convex lens. The spin states and positions of focal points can be modulated by controlling the polarization states of the incident beam. The proposed lens has a high transmission efficiency, and thereby acts as a simple and powerful tool to manipulate spin photons. Furthermore, the method can be conveniently extended to the optical fiber and laser cavity, and may provide a route to the design of the spin-photonic devices.

  14. The basis of orientation decoding in human primary visual cortex: fine- or coarse-scale biases?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maloney, Ryan T

    2015-01-01

    Orientation signals in human primary visual cortex (V1) can be reliably decoded from the multivariate pattern of activity as measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The precise underlying source of these decoded signals (whether by orientation biases at a fine or coarse scale in cortex) remains a matter of some controversy, however. Freeman and colleagues (J Neurosci 33: 19695-19703, 2013) recently showed that the accuracy of decoding of spiral patterns in V1 can be predicted by a voxel's preferred spatial position (the population receptive field) and its coarse orientation preference, suggesting that coarse-scale biases are sufficient for orientation decoding. Whether they are also necessary for decoding remains an open question, and one with implications for the broader interpretation of multivariate decoding results in fMRI studies. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  15. Unique and analogous functions of aquaporin O for fiber cell architecture and ocular lens transparency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumari, S.S.; Eswaramoorthy, S.; Mathias, R. T.; Varadaraj, K.

    2011-09-01

    Aquaporin (AQP) 1 and AQP0 water channels are expressed in lens epithelial and fiber cells, respectively, facilitating fluid circulation for nourishing the avascular lens to maintain transparency. Even though AQP0 water permeability is 40-fold less than AQP1, AQP0 is selectively expressed in the fibers. Delimited AQP0 fiber expression is attributed to a unique structural role as an adhesion protein. To validate this notion, we determined if wild type (WT) lens ultrastructure and fibercell adhesion are different in AQP0{sup -/-}, and TgAQP1{sup +/+}/AQP0{sup -/-} mice that transgenically express AQP1 (TgAQP1) in fibercells without AQP0 (AQP0{sup -/-}). In WT, lenses were transparent with 'Y' sutures. Fibers contained opposite end curvature, lateral interdigitations, hexagonal shape, and were arranged as concentric growth shells. AQP0{sup -/-}lenses were cataractous, lacked 'Y' sutures, ordered packing and well-defined lateral interdigitations. TgAQP1{sup +/+}/AQP0{sup -/-} lenses showed improvement in transparency and lateral interdigitations in the outer cortex while inner cortex and nuclear fibers were severely disintegrated. Transmission electron micrographs exhibited tightly packed fibercells in WT whereas AQP0{sup -/-} and TgAQP1{sup +/+}/AQP0{sup -/-}lenses had wide extracellular spaces. Fibers were easily separable by teasing in AQP0{sup -/-} and TgAQP1{sup +/+}/AQP0{sup -/-}lenses compared to WT. Our data suggest that the increased water permeability through AQP1 does not compensate for loss of AQP0 expression in TgAQP1{sup +/+}/AQP0{sup -/-} mice. Fibercell AQP0 expression is required to maintain their organization, which is a requisite for lenstransparency. AQP0 appears necessary for cell-to-cell adhesion and thereby to minimize light scattering since in the AQP0{sup -/-} and TgAQP1{sup +/+}/AQP0{sup -/-} lenses, fiber cell disorganization was evident.

  16. Converging or Diverging Lens?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branca, Mario

    2013-01-01

    Why does a lens magnify? Why does it shrink objects? Why does this happen? The activities that we propose here are useful in helping us to understand how lenses work, and they show that the same lens can have different magnification capabilities. A converging lens can also act as a diverging lens. (Contains 4 figures.)

  17. How learning might strengthen existing visual object representations in human object-selective cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brants, Marijke; Bulthé, Jessica; Daniels, Nicky; Wagemans, Johan; Op de Beeck, Hans P

    2016-02-15

    Visual object perception is an important function in primates which can be fine-tuned by experience, even in adults. Which factors determine the regions and the neurons that are modified by learning is still unclear. Recently, it was proposed that the exact cortical focus and distribution of learning effects might depend upon the pre-learning mapping of relevant functional properties and how this mapping determines the informativeness of neural units for the stimuli and the task to be learned. From this hypothesis we would expect that visual experience would strengthen the pre-learning distributed functional map of the relevant distinctive object properties. Here we present a first test of this prediction in twelve human subjects who were trained in object categorization and differentiation, preceded and followed by a functional magnetic resonance imaging session. Specifically, training increased the distributed multi-voxel pattern information for trained object distinctions in object-selective cortex, resulting in a generalization from pre-training multi-voxel activity patterns to after-training activity patterns. Simulations show that the increased selectivity combined with the inter-session generalization is consistent with a training-induced strengthening of a pre-existing selectivity map. No training-related neural changes were detected in other regions. In sum, training to categorize or individuate objects strengthened pre-existing representations in human object-selective cortex, providing a first indication that the neuroanatomical distribution of learning effects depends upon the pre-learning mapping of visual object properties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Placement of a crystalline lens and intraocular lens: Retinal image quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siedlecki, Damian; Nowak, Jerzy; Zajac, Marek

    2006-01-01

    The influence of changes of both crystalline lens and intraocular lens (IOL) misalignment on the retinal image quality was investigated. The optical model of the eye used in investigations was the Liou-Brennan model, which is commonly considered as one of the most anatomically accurate. The original crystalline lens from this model was replaced with an IOL, made of rigid polymethylmethacrylate, in a way that recommend obligatory procedures. The modifications that were made both for crystalline lens and IOL were the longitudinal, the transversal, and the angular displacement.

  19. Effect of infrared radiation on the lens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aly Eman

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Infrared (IR radiation is becoming more popular in industrial manufacturing processes and in many instruments used for diagnostic and therapeutic application to the human eye. Aim : The present study was designed to investigate the effect of IR radiation on rabbit′s crystalline lens and lens membrane. Materials and Methods: Fifteen New Zealand rabbits were used in the present work. The rabbits were classified into three groups; one of them served as control. The other two groups were exposed to IR radiation for 5 or 10 minutes. Animals from these two irradiated groups were subdivided into two subgroups; one of them was decapitated directly after IR exposure, while the other subgroup was decapitated 1 hour post exposure. IR was delivered from a General Electric Lamp model 250R 50/10, placed 20 cm from the rabbit and aimed at each eye. The activity of Na + -K + ATPase was measured in the lens membrane. Soluble lens proteins were extracted and the following measurements were carried out: estimation of total soluble protein, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectroscopy. For comparison between multiple groups, analysis of variance was used with significance level set at P < 0.001. Results: The results indicated a change in the molecular weight of different lens crystalline accompanied with changes in protein backbone structure. These changes increased for the groups exposed to IR for 10 minutes. Moreover, the activity of Na + -K + ATPase significantly decreased for all groups. Conclusions: The protein of eye lens is very sensitive to IR radiation which is hazardous and may lead to cataract.

  20. Human perception of electrical stimulation on the surface of somatosensory cortex.

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    Shivayogi V Hiremath

    Full Text Available Recent advancement in electrocorticography (ECoG-based brain-computer interface technology has sparked a new interest in providing somatosensory feedback using ECoG electrodes, i.e., cortical surface electrodes. We conducted a 28-day study of cortical surface stimulation in an individual with arm paralysis due to brachial plexus injury to examine the sensation produced by electrical stimulation of the somatosensory cortex. A high-density ECoG grid was implanted over the somatosensory and motor cortices. Stimulation through cortical surface electrodes over the somatosensory cortex successfully elicited arm and hand sensations in our participant with chronic paralysis. There were three key findings. First, the intensity of perceived sensation increased monotonically with both pulse amplitude and pulse frequency. Second, changing pulse width changed the type of sensation based on qualitative description provided by the human participant. Third, the participant could distinguish between stimulation applied to two neighboring cortical surface electrodes, 4.5 mm center-to-center distance, for three out of seven electrode pairs tested. Taken together, we found that it was possible to modulate sensation intensity, sensation type, and evoke sensations across a range of locations from the fingers to the upper arm using different stimulation electrodes even in an individual with chronic impairment of somatosensory function. These three features are essential to provide effective somatosensory feedback for neuroprosthetic applications.

  1. Characterization of lens based photoacoustic imaging system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalloor Joseph Francis

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Some of the challenges in translating photoacoustic (PA imaging to clinical applications includes limited view of the target tissue, low signal to noise ratio and the high cost of developing real-time systems. Acoustic lens based PA imaging systems, also known as PA cameras are a potential alternative to conventional imaging systems in these scenarios. The 3D focusing action of lens enables real-time C-scan imaging with a 2D transducer array. In this paper, we model the underlying physics in a PA camera in the mathematical framework of an imaging system and derive a closed form expression for the point spread function (PSF. Experimental verification follows including the details on how to design and fabricate the lens inexpensively. The system PSF is evaluated over a 3D volume that can be imaged by this PA camera. Its utility is demonstrated by imaging phantom and an ex vivo human prostate tissue sample.

  2. Characterization of lens based photoacoustic imaging system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, Kalloor Joseph; Chinni, Bhargava; Channappayya, Sumohana S; Pachamuthu, Rajalakshmi; Dogra, Vikram S; Rao, Navalgund

    2017-12-01

    Some of the challenges in translating photoacoustic (PA) imaging to clinical applications includes limited view of the target tissue, low signal to noise ratio and the high cost of developing real-time systems. Acoustic lens based PA imaging systems, also known as PA cameras are a potential alternative to conventional imaging systems in these scenarios. The 3D focusing action of lens enables real-time C-scan imaging with a 2D transducer array. In this paper, we model the underlying physics in a PA camera in the mathematical framework of an imaging system and derive a closed form expression for the point spread function (PSF). Experimental verification follows including the details on how to design and fabricate the lens inexpensively. The system PSF is evaluated over a 3D volume that can be imaged by this PA camera. Its utility is demonstrated by imaging phantom and an ex vivo human prostate tissue sample.

  3. Top-down modulation of human early visual cortex after stimulus offset supports successful postcued report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sergent, Claire; Ruff, Christian C; Barbot, Antoine; Driver, Jon; Rees, Geraint

    2011-08-01

    Modulations of sensory processing in early visual areas are thought to play an important role in conscious perception. To date, most empirical studies focused on effects occurring before or during visual presentation. By contrast, several emerging theories postulate that sensory processing and conscious visual perception may also crucially depend on late top-down influences, potentially arising after a visual display. To provide a direct test of this, we performed an fMRI study using a postcued report procedure. The ability to report a target at a specific spatial location in a visual display can be enhanced behaviorally by symbolic auditory postcues presented shortly after that display. Here we showed that such auditory postcues can enhance target-specific signals in early human visual cortex (V1 and V2). For postcues presented 200 msec after stimulus termination, this target-specific enhancement in visual cortex was specifically associated with correct conscious report. The strength of this modulation predicted individual levels of performance in behavior. By contrast, although later postcues presented 1000 msec after stimulus termination had some impact on activity in early visual cortex, this modulation no longer related to conscious report. These results demonstrate that within a critical time window of a few hundred milliseconds after a visual stimulus has disappeared, successful conscious report of that stimulus still relates to the strength of top-down modulation in early visual cortex. We suggest that, within this critical time window, sensory representation of a visual stimulus is still under construction and so can still be flexibly influenced by top-down modulatory processes.

  4. Refractive neutron lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, P.V.; Kolchevsky, N.N.

    2013-01-01

    Model of the refractive neutron lens is proposed. System of N lenses acts as one thin lens with a complex refraction index n*. The maximum number N max of individual lenses for 'thick' neutron lens is calculated. Refractive neutron lens properties (resolution, focal depth) as function of resolution factor F 0 =ρbc/μ and depth of field factor dF 0 =λF 0 =λρbc/μ are calculated. It is shown that micro resolution of the refractive neutron optics is far from the wavelength in size and its open possibilities for progress in refractive neutron optics. (authors)

  5. Maps of the Auditory Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, Alyssa A; Barton, Brian

    2016-07-08

    One of the fundamental properties of the mammalian brain is that sensory regions of cortex are formed of multiple, functionally specialized cortical field maps (CFMs). Each CFM comprises two orthogonal topographical representations, reflecting two essential aspects of sensory space. In auditory cortex, auditory field maps (AFMs) are defined by the combination of tonotopic gradients, representing the spectral aspects of sound (i.e., tones), with orthogonal periodotopic gradients, representing the temporal aspects of sound (i.e., period or temporal envelope). Converging evidence from cytoarchitectural and neuroimaging measurements underlies the definition of 11 AFMs across core and belt regions of human auditory cortex, with likely homology to those of macaque. On a macrostructural level, AFMs are grouped into cloverleaf clusters, an organizational structure also seen in visual cortex. Future research can now use these AFMs to investigate specific stages of auditory processing, key for understanding behaviors such as speech perception and multimodal sensory integration.

  6. Crystalline lens thickness determines the perceived chromatic difference in magnification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yun; Schaeffel, Frank

    2014-03-01

    Since the origin of the high interindividual variability of the chromatic difference in retinal image magnification (CDM) in the human eye is not well understood, optical parameters that might determine its magnitude were studied in 21 healthy subjects with ages ranging from 21 to 58 years. Two psychophysical procedures were used to quantify CDM. They produced highly correlated results. First, a red and a blue square, presented on a black screen, had to be matched in size by the subjects with their right eyes. Second, a filled red and blue square, flickering on top of each other at 2 Hz, had to be adjusted in perceived brightness and then in size to minimize the impression of flicker. CDM varied widely among subjects from 0.0% to 3.6%. Biometric ocular parameters were measured with low coherence interferometry and crystalline lens tilt and decentration with a custom-built Purkinjemeter. Correlations were studied between CDM and corneal power, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, lens tilt and lens decentration, and vitreous chamber depths. Lens thickness was found significantly correlated with CDM and accounted for 64% of its variance. Vertical lens tilt and decentration were also significantly correlated. It was also found that CDM increased by 3.5% per year, and part of this change can be attributed to the age-related increase in lens thickness.

  7. Double-bouquet cells in the monkey and human cerebral cortex with special reference to areas 17 and 18.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeFelipe, Javier; Ballesteros-Yáñez, Inmaculada; Inda, Maria Carmen; Muñoz, Alberto

    2006-01-01

    The detailed microanatomical study of the human cerebral cortex began in 1899 with the experiments of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who applied the Golgi method to define the structure of the visual, motor, auditory and olfactory cortex. In the first article of this series, he described a special type of interneuron in the visual cortex capable of exerting its influence in the vertical dimension. These neurons are now more commonly referred to as double-bouquet cells (DBCs). The DBCs are readily distinguished owing to their characteristic axons that give rise to tightly interwoven bundles of long, vertically oriented axonal collaterals resembling a horsetail (DBC horsetail). Nevertheless, the most striking characteristic of these neurons is that they are so numerous and regularly distributed that the DBC horsetails form a microcolumnar structure. In addition, DBCs establish hundreds of inhibitory synapses within a very narrow column of cortical tissue. These features have generated considerable interest in DBCs over recent years, principally among those researchers interested in the analysis of cortical circuits. In the present chapter, we shall discuss the morphology, synaptic connections and neurochemical features of DBCs that have been defined through the study of these cells in different cortical areas and species. We will mainly consider the immunocytochemical studies of DBCs that have been carried out in the visual cortex (areas 17 and 18) of human and macaque monkey. We will see that there are important differences in the morphology, number and distribution of DBC horsetails between areas 17 and 18 in the primate. This suggests important differences in the microcolumnar organization between these areas, the functional significance of which awaits detailed correlative physiological and microanatomical studies.

  8. Exchange of tears under a contact lens is driven by distortions of the contact lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maki, Kara L; Ross, David S

    2014-12-01

    We studied the flow of the post-lens tear film under a soft contact lens to understand how the design parameters of contact lenses can affect ocular health. When a soft contact lens is inserted, the blinking eyelid causes the lens to stretch in order to conform to the shape of the eye. The deformed contact lens acts to assume its un-deformed shape and thus generates a suction pressure in the post-lens tear film. In consequence, the post-lens tear fluid moves; it responds to the suction pressure. The suction pressure may draw in fresh fluid from the edge of the lens, or it may eject fluid there, as the lens reassumes its un-deformed shape. In this article, we develop a mathematical model of the flow of the post-lens tear fluid in response to the mechanical suction pressure of a deformed contact lens. We predict the amount of exchange of fluid exchange under a contact lens and we explore the influence of the eye's shape on the rate of exchange of fluid. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Stimulus uncertainty enhances long-term potentiation-like plasticity in human motor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sale, Martin V; Nydam, Abbey S; Mattingley, Jason B

    2017-03-01

    Plasticity can be induced in human cortex using paired associative stimulation (PAS), which repeatedly and predictably pairs a peripheral electrical stimulus with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the contralateral motor region. Many studies have reported small or inconsistent effects of PAS. Given that uncertain stimuli can promote learning, the predictable nature of the stimulation in conventional PAS paradigms might serve to attenuate plasticity induction. Here, we introduced stimulus uncertainty into the PAS paradigm to investigate if it can boost plasticity induction. Across two experimental sessions, participants (n = 28) received a modified PAS paradigm consisting of a random combination of 90 paired stimuli and 90 unpaired (TMS-only) stimuli. Prior to each of these stimuli, participants also received an auditory cue which either reliably predicted whether the upcoming stimulus was paired or unpaired (no uncertainty condition) or did not predict the upcoming stimulus (maximum uncertainty condition). Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) evoked from abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle quantified cortical excitability before and after PAS. MEP amplitude increased significantly 15 min following PAS in the maximum uncertainty condition. There was no reliable change in MEP amplitude in the no uncertainty condition, nor between post-PAS MEP amplitudes across the two conditions. These results suggest that stimulus uncertainty may provide a novel means to enhance plasticity induction with the PAS paradigm in human motor cortex. To provide further support to the notion that stimulus uncertainty and prediction error promote plasticity, future studies should further explore the time course of these changes, and investigate what aspects of stimulus uncertainty are critical in boosting plasticity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Peripheral Defocus of the Monkey Crystalline Lens With Accommodation in a Lens Stretcher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maceo Heilman, Bianca; Manns, Fabrice; Ruggeri, Marco; Ho, Arthur; Gonzalez, Alex; Rowaan, Cor; Bernal, Andres; Arrieta, Esdras; Parel, Jean-Marie

    2018-01-01

    Purpose To characterize the peripheral defocus of the monkey crystalline lens and its changes with accommodation. Methods Experiments were performed on 15 lenses from 11 cynomolgus monkey eyes (age: 3.8–12.4 years, postmortem time: 33.5 ± 15.3 hours). The tissue was mounted in a motorized lens stretcher to allow for measurements of the lens in the accommodated (unstretched) and unaccommodated (stretched) states. A custom-built combined laser ray tracing and optical coherence tomography system was used to measure the paraxial on-axis and off-axis lens power for delivery angles ranging from −20° to +20° (in air). For each delivery angle, peripheral defocus was quantified as the difference between paraxial off-axis and on-axis power. The peripheral defocus of the lens was compared in the unstretched and stretched states. Results On average, the paraxial on-axis lens power was 52.0 ± 3.4 D in the unstretched state and 32.5 ± 5.1 D in the stretched state. In both states, the lens power increased with increasing delivery angle. From 0° to +20°, the relative peripheral lens power increased by 10.7 ± 1.4 D in the unstretched state and 7.5 ± 1.6 D in the stretched state. The change in field curvature with accommodation was statistically significant (P lens has greater curvature or relative peripheral power. Conclusions The cynomolgus monkey lens has significant accommodation-dependent curvature of field, which suggests that the lens asserts a significant contribution to the peripheral optical performance of the eye that also varies with the state of accommodation.

  11. Aging Affects Adaptation to Sound-Level Statistics in Human Auditory Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrmann, Björn; Maess, Burkhard; Johnsrude, Ingrid S

    2018-02-21

    Optimal perception requires efficient and adaptive neural processing of sensory input. Neurons in nonhuman mammals adapt to the statistical properties of acoustic feature distributions such that they become sensitive to sounds that are most likely to occur in the environment. However, whether human auditory responses adapt to stimulus statistical distributions and how aging affects adaptation to stimulus statistics is unknown. We used MEG to study how exposure to different distributions of sound levels affects adaptation in auditory cortex of younger (mean: 25 years; n = 19) and older (mean: 64 years; n = 20) adults (male and female). Participants passively listened to two sound-level distributions with different modes (either 15 or 45 dB sensation level). In a control block with long interstimulus intervals, allowing neural populations to recover from adaptation, neural response magnitudes were similar between younger and older adults. Critically, both age groups demonstrated adaptation to sound-level stimulus statistics, but adaptation was altered for older compared with younger people: in the older group, neural responses continued to be sensitive to sound level under conditions in which responses were fully adapted in the younger group. The lack of full adaptation to the statistics of the sensory environment may be a physiological mechanism underlying the known difficulty that older adults have with filtering out irrelevant sensory information. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Behavior requires efficient processing of acoustic stimulation. Animal work suggests that neurons accomplish efficient processing by adjusting their response sensitivity depending on statistical properties of the acoustic environment. Little is known about the extent to which this adaptation to stimulus statistics generalizes to humans, particularly to older humans. We used MEG to investigate how aging influences adaptation to sound-level statistics. Listeners were presented with sounds drawn from

  12. [Bioinorganic chemical composition of the lens and methods of its investigation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avetisov, S E; Novikov, I A; Pakhomova, N A; Motalov, V G

    2018-01-01

    Bioinorganic chemical composition of the lens of human and experimental animals (cows, dogs, rats, rabbits) have been analyzed in various studies. In most cases, the studies employed different methods to determine the gross (total) composition of chemical elements and their concentrations in the examined samples. Less frequently, they included an assessment of the distribution of chemical elements in the lens and correlation of their concentration with its morphological changes. Chemical elements from all groups (series) of the periodic classification system were discovered in the lens substance. Despite similar investigation methods, different authors obtained contradicting results on the chemical composition of the lens. This article presents data suggesting possible correlation between inorganic chemical elements in the lens substance with the development and formation of lenticular opacities. All currently employed methods are known to only analyze limited number of select chemical elements in the tissues and do not consider the whole range of elements that can be analyzed with existing technology; furthermore, the majority of studies are conducted on the animal model lens. Therefore, it is feasible to continue the development of the chemical microanalysis method by increasing the sensitivity of Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) with the purpose of assessing the gross chemical composition and distribution of the elements in the lens substance, as well as revealing possible correlation between element concentration and morphological changes in the lens.

  13. Compliance among soft contact lens wearers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuzman, Tomislav; Kutija, Marija Barisić; Masnec, Sanja; Jandroković, Sonja; Mrazovac, Danijela; Jurisić, Darija; Skegro, Ivan; Kalauz, Miro; Kordić, Rajko

    2014-12-01

    Contact lens compliance is proven to be crucial for preventing lens wear-related complications because of the interdependence of the steps in lens care regime and their influence on lens system microbial contamination. Awareness of the patients' lens handling compliance as well as correct recognition of non-compliant behaviours is the basis for creating more targeted strategies for patient education. The aim of this study was to investigate compliance among soft contact lens (SCL) wearers in different aspects of lens care handling and wearing habits. In our research 50 asymptomatic lens wearers filled out a questionnaire containing demographic data, lens type, hygiene and wearing habits, lenses and lens care system replacement schedule and self-evaluation of contact lens handling hygiene. We established criteria of compliance according to available manufacturer's recommendations, prior literature and our clinical experience. Only 2 (4%) of patients were fully compliant SCL wearers. The most common non-compliant behaviours were insufficient lens solution soaking time (62%), followed by failure to daily exchange lens case solution and showering while wearing lenses. 44% of patients reported storing lenses in saline solution. Mean lens storage case replacement was 3.6 months, with up to 78% patients replacing lens case at least once in 3 months. Average grade in self evaluating level of compliance was very good (4 +/- 0.78) (from 1-poor level of hygiene to 5-great level of hygiene). Lens wearers who reported excessive daily lens wear and more than 10 years of lens wearing experience were also found to be less compliant with other lens system care procedures. (t = -2.99, df=47, p rate, self grading was relatively high. Therefore, these results indicate the need for patient education and encouragement of better lens wearing habits and all of the lens maintenance steps at each patient visit.

  14. Comparison of clear lens extraction and collamer lens implantation in high myopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed M Emarah

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Ahmed M Emarah, Mostafa A El-Helw, Hazem M YassinCairo University, Cairo, EgyptAim: To compare the outcomes of clear lens extraction and collamer lens implantation in high myopia.Patients and methods: Myopic patients younger than 40 years old with more than 12 diopters of myopia or who were not fit for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis were included. Group 1 comprised patients undergoing clear lens extraction and Group 2 patients received the Visian implantable collamer lens. Outcome and complications were evaluated.Results: Postoperative best corrected visual acuity was -0.61 ± 0.18 in Group 1 and 0.79 ± 0.16 in Group 2. In Group 1, 71.4% achieved a postoperative uncorrected visual acuity better than the preoperative best corrected visual acuity, while only 51.8% patients achieved this in Group 2. Intraocular pressure decreased by 12.55% in Group 1, and increased by 15.11% in Group 2. Corneal endothelial cell density decreased by 4.47% in Group 1 and decreased by 5.67% in Group 2. Posterior capsule opacification occurred in Group 1. In Group 2, lens opacification occurred in 11.11%, significant pigment dispersion in 3.7%, and pupillary block glaucoma in 3.7%.Conclusion: Clear lens extraction presents less of a financial load up front, and less likelihood of the need for a secondary intervention in the future. Clear lens extraction is a more viable solution in developing countries with limited financial resources.Keywords: clear lens extraction, implantable collamer lens, myopia

  15. Changes in lens stiffness due to capsular opacification in accommodative lens refilling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nibourg, Lisanne M.; Sharma, Prashant K.; van Kooten, Theo G.; Koopmans, Steven A.

    Accommodation may be restored to presbyopic lenses by refilling the lens capsular bag with a soft polymer. After this accommodative lens refilling prevention of capsular opacification is a requirement, since capsular opacification leads to a decreased clarity of the refilled lens. It has been

  16. Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex GABA Concentration in Humans Predicts Working Memory Load Processing Capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Jong H; Grandelis, Anthony; Maddock, Richard J

    2016-11-16

    The discovery of neural mechanisms of working memory (WM) would significantly enhance our understanding of complex human behaviors and guide treatment development for WM-related impairments found in neuropsychiatric conditions and aging. Although the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has long been considered critical for WM, we still know little about the neural elements and pathways within the DLPFC that support WM in humans. In this study, we tested whether an individual's DLPFC gamma-aminobutryic acid (GABA) content predicts individual differences in WM task performance using a novel behavioral approach. Twenty-three healthy adults completed a task that measured the unique contribution of major WM components (memory load, maintenance, and distraction resistance) to performance. This was done to address the possibility that components have differing GABA dependencies and the failure to parse WM into components would lead to missing true associations with GABA. The subjects then had their DLPFC GABA content measured by single-voxel proton magnetic spectroscopy. We found that individuals with lower DLPFC GABA showed greater performance degradation with higher load, accounting for 31% of variance, p (corrected) = 0.015. This relationship was component, neurochemical, and brain region specific. DLPFC GABA content did not predict performance sensitivity to other components tested; DLPFC glutamate + glutamine and visual cortical GABA content did not predict load sensitivity. These results confirm the involvement of DLPFC GABA in WM load processing in humans and implicate factors controlling DLPFC GABA content in the neural mechanisms of WM and its impairments. This study demonstrated for the first time that the amount of gamma-aminobutryic acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain, in an individual's prefrontal cortex predicts working memory (WM) task performance. Given that WM is required for many of the most characteristic cognitive and

  17. Prefrontal cortex and somatosensory cortex in tactile crossmodal association: an independent component analysis of ERP recordings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yixuan Ku

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Our previous studies on scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs showed that somatosensory N140 evoked by a tactile vibration in working memory tasks was enhanced when human subjects expected a coming visual stimulus that had been paired with the tactile stimulus. The results suggested that such enhancement represented the cortical activities involved in tactile-visual crossmodal association. In the present study, we further hypothesized that the enhancement represented the neural activities in somatosensory and frontal cortices in the crossmodal association. By applying independent component analysis (ICA to the ERP data, we found independent components (ICs located in the medial prefrontal cortex (around the anterior cingulate cortex, ACC and the primary somatosensory cortex (SI. The activity represented by the IC in SI cortex showed enhancement in expectation of the visual stimulus. Such differential activity thus suggested the participation of SI cortex in the task-related crossmodal association. Further, the coherence analysis and the Granger causality spectral analysis of the ICs showed that SI cortex appeared to cooperate with ACC in attention and perception of the tactile stimulus in crossmodal association. The results of our study support with new evidence an important idea in cortical neurophysiology: higher cognitive operations develop from the modality-specific sensory cortices (in the present study, SI cortex that are involved in sensation and perception of various stimuli.

  18. UVA Light-excited Kynurenines Oxidize Ascorbate and Modify Lens Proteins through the Formation of Advanced Glycation End Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linetsky, Mikhail; Raghavan, Cibin T.; Johar, Kaid; Fan, Xingjun; Monnier, Vincent M.; Vasavada, Abhay R.; Nagaraj, Ram H.

    2014-01-01

    Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) contribute to lens protein pigmentation and cross-linking during aging and cataract formation. In vitro experiments have shown that ascorbate (ASC) oxidation products can form AGEs in proteins. However, the mechanisms of ASC oxidation and AGE formation in the human lens are poorly understood. Kynurenines are tryptophan oxidation products produced from the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-mediated kynurenine pathway and are present in the human lens. This study investigated the ability of UVA light-excited kynurenines to photooxidize ASC and to form AGEs in lens proteins. UVA light-excited kynurenines in both free and protein-bound forms rapidly oxidized ASC, and such oxidation occurred even in the absence of oxygen. High levels of GSH inhibited but did not completely block ASC oxidation. Upon UVA irradiation, pigmented proteins from human cataractous lenses also oxidized ASC. When exposed to UVA light (320–400 nm, 100 milliwatts/cm2, 45 min to 2 h), young human lenses (20–36 years), which contain high levels of free kynurenines, lost a significant portion of their ASC content and accumulated AGEs. A similar formation of AGEs was observed in UVA-irradiated lenses from human IDO/human sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter-2 mice, which contain high levels of kynurenines and ASC. Our data suggest that kynurenine-mediated ASC oxidation followed by AGE formation may be an important mechanism for lens aging and the development of senile cataracts in humans. PMID:24798334

  19. TU-E-201-03: Eye Lens Dosimetry in Radiotherapy Using Contact Lens-Shaped Applicator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, J. [Seoul National University Hospital (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-06-15

    Madan M. Rehani, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston Methods for Eye Lens Dosimetry and Studies On Lens Opacities with Interventionalists Radiation induced cataract is a major threat among staff working in interventional suites. Nearly 16 million interventional procedures are performed annually in USA. Recent studies by the principal investigator’s group, primarily among interventional cardiologists, on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency, show posterior subcapsular (PSC) changes in the eye lens in 38–53% of main operators and 21–45% of support staff. These changes have potential to lead to cataract in future years, as per information from A-Bomb survivors. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has reduced dose limit for staff by a factor of 7.5 (from 150 mSv/y to 20 mSv/y). With increasing emphasis on radiation induced cataracts and reduction in threshold dose for eye lens, there is a need to implement strategies for estimating eye lens dose. Unfortunately eye lens dosimetry is at infancy when it comes to routine application. Various approaches are being tried namely direct measurement using active or passive dosimeters kept close to eyes, retrospective estimations and lastly correlating patient dose in interventional procedures with staff eye dose. The talk will review all approaches available and ongoing active research in this area, as well as data from surveys done in Europe on status of eye dose monitoring in interventional radiology and nuclear medicine. The talk will provide update on how good is Hp(10) against Hp(3), estimations from CTDI values, Monte Carlo based simulations and current status of eye lens dosimetry in USA and Europe. The cataract risk among patients is in CT examinations of the head. Since radiation induced cataract predominantly occurs in posterior sub-capsular (PSC) region and is thus distinguishable from age or drug related cataracts and is also preventable, actions on

  20. TU-E-201-03: Eye Lens Dosimetry in Radiotherapy Using Contact Lens-Shaped Applicator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, J.

    2015-01-01

    Madan M. Rehani, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston Methods for Eye Lens Dosimetry and Studies On Lens Opacities with Interventionalists Radiation induced cataract is a major threat among staff working in interventional suites. Nearly 16 million interventional procedures are performed annually in USA. Recent studies by the principal investigator’s group, primarily among interventional cardiologists, on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency, show posterior subcapsular (PSC) changes in the eye lens in 38–53% of main operators and 21–45% of support staff. These changes have potential to lead to cataract in future years, as per information from A-Bomb survivors. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has reduced dose limit for staff by a factor of 7.5 (from 150 mSv/y to 20 mSv/y). With increasing emphasis on radiation induced cataracts and reduction in threshold dose for eye lens, there is a need to implement strategies for estimating eye lens dose. Unfortunately eye lens dosimetry is at infancy when it comes to routine application. Various approaches are being tried namely direct measurement using active or passive dosimeters kept close to eyes, retrospective estimations and lastly correlating patient dose in interventional procedures with staff eye dose. The talk will review all approaches available and ongoing active research in this area, as well as data from surveys done in Europe on status of eye dose monitoring in interventional radiology and nuclear medicine. The talk will provide update on how good is Hp(10) against Hp(3), estimations from CTDI values, Monte Carlo based simulations and current status of eye lens dosimetry in USA and Europe. The cataract risk among patients is in CT examinations of the head. Since radiation induced cataract predominantly occurs in posterior sub-capsular (PSC) region and is thus distinguishable from age or drug related cataracts and is also preventable, actions on

  1. Contact Lens-Related Eye Infections

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Español Eye Health / Eye Health A-Z Contact Lens-Related Eye Infections Sections Contact Lens-Related Eye ... Six Steps to Avoid Contact Lens Infections Contact Lens-Related Eye Infections Leer en Español: Infecciones relacionadas ...

  2. Chemical and physical properties of the normal and aging lens: spectroscopic (UV, fluorescence, phosphorescence, and NMR) analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lerman, S.

    1987-01-01

    In vitro [UV absorption, fluorescence, phosphorescence, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)] spectroscopic studies on the normal human lens demonstrate age-related changes which can be correlated with biochemical and photobiologic mechanisms occurring during our lifetime. Chronic cumulative UV exposure results in an age-related increase of photochemically induced chromophores and in color of the lens nucleus. This enables the lens to filter the incident UV radiation, thereby protecting the underlying aging retina from UV photodamage. We have measured the age-related increase in lens fluorescence in vivo on more than 300 normal subjects (1st to 9th decade) by UV slitlamp densitography. These data show a good correlation with the in vitro lens fluorescence studies reported previously and demonstrate that molecular photodamage can be monitored in the lens. In vitro NMR (human and animal lenses) and in vivo experiments currently in progress are rapidly elucidating the physicochemical basis for transparency and the development of light scattering areas. Surface scanning NMR can monitor organophosphate metabolism in the ocular lens in vivo as well as in vitro. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of using biophysical methods (optical spectroscopy and NMR analyses) to delineate age-related parameters in the lens, in vivo as well as in vitro. 46 references

  3. Spike-timing-dependent plasticity in the human dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casula, Elias Paolo; Pellicciari, Maria Concetta; Picazio, Silvia; Caltagirone, Carlo; Koch, Giacomo

    2016-12-01

    Changes in the synaptic strength of neural connections are induced by repeated coupling of activity of interconnected neurons with precise timing, a phenomenon known as spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). It is debated if this mechanism exists in large-scale cortical networks in humans. We combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) to directly investigate the effects of two paired associative stimulation (PAS) protocols (fronto-parietal and parieto-frontal) of pre and post-synaptic inputs within the human fronto-parietal network. We found evidence that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has the potential to form robust STDP. Long-term potentiation/depression of TMS-evoked cortical activity is prompted after that DLPFC stimulation is followed/preceded by posterior parietal stimulation. Such bidirectional changes are paralleled by sustained increase/decrease of high-frequency oscillatory activity, likely reflecting STDP responsivity. The current findings could be important to drive plasticity of damaged cortical circuits in patients with cognitive or psychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. A novel dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigm to probe fast facilitatory inputs from ipsilateral dorsal premotor cortex to primary motor cortex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groppa, Sergiu; Werner-Petroll, Nicole; Münchau, Alexander

    2012-01-01

    The dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) plays an import role in action control, sensorimotor integration and motor recovery. Animal studies and human data have demonstrated direct connections between ipsilateral PMd and primary motor cortex hand area (M1(HAND)). In this study we adopted a multimodal app...

  5. Vortex gas lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogdanoff, David W.; Berschauer, Andrew; Parker, Timothy W.; Vickers, Jesse E.

    1989-01-01

    A vortex gas lens concept is presented. Such a lens has a potential power density capability of 10 to the 9th - 10 to the 10th w/sq cm. An experimental prototype was constructed, and the divergence half angle of the exiting beam was measured as a function of the lens operating parameters. Reasonably good agreement is found between the experimental results and theoretical calculations. The expanded beam was observed to be steady, and no strong, potentially beam-degrading jets were found to issue from the ends of the lens. Estimates of random beam deflection angles to be expected due to boundary layer noise are presented; these angles are very small.

  6. Primary anterior chamber intraocular lens for the treatment of severe crystalline lens subluxation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Richard S; Fine, I Howard; Packer, Mark

    2009-10-01

    Subluxated cataractous and clear lenses are commonly treated by limbal or pars plana lensectomy followed by primary or secondary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Adjunctive capsular prosthetic devices have facilitated lens removal and IOL centration in these challenging cases but have also added complexity and potential complications to the procedure. Although crystalline lens extraction may be required to clear the visual axis in mild to moderate lens subluxations, we propose insertion of a primary anterior chamber IOL without lens extraction in severe subluxations when the eye is optically aphakic or can be made functionally aphakic following neodymium:YAG laser zonulysis. Two cases demonstrating this approach are presented.

  7. Clinical evaluation of direct and photosensitized ultraviolet radiation damage to the lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hockwin, O.; Lerman, S.

    1982-01-01

    We are reporting a new, objective, and quantitative method for monitoring age-related molecular changes in the human ocular lens in vivo, as expressed by increases in at least two (nontryptophan) fluorescence wavelengths. These fluorescence wavelengths appear to be caused by photochemically induced changes in the lens, and they reflect the ultraviolet (UV) filtering capacity of the patients' ocular lenses. These data correlate with previously reported in vitro lens fluorescence changes that are associated with the aging process. This method will also detect alterations in lenticular fluorescence caused by photosensitized as well as direct UV radiation damage

  8. Attention Determines Contextual Enhancement versus Suppression in Human Primary Visual Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flevaris, Anastasia V; Murray, Scott O

    2015-09-02

    Neural responses in primary visual cortex (V1) depend on stimulus context in seemingly complex ways. For example, responses to an oriented stimulus can be suppressed when it is flanked by iso-oriented versus orthogonally oriented stimuli but can also be enhanced when attention is directed to iso-oriented versus orthogonal flanking stimuli. Thus the exact same contextual stimulus arrangement can have completely opposite effects on neural responses-in some cases leading to orientation-tuned suppression and in other cases leading to orientation-tuned enhancement. Here we show that stimulus-based suppression and enhancement of fMRI responses in humans depends on small changes in the focus of attention and can be explained by a model that combines feature-based attention with response normalization. Neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) respond to stimuli within a restricted portion of the visual field, termed their "receptive field." However, neuronal responses can also be influenced by stimuli that surround a receptive field, although the nature of these contextual interactions and underlying neural mechanisms are debated. Here we show that the response in V1 to a stimulus in the same context can either be suppressed or enhanced depending on the focus of attention. We are able to explain the results using a simple computational model that combines two well established properties of visual cortical responses: response normalization and feature-based enhancement. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3512273-08$15.00/0.

  9. Thioredoxin Reductase Activity may be More Important than GSH Level in Protecting Human Lens Epithelial Cells Against UVA Light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padgaonkar, Vanita A.; Leverenz, Victor R.; Bhat, Aparna V.; Pelliccia, Sara E.; Giblin, Frank J.

    2014-01-01

    This study compares the abilities of the glutathione (GSH) and thioredoxin (Trx) antioxidant systems in defending cultured human lens epithelial cells (LECs) against UVA light. Levels of GSH were depleted with either L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO) or 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB). CDNB treatment also inhibited the activity of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR). Two levels of O2, 3% and 20%, were employed during a 1 hr exposure of the cells to 25 J/cm2 of UVA radiation (338-400nm wavelength, peak at 365nm). Inhibition of TrxR activity by CDNB, combined with exposure to UVA light, produced a substantial loss of LECs and cell damage, with the effects being considerably more severe at 20% O2 compared to 3%. In contrast, depletion of GSH by BSO, combined with exposure to UVA light, produced only a slight cell loss, with no apparent morphological effects. Catalase was highly sensitive to UVA-induced inactivation, but was not essential for protection. Although UVA light presented a challenge for the lens epithelium, it was well-tolerated under normal conditions. The results demonstrate an important role for TrxR activity in defending the lens epithelium against UVA light, possibly related to the ability of the Trx system to assist DNA synthesis following UVA-induced cell damage. PMID:25495870

  10. Metaplasticity in human primary somatosensory cortex: effects on physiology and tactile perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Christina B; Lulic, Tea; Bailey, Aaron Z; Mackenzie, Tanner N; Mi, Yi Qun; Tommerdahl, Mark; Nelson, Aimee J

    2016-05-01

    Theta-burst stimulation (TBS) over human primary motor cortex evokes plasticity and metaplasticity, the latter contributing to the homeostatic balance of excitation and inhibition. Our knowledge of TBS-induced effects on primary somatosensory cortex (SI) is limited, and it is unknown whether TBS induces metaplasticity within human SI. Sixteen right-handed participants (6 females, mean age 23 yr) received two TBS protocols [continuous TBS (cTBS) and intermittent TBS (iTBS)] delivered in six different combinations over SI in separate sessions. TBS protocols were delivered at 30 Hz and were as follows: a single cTBS protocol, a single iTBS protocol, cTBS followed by cTBS, iTBS followed by iTBS, cTBS followed by iTBS, and iTBS followed by cTBS. Measures included the amplitudes of the first and second somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) via median nerve stimulation, their paired-pulse ratio (PPR), and temporal order judgment (TOJ). Dependent measures were obtained before TBS and at 5, 25, 50, and 90 min following stimulation. Results indicate similar effects following cTBS and iTBS; increased amplitudes of the second SEP and PPR without amplitude changes to SEP 1, and impairments in TOJ. Metaplasticity was observed such that TOJ impairments following a single cTBS protocol were abolished following consecutive cTBS protocols. Additionally, consecutive iTBS protocols altered the time course of effects when compared with a single iTBS protocol. In conclusion, 30-Hz cTBS and iTBS protocols delivered in isolation induce effects consistent with a TBS-induced reduction in intracortical inhibition within SI. Furthermore, cTBS- and iTBS-induced metaplasticity appear to follow homeostatic and nonhomeostatic rules, respectively. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  11. The impact of top-down spatial attention on laterality and hemispheric asymmetry in the human parietal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Su Keun; Xu, Yaoda

    2016-08-01

    The human parietal cortex exhibits a preference to contralaterally presented visual stimuli (i.e., laterality) as well as an asymmetry between the two hemispheres with the left parietal cortex showing greater laterality than the right. Using visual short-term memory and perceptual tasks and varying target location predictability, this study examined whether hemispheric laterality and asymmetry are fixed characteristics of the human parietal cortex or whether they are dynamic and modulated by the deployment of top-down attention to the target present hemifield. Two parietal regions were examined here that have previously been shown to be involved in visual object individuation and identification and are located in the inferior and superior intraparietal sulcus (IPS), respectively. Across three experiments, significant laterality was found in both parietal regions regardless of attentional modulation with laterality being greater in the inferior than superior IPS, consistent with their roles in object individuation and identification, respectively. Although the deployment of top-down attention had no effect on the superior IPS, it significantly increased laterality in the inferior IPS. The deployment of top-down spatial attention can thus amplify the strength of laterality in the inferior IPS. Hemispheric asymmetry, on the other hand, was absent in both brain regions and only emerged in the inferior but not the superior IPS with the deployment of top-down attention. Interestingly, the strength of hemispheric asymmetry significantly correlated with the strength of laterality in the inferior IPS. Hemispheric asymmetry thus seems to only emerge when there is a sufficient amount of laterality present in a brain region.

  12. Walk-related mimic word activates the extrastriate visual cortex in the human brain: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osaka, Naoyuki

    2009-03-02

    I present an fMRI study demonstrating that a mimic word highly suggestive of human walking, heard by the ear with eyes closed, significantly activates the visual cortex located in extrastriate occipital region (BA19, 18) and superior temporal sulcus (STS) while hearing non-sense words that do not imply walk under the same task does not activate these areas in humans. I concluded that BA19 and 18 would be a critical region for generating visual images of walking and related intentional stance, respectively, evoked by an onomatopoeia word that implied walking.

  13. A high excitation magnetic quadrupole lens quadruplet incorporating a single octupole lens for a low spherical aberration probe forming lens system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dou, Yanxin; Jamieson, David N.; Liu, Jianli; Li, Liyi

    2018-03-01

    This paper describes the design of a new probe forming lens system consisting of a high excitation magnetic quadrupole lens quadruplet that incorporates a single magnetic octupole lens. This system achieves both a high demagnification and a low spherical aberration compared to conventional high excitation systems and is intended for deployment for the Harbin 300 MeV proton microprobe for applications in space science and ion beam therapy. This relative simplicity of the ion optical design to include a single octupole lens minimizes the risks associated with the constructional and operational precision usually needed for the probe forming lens system and this system could also be deployed in microprobe systems that operate with less magnetically rigid ions. The design of the new system is validated with reference to two independent ion optical computer codes.

  14. Objective lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olczak, Eugene G. (Inventor)

    2011-01-01

    An objective lens and a method for using same. The objective lens has a first end, a second end, and a plurality of optical elements. The optical elements are positioned between the first end and the second end and are at least substantially symmetric about a plane centered between the first end and the second end.

  15. Sensitivity to the visual field origin of natural image patches in human low-level visual cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damien J. Mannion

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Asymmetries in the response to visual patterns in the upper and lower visual fields (above and below the centre of gaze have been associated with ecological factors relating to the structure of typical visual environments. Here, we investigated whether the content of the upper and lower visual field representations in low-level regions of human visual cortex are specialised for visual patterns that arise from the upper and lower visual fields in natural images. We presented image patches, drawn from above or below the centre of gaze of an observer navigating a natural environment, to either the upper or lower visual fields of human participants (n = 7 while we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to measure the magnitude of evoked activity in the visual areas V1, V2, and V3. We found a significant interaction between the presentation location (upper or lower visual field and the image patch source location (above or below fixation; the responses to lower visual field presentation were significantly greater for image patches sourced from below than above fixation, while the responses in the upper visual field were not significantly different for image patches sourced from above and below fixation. This finding demonstrates an association between the representation of the lower visual field in human visual cortex and the structure of the visual input that is likely to be encountered below the centre of gaze.

  16. Contact Lens Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Consumers Consumer Information by Audience For Women Contact Lens Care Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing ... www.fda.gov/medwatch Learn More about Contact Lens Care Other Tips on Contact Lenses Decorative Contact ...

  17. Genetic influences on thinning of the cerebral cortex during development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Soelen, I.L.C.; Brouwer, R.M.; van Baal, G.C.M.; Schnack, H.G.; Peper, J.S.; Collins, D.L.; Evans, A.C.; Kahn, R.S.; Boomsma, D.I.; Hulshoff Pol, H.E.

    2012-01-01

    During development from childhood to adulthood the human brain undergoes considerable thinning of the cerebral cortex. Whether developmental cortical thinning is influenced by genes and if independent genetic factors influence different parts of the cortex is not known. Magnetic resonance brain

  18. Functional segregation of the human cingulate cortex is confirmed by functional connectivity based neuroanatomical parcellation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Chunshui; Zhou, Yuan; Liu, Yong; Jiang, Tianzi; Dong, Haiwei; Zhang, Yunting; Walter, Martin

    2011-02-14

    The four-region model with 7 specified subregions represents a theoretical construct of functionally segregated divisions of the cingulate cortex based on integrated neurobiological assessments. Under this framework, we aimed to investigate the functional specialization of the human cingulate cortex by analyzing the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of each subregion from a network perspective. In 20 healthy subjects we systematically investigated the FC patterns of the bilateral subgenual (sACC) and pregenual (pACC) anterior cingulate cortices, anterior (aMCC) and posterior (pMCC) midcingulate cortices, dorsal (dPCC) and ventral (vPCC) posterior cingulate cortices and retrosplenial cortices (RSC). We found that each cingulate subregion was specifically integrated in the predescribed functional networks and showed anti-correlated resting-state fluctuations. The sACC and pACC were involved in an affective network and anti-correlated with the sensorimotor and cognitive networks, while the pACC also correlated with the default-mode network and anti-correlated with the visual network. In the midcingulate cortex, however, the aMCC was correlated with the cognitive and sensorimotor networks and anti-correlated with the visual, affective and default-mode networks, whereas the pMCC only correlated with the sensorimotor network and anti-correlated with the cognitive and visual networks. The dPCC and vPCC involved in the default-mode network and anti-correlated with the sensorimotor, cognitive and visual networks, in contrast, the RSC was mainly correlated with the PCC and thalamus. Based on a strong hypothesis driven approach of anatomical partitions of the cingulate cortex, we could confirm their segregation in terms of functional neuroanatomy, as suggested earlier by task studies or exploratory multi-seed investigations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Glutamate concentration in the medial prefrontal cortex predicts resting-state cortical-subcortical functional connectivity in humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niall W Duncan

    Full Text Available Communication between cortical and subcortical regions is integral to a wide range of psychological processes and has been implicated in a number of psychiatric conditions. Studies in animals have provided insight into the biochemical and connectivity processes underlying such communication. However, to date no experiments that link these factors in humans in vivo have been carried out. To investigate the role of glutamate in individual differences in communication between the cortex--specifically the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC--and subcortical regions in humans, a combination of resting-state fMRI, DTI and MRS was performed. The subcortical target regions were the nucleus accumbens (NAc, dorsomedial thalamus (DMT, and periaqueductal grey (PAG. It was found that functional connectivity between the mPFC and each of the NAc and DMT was positively correlated with mPFC glutamate concentrations, whilst functional connectivity between the mPFC and PAG was negatively correlated with glutamate concentration. The correlations involving mPFC glutamate and FC between the mPFC and each of the DMT and PAG were mirrored by correlations with structural connectivity, providing evidence that the glutamatergic relationship may, in part, be due to direct connectivity. These results are in agreement with existing results from animal studies and may have relevance for MDD and schizophrenia.

  20. [Retinotopic mapping of the human visual cortex with functional magnetic resonance imaging - basic principles, current developments and ophthalmological perspectives].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, M B; Kaule, F; Grzeschik, R; Behrens-Baumann, W; Wolynski, B

    2011-07-01

    Since its initial introduction in the mid-1990 s, retinotopic mapping of the human visual cortex, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), has contributed greatly to our understanding of the human visual system. Multiple cortical visual field representations have been demonstrated and thus numerous visual areas identified. The organisation of specific areas has been detailed and the impact of pathophysiologies of the visual system on the cortical organisation uncovered. These results are based on investigations at a magnetic field strength of 3 Tesla or less. In a field-strength comparison between 3 and 7 Tesla, it was demonstrated that retinotopic mapping benefits from a magnetic field strength of 7 Tesla. Specifically, the visual areas can be mapped with high spatial resolution for a detailed analysis of the visual field maps. Applications of fMRI-based retinotopic mapping in ophthalmological research hold promise to further our understanding of plasticity in the human visual cortex. This is highlighted by pioneering studies in patients with macular dysfunction or misrouted optic nerves. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  1. Aquaporin 0 plays a pivotal role in refractive index gradient development in mammalian eye lens to prevent spherical aberration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumari, S. Sindhu; Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Intact AQP0 functions as fiber cell-to-fiber cell adhesion protein. • AQP0 facilitates reduction in extracellular space and lens water content. • AQP0 adhesion function aids in lens refractive index gradient (RING) formation. • AQP0 prevents lens spherical aberration by establishing RING. • AQP0 is critical for lens transparency and homeostasis. - Abstract: Aquaporin 0 (AQP0) is a transmembrane channel that constitutes ∼45% of the total membrane protein of the fiber cells in mammalian lens. It is critical for lens transparency and homeostasis as mutations and knockout cause autosomal dominant lens cataract. AQP0 functions as a water channel and as a cell-to-cell adhesion (CTCA) molecule in the lens. Our recent in vitro studies showed that the CTCA function of AQP0 could be crucial to establish lens refractive index gradient (RING). However, there is a lack of in vivo data to corroborate the role of AQP0 as a fiber CTCA molecule which is critical for creating lens RING. The present investigation is undertaken to gather in vivo evidence for the involvement of AQP0 in developing lens RING. Lenses of wild type (WT) mouse, AQP0 knockout (heterozygous, AQP0 +/− ) and AQP0 knockout lens transgenically expressing AQP1 (heterozygous AQP0 +/− /AQP1 +/− ) mouse models were used for the study. Data on AQP0 protein profile of intact and N- and/or C-terminal cleaved AQP0 in the lens by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and SDS–PAGE revealed that outer cortex fiber cells have only intact AQP0 of ∼28 kDa, inner cortical and outer nuclear fiber cells have both intact and cleaved forms, and inner nuclear fiber cells have only cleaved forms (∼26–24 kDa). Knocking out of 50% of AQP0 protein caused light scattering, spherical aberration (SA) and cataract. Restoring the lost fiber cell membrane water permeability (P f ) by transgene AQP1 did not reinstate complete lens transparency and the mouse lenses showed light scattering and SA. Transmission and

  2. 3-D Cytoarchitectonic parcellation of human orbitofrontal cortex Correlation with postmortem MRI

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Uylings, H.B.M.; Sanz-Arigita, E.J.; Vos, K.; Pool, C.W.; Evers, P.; Rajkowska, G.

    2010-01-01

    The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is located on the basal surface of the frontal lobe and is distinguished by its unique anatomical and functional features. Clinical and postmortem studies suggest the involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex in psychiatric disorders. However, the exact parcellation of

  3. GABAA receptor B subunit expression in the superior frontal cortex of human alcoholics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buckley, S.T.; Dodd, P.R.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: Changes in GABA A receptor pharmacology can be ascribed to alterations in expression of specific GABA A receptor subunits. Ethanol is known to be a potent agonist of the GABA A receptor. Chronic abuse of alcohol in humans results in damage of selective brain regions such as the superior frontal cortex (SFC), leading to neuronal cell loss. Studies in our laboratory 1 and elsewhere 2 have shown differences in expression of a number of GABA A receptor subunits in chronic human alcoholism. This suggests that alterations in GABA A receptor composition may be involved in the pathogenesis of alcoholic brain damage. We analysed the expression of the β 1 ,β 2 and β 3 isoforms of the GABA A receptor by a competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, which utilised an internal standard (IS) for quantitation. 35 S-dATP was incorporated to enable visualisation of the PCR products. Human brain tissue was obtained at autopsy and stored in 0.32 M sucrose at -80 deg C. Total RNA was extracted from pathologically susceptible and spared regions, SFC and motor cortex respectively,of 22 control and 22 alcoholic patients. 1 μg of total RNA from each sample was co-amplified with 0.5 pg of IS and a ratio determined. A standard consisting of known amounts of β 1 cRNA titrated against 0.5 pg of IS enabled a standard curve to be generated for quantitation of each unknown sample. The samples were subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the dried gel exposed to a phosphorimager screen. Data analysis was performed using the ImageQuant program. Initial results indicate that there is a reduction in expression of all the β transcripts in alcoholics when compared with controls, which supports the hypothesis that the GABA A receptor is altered by alcohol abuse. Supported by NHMRC. Copyright (2001) Australian Neuroscience Society

  4. Crystalline lens power and refractive error.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iribarren, Rafael; Morgan, Ian G; Nangia, Vinay; Jonas, Jost B

    2012-02-01

    To study the relationships between the refractive power of the crystalline lens, overall refractive error of the eye, and degree of nuclear cataract. All phakic participants of the population-based Central India Eye and Medical Study with an age of 50+ years were included. Calculation of the refractive lens power was based on distance noncycloplegic refractive error, corneal refractive power, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, and axial length according to Bennett's formula. The study included 1885 subjects. Mean refractive lens power was 25.5 ± 3.0 D (range, 13.9-36.6). After adjustment for age and sex, the standardized correlation coefficients (β) of the association with the ocular refractive error were highest for crystalline lens power (β = -0.41; P lens opacity grade (β = -0.42; P lens power (β = -0.95), lower corneal refractive power (β = -0.76), higher lens thickness (β = 0.30), deeper anterior chamber (β = 0.28), and less marked nuclear lens opacity (β = -0.05). Lens thickness was significantly lower in eyes with greater nuclear opacity. Variations in refractive error in adults aged 50+ years were mostly influenced by variations in axial length and in crystalline lens refractive power, followed by variations in corneal refractive power, and, to a minor degree, by variations in lens thickness and anterior chamber depth.

  5. Determination of absorbed dose to the lens of eye from external sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Lishu

    1993-01-01

    The methods of determining absorbed dose distributions in human eyeball by means of the experiments and available theories have been reported. A water phantom was built up. The distributions of beta dose were measured by an extrapolation ionization chamber at some depths corresponding to components of human eyeball such as cornea, sclera, anterior chamber and the lens of eye. The ratios among superficial absorbed dose (at 0.07 mm) and average absorbed doses at the depths 1,2,3 mm are obtained. They can be used for confining the deterministic effects of superficial tissues and organs such as the lens of eye for weakly penetrating radiations

  6. Influence of motivation on control hierarchy in the human frontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahlmann, Jörg; Aarts, Esther; D'Esposito, Mark

    2015-02-18

    The frontal cortex mediates cognitive control and motivation to shape human behavior. It is generally observed that medial frontal areas are involved in motivational aspects of behavior, whereas lateral frontal regions are involved in cognitive control. Recent models of cognitive control suggest a rostro-caudal gradient in lateral frontal regions, such that progressively more rostral (anterior) regions process more complex aspects of cognitive control. How motivation influences such a control hierarchy is still under debate. Although some researchers argue that both systems work in parallel, others argue in favor of an interaction between motivation and cognitive control. In the latter case it is yet unclear how motivation would affect the different levels of the control hierarchy. This was investigated in the present functional MRI study applying different levels of cognitive control under different motivational states (low vs high reward anticipation). Three levels of cognitive control were tested by varying rule complexity: stimulus-response mapping (low-level), flexible task updating (mid-level), and sustained cue-task associations (high-level). We found an interaction between levels of cognitive control and motivation in medial and lateral frontal subregions. Specifically, flexible updating (mid-level of control) showed the strongest beneficial effect of reward and only this level exhibited functional coupling between dopamine-rich midbrain regions and the lateral frontal cortex. These findings suggest that motivation differentially affects the levels of a control hierarchy, influencing recruitment of frontal cortical control regions depending on specific task demands. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/353207-11$15.00/0.

  7. The human cerebral cortex is neither one nor many: Neuronal distribution reveals two quantitatively different zones in the grey matter, three in the white matter, and explains local variations in cortical folding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro F. M. Ribeiro

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The human prefrontal cortex has been considered different in several aspects and relatively enlarged compared to the rest of the cortical areas. Here we determine whether the white and gray matter of the prefrontal portion of the human cerebral cortex have similar or different cellular compositions relative to the rest of the cortical regions by applying the Isotropic Fractionator to analyze the distribution of neurons along the entire anteroposterior axis of the cortex, and its relationship with the degree of gyrification, number of neurons under the cortical surface, and other parameters. The prefrontal region shares with the remainder of the cerebral cortex (except for occipital cortex the same relationship between cortical volume and number of neurons. In contrast, both occipital and prefrontal areas vary from other cortical areas in their connectivity through the white matter, with a systematic reduction of cortical connectivity through the white matter and an increase of the mean axon caliber along the anteroposterior axis. These two parameters explain local differences in the distribution of neurons underneath the cortical surface. We also show that local variations in cortical folding are neither a function of local numbers of neurons nor of cortical thickness, but correlate with properties of the white matter, and are best explained by the folding of the white matter surface. Our results suggest that the human cerebral cortex is divided in two zones (occipital and non-occipital that differ in how neurons distributed across their grey matter volume and in three zones (prefrontal, occipital, and non-occipital that differ in how neurons are connected through the white matter. Thus, the human prefrontal cortex has the largest fraction of neuronal connectivity through the white matter and the smallest average axonal caliber in the white matter within the cortex, although its neuronal composition fits the pattern found for other, non

  8. Role of αA-crystallin-derived αA66-80 peptide in guinea pig lens crystallin aggregation and insolubilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raju, Murugesan; Mooney, Brian P; Thakkar, Kavi M; Giblin, Frank J; Schey, Kevin L; Sharma, K Krishna

    2015-03-01

    Earlier we reported that low molecular weight (LMW) peptides accumulate in aging human lens tissue and that among the LMW peptides, the chaperone inhibitor peptide αA66-80, derived from α-crystallin protein, is one of the predominant peptides. We showed that in vitro αA66-80 induces protein aggregation. The current study was undertaken to determine whether LMW peptides are also present in guinea pig lens tissue subjected to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in vivo. The nuclear opacity induced by HBO in guinea pig lens is the closest animal model for studying age-related cataract formation in humans. A LMW peptide profile by mass spectrometry showed the presence of an increased amount of LMW peptides in HBO-treated guinea pig lenses compared to age-matched controls. Interestingly, the mass spectrometric data also showed that the chaperone inhibitor peptide αA66-80 accumulates in HBO-treated guinea pig lens. Following incubation of synthetic chaperone inhibitor peptide αA66-80 with α-crystallin from guinea pig lens extracts, we observed a decreased ability of α-crystallin to inhibit the amorphous aggregation of the target protein alcohol dehydrogenase and the formation of large light scattering aggregates, similar to those we have observed with human α-crystallin and αA66-80 peptide. Further, time-lapse recordings showed that a preformed complex of α-crystallin and αA66-80 attracted additional crystallin molecules to form even larger aggregates. These results demonstrate that LMW peptide-mediated cataract development in aged human lens and in HBO-induced lens opacity in the guinea pig may have common molecular pathways. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Characteristics of the thick, compound refractive lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pantell, Richard H.; Feinstein, Joseph; Beguiristain, H. Raul; Piestrup, Melvin A.; Gary, Charles K.; Cremer, Jay T.

    2003-01-01

    A compound refractive lens (CRL), consisting of a series of N closely spaced lens elements each of which contributes a small fraction of the total focusing, can be used to focus x rays or neutrons. The thickness of a CRL can be comparable to its focal length, whereupon a thick-lens analysis must be performed. In contrast with the conventional optical lens, where the ray inside the lens follows a straight line, the ray inside the CRL is continually changing direction because of the multiple refracting surfaces. Thus the matrix representation for the thick CRL is quite different from that for the thick optical lens. Principal planes can be defined such that the thick-lens matrix can be converted to that of a thin lens. For a thick lens the focal length is greater than for a thin lens with the same lens curvature, but this lengthening effect is less for the CRL than for the conventional optical lens

  10. Detection of optogenetic stimulation in somatosensory cortex by non-human primates--towards artificial tactile sensation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    May, Travis; Ozden, Ilker; Brush, Benjamin; Borton, David; Wagner, Fabien; Agha, Naubahar; Sheinberg, David L; Nurmikko, Arto V

    2014-01-01

    Neuroprosthesis research aims to enable communication between the brain and external assistive devices while restoring lost functionality such as occurs from stroke, spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative diseases. In future closed-loop sensorimotor prostheses, one approach is to use neuromodulation as direct stimulus to the brain to compensate for a lost sensory function and help the brain to integrate relevant information for commanding external devices via, e.g. movement intention. Current neuromodulation techniques rely mainly of electrical stimulation. Here we focus specifically on the question of eliciting a biomimetically relevant sense of touch by direct stimulus of the somatosensory cortex by introducing optogenetic techniques as an alternative to electrical stimulation. We demonstrate that light activated opsins can be introduced to target neurons in the somatosensory cortex of non-human primates and be optically activated to create a reliably detected sensation which the animal learns to interpret as a tactile sensation localized within the hand. The accomplishment highlighted here shows how optical stimulation of a relatively small group of mostly excitatory somatosensory neurons in the nonhuman primate brain is sufficient for eliciting a useful sensation from data acquired by simultaneous electrophysiology and from behavioral metrics. In this first report to date on optically neuromodulated behavior in the somatosensory cortex of nonhuman primates we do not yet dissect the details of the sensation the animals exerience or contrast it to those evoked by electrical stimulation, issues of considerable future interest.

  11. Detection of optogenetic stimulation in somatosensory cortex by non-human primates--towards artificial tactile sensation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Travis May

    Full Text Available Neuroprosthesis research aims to enable communication between the brain and external assistive devices while restoring lost functionality such as occurs from stroke, spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative diseases. In future closed-loop sensorimotor prostheses, one approach is to use neuromodulation as direct stimulus to the brain to compensate for a lost sensory function and help the brain to integrate relevant information for commanding external devices via, e.g. movement intention. Current neuromodulation techniques rely mainly of electrical stimulation. Here we focus specifically on the question of eliciting a biomimetically relevant sense of touch by direct stimulus of the somatosensory cortex by introducing optogenetic techniques as an alternative to electrical stimulation. We demonstrate that light activated opsins can be introduced to target neurons in the somatosensory cortex of non-human primates and be optically activated to create a reliably detected sensation which the animal learns to interpret as a tactile sensation localized within the hand. The accomplishment highlighted here shows how optical stimulation of a relatively small group of mostly excitatory somatosensory neurons in the nonhuman primate brain is sufficient for eliciting a useful sensation from data acquired by simultaneous electrophysiology and from behavioral metrics. In this first report to date on optically neuromodulated behavior in the somatosensory cortex of nonhuman primates we do not yet dissect the details of the sensation the animals exerience or contrast it to those evoked by electrical stimulation, issues of considerable future interest.

  12. TU-E-201-01: Methods for Eye Lens Dosimetry and Studies On Lens Opacities with Interventionists

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rehani, M. [Massachusetts General Hospital (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Madan M. Rehani, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston Methods for Eye Lens Dosimetry and Studies On Lens Opacities with Interventionalists Radiation induced cataract is a major threat among staff working in interventional suites. Nearly 16 million interventional procedures are performed annually in USA. Recent studies by the principal investigator’s group, primarily among interventional cardiologists, on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency, show posterior subcapsular (PSC) changes in the eye lens in 38–53% of main operators and 21–45% of support staff. These changes have potential to lead to cataract in future years, as per information from A-Bomb survivors. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has reduced dose limit for staff by a factor of 7.5 (from 150 mSv/y to 20 mSv/y). With increasing emphasis on radiation induced cataracts and reduction in threshold dose for eye lens, there is a need to implement strategies for estimating eye lens dose. Unfortunately eye lens dosimetry is at infancy when it comes to routine application. Various approaches are being tried namely direct measurement using active or passive dosimeters kept close to eyes, retrospective estimations and lastly correlating patient dose in interventional procedures with staff eye dose. The talk will review all approaches available and ongoing active research in this area, as well as data from surveys done in Europe on status of eye dose monitoring in interventional radiology and nuclear medicine. The talk will provide update on how good is Hp(10) against Hp(3), estimations from CTDI values, Monte Carlo based simulations and current status of eye lens dosimetry in USA and Europe. The cataract risk among patients is in CT examinations of the head. Since radiation induced cataract predominantly occurs in posterior sub-capsular (PSC) region and is thus distinguishable from age or drug related cataracts and is also preventable, actions on

  13. TU-E-201-01: Methods for Eye Lens Dosimetry and Studies On Lens Opacities with Interventionists

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehani, M.

    2015-01-01

    Madan M. Rehani, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston Methods for Eye Lens Dosimetry and Studies On Lens Opacities with Interventionalists Radiation induced cataract is a major threat among staff working in interventional suites. Nearly 16 million interventional procedures are performed annually in USA. Recent studies by the principal investigator’s group, primarily among interventional cardiologists, on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency, show posterior subcapsular (PSC) changes in the eye lens in 38–53% of main operators and 21–45% of support staff. These changes have potential to lead to cataract in future years, as per information from A-Bomb survivors. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has reduced dose limit for staff by a factor of 7.5 (from 150 mSv/y to 20 mSv/y). With increasing emphasis on radiation induced cataracts and reduction in threshold dose for eye lens, there is a need to implement strategies for estimating eye lens dose. Unfortunately eye lens dosimetry is at infancy when it comes to routine application. Various approaches are being tried namely direct measurement using active or passive dosimeters kept close to eyes, retrospective estimations and lastly correlating patient dose in interventional procedures with staff eye dose. The talk will review all approaches available and ongoing active research in this area, as well as data from surveys done in Europe on status of eye dose monitoring in interventional radiology and nuclear medicine. The talk will provide update on how good is Hp(10) against Hp(3), estimations from CTDI values, Monte Carlo based simulations and current status of eye lens dosimetry in USA and Europe. The cataract risk among patients is in CT examinations of the head. Since radiation induced cataract predominantly occurs in posterior sub-capsular (PSC) region and is thus distinguishable from age or drug related cataracts and is also preventable, actions on

  14. DISSECTING THE GRAVITATIONAL LENS B1608+656. I. LENS POTENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Suyu, S. H.; Marshall, P. J.; Blandford, R. D.; Fassnacht, C. D.; Koopmans, L. V. E.; McKean, J. P.; Treu, T.

    2009-01-01

    Strong gravitational lensing is a powerful technique for probing galaxy mass distributions and for measuring cosmological parameters. Lens systems with extended source-intensity distributions are particularly useful for this purpose since they provide additional constraints on the lens potential (

  15. A practical guide for the identification of major sulcogyral structures of the human cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Destrieux, Christophe; Terrier, Louis Marie; Andersson, Frédéric; Love, Scott A; Cottier, Jean-Philippe; Duvernoy, Henri; Velut, Stéphane; Janot, Kevin; Zemmoura, Ilyess

    2017-05-01

    The precise sulcogyral localization of cortical lesions is mandatory to improve communication between practitioners and to predict and prevent post-operative deficits. This process, which assumes a good knowledge of the cortex anatomy and a systematic analysis of images, is, nevertheless, sometimes neglected in the neurological and neurosurgical training. This didactic paper proposes a brief overview of the sulcogyral anatomy, using conventional MR-slices, and also reconstructions of the cortical surface after a more or less extended inflation process. This method simplifies the cortical anatomy by removing part of the cortical complexity induced by the folding process, and makes it more understandable. We then reviewed several methods for localizing cortical structures, and proposed a three-step identification: after localizing the lateral, medial or ventro-basal aspect of the hemisphere (step 1), the main interlobar sulci were located to limit the lobes (step 2). Finally, intralobar sulci and gyri were identified (step 3) thanks to the same set of rules. This paper does not propose any new identification method but should be regarded as a set of practical guidelines, useful in daily clinical practice, for detecting the main sulci and gyri of the human cortex.

  16. Functional reorganization of human motor cortex after unaffected side C7 nerve root transposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Gejun; Feng Xiaoyuan; Xu Wendong; Gu Yudong; Tang Weijun; Sun Guixin; Li Ke; Li Yuan; Geng Daoying

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To assess the characteristics of neuronal activity in human motor cortex after the seventh cervical nerve root transposition of the unaffected side by using functional MRI (fMRI). Methods: Thirteen patients who accepted the seventh cervical nerve root transposition of the unaffected side, due to total brachial plexus traction injury diagnosed by manifestation and operation, were examined retrospectively by using fMRI. 10 patients were injured on the left side and 3 on the right side. According to functional recovery of the affected hand, all subjects can be divided into 2 groups. The patients of the first group could not move the affected hand voluntarily. The patients of the second group could move the affected hand self-determined. 12 healthy volunteer's were also involved in this study as control. The fMRI examinations were performed by using echo-planer BOLD sequence. Then the SPM 99 software was used for post-processing. Results: The neuronal activation induced by the movement of both unaffected and affected upper' limb was seen in the contralateral PMC in all patients; Neuronal activation in the ipsilateral PMC evoked by movement of the unaffected extremity was seen in 10 cases, and induced by movement of the affected limb was seen in 7 cases. In the first group, the sharp of clusters in the contralateral PMC resulted by movement of the unaffected extremity showed normal in 9 eases, the average size of clusters resulted by the unaffected hand was 3159 (voxel), and resulted by the unaffected shoulder was 1746(voxel). The sharp of clusters in the contralateral PMC resulted by the affected shoulder or hand were revealed enlargement in 6 cases of each. In the second group, 1 case showed neuronal activation induced by movement of the affected limb in the PMC in both sides of motor cortex, and 2 cases showed neuronal activation in the contralateral PMC. Conclusions: Peripheral nerve injury was able to cause changes of motor cortex in human brain

  17. Direct electrical stimulation of human cortex evokes high gamma activity that predicts conscious somatosensory perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, Leah; Rolston, John D.; Fox, Neal P.; Knowlton, Robert; Rao, Vikram R.; Chang, Edward F.

    2018-04-01

    Objective. Direct electrical stimulation (DES) is a clinical gold standard for human brain mapping and readily evokes conscious percepts, yet the neurophysiological changes underlying these percepts are not well understood. Approach. To determine the neural correlates of DES, we stimulated the somatosensory cortex of ten human participants at frequency-amplitude combinations that both elicited and failed to elicit conscious percepts, meanwhile recording neural activity directly surrounding the stimulation site. We then compared the neural activity of perceived trials to that of non-perceived trials. Main results. We found that stimulation evokes distributed high gamma activity, which correlates with conscious perception better than stimulation parameters themselves. Significance. Our findings suggest that high gamma activity is a reliable biomarker for perception evoked by both natural and electrical stimuli.

  18. Automated immunohistochemical method to analyze large areas of the human cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbass, Mohamad; Trought, Kathleen; Long, David; Semechko, Anton; Wong, Albert H C

    2018-01-15

    There have been inconsistencies in the histological abnormalities found in the cerebral cortex from patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. Discrepancies in previously published reports may arise from small sample sizes, inconsistent methodology and biased cell counting. We applied automated quantification of neuron density, neuron size and cortical layer thickness in large regions of the cerebral cortex in psychiatric patients. This method accurately segments DAPI positive cells that are also stained with CUX2 and FEZF2. Cortical layer thickness, neuron density and neuron size were automatically computed for each cortical layer in numerous Brodmann areas. We did not find pronounced cytoarchitectural abnormalities in the anterior cingulate cortex or orbitofrontal cortex in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder. There were no significant differences in layer thickness measured in immunohistochemically stained slides compared with traditional Nissl stained slides. Automated cell counts were correlated, reliable and consistent with manual counts, while being much less time-consuming. We demonstrate the validity of using a novel automated analysis approach to post-mortem brain tissue. We were able to analyze large cortical areas and quantify specific cell populations using immunohistochemical markers. Future analyses could benefit from efficient automated analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Alzheimer's disease amyloid-beta links lens and brain pathology in Down syndrome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliet A Moncaster

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21 is the most common chromosomal disorder and the leading genetic cause of intellectual disability in humans. In DS, triplication of chromosome 21 invariably includes the APP gene (21q21 encoding the Alzheimer's disease (AD amyloid precursor protein (APP. Triplication of the APP gene accelerates APP expression leading to cerebral accumulation of APP-derived amyloid-beta peptides (Abeta, early-onset AD neuropathology, and age-dependent cognitive sequelae. The DS phenotype complex also includes distinctive early-onset cerulean cataracts of unknown etiology. Previously, we reported increased Abeta accumulation, co-localizing amyloid pathology, and disease-linked supranuclear cataracts in the ocular lenses of subjects with AD. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that related AD-linked Abeta pathology underlies the distinctive lens phenotype associated with DS. Ophthalmological examinations of DS subjects were correlated with phenotypic, histochemical, and biochemical analyses of lenses obtained from DS, AD, and normal control subjects. Evaluation of DS lenses revealed a characteristic pattern of supranuclear opacification accompanied by accelerated supranuclear Abeta accumulation, co-localizing amyloid pathology, and fiber cell cytoplasmic Abeta aggregates (approximately 5 to 50 nm identical to the lens pathology identified in AD. Peptide sequencing, immunoblot analysis, and ELISA confirmed the identity and increased accumulation of Abeta in DS lenses. Incubation of synthetic Abeta with human lens protein promoted protein aggregation, amyloid formation, and light scattering that recapitulated the molecular pathology and clinical features observed in DS lenses. These results establish the genetic etiology of the distinctive lens phenotype in DS and identify the molecular origin and pathogenic mechanism by which lens pathology is expressed in this common chromosomal disorder. Moreover, these findings confirm increased Abeta

  20. Anodal vs cathodal stimulation of motor cortex: a modeling study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Manola, L.; Holsheimer, J.; Veltink, Petrus H.; Buitenweg, Jan R.

    Objective. To explore the effects of electrical stimulation performed by an anode, a cathode or a bipole positioned over the motor cortex for chronic pain management. Methods. A realistic 3D volume conductor model of the human precentral gyrus (motor cortex) was used to calculate the

  1. Functionally Specific Oscillatory Activity Correlates between Visual and Auditory Cortex in the Blind

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schepers, Inga M.; Hipp, Joerg F.; Schneider, Till R.; Roder, Brigitte; Engel, Andreas K.

    2012-01-01

    Many studies have shown that the visual cortex of blind humans is activated in non-visual tasks. However, the electrophysiological signals underlying this cross-modal plasticity are largely unknown. Here, we characterize the neuronal population activity in the visual and auditory cortex of congenitally blind humans and sighted controls in a…

  2. Dosage-dependent non-linear effect of L-dopa on human motor cortex plasticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monte-Silva, Katia; Liebetanz, David; Grundey, Jessica; Paulus, Walter; Nitsche, Michael A

    2010-09-15

    The neuromodulator dopamine affects learning and memory formation and their likely physiological correlates, long-term depression and potentiation, in animals and humans. It is known from animal experiments that dopamine exerts a dosage-dependent, inverted U-shaped effect on these functions. However, this has not been explored in humans so far. In order to reveal a non-linear dose-dependent effect of dopamine on cortical plasticity in humans, we explored the impact of 25, 100 and 200 mg of L-dopa on transcranial direct current (tDCS)-induced plasticity in twelve healthy human subjects. The primary motor cortex served as a model system, and plasticity was monitored by motor evoked potential amplitudes elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation. As compared to placebo medication, low and high dosages of L-dopa abolished facilitatory as well as inhibitory plasticity, whereas the medium dosage prolonged inhibitory plasticity, and turned facilitatory plasticity into inhibition. Thus the results show clear non-linear, dosage-dependent effects of dopamine on both facilitatory and inhibitory plasticity, and support the assumption of the importance of a specific dosage of dopamine optimally suited to improve plasticity. This might be important for the therapeutic application of dopaminergic agents, especially for rehabilitative purposes, and explain some opposing results in former studies.

  3. Differences in female and male development of the human cerebral cortex from birth to age 16

    OpenAIRE

    Hanlon, Harriet Wehner

    1994-01-01

    This study compares the development of the human cerebral cortex of 224 girls and 284 boys in a series of cross-sectional analyses as measured by EEG coherence on normal children's brains (longisectional design). Correlations of these EEG readings taken from all brain regions between a mean age of 6 months and 16 years yield measures of synaptic communication. Time series of these measures reflect the changing growth patterns across the 16 years. Time series of mean EE...

  4. Investigation into photostability of soybean oils by thermal lens spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savi, E. L.; Malacarne, L. C.; Baesso, M. L.; Pintro, P. T. M.; Croge, C.; Shen, J.; Astrath, N. G. C.

    2015-06-01

    Assessment of photochemical stability is essential for evaluating quality and the shelf life of vegetable oils, which are very important aspects of marketing and human health. Most of conventional methods used to investigate oxidative stability requires long time experimental procedures with high consumption of chemical inputs for the preparation or extraction of sample compounds. In this work we propose a time-resolved thermal lens method to analyze photostability of edible oils by quantitative measurement of photoreaction cross-section. An all-numerical routine is employed to solve a complex theoretical problem involving photochemical reaction, thermal lens effect, and mass diffusion during local laser excitation. The photostability of pure oil and oils with natural and synthetic antioxidants is investigated. The thermal lens results are compared with those obtained by conventional methods, and a complete set of physical properties of the samples is presented.

  5. A Specialized Multi-Transmit Head Coil for High Resolution fMRI of the Human Visual Cortex at 7T.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengupta, Shubharthi; Roebroeck, Alard; Kemper, Valentin G; Poser, Benedikt A; Zimmermann, Jan; Goebel, Rainer; Adriany, Gregor

    2016-01-01

    To design, construct and validate radiofrequency (RF) transmit and receive phased array coils for high-resolution visual cortex imaging at 7 Tesla. A 4 channel transmit and 16 channel receive array was constructed on a conformal polycarbonate former. Transmit field efficiency and homogeneity were simulated and validated, along with the Specific Absorption Rate, using [Formula: see text] mapping techniques and electromagnetic simulations. Receiver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), temporal SNR (tSNR) across EPI time series, g-factors for accelerated imaging and noise correlations were evaluated and compared with a commercial 32 channel whole head coil. The performance of the coil was further evaluated with human subjects through functional MRI (fMRI) studies at standard and submillimeter resolutions of upto 0.8mm isotropic. The transmit and receive sections were characterized using bench tests and showed good interelement decoupling, preamplifier decoupling and sample loading. SNR for the 16 channel coil was ∼ 1.5 times that of the commercial coil in the human occipital lobe, and showed better g-factor values for accelerated imaging. fMRI tests conducted showed better response to Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) activation, at resolutions of 1.2mm and 0.8mm isotropic. The 4 channel phased array transmit coil provides homogeneous excitation across the visual cortex, which, in combination with the dual row 16 channel receive array, makes for a valuable research tool for high resolution anatomical and functional imaging of the visual cortex at 7T.

  6. A role for smoothened during murine lens and cornea development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janet J Y Choi

    Full Text Available Various studies suggest that Hedgehog (Hh signalling plays roles in human and zebrafish ocular development. Recent studies (Kerr et al., Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012; 53, 3316-30 showed that conditionally activating Hh signals promotes murine lens epithelial cell proliferation and disrupts fibre differentiation. In this study we examined the expression of the Hh pathway and the requirement for the Smoothened gene in murine lens development. Expression of Hh pathway components in developing lens was examined by RT-PCR, immunofluorescence and in situ hybridisation. The requirement of Smo in lens development was determined by conditional loss-of-function mutations, using LeCre and MLR10 Cre transgenic mice. The phenotype of mutant mice was examined by immunofluorescence for various markers of cell cycle, lens and cornea differentiation. Hh pathway components (Ptch1, Smo, Gli2, Gli3 were detected in lens epithelium from E12.5. Gli2 was particularly localised to mitotic nuclei and, at E13.5, Gli3 exhibited a shift from cytosol to nucleus, suggesting distinct roles for these transcription factors. Conditional deletion of Smo, from ∼E12.5 (MLR10 Cre did not affect ocular development, whereas deletion from ∼E9.5 (LeCre resulted in lens and corneal defects from E14.5. Mutant lenses were smaller and showed normal expression of p57Kip2, c-Maf, E-cadherin and Pax6, reduced expression of FoxE3 and Ptch1 and decreased nuclear Hes1. There was normal G1-S phase but decreased G2-M phase transition at E16.5 and epithelial cell death from E14.5-E16.5. Mutant corneas were thicker due to aberrant migration of Nrp2+ cells from the extraocular mesenchyme, resulting in delayed corneal endothelial but normal epithelial differentiation. These results indicate the Hh pathway is required during a discrete period (E9.5-E12.5 in lens development to regulate lens epithelial cell proliferation, survival and FoxE3 expression. Defective corneal development occurs

  7. Refractive power and biometric properties of the nonhuman primate isolated crystalline lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borja, David; Manns, Fabrice; Ho, Arthur; Ziebarth, Noel M; Acosta, Ana Carolina; Arrieta-Quintera, Esdras; Augusteyn, Robert C; Parel, Jean-Marie

    2010-04-01

    Purpose. To characterize the age dependence of shape, refractive power, and refractive index of isolated lenses from nonhuman primates. Methods. Measurements were performed on ex vivo lenses from cynomolgus monkeys (cyno: n = 120; age, 2.7-14.3 years), rhesus monkeys (n = 61; age, 0.7-13.3 years), and hamadryas baboons (baboon: n = 16; age, 1.7-27.3 years). Lens thickness, diameter, and surface curvatures were measured with an optical comparator. Lens refractive power was measured with a custom optical system based on the Scheiner principle. The refractive contributions of the gradient, the surfaces, and the equivalent refractive index were calculated with optical ray-tracing software. The age dependence of the optical and biometric parameters was assessed. Results. Over the measured age range isolated lens thickness decreased (baboon: -0.04, cyno: -0.05, and rhesus: -0.06 mm/y) and equatorial diameter increased (logarithmically for the baboon and rhesus, and linearly for cyno: 0.07 mm/y). The isolated lens surfaces flattened and the corresponding refractive power from the surfaces decreased with age (-0.33, -0.48, and -0.68 D/y). The isolated lens equivalent refractive index decreased (only significant for the baboon, -0.001 D/y), and as a result the total isolated lens refractive power decreased with age (baboon: -1.26, cyno: -0.97, and rhesus: -1.76 D/y). Conclusions. The age-dependent trends in the optical and biometric properties, growth, and aging, of nonhuman primate lenses are similar to those of the pre-presbyopic human lens. As the lens ages, the decrease in refractive contributions from the gradient refractive index causes a rapid age-dependent decrease in maximally accommodated lens refractive power.

  8. Enhanced attentional gain as a mechanism for generalized perceptual learning in human visual cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byers, Anna; Serences, John T

    2014-09-01

    Learning to better discriminate a specific visual feature (i.e., a specific orientation in a specific region of space) has been associated with plasticity in early visual areas (sensory modulation) and with improvements in the transmission of sensory information from early visual areas to downstream sensorimotor and decision regions (enhanced readout). However, in many real-world scenarios that require perceptual expertise, observers need to efficiently process numerous exemplars from a broad stimulus class as opposed to just a single stimulus feature. Some previous data suggest that perceptual learning leads to highly specific neural modulations that support the discrimination of specific trained features. However, the extent to which perceptual learning acts to improve the discriminability of a broad class of stimuli via the modulation of sensory responses in human visual cortex remains largely unknown. Here, we used functional MRI and a multivariate analysis method to reconstruct orientation-selective response profiles based on activation patterns in the early visual cortex before and after subjects learned to discriminate small offsets in a set of grating stimuli that were rendered in one of nine possible orientations. Behavioral performance improved across 10 training sessions, and there was a training-related increase in the amplitude of orientation-selective response profiles in V1, V2, and V3 when orientation was task relevant compared with when it was task irrelevant. These results suggest that generalized perceptual learning can lead to modified responses in the early visual cortex in a manner that is suitable for supporting improved discriminability of stimuli drawn from a large set of exemplars. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  9. Medial frontal cortex and response conflict: Evidence from human intracranial EEG and medial frontal cortex lesion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cohen, M.X.; Ridderinkhof, K.R.; Haupt, S.; Elger, C.E.; Fell, J.

    2008-01-01

    The medial frontal cortex (MFC) has been implicated in the monitoring and selection of actions in the face of competing alternatives, but much remains unknown about its functional properties, including electrophysiological oscillations, during response conflict tasks. Here, we recorded intracranial

  10. Straylight Measurements in Contact Lens Wear

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Meulen, Ivanka J. E.; Engelbrecht, Leonore A.; van Vliet, Johannes M. J.; Lapid-Gortzak, Ruth; Nieuwendaal, Carla P.; Mourits, Maarten P.; Schlingemann, Reinier O.; van den Berg, Thomas J. T. P.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: (1) To quantify the effect of contact lens wear on straylight in rigid and soft contact lens wearers and (2) to relate findings to morphological changes and subjective complaints. Methods: Straylight was measured using the Oculus C-Quant during contact lens wear and after contact lens

  11. Quadrupole magnetic lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piskunov, V.A.

    1981-01-01

    The following connection of windings of electromagnet is suggested for simplification of the design of qUadrupole magnetic lens intended for use in radiotechnical and electron-optical devices. The mentioned windings are connected with each other by a bridge scheme and the variable resistors are switched in its diagonals in the lens containing four electromagnet with windings connected with two variable resistors the mobile contacts of which are connected with a direct current source. Current redistribution between left windings and right windings takes place at shift of mobile contact of variable resistor, and current redistribution between upper and low coils of electromagnets takes place at shifting mobile contact of the other variable resistor. In this case smooth and independent electron-optical misalignment of lens by two mutually perpendicular directions proceeds. Use of the given design of the lens in the oscillograph permits to use printing assembly for alignment plate and to reduce the number of connections at the expense of decreasing the number of resistors

  12. Contact lens surface by electron beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Jung Hyuck; Lee, Suk Ju; Hwang, Kwang Ha; Jeon Jin

    2011-01-01

    Contact lens materials needs good biocompatibility, high refractive index, high optical transparency, high water content etc. Surface treat method by using plasma and radiation can modify the physical and/or chemical properties of the contact lens surface. Radiation technology such as electron beam irradiation can apply to polymerization reaction and enhance the functionality of the polymer.The purpose of this study is to modify of contact lens surface by using Eb irradiation technology. Electron beam was irradiated to the contact lens surface which was synthesized thermal polymerization method and commercial contact lens to modify physical and chemical properties. Ft-IR, XP, UV-vis spectrophotometer, water content, oxygen trans-metastability were used to characterize the surface state, physicochemical, and optical property of the contact lens treated with Eb. The water content and oxygen transmissibility of the contact lens treated with Eb were increased due to increase in the hydrophilic group such as O-C=O and OH group on the contact lens surface which could be produced by possible reaction between carbon and oxygen during the Eb irradiation. All of the lenses showed the high optical transmittance above 90%. In this case of B/Es, TES, Ti contact lens, the optical transmittance decreased about 5% with increasing Eb dose in the wavelength of UV-B region. The contact lens modified by Eb irradiation could improve the physical properties of the contact lens such as water content and oxygen transmissibility

  13. Effects of diazepam and levodopa single doses on motor cortex plasticity modulation in healthy human subjects: A TMS study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilić Nela V.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Administration of pharmacological agents with specific actions on neurotransmitter systems is a powerful driver of functional cortical reorganization. Plastic reorganization of the motor cortex in humans studies by the use of non-invasive stimulation protocols, which mimic the Hebbian model of associative plasticity. Objective. Aiming to explore pharmacological modulation on human motor cortex plasticity, we tested healthy subjects after each dosage of diazepam, levodopa i placebo administration, using paired associative stimulation protocol (PAS that induce fenomena similar to a long-term potentiation and depression, as defined on the synaptic level. Methods. We analyzed effects of benzodiazepines (10 mg, levodopa (200 mg and placebo on PAS protocol in 14 healthy volunteers, using a double-blind placebo-controlled study design. PAS consisted of electrical stimuli pairs at n.medianus and magnetic pulses over the scalp (transcranial magnetic stimulation in precisely defined intervals (ISI was 10 and 25 ms for a total of about 15 minutes (200 pairs. MEP amplitudes before and after (0, 10, 20 and 30 minutes later interventional protocols were compared. Results. When protocols were applied with placebo depending on ISI (10 ms - inhibitory, 25 ms - facilitatory effects, MEP amplitudes decreased or increased, while values in the postinterventional period (0, 10, 20 and 30 min were compared with initial values before the use of SAS. The use of benzodiazepines caused the occlusion of LTP-like effect, in contrast to amplification effects recorded after the administration of levodopa. With respect to the LTD-like protocol, the reverse was true (ANOVA for repeat measurements p<0.001. Conclusion. Administration of GABA-ergic agonist diazepam interferes with the induction of associative plasticity in the motor cortex of healthy individuals, as opposed to the use of levodopa, which stimulates these processes. The observed effects point at a

  14. Binaural fusion and the representation of virtual pitch in the human auditory cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pantev, C; Elbert, T; Ross, B; Eulitz, C; Terhardt, E

    1996-10-01

    The auditory system derives the pitch of complex tones from the tone's harmonics. Research in psychoacoustics predicted that binaural fusion was an important feature of pitch processing. Based on neuromagnetic human data, the first neurophysiological confirmation of binaural fusion in hearing is presented. The centre of activation within the cortical tonotopic map corresponds to the location of the perceived pitch and not to the locations that are activated when the single frequency constituents are presented. This is also true when the different harmonics of a complex tone are presented dichotically. We conclude that the pitch processor includes binaural fusion to determine the particular pitch location which is activated in the auditory cortex.

  15. Properties of the cathode lens combined with a focusing magnetic/immersion-magnetic lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konvalina, I.; Muellerova, I.

    2011-01-01

    The cathode lens is an electron optical element in an emission electron microscope accelerating electrons from the sample, which serves as a source for a beam of electrons. Special application consists in using the cathode lens first for retardation of an illuminating electron beam and then for acceleration of reflected as well as secondary electrons, made in the directly imaging low energy electron microscope or in its scanning version discussed here. In order to form a real image, the cathode lens has to be combined with a focusing magnetic lens or a focusing immersion-magnetic lens, as used for objective lenses of some commercial scanning electron microscopes. These two alternatives are compared with regards to their optical properties, in particular with respect to predicted aberration coefficients and the spot size, as well as the optimum angular aperture of the primary beam. The important role of the final aperture size on the image resolution is also presented.

  16. Auditory and visual connectivity gradients in frontoparietal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braga, Rodrigo M; Hellyer, Peter J; Wise, Richard J S; Leech, Robert

    2017-01-01

    A frontoparietal network of brain regions is often implicated in both auditory and visual information processing. Although it is possible that the same set of multimodal regions subserves both modalities, there is increasing evidence that there is a differentiation of sensory function within frontoparietal cortex. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in humans was used to investigate whether different frontoparietal regions showed intrinsic biases in connectivity with visual or auditory modalities. Structural connectivity was assessed with diffusion tractography and functional connectivity was tested using functional MRI. A dorsal-ventral gradient of function was observed, where connectivity with visual cortex dominates dorsal frontal and parietal connections, while connectivity with auditory cortex dominates ventral frontal and parietal regions. A gradient was also observed along the posterior-anterior axis, although in opposite directions in prefrontal and parietal cortices. The results suggest that the location of neural activity within frontoparietal cortex may be influenced by these intrinsic biases toward visual and auditory processing. Thus, the location of activity in frontoparietal cortex may be influenced as much by stimulus modality as the cognitive demands of a task. It was concluded that stimulus modality was spatially encoded throughout frontal and parietal cortices, and was speculated that such an arrangement allows for top-down modulation of modality-specific information to occur within higher-order cortex. This could provide a potentially faster and more efficient pathway by which top-down selection between sensory modalities could occur, by constraining modulations to within frontal and parietal regions, rather than long-range connections to sensory cortices. Hum Brain Mapp 38:255-270, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. 21 CFR 886.5925 - Soft (hydrophilic) contact lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Soft (hydrophilic) contact lens. 886.5925 Section 886.5925 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... against the cornea and adjacent limbal and scleral areas of the eye to correct vision conditions or act as...

  18. Aquaporin 0 plays a pivotal role in refractive index gradient development in mammalian eye lens to prevent spherical aberration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumari, S. Sindhu [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan, E-mail: kulandaiappan.varadaraj@stonybrook.edu [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); SUNY Eye Institute, New York, NY (United States)

    2014-10-03

    Highlights: • Intact AQP0 functions as fiber cell-to-fiber cell adhesion protein. • AQP0 facilitates reduction in extracellular space and lens water content. • AQP0 adhesion function aids in lens refractive index gradient (RING) formation. • AQP0 prevents lens spherical aberration by establishing RING. • AQP0 is critical for lens transparency and homeostasis. - Abstract: Aquaporin 0 (AQP0) is a transmembrane channel that constitutes ∼45% of the total membrane protein of the fiber cells in mammalian lens. It is critical for lens transparency and homeostasis as mutations and knockout cause autosomal dominant lens cataract. AQP0 functions as a water channel and as a cell-to-cell adhesion (CTCA) molecule in the lens. Our recent in vitro studies showed that the CTCA function of AQP0 could be crucial to establish lens refractive index gradient (RING). However, there is a lack of in vivo data to corroborate the role of AQP0 as a fiber CTCA molecule which is critical for creating lens RING. The present investigation is undertaken to gather in vivo evidence for the involvement of AQP0 in developing lens RING. Lenses of wild type (WT) mouse, AQP0 knockout (heterozygous, AQP0{sup +/−}) and AQP0 knockout lens transgenically expressing AQP1 (heterozygous AQP0{sup +/−}/AQP1{sup +/−}) mouse models were used for the study. Data on AQP0 protein profile of intact and N- and/or C-terminal cleaved AQP0 in the lens by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and SDS–PAGE revealed that outer cortex fiber cells have only intact AQP0 of ∼28 kDa, inner cortical and outer nuclear fiber cells have both intact and cleaved forms, and inner nuclear fiber cells have only cleaved forms (∼26–24 kDa). Knocking out of 50% of AQP0 protein caused light scattering, spherical aberration (SA) and cataract. Restoring the lost fiber cell membrane water permeability (P{sub f}) by transgene AQP1 did not reinstate complete lens transparency and the mouse lenses showed light scattering and SA

  19. 21 CFR 886.1375 - Bagolini lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Bagolini lens. 886.1375 Section 886.1375 Food and... OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1375 Bagolini lens. (a) Identification. A Bagolini lens is a device that consists of a plane lens containing almost imperceptible striations that do not obscure...

  20. Auditory cortex involvement in emotional learning and memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosso, A; Cambiaghi, M; Concina, G; Sacco, T; Sacchetti, B

    2015-07-23

    Emotional memories represent the core of human and animal life and drive future choices and behaviors. Early research involving brain lesion studies in animals lead to the idea that the auditory cortex participates in emotional learning by processing the sensory features of auditory stimuli paired with emotional consequences and by transmitting this information to the amygdala. Nevertheless, electrophysiological and imaging studies revealed that, following emotional experiences, the auditory cortex undergoes learning-induced changes that are highly specific, associative and long lasting. These studies suggested that the role played by the auditory cortex goes beyond stimulus elaboration and transmission. Here, we discuss three major perspectives created by these data. In particular, we analyze the possible roles of the auditory cortex in emotional learning, we examine the recruitment of the auditory cortex during early and late memory trace encoding, and finally we consider the functional interplay between the auditory cortex and subcortical nuclei, such as the amygdala, that process affective information. We conclude that, starting from the early phase of memory encoding, the auditory cortex has a more prominent role in emotional learning, through its connections with subcortical nuclei, than is typically acknowledged. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Dynamic encoding of speech sequence probability in human temporal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard, Matthew K; Bouchard, Kristofer E; Tang, Claire; Chang, Edward F

    2015-05-06

    Sensory processing involves identification of stimulus features, but also integration with the surrounding sensory and cognitive context. Previous work in animals and humans has shown fine-scale sensitivity to context in the form of learned knowledge about the statistics of the sensory environment, including relative probabilities of discrete units in a stream of sequential auditory input. These statistics are a defining characteristic of one of the most important sequential signals humans encounter: speech. For speech, extensive exposure to a language tunes listeners to the statistics of sound sequences. To address how speech sequence statistics are neurally encoded, we used high-resolution direct cortical recordings from human lateral superior temporal cortex as subjects listened to words and nonwords with varying transition probabilities between sound segments. In addition to their sensitivity to acoustic features (including contextual features, such as coarticulation), we found that neural responses dynamically encoded the language-level probability of both preceding and upcoming speech sounds. Transition probability first negatively modulated neural responses, followed by positive modulation of neural responses, consistent with coordinated predictive and retrospective recognition processes, respectively. Furthermore, transition probability encoding was different for real English words compared with nonwords, providing evidence for online interactions with high-order linguistic knowledge. These results demonstrate that sensory processing of deeply learned stimuli involves integrating physical stimulus features with their contextual sequential structure. Despite not being consciously aware of phoneme sequence statistics, listeners use this information to process spoken input and to link low-level acoustic representations with linguistic information about word identity and meaning. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/357203-12$15.00/0.

  2. The contribution of CXCL12-expressing radial glia cells to neuro-vascular patterning during human cerebral cortex development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariella eErrede

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted on human developing brain by laser confocal and transmission electron microscopy to make a detailed analysis of important features of blood-brain barrier microvessels and possible control mechanisms of vessel growth and differentiation during cerebral cortex vascularization. The blood-brain barrier status of cortex microvessels was examined at a defined stage of cortex development, at the end of neuroblast waves of migration and before cortex lamination, with blood-brain barrier-endothelial cell markers, namely tight junction proteins (occludin and claudin-5 and influx and efflux transporters (Glut-1 and P-glycoprotein, the latter supporting evidence for functional effectiveness of the fetal blood-brain barrier. According to the well-known roles of astroglia cells on microvessel growth and differentiation, the early composition of astroglia/endothelial cell relationships was analysed by detecting the appropriate astroglia, endothelial, and pericyte markers. GFAP, chemokine CXCL12, and connexin 43 (Cx43 were utilized as markers of radial glia cells, CD105 (endoglin as a marker of angiogenically activated endothelial cells, and proteoglycan NG2 as a marker of immature pericytes. Immunolabeling for CXCL12 showed the highest level of the ligand in radial glial fibres in contact with the growing cortex microvessels. These specialized contacts, recognizable on both perforating radial vessels and growing collaterals, appeared as CXCL12-reactive en passant, symmetrical and asymmetrical vessel-specific RG fibre swellings. At the highest confocal resolution, these RG varicosities showed a CXCL12-reactive dot-like content whose microvesicular nature was confirmed by ultrastructural observations. A further analysis of radial glial varicosities reveals colocalization of CXCL12 with connexin Cx43, which is possibly implicated in vessel-specific chemokine signalling.

  3. Connectivity-based parcellation of the human orbitofrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahnt, Thorsten; Chang, Luke J; Park, Soyoung Q; Heinzle, Jakob; Haynes, John-Dylan

    2012-05-02

    The primate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is involved in reward processing, learning, and decision making. Research in monkeys has shown that this region is densely connected with higher sensory, limbic, and subcortical regions. Moreover, a parcellation of the monkey OFC into two subdivisions has been suggested based on its intrinsic anatomical connections. However, in humans, little is known about any functional subdivisions of the OFC except for a rather coarse medial/lateral distinction. Here, we used resting-state fMRI in combination with unsupervised clustering techniques to investigate whether OFC subdivisions can be revealed based on their functional connectivity profiles with other brain regions. Examination of different cluster solutions provided support for a parcellation into two parts as observed in monkeys, but it also highlighted a much finer hierarchical clustering of the orbital surface. Specifically, we identified (1) a medial, (2) a posterior-central, (3) a central, and (4-6) three lateral clusters spanning the anterior-posterior gradient. Consistent with animal tracing studies, these OFC clusters were connected to other cortical regions such as prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortices but also subcortical areas in the striatum and the midbrain. These connectivity patterns provide important implications for identifying specific functional roles of OFC subdivisions for reward processing, learning, and decision making. Moreover, this parcellation schema can provide guidance to report results in future studies.

  4. Dissociable contributions of the human amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex to incentive motivation and goal selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arana, F Sergio; Parkinson, John A; Hinton, Elanor; Holland, Anthony J; Owen, Adrian M; Roberts, Angela C

    2003-10-22

    Theories of incentive motivation attempt to capture the way in which objects and events in the world can acquire high motivational value and drive behavior, even in the absence of a clear biological need. In addition, for an individual to select the most appropriate goal, the incentive values of competing desirable objects need to be defined and compared. The present study examined the neural substrates by which appetitive incentive value influences prospective goal selection, using positron emission tomographic neuroimaging in humans. Sated subjects were shown a series of restaurant menus that varied in incentive value, specifically tailored for each individual, and in half the trials, were asked to make a selection from the menu. The amygdala was activated by high-incentive menus regardless of whether a choice was required. Indeed, activity in this region varied as a function of individual subjective ratings of incentive value. In contrast, distinct regions of the orbitofrontal cortex were recruited both during incentive judgments and goal selection. Activity in the medial orbital cortex showed a greater response to high-incentive menus and when making a choice, with the latter activity also correlating with subjective ratings of difficulty. Lateral orbitofrontal activity was observed selectively when participants had to suppress responses to alternative desirable items to select their most preferred. Taken together, these data highlight the differential contribution of the amygdala and regions within the orbitofrontal cortex in a neural system underlying the selection of goals based on the prospective incentive value of stimuli, over and above homeostatic influences.

  5. Steady-State Diffusion of Water through Soft-Contact LensMaterials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fornasiero, Francesco; Krull, Florian; Radke, Clayton J.; Prausnitz, JohnM.

    2005-01-31

    Water transport through soft contact lenses (SCL) is important for acceptable performance on the human eye. Chemical-potential gradient-driven diffusion rates of water through soft-contact-lens materials are measured with an evaporation-cell technique. Water is evaporated from the bottom surface of a lens membrane by impinging air at controlled flow rate and humidity. The resulting weight loss of a water reservoir covering the top surface of the contact-lens material is recorded as a function of time. New results are reported for a conventional hydrogel material (SofLens{trademark} One Day, hilafilcon A, water content at saturation W{sub 10} = 70 weight %) and a silicone hydrogel material (PureVision{trademark}, balafilcon A, W{sub 10} = 36 %), with and without surface oxygen plasma treatment. Also, previously reported data for a conventional HEMA-SCL (W{sub 10} = 38 %) hydrogel are reexamined and compared with those for SofLens{trademark} One Day and PureVision{trademark} hydrogels. Measured steady-state water fluxes are largest for SofLens{trademark} One Day, followed by PureVision{trademark} and HEMA. In some cases, the measured steady-state water fluxes increase with rising relative air humidity. This increase, due to an apparent mass-transfer resistance at the surface (trapping skinning), is associated with formation of a glassy skin at the air/membrane interface when the relative humidity is below 55-75%. Steady-state water-fluxes are interpreted through an extended Maxwell-Stefan diffusion model for a mixture of species starkly different in size. Thermodynamic nonideality is considered through Flory-Rehner polymer-solution theory. Shrinking/swelling is self-consistently modeled by conservation of the total polymer mass. Fitted Maxwell-Stefan diffusivities increase significantly with water concentration in the contact lens.

  6. Vitamin C Degradation Products and Pathways in the Human Lens*

    OpenAIRE

    Nemet, Ina; Monnier, Vincent M.

    2011-01-01

    Vitamin C and its degradation products participate in chemical modifications of proteins in vivo through non-enzymatic glycation (Maillard reaction) and formation of different products called advanced glycation end products. Vitamin C levels are particularly high in selected tissues, such as lens, brain and adrenal gland, and its degradation products can inflict substantial protein damage via formation of advanced glycation end products. However, the pathways of in vivo vitamin C degradation ...

  7. Dose limits to the eye lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sion, N.

    2016-01-01

    Protecting the human body from the effects of ionizing radiation is essential to forestall stochastic effects and require placing limits on the effective dose. Dose limits on specific organs are also necessary to reduce the deterministic effects and tissue reactions. The standard for radiation protection was ISO 15382 (2002) which mainly dealt with beta radiation for nuclear power plant workers. Clearly an update is required to allow for new technology and the proliferative use of radiation in medical practices. There is a need for more explicit radiation monitoring to operators and staff. ICRP118 (International Commission on Radiological Protection), Ref. 1, evolved their recommendations to include eye lens doses as a follow on to their publication 103 and to focus on radiation exposures. It provides updated estimates of 'practical' threshold doses for tissue injury at the level of 1% incidence. This paper discusses the current status and the recommendation for a drastic reduction of the dose limit to the eye lens. (author)

  8. Dose limits to the eye lens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sion, N.

    2016-09-15

    Protecting the human body from the effects of ionizing radiation is essential to forestall stochastic effects and require placing limits on the effective dose. Dose limits on specific organs are also necessary to reduce the deterministic effects and tissue reactions. The standard for radiation protection was ISO 15382 (2002) which mainly dealt with beta radiation for nuclear power plant workers. Clearly an update is required to allow for new technology and the proliferative use of radiation in medical practices. There is a need for more explicit radiation monitoring to operators and staff. ICRP118 (International Commission on Radiological Protection), Ref. 1, evolved their recommendations to include eye lens doses as a follow on to their publication 103 and to focus on radiation exposures. It provides updated estimates of 'practical' threshold doses for tissue injury at the level of 1% incidence. This paper discusses the current status and the recommendation for a drastic reduction of the dose limit to the eye lens. (author)

  9. A Tribute to Len Barton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, Sally

    2010-01-01

    This article constitutes a short personal tribute to Len Barton in honour of his work and our collegial relationship going back over 30 years. It covers how Len saw his intellectual project of providing critical sociological and political perspectives on special education, disability and inclusion, and his own radical political perspectives. Len's…

  10. Cortical oscillations in auditory perception and speech: evidence for two temporal windows in human auditory cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huan eLuo

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Natural sounds, including vocal communication sounds, contain critical information at multiple time scales. Two essential temporal modulation rates in speech have been argued to be in the low gamma band (~20-80 ms duration information and the theta band (~150-300 ms, corresponding to segmental and syllabic modulation rates, respectively. On one hypothesis, auditory cortex implements temporal integration using time constants closely related to these values. The neural correlates of a proposed dual temporal window mechanism in human auditory cortex remain poorly understood. We recorded MEG responses from participants listening to non-speech auditory stimuli with different temporal structures, created by concatenating frequency-modulated segments of varied segment durations. We show that these non-speech stimuli with temporal structure matching speech-relevant scales (~25 ms and ~200 ms elicit reliable phase tracking in the corresponding associated oscillatory frequencies (low gamma and theta bands. In contrast, stimuli with non-matching temporal structure do not. Furthermore, the topography of theta band phase tracking shows rightward lateralization while gamma band phase tracking occurs bilaterally. The results support the hypothesis that there exists multi-time resolution processing in cortex on discontinuous scales and provide evidence for an asymmetric organization of temporal analysis (asymmetrical sampling in time, AST. The data argue for a macroscopic-level neural mechanism underlying multi-time resolution processing: the sliding and resetting of intrinsic temporal windows on privileged time scales.

  11. Characterization of visual percepts evoked by noninvasive stimulation of the human posterior parietal cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J Fried

    Full Text Available Phosphenes are commonly evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS to study the functional organization, connectivity, and excitability of the human visual brain. For years, phosphenes have been documented only from stimulating early visual areas (V1-V3 and a handful of specialized visual regions (V4, V5/MT+ in occipital cortex. Recently, phosphenes were reported after applying TMS to a region of posterior parietal cortex involved in the top-down modulation of visuo-spatial processing. In the present study, we systematically characterized parietal phosphenes to determine if they are generated directly by local mechanisms or emerge through indirect activation of other visual areas. Using technology developed in-house to record the subjective features of phosphenes, we found no systematic differences in the size, shape, location, or frame-of-reference of parietal phosphenes when compared to their occipital counterparts. In a second experiment, discrete deactivation by 1 Hz repetitive TMS yielded a double dissociation: phosphene thresholds increased at the deactivated site without producing a corresponding change at the non-deactivated location. Overall, the commonalities of parietal and occipital phosphenes, and our ability to independently modulate their excitability thresholds, lead us to conclude that they share a common neural basis that is separate from either of the stimulated regions.

  12. Neuronal density, size and shape in the human anterior cingulate cortex: a comparison of Nissl and NeuN staining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gittins, Rebecca; Harrison, Paul J

    2004-03-15

    There are an increasing number of quantitative morphometric studies of the human cerebral cortex, especially as part of comparative investigations of major psychiatric disorders. In this context, the present study had two aims. First, to provide quantitative data regarding key neuronal morphometric parameters in the anterior cingulate cortex. Second, to compare the results of conventional Nissl staining with those observed after immunostaining with NeuN, an antibody becoming widely used as a selective neuronal marker. We stained adjacent sections of area 24b from 16 adult brains with cresyl violet or NeuN. We measured the density of pyramidal and non-pyramidal neurons, and the size and shape of pyramidal neurons, in laminae II, III, Va, Vb and VI, using two-dimensional counting methods. Strong correlations between the two modes of staining were seen for all variables. However, NeuN gave slightly higher estimates of neuronal density and size, and a more circular perikaryal shape. Brain pH was correlated with neuronal size, measured with both methods, and with neuronal shape. Age and post-mortem interval showed no correlations with any parameter. These data confirm the value of NeuN as a tool for quantitative neuronal morphometric studies in routinely processed human brain tissue. Absolute values are highly correlated between NeuN and cresyl violet stains, but cannot be interchanged. NeuN may be particularly useful when it is important to distinguish small neurons from glia, such as in cytoarchitectural studies of the cerebral cortex in depression and schizophrenia.

  13. A course in lens design

    CERN Document Server

    Velzel, Chris

    2014-01-01

    A Course in Lens Design is an instruction in the design of image-forming optical systems. It teaches how a satisfactory design can be obtained in a straightforward way. Theory is limited to a minimum, and used to support the practical design work. The book introduces geometrical optics, optical instruments and aberrations. It gives a description of the process of lens design and of the strategies used in this process. Half of its content is devoted to the design of sixteen types of lenses, described in detail from beginning to end. This book is different from most other books on lens design because it stresses the importance of the initial phases of the design process: (paraxial) lay-out and (thin-lens) pre-design. The argument for this change of accent is that in these phases much information can be obtained about the properties of the lens to be designed. This information can be used in later phases of the design. This makes A Course in Lens Design a useful self-study book, and a suitable basis for an intro...

  14. Development of Fresnel lens for improvement of rear visibility; Shikai kojo Fresnel lens no kaihatsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iwamoto, K; Sanada, C; Tsukino, M [Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    1997-10-01

    Fresnel lenses have been widely used to increase the visual field around vehicles for drivers. However, internal reflection in these lenses has been an obstacle in producing dear images. This internal glow is generated by incident light from an unexpected direction reflecting on the non-lens surface or radiating from the non-lens surface of the Fresnel lens. The cause of internal glow has been made dear combining louver film with the lens. The newly developed technology removes obstacles in producing dear images by reducing internal glow. 7 figs.

  15. Vitreous Humor Changes Expression of Iron-Handling Proteins in Lens Epithelial Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goralska, Malgorzata; Fleisher, Lloyd N.; McGahan, M. Christine

    2017-01-01

    Purpose In humans, vitrectomy is associated with development of nuclear cataracts. Iron catalyzes free radical formation causing oxidative damage, which is implicated in cataract formation. This study was designed to determine if vitreous humor, which can initiate differentiation of lens epithelial cells, would have an effect on iron-handling proteins. Methods Cultured canine lens epithelial cells were treated with collected canine vitreous humor. Lysates of treated and control cells were separated by SDS-PAGE. Ferritin H- and L-chains, transferrin receptor 1, and aquaporin 0 were immunodetected and quantitated with specific antibodies. Morphologic changes in treated cells were assessed. Results Treatment of lens epithelial cells with a 33% (vol/vol) solution of vitreous humor changed the morphology of lens cells and induced expression of aquaporin 0, a marker of fiber cell differentiation that was undetectable in control cells. Treatment did not modify the size of iron-handling proteins but significantly increased content of ferritin from 2.9- to 8.8-fold over control and decreased levels of transferrin receptor by 37% to 59%. Conclusions Vitreous humor may significantly limit iron uptake by transferrin/transferrin receptor pathway, and by increasing ferritin levels could profoundly increase the iron-storage capacity of ferritin in lens cells. Vitreous humor may play a significant protective role against iron-catalyzed oxidative damage of lens epithelial cells and therefore in the formation of cataracts. PMID:28245299

  16. Luneburg lens in silicon photonics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Falco, Andrea; Kehr, Susanne C; Leonhardt, Ulf

    2011-03-14

    The Luneburg lens is an aberration-free lens that focuses light from all directions equally well. We fabricated and tested a Luneburg lens in silicon photonics. Such fully-integrated lenses may become the building blocks of compact Fourier optics on chips. Furthermore, our fabrication technique is sufficiently versatile for making perfect imaging devices on silicon platforms.

  17. Attention improves encoding of task-relevant features in the human visual cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jehee, Janneke F.M.; Brady, Devin K.; Tong, Frank

    2011-01-01

    When spatial attention is directed towards a particular stimulus, increased activity is commonly observed in corresponding locations of the visual cortex. Does this attentional increase in activity indicate improved processing of all features contained within the attended stimulus, or might spatial attention selectively enhance the features relevant to the observer’s task? We used fMRI decoding methods to measure the strength of orientation-selective activity patterns in the human visual cortex while subjects performed either an orientation or contrast discrimination task, involving one of two laterally presented gratings. Greater overall BOLD activation with spatial attention was observed in areas V1-V4 for both tasks. However, multivariate pattern analysis revealed that orientation-selective responses were enhanced by attention only when orientation was the task-relevant feature, and not when the grating’s contrast had to be attended. In a second experiment, observers discriminated the orientation or color of a specific lateral grating. Here, orientation-selective responses were enhanced in both tasks but color-selective responses were enhanced only when color was task-relevant. In both experiments, task-specific enhancement of feature-selective activity was not confined to the attended stimulus location, but instead spread to other locations in the visual field, suggesting the concurrent involvement of a global feature-based attentional mechanism. These results suggest that attention can be remarkably selective in its ability to enhance particular task-relevant features, and further reveal that increases in overall BOLD amplitude are not necessarily accompanied by improved processing of stimulus information. PMID:21632942

  18. Perubahan Sosial Berbasis Tasawuf: Studi Kasus Fethullah Gülen Dan Gülen Movement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sulaiman Sulaiman

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This article aims at analyzing Fethullah Gülen and the Gülen Movement which have succeeded in performing social change based on the teaching of Sufism. He did Sufism creativity in order that Sufism teaching was able to respond the changes that occur in the modernlife. He believed that, only by reinterpretation and contextualization of Sufism, the spiritual dimension of Islam would be able to perform the transformation or social change among the Muslims. Therefore, by using Max Weber’s theory of social action, this paper will analyze three key teachings of Sufism of Gülen: ascetic (zuhd, inbisat (expansion, and hizmet. Based on the Weber's theory, Gülen occupied a very central and authoritative position: agent/actor, action and meaning. As a source of meaning and interpreter of meaning, the key concepts of Sufism were transformed by Gülen to the internal and external communities so that they had made a move to do social movements and humanity. For the followers of Gülen, the movement was called the Gülen Movement or the Hizmet Movement which was engaged in the fields of education, health care, humanitarian assistance, and the mass media. All forms of movement were entirely based on the spiritual values of Islam that had been formulated by Gülen. الملخص: يهدف هذا البحث إلى تحليل شخصية فتح الله غولن وحركته الذي تمكن من القيام بالتغيير الاجتماعي على أساس التعاليم الصوفية. إن فتح الله غولن قام بإحياء التصوف في صورته الجدّية والحيوية في حياة الإنسان المعاصر. ويعتقد أن إعادة التفسير لتعاليم التصوف مع مراعاة الواقع قادرة على التغيير الاجتماعي بين المسلمين. من أجل ذلك، أن استخدام نظرية ويبر، يمكن تحليل تعاليم التصوف الثلاثة

  19. Shielding effect of lead glasses on radiologists' eye lens exposure in interventional procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Panpan; Kong, Yan; Chen, Bo; Liu, Qianqian; Zhuo, Weihai; Liu, Haikuan

    2017-01-01

    To study the shielding effect of radiologists' eye lens with lead glasses of different equivalent thicknesses and sizes in interventional radiology procedures. Using the human voxel phantom with a more accurate model of the eye and MCNPX software, eye lens doses of the radiologists who wearing different kinds of lead glasses were simulated, different beam projections were taken into consideration during the simulation. Measurements were also performed with the physical model to verify simulation results. Simulation results showed that the eye lens doses were reduced by a factor from 3 to 9 when wearing a 20 cm"2-sized lead glasses with the equivalent thickness ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 mm Pb. The increase of dose reduction factor (DRF) was not significant whenever increase the lead equivalent of glasses of which larger than 0.35 mm. Furthermore, the DRF was proportional to the size of glass lens from 6 to 30 cm"2 with the same lead equivalent. The simulation results were in well agreements with the measured ones. For more reasonable and effective protection of the eye lens of interventional radiologists, a pair of glasses with a lead equivalent of 0.5 mm Pb and large-sized (at least 27 cm"2 per glass) lens are recommended (authors)

  20. Modern lens antennas for communications engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Thornton, John

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this book is to present the modern design principles and analysis of lens antennas. It gives graduates and RF/Microwave professionals the design insights in order to make full use of lens antennas.  Why do we want to write a book in lens antennas? Because this topic has not been thoroughly publicized, its importance is underestimated. As antennas play a key role in communication systems, recent development in wireless communications would indeed benefit from the characteristics of lens antennas: low profile, and low cost etc.  The major advantages of lens antennas are na

  1. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jat, Tej Ram; Deo, Prakash R; Goicolea, Isabel; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; San Sebastian, Miguel

    2015-01-01

    Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery-related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the 'three delays' framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery-related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services) were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were unable to claim their entitlements and that the duty bearers were not

  2. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tej Ram Jat

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery–related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Design: Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using the matic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the ‘three delays’ framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. Results: All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. Conclusions: The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery–related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were

  3. Changes in monkey crystalline lens spherical aberration during simulated accommodation in a lens stretcher.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maceo Heilman, Bianca; Manns, Fabrice; de Castro, Alberto; Durkee, Heather; Arrieta, Esdras; Marcos, Susana; Parel, Jean-Marie

    2015-02-10

    The purpose of this study was to quantify accommodation-induced changes in the spherical aberration of cynomolgus monkey lenses. Twenty-four lenses from 20 cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis; 4.4-16.0 years of age; postmortem time 13.5 ± 13.0 hours) were mounted in a lens stretcher. Lens spherical aberration was measured in the unstretched (accommodated) and stretched (relaxed) states with a laser ray tracing system that delivered 51 equally spaced parallel rays along 1 meridian of the lens over the central 6-mm optical zone. A camera mounted below the lens was used to measure the ray height at multiple positions along the optical axis. For each entrance ray, the change in ray height with axial position was fitted with a third-order polynomial. The effective paraxial focal length and Zernike spherical aberration coefficients corresponding to a 6-mm pupil diameter were extracted from the fitted values. The unstretched lens power decreased with age from 59.3 ± 4.0 diopters (D) for young lenses to 45.7 ± 3.1 D for older lenses. The unstretched lens shifted toward less negative spherical aberration with age, from -6.3 ± 0.7 μm for young lenses to -5.0 ± 0.5 μm for older lenses. The power and spherical aberration of lenses in the stretched state were independent of age, with values of 33.5 ± 3.4 D and -2.6 ± 0.5 μm, respectively. Spherical aberration is negative in cynomolgus monkey lenses and becomes more negative with accommodation. These results are in good agreement with the predicted values using computational ray tracing in a lens model with a reconstructed gradient refractive index. The spherical aberration of the unstretched lens becomes less negative with age. Copyright 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

  4. Dramatic loss of Ube3A expression during aging of the mammalian cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate Williams

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Neurobiological studies of aging are beginning to link functional changes with a loss of experience-dependent plasticity. In the visual system, age-related functional changes include decreases in visual acuity, orientation selectivity, motion perception, and ocular dominance plasticity. A recent paper has shown that Ube3A, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is absent in Angelman's Syndrome, is required for experience-dependent plasticity during development of the visual cortex. Knocking out Ube3A during development leads to rigidity of ocular dominance plasticity that is strikingly similar to the reduced plasticity seen in older animals. Furthermore, ubiquitin ligases have been linked with age-related neurodegenerative disorders and longevity. Ubiquitin ligases selectively mark proteins for degradation, and a balance between synaptic proteins and their degradation is important for neural transmission and plasticity. This led us to ask whether normal aging is characterized by a loss of Ube3A in the cortex. We used Western blot analysis in order to quantify Ube3A expression across the life span of humans, macaque monkeys, and cats. We found that Ube3A expression declines across the lifespan in human, monkey, and cat cortex. The losses were substantial (50-80% in all areas studied which includes V1, V3, V4, frontal, and auditory cortex. In addition, when compared with other synaptic proteins there was a selective loss of Ube3A in human cortex. The progressive loss of Ube3A expression during cortical aging is an important new finding. Furthermore, the selective loss of Ube3A in human cortex highlights a specific vulnerability in human brain aging that may signify a dramatic shift in cortical function and plasticity.

  5. Symmetric lens with extended depth of focus

    OpenAIRE

    Cho, Sung Nae

    2008-01-01

    The lens surface profile is derived based on the instantaneous focal length versus the lens radius data. The lens design based on instantaneous focal length versus the lens radius data has many useful applications in software assisted image focusing technology.

  6. An anatomical substrate for integration among functional networks in human cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Heuvel, Martijn P; Sporns, Olaf

    2013-09-04

    The human brain shows several characteristics of an efficient communication network architecture, including short communication paths and the existence of modules interlinked by a small set of highly connected regions. Studies of structural networks comprising macroscopic white matter projections have shown that these putative hubs are densely interconnected, giving rise to a spatially distributed and topologically central collective called the "rich club." In parallel, studies of intrinsic brain activity have consistently revealed distinct functional communities or resting-state networks (RSNs), indicative of specialized processing and segregation of neuronal information. However, the pattern of structural connectivity interconnecting these functional RSNs and how such inter-RSN structural connections might bring about functional integration between RSNs remain largely unknown. Combining high-resolution diffusion weighted imaging with resting-state fMRI, we present novel evidence suggesting that the rich club structure plays a central role in cross-linking macroscopic RSNs of the human brain. Rich club hub nodes were present in all functional networks, accounted for a large proportion of "connector nodes," and were found to coincide with regions in which multiple networks overlap. In addition, a large proportion of all inter-RSN connections were found to involve rich club nodes, and these connections participated in a disproportionate number of communication paths linking nodes in different RSNs. Our findings suggest that the brain's rich club serves as a macroscopic anatomical substrate to cross-link functional networks and thus plays an important role in the integration of information between segregated functional domains of the human cortex.

  7. [Congenital lens subluxation: visual acuity outcomes and intraocular lens postoperative position].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arraes, Caroline; Endriss, Daniela; Lobato, Francisco; Arraes, João; Ventura, Marcelo

    2010-01-01

    To evaluate the visual acuity outcomes and to investigate the intraocular lens (IOL) and endocapsular ring positions with ultrasound biomicroscopy in 17 eyes of 10 patients with congenital lens subluxation who underwent the same surgical technique, by the same surgeon. The study was performed in the ''Hospital de Olhos de Pernambuco'' and ''Fundação Altino Ventura''. The surgical technique consisted of phacoaspiration with implant of endocapsular ring and intraocular lens with one loop haptic amputated. The age varied from 7 to 22 years. Data on visual acuity (VA) before and after surgery, surgery follow-up period, and complications were analyzed. All patients underwent ultrasound biomicroscopy. The mean follow-up period was 2.8 years. There was a VA improvement in 17 (100%) eyes: in 12 eyes (70.6%) the visual acuity was better than 20/40; 4 (23.5%) ranged from 20/40 to 20/100, and 1 (5.9%) had visual acuity worse than 20/100, however better than the preoperative visual acuity. The posterior capsular opacification occurred in 10 eyes (58.9%). Ultrasound biomicroscopy showed that all IOL were partially decentralized, however without surpassing the pupil border limit. Endocapsular ring position was correct and there was a good capsular support in all cases. The evaluated surgical treatment provided good intraocular lens and endocapsular ring position, with VA improvement Thus, this technique is a viable, effective and safe option for the visual rehabilitation of patients with congenital lens subluxation.

  8. Basic level category structure emerges gradually across human ventral visual cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iordan, Marius Cătălin; Greene, Michelle R; Beck, Diane M; Fei-Fei, Li

    2015-07-01

    Objects can be simultaneously categorized at multiple levels of specificity ranging from very broad ("natural object") to very distinct ("Mr. Woof"), with a mid-level of generality (basic level: "dog") often providing the most cognitively useful distinction between categories. It is unknown, however, how this hierarchical representation is achieved in the brain. Using multivoxel pattern analyses, we examined how well each taxonomic level (superordinate, basic, and subordinate) of real-world object categories is represented across occipitotemporal cortex. We found that, although in early visual cortex objects are best represented at the subordinate level (an effect mostly driven by low-level feature overlap between objects in the same category), this advantage diminishes compared to the basic level as we move up the visual hierarchy, disappearing in object-selective regions of occipitotemporal cortex. This pattern stems from a combined increase in within-category similarity (category cohesion) and between-category dissimilarity (category distinctiveness) of neural activity patterns at the basic level, relative to both subordinate and superordinate levels, suggesting that successive visual areas may be optimizing basic level representations.

  9. Deep convolutional neural networks as strong gravitational lens detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaefer, C.; Geiger, M.; Kuntzer, T.; Kneib, J.-P.

    2018-03-01

    Context. Future large-scale surveys with high-resolution imaging will provide us with approximately 105 new strong galaxy-scale lenses. These strong-lensing systems will be contained in large data amounts, however, which are beyond the capacity of human experts to visually classify in an unbiased way. Aim. We present a new strong gravitational lens finder based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The method was applied to the strong-lensing challenge organized by the Bologna Lens Factory. It achieved first and third place, respectively, on the space-based data set and the ground-based data set. The goal was to find a fully automated lens finder for ground-based and space-based surveys that minimizes human inspection. Methods: We compared the results of our CNN architecture and three new variations ("invariant" "views" and "residual") on the simulated data of the challenge. Each method was trained separately five times on 17 000 simulated images, cross-validated using 3000 images, and then applied to a test set with 100 000 images. We used two different metrics for evaluation, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) score, and the recall with no false positive (Recall0FP). Results: For ground-based data, our best method achieved an AUC score of 0.977 and a Recall0FP of 0.50. For space-based data, our best method achieved an AUC score of 0.940 and a Recall0FP of 0.32. Adding dihedral invariance to the CNN architecture diminished the overall score on space-based data, but achieved a higher no-contamination recall. We found that using committees of five CNNs produced the best recall at zero contamination and consistently scored better AUC than a single CNN. Conclusions: We found that for every variation of our CNN lensfinder, we achieved AUC scores close to 1 within 6%. A deeper network did not outperform simpler CNN models either. This indicates that more complex networks are not needed to model the simulated lenses. To verify this, more

  10. Sustainability through the Lens of Environmental Sociology: An Introduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Saidul Islam

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Our planet is undergoing radical environmental and social changes. Sustainability has now been put into question by, for example, our consumption patterns, loss of biodiversity, depletion of resources, and exploitative power relations. With apparent ecological and social limits to globalization and development, current levels of consumption are known to be unsustainable, inequitable, and inaccessible to the majority of humans. Understanding and achieving sustainability is a crucial matter at a time when our planet is in peril—environmentally, economically, socially, and politically. Since its official inception in the 1970s, environmental sociology has provided a powerful lens to understanding the challenges, possibilities, and modes of sustainability. This editorial, accompanying the Special Issue on “sustainability through the Lens of Environmental Sociology”, first highlights the evolution of environmental sociology as a distinct field of inquiry, focusing on how it addresses the environmental challenges of our time. It then adumbrates the rich theoretical traditions of environmental sociology, and finally examines sustainability through the lens of environmental sociology, referring to various case studies and empirical analyses.

  11. Interaction of streaming and attention in human auditory cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutschalk, Alexander; Rupp, André; Dykstra, Andrew R

    2015-01-01

    Serially presented tones are sometimes segregated into two perceptually distinct streams. An ongoing debate is whether this basic streaming phenomenon reflects automatic processes or requires attention focused to the stimuli. Here, we examined the influence of focused attention on streaming-related activity in human auditory cortex using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Listeners were presented with a dichotic paradigm in which left-ear stimuli consisted of canonical streaming stimuli (ABA_ or ABAA) and right-ear stimuli consisted of a classical oddball paradigm. In phase one, listeners were instructed to attend the right-ear oddball sequence and detect rare deviants. In phase two, they were instructed to attend the left ear streaming stimulus and report whether they heard one or two streams. The frequency difference (ΔF) of the sequences was set such that the smallest and largest ΔF conditions generally induced one- and two-stream percepts, respectively. Two intermediate ΔF conditions were chosen to elicit bistable percepts (i.e., either one or two streams). Attention enhanced the peak-to-peak amplitude of the P1-N1 complex, but only for ambiguous ΔF conditions, consistent with the notion that automatic mechanisms for streaming tightly interact with attention and that the latter is of particular importance for ambiguous sound sequences.

  12. Human medial frontal cortex activity predicts learning from errors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hester, Robert; Barre, Natalie; Murphy, Kevin; Silk, Tim J; Mattingley, Jason B

    2008-08-01

    Learning from errors is a critical feature of human cognition. It underlies our ability to adapt to changing environmental demands and to tune behavior for optimal performance. The posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) has been implicated in the evaluation of errors to control behavior, although it has not previously been shown that activity in this region predicts learning from errors. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined activity in the pMFC during an associative learning task in which participants had to recall the spatial locations of 2-digit targets and were provided with immediate feedback regarding accuracy. Activity within the pMFC was significantly greater for errors that were subsequently corrected than for errors that were repeated. Moreover, pMFC activity during recall errors predicted future responses (correct vs. incorrect), despite a sizeable interval (on average 70 s) between an error and the next presentation of the same recall probe. Activity within the hippocampus also predicted future performance and correlated with error-feedback-related pMFC activity. A relationship between performance expectations and pMFC activity, in the absence of differing reinforcement value for errors, is consistent with the idea that error-related pMFC activity reflects the extent to which an outcome is "worse than expected."

  13. The influence of end of day silicone hydrogel daily disposable contact lens fit on ocular comfort, physiology and lens wettability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolffsohn, James; Hall, Lee; Mroczkowska, Stephanie; Hunt, Olivia A; Bilkhu, Paramdeep; Drew, Tom; Sheppard, Amy

    2015-10-01

    To quantify the end-of-day silicone-hydrogel daily disposable contact lens fit and its influence of on ocular comfort, physiology and lens wettability. Thirty-nine subjects (22.1±3.5 years) were randomised to wear each of 3 silicone-hydrogel daily-disposable contact lenses (narafilcon A, delefilcon A and filcon II 3), bilaterally, for one week. Lens fit was assessed objectively using a digital video slit-lamp at 8, 12 and 16h after lens insertion. Hyperaemia, non-invasive tear break-up time, tear meniscus height and comfort were also evaluated at these timepoints, while corneal and conjunctival staining were assessed on lens removal. Lens fit assessments were not different between brands (P>0.05), with the exception of the movement at blink where narafilcon A was more mobile. Overall, lag reduced but push-up speed increased from 8 to 12h (P0.05). Movement-on-blink was unaffected by wear-time (F=0.403, P=0.670). A more mobile lens fit with one brand did not indicate that person would have a more mobile fit with another brand (r=-0.06 to 0.63). Lens fit was not correlated with comfort, ocular physiology or lens wettability (P>0.01). Among the lenses tested, objective lens fit changed between 8h and 12h of lens wear. The weak correlation in individual lens fit between brands indicates that fit is dependent on more than ocular shape. Consequently, substitution of a different lens brand with similar parameters will not necessarily provide comparable lens fit. Copyright © 2015 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Just emotions: Reading the Sarah and Hagar narrative (Genesis 16, 21 through the lens of human dignity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Claassens

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article seeked to read the interconnected narratives of Sarah and Hagar (Genesis 16, 21 in terms of the hermeneutical lens of human dignity. For the purpose of this article, recent studies on the performative nature of emotions, which considered the central role of emotions such as pain, disgust and hatred in shaping the lives of individuals as well as the ways in which people relate to one another, were helpful in contemplating the situations of dehumanisation faced by both Sarah and Hagar as well as the broader question regarding upholding human worth in a context of indignity. This article furthermore considered the role of emotions in a conversation on ethics and particularly the way in which the narrative offered a fruitful avenue for considering Israel�s relationship to their neighbours � a line of interpretation that holds potential for reflecting on complex interracial and interethnic relationships in today�s global context.

  15. Temporal envelope processing in the human auditory cortex: response and interconnections of auditory cortical areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gourévitch, Boris; Le Bouquin Jeannès, Régine; Faucon, Gérard; Liégeois-Chauvel, Catherine

    2008-03-01

    Temporal envelope processing in the human auditory cortex has an important role in language analysis. In this paper, depth recordings of local field potentials in response to amplitude modulated white noises were used to design maps of activation in primary, secondary and associative auditory areas and to study the propagation of the cortical activity between them. The comparison of activations between auditory areas was based on a signal-to-noise ratio associated with the response to amplitude modulation (AM). The functional connectivity between cortical areas was quantified by the directed coherence (DCOH) applied to auditory evoked potentials. This study shows the following reproducible results on twenty subjects: (1) the primary auditory cortex (PAC), the secondary cortices (secondary auditory cortex (SAC) and planum temporale (PT)), the insular gyrus, the Brodmann area (BA) 22 and the posterior part of T1 gyrus (T1Post) respond to AM in both hemispheres. (2) A stronger response to AM was observed in SAC and T1Post of the left hemisphere independent of the modulation frequency (MF), and in the left BA22 for MFs 8 and 16Hz, compared to those in the right. (3) The activation and propagation features emphasized at least four different types of temporal processing. (4) A sequential activation of PAC, SAC and BA22 areas was clearly visible at all MFs, while other auditory areas may be more involved in parallel processing upon a stream originating from primary auditory area, which thus acts as a distribution hub. These results suggest that different psychological information is carried by the temporal envelope of sounds relative to the rate of amplitude modulation.

  16. Cross-linking of lens crystallin proteins induced by tryptophan metabolites and metal ions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tweeddale, Helen J; Hawkins, Clare Louise; Janmie, Joane F

    2016-01-01

    Long-wavelength solar UV radiation is implicated in photodamage to the human eye. The human lens contains multiple tryptophan-derived compounds that have significant absorbance bands in the UVA region (λ 315-400 nm) that act as efficient physical filters for these wavelengths. The concentrations...

  17. Photodynamic actions of indocyanine green and trypan blue on human lens epithelial cells in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melendez, Robert F; Kumar, Neeru; Maswadi, Saher M; Zaslow, Kenneth; Glickmank, Randolph D

    2005-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and photodynamic activity of indocyanine green (ICG) and trypan blue (TryB) on cultured human lensepithelial cells (LECs). Experimental study. Lens epithelial cell viability was assessed after treatment with ICG and TryB concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 5.0 mg/ml, and exposure to 806 nm diode laser. At ICG concentrations below 0.5 mg/ml, there was > or =75% cell viability; at higher ICG concentrations there was dose-dependent cytotoxicity in addition to loss of cellular viability due to ICG photosensitization. TryB had little cytotoxicity to the LECs: >80% cells were viable irrespective of the dye concentration or laser treatment. These data indicate that ICG may have application as a photosensitizer in the selective eradication of residual LECs after cataract surgery to reduce the incidence of posterior capsule opacification.

  18. Effects of gamma radiation on rabbit lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ordahl, J.N.; Gorthy, W.C.

    1982-01-01

    Eyes of young New Zealand white rabbits were irradiated with 2000 rads of gamma radiation ( 60 Co) and the eyes removed at 2, 8, 16, and 30 days post-irradiation for electron microscopic analysis. Lenses were treated histochemically for acid phosphatase localization to examine the role of lysosomal enzymes in the early development of radiation cataracts. Intercellularly located acid phosphatase reaction product, noted in the epithelium and subjacent cortex, was more prevalent after irradiation, especially in central and transitional epithelial zones. In the central zone small vesicles typically were most numerous in areas of extensive intercellular reaction product. The occurrence of discrete packets of reaction product within the vesicles and the adjoining intercellular space, plus the resemblance of the peripheral vesicles to small Golgi vesicles also containing reaction product, suggested an exocytotic release of the enzyme. These appearances suggest that lysosomal hydrolases are released extracellularly by a secretory mechanism accelerated by radiation and that these hydrolases may play a role in both physiological and pathological functions of the lens. (author)

  19. DNA damage in lens epithelium of cataract patients in vivo and ex vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Øsnes-Ringen, Oyvind; Azqueta, Amaia O; Moe, Morten C; Zetterström, Charlotta; Røger, Magnus; Nicolaissen, Bjørn; Collins, Andrew R

    2013-11-01

    DNA damage has been described in the human cataractous lens epithelium, and oxidative stress generated by UV radiation and endogenous metabolic processes has been suggested to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of cataract. In this study, the aim was to explore the quality and relative quantity of DNA damage in lens epithelium of cataract patients in vivo and after incubation in a cell culture system. Capsulotomy specimens were analysed, before and after 1 week of ex vivo cultivation, using the comet assay to measure DNA strand breaks, oxidized purine and pyrimidine bases and UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. DNA strand breaks were barely detectable, oxidized pyrimidines and pyrimidine dimers were present at low levels, whereas there was a relatively high level of oxidized purines, which further increased after cultivation. The observed levels of oxidized purines in cataractous lens epithelium may support a theory consistent with light damage and oxidative stress as mediators of molecular damage to the human lens epithelium. Damage commonly associated with UV-B irradiation was relatively low. The levels of oxidized purines increased further in a commonly used culture system. This is of interest considering the importance and versatility of ex vivo systems in studies exploring the pathogenesis of cataract. © 2012 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica © 2012 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.

  20. 21 CFR 886.5916 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens. 886.5916 Section 886.5916 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... against the cornea of the eye to correct vision conditions. The device is made of various materials, such...

  1. Lens oscillations in the human eye. Implications for post-saccadic suppression of vision.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Tabernero

    Full Text Available The eye changes gaze continuously from one visual stimulus to another. Using a high speed camera to record eye and lens movements we demonstrate how the crystalline lens sustains an inertial oscillatory decay movement immediately after every change of gaze. This behavior fit precisely with the movement of a classical damped harmonic oscillator. The time course of the oscillations range from 50 to 60 msec with an oscillation frequency of around 20 Hz. That has dramatic implications on the image quality at the retina on the very short times (∼50 msec that follow the movement. However, it is well known that our vision is nearly suppressed on those periods (post-saccadic suppression. Both phenomenon follow similar time courses and therefore might be synchronized to avoid the visual impairment.

  2. Beta Peak Frequencies at Rest Correlate with Endogenous GABA+/Cr Concentrations in Sensorimotor Cortex Areas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas J Baumgarten

    Full Text Available Neuronal oscillatory activity in the beta band (15-30 Hz is a prominent signal within the human sensorimotor cortex. Computational modeling and pharmacological modulation studies suggest an influence of GABAergic interneurons on the generation of beta band oscillations. Accordingly, studies in humans have demonstrated a correlation between GABA concentrations and power of beta band oscillations. It remains unclear, however, if GABA concentrations also influence beta peak frequencies and whether this influence is present in the sensorimotor cortex at rest and without pharmacological modulation. In the present study, we investigated the relation between endogenous GABA concentration (measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy and beta oscillations (measured by magnetoencephalography at rest in humans. GABA concentrations and beta band oscillations were measured for left and right sensorimotor and occipital cortex areas. A significant positive linear correlation between GABA concentration and beta peak frequency was found for the left sensorimotor cortex, whereas no significant correlations were found for the right sensorimotor and the occipital cortex. The results show a novel connection between endogenous GABA concentration and beta peak frequency at rest. This finding supports previous results that demonstrated a connection between oscillatory beta activity and pharmacologically modulated GABA concentration in the sensorimotor cortex. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that for a predominantly right-handed sample, the correlation between beta band oscillations and endogenous GABA concentrations is evident only in the left sensorimotor cortex.

  3. Beta Peak Frequencies at Rest Correlate with Endogenous GABA+/Cr Concentrations in Sensorimotor Cortex Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgarten, Thomas J.; Oeltzschner, Georg; Hoogenboom, Nienke; Wittsack, Hans-Jörg; Schnitzler, Alfons; Lange, Joachim

    2016-01-01

    Neuronal oscillatory activity in the beta band (15–30 Hz) is a prominent signal within the human sensorimotor cortex. Computational modeling and pharmacological modulation studies suggest an influence of GABAergic interneurons on the generation of beta band oscillations. Accordingly, studies in humans have demonstrated a correlation between GABA concentrations and power of beta band oscillations. It remains unclear, however, if GABA concentrations also influence beta peak frequencies and whether this influence is present in the sensorimotor cortex at rest and without pharmacological modulation. In the present study, we investigated the relation between endogenous GABA concentration (measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and beta oscillations (measured by magnetoencephalography) at rest in humans. GABA concentrations and beta band oscillations were measured for left and right sensorimotor and occipital cortex areas. A significant positive linear correlation between GABA concentration and beta peak frequency was found for the left sensorimotor cortex, whereas no significant correlations were found for the right sensorimotor and the occipital cortex. The results show a novel connection between endogenous GABA concentration and beta peak frequency at rest. This finding supports previous results that demonstrated a connection between oscillatory beta activity and pharmacologically modulated GABA concentration in the sensorimotor cortex. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that for a predominantly right-handed sample, the correlation between beta band oscillations and endogenous GABA concentrations is evident only in the left sensorimotor cortex. PMID:27258089

  4. Monkey cortex through fMRI glasses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanduffel, Wim; Zhu, Qi; Orban, Guy A

    2014-08-06

    In 1998 several groups reported the feasibility of fMRI experiments in monkeys, with the goal to bridge the gap between invasive nonhuman primate studies and human functional imaging. These studies yielded critical insights in the neuronal underpinnings of the BOLD signal. Furthermore, the technology has been successful in guiding electrophysiological recordings and identifying focal perturbation targets. Finally, invaluable information was obtained concerning human brain evolution. We here provide a comprehensive overview of awake monkey fMRI studies mainly confined to the visual system. We review the latest insights about the topographic organization of monkey visual cortex and discuss the spatial relationships between retinotopy and category- and feature-selective clusters. We briefly discuss the functional layout of parietal and frontal cortex and continue with a summary of some fascinating functional and effective connectivity studies. Finally, we review recent comparative fMRI experiments and speculate about the future of nonhuman primate imaging. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Metropolitan Innovation and Sustainability in China—A Double Lens Perspective on Regional Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiangdong Chen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This study proposes and integrates a double lens investigation framework on sustainability and diversities of innovation at the city level in China. Lens I concerns economic performance with the energy intensiveness of the production mode and Lens II involves a four-dimensional model with the current and potential elements of innovation at the city level. Based on 106Chinese cities data, sample cities grouped in Traditional Regions (TRs, Top Economic Regions (TEs and New Economy Regions (NEs of the 9 groups are clarified via the Investigation Lens I, with respect to production power, market openness and energy intensive use. The further research findings through the Investigation Lens II show that there are clear connections between innovation and sustainability and such connections are diversified due to economic reasons but also importantly, due to potential factors of human resource and knowledge creation. Cities in TEs group and especially NEs group in China are important on innovation and sustainability while southern cities in China are more innovative, with a higher potentiality of economic growth than cities in northern China. Industrial tradition and business culture can be one of the key factors influencing local innovation and sustainability.

  6. Selective expression of KCNS3 potassium channel α-subunit in parvalbumin-containing GABA neurons in the human prefrontal cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danko Georgiev

    Full Text Available The cognitive deficits of schizophrenia appear to be associated with altered cortical GABA neurotransmission in the subsets of inhibitory neurons that express either parvalbumin (PV or somatostatin (SST. Identification of molecular mechanisms that operate selectively in these neurons is essential for developing targeted therapeutic strategies that do not influence other cell types. Consequently, we sought to identify, in the human cortex, gene products that are expressed selectively by PV and/or SST neurons, and that might contribute to their distinctive functional properties. Based on previously reported expression patterns in the cortex of mice and humans, we selected four genes: KCNS3, LHX6, KCNAB1, and PPP1R2, encoding K(+ channel Kv9.3 modulatory α-subunit, LIM homeobox protein 6, K(+ channel Kvβ1 subunit, and protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 2, respectively, and examined their colocalization with PV or SST mRNAs in the human prefrontal cortex using dual-label in situ hybridization with (35S- and digoxigenin-labeled antisense riboprobes. KCNS3 mRNA was detected in almost all PV neurons, but not in SST neurons, and PV mRNA was detected in >90% of KCNS3 mRNA-expressing neurons. LHX6 mRNA was detected in almost all PV and >90% of SST neurons, while among all LHX6 mRNA-expressing neurons 50% expressed PV mRNA and >44% expressed SST mRNA. KCNAB1 and PPP1R2 mRNAs were detected in much larger populations of cortical neurons than PV or SST neurons. These findings indicate that KCNS3 is a selective marker of PV neurons, whereas LHX6 is expressed by both PV and SST neurons. KCNS3 and LHX6 might be useful for characterizing cell-type specific molecular alterations of cortical GABA neurotransmission and for the development of novel treatments targeting PV and/or SST neurons in schizophrenia.

  7. Refractive lens exchange with a multifocal diffractive aspheric intraocular lens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Ferrer-Blasco

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety, efficacy and predictability after refractive lens exchange with multifocal diffractive aspheric intraocular lens implantation. METHODS: Sixty eyes of 30 patients underwent bilateral implantation with AcrySof® ReSTOR® SN6AD3 intraocular lens with +4.00 D near addition. Patients were divided into myopic and hyperopic groups. Monocular best corrected visual acuity at distance and near and monocular uncorrected visual acuity at distance and near were measured before and 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: After surgery, uncorrected visual acuity was 0.08 ± 0.15 and 0.11 ± 0.14 logMAR for the myopic and hyperopic groups, respectively (50% and 46.67% of patients had an uncorrected visual acuity of 20/20 or better in the myopic and hyperopic groups, respectively. The safety and efficacy indexes were 1.05 and 0.88 for the myopic and 1.01 and 0.86 for the hyperopic groups at distance vision. Within the myopic group, 20 eyes remained unchanged after the surgery, and 3 gained >2 lines of best corrected visual acuity. For the hyperopic group, 2 eyes lost 2 lines of best corrected visual acuity, 21 did not change, and 3 eyes gained 2 lines. At near vision, the safety and efficacy indexes were 1.23 and 1.17 for the myopic and 1.16 and 1.13 for the hyperopic groups. Best corrected near visual acuity improved after surgery in both groups (from 0.10 logMAR to 0.01 logMAR in the myopic group, and from 0.10 logMAR to 0.04 logMAR in the hyperopic group. CONCLUSIONS: The ReSTOR® SN6AD3 intraocular lens in refractive lens exchange demonstrated good safety, efficacy, and predictability in correcting high ametropia and presbyopia.

  8. A class I (Senofilcon A) soft contact lens prevents UVB-induced ocular effects, including cataract, in the rabbit in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giblin, Frank J; Lin, Li-Ren; Leverenz, Victor R; Dang, Loan

    2011-06-01

    UVB radiation from sunlight is known to be a risk factor for human cataract. The purpose in this study was to investigate the ability of a class I UV-blocking soft contact lens to protect against UVB-induced effects on the ocular tissues of the rabbit in vivo. Eyes of rabbits were exposed to UVB light for 30 minutes (270-360 nm, peak at 310 nm, 1.7 mW/cm(2) on the cornea). Eyes were irradiated in the presence of either a UV-blocking senofilcon A contact lens, a minimally UV-blocking lotrafilcon A contact lens, or no contact lens at all. Effects on the cornea and lens were evaluated at various times after exposure. Eyes irradiated with no contact lens protection showed corneal epithelial cell loss plus lens epithelial cell swelling, vacuole formation, and DNA single-strand breaks, as well as lens anterior subcapsular opacification. The senofilcon A lens protected nearly completely against the UVB-induced effects, whereas the lotrafilcon A lens showed no protection. The results indicate that use of a senofilcon A contact lens is beneficial in protecting ocular tissues of the rabbit against the harmful effects of UVB light, including photokeratitis and cataract.

  9. 21 CFR 886.5844 - Prescription spectacle lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Prescription spectacle lens. 886.5844 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 886.5844 Prescription spectacle lens. (a) Identification. A prescription spectacle lens is a glass or plastic device that is a lens intended to be worn by...

  10. Cx43, ZO-1, alpha-catenin and beta-catenin in cataractous lens ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2012-10-17

    Oct 17, 2012 ... physical association between neighboring cells and hold them together (Meng ..... radiation (Zigman et al. 1979), diabetes and vascular dis- .... JO 2003 Decreased caspase-3 activity in human lens epithelium from posterior ...

  11. Modulatory Effects of Attention on Lateral Inhibition in the Human Auditory Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engell, Alva; Junghöfer, Markus; Stein, Alwina; Lau, Pia; Wunderlich, Robert; Wollbrink, Andreas; Pantev, Christo

    2016-01-01

    Reduced neural processing of a tone is observed when it is presented after a sound whose spectral range closely frames the frequency of the tone. This observation might be explained by the mechanism of lateral inhibition (LI) due to inhibitory interneurons in the auditory system. So far, several characteristics of bottom up influences on LI have been identified, while the influence of top-down processes such as directed attention on LI has not been investigated. Hence, the study at hand aims at investigating the modulatory effects of focused attention on LI in the human auditory cortex. In the magnetoencephalograph, we present two types of masking sounds (white noise vs. withe noise passing through a notch filter centered at a specific frequency), followed by a test tone with a frequency corresponding to the center-frequency of the notch filter. Simultaneously, subjects were presented with visual input on a screen. To modulate the focus of attention, subjects were instructed to concentrate either on the auditory input or the visual stimuli. More specific, on one half of the trials, subjects were instructed to detect small deviations in loudness in the masking sounds while on the other half of the trials subjects were asked to detect target stimuli on the screen. The results revealed a reduction in neural activation due to LI, which was larger during auditory compared to visual focused attention. Attentional modulations of LI were observed in two post-N1m time intervals. These findings underline the robustness of reduced neural activation due to LI in the auditory cortex and point towards the important role of attention on the modulation of this mechanism in more evaluative processing stages.

  12. Development of rat female genital cortex and control of female puberty by sexual touch.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constanze Lenschow

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Rat somatosensory cortex contains a large sexually monomorphic genital representation. Genital cortex undergoes an unusual 2-fold expansion during puberty. Here, we investigate genital cortex development and female rat sexual maturation. Ovariectomies and estradiol injections suggested sex hormones cause the pubertal genital cortex expansion but not its maintenance at adult size. Genital cortex expanded by thalamic afferents invading surrounding dysgranular cortex. Genital touch was a dominant factor driving female sexual maturation. Raising female rats in contact with adult males promoted genital cortex expansion, whereas contact to adult females or nontactile (audio-visual-olfactory male cues did not. Genital touch imposed by human experimenters powerfully advanced female genital cortex development and sexual maturation. Long-term blocking of genital cortex by tetrodotoxin in pubescent females housed with males prevented genital cortex expansion and decelerated vaginal opening. Sex hormones, sexual experience, and neural activity shape genital cortex, which contributes to the puberty promoting effects of sexual touch.

  13. Development of rat female genital cortex and control of female puberty by sexual touch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenschow, Constanze; Sigl-Glöckner, Johanna; Brecht, Michael

    2017-09-01

    Rat somatosensory cortex contains a large sexually monomorphic genital representation. Genital cortex undergoes an unusual 2-fold expansion during puberty. Here, we investigate genital cortex development and female rat sexual maturation. Ovariectomies and estradiol injections suggested sex hormones cause the pubertal genital cortex expansion but not its maintenance at adult size. Genital cortex expanded by thalamic afferents invading surrounding dysgranular cortex. Genital touch was a dominant factor driving female sexual maturation. Raising female rats in contact with adult males promoted genital cortex expansion, whereas contact to adult females or nontactile (audio-visual-olfactory) male cues did not. Genital touch imposed by human experimenters powerfully advanced female genital cortex development and sexual maturation. Long-term blocking of genital cortex by tetrodotoxin in pubescent females housed with males prevented genital cortex expansion and decelerated vaginal opening. Sex hormones, sexual experience, and neural activity shape genital cortex, which contributes to the puberty promoting effects of sexual touch.

  14. Selective increases of AMPA, NMDA and kainate receptor subunit mRNAs in the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex but not in prefrontal cortex of human alcoholics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhe eJin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Glutamate is the main excitatory transmitter in the human brain. Drugs that affect the glutamatergic signaling will alter neuronal excitability. Ethanol inhibits glutamate receptors. We examined the expression level of glutamate receptor subunit mRNAs in human post-mortem samples from alcoholics and compared the results to brain samples from control subjects. RNA from hippocampal dentate gyrus (HP-DG, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, and dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC samples from 21 controls and 19 individuals with chronic alcohol dependence were included in the study. Total RNA was assayed using quantitative RT-PCR. Out of the 16 glutamate receptor subunits, mRNAs encoding two AMPA (2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazol-4-ylpropanoic acid receptor subunits GluA2 and GluA3; three kainate receptor subunits GluK2, GluK3 and GluK5 and five NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunits GluN1, GluN2A, GluN2C, GluN2D and GluN3A were significantly increased in the HP-DG region in alcoholics. In the OFC, mRNA encoding the NMDA receptor subunit GluN3A was increased, whereas in the DL-PFC, no differences in mRNA levels were observed. Our laboratory has previously shown that the expression of genes encoding inhibitory GABA-A receptors is altered in the HP-DG and OFC of alcoholics (Jin et al., 2011. Whether the changes in one neurotransmitter system drives changes in the other or if they change independently is currently not known. The results demonstrate that excessive long-term alcohol consumption is associated with altered expression of genes encoding glutamate receptors in a brain region-specific manner. It is an intriguing possibility that genetic predisposition to alcoholism may contribute to these gene expression changes.

  15. Plasma Lens for Muon and Neutrino Beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kahn, S.A.; Korenev, S.; Bishai, M.; Diwan, M.; Gallardo, J.C.; Hershcovitch, A.; Johnson, B.M.

    2008-01-01

    The plasma lens is examined as an alternate to focusing horns and solenoids for use in a neutrino or muon beam facility. The plasma lens concept is based on a combined high-energy lens/target configuration. The current is fed at electrodes located upstream and downstream from the target where pion capturing is needed. The current flows primarily in the plasma, which has a lower resistivity than the target. A second plasma lens section, with an additional current feed, follows the target to provide shaping of the plasma for optimum focusing. The plasma lens is immersed in an additional solenoid magnetic field to facilitate the plasma stability. The geometry of the plasma is shaped to provide optimal pion capture. Simulations of this plasma lens system have shown a 25% higher neutrino production than the horn system. Plasma lenses have the additional advantage of negligible pion absorption and scattering by the lens material and reduced neutrino contamination during anti-neutrino running. Results of particle simulations using plasma lens will be presented

  16. Functional Changes in the Human Auditory Cortex in Ageing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Profant, Oliver; Tintěra, Jaroslav; Balogová, Zuzana; Ibrahim, Ibrahim; Jilek, Milan; Syka, Josef

    2015-01-01

    Hearing loss, presbycusis, is one of the most common sensory declines in the ageing population. Presbycusis is characterised by a deterioration in the processing of temporal sound features as well as a decline in speech perception, thus indicating a possible central component. With the aim to explore the central component of presbycusis, we studied the function of the auditory cortex by functional MRI in two groups of elderly subjects (>65 years) and compared the results with young subjects (presbycusis (EP) differed from the elderly group with mild presbycusis (MP) in hearing thresholds measured by pure tone audiometry, presence and amplitudes of transient otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and distortion-product oto-acoustic emissions (DPOAE), as well as in speech-understanding under noisy conditions. Acoustically evoked activity (pink noise centered around 350 Hz, 700 Hz, 1.5 kHz, 3 kHz, 8 kHz), recorded by BOLD fMRI from an area centered on Heschl’s gyrus, was used to determine age-related changes at the level of the auditory cortex. The fMRI showed only minimal activation in response to the 8 kHz stimulation, despite the fact that all subjects heard the stimulus. Both elderly groups showed greater activation in response to acoustical stimuli in the temporal lobes in comparison with young subjects. In addition, activation in the right temporal lobe was more expressed than in the left temporal lobe in both elderly groups, whereas in the young control subjects (YC) leftward lateralization was present. No statistically significant differences in activation of the auditory cortex were found between the MP and EP groups. The greater extent of cortical activation in elderly subjects in comparison with young subjects, with an asymmetry towards the right side, may serve as a compensatory mechanism for the impaired processing of auditory information appearing as a consequence of ageing. PMID:25734519

  17. Lens decenter and tilt measurement by interferogram

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Min-Wei; Wu, Wen-Hong; Huang, Kuo-Cheng

    2009-11-01

    For the recent years, the vigorous development of the electro-optic industry, particularly the digital camera and the cellular phone camera, has placed a larger and larger demand for the optical devices. Among the optical lens, the aspherical optical lens plays the key component because the aspherical lens may provide better imaging quality then the spherical lens does. For the manufacturing reason, the aspherical lens is prone to a decenter or tilt issue with respect to the optical axes of its two surfaces. To measure decenter and tile error specifically would help to obviate the deficient lens, but most of the present measuring method can't provide this function. This paper proposed a new method to specifically measure the decenter and tile of lens by observing the interferogram of each surface. And the corresponding measuring instrument, which contains interferometer and motion stages, was introduced as well.

  18. Clinical study of foldable intraocular lens secondary implantation after lens-vitrectomy in residual capsular with traumatic eyes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ru-Fa Meng

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the operation methods and clinical effects of foldable intraocular lens secondary implantation after lens-vitrectomy in residual capsular with traumatic eyes.METHODS: During January 2012 to January 2014, foldable intraocular lens was implanted on 47 cases following lens-vitrectomy in residual capsular with traumatic eyes 3~6mo. Follow-up period was 6~12mo, averaged(8.21±2.63mo. RESULTS:All of 47 eyes had successful operation at one time, and position deviation was not appeared. The naked vision of the last postoperative follow-up was(0.44±0.19. Compared with best corrected visual acuity(0.41±0.23, and There was no significant difference between visual acuity of preoperative and last follow-up period(t=0.879, P=0.342. No severe complication was found. CONCLUSION: Secondary implantation of foldable intraocular lens is a safe and reliable method for correcting ametropia after lens-vitrectomy in residual capsular with traumatic eyes.

  19. Thalamic deactivation at sleep onset precedes that of the cerebral cortex in humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnin, Michel; Rey, Marc; Bastuji, Hélène; Guillemant, Philippe; Mauguière, François; Garcia-Larrea, Luis

    2010-01-01

    Thalamic and cortical activities are assumed to be time-locked throughout all vigilance states. Using simultaneous intracortical and intrathalamic recordings, we demonstrate here that the thalamic deactivation occurring at sleep onset most often precedes that of the cortex by several minutes, whereas reactivation of both structures during awakening is synchronized. Delays between thalamus and cortex deactivations can vary from one subject to another when a similar cortical region is considered. In addition, heterogeneity in activity levels throughout the cortical mantle is larger than previously thought during the descent into sleep. Thus, asynchronous thalamo-cortical deactivation while falling asleep probably explains the production of hypnagogic hallucinations by a still-activated cortex and the common self-overestimation of the time needed to fall asleep. PMID:20142493

  20. Can you hear me yet? An intracranial investigation of speech and non-speech audiovisual interactions in human cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhone, Ariane E; Nourski, Kirill V; Oya, Hiroyuki; Kawasaki, Hiroto; Howard, Matthew A; McMurray, Bob

    In everyday conversation, viewing a talker's face can provide information about the timing and content of an upcoming speech signal, resulting in improved intelligibility. Using electrocorticography, we tested whether human auditory cortex in Heschl's gyrus (HG) and on superior temporal gyrus (STG) and motor cortex on precentral gyrus (PreC) were responsive to visual/gestural information prior to the onset of sound and whether early stages of auditory processing were sensitive to the visual content (speech syllable versus non-speech motion). Event-related band power (ERBP) in the high gamma band was content-specific prior to acoustic onset on STG and PreC, and ERBP in the beta band differed in all three areas. Following sound onset, we found with no evidence for content-specificity in HG, evidence for visual specificity in PreC, and specificity for both modalities in STG. These results support models of audio-visual processing in which sensory information is integrated in non-primary cortical areas.

  1. Verification of eye lens dose in IMRT by MOSFET measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xuetao; Li, Guangjun; Zhao, Jianling; Song, Ying; Xiao, Jianghong; Bai, Sen

    2018-04-17

    The eye lens is recognized as one of the most radiosensitive structures in the human body. The widespread use of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) complicates dose verification and necessitates high standards of dose computation. The purpose of this work was to assess the computed dose accuracy of eye lens through measurements using a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) dosimetry system. Sixteen clinical IMRT plans of head and neck patients were copied to an anthropomorphic head phantom. Measurements were performed using the MOSFET dosimetry system based on the head phantom. Two MOSFET detectors were imbedded in the eyes of the head phantom as the left and the right lens, covered by approximately 5-mm-thick paraffin wax. The measurement results were compared with the calculated values with a dose grid size of 1 mm. Sixteen IMRT plans were delivered, and 32 measured lens doses were obtained for analysis. The MOSFET dosimetry system can be used to verify the lens dose, and our measurements showed that the treatment planning system used in our clinic can provide adequate dose assessment in eye lenses. The average discrepancy between measurement and calculation was 6.7 ± 3.4%, and the largest discrepancy was 14.3%, which met the acceptability criterion set by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 53 for external beam calculation for multileaf collimator-shaped fields in buildup regions. Copyright © 2018 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. 21 CFR 886.3600 - Intraocular lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 886.3600 Intraocular lens. (a) Identification. An intraocular lens is a device made of materials such as glass or plastic intended to be implanted to replace the natural lens of an eye. (b) Classification. Class III. (c) Date PMA or notice of completion of a...

  3. Right hemispheric dominance of visual phenomena evoked by intracerebral stimulation of the human visual cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jonas, Jacques; Frismand, Solène; Vignal, Jean-Pierre; Colnat-Coulbois, Sophie; Koessler, Laurent; Vespignani, Hervé; Rossion, Bruno; Maillard, Louis

    2014-07-01

    Electrical brain stimulation can provide important information about the functional organization of the human visual cortex. Here, we report the visual phenomena evoked by a large number (562) of intracerebral electrical stimulations performed at low-intensity with depth electrodes implanted in the occipito-parieto-temporal cortex of 22 epileptic patients. Focal electrical stimulation evoked primarily visual hallucinations with various complexities: simple (spot or blob), intermediary (geometric forms), or complex meaningful shapes (faces); visual illusions and impairments of visual recognition were more rarely observed. With the exception of the most posterior cortical sites, the probability of evoking a visual phenomenon was significantly higher in the right than the left hemisphere. Intermediary and complex hallucinations, illusions, and visual recognition impairments were almost exclusively evoked by stimulation in the right hemisphere. The probability of evoking a visual phenomenon decreased substantially from the occipital pole to the most anterior sites of the temporal lobe, and this decrease was more pronounced in the left hemisphere. The greater sensitivity of the right occipito-parieto-temporal regions to intracerebral electrical stimulation to evoke visual phenomena supports a predominant role of right hemispheric visual areas from perception to recognition of visual forms, regardless of visuospatial and attentional factors. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Painful tonic heat stimulation induces GABA accumulation in the prefrontal cortex in man

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kupers, Ron; Danielsen, Else R; Kehlet, Henrik

    2009-01-01

    Relatively little is known on pain-induced neurotransmitter release in the human cerebral cortex. We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) during tonic painful heat stimulation to test the hypothesis of increases in both glutamate and GABA, two neurotransmitters with a key role...... that GABA is released in the human cerebral cortex during painful stimulation. The results are in line with animal findings on the role of GABA in pain processing and with studies in humans showing analgesic efficacy of GABA-related drugs in clinical pain conditions....... in pain processing. Using a 3T MR scanner, we acquired spectra from the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) in 13 healthy right-handed subjects at rest and during painful heat stimulation. The painful stimulus consisted of a suprathreshold painful tonic heat pulse, which was delivered to the right...

  5. Protective effect of lycopene for oxidative damage in human lens epithelial cells induced by UV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing-Wen Sun

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available AIM:To investigate the protective effect and possible mechanisms of lycopene for oxidative damage induced by ultraviolet in cultured human lens epithelial cells(HLEC. METHODS:HLEC was subcultured and divided into negative control group, oxidative injury group, lycopene low dose group and lycopene high dose group. Cell viability was assayed by MTT colorimetric. Cell morphological changes were detected by electron microscope. Reactive oxygen species(ROSlevels were detected with DCFH-DA fluorescent probe. Content of superoxide dismutase(SOD, glutathione peroxidase(GSHand malondialdehyde(MDAin supernatants were detected by spectrophotometer. RESULTS:Lycopene could obviously inhibited UV-induced decline in cell activity, reduce UV-induced ROS generation within HLEC, cause SOD, GSH-Px levels increased and MDA levels decreased.CONCLUSION:Lycopene plays its strong antioxidant role in increasing the intracellular SOD and GSH-Px content levels and decreasing MDA levels, which provide reliable experimental basis for prevent and treatment of cataracts.

  6. Category Selectivity of Human Visual Cortex in Perception of Rubin Face–Vase Illusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaogang Wang

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available When viewing the Rubin face–vase illusion, our conscious perception spontaneously alternates between the face and the vase; this illusion has been widely used to explore bistable perception. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI studies have studied the neural mechanisms underlying bistable perception through univariate and multivariate pattern analyses; however, no studies have investigated the issue of category selectivity. Here, we used fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the Rubin face–vase illusion by introducing univariate amplitude and multivariate pattern analyses. The results from the amplitude analysis suggested that the activity in the fusiform face area was likely related to the subjective face perception. Furthermore, the pattern analysis results showed that the early visual cortex (EVC and the face-selective cortex could discriminate the activity patterns of the face and vase perceptions. However, further analysis of the activity patterns showed that only the face-selective cortex contains the face information. These findings indicated that although the EVC and face-selective cortex activities could discriminate the visual information, only the activity and activity pattern in the face-selective areas contained the category information of face perception in the Rubin face–vase illusion.

  7. Impact of lens case hygiene guidelines on contact lens case contamination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yvonne T; Teng, Yuu Juan; Nicholas, Mary; Harmis, Najat; Zhu, Hua; Willcox, Mark D P; Stapleton, Fiona

    2011-10-01

    Lens case contamination is a risk factor for microbial keratitis. The effectiveness of manufacturers' lens case cleaning guidelines in limiting microbial contamination has not been evaluated in vivo. This study compared the effectiveness of manufacturers' guidelines and an alternative cleaning regimen. A randomized cross-over clinical trial with two phases (n = 40) was performed. Participants used the lens types of their choice in conjunction with the provided multipurpose solution (containing polyhexamethylene biguanide) for daily wear. In the manufacturers' guideline phase, cases were rinsed with multipurpose solution and air dried. In the alternative regimen phase, cases were rubbed, rinsed with solution, tissue wiped, and air-dried face down. The duration of each phase was 1 month. Lens cases were collected at the end of each phase for microbiological investigation. The levels of microbial contamination were compared, and compliance to both regimens was assessed. The case contamination rate was 82% (32/39) in the manufacturers' guideline group, compared with 72% (28/39) in the alternative regimen group. There were significantly fewer (p = 0.004) colony forming units (CFU) of bacteria from cases used by following the alternative regimen (CFU range of 0 to 10, and median of 12 CFU per well) compared with that of the manufacturer's guidelines (CFU range of 0 to 10, and median of 28 CFU per well). The compliance level between both guidelines was not significantly different (p > 0.05). The alternative guidelines are more effective in eliminating microbial contamination from lens cases than that of the current manufacturer's guideline. Simply incorporating rubbing and tissue-wiping steps in daily case hygiene reduces viable organism contamination.

  8. Intracapsular lens extraction for the treatment of pupillary block glaucoma associated with anterior subluxation of the crystalline lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yong Joon; Ha, Seung Joo

    2013-01-01

    To report a case of pupillary block glaucoma associated with spontaneous crystalline lens subluxation into the anterior chamber in a 34-year-old man. Dry vitrectomy was performed for securing enough retrolental space, and an intracapsular lens extraction was then performed via a corneolimbal incision. Additional endothelial cell damage was avoided with an injection of viscoelastics and gentle extraction of the crystalline lens. After deepening of the anterior chamber, scleral fixation of the intraocular lens was performed with an ab externo technique. Two months after the operation, a well-fixated intraocular lens was observed and intraocular pressure was stable. The postoperative corneal astigmatism was -3.5 dpt, and the patient had a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/25. Postoperative complications included decreased endothelial cell count and sector iris paralysis near the incision site. An anteriorly subluxated crystalline lens can cause pupillary block glaucoma in healthy young adults. To prevent intraoperative complications, intracapsular lens extraction with dry vitrectomy can be a good surgical option. The endothelial cell density should be closely monitored after surgery.

  9. Plasma Lens for Muon and Neutrino Beams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn, Stephen; Korenev, Sergey; Bishai, Mary; Diwan, Milind; Gallardo, Juan; Hershcovitch, Ady; Johnson, Brant

    2008-04-01

    The plasma lens is examined as an alternate to focusing horns and solenoids for use in a neutrino or muon beam facility. The plasma lens concept is based on a combined high-current lens/target configuration. The current is fed at electrodes located upstream and downstream from the target where pion capturing is needed. The current flows primarily in the plasma, which has a lower resistivity than the target. A second plasma lens section, with an additional current feed, follows the target to provide shaping of the plasma stability. The geometry of the plasma is shaped to provide optimal pion capture. Simulations of this plasma lens system have shown a 25% higher neutrino production than the horn system. A plasma lens has additional advantage: larger axial current than horns, minimal neutrino contamination during antineutrino running, and negligible pion absorption or scattering. Results from particle simulations using a plasma lens will be presented.

  10. Clinical observation of four-fixable intraocular lens suspensory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Ming Teng

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To discuss the four-fixable intraocular lens(IOLsuspensory in the absence of capsular intraocular lens implantation, suspensory ligament rupture caused by congenital dislocation of the lens, traumatic cataract and posterior capsular rupture without capsular support, which need to line hanging IOL for intraoperative clinical observation.METHODS: The 31 cases(32 eyeswho were accepted the four-fixable IOL suspensory from May 2012 to May 2014 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The postoperative visual acuity, corneal astigmatism, intraoperative and postoperative complications were comprehensively analyzed.RESULTS: Patients were followed up 6mo~1a, corrected visual acuity >0.5(12 eyes, 38%, 0.1~0.5(18 eyes, 56%, and CONCLUSION: It is designed to support non-capsular IOL implantation and design, and the concept of changing the past presence of suspended dislocated IOL implantation surgery, positional deviation and, sutures and other complications split the incidence is greatly reduced. It is consistent with the physiological characteristics of the human eye, and it is the IOL surgical sling best stability, intraoperative and postoperative complications, the best visual acuity and corneal astigmatism minimal surgical approachat least, and the four-point suspension suture fixation of IOL is designed to obtain a practical transformation of Chinese patent.

  11. Crystalline lens radioprotectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belkacemi, Y.; Pasquier, D.; Castelain, B.; Lartigau, E.; Warnet, J.M.

    2003-01-01

    During more than a half of century, numerous compounds have been tested in different models against radiation-induced cataract. In this report, we will review the radioprotectors that have been already tested for non-human crystalline lens protection. We will focus on the most important published studies in this topic and the mechanisms of cyto-protection reported in. vitro and in. vivo from animals. The most frequent mechanisms incriminated in the cyto-protective effect are: free radical scavenging, limitation of lipid peroxidation, modulation of cycle progression increase of intracellular reduced glutathione pool, reduction of DNA strand breaks and limitation of apoptotic cell death. Arnifostine (or Ethyol) and anethole dithiolethione (or Sulfarlem), already used clinically as chemo- and radio-protectants, could be further test?r for ocular radioprotection particularly for radiation-induced cataract. (author)

  12. Audiovisual Association Learning in the Absence of Primary Visual Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seirafi, Mehrdad; De Weerd, Peter; Pegna, Alan J; de Gelder, Beatrice

    2015-01-01

    Learning audiovisual associations is mediated by the primary cortical areas; however, recent animal studies suggest that such learning can take place even in the absence of the primary visual cortex. Other studies have demonstrated the involvement of extra-geniculate pathways and especially the superior colliculus (SC) in audiovisual association learning. Here, we investigated such learning in a rare human patient with complete loss of the bilateral striate cortex. We carried out an implicit audiovisual association learning task with two different colors of red and purple (the latter color known to minimally activate the extra-genicular pathway). Interestingly, the patient learned the association between an auditory cue and a visual stimulus only when the unseen visual stimulus was red, but not when it was purple. The current study presents the first evidence showing the possibility of audiovisual association learning in humans with lesioned striate cortex. Furthermore, in line with animal studies, it supports an important role for the SC in audiovisual associative learning.

  13. Raman micro-spectroscopy analysis of human lens epithelial cells exposed to a low-dose-range of ionizing radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Christian Harry; Kumar, Achint; Qutob, Sami; Nyiri, Balazs; Chauhan, Vinita; Murugkar, Sangeeta

    2018-01-01

    Recent findings in populations exposed to ionizing radiation (IR) indicate dose-related lens opacification occurs at much lower doses (micro-spectroscopy was used to investigate the effects of varying doses of radiation, ranging from 0.01 Gy to 5 Gy, on human lens epithelial (HLE) cells which were chemically fixed 24 h post-irradiation. Raman spectra were acquired from the nucleus and cytoplasm of the HLE cells. Spectra were collected from points in a 3  ×  3 grid pattern and then averaged. The raw spectra were preprocessed and principal component analysis followed by linear discriminant analysis was used to discriminate between dose and control for 0.25, 0.5, 2, and 5 Gy. Using leave-one-out cross-validation accuracies of greater than 74% were attained for each dose/control combination. The ultra-low doses 0.01 and 0.05 Gy were included in an analysis of band intensities for Raman bands found to be significant in the linear discrimination, and an induced repair model survival curve was fit to a band-difference-ratio plot of this data, suggesting HLE cells undergo a nonlinear response to low-doses of IR. A survival curve was also fit to clonogenic assay data done on the irradiated HLE cells, showing a similar nonlinear response.

  14. Induction of plasticity in the human motor cortex by pairing an auditory stimulus with TMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Fredrick Sowman

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Acoustic stimuli can cause a transient increase in the excitability of the motor cortex. The current study leverages this phenomenon to develop a method for testing the integrity of auditorimotor integration and the capacity for auditorimotor plasticity. We demonstrate that appropriately timed transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS of the hand area, paired with auditorily mediated excitation of the motor cortex, induces an enhancement of motor cortex excitability that lasts beyond the time of stimulation. This result demonstrates for the first time that paired associative stimulation (PAS -induced plasticity within the motor cortex is applicable with auditory stimuli. We propose that the method developed here might provide a useful tool for future studies that measure auditory-motor connectivity in communication disorders.

  15. Development of Glutamatergic Proteins in Human Visual Cortex across the Lifespan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siu, Caitlin R; Beshara, Simon P; Jones, David G; Murphy, Kathryn M

    2017-06-21

    Traditionally, human primary visual cortex (V1) has been thought to mature within the first few years of life, based on anatomical studies of synapse formation, and establishment of intracortical and intercortical connections. Human vision, however, develops well beyond the first few years. Previously, we found prolonged development of some GABAergic proteins in human V1 (Pinto et al., 2010). Yet as >80% of synapses in V1 are excitatory, it remains unanswered whether the majority of synapses regulating experience-dependent plasticity and receptive field properties develop late, like their inhibitory counterparts. To address this question, we used Western blotting of postmortem tissue from human V1 (12 female, 18 male) covering a range of ages. Then we quantified a set of postsynaptic glutamatergic proteins (PSD-95, GluA2, GluN1, GluN2A, GluN2B), calculated indices for functional pairs that are developmentally regulated (GluA2:GluN1; GluN2A:GluN2B), and determined interindividual variability. We found early loss of GluN1, prolonged development of PSD-95 and GluA2 into late childhood, protracted development of GluN2A until ∼40 years, and dramatic loss of GluN2A in aging. The GluA2:GluN1 index switched at ∼1 year, but the GluN2A:GluN2B index continued to shift until ∼40 year before changing back to GluN2B in aging. We also identified young childhood as a stage of heightened interindividual variability. The changes show that human V1 develops gradually through a series of five orchestrated stages, making it likely that V1 participates in visual development and plasticity across the lifespan. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Anatomical structure of human V1 appears to mature early, but vision changes across the lifespan. This discrepancy has fostered two hypotheses: either other aspects of V1 continue changing, or later changes in visual perception depend on extrastriate areas. Previously, we showed that some GABAergic synaptic proteins change across the lifespan, but most

  16. [Intraocular lens implantation with one loop haptic amputated: a new propose to the subluxation lens surgical treatment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventura, Marcelo; Endriss, Daniela

    2010-01-01

    To evaluate the postoperative results of congenital lens subluxation corrected by a new technique. Retrospective chart review of 21 eyes of 13 patients with no traumatic lens subluxation who underwent surgery in Altino Ventura Foundation from April, 1999 to April, 2004. The mean age was 8.7 +/- 5.4 years old, and the mean follow-up period was 21.5 +/- 19.3 months. Patients underwent phacoaspiration, endocapsular ring and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. The implanted IOL had one loop haptic excised and was supported above the ring, inside the capsular bag promoting intraocular lens centralization. Visual acuity improvement was observed in all cases. There was a significant reduction of the spherical equivalent and spherical component comparing the pre and postoperative refraction (psubluxation surgical treatment, promoting lens centralization and postoperative visual acuity improvement.

  17. Decision-Making in the Ventral Premotor Cortex Harbinger of Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pardo-Vazquez, Jose L.; Padron, Isabel; Fernandez-Rey, Jose; Acuña, Carlos

    2011-01-01

    Although the premotor (PM) cortex was once viewed as the substrate of pure motor functions, soon it was realized that it was involved in higher brain functions. By this it is meant that the PM cortex functions would better be explained as motor set, preparation for limb movement, or sensory guidance of movement rather than solely by a fixed link to motor performance. These findings, together with a better knowledge of the PM cortex histology and hodology in human and non-human primates prompted quantitative studies of this area combining behavioral tasks with electrophysiological recordings. In addition, the exploration of the PM cortex neurons with qualitative methods also suggested its participation in higher functions. Behavioral choices frequently depend on temporal cues, which together with knowledge of previous outcomes and expectancies are combined to decide and choose a behavioral action. In decision-making the knowledge about the consequences of decisions, either correct or incorrect, is fundamental because they can be used to adapt future behavior. The neuronal correlates of a decision process have been described in several cortical areas of primates. Among them, there is evidence that the monkey ventral premotor (PMv) cortex, an anatomical and physiological well-differentiated area of the PM cortex, supports both perceptual decisions and performance monitoring. Here we review the evidence that the steps in a decision-making process are encoded in the firing rate of the PMv neurons. This provides compelling evidence suggesting that the PMv is involved in the use of recent and long-term sensory memory to decide, execute, and evaluate the outcomes of the subjects’ choices. PMID:21991249

  18. Decision-making in the ventral premotor cortex harbinger of action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José L. ePardo-Vázquez

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Although the premotor cortex (PM was once viewed as the substrate of pure motor functions, soon it was realized that it was involved in higher brain functions. By this it is meant that the PM cortex functions would better be explained as motor set, preparation for limb movement or sensory guidance of movement rather than solely by a fixed link to motor performance. These findings, together with a better knowledge of the PM cortex histology and hodology in human and non-human primates prompted quantitative studies of this area combining behavioral tasks with electrophysiological recordings. In addition, the exploration of the PM cortex neurons with qualitative methods also suggested its participation in higher functions. Behavioral choices frequently depend on temporal cues, which together with knowledge of previous outcomes and expectancies are combined to decide and choose a behavioral action. In decision-making the knowledge about the consequences of decisions, either correct or incorrect, is fundamental because they can be used to adapt future behavior. The neuronal correlates of a decision process have been described in several cortical areas of primates. Among them, there is evidence that the monkey ventral premotor cortex (PMv, an anatomical and physiological well-differentiated area of the PM cortex, supports both perceptual decisions and performance monitoring. Here we review the evidence that the steps in a decision making process are encoded in the firing rate of the PMv neurons. This provides compelling evidence suggesting that the PMv is involved in the use of recent and long-term sensory memory to decide, execute and evaluate the outcomes of the subjects’ choices.

  19. Neural Determinants of Task Performance during Feature-Based Attention in Human Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Mengyuan

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Studies of feature-based attention have associated activity in a dorsal frontoparietal network with putative attentional priority signals. Yet, how this neural activity mediates attentional selection and whether it guides behavior are fundamental questions that require investigation. We reasoned that endogenous fluctuations in the quality of attentional priority should influence task performance. Human subjects detected a speed increment while viewing clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) motion (baseline task) or while attending to either direction amid distracters (attention task). In an fMRI experiment, direction-specific neural pattern similarity between the baseline task and the attention task revealed a higher level of similarity for correct than incorrect trials in frontoparietal regions. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we disrupted posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and found a selective deficit in the attention task, but not in the baseline task, demonstrating the necessity of this cortical area during feature-based attention. These results reveal that frontoparietal areas maintain attentional priority that facilitates successful behavioral selection. PMID:29497703

  20. Controllability modulates the anticipatory response in the human ventromedial prefrontal cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah Lucille Kerr

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Research has consistently shown that control is critical to psychological functioning, with perceived lack of control considered to play a crucial role in the manifestation of symptoms in psychiatric disorders. In a model of behavioral control based on nonhuman animal work, Maier and colleagues posited that the presence of control activates areas of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC, which in turn inhibit the normative stress response in the dorsal raphe nucleus and amygdala. To test Maier’s model in humans, we investigated the effects of control over potent aversive stimuli by presenting video clips of snakes to 21 snake phobics who were otherwise healthy with no comorbid psychopathologies. Based on prior research documenting that disrupted neural processing during the anticipation of adverse events can be influenced by different forms of cognitive processing such as perceptions of control, analyses focused on the anticipatory activity preceding the videos. We found that phobics exhibited greater vmPFC activity during the anticipation of snake videos when they had control over whether the videos were presented as compared to when they had no control over the presentation of the videos. In addition, observed functional connectivity between the vmPFC and the amygdala is consistent with previous work documenting vmPFC inhibition of the amygdala. Our results provide evidence to support the extension of Maier’s model of behavioral control to include anticipatory function in humans.

  1. Shielding Effect of Lead Glasses on Radiologists' Eye Lens Exposure in Interventional Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Panpan; Kong, Yan; Chen, Bo; Liu, Qianqian; Zhuo, Weihai; Liu, Haikuan

    2017-04-20

    To study the shielding effect of radiologists' eye lens with lead glasses of different equivalent thicknesses and sizes in interventional radiology procedures. Using the human voxel phantom with a more accurate model of the eye and MCNPX software, eye lens doses of the radiologists who wearing different kinds of lead glasses were simulated, different beam projections were taken into consideration during the simulation. Measurements were also performed with the physical model to verify simulation results. Simulation results showed that the eye lens doses were reduced by a factor from 3 to 9 when wearing a 20 cm2-sized lead glasses with the equivalent thickness ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 mm Pb. The increase of dose reduction factor (DRF) was not significant whenever increase the lead equivalent of glasses of which larger than 0.35 mm. Furthermore, the DRF was proportional to the size of glass lens from 6 to 30 cm2 with the same lead equivalent. The simulation results were in well agreements with the measured ones. For more reasonable and effective protection of the eye lens of interventional radiologists, a pair of glasses with a lead equivalent of 0.5 mm Pb and large-sized (at least 27 cm2 per glass) lens are recommended. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Canine and human visual cortex intact and responsive despite early retinal blindness from RPE65 mutation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geoffrey K Aguirre

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available RPE65 is an essential molecule in the retinoid-visual cycle, and RPE65 gene mutations cause the congenital human blindness known as Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA. Somatic gene therapy delivered to the retina of blind dogs with an RPE65 mutation dramatically restores retinal physiology and has sparked international interest in human treatment trials for this incurable disease. An unanswered question is how the visual cortex responds after prolonged sensory deprivation from retinal dysfunction. We therefore studied the cortex of RPE65-mutant dogs before and after retinal gene therapy. Then, we inquired whether there is visual pathway integrity and responsivity in adult humans with LCA due to RPE65 mutations (RPE65-LCA.RPE65-mutant dogs were studied with fMRI. Prior to therapy, retinal and subcortical responses to light were markedly diminished, and there were minimal cortical responses within the primary visual areas of the lateral gyrus (activation amplitude mean +/- standard deviation [SD] = 0.07% +/- 0.06% and volume = 1.3 +/- 0.6 cm(3. Following therapy, retinal and subcortical response restoration was accompanied by increased amplitude (0.18% +/- 0.06% and volume (8.2 +/- 0.8 cm(3 of activation within the lateral gyrus (p < 0.005 for both. Cortical recovery occurred rapidly (within a month of treatment and was persistent (as long as 2.5 y after treatment. Recovery was present even when treatment was provided as late as 1-4 y of age. Human RPE65-LCA patients (ages 18-23 y were studied with structural magnetic resonance imaging. Optic nerve diameter (3.2 +/- 0.5 mm was within the normal range (3.2 +/- 0.3 mm, and occipital cortical white matter density as judged by voxel-based morphometry was slightly but significantly altered (1.3 SD below control average, p = 0.005. Functional magnetic resonance imaging in human RPE65-LCA patients revealed cortical responses with a markedly diminished activation volume (8.8 +/- 1.2 cm(3 compared to controls

  3. Algorithm design of liquid lens inspection system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Lu-Lin; Wang, Chun-Chieh

    2008-08-01

    In mobile lens domain, the glass lens is often to be applied in high-resolution requirement situation; but the glass zoom lens needs to be collocated with movable machinery and voice-coil motor, which usually arises some space limits in minimum design. In high level molding component technology development, the appearance of liquid lens has become the focus of mobile phone and digital camera companies. The liquid lens sets with solid optical lens and driving circuit has replaced the original components. As a result, the volume requirement is decreased to merely 50% of the original design. Besides, with the high focus adjusting speed, low energy requirement, high durability, and low-cost manufacturing process, the liquid lens shows advantages in the competitive market. In the past, authors only need to inspect the scrape defect made by external force for the glass lens. As to the liquid lens, authors need to inspect the state of four different structural layers due to the different design and structure. In this paper, authors apply machine vision and digital image processing technology to administer inspections in the particular layer according to the needs of users. According to our experiment results, the algorithm proposed can automatically delete non-focus background, extract the region of interest, find out and analyze the defects efficiently in the particular layer. In the future, authors will combine the algorithm of the system with automatic-focus technology to implement the inside inspection based on the product inspective demands.

  4. Lens proteome map and alpha-crystallin profile of the catfish Rita rita.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohanty, Bimal Prasanna; Bhattacharjee, Soma; Das, Manas Kumar

    2011-02-01

    Crystallins are a diverse group of proteins that constitute nearly 90% of the total soluble proteins of the vertebrate eye lens and these tightly packed crystallins are responsible for transparency of the lens. These proteins have been studied in different model and non-model species for understanding the modifications they undergo with ageing that lead to cataract, a disease of protein aggregation. In the present investigation, we studied the lens crystallin profile of the tropical freshwater catfish Rita rita. Profiles of lens crystallins were analyzed and crystallin proteome maps of Rita rita were generated for the first time. alphaA-crystallins, member of the alpha-crystallin family, which are molecular chaperons and play crucial role in maintaining lens transparency were identified by 1- and 2-D immunoblot analysis with anti-alphaA-crystallin antibody. Two protein bands of 19-20 kDa were identified as alphaA-crystallins on 1-D immunoblots and these bands separated into 10 discrete spots on 2-D immunoblot. However, anti-alphaB-crystallin and antiphospho-alphaB-crystallin antibodies were not able to detect any immunoreactive bands on 1- and 2-D immunoblots, indicating alphaB-crystallin was either absent or present in extremely low concentration in Rita rita lens. Thus, Rita rita alpha-crystallins are more like that of the catfish Clarias batrachus and the mammal kangaroo in its alphaA- and alphaB-crystallin content (contain low amount from 5-9% of alphaB-crystallin) and unlike the dogfish, zebrafish, human, bovine and mouse alpha-crystallins (contain higher amount of alphaB-crystallin from 25% in mouse and bovine to 85% in dogfish). Results of the present study can be the baseline information for stimulating further investigation on Rita rita lens crystallins for comparative lens proteomics. Comparing and contrasting the alpha-crystallins of the dogfish and Rita rita may provide valuable information on the functional attributes of alphaA- and alphaB-isoforms, as

  5. Modulatory Effects of Attention on Lateral Inhibition in the Human Auditory Cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alva Engell

    Full Text Available Reduced neural processing of a tone is observed when it is presented after a sound whose spectral range closely frames the frequency of the tone. This observation might be explained by the mechanism of lateral inhibition (LI due to inhibitory interneurons in the auditory system. So far, several characteristics of bottom up influences on LI have been identified, while the influence of top-down processes such as directed attention on LI has not been investigated. Hence, the study at hand aims at investigating the modulatory effects of focused attention on LI in the human auditory cortex. In the magnetoencephalograph, we present two types of masking sounds (white noise vs. withe noise passing through a notch filter centered at a specific frequency, followed by a test tone with a frequency corresponding to the center-frequency of the notch filter. Simultaneously, subjects were presented with visual input on a screen. To modulate the focus of attention, subjects were instructed to concentrate either on the auditory input or the visual stimuli. More specific, on one half of the trials, subjects were instructed to detect small deviations in loudness in the masking sounds while on the other half of the trials subjects were asked to detect target stimuli on the screen. The results revealed a reduction in neural activation due to LI, which was larger during auditory compared to visual focused attention. Attentional modulations of LI were observed in two post-N1m time intervals. These findings underline the robustness of reduced neural activation due to LI in the auditory cortex and point towards the important role of attention on the modulation of this mechanism in more evaluative processing stages.

  6. 3-D Imaging using Row–Column-Addressed 2-D Arrays with a Diverging Lens: Phantom Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bouzari, Hamed; Engholm, Mathias; Beers, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    A double-curved diverging lens over a flat row– column-addressed (RCA) 2-D array can extend its inherent rectilinear 3-D imaging field-of-view (FOV) to a curvilinear volume region, which is necessary for applications such as abdominal and cardiac imaging. A concave lens with radius of 12.7 mm...... was manufactured using RTV664 silicone. The diverging properties of the lens were evaluated based on measurements on several phantoms. The measured 6 dB FOV in contact with a material similar to human soft tissue was less than 15% different from the theoretical predictions, i.e., a curvilinear FOV of 32...

  7. Radiation dose to the lens and cataract formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henk, J.M.; Whitelocke, R.A.F.; Warrington, A.P.; Bessell, E.M.

    1993-01-01

    The purpose of this work was to determine the radiation tolerance of the lens of the eye and the incidence of radiation-induced lens changes in patients treated by fractionated supervoltage radiation therapy for orbital tumors. Forty patients treated for orbital lymphoma and pseudotumor with tumor doses of 20--40 Gy were studied. The lens was partly shielded using lead cylinders in most cases. The dose to the germinative zone of the lens was estimated by measurements in a tissue equivalent phantom using both film densitometry and thermoluminescent dosimetry. Opthalmological examination was performed at 6 monthly intervals after treatment. The lead shield was found to reduce the dose to the germinative zone of the lens to between 36--50% of the tumor dose for Cobalt beam therapy, and to between 11--18% for 5 MeV x-rays. Consequently, the lens doses were in the range 4.5--30 Gy in 10--20 fractions. Lens opacities first appeared from between 3 and 9 years after irradiation. Impairment of visual acuity ensued in 74% of the patients who developed lens opacities. The incidence of lens changes was strongly dose-related. None was seen after doses of 5 Gy or lower, whereas doses of 16.5 Gy or higher were all followed by lens opacities which impaired visual acuity. The largest number of patients received a maximum lens dose of 15 Gy; in this group the actuarial incidence of lens opacities at 8 years was 57% with visual impairment in 38%. The adult lens can tolerate a total dose of 5 Gy during a fractionated course of supervoltage radiation therapy without showing any changes. Doses of 16.5 Gy or higher will almost invariably lead to visual impairment. The dose which causes a 50% probability of visual impairment is approximately 15 Gy. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  8. High-intensity Erotic Visual Stimuli De-activate the Primary Visual Cortex in Women

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huynh, Hieu K.; Beers, Caroline; Willemsen, Antoon; Lont, Erna; Laan, Ellen; Dierckx, Rudi; Jansen, Monique; Sand, Michael; Schultz, Willibrord Weijmar; Holstege, Gert

    Introduction. The primary visual cortex, Brodmann's area (BA 17), plays a vital role in basic survival mechanisms in humans. In most neuro-imaging studies in which the volunteers have to watch pictures or movies, the primary visual cortex is similarly activated independent of the content of the

  9. High-intensity Erotic Visual Stimuli De-activate the Primary Visual Cortex in Women

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huynh, Hieu K.; Beers, Caroline; Willemsen, Antoon; Lont, Erna; Laan, Ellen; Dierckx, Rudi; Jansen, Monique; Sand, Michael; Weijmar Schultz, Willibrord; Holstege, Gert

    2012-01-01

    Introduction. The primary visual cortex, Brodmann's area (BA 17), plays a vital role in basic survival mechanisms in humans. In most neuro-imaging studies in which the volunteers have to watch pictures or movies, the primary visual cortex is similarly activated independent of the content of the

  10. Stretchable Binary Fresnel Lens for Focus Tuning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, X.; Wei, L.; Poelma, R.H.; Vollebregt, S.; Wei, J.; Urbach, Paul; Sarro, P.M.; Zhang, G.Q.

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a tuneable binary amplitude Fresnel lens produced by wafer-level microfabrication. The Fresnel lens is fabricated by encapsulating lithographically defined vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles inside a polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) layer. The composite lens material

  11. Coordinated Expression of Phosphoinositide Metabolic Genes during Development and Aging of Human Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanley I Rapoport

    Full Text Available Phosphoinositides, lipid-signaling molecules, participate in diverse brain processes within a wide metabolic cascade.Gene transcriptional networks coordinately regulate the phosphoinositide cascade during human brain Development and Aging.We used the public BrainCloud database for human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to examine age-related expression levels of 49 phosphoinositide metabolic genes during Development (0 to 20+ years and Aging (21+ years.We identified three groups of partially overlapping genes in each of the two intervals, with similar intergroup correlations despite marked phenotypic differences between Aging and Development. In each interval, ITPKB, PLCD1, PIK3R3, ISYNA1, IMPA2, INPPL1, PI4KB, and AKT1 are in Group 1, PIK3CB, PTEN, PIK3CA, and IMPA1 in Group 2, and SACM1L, PI3KR4, INPP5A, SYNJ1, and PLCB1 in Group 3. Ten of the genes change expression nonlinearly during Development, suggesting involvement in rapidly changing neuronal, glial and myelination events. Correlated transcription for some gene pairs likely is facilitated by colocalization on the same chromosome band.Stable coordinated gene transcriptional networks regulate brain phosphoinositide metabolic pathways during human Development and Aging.

  12. MORPHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN LENS CAPSULES - A COMPARATIVE LM, SEM AND TEM EXAMINATION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    JONGEBLOED, WL; KALICHARAN, D; LOS, LI; VANDERVEEN, G; WORST, JGF

    1991-01-01

    Lens capsules of patients of advanced age, obtained after extracapsular cataract surgery, were carefully prepared for a combined LM, TEM and SEM investigation, after preliminary washing and mounting onto a holder in a buffer solution. After pre-fixation with GA, samples were postfixed for LM/TEM and

  13. Audiovisual Association Learning in the Absence of Primary Visual Cortex

    OpenAIRE

    Seirafi, Mehrdad; De Weerd, Peter; Pegna, Alan J.; de Gelder, Beatrice

    2016-01-01

    Learning audiovisual associations is mediated by the primary cortical areas; however, recent animal studies suggest that such learning can take place even in the absence of the primary visual cortex. Other studies have demonstrated the involvement of extra-geniculate pathways and especially the superior colliculus (SC) in audiovisual association learning. Here, we investigated such learning in a rare human patient with complete loss of the bilateral striate cortex. We carried out an implicit ...

  14. 21 CFR 886.1390 - Flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens. 886.1390 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1390 Flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens. (a) Identification. A flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens is a device that is a very thin lens which has...

  15. Functional changes in the human auditory cortex in ageing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Profant

    Full Text Available Hearing loss, presbycusis, is one of the most common sensory declines in the ageing population. Presbycusis is characterised by a deterioration in the processing of temporal sound features as well as a decline in speech perception, thus indicating a possible central component. With the aim to explore the central component of presbycusis, we studied the function of the auditory cortex by functional MRI in two groups of elderly subjects (>65 years and compared the results with young subjects (cortex. The fMRI showed only minimal activation in response to the 8 kHz stimulation, despite the fact that all subjects heard the stimulus. Both elderly groups showed greater activation in response to acoustical stimuli in the temporal lobes in comparison with young subjects. In addition, activation in the right temporal lobe was more expressed than in the left temporal lobe in both elderly groups, whereas in the young control subjects (YC leftward lateralization was present. No statistically significant differences in activation of the auditory cortex were found between the MP and EP groups. The greater extent of cortical activation in elderly subjects in comparison with young subjects, with an asymmetry towards the right side, may serve as a compensatory mechanism for the impaired processing of auditory information appearing as a consequence of ageing.

  16. A catoptric lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rambauske, W.R.

    1973-01-01

    The invention relates to a catoptric lens for combining energies transmitted by several sources such as lasers; said lens comprising mirrors, the reflective surfaces of which have their focuses spaced from a common axis of symmetry. By means of these reflecting surfaces, which are generated by the nutation of portions of quadratic conics about the axis of symmetry, it is possible to focus the energy emmited by several lasers at the focus of the exit-mirror reflecting surface. This can be applied to thermonuclear fusion [fr

  17. Activity of a melimine derived peptide Mel4 against Stenotrophomonas, Delftia, Elizabethkingia, Burkholderia and biocompatibility as a contact lens coating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutta, Debarun; Zhao, Timothy; Cheah, Kai Bing; Holmlund, Larke; Willcox, Mark D P

    2017-06-01

    To determine the antimicrobial activity of the melimine derived peptide Mel4 against Delftia, Stenotrophomonas, Elizabethkingia, Burkholderia and to investigate biocompatibility of Mel4 as an antimicrobial coating on contact lenses in animals and humans. In vitro antimicrobial activity of Mel4 was determined against the four Gram negative bacteria by investigating growth curves for 24h followed by viable counts to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Contact lenses were coated by covalently binding Mel4, characterized by amino acid analysis, and were investigated for changes in lens parameters. Safety of Mel-4 coated lenses were determined in a rabbit model of daily contralateral wear. A prospective, randomised, double-masked, contralateral, 1week daily wear human clinical trial was used to evaluate subjective responses and ocular physiology. Mel4 was active against all the bacteria tested (MIC 50 ranged from 31-1000μgml -1 ) and produced an antimicrobial surface on contact lenses. Mel4-coating resulted hydrophilic surface without any significant change in contact lens parameters, and showed no signs of cytotoxicity or ocular irritation during rabbit wear. During human clinical trial, there were no differences between Mel4 coated and uncoated contact lenses in lens performance indicators and ocular signs such as corneal fluorescein staining. Mel4 and control uncoated lenses had no differences in ocular symptoms during lens wear. Mel4 has achieved antimicrobial activity against variety of Gram negative bacteria that are often resistant to the action of cationic peptides and have been implicated in contact lens related adverse events. Mel4-coated contact lenses were safe to wear. Copyright © 2017 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Timing-dependent modulation of the posterior parietal cortex-primary motor cortex pathway by sensorimotor training

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karabanov, Anke Ninija; Jin, Seung-Hyun; Joutsen, Atte

    2012-01-01

    at baseline and at four time points (0, 30, 60, and 180 min) after training. For EEG, task-related power and coherence were calculated for early and late training phases. The conditioned MEP was facilitated at a 2-ms conditioning-test interval before training. However, facilitation was abolished immediately...... following training, but returned to baseline at subsequent time points. Regional EEG activity and interregional connectivity between PPC and M1 showed an initial increase during early training followed by a significant decrease in the late phases. The findings indicate that parietal-motor interactions......Interplay between posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and ipsilateral primary motor cortex (M1) is crucial during execution of movements. The purpose of the study was to determine whether functional PPC-M1 connectivity in humans can be modulated by sensorimotor training. Seventeen participants...

  19. Cellular and synaptic localization of EAAT2a in human cerebral cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcello eMelone

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We used light and electron microscopic immunocytochemical techniques to analyze the distribution, cellular and synaptic localization of EAAT2, the main glutamate transporter, in normal human neocortex. EAAT2a immunoreactivity was in all layers and consisted of small neuropilar puncta and rare cells. In white matter EAAT2a+ cells were numerous. Electron microscopic studies showed that in gray matter ∼77% of immunoreactive elements were astrocytic processes, ∼14% axon terminals, ∼2.8% dendrites, whereas ∼5% were unidentifiable. In white matter, ∼81% were astrocytic processes, ∼17% were myelinated axons and ∼2.0% were unidentified. EAAT2a immunoreactivity was never in microglial cells and oligodendrocytes. Pre-embedding electron microscopy showed that ∼67% of EAAT2a expressed at (or in the vicinity of asymmetric synapses was in astrocytes, ∼17% in axon terminals, while ∼13% was both in astrocytes and in axons. Post-embeddeding electron microscopy studies showed that in astrocytic processes contacting asymmetric synapses and in axon terminals, gold particle density was ∼25.1 and ∼2.8 particles/µm2, respectively, and was concentrated in a membrane region extending for ∼300 nm from the active zone edge. Besides representing the first detailed description of EAAT2a in human cerebral cortex, these findings may contribute to understanding its role in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric diseases.

  20. Sustained selective attention to competing amplitude-modulations in human auditory cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riecke, Lars; Scharke, Wolfgang; Valente, Giancarlo; Gutschalk, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    Auditory selective attention plays an essential role for identifying sounds of interest in a scene, but the neural underpinnings are still incompletely understood. Recent findings demonstrate that neural activity that is time-locked to a particular amplitude-modulation (AM) is enhanced in the auditory cortex when the modulated stream of sounds is selectively attended to under sensory competition with other streams. However, the target sounds used in the previous studies differed not only in their AM, but also in other sound features, such as carrier frequency or location. Thus, it remains uncertain whether the observed enhancements reflect AM-selective attention. The present study aims at dissociating the effect of AM frequency on response enhancement in auditory cortex by using an ongoing auditory stimulus that contains two competing targets differing exclusively in their AM frequency. Electroencephalography results showed a sustained response enhancement for auditory attention compared to visual attention, but not for AM-selective attention (attended AM frequency vs. ignored AM frequency). In contrast, the response to the ignored AM frequency was enhanced, although a brief trend toward response enhancement occurred during the initial 15 s. Together with the previous findings, these observations indicate that selective enhancement of attended AMs in auditory cortex is adaptive under sustained AM-selective attention. This finding has implications for our understanding of cortical mechanisms for feature-based attentional gain control.

  1. Sustained Selective Attention to Competing Amplitude-Modulations in Human Auditory Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riecke, Lars; Scharke, Wolfgang; Valente, Giancarlo; Gutschalk, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    Auditory selective attention plays an essential role for identifying sounds of interest in a scene, but the neural underpinnings are still incompletely understood. Recent findings demonstrate that neural activity that is time-locked to a particular amplitude-modulation (AM) is enhanced in the auditory cortex when the modulated stream of sounds is selectively attended to under sensory competition with other streams. However, the target sounds used in the previous studies differed not only in their AM, but also in other sound features, such as carrier frequency or location. Thus, it remains uncertain whether the observed enhancements reflect AM-selective attention. The present study aims at dissociating the effect of AM frequency on response enhancement in auditory cortex by using an ongoing auditory stimulus that contains two competing targets differing exclusively in their AM frequency. Electroencephalography results showed a sustained response enhancement for auditory attention compared to visual attention, but not for AM-selective attention (attended AM frequency vs. ignored AM frequency). In contrast, the response to the ignored AM frequency was enhanced, although a brief trend toward response enhancement occurred during the initial 15 s. Together with the previous findings, these observations indicate that selective enhancement of attended AMs in auditory cortex is adaptive under sustained AM-selective attention. This finding has implications for our understanding of cortical mechanisms for feature-based attentional gain control. PMID:25259525

  2. Cortical pitch regions in humans respond primarily to resolved harmonics and are located in specific tonotopic regions of anterior auditory cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman-Haignere, Sam; Kanwisher, Nancy; McDermott, Josh H

    2013-12-11

    Pitch is a defining perceptual property of many real-world sounds, including music and speech. Classically, theories of pitch perception have differentiated between temporal and spectral cues. These cues are rendered distinct by the frequency resolution of the ear, such that some frequencies produce "resolved" peaks of excitation in the cochlea, whereas others are "unresolved," providing a pitch cue only via their temporal fluctuations. Despite longstanding interest, the neural structures that process pitch, and their relationship to these cues, have remained controversial. Here, using fMRI in humans, we report the following: (1) consistent with previous reports, all subjects exhibited pitch-sensitive cortical regions that responded substantially more to harmonic tones than frequency-matched noise; (2) the response of these regions was mainly driven by spectrally resolved harmonics, although they also exhibited a weak but consistent response to unresolved harmonics relative to noise; (3) the response of pitch-sensitive regions to a parametric manipulation of resolvability tracked psychophysical discrimination thresholds for the same stimuli; and (4) pitch-sensitive regions were localized to specific tonotopic regions of anterior auditory cortex, extending from a low-frequency region of primary auditory cortex into a more anterior and less frequency-selective region of nonprimary auditory cortex. These results demonstrate that cortical pitch responses are located in a stereotyped region of anterior auditory cortex and are predominantly driven by resolved frequency components in a way that mirrors behavior.

  3. Functional specializations in human cerebral cortex analyzed using the Visible Man surface-based atlas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drury, H. A.; Van Essen, D. C.

    1997-01-01

    We used surface-based representations to analyze functional specializations in the human cerebral cortex. A computerized reconstruction of the cortical surface of the Visible Man digital atlas was generated and transformed to the Talairach coordinate system. This surface was also flattened and used to establish a surface-based coordinate system that respects the topology of the cortical sheet. The linkage between two-dimensional and three-dimensional representations allows the locations of published neuroimaging activation foci to be stereotaxically projected onto the Visible Man cortical flat map. An analysis of two activation studies related to the hearing and reading of music and of words illustrates how this approach permits the systematic estimation of the degree of functional segregation and of potential functional overlap for different aspects of sensory processing.

  4. 21 CFR 886.1395 - Diagnostic Hruby fundus lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Diagnostic Hruby fundus lens. 886.1395 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1395 Diagnostic Hruby fundus lens. (a) Identification. A diagnostic Hruby fundus lens is a device that is a 55 diopter lens intended for use in the...

  5. The Role of Aquaporins in Ocular Lens Homeostasis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schey, Kevin L.; Petrova, Rosica S.; Gletten, Romell B.; Donaldson, Paul J.

    2017-01-01

    Aquaporins (AQPs), by playing essential roles in the maintenance of ocular lens homeostasis, contribute to the establishment and maintenance of the overall optical properties of the lens over many decades of life. Three aquaporins, AQP0, AQP1 and AQP5, each with distinctly different functional properties, are abundantly and differentially expressed in the different regions of the ocular lens. Furthermore, the diversity of AQP functionality is increased in the absence of protein turnover by age-related modifications to lens AQPs that are proposed to alter AQP function in the different regions of the lens. These regional differences in AQP functionality are proposed to contribute to the generation and directionality of the lens internal microcirculation; a system of circulating ionic and fluid fluxes that delivers nutrients to and removes wastes from the lens faster than could be achieved by passive diffusion alone. In this review, we present how regional differences in lens AQP isoforms potentially contribute to this microcirculation system by highlighting current areas of investigation and emphasizing areas where future work is required. PMID:29231874

  6. 21 CFR 886.1380 - Diagnostic condensing lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Diagnostic condensing lens. 886.1380 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1380 Diagnostic condensing lens. (a) Identification. A diagnostic condensing lens is a device used in binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy (a procedure...

  7. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex mediates visual attention during facial emotion recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Richard C; Philippi, Carissa L; Motzkin, Julian C; Baskaya, Mustafa K; Koenigs, Michael

    2014-06-01

    The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is known to play a crucial role in regulating human social and emotional behaviour, yet the precise mechanisms by which it subserves this broad function remain unclear. Whereas previous neuropsychological studies have largely focused on the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in higher-order deliberative processes related to valuation and decision-making, here we test whether ventromedial prefrontal cortex may also be critical for more basic aspects of orienting attention to socially and emotionally meaningful stimuli. Using eye tracking during a test of facial emotion recognition in a sample of lesion patients, we show that bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage impairs visual attention to the eye regions of faces, particularly for fearful faces. This finding demonstrates a heretofore unrecognized function of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex-the basic attentional process of controlling eye movements to faces expressing emotion. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Bacterial transmission from lens storage cases to contact lenses-Effects of lens care solutions and silver impregnation of cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeltfoort, Pit B J; Hooymans, Johanna M M; Busscher, Henk J; van der Mei, Henny C

    2008-10-01

    The killing efficacies of multipurpose lens care solutions on planktonic and biofilm bacteria grown in polypropylene contact lens storage cases with and without silver impregnation and effects on bacterial transmission from storage cases to silicone hydrogel contact lenses were investigated. For transmission studies, biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus 835 or Pseudomonas aeruginosa no. 3 were grown on lens storage cases and incubated with a contact lens in different multipurpose lens care solutions (Opti-Free(R)Express(R), ReNu(R) MultiPlus(R), and SoloCare Aquatrade mark) or 0.9% NaCl. In addition, planktonic bacteria were directly suspended in multipurpose solutions and their killing efficacies were determined. The numbers of transmitted live and dead bacteria on the lenses were measured using a combination of plate counting and fluorescence microscopy. The highest killing efficacies were shown by Opti-Free(R) Express(R) for planktonic as well as for biofilm bacteria. Silver impregnation of lens cases in combination with the prescribed solution increased the killing efficacy for P. aeruginosa in biofilms, whereas effects for S. aureus were minor. Lowest numbers of live and dead bacteria were transmitted to a lens in Opti-Free(R) Express(R) multipurpose solution, with no significant differences between lens types and no effects of silver impregnation. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Dose conversion coefficients for monoenergetic electrons incident on a realistic human eye model with different lens cell populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nogueira, P; Zankl, M; Schlattl, H; Vaz, P

    2011-11-07

    The radiation-induced posterior subcapsular cataract has long been generally accepted to be a deterministic effect that does not occur at doses below a threshold of at least 2 Gy. Recent epidemiological studies indicate that the threshold for cataract induction may be much lower or that there may be no threshold at all. A thorough study of this subject requires more accurate dose estimates for the eye lens than those available in ICRP Publication 74. Eye lens absorbed dose per unit fluence conversion coefficients for electron irradiation were calculated using a geometrical model of the eye that takes into account different cell populations of the lens epithelium, together with the MCNPX Monte Carlo radiation transport code package. For the cell population most sensitive to ionizing radiation-the germinative cells-absorbed dose per unit fluence conversion coefficients were determined that are up to a factor of 4.8 higher than the mean eye lens absorbed dose conversion coefficients for electron energies below 2 MeV. Comparison of the results with previously published values for a slightly different eye model showed generally good agreement for all electron energies. Finally, the influence of individual anatomical variability was quantified by positioning the lens at various depths below the cornea. A depth difference of 2 mm between the shallowest and the deepest location of the germinative zone can lead to a difference between the resulting absorbed doses of up to nearly a factor of 5000 for electron energy of 0.7 MeV.

  10. Dose conversion coefficients for monoenergetic electrons incident on a realistic human eye model with different lens cell populations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nogueira, P; Vaz, P; Zankl, M; Schlattl, H

    2011-01-01

    The radiation-induced posterior subcapsular cataract has long been generally accepted to be a deterministic effect that does not occur at doses below a threshold of at least 2 Gy. Recent epidemiological studies indicate that the threshold for cataract induction may be much lower or that there may be no threshold at all. A thorough study of this subject requires more accurate dose estimates for the eye lens than those available in ICRP Publication 74. Eye lens absorbed dose per unit fluence conversion coefficients for electron irradiation were calculated using a geometrical model of the eye that takes into account different cell populations of the lens epithelium, together with the MCNPX Monte Carlo radiation transport code package. For the cell population most sensitive to ionizing radiation-the germinative cells-absorbed dose per unit fluence conversion coefficients were determined that are up to a factor of 4.8 higher than the mean eye lens absorbed dose conversion coefficients for electron energies below 2 MeV. Comparison of the results with previously published values for a slightly different eye model showed generally good agreement for all electron energies. Finally, the influence of individual anatomical variability was quantified by positioning the lens at various depths below the cornea. A depth difference of 2 mm between the shallowest and the deepest location of the germinative zone can lead to a difference between the resulting absorbed doses of up to nearly a factor of 5000 for electron energy of 0.7 MeV.

  11. Decoding Speech With Integrated Hybrid Signals Recorded From the Human Ventral Motor Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenji Ibayashi

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Restoration of speech communication for locked-in patients by means of brain computer interfaces (BCIs is currently an important area of active research. Among the neural signals obtained from intracranial recordings, single/multi-unit activity (SUA/MUA, local field potential (LFP, and electrocorticography (ECoG are good candidates for an input signal for BCIs. However, the question of which signal or which combination of the three signal modalities is best suited for decoding speech production remains unverified. In order to record SUA, LFP, and ECoG simultaneously from a highly localized area of human ventral sensorimotor cortex (vSMC, we fabricated an electrode the size of which was 7 by 13 mm containing sparsely arranged microneedle and conventional macro contacts. We determined which signal modality is the most capable of decoding speech production, and tested if the combination of these signals could improve the decoding accuracy of spoken phonemes. Feature vectors were constructed from spike frequency obtained from SUAs and event-related spectral perturbation derived from ECoG and LFP signals, then input to the decoder. The results showed that the decoding accuracy for five spoken vowels was highest when features from multiple signals were combined and optimized for each subject, and reached 59% when averaged across all six subjects. This result suggests that multi-scale signals convey complementary information for speech articulation. The current study demonstrated that simultaneous recording of multi-scale neuronal activities could raise decoding accuracy even though the recording area is limited to a small portion of cortex, which is advantageous for future implementation of speech-assisting BCIs.

  12. Conantokin probes of NMDA receptors in normal and Alzheimer disease human cerebral cortex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ragnarsson, L.; Dodd, P.R.; Lewis, R.J.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: The pharmacology of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor site was examined in pathologically affected and relatively spared regions of cerebral cortex tissue obtained at autopsy from Alzheimer disease cases and matched controls. The affinity and density of the [ 3 H]MK-801 binding site were delineated along with the enhancement of [ 3 H]MK-801 binding by glutamate and spermine. Sites with distinct pharmacologies were distributed regionally through the cortex. The differences could not be explained by variations in the parameters of [ 3 H]MK-801 binding; rather, the data suggest that the subunit composition of NMDA receptors may be locally variable. Selective differences were also found between controls and Alzheimer disease cases in certain brain regions. The interactions of human NMDA sites with the Ala(7) and Lys(7) derivatives of conantokin-G (Con-G) were also characterized. Ala(7)-con-G showed the higher affinity of the two peptides, and also defined two distinct binding sites in controls. In distinction to the Ala(7) peptide, Lys(7)- con-G showed preferential binding to receptor sites in Alzheimer disease cf. control brain. Modified conantokins are useful for identifying differences in subunit composition of the NMDA receptors between brain areas. They may also have potential as protective agents against over-excitation mediated by specific NMDA receptors, which might contribute to localized brain damage in Alzheimer disease. For further characterization of the pharmacology of different NMDA receptor subunits, a mammalian expression system has been developed for the analysis of their responses to selected ligands, including conantokins. Copyright (2002) Australian Neuroscience Society

  13. Changes in spherical aberration after lens refilling with a silicone oil

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wong, Kwok-Hoi; Koopmans, Steven A.; Terwee, Thom; Kooijman, Aart C.

    PURPOSE. It may be possible to restore accommodation to presbyopic human eyes by refilling the lens capsular bag with a soft polymer. In the present study, optical changes were measured that occurred in a pig eye model after the refilling of the capsular bag. METHODS. The optical power and spherical

  14. Iris reconstruction combined with iris-claw intraocular lens implantation for the management of iris-lens injured patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Shufang; Wang, Mingling; Xiao, Tianlin; Zhao, Zhenquan

    2016-03-01

    To study the efficiency and safety of iris reconstruction combined with iris-claw intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in the patients with iris-lens injuries. Retrospective, noncomparable consecutive case series study. Eleven patients (11 eyes) following iris-lens injuries underwent iris reconstructions combined with iris-claw IOL implantations. Clinical data, such as cause and time of injury, visual acuity (VA), iris and lens injuries, surgical intervention, follow-up period, corneal endothelial cell count, and optical coherence tomography, were collected. Uncorrected VA (UCVA) in all injured eyes before combined surgery was equal to or iris returned to its natural round shape or smaller pupil, and the iris-claw IOLs in the 11 eyes were well-positioned on the anterior surface of reconstructed iris. No complications occurred in those patients. Iris reconstruction combined with iris-claw IOL implantation is a safe and efficient procedure for an eye with iris-lens injury in the absence of capsular support.

  15. Effect of miR-138 on the antioxidant function of lens epithelial cells affected by age-related cataracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Lu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the effects and mechanism of miR-138 in mediating the antioxidant function of lens epithelial cells affected by age-related cataracts. METHODS: Real-time quantitative PCR(RT-qPCRwas used to detect miR-138 expression in the anterior lens capsules of healthy people, the anterior lens capsules of patients with age-related cataracts, and human epithelial cell line(SRA01/04cells exposed to oxidative stress. A 2', 7'-dichloro-fluorescein diacetate(DCFH-DAprobe was used to measure the levels of endogenous reactive oxygen species(ROSin human lens epithelial cells(hLECsexposed to 400μmol/L H2O2 for 1h. SRA01/04 cells were transfected with either miR-138 mimics, mimic controls, miR-138 inhibitors or inhibitor controls. After 72h, these cells were exposed to 400μmol/L H2O2 for 1h, then p53 and Bax mRNA expression were measured using RT-qPCR. Expression of p53 and Bax protein were also measured by western blotting analysis. Finally, cell viability was assessed using an MTS assay. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, expression of miR-138 in the anterior lens capsules of age-related cataract patients and in SRA01/04 cells exposed to oxidative stress significantly increased(PPPPCONCLUSION: The expression of miR-138 is upregulated in the anterior lens capsules of age-related cataract patients. MiR-138 decreases the anti-oxidative stress capacity of lens epithelial cells by upregulating p53 and Bax, while inhibiting cell proliferation and repair. This finding suggests that miR-138 may play a key role in the development of age-related cataracts.

  16. Wide-range tunable magnetic lens for tabletop electron microscope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Wei-Yu; Chen, Fu-Rong

    2016-01-01

    A tabletop scanning electron microscope (SEM) utilizes permanent magnets as condenser lenses to minimize its size, but this sacrifices the tunability of condenser lenses such that a tabletop system can only be operated with a fixed accelerating voltage. In contrast, the traditional condenser lens utilizes an electromagnetic coil to adjust the optical properties, but the size of the electromagnetic lens is inevitably larger. Here, we propose a tunable condenser lens for a tabletop SEM that uses a combination of permanent magnets and electromagnetic coils. The overall dimensions of the newly designed lens are the same as the original permanent magnet lens, but the new lens allows the tabletop SEM to be operated at different accelerating voltages between 1 kV and 15 kV. - Highlights: • A compact condenser lens combines both permanent magnet and coils. • A tunable lens is designed to keep the same focal point for voltage 1 to 15 kV. • A miniature tunable lens which can directly fit into tabletop SEM.

  17. Wide-range tunable magnetic lens for tabletop electron microscope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Wei-Yu; Chen, Fu-Rong, E-mail: fchen1@me.com

    2016-12-15

    A tabletop scanning electron microscope (SEM) utilizes permanent magnets as condenser lenses to minimize its size, but this sacrifices the tunability of condenser lenses such that a tabletop system can only be operated with a fixed accelerating voltage. In contrast, the traditional condenser lens utilizes an electromagnetic coil to adjust the optical properties, but the size of the electromagnetic lens is inevitably larger. Here, we propose a tunable condenser lens for a tabletop SEM that uses a combination of permanent magnets and electromagnetic coils. The overall dimensions of the newly designed lens are the same as the original permanent magnet lens, but the new lens allows the tabletop SEM to be operated at different accelerating voltages between 1 kV and 15 kV. - Highlights: • A compact condenser lens combines both permanent magnet and coils. • A tunable lens is designed to keep the same focal point for voltage 1 to 15 kV. • A miniature tunable lens which can directly fit into tabletop SEM.

  18. A contact-lens-shaped IC chip technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Ching-Yu; Yang, Frank; Teng, Chih-Chiao; Fan, Long-Sheng

    2014-01-01

    We report on novel contact-lens-shaped silicon integrated circuit chip technology for applications such as forming a conforming retinal prosthesis. This is achieved by means of patterning thin films of high residual stress on top of a shaped thin silicon substrate. Several strategies are employed to achieve curvatures of various amounts. Firstly, high residual stress on a thin film makes a thin chip deform into a designed three-dimensional shape. Also, a series of patterned stress films and ‘petal-shaped’ chips were fabricated and analyzed. Large curvatures can also be formed and maintained by the packaging process of bonding the chips to constraining elements such as thin-film polymer ring structures. As a demonstration, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistor (CMOS) image-sensing retina chip is made into a contact-lens shape conforming to a human eyeball 12.5 mm in radius. This non-planar and flexible chip technology provides a desirable device surface interface to soft tissues or non-planar bio surfaces and opens up many other possibilities for biomedical applications. (paper)

  19. Effects of entorhinal cortex lesions on memory in different tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G.P. Gutierrez-Figueroa

    1997-06-01

    Full Text Available Lesions of the entorhinal cortex produce retrograde memory impairment in both animals and humans. Here we report the effects of bilateral entorhinal cortex lesions caused by the stereotaxic infusion of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA in rats at two different moments, before or after the training session, on memory of different tasks: two-way shuttle avoidance, inhibitory avoidance and habituation to an open field. Pre- or post-training entorhinal cortex lesions caused an impairment of performance in the shuttle avoidance task, which agrees with the previously described role of this area in the processing of memories acquired in successive sessions. In the inhibitory avoidance task, only the post-training lesions had an effect (amnesia. No effect was observed on the open field task. The findings suggest that the role of the entorhinal cortex in memory processing is task-dependent, perhaps related to the complexity of each task

  20. Mapping the after-effects of theta burst stimulation on the human auditory cortex with functional imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andoh, Jamila; Zatorre, Robert J

    2012-09-12

    Auditory cortex pertains to the processing of sound, which is at the basis of speech or music-related processing. However, despite considerable recent progress, the functional properties and lateralization of the human auditory cortex are far from being fully understood. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that can transiently or lastingly modulate cortical excitability via the application of localized magnetic field pulses, and represents a unique method of exploring plasticity and connectivity. It has only recently begun to be applied to understand auditory cortical function. An important issue in using TMS is that the physiological consequences of the stimulation are difficult to establish. Although many TMS studies make the implicit assumption that the area targeted by the coil is the area affected, this need not be the case, particularly for complex cognitive functions which depend on interactions across many brain regions. One solution to this problem is to combine TMS with functional Magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The idea here is that fMRI will provide an index of changes in brain activity associated with TMS. Thus, fMRI would give an independent means of assessing which areas are affected by TMS and how they are modulated. In addition, fMRI allows the assessment of functional connectivity, which represents a measure of the temporal coupling between distant regions. It can thus be useful not only to measure the net activity modulation induced by TMS in given locations, but also the degree to which the network properties are affected by TMS, via any observed changes in functional connectivity. Different approaches exist to combine TMS and functional imaging according to the temporal order of the methods. Functional MRI can be applied before, during, after, or both before and after TMS. Recently, some studies interleaved TMS and fMRI in order to provide online mapping of the functional changes induced by TMS. However, this

  1. Intraocular camera for retinal prostheses: Refractive and diffractive lens systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauer, Michelle Christine

    The focus of this thesis is on the design and analysis of refractive, diffractive, and hybrid refractive/diffractive lens systems for a miniaturized camera that can be surgically implanted in the crystalline lens sac and is designed to work in conjunction with current and future generation retinal prostheses. The development of such an intraocular camera (IOC) would eliminate the need for an external head-mounted or eyeglass-mounted camera. Placing the camera inside the eye would allow subjects to use their natural eye movements for foveation (attention) instead of more cumbersome head tracking, would notably aid in personal navigation and mobility, and would also be significantly more psychologically appealing from the standpoint of personal appearances. The capability for accommodation with no moving parts or feedback control is incorporated by employing camera designs that exhibit nearly infinite depth of field. Such an ultracompact optical imaging system requires a unique combination of refractive and diffractive optical elements and relaxed system constraints derived from human psychophysics. This configuration necessitates an extremely compact, short focal-length lens system with an f-number close to unity. Initially, these constraints appear highly aggressive from an optical design perspective. However, after careful analysis of the unique imaging requirements of a camera intended to work in conjunction with the relatively low pixellation levels of a retinal microstimulator array, it becomes clear that such a design is not only feasible, but could possibly be implemented with a single lens system.

  2. Direction of movement is encoded in the human primary motor cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolien M Toxopeus

    Full Text Available The present study investigated how direction of hand movement, which is a well-described parameter in cerebral organization of motor control, is incorporated in the somatotopic representation of the manual effector system in the human primary motor cortex (M1. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and a manual step-tracking task we found that activation patterns related to movement in different directions were spatially disjoint within the representation area of the hand on M1. Foci of activation related to specific movement directions were segregated within the M1 hand area; activation related to direction 0° (right was located most laterally/superficially, whereas directions 180° (left and 270° (down elicited activation more medially within the hand area. Activation related to direction 90° was located between the other directions. Moreover, by investigating differences between activations related to movement along the horizontal (0°+180° and vertical (90°+270° axis, we found that activation related to the horizontal axis was located more anterolaterally/dorsally in M1 than for the vertical axis, supporting that activations related to individual movement directions are direction- and not muscle related. Our results of spatially segregated direction-related activations in M1 are in accordance with findings of recent fMRI studies on neural encoding of direction in human M1. Our results thus provide further evidence for a direct link between direction as an organizational principle in sensorimotor transformation and movement execution coded by effector representations in M1.

  3. 21 CFR 886.1420 - Ophthalmic lens gauge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ophthalmic lens gauge. 886.1420 Section 886.1420...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1420 Ophthalmic lens gauge. (a) Identification. An ophthalmic lens gauge is a calibrated device intended to manually measure the curvature of a...

  4. Human left ventral premotor cortex mediates matching of hand posture to object use.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guy Vingerhoets

    Full Text Available Visuomotor transformations for grasping have been associated with a fronto-parietal network in the monkey brain. The human homologue of the parietal monkey region (AIP has been identified as the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus (aIPS, whereas the putative human equivalent of the monkey frontal region (F5 is located in the ventral part of the premotor cortex (vPMC. Results from animal studies suggest that monkey F5 is involved in the selection of appropriate hand postures relative to the constraints of the task. In humans, the functional roles of aIPS and vPMC appear to be more complex and the relative contribution of each region to grasp selection remains uncertain. The present study aimed to identify modulation in brain areas sensitive to the difficulty level of tool object - hand posture matching. Seventeen healthy right handed participants underwent fMRI while observing pictures of familiar tool objects followed by pictures of hand postures. The task was to decide whether the hand posture matched the functional use of the previously shown object. Conditions were manipulated for level of difficulty. Compared to a picture matching control task, the tool object - hand posture matching conditions conjointly showed increased modulation in several left hemispheric regions of the superior and inferior parietal lobules (including aIPS, the middle occipital gyrus, and the inferior temporal gyrus. Comparison of hard versus easy conditions selectively modulated the left inferior frontal gyrus with peak activity located in its opercular part (Brodmann area (BA 44. We suggest that in the human brain, vPMC/BA44 is involved in the matching of hand posture configurations in accordance with visual and functional demands.

  5. Reduced recruitment of orbitofrontal cortex to human social chemosensory cues in social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Wen; Hou, Ping; Zhou, Yuxiang; Chen, Denise

    2011-04-01

    Social anxiety refers to the prevalent and debilitating experience of fear and anxiety of being scrutinized in social situations. It originates from both learned (e.g. adverse social conditioning) and innate (e.g. shyness) factors. Research on social anxiety has traditionally focused on negative emotions induced by visual and auditory social cues in socially anxious clinical populations, and posits a dysfunctional orbitofrontal-amygdala circuit as a primary etiological mechanism. Yet as a trait, social anxiety is independent of one's specific emotional state. Here we probe the neural substrate of intrinsic social anxiety by employing a unique type of social stimuli, airborne human social chemosensory cues that are inherently social, ubiquitously present, and yet operating below verbal awareness. We show that the adopted social chemosensory cues were not perceived to be human-related, did not differentially bias self-report of anxiety or autonomic nervous system responses, yet individuals with elevated social anxiety demonstrated a reduced recruitment of the orbitofrontal cortex to social chemosensory cues. No reciprocal activity in the amygdala was observed. Our findings point to an intrinsic neural substrate underlying social anxiety that is not associated with prior adverse social conditioning, thereby providing the first neural evidence for the inherent social aspect of this enigmatic phenomenon. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Corneal cell adhesion to contact lens hydrogel materials enhanced via tear film protein deposition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire M Elkins

    Full Text Available Tear film protein deposition on contact lens hydrogels has been well characterized from the perspective of bacterial adhesion and viability. However, the effect of protein deposition on lens interactions with the corneal epithelium remains largely unexplored. The current study employs a live cell rheometer to quantify human corneal epithelial cell adhesion to soft contact lenses fouled with the tear film protein lysozyme. PureVision balafilcon A and AirOptix lotrafilcon B lenses were soaked for five days in either phosphate buffered saline (PBS, borate buffered saline (BBS, or Sensitive Eyes Plus Saline Solution (Sensitive Eyes, either pure or in the presence of lysozyme. Treated contact lenses were then contacted to a live monolayer of corneal epithelial cells for two hours, after which the contact lens was sheared laterally. The apparent cell monolayer relaxation modulus was then used to quantify the extent of cell adhesion to the contact lens surface. For both lens types, lysozyme increased corneal cell adhesion to the contact lens, with the apparent cell monolayer relaxation modulus increasing up to an order of magnitude in the presence of protein. The magnitude of this increase depended on the identity of the soaking solution: lenses soaked in borate-buffered solutions (BBS, Sensitive Eyes exhibited a much greater increase in cell attachment upon protein addition than those soaked in PBS. Significantly, all measurements were conducted while subjecting the cells to moderate surface pressures and shear rates, similar to those experienced by corneal cells in vivo.

  7. Adaptive mechanical-wetting lens actuated by ferrofluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hui-Chuan; Xu, Su; Liu, Yifan; Levi, Shoshana; Wu, Shin-Tson

    2011-04-01

    We report an adaptive mechanical-wetting lens actuated by ferrofluids. The ferrofluids works like a piston to pump liquids in and out from the lens chamber, which in turn reshapes the lens curvature and changes the focal length. Both positive and negative lenses are demonstrated experimentally. The ferrofluid-actuated mechanical-wetting lens exhibits some attractive features, such as high resolution, fast response time, low power consumption, simple structure and electronic control, weak gravity effect, and low cost. Its potential applications in medical imaging, surveillance, and commercial electronics are foreseeable.

  8. Numerical studies on the ramped density plasma lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, R.L.; Katsouleas, T.

    1992-01-01

    We consider the so-called adiabatic plasma lens when the plasma density is ramped too quickly to be considered adiabatic. The lens length can be much shorter in such a case, but the final spot size is shown to be larger by a factor of √1+α 2 than for a slowly ramped plasma lens with the same initial and final density (where α=-β'/2 is proportional to the plasma density gradient). We find that the final spot size is the same whether or not the Courant-Snyder parameters of the beam (α and β) are matched to the lens. However, matched beams allow the plasma density to be lower while unmatched beams allow the lens to be shorter (for the same α and for the same final to initial plasma density ratio). Finally, we find that a smaller spot size can be obtained for a given lens length and density ratio by starting at smaller α and increasing α along the lens

  9. LASL lens design procedure: simple, fast, precise, versatile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brixner, B.

    1978-11-01

    The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory general-purpose lens design procedure optimizes specific lens prescriptions to obtain the smallest possible image spots and therefore near-spherical wave fronts of light converging on all images in the field of view. Optical image errors are analyzed in much the same way that they are measured on the optical bench. This lens design method is made possible by using the full capabilities of large electronic computers. First, the performance of the whole lens is sampled with many precisely traced skew rays. Next, lens performance is analyzed with spot diagrams generated by the many rays. Third, lens performance is optimized with a least squares system aimed at reducing all image errors to zero. This statistical approach to lens design uses skew rays and precisely measured ray deviations from ideal image points to achieve greater accuracy than was possible with the classical procedure, which is based on approximate expressions derived from simplified ray traces developed for pencil-and-paper calculations

  10. Contextual modulation of primary visual cortex by auditory signals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petro, L S; Paton, A T; Muckli, L

    2017-02-19

    Early visual cortex receives non-feedforward input from lateral and top-down connections (Muckli & Petro 2013 Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 23, 195-201. (doi:10.1016/j.conb.2013.01.020)), including long-range projections from auditory areas. Early visual cortex can code for high-level auditory information, with neural patterns representing natural sound stimulation (Vetter et al. 2014 Curr. Biol. 24, 1256-1262. (doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.04.020)). We discuss a number of questions arising from these findings. What is the adaptive function of bimodal representations in visual cortex? What type of information projects from auditory to visual cortex? What are the anatomical constraints of auditory information in V1, for example, periphery versus fovea, superficial versus deep cortical layers? Is there a putative neural mechanism we can infer from human neuroimaging data and recent theoretical accounts of cortex? We also present data showing we can read out high-level auditory information from the activation patterns of early visual cortex even when visual cortex receives simple visual stimulation, suggesting independent channels for visual and auditory signals in V1. We speculate which cellular mechanisms allow V1 to be contextually modulated by auditory input to facilitate perception, cognition and behaviour. Beyond cortical feedback that facilitates perception, we argue that there is also feedback serving counterfactual processing during imagery, dreaming and mind wandering, which is not relevant for immediate perception but for behaviour and cognition over a longer time frame.This article is part of the themed issue 'Auditory and visual scene analysis'. © 2017 The Authors.

  11. High Dk piggyback contact lens system for contact lens-intolerant keratoconus patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengor, Tomris; Kurna, Sevda Aydin; Aki, Suat; Ozkurt, Yelda

    2011-01-01

    The aim of the study was to examine the clinical success of high Dk (oxygen permeability) piggyback contact lens (PBCL) systems for the correction of contact lens intolerant keratoconus patients. Sixteen patients (29 eyes) who were not able to wear gas-permeable rigid lenses were included in this study. Hyper Dk silicone hydrogel (oxygen transmissibility or Dk/t = 150 units) and fluorosilicone methacrylate copolymer (Dk/t = 100 units) lenses were chosen as the PBCL systems. The clinical examinations included visual acuity and corneal observation by biomicroscopy, keratometer reading, and fluorescein staining before and after fitting the PBCL system. INDICATIONS FOR USING PBCL SYSTEM WERE: lens stabilization and comfort, improving comfort, and adding protection to the cone. Visual acuities increased significantly in all of the patients compared with spectacles (P = 0). Improvement in visual acuity compared with rigid lenses alone was recorded in 89.7% of eyes and no alteration of the visual acuity was observed in 10.3% of the eyes. Wearing time of PBCL systems for most of the patients was limited time (mean 6 months, range 3-12 months); thereafter they tolerated rigid lenses alone except for 2 patients. The PBCL system is a safe and effective method to provide centering and corneal protection against mechanical trauma by the rigid lenses for keratoconus patients and may increase contact lens tolerance.

  12. Frequency-specific attentional modulation in human primary auditory cortex and midbrain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Riecke, Lars; Peters, Judith C; Valente, Giancarlo; Poser, Benedikt A; Kemper, Valentin G; Formisano, Elia; Sorger, Bettina

    2018-01-01

    Paying selective attention to an audio frequency selectively enhances activity within primary auditory cortex (PAC) at the tonotopic site (frequency channel) representing that frequency. Animal PAC neurons achieve this 'frequency-specific attentional spotlight' by adapting their frequency tuning,

  13. Development of Powerhouse Using Fresnel lens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al-Dohani Nawar Saif

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Solar energy is an alternative source of renewable energy. Sultanate of Oman government showed initiation on utilization of solar energy for domestic and industrial applications. Fresnel lens is one of the methods to collect maximum energy by gathering heat of the sun in the concentrated form (using solar collectors. Earlier research work discloses that Fresnel lens gave better result in terms of power output and produces lower heat loss as compared to linear –parabolic solar collectors. In this work, development of a proto Fresnel lens power house was made to generate electricity. The focused heat from Fresnel lens was used to heat the molten salt in a heat exchanger to produce the steam. The generated steam was used to rotate the steam engine coupled to a generator. In the current work, a maximum power of 30 W was produced. In addition, comparative study was carried out regarding solar salts and heat exchanger materials to understand the Fresnel powerhouse performance. Overall the present study gave valuable information regarding usage of Fresnel lens for electricity generation in Oman.

  14. Orbiting objective lens telescope system and method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crooks, J.W. Jr.

    1984-01-01

    A large objective lens is placed in a highly eccentric orbit about the earth. The orbit and orientation of the lens are carefully chosen so that it focuses light or other radiation from a preselected astronomical object into an image which slowly moves across the surface of the earth. A row of optical sensing units is located on the surface of the earth so that the image focused by the orbiting objective lens will travel substantially perpendicularly across the row during an observation. Output data generated from the sensing units may be multiplexed and fed to a real time processor which produces display signals. Each of the sensing units provides one scan line of the image being observed. The display signals are fed to a suitable display device which produces a picture of the preselected astronomical object. The objective lens may comprise a large flexible Fresnel zone plate or a flexible convex lens carried by a bicycle wheel-type supporting structure. The lens and supporting structure may be unfolded from compact cargo configurations and rotated after being placed into orbit

  15. Transient anterior subcapsular vacuolar change of the crystalline lens in patients after posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Jin Kwon; Shin, Jin Hee; Lee, Sung Jin

    2013-10-25

    We present two cases of transient vacuolar changes in the anterior subcapsular space of the crystalline lens in patients after posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation. Implantable collamer lenses (ICL) were implanted in healthy myopic patients. Vacuolar changes developed just after the irrigating procedure through the narrow space between the ICL and the crystalline lens. Slit-lamp examinations and spectral domain optical coherence tomography showed bleb-like lesions in the anterior subcapsular space of one eye in each case, though the lesions gradually improved without visual deterioration. Consequently, the lesions turned into a few anterior subcapsular small faint opacities. Direct irrigation of the narrow space confined by the ICL and the crystalline lens is at risk for the development of vacuolar changes in the crystalline lens. The observed spontaneous reversal indicates that surgeons should not rush to surgical intervention but rather opt for close follow over several weeks.

  16. Rat silicone hydrogel contact lens model: effects of high- versus low-Dk lens wear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yunfan; Gabriel, Manal M; Mowrey-McKee, Mary F; Barrett, Ronald P; McClellan, Sharon; Hazlett, Linda D

    2008-11-01

    This study used a rat contact lens (CL) model to test if high- versus low-Dk lens wear caused changes in (1) conjunctival Langerhans cell (LC) number or location; (2) Bcl-2 expression; and (3) infection risk. Female, Lewis rats wore a high- or low-Dk CL continuously for 2 weeks. Afterward, corneas were harvested and processed for ADPase activity to identify LCs, for immunostaining and for real time-polymerase chain reaction. Contact lens-wearing rats also were challenged with Pseudomonas aeruginosa by placing a bacterial-soaked CL on the eye followed by topical delivery of bacteria. After 48 hrs, slit lamp examination and real time-polymerase chain reaction were used to evaluate the corneal response. Conjunctival LC were significantly increased after low- versus high-Dk CL wear (PDk lens wearing group. Bcl-2 mRNA levels were significantly decreased in low- versus high-Dk CL wearing rats, while Bax, FasL, caspase 3, and caspase 9 levels were unchanged. Immunostaining for Bcl-2 showed fewer positively stained epithelial cells in the low- versus high-Dk lens wearing group. After bacterial challenge, 30% of low- versus none of the high-Dk CL wearing corneas became infected and showed increased mRNA levels for several proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase and matrix metalloproteinase-9. Low- versus high-Dk or non-CL wear led to an increased number of conjunctival LC, decreased Bcl-2 levels, and increased the risk of bacterial infection.

  17. Sexual motivation is reflected by stimulus-dependent motor cortex excitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schecklmann, Martin; Engelhardt, Kristina; Konzok, Julian; Rupprecht, Rainer; Greenlee, Mark W; Mokros, Andreas; Langguth, Berthold; Poeppl, Timm B

    2015-08-01

    Sexual behavior involves motivational processes. Findings from both animal models and neuroimaging in humans suggest that the recruitment of neural motor networks is an integral part of the sexual response. However, no study so far has directly linked sexual motivation to physiologically measurable changes in cerebral motor systems in humans. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation in hetero- and homosexual men, we here show that sexual motivation modulates cortical excitability. More specifically, our results demonstrate that visual sexual stimuli corresponding with one's sexual orientation, compared with non-corresponding visual sexual stimuli, increase the excitability of the motor cortex. The reflection of sexual motivation in motor cortex excitability provides evidence for motor preparation processes in sexual behavior in humans. Moreover, such interrelationship links theoretical models and previous neuroimaging findings of sexual behavior. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Properties of the cathode lens combined with a focusing magnetic/immersion-magnetic lens

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Konvalina, Ivo; Müllerová, Ilona

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 645, č. 1 (2011), s. 55-59 ISSN 0168-9002 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP102/10/1410; GA AV ČR IAA100650902; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20650511 Keywords : cathode lens * compound objective lens * aberration coefficients * spot size * field calculations Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 1.207, year: 2011

  19. In-vitro analysis of the microbicidal activity of 6 contact lens care solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hildebrandt Claudia

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Contact lens-related infections are often associated with inadequate contact lens hygiene, and therefore, contact lens care products should be able to sufficiently minimise the amount of pathogens that are responsible for these infections. In 2001, the EN ISO 14729 was introduced to ensure adequate disinfection efficacy of contact lens care solutions, but this norm has recently been criticised. Methods In this study, six frequently used contact lens care solutions were retested according to the Stand Alone Test of the EN ISO 14729 (2001. The Stand Alone Test is a quantitative suspension test. In addition, the products were tested in a modified setting adding an organic load. The load was a mixture of human blood serum, lysozyme, and mucine, which resembles tear fluid. Results The criteria of the Stand Alone Test recommended in EN ISO 14729 were only met by Aosept Plus. This 3% hydrogen-peroxide-based contact lens care solution attained a reduction factor of > 5 log units for bacteria and > 4 for fungi in all cases. Two further contact lens care solutions, Blue Vision and Optifree Replenish, met the criteria of a reduction factor of > 3 log units for bacteria and > 1 log unit for fungi, but only in the presence of artificial tear fluid. The three remaining products did not exhibit adequate disinfecting efficacy, at least against one of the tested microorganisms. Conclusions Through the observation that the artificial tear fluid used in this study influences the disinfecting efficacy of contact lens care solutions, especially that of multi-purpose solutions, in a different way than does albumin, mucine, or even the organic load suggested in EN ISO 14729, it becomes obvious that the test conditions in the EN ISO 14729 should be revised in order to create more realistic conditions, e.g., by using a more realistic artificial tear fluid. Furthermore, we suggest adapting the EN ISO 14729 to the European test hierarchy for chemical

  20. GABAergic modulation of DC stimulation-induced motor cortex excitability shifts in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitsche, Michael A; Liebetanz, David; Schlitterlau, Anett; Henschke, Undine; Fricke, Kristina; Frommann, Kai; Lang, Nicolas; Henning, Stefan; Paulus, Walter; Tergau, Frithjof

    2004-05-01

    Weak transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) of the human motor cortex results in excitability shifts during and after the end of stimulation, which are most probably localized intracortically. Anodal stimulation enhances excitability, whereas cathodal stimulation reduces it. Although the after-effects of tDCS are NMDA receptor-dependent, nothing is known about the involvement of additional receptors. Here we show that pharmacological strengthening of GABAergic inhibition modulates selectively the after-effects elicited by anodal tDCS. Administration of the GABA(A) receptor agonist lorazepam resulted in a delayed, but then enhanced and prolonged anodal tDCS-induced excitability elevation. The initial absence of an excitability enhancement under lorazepam is most probably caused by a loss of the anodal tDCS-generated intracortical diminution of inhibition and enhancement of facilitation, which occurs without pharmacological intervention. The reasons for the late-occurring excitability enhancement remain unclear. Because intracortical inhibition and facilitation are not changed in this phase compared with pre-tDCS values, excitability changes originating from remote cortical or subcortical areas could be involved.

  1. Influence of Gravity on Ocular Lens Position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lister, Lucas J; Suheimat, Marwan; Verkicharla, Pavan K; Mallen, Edward A H; Atchison, David A

    2016-04-01

    We determined whether human ocular lens position is influenced by gravity. Anterior chamber depth (ACD) and lens thickness (LT) were determined with a Haag-Streit Lenstar LS900 for right eyes of participants in two age groups, with a young group of 13 participants aged 18 to 21 years (mean, 21 years; SD, 1 year) and an older group of 10 participants aged 50 to 63 years (mean, 58 years; SD, 4 years). There were two sessions for each participant separated by at least 48 hours, with one session for the usual upright head position and one session for a downwards head position. In a session, testing was done for minimum accommodation followed by testing at maximum accommodation. A drop of 2% pilocarpine nitrate was instilled, and testing was repeated after 30 minutes under minimum and maximum accommodation conditions. Gravity, manipulated through head posture, affected ACD for young adult and older adult groups but mean effects were only small, ranging from 0.04 to 0.12 mm, and for the older group required the instillation of an accommodation-stimulating drug. Gravity had a weakly significant effect on LT for the young group without accommodation or a drug, but the effect was small at 0.04 ± 0.06 mm (mean ± SD, P = 0.04). There is a small but real effect of gravity on crystalline lens position, manifested as reduction in ACD at high levels of accommodative effort with the head in a downwards position. This provides evidence of the ability of zonules to slacken during strong accommodation.

  2. Freeform lens design for LED collimating illumination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jin-Jia; Wang, Te-Yuan; Huang, Kuang-Lung; Liu, Te-Shu; Tsai, Ming-Da; Lin, Chin-Tang

    2012-05-07

    We present a simple freeform lens design method for an application to LED collimating illumination. The method is derived from a basic geometric-optics analysis and construction approach. By using this method, a highly collimating lens with LED chip size of 1.0 mm × 1.0 mm and optical simulation efficiency of 86.5% under a view angle of ± 5 deg is constructed. To verify the practical performance of the lens, a prototype of the collimator lens is also made, and an optical efficiency of 90.3% with a beam angle of 4.75 deg is measured.

  3. Audiovisual Blindsight: Audiovisual learning in the absence of primary visual cortex

    OpenAIRE

    Mehrdad eSeirafi; Peter eDe Weerd; Alan J Pegna; Beatrice ede Gelder

    2016-01-01

    Learning audiovisual associations is mediated by the primary cortical areas; however, recent animal studies suggest that such learning can take place even in the absence of the primary visual cortex. Other studies have demonstrated the involvement of extra-geniculate pathways and especially the superior colliculus (SC) in audiovisual association learning. Here, we investigated such learning in a rare human patient with complete loss of the bilateral striate cortex. We carried out an implicit...

  4. Segregated encoding of reward-identity and stimulus-reward associations in human orbitofrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein-Flügge, Miriam Cornelia; Barron, Helen Catharine; Brodersen, Kay Henning; Dolan, Raymond J; Behrens, Timothy Edward John

    2013-02-13

    A dominant focus in studies of learning and decision-making is the neural coding of scalar reward value. This emphasis ignores the fact that choices are strongly shaped by a rich representation of potential rewards. Here, using fMRI adaptation, we demonstrate that responses in the human orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) encode a representation of the specific type of food reward predicted by a visual cue. By controlling for value across rewards and by linking each reward with two distinct stimuli, we could test for representations of reward-identity that were independent of associative information. Our results show reward-identity representations in a medial-caudal region of OFC, independent of the associated predictive stimulus. This contrasts with a more rostro-lateral OFC region encoding reward-identity representations tied to the predicate stimulus. This demonstration of adaptation in OFC to reward specific representations opens an avenue for investigation of more complex decision mechanisms that are not immediately accessible in standard analyses, which focus on correlates of average activity.

  5. The low-field permanent magnet electrostatic plasma lens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goncharov, A.; Gorshkov, V.; Maslov, V.; Zadorozhny, V.; Brown, I.

    2004-01-01

    We describe the status of ongoing research and development of the electrostatic plasma lens as used for the manipulation of high current broad beams of heavy ions of moderate energy. In some collaborative work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory the lens was used to good effect for carrying out high dose ion implantation processing. In the process of this work a very narrow range of low magnetic field was found for which the ion-optical characteristics of the lens improved markedly. Subsequent theoretical analysis and computer modeling has led to an understanding of this phenomenon. These serendipitous results open up some attractive possibilities for the development of a new compact and low cost plasma lens based on permanent magnets rather than on current-driven field coils surrounding the lens volume. The development of this kind of lens, including both very low noise and minimal spherical aberration effects, may lead to a tool suitable for use in the injection beam lines of high current heavy ion linear accelerators. Here we briefly review the lens fundamentals, some characteristics of focusing heavy ion beams at low magnetic fields, and summarize recent theoretical and experimental developments, with emphasis on the relevance and suitability of the lens for accelerator injection application

  6. Probabilistic Tractography Recovers a Rostrocaudal Trajectory of Connectivity Variability in the Human Insular Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerliani, Leonardo; Thomas, Rajat M; Jbabdi, Saad; Siero, Jeroen CW; Nanetti, Luca; Crippa, Alessandro; Gazzola, Valeria; D'Arceuil, Helen; Keysers, Christian

    2012-01-01

    The insular cortex of macaques has a wide spectrum of anatomical connections whose distribution is related to its heterogeneous cytoarchitecture. Although there is evidence of a similar cytoarchitectural arrangement in humans, the anatomical connectivity of the insula in the human brain has not yet been investigated in vivo. In the present work, we used in vivo probabilistic white-matter tractography and Laplacian eigenmaps (LE) to study the variation of connectivity patterns across insular territories in humans. In each subject and hemisphere, we recovered a rostrocaudal trajectory of connectivity variation ranging from the anterior dorsal and ventral insula to the dorsal caudal part of the long insular gyri. LE suggested that regional transitions among tractography patterns in the insula occur more gradually than in other brain regions. In particular, the change in tractography patterns was more gradual in the insula than in the medial premotor region, where a sharp transition between different tractography patterns was found. The recovered trajectory of connectivity variation in the insula suggests a relation between connectivity and cytoarchitecture in humans resembling that previously found in macaques: tractography seeds from the anterior insula were mainly found in limbic and paralimbic regions and in anterior parts of the inferior frontal gyrus, while seeds from caudal insular territories mostly reached parietal and posterior temporal cortices. Regions in the putative dysgranular insula displayed more heterogeneous connectivity patterns, with regional differences related to the proximity with either putative granular or agranular regions. Hum Brain Mapp 33:2005–2034, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:21761507

  7. Precision lens assembly with alignment turning system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Cheng-Fang; Huang, Chien-Yao; Lin, Yi-Hao; Kuo, Hui-Jean; Kuo, Ching-Hsiang; Hsu, Wei-Yao; Chen, Fong-Zhi

    2017-10-01

    The poker chip assembly with high precision lens barrels is widely applied to ultra-high performance optical system. ITRC applies the poker chip assembly technology to the high numerical aperture objective lenses and lithography projection lenses because of its high efficiency assembly process. In order to achieve high precision lens cell for poker chip assembly, an alignment turning system (ATS) is developed. The ATS includes measurement, alignment and turning modules. The measurement module is equipped with a non-contact displacement sensor (NCDS) and an autocollimator (ACM). The NCDS and ACM are used to measure centration errors of the top and the bottom surface of a lens respectively; then the amount of adjustment of displacement and tilt with respect to the rotational axis of the turning machine for the alignment module can be determined. After measurement, alignment and turning processes on the ATS, the centration error of a lens cell with 200 mm in diameter can be controlled within 10 arcsec. Furthermore, a poker chip assembly lens cell with three sub-cells is demonstrated, each sub-cells are measured and accomplished with alignment and turning processes. The lens assembly test for five times by each three technicians; the average transmission centration error of assembly lens is 12.45 arcsec. The results show that ATS can achieve high assembly efficiency for precision optical systems.

  8. Lens regeneration from the cornea requires suppression of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Paul W; Sun, Yu; Henry, Jonathan J

    2016-04-01

    regeneration. In contrast, inhibition of Wnt signaling using either the small molecule IWR-1, treatment with recombinant human Dickkopf-1 (rhDKK1) protein, or transgenic expression of Xenopus DKK1, did not significantly affect the percentage of successful regeneration. Together, these results suggest a model where Wnt/β-catenin signaling is active in the cornea epithelium and needs to be suppressed during early lens regeneration in order for these cornea cells to give rise to a new lentoid. While this finding differs from what has been described in the newt, it closely resembles the role of Wnt signaling during the initial formation of the lens placode from the surface ectoderm during early embryogenesis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. THE BOSS EMISSION-LINE LENS SURVEY. IV. SMOOTH LENS MODELS FOR THE BELLS GALLERY SAMPLE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shu, Yiping [National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012 (China); Bolton, Adam S.; Montero-Dorta, Antonio D.; Cornachione, Matthew A.; Zheng, Zheng; Brownstein, Joel R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Mao, Shude [Physics Department and Tsinghua Centre for Astrophysics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Kochanek, Christopher S. [Department of Astronomy and Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Pérez-Fournon, Ismael; Marques-Chaves, Rui [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, C/Vía Láctea, s/n, E-38205 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Oguri, Masamune [Research Center for the Early Universe, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Ménard, Brice, E-mail: yiping.shu@nao.cas.cn [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

    2016-12-20

    We present Hubble Space Telescope F606W-band imaging observations of 21 galaxy-Ly α emitter lens candidates in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Emission-Line Lens Survey (BELLS) for the GALaxy-Ly α EmitteR sYstems (BELLS GALLERY) survey. Seventeen systems are confirmed to be definite lenses with unambiguous evidence of multiple imaging. The lenses are primarily massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) at redshifts of approximately 0.55, while the lensed sources are Ly α emitters (LAEs) at redshifts from two to three. Although most of the lens systems are well fit by smooth lens models consisting of singular isothermal ellipsoids in an external shear field, a thorough exploration of dark substructures in the lens galaxies is required. The Einstein radii of the BELLS GALLERY lenses are, on average, 60% larger than those of the BELLS lenses because of the much higher source redshifts. This will allow for a detailed investigation of the radius evolution of the mass profile in ETGs. With the aid of the average ∼13× lensing magnification, the LAEs are frequently resolved into individual star-forming knots with a wide range of properties. They have characteristic sizes from less than 100 pc to several kiloparsecs, rest-frame far-UV apparent AB magnitudes from 29.6 to 24.2, and typical projected separations of 500 pc to 2 kpc.

  10. Frequency-specific modulation of population-level frequency tuning in human auditory cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberts Larry E

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Under natural circumstances, attention plays an important role in extracting relevant auditory signals from simultaneously present, irrelevant noises. Excitatory and inhibitory neural activity, enhanced by attentional processes, seems to sharpen frequency tuning, contributing to improved auditory performance especially in noisy environments. In the present study, we investigated auditory magnetic fields in humans that were evoked by pure tones embedded in band-eliminated noises during two different stimulus sequencing conditions (constant vs. random under auditory focused attention by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG. Results In total, we used identical auditory stimuli between conditions, but presented them in a different order, thereby manipulating the neural processing and the auditory performance of the listeners. Constant stimulus sequencing blocks were characterized by the simultaneous presentation of pure tones of identical frequency with band-eliminated noises, whereas random sequencing blocks were characterized by the simultaneous presentation of pure tones of random frequencies and band-eliminated noises. We demonstrated that auditory evoked neural responses were larger in the constant sequencing compared to the random sequencing condition, particularly when the simultaneously presented noises contained narrow stop-bands. Conclusion The present study confirmed that population-level frequency tuning in human auditory cortex can be sharpened in a frequency-specific manner. This frequency-specific sharpening may contribute to improved auditory performance during detection and processing of relevant sound inputs characterized by specific frequency distributions in noisy environments.

  11. Effect of infusion bottle height on lens power after lens refilling with and without a plug

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koopmans, SA; Terwee, T; Haitjema, HJ; Kooijman, AC; Barkhof, J

    2003-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the influence of intraoperative infusion bottle height on the power of refilled pig lenses. Setting: Research Laboratory, Pharmacia Intraocular Lens Manufacturing Plant, Groningen, The Netherlands. Methods: This study comprised 2 groups of pig eyes. In 1 group, the lens was

  12. Chapter 03: Correct use of a hand lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alex Wiedenhoeft

    2011-01-01

    A hand lens is a powerful tool for the identification of wood, but like all tools it must be used correctly to take full advantage of its powers. The hand lens has two main parts, a lens that magnifies the object of interest (generally we use 10X or 14X lenses in wood identification; a 14X lens is recommended for use with this manual) and a housing to hold and protect...

  13. The neutron silicon lens. An update of the thermal neutron lens results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, M.W.; Daymond, M.R.

    2001-01-01

    This paper introduces the concept of the Neutron Silicon Lens (NSL) and provides and update on the experimental results achieved to date. The NSL design is a cylindrical neutron lens based on the use of multiple neutron mirrors supported and separated by silicon wafers. Such lenses would have many applications in both the primary and scattered beams on neutron instruments, and would lead to immediate improvements where the sample to be illuminated is small, as in high pressure or engineering strain scanning instruments. (author)

  14. The neutron silicon lens. An update of the thermal neutron lens results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, M.W.; Daymond, M.R. [Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)

    2001-03-01

    This paper introduces the concept of the Neutron Silicon Lens (NSL) and provides and update on the experimental results achieved to date. The NSL design is a cylindrical neutron lens based on the use of multiple neutron mirrors supported and separated by silicon wafers. Such lenses would have many applications in both the primary and scattered beams on neutron instruments, and would lead to immediate improvements where the sample to be illuminated is small, as in high pressure or engineering strain scanning instruments. (author)

  15. Combination of confocal principle and aperture stop separation improves suppression of crystalline lens fluorescence in an eye model

    OpenAIRE

    Klemm, Matthias; Blum, Johannes; Link, Dietmar; Hammer, Martin; Haueisen, Jens; Schweitzer, Dietrich

    2016-01-01

    Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) is a new technique to detect changes in the human retina. The autofluorescence decay over time, generated by endogenous fluorophores, is measured in vivo. The strong autofluorescence of the crystalline lens, however, superimposes the intensity decay of the retina fluorescence, as the confocal principle is not able to suppress it sufficiently. Thus, the crystalline lens autofluorescence causes artifacts in the retinal fluorescence lifetimes d...

  16. Analysis of neural activity in human motor cortex -- Towards brain machine interface system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Secundo, Lavi

    The discovery of directional tuned neurons in the primary motor cortex has advanced motor research in several domains. For instance, in the area of brain machine interface (BMI), researchers have exploited the robust characteristic of tuned motor neurons to allow monkeys to learn control of various machines. In the first chapter of this work we examine whether this phenomena can be observed using the less invasive method of recording electrocorticographic signals (ECoG) from the surface of a human's brain. Our findings reveal that individual ECoG channels contain complex movement information about the neuronal population. While some ECoG channels are tuned to hand movement direction (direction specific channels), others are associated to movement but do not contain information regarding movement direction (non-direction specific channels). More specifically, directionality can vary temporally and by frequency within one channel. In addition, a handful of channels contain no significant information regarding movement at all. These findings strongly suggest that directional and non-directional regions of cortex can be identified with ECoG and provide solutions to decoding movement at the signal resolution provided by ECoG. In the second chapter we examine the influence of movement context on movement reconstruction accuracy. We recorded neuronal signals recorded from electro-corticography (ECoG) during performance of cued- and self-initiated movements. ECoG signals were used to train a reconstruction algorithm to reconstruct continuous hand movement. We found that both cued- and self-initiated movements could be reconstructed with similar accuracy from the ECoG data. However, while an algorithm trained on the cued task could reconstruct performance on a subsequent cued trial, it failed to reconstruct self-initiated arm movement. The same task-specificity was observed when the algorithm was trained with self-initiated movement data and tested on the cued task. Thus

  17. Area 5 influences excitability within the primary motor cortex in humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azra Premji

    Full Text Available In non-human primates, Brodmann's area 5 (BA 5 has direct connectivity with primary motor cortex (M1, is largely dedicated to the representation of the hand and may have evolved with the ability to perform skilled hand movement. Less is known about human BA 5 and its interaction with M1 neural circuits related to hand control. The present study examines the influence of BA 5 on excitatory and inhibitory neural circuitry within M1 bilaterally before and after continuous (cTBS, intermittent (iTBS, and sham theta-burst stimulation (sham TBS over left hemisphere BA 5. Using single and paired-pulse TMS, measurements of motor evoked potentials (MEPs, short interval intracortical inhibition (SICI, and intracortical facilitation (ICF were quantified for the representation of the first dorsal interosseous muscle. Results indicate that cTBS over BA 5 influences M1 excitability such that MEP amplitudes are increased bilaterally for up to one hour. ITBS over BA 5 results in an increase in MEP amplitude contralateral to stimulation with a delayed onset that persists up to one hour. SICI and ICF were unaltered following TBS over BA 5. Similarly, F-wave amplitude and latency were unaltered following cTBS over BA 5. The data suggest that BA 5 alters M1 output directed to the hand by influencing corticospinal neurons and not interneurons that mediate SICI or ICF circuitry. Targeting BA 5 via cTBS and iTBS is a novel mechanism to powerfully modulate activity within M1 and may provide an avenue for investigating hand control in healthy populations and modifying impaired hand function in clinical populations.

  18. Novel Scanning Lens Instrument for Evaluating Fresnel Lens Performance: Equipment Development and Initial Results (Presentation)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herrero, R.; Miller, D. C.; Kurtz, S. R.; Anton, I.; Sala, G.

    2013-07-01

    A system dedicated to the optical transmittance characterization of Fresnel lenses has been developed at NREL, in collaboration with the UPM. The system quantifies the optical efficiency of the lens by generating a performance map. The shape of the focused spot may also be analyzed to understand change in the lens performance. The primary instrument components (lasers and CCD detector) have been characterized to confirm their capability for performing optical transmittance measurements. Measurements performed on SoG and PMMA lenses subject to a variety of indoor conditions (e.g., UV and damp heat) identified differences in the optical efficiency of the evaluated lenses, demonstrating the ability of the Scanning Lens Instrument (SLI) to distinguish between the aged lenses.

  19. Method for producing an isoplanatic aspheric monofocal intraocular lens, and resul ting lens

    OpenAIRE

    Barbero, Sergio; Marcos, Susana; Dorronsoro, Carlos; Montejo, Javier; Salazar Salegui, Pedro

    2010-01-01

    [EN] The invention can be used to obtain isoplanatic aspheric mono focal intraocular lenses in a viewing range of up to 25° (preferably up to 10°). The method comprises the following steps: l. mathematical defmition of an aphakic eye model; 2. mathematical definition of an intraocular lens model; 3. mathematical defmition of the implantation of the lens; 4. mathematical defmition of the merit function; 5. definition of the contour conditions; 6. defmition of a measurement for charact...

  20. Crystal diffraction lens for medical imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smither, R. K.; Roa, D. E.

    2000-01-01

    A crystal diffraction lens for focusing energetic gamma rays has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory for use in medical imaging of radioactivity in the human body. A common method for locating possible cancerous growths in the body is to inject radioactivity into the blood stream of the patient and then look for any concentration of radioactivity that could be associated with the fast growing cancer cells. Often there are borderline indications of possible cancers that could be due to statistical functions in the measured counting rates. In order to determine if these indications are false or real, one must resort to surgical means and take tissue samples in the suspect area. They are developing a system of crystal diffraction lenses that will be incorporated into a 3-D imaging system with better sensitivity (factors of 10 to 100) and better spatial resolution (a few mm in both vertical and horizontal directions) than most systems presently in use. The use of this new imaging system will allow one to eliminate 90% of the false indications and both locate and determine the size of the cancer with mm precision. The lens consists of 900 single crystals of copper, 4 mm x 4 mm on a side and 2--4 mm thick, mounted in 13 concentric rings