Human middle longitudinal fascicle: segregation and behavioral-clinical implications of two distinct fiber connections linking temporal pole and superior temporal gyrus with the angular gyrus or superior parietal lobule using multi-tensor tractography.

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Makris, N; Preti, M G; Wassermann, D; Rathi, Y; Papadimitriou, G M; Yergatian, C; Dickerson, B C; Shenton, M E; Kubicki, M

2013-09-01

The middle longitudinal fascicle (MdLF) is a major fiber connection running principally between the superior temporal gyrus and the parietal lobe, neocortical regions of great biological and clinical interest. Although one of the most prominent cerebral association fiber tracts, it has only recently been discovered in humans. In this high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) MRI study, we delineated the two major fiber connections of the human MdLF, by examining morphology, topography, cortical connections, biophysical measures, volume and length in seventy-four brains. These two fiber connections course together through the dorsal temporal pole and the superior temporal gyrus maintaining a characteristic topographic relationship in the mediolateral and ventrodorsal dimensions. As these pathways course towards the parietal lobe, they split to form separate fiber pathways, one following a ventrolateral trajectory and connecting with the angular gyrus and the other following a dorsomedial route and connecting with the superior parietal lobule. Based on the functions of their cortical affiliations, we suggest that the superior temporal-angular connection of the MdLF, i.e., STG(MdLF)AG plays a role in language and attention, whereas the superior temporal-superior parietal connection of the MdLF, i.e., STG(MdLF)SPL is involved in visuospatial and integrative audiovisual functions. Furthermore, the MdLF may have clinical implications in neurodegenerative disorders such as primary progressive aphasia, frontotemporal dementia, posterior cortical atrophy, corticobulbar degeneration and Alzheimer's disease as well as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia.

The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study.

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Barbeau, Elise B; Chai, Xiaoqian J; Chen, Jen-Kai; Soles, Jennika; Berken, Jonathan; Baum, Shari; Watkins, Kate E; Klein, Denise

2017-04-01

Research to date suggests that second language acquisition results in functional and structural changes in the bilingual brain, however, in what way and how quickly these changes occur remains unclear. To address these questions, we studied fourteen English-speaking monolingual adults enrolled in a 12-week intensive French language-training program in Montreal. Using functional MRI, we investigated the neural changes associated with new language acquisition. The participants were scanned before the start of the immersion program and at the end of the 12 weeks. The fMRI scan aimed to investigate the brain regions recruited in a sentence reading task both in English, their first language (L1), and in French, their second language (L2). For the L1, fMRI patterns did not change from Time 1 to Time 2, while for the L2, the brain response changed between Time 1 and Time 2 in language-related areas. Of note, for the L2, there was higher activation at Time 2 compared to Time 1 in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) including the supramarginal gyrus. At Time 2 this higher activation in the IPL correlated with faster L2 reading speed. Moreover, higher activation in the left IPL at Time 1 predicted improvement in L2 reading speed from Time 1 to Time 2. Our results suggest that learning-induced plasticity occurred as early as 12 weeks into immersive second-language training, and that the IPL appears to play a special role in language learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does shape discrimination by the mouth activate the parietal and occipital lobes? - near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomonori Kagawa

Full Text Available A cross-modal association between somatosensory tactile sensation and parietal and occipital activities during Braille reading was initially discovered in tests with blind subjects, with sighted and blindfolded healthy subjects used as controls. However, the neural background of oral stereognosis remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated whether the parietal and occipital cortices are activated during shape discrimination by the mouth using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS. Following presentation of the test piece shape, a sham discrimination trial without the test pieces induced posterior parietal lobe (BA7, extrastriate cortex (BA18, BA19, and striate cortex (BA17 activation as compared with the rest session, while shape discrimination of the test pieces markedly activated those areas as compared with the rest session. Furthermore, shape discrimination of the test pieces specifically activated the posterior parietal cortex (precuneus/BA7, extrastriate cortex (BA18, 19, and striate cortex (BA17, as compared with sham sessions without a test piece. We concluded that oral tactile sensation is recognized through tactile/visual cross-modal substrates in the parietal and occipital cortices during shape discrimination by the mouth.

SA72. Neural Correlates of Self-Reflection in Schizophrenia: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

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Hiremath, Chaitra; Dey, Avyarthana

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Self-reflection is the process of conscious evaluation of one’s traits, abilities, and attitudes. Deficient self-reflective processes might underlie lack of insight into schizophrenia. The limited research literature on the neural correlates of self-reflection in schizophrenia is inconclusive. In this study, we investigated the neural correlates of self-reflection in schizophrenia patients attending a tertiary care hospital in India. Methods: Nineteen male schizophrenia patients (mean age = 32.68 ± 7.11, mean years of education =15.21 ± 1.93) and 19 male healthy controls (mean age = 26.96 ± 4.67, mean years of education = 18.11 ± 3.13) participated in the study. Participants performed a previously validated self-reflection task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; 3-Tesla). The task comprised of 144 words subdivided into 4 domains: Self-reflection, Other-reflection, Affect labeling, and Perceptual. The task was presented as 3 runs of 8 blocks each. The images were preprocessed and analyzed using SPM-12. After preprocessing, contrasts comparing Self-reflection with the other domains were modeled at the individual subject level. In second-level analysis, the first-level contrasts were entered into a 2-sample t test to compare patient and healthy control groups. The results were thresholded at P Self-reflection > Other-reflection contrast, schizophrenia patients demonstrated greater activation of right and left superior parietal lobules (BA 5 and 7), right inferior parietal lobule (BA 39), left parahippocampal gyrus (BA 36), and left premotor cortex (BA 6). For the Self-reflection > Affect labeling contrast, patients showed greater activation of precuneus (BA 7) and right inferior occipital gyrus (BA 19), and lesser activation of left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45 and 47). And for the Self-reflection > Perceptual contrast, patients showed greater activation of left middle frontal gyrus (BA 10

Connections of the medial posterior parietal cortex (area 7m) in the monkey.

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Leichnetz, G R

2001-06-01

The afferent and efferent cortical and subcortical connections of the medial posterior parietal cortex (area 7m) were studied in cebus (Cebus apella) and macaque (Macaca fascicularis) monkeys using the retrograde and anterograde capabilities of the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) technique. The principal intraparietal corticocortical connections of area 7m in both cebus and macaque cases were with the ipsilateral medial bank of the intraparietal sulcus (MIP) and adjacent superior parietal lobule (area 5), inferior parietal lobule (area 7a), lateral bank of the IPS (area 7ip), caudal parietal operculum (PGop), dorsal bank of the caudal superior temporal sulcus (visual area MST), and medial prestriate cortex (including visual area PO and caudal medial lobule). Its principal frontal corticocortical connections were with the prefrontal cortex in the shoulder above the principal sulcus and the cortex in the shoulder above the superior ramus of the arcuate sulcus (SAS), the area purported to contain the smooth eye movement-related frontal eye field (FEFsem) in the cebus monkey by other investigators. There were moderate connections with the cortex in the rostral bank of the arcuate sulcus (purported to contain the saccade-related frontal eye field; FEFsac), supplementary eye field (SEF), and rostral dorsal premotor area (PMDr). Area 7m also had major connections with the cingulate cortex (area 23), particularly the ventral bank of the cingulate sulcus. The principal subcortical connections of area 7m were with the dorsal portion of the ventrolateral thalamic (VLc) nucleus, lateral posterior thalamic nucleus, lateral pulvinar, caudal mediodorsal thalamic nucleus and medial pulvinar, central lateral, central superior lateral, and central inferior intralaminar thalamic nuclei, dorsolateral caudate nucleus and putamen, middle region of the claustrum, nucleus of the diagonal band, zona incerta, pregeniculate nucleus, anterior and posterior pretectal nuclei, intermediate layer of

High Frequency rTMS over the Left Parietal Lobule Increases Non-Word Reading Accuracy

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Costanzo, Floriana; Menghini, Deny; Caltagirone, Carlo; Oliveri, Massimiliano; Vicari, Stefano

2012-01-01

Increasing evidence in the literature supports the usefulness of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in studying reading processes. Two brain regions are primarily involved in phonological decoding: the left superior temporal gyrus (STG), which is associated with the auditory representation of spoken words, and the left inferior parietal lobe…

One-way traffic: The inferior frontal gyrus controls brain activation in the middle temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule during divergent thinking.

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Vartanian, Oshin; Beatty, Erin L; Smith, Ingrid; Blackler, Kristen; Lam, Quan; Forbes, Sarah

2018-02-23

Contrary to earlier approaches that focused on the contributions of isolated brain regions to the emergence of creativity, there is now growing consensus that creative thought emerges from the interaction of multiple brain regions, often embedded within larger brain networks. Specifically, recent evidence from studies of divergent thinking suggests that kernel ideas emerge in posterior brain regions residing within the semantic system and/or the default mode network (DMN), and that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions within the executive control network (ECN) constrain those ideas for generating outputs that meet task demands. However, despite knowing that regions within these networks exhibit interaction, to date the direction of the relationship has not been tested directly. By applying Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) to fMRI data collected during a divergent thinking task, we tested the hypothesis that the PFC exerts unidirectional control over the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), vs. the hypothesis that these two sets of regions exert bidirectional control over each other (in the form of feedback loops). The data were consistent with the former model by demonstrating that the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) exerts unidirectional control over MTG and IPL, although the evidence was somewhat stronger in the case of the MTG than the IPL. Our findings highlight potential causal pathways that could underlie the neural bases of divergent thinking. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Correspondent Functional Topography of the Human Left Inferior Parietal Lobule at Rest and Under Task Revealed Using Resting-State fMRI and Coactivation Based Parcellation.

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Wang, Jiaojian; Xie, Sangma; Guo, Xin; Becker, Benjamin; Fox, Peter T; Eickhoff, Simon B; Jiang, Tianzi

2017-03-01

The human left inferior parietal lobule (LIPL) plays a pivotal role in many cognitive functions and is an important node in the default mode network (DMN). Although many previous studies have proposed different parcellation schemes for the LIPL, the detailed functional organization of the LIPL and the exact correspondence between the DMN and LIPL subregions remain unclear. Mounting evidence indicates that spontaneous fluctuations in the brain are strongly associated with cognitive performance at the behavioral level. However, whether a consistent functional topographic organization of the LIPL during rest and under task can be revealed remains unknown. Here, they used resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and task-related coactivation patterns separately to parcellate the LIPL and identified seven subregions. Four subregions were located in the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and three subregions were located in the angular gyrus (AG). The subregion-specific networks and functional characterization revealed that the four anterior subregions were found to be primarily involved in sensorimotor processing, movement imagination and inhibitory control, audition perception and speech processing, and social cognition, whereas the three posterior subregions were mainly involved in episodic memory, semantic processing, and spatial cognition. The results revealed a detailed functional organization of the LIPL and suggested that the LIPL is a functionally heterogeneous area. In addition, the present study demonstrated that the functional architecture of the LIPL during rest corresponds with that found in task processing. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1659-1675, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Testing for a cultural influence on reading for meaning in the developing brain: the neural basis of semantic processing in Chinese children

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Tai-Li Chou

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI was used to explore the neural correlates of semantic judgments in a group of 8- to 15-year-old Chinese children. Participants were asked to indicate if pairs of Chinese characters presented visually were related in meaning. The related pairs were arranged in a continuous variable according to association strength. Pairs of characters with weaker semantic association elicited greater activation in the mid ventral region (BA 45 of left inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting increased demands on the process of selecting appropriate semantic features. By contrast, characters with stronger semantic association elicited greater activation in left inferior parietal lobule (BA 39, suggesting stronger integration of highly related features. In addition, there was a developmental increase, similar to previously reported findings in English, in left posterior middle temporal gyrus (BA 21, suggesting that older children have more elaborated semantic representations. There were additional age-related increases in the posterior region of left inferior parietal lobule and in the ventral regions of left inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting that reading acquisition relies more on the mapping from orthography to semantics in Chinese children as compared to previously reported findings in English.

Brain activity dynamics in human parietal regions during spontaneous switches in bistable perception.

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Megumi, Fukuda; Bahrami, Bahador; Kanai, Ryota; Rees, Geraint

2015-02-15

The neural mechanisms underlying conscious visual perception have been extensively investigated using bistable perception paradigms. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies suggest that the right anterior superior parietal (r-aSPL) and the right posterior superior parietal lobule (r-pSPL) have opposite roles in triggering perceptual reversals. It has been proposed that these two areas are part of a hierarchical network whose dynamics determine perceptual switches. However, how these two parietal regions interact with each other and with the rest of the brain during bistable perception is not known. Here, we investigated such a model by recording brain activity using fMRI while participants viewed a bistable structure-from-motion stimulus. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM), we found that resolving such perceptual ambiguity was specifically associated with reciprocal interactions between these parietal regions and V5/MT. Strikingly, the strength of bottom-up coupling between V5/MT to r-pSPL and from r-pSPL to r-aSPL predicted individual mean dominance duration. Our findings are consistent with a hierarchical predictive coding model of parietal involvement in bistable perception and suggest that visual information processing underlying spontaneous perceptual switches can be described as changes in connectivity strength between parietal and visual cortical regions. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhanced Neuroactivation during Working Memory Task in Postmenopausal Women Receiving Hormone Therapy: A Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis.

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Li, Ke; Huang, Xiaoyan; Han, Yingping; Zhang, Jun; Lai, Yuhan; Yuan, Li; Lu, Jiaojiao; Zeng, Dong

2015-01-01

Hormone therapy (HT) has long been thought beneficial for controlling menopausal symptoms and human cognition. Studies have suggested that HT has a positive association with working memory, but no consistent relationship between HT and neural activity has been shown in any cognitive domain. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the convergence of findings from published randomized control trials studies that examined brain activation changes in postmenopausal women. A systematic search for fMRI studies of neural responses during working memory tasks in postmenopausal women was performed. Studies were excluded if they were not treatment studies and did not contain placebo or blank controls. For the purpose of the meta-analysis, 8 studies were identified, with 103 postmenopausal women taking HT and 109 controls. Compared with controls, postmenopausal women who took HT increased activation in the left frontal lobe, including superior frontal gyrus (BA 8), right middle frontal gyrus (BA 9), anterior lobe, paracentral lobule (BA 7), limbic lobe, and anterior cingulate (BA 32). Additionally, decreased activation is noted in the right limbic lobe, including parahippocampal gyrus (BA 28), left parietal lobe, and superior parietal lobule (BA 7). All regions were significant at p ≤ 0.05 with correction for multiple comparisons. Hormone treatment is associated with BOLD signal activation in key anatomical areas during fMRI working memory tasks in healthy hormone-treated postmenopausal women. A positive correlation between activation and task performance suggests that hormone use may benefit working memory.

An fMRI study of the neural basis hand postures specific to tool use. Presidential award proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohgami, Yuko; Uchida, Nobuko; Matsuo, Kayako; Nakai, Toshiharu

2007-01-01

Patients with apraxia are often unable to mimic the use of a tool, even when it is presented visually. Such mimicking involves various cognitive and motor processes, including the visual perception of a tool and the manipulation of imagined tools. Although previous studies reported the involvement of several brain areas, including the left inferior parietal lobule, in such tool-use action, the details of each process have not been well understood. To clarify the neural basis of the process involved in forming hand postures for using tools, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in normal volunteers to investigate brain activation while they formed hand postures for tool manipulation. Three conditions were evaluated in separate block-designed fMRI series, formation of hand posture (A) using a tool, (B) imitating such a hand posture, and (C) to imitate the shape of a tool. Subjects formed their right hand in a manner specified according to the task conditions. Hand posturing for condition (A) induced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45), left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), and the premotor area compared with the imitative posturing of condition (B). Activation in these areas might be related to processes shared by tool-use pantomime. On the other hand, comparison between conditions (A) and (C) demonstrated activation in the right superior parietal lobule (BA 7). This activation may reflect spatial regulation, in which the subject was prepared to hold and manipulate the tool. Formation of static hand postures to prepare for tool use may employ a neural network shared by various tool-use actions, such as pantomime. In addition, forming hand postures may require close coordination between the tool and hand. (author)

Increased gray matter density in the parietal cortex of mathematicians: a voxel-based morphometry study.

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Aydin, K; Ucar, A; Oguz, K K; Okur, O O; Agayev, A; Unal, Z; Yilmaz, S; Ozturk, C

2007-01-01

The training to acquire or practicing to perform a skill, which may lead to structural changes in the brain, is called experience-dependent structural plasticity. The main purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the presence of experience-dependent structural plasticity in mathematicians' brains, which may develop after long-term practice of mathematic thinking. Twenty-six volunteer mathematicians, who have been working as academicians, were enrolled in the study. We applied an optimized method of voxel-based morphometry in the mathematicians and the age- and sex-matched control subjects. We assessed the gray and white matter density differences in mathematicians and the control subjects. Moreover, the correlation between the cortical density and the time spent as an academician was investigated. We found that cortical gray matter density in the left inferior frontal and bilateral inferior parietal lobules of the mathematicians were significantly increased compared with the control subjects. Furthermore, increase in gray matter density in the right inferior parietal lobule of the mathematicians was strongly correlated with the time spent as an academician (r = 0.84; P mathematicians' brains revealed increased gray matter density in the cortical regions related to mathematic thinking. The correlation between cortical density increase and the time spent as an academician suggests experience-dependent structural plasticity in mathematicians' brains.

The Analysis for Activations in the Brain during Hearing the Amplitude-Modulated Tone by fMRI Measurement

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Fukami, Tadanori; Shimada, Takamasa; Akatsuka, Takao; Saito, Yoichi

In audiometry, ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) is widely used. However, it shows low accuracy in low frequency band. Meanwhile, AMFR (Amplitude-Modulation-Following Response), the response during hearing an amplitude-modulated tone, has high frequency specificity and is brought to attention. As the first step to clinical application of AMFR, we investigated the activated areas in a brain when the subjects hear SAM tone (Sinusoidally Amplitude-Modulated tone) with both ears. We measured following two signals. One is the difference of BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) signal between hearing SAM tone vs. silence, the other is the difference of BOLD signal between hearing SAM tone vs. unmodulated tone. As a result, in the case of SAM vs. silence, the bilaterally auditory cortex (Broadmann Area 41, 42), the biratelally BA 10, left superior frontal gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus were activated (pvs. unmodulated tone, the bilaterally superior frontal gyrus (BA 6) and precuneus (BA 7), neighboring area including the bilaterally inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), the bilaterally medial frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus were activated (p<0.021, uncorrected). Activations of visual perception due to eye-opened state were detected in some parts of activations. As a result, we inferred that modulated tone was recognized in the medial frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule was the part related to perception of amplitude-modulation.

The effect of rTMS over the inferior parietal lobule on EEG sensorimotor reactivity differs according to self-reported traits of autism in typically developing individuals.

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Puzzo, Ignazio; Cooper, Nicholas R; Cantarella, Simona; Fitzgerald, Paul B; Russo, Riccardo

2013-12-06

Previous research suggested that EEG markers of mirror neuron system activation may differ, in the normal population as a function of different levels of the autistic spectrum quotient; (AQ). The present study aimed at modulating the EEG sensorimotor reactivity induced by hand movement observation by means of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the inferior parietal lobule. We examined how the resulting rTMS modulation differed in relation to the self-reported autistic traits in the typically developing population. Results showed that during sham stimulation, all participants had significantly greater sensorimotor alpha reactivity (motor cortex-C electrodes) when observing hand movements compared to static hands. This sensorimotor alpha reactivity difference was reduced during active rTMS stimulation. Results also revealed that in the average AQ group at sham there was a significant increase in low beta during hand movement than static hand observation (pre-motor areas-FC electrodes) and that (like alpha over the C electrodes) this difference is abolished when active rTMS is delivered. Participants with high AQ scores showed no significant difference in low beta sensorimotor reactivity between active and sham rTMS during static hand or hand movement observation. These findings suggest that unlike sham, active rTMS over the IPL modulates the oscillatory activity of the low beta frequency of a distal area, namely the anterior sector of the sensorimotor cortex, when participants observe videos of static hand. Importantly, this modulation differs according to the degree of self-reported traits of autism in a typically developing population. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlates of First-Episode Psychoses during Attentional and Memory Task Performance.

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Del Casale, Antonio; Kotzalidis, Georgios D; Rapinesi, Chiara; Sorice, Serena; Girardi, Nicoletta; Ferracuti, Stefano; Girardi, Paolo

2016-01-01

The nature of the alteration of the response to cognitive tasks in first-episode psychosis (FEP) still awaits clarification. We used activation likelihood estimation, an increasingly used method in evaluating normal and pathological brain function, to identify activation changes in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of FEP during attentional and memory tasks. We included 11 peer-reviewed fMRI studies assessing FEP patients versus healthy controls (HCs) during performance of attentional and memory tasks. Our database comprised 290 patients with FEP, matched with 316 HCs. Between-group analyses showed that HCs, compared to FEP patients, exhibited hyperactivation of the right middle frontal gyrus (Brodmann area, BA, 9), right inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), and right insula (BA 13) during attentional task performances and hyperactivation of the left insula (BA 13) during memory task performances. Right frontal, parietal, and insular dysfunction during attentional task performance and left insular dysfunction during memory task performance are significant neural functional FEP correlates. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Imaging the neurobiological substrate of atypical depression by SPECT

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Pagani, Marco [Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome (Italy); Karolinska University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Stockholm (Sweden); Salmaso, Dario [Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome (Italy); Nardo, Davide [University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Psychology, Rome (Italy); Jonsson, Cathrine; Larsson, Stig A. [Karolinska University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Stockholm (Sweden); Jacobsson, Hans [Karolinska University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Stockholm (Sweden); Gardner, Ann [Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Stockholm (Sweden)

2007-01-15

Neurobiological abnormalities underlying atypical depression have previously been suggested. The purpose of this study was to explore differences at functional brain imaging between depressed patients with and without atypical features and healthy controls. Twenty-three out-patients with chronic depressive disorder recruited from a service for patients with audiological symptoms were investigated. Eleven fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for atypical depression (mood reactivity and at least two of the following: weight gain, hypersomnia, leaden paralysis and interpersonal rejection sensitivity). Twenty-three healthy subjects served as controls. Voxel-based analysis was applied to explore differences in {sup 99m}Tc-HMPAO uptake between groups. Patients in the atypical group had a higher prevalence of bilateral hearing impairment and higher depression and somatic distress ratings at the time of SPECT. Significantly higher tracer uptake was found bilaterally in the atypical group as compared with the non-atypicals in the sensorimotor (Brodmann areas, BA1-3) and premotor cortex in the superior frontal gyri (BA6), in the middle frontal cortex (BA8), in the parietal associative cortex (BA5, BA7) and in the inferior parietal lobule (BA40). Significantly lower tracer distribution was found in the right hemisphere in the non-atypicals compared with the controls in BA6, BA8, BA44, BA45 and BA46 in the frontal cortex, in the orbito-frontal cortex (BA11, BA47), in the postcentral parietal cortex (BA2) and in the multimodal association parietal cortex (BA40). The differences found between atypical and non-atypical depressed patients suggest different neurobiological substrates in these patient groups. The putative links with the clinical features of atypical depression are discussed. These findings encourage the use of functional neuroimaging in psychiatric disorders. (orig.)

Imaging the neurobiological substrate of atypical depression by SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pagani, Marco; Salmaso, Dario; Nardo, Davide; Jonsson, Cathrine; Larsson, Stig A.; Jacobsson, Hans; Gardner, Ann

2007-01-01

Neurobiological abnormalities underlying atypical depression have previously been suggested. The purpose of this study was to explore differences at functional brain imaging between depressed patients with and without atypical features and healthy controls. Twenty-three out-patients with chronic depressive disorder recruited from a service for patients with audiological symptoms were investigated. Eleven fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for atypical depression (mood reactivity and at least two of the following: weight gain, hypersomnia, leaden paralysis and interpersonal rejection sensitivity). Twenty-three healthy subjects served as controls. Voxel-based analysis was applied to explore differences in 99m Tc-HMPAO uptake between groups. Patients in the atypical group had a higher prevalence of bilateral hearing impairment and higher depression and somatic distress ratings at the time of SPECT. Significantly higher tracer uptake was found bilaterally in the atypical group as compared with the non-atypicals in the sensorimotor (Brodmann areas, BA1-3) and premotor cortex in the superior frontal gyri (BA6), in the middle frontal cortex (BA8), in the parietal associative cortex (BA5, BA7) and in the inferior parietal lobule (BA40). Significantly lower tracer distribution was found in the right hemisphere in the non-atypicals compared with the controls in BA6, BA8, BA44, BA45 and BA46 in the frontal cortex, in the orbito-frontal cortex (BA11, BA47), in the postcentral parietal cortex (BA2) and in the multimodal association parietal cortex (BA40). The differences found between atypical and non-atypical depressed patients suggest different neurobiological substrates in these patient groups. The putative links with the clinical features of atypical depression are discussed. These findings encourage the use of functional neuroimaging in psychiatric disorders. (orig.)

Fronto-Parietal Network Reconfiguration Supports the Development of Reasoning Ability.

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Wendelken, Carter; Ferrer, Emilio; Whitaker, Kirstie J; Bunge, Silvia A

2016-05-01

The goal of this fMRI study was to examine how well developmental improvements in reasoning ability can be explained by changes in functional connectivity between specific nodes in prefrontal and parietal cortices. To this end, we examined connectivity within the lateral fronto-parietal network (LFPN) and its relation to reasoning ability in 132 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years, 56 of whom were scanned twice over the course of 1.5 years. Developmental changes in strength of connections within the LFPN were most prominent in late childhood and early adolescence. Reasoning ability was related to functional connectivity between left rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), but only among 12-18-year olds. For 9-11-year olds, reasoning ability was most strongly related to connectivity between left and right RLPFC; this relationship was mediated by working memory. For 6-8-year olds, significant relationships between connectivity and performance were not observed; in this group, processing speed was the primary mediator of improvement in reasoning ability. We conclude that different connections best support reasoning at different points in development and that RLPFC-IPL connectivity becomes an important predictor of reasoning during adolescence. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The fMRI study on the front-parietal activation in abacus mental calculation trained children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Kunyuan; Wang Bin; Long Jinfeng; Li Lixin; Shen Xiaojun

2010-01-01

Objective: To investigate the difference in front-parietal activation between the trained and untrained children engaged in addition and multiplication with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and to explore the role of abacus mental calculation in brain development. Methods: Twenty-four children trained with abacus mental calculation and twelve untrained children performed mental calculation tasks including addition, multiplication and number-object control judging tasks. Blood oxygenation level dependence (BOLD) fMRI was performed when they were calculating. All data were analyzed by SPM2 (statistical parametric mapping 2) to generate the brain activation map. Results: The performance of the trained group had better correctness and shorter reaction time than that of the untrained group. The front-parietal activation between two groups had obvious difference. The activation involved less prefrontal cortex in the trained group than in the untrained group (P<0.05). The parietal activation in the trained group was mainly in the posterior superior parietal lobe/ precuneus, whereas the activation areas focused on the inferior parietal lobule in the untrained group. Conclusion: Abacus mental calculation involves multiple functional areas. and these areas may work together as a whole in processing arithmetic problems. Abacus mental calculation not only enhances the information processing in some brain areas and improves the utilization efficiency of neural resources, but also plays an important role in developing brain. (authors)

Cerebrocerebellar networks during articulatory rehearsal and verbal working memory tasks.

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Chen, S H Annabel; Desmond, John E

2005-01-15

Converging evidence has implicated the cerebellum in verbal working memory. The current fMRI study sought to further characterize cerebrocerebellar participation in this cognitive process by revealing regions of activation common to a verbal working task and an articulatory control task, as well as regions that are uniquely activated by working memory. Consistent with our model's predictions, load-dependent activations were observed in Broca's area (BA 44/6) and the superior cerebellar hemisphere (VI/CrusI) for both working memory and motoric rehearsal. In contrast, activations unique to verbal working memory were found in the inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and the right inferior cerebellum hemisphere (VIIB). These findings provide evidence for two cerebrocerebellar networks for verbal working memory: a frontal/superior cerebellar articulatory control system and a parietal/inferior cerebellar phonological storage system.

Fronto-parietal coding of goal-directed actions performed by artificial agents.

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Kupferberg, Aleksandra; Iacoboni, Marco; Flanagin, Virginia; Huber, Markus; Kasparbauer, Anna; Baumgartner, Thomas; Hasler, Gregor; Schmidt, Florian; Borst, Christoph; Glasauer, Stefan

2018-03-01

With advances in technology, artificial agents such as humanoid robots will soon become a part of our daily lives. For safe and intuitive collaboration, it is important to understand the goals behind their motor actions. In humans, this process is mediated by changes in activity in fronto-parietal brain areas. The extent to which these areas are activated when observing artificial agents indicates the naturalness and easiness of interaction. Previous studies indicated that fronto-parietal activity does not depend on whether the agent is human or artificial. However, it is unknown whether this activity is modulated by observing grasping (self-related action) and pointing actions (other-related action) performed by an artificial agent depending on the action goal. Therefore, we designed an experiment in which subjects observed human and artificial agents perform pointing and grasping actions aimed at two different object categories suggesting different goals. We found a signal increase in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule and the premotor cortex when tool versus food items were pointed to or grasped by both agents, probably reflecting the association of hand actions with the functional use of tools. Our results show that goal attribution engages the fronto-parietal network not only for observing a human but also a robotic agent for both self-related and social actions. The debriefing after the experiment has shown that actions of human-like artificial agents can be perceived as being goal-directed. Therefore, humans will be able to interact with service robots intuitively in various domains such as education, healthcare, public service, and entertainment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Structural Correlates of Openness and Intellect: Implications for the Contribution of Personality to Creativity

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Vartanian, Oshin; Wertz, Christopher J; Flores, Renee A.

2018-01-01

results demonstrated that Openness was correlated inversely with cortical thickness and volume in left middle frontal gyrus (BA 6), middle temporal gyrus (MTG, BA 21), and superior temporal gyrus (BA 41), and exclusively with cortical thickness in left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), right inferior...... reflects perceived intelligence and intellectual engagement, Openness reflects engagement with fantasy, perception, and aesthetics. We investigated the extent to which Openness and Intellect are associated with variations in brain structure as measured by cortical thickness, area, and volume (N = 185). Our...... frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 45), and MTG (BA 37). When age and sex were statistically controlled for, the inverse correlations between Openness and cortical thickness remained statistically significant for all regions except left MTG, whereas the correlations involving cortical volume remained statistically...

Morphology and digitally aided morphometry of the human paracentral lobule.

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Spasojević, Goran; Malobabic, Slobodan; Pilipović-Spasojević, Olivera; Djukić-Macut, Nataša; Maliković, Aleksandar

2013-02-01

The human paracentral lobule, the junction of the precentral and postcentral gyri at the medial hemispheric surface, contains several important functional regions, and its variable morphology requires exact morphological and quantitativedata. In order to obtain precise data we investigated the morphology of the paracentral lobule and quantified its visible (extrasulcal) surface. This surface corresponds to commonly used magnetic resonance imaging scout images. We studied 84 hemispheres of adult persons (42 brains; 26 males and 16 females; 20-65 years) fixed in neutral formalin for at least 4 weeks. The medial hemispheric surface was photographed at standard distance and each digital photo was calibrated. Using the intercommissural line system (commissura anterior-commissura posterior or CA-CP line), we performed standardised measurements of the paracentral lobule. Exact determination of its boundaries and morphological types was followed by digital morphometry of its extrasulcal surface using AutoCAD software. We found two distinct morphological types of the human paracentral lobule: continuous type, which was predominant (95.2%), and rare segmented type (4.8%). In hemispheres with segmented cingulate sulcus we also found the short transitional lobulo-limbic gyrus (13.1%). The mean extrasulcal surface of the left paracentral lobule was significantly larger, both in males (left 6.79 cm2 vs. right 5.76 cm2) and in females (left 6.05 cm2 vs. right 5.16 cm2). However, even larger average surfaces in males were not significantly different than the same in females. Reported morphological and quantitative data will be useful during diagnostics and treatment of pathologies affecting the human paracentral lobule, and in further studies of its cytoarchitectonic and functional parcellations.

Emotion unfolded by motion: a role for parietal lobe in decoding dynamic facial expressions.

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Sarkheil, Pegah; Goebel, Rainer; Schneider, Frank; Mathiak, Klaus

2013-12-01

Facial expressions convey important emotional and social information and are frequently applied in investigations of human affective processing. Dynamic faces may provide higher ecological validity to examine perceptual and cognitive processing of facial expressions. Higher order processing of emotional faces was addressed by varying the task and virtual face models systematically. Blood oxygenation level-dependent activation was assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 20 healthy volunteers while viewing and evaluating either emotion or gender intensity of dynamic face stimuli. A general linear model analysis revealed that high valence activated a network of motion-responsive areas, indicating that visual motion areas support perceptual coding for the motion-based intensity of facial expressions. The comparison of emotion with gender discrimination task revealed increased activation of inferior parietal lobule, which highlights the involvement of parietal areas in processing of high level features of faces. Dynamic emotional stimuli may help to emphasize functions of the hypothesized 'extended' over the 'core' system for face processing.

Functional MRI approach for assessing hemispheric predominance of regions activated by a phonological and a semantic task

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Cousin, Emilie; Peyrin, Carole; Pichat, Cedric [Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurocognition, UMR CNRS 5105, Universite Pierre Mendes-France, BP 47, 38040 Grenoble Cedex 09 (France); Lamalle, Laurent; Le Bas, Jean-Francois [Unite IRM, IFR1, CHU Grenoble (France); Baciu, Monica [Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurocognition, UMR CNRS 5105, Universite Pierre Mendes-France, BP 47, 38040 Grenoble Cedex 09 (France)], E-mail: mbaciu@upmf-grenoble.fr

2007-08-15

This fMRI study performed in healthy subjects aimed at using a statistical approach in order to determine significant functional differences between hemispheres and to assess specialized regions activated during a phonological and during a semantic task. This approach ('flip' method and subsequent statistical analyses of the parameter estimates extracted from regions of interest) allows identifying: (a) hemispheric specialized regions for each language task [semantic (living categorization) and phonological (rhyme detection)] and (b) condition-specific regions with respect to paradigm conditions (task and control). Our results showed that the rhyme-specific task regions were the inferior frontal (sub-region of BA 44, 45) and left inferior parietal (BA 40, 39) lobules. Furthermore, within the inferior parietal lobule, the angular gyrus was specific to target (rhyming) items (related to successfully grapho-phonemic processing). The categorization-specific task regions were the left inferior frontal (sub-region of BA 44, 45) and superior temporal (BA 22) cortices. Furthermore, the superior temporal gyrus was related to non-target (non-living) items (correlated to task difficulty). The relatively new approach used in this study has the advantage of providing: (a) statistical significance of the hemispheric specialized regions for a given language task and (b) supplementary information in terms of paradigm condition-specificity of the activated regions. The results (standard hemispheric specialized regions for a semantic and for a phonological task) obtained in healthy subjects may constitute a basement for mapping language and assessing hemispheric predominance in epileptic patients before surgery and avoiding post-surgical impairments of language.

Functional MRI approach for assessing hemispheric predominance of regions activated by a phonological and a semantic task

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cousin, Emilie; Peyrin, Carole; Pichat, Cedric; Lamalle, Laurent; Le Bas, Jean-Francois; Baciu, Monica

2007-01-01

This fMRI study performed in healthy subjects aimed at using a statistical approach in order to determine significant functional differences between hemispheres and to assess specialized regions activated during a phonological and during a semantic task. This approach ('flip' method and subsequent statistical analyses of the parameter estimates extracted from regions of interest) allows identifying: (a) hemispheric specialized regions for each language task [semantic (living categorization) and phonological (rhyme detection)] and (b) condition-specific regions with respect to paradigm conditions (task and control). Our results showed that the rhyme-specific task regions were the inferior frontal (sub-region of BA 44, 45) and left inferior parietal (BA 40, 39) lobules. Furthermore, within the inferior parietal lobule, the angular gyrus was specific to target (rhyming) items (related to successfully grapho-phonemic processing). The categorization-specific task regions were the left inferior frontal (sub-region of BA 44, 45) and superior temporal (BA 22) cortices. Furthermore, the superior temporal gyrus was related to non-target (non-living) items (correlated to task difficulty). The relatively new approach used in this study has the advantage of providing: (a) statistical significance of the hemispheric specialized regions for a given language task and (b) supplementary information in terms of paradigm condition-specificity of the activated regions. The results (standard hemispheric specialized regions for a semantic and for a phonological task) obtained in healthy subjects may constitute a basement for mapping language and assessing hemispheric predominance in epileptic patients before surgery and avoiding post-surgical impairments of language

Cultural constraints on brain development: evidence from a developmental study of visual word processing in mandarin chinese.

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Cao, Fan; Lee, Rebecca; Shu, Hua; Yang, Yanhui; Xu, Guoqing; Li, Kuncheng; Booth, James R

2010-05-01

Developmental differences in phonological and orthographic processing in Chinese were examined in 9 year olds, 11 year olds, and adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Rhyming and spelling judgments were made to 2-character words presented sequentially in the visual modality. The spelling task showed greater activation than the rhyming task in right superior parietal lobule and right inferior temporal gyrus, and there were developmental increases across tasks bilaterally in these regions in addition to bilateral occipital cortex, suggesting increased involvement over age on visuo-orthographic analysis. The rhyming task showed greater activation than the spelling task in left superior temporal gyrus and there were developmental decreases across tasks in this region, suggesting reduced involvement over age on phonological representations. The rhyming and spelling tasks included words with conflicting orthographic and phonological information (i.e., rhyming words spelled differently or nonrhyming words spelled similarly) or nonconflicting information. There was a developmental increase in the difference between conflicting and nonconflicting words in left inferior parietal lobule, suggesting greater engagement of systems for mapping between orthographic and phonological representations. Finally, there were developmental increases across tasks in an anterior (Broadman area [BA] 45, 46) and posterior (BA 9) left inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting greater reliance on controlled retrieval and selection of posterior lexical representations.

CD56+ immune cell infiltration and MICA are decreased in breast lobules with fibrocystic changes.

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Kerekes, Daniel; Visscher, Daniel W; Hoskin, Tanya L; Radisky, Derek C; Brahmbhatt, Rushin D; Pena, Alvaro; Frost, Marlene H; Arshad, Muhammad; Stallings-Mann, Melody; Winham, Stacey J; Murphy, Linda; Denison, Lori; Carter, Jodi M; Knutson, Keith L; Degnim, Amy C

2018-02-01

While the role of natural killer (NK) cells in breast cancer therapy has been investigated, little information is known about NK cell function and presence in nonmalignant and premalignant breast tissue. Here, we investigate and quantify NK cell marker CD56 and activating ligand MICA in breast tissue with benign breast disease. Serial tissue sections from 88 subjects, 44 with benign breast disease (BBD) who remained cancer-free, and 44 with BBD who later developed cancer, were stained with H&E, anti-MICA, and anti-CD56. Up to ten representative lobules were identified on each section. Using digital image analysis, MICA and CD56 densities were determined for each lobule, reported as percent of pixels in the lobule that registered as stained by each antibody. Analyses were performed on a per-subject and per-lobule basis. Per-subject multivariate analyses showed associations of CD56 and MICA with age: CD56 was increased in older subjects (p = 0.03), while MICA was increased in younger subjects (p = 0.005). Per-lobule analyses showed that CD56 and MICA levels were both decreased in lobules with fibrocystic change, with median levels of CD56 and MICA staining, respectively, at 0.31 and 7.0% in fibrocystic lobules compared to 0.76 and 12.2% in lobules without fibrocystic change (p fibrocystic lobules, proliferative/atypical lobules showed significantly lower expression compared to nonproliferative lobules for MICA (p = 0.02) but not for CD56 (p = 0.80). Levels of CD56+ NK cells and activating ligand MICA were decreased in breast lobules with fibrocystic change, and MICA levels showed a significant stepwise decrease with increasing histopathologic abnormality. MICA levels were also significantly decreased in older subjects, who generally have higher risk of developing cancer. These findings advance a model in which MICA promotes cytotoxic activity in CD56+ NK cells to protect against tumorigenesis in breast lobules, and suggest further research is warranted.

Elaboration versus suppression of cued memories: influence of memory recall instruction and success on parietal lobe, default network, and hippocampal activity.

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Gimbel, Sarah I; Brewer, James B

2014-01-01

Functional imaging studies of episodic memory retrieval consistently report task-evoked and memory-related activity in the medial temporal lobe, default network and parietal lobe subregions. Associated components of memory retrieval, such as attention-shifts, search, retrieval success, and post-retrieval processing also influence regional activity, but these influences remain ill-defined. To better understand how top-down control affects the neural bases of memory retrieval, we examined how regional activity responses were modulated by task goals during recall success or failure. Specifically, activity was examined during memory suppression, recall, and elaborative recall of paired-associates. Parietal lobe was subdivided into dorsal (BA 7), posterior ventral (BA 39), and anterior ventral (BA 40) regions, which were investigated separately to examine hypothesized distinctions in sub-regional functional responses related to differential attention-to-memory and memory strength. Top-down suppression of recall abolished memory strength effects in BA 39, which showed a task-negative response, and BA 40, which showed a task-positive response. The task-negative response in default network showed greater negatively-deflected signal for forgotten pairs when task goals required recall. Hippocampal activity was task-positive and was influenced by memory strength only when task goals required recall. As in previous studies, we show a memory strength effect in parietal lobe and hippocampus, but we show that this effect is top-down controlled and sensitive to whether the subject is trying to suppress or retrieve a memory. These regions are all implicated in memory recall, but their individual activity patterns show distinct memory-strength-related responses when task goals are varied. In parietal lobe, default network, and hippocampus, top-down control can override the commonly identified effects of memory strength.

Elaboration versus suppression of cued memories: influence of memory recall instruction and success on parietal lobe, default network, and hippocampal activity.

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Sarah I Gimbel

Full Text Available Functional imaging studies of episodic memory retrieval consistently report task-evoked and memory-related activity in the medial temporal lobe, default network and parietal lobe subregions. Associated components of memory retrieval, such as attention-shifts, search, retrieval success, and post-retrieval processing also influence regional activity, but these influences remain ill-defined. To better understand how top-down control affects the neural bases of memory retrieval, we examined how regional activity responses were modulated by task goals during recall success or failure. Specifically, activity was examined during memory suppression, recall, and elaborative recall of paired-associates. Parietal lobe was subdivided into dorsal (BA 7, posterior ventral (BA 39, and anterior ventral (BA 40 regions, which were investigated separately to examine hypothesized distinctions in sub-regional functional responses related to differential attention-to-memory and memory strength. Top-down suppression of recall abolished memory strength effects in BA 39, which showed a task-negative response, and BA 40, which showed a task-positive response. The task-negative response in default network showed greater negatively-deflected signal for forgotten pairs when task goals required recall. Hippocampal activity was task-positive and was influenced by memory strength only when task goals required recall. As in previous studies, we show a memory strength effect in parietal lobe and hippocampus, but we show that this effect is top-down controlled and sensitive to whether the subject is trying to suppress or retrieve a memory. These regions are all implicated in memory recall, but their individual activity patterns show distinct memory-strength-related responses when task goals are varied. In parietal lobe, default network, and hippocampus, top-down control can override the commonly identified effects of memory strength.

Abnormal brain function in neuromyelitis optica: A fMRI investigation of mPASAT.

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Wang, Fei; Liu, Yaou; Li, Jianjun; Sondag, Matthew; Law, Meng; Zee, Chi-Shing; Dong, Huiqing; Li, Kuncheng

2017-10-01

Cognitive impairment with the Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) patients is debated. The present study is to study patterns of brain activation in NMO patients during a pair of task-related fMRI. We studied 20 patients with NMO and 20 control subjects matched for age, gender, education and handedness. All patients with NMO met the 2006 Wingerchuk diagnostic criteria. The fMRI paradigm included an auditory attention monitoring task and a modified version of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (mPASAT). Both tasks were temporally and spatially balanced, with the exception of task difficulty. In mPASAT, Activation regions in control subjects included bilateral superior temporal gyri (BA22), left inferior frontal gyrus (BA45), bilateral inferior parietal lobule (BA7), left cingulate gyrus (BA32), left insula (BA13), and cerebellum. Activation regions in NMO patients included bilateral superior temporal gyri (BA22), left inferior frontal gyrus (BA9), right cingulate gyrus (BA32), right inferior parietal gyrus (BA40), left insula (BA13) and cerebellum. Some dispersed cognition related regions are greater in the patients. The present study showed altered cerebral activation during mPASAT in patients with NMO relative to healthy controls. These results are speculated to provide further evidence for brain plasticity in patients with NMO. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Neural Basis of Postural Instability Gait Disorder Subtype of Parkinson's Disease: A PET and fMRI Study.

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Zhang, Li; Li, Tian-Nv; Yuan, Yong-Sheng; Jiang, Si-Ming; Tong, Qing; Wang, Min; Wang, Jian-Wei; Chen, Hua-Jun; Ding, Jian; Xu, Qin-Rong; Zhang, Ke-Zhong

2016-05-01

The aim of this study is to further uncover the neural basis of postural instability gait disorder (PIGD) subtype of Parkinson's disease. With F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET (FDG-PET), brain glucose metabolism of patients with PIGD (n = 15) was compared with healthy controls (n = 17) and tremor-dominant (TD) patients (n = 15), and the correlation between metabolism and PIGD symptoms was also assessed. Within PIGD symptom-correlated hypometabolic areas, the relationship of functional connectivity (FC) with motor and cognitive symptoms was examined by using functional MRI. Compared with controls, patients with PIGD displayed a distributed pattern of brain hypometabolism including striatal, frontal, and parietal areas. Relative to the pattern of TD patients, the pattern of patients with PIGD had additional metabolic decreases in caudate and inferior parietal lobule (IPL, Brodmann area [BA] 40). In PIGD group, the metabolic reductions in IPL (BA 40), middle frontal gyrus (MFG, BA 9) and fusiform gyrus (FG, BA 20) were associated with severe PIGD symptoms. Regions showing such correlation were chosen for further seed-based FC analysis. Decreased FC within the prefrontal-parietal network (between the MFG and IPL) was associated with severe PIGD symptoms. The involvement of the caudate, FG, and prefrontal-parietal network may be associated with the prominent gait impairments of PIGD subtype. Our findings expand the pathophysiological knowledge of PIGD subtype and provide valuable information for potential neuromodulation therapies alleviating gait disorders. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Liver-cell patterning lab chip: mimicking the morphology of liver lobule tissue.

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Ho, Chen-Ta; Lin, Ruei-Zeng; Chen, Rong-Jhe; Chin, Chung-Kuang; Gong, Song-En; Chang, Hwan-You; Peng, Hwei-Ling; Hsu, Long; Yew, Tri-Rung; Chang, Shau-Feng; Liu, Cheng-Hsien

2013-09-21

A lobule-mimetic cell-patterning technique for on-chip reconstruction of centimetre-scale liver tissue of heterogeneous hepatic and endothelial cells via an enhanced field-induced dielectrophoresis (DEP) trap is demonstrated and reported. By mimicking the basic morphology of liver tissue, the classic hepatic lobule, the lobule-mimetic-stellate-electrodes array was designed for cell patterning. Through DEP manipulation, well-defined and enhanced spatial electric field gradients were created for in-parallel manipulation of massive individual cells. With this liver-cell patterning labchip design, the original randomly distributed hepatic and endothelial cells inside the microfluidic chamber can be manipulated separately and aligned into the desired pattern that mimicks the morphology of liver lobule tissue. Experimental results showed that both hepatic and endothelial cells were orderly guided, snared, and aligned along the field-induced orientation to form the lobule-mimetic pattern. About 95% cell viability of hepatic and endothelial cells was also observed after cell-patterning demonstration via a fluorescent assay technique. The liver function of CYP450-1A1 enzyme activity showed an 80% enhancement for our engineered liver tissue (HepG2+HUVECs) compared to the non-patterned pure HepG2 for two-day culturing.

Visual processing of multiple elements in the dyslexic brain: evidence for a superior parietal dysfunction

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Muriel Anne Lobier

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The visual attention (VA span deficit hypothesis of developmental dyslexia posits that impaired multiple element processing can be responsible for poor reading outcomes. In VA span impaired dyslexic children, poor performance on letter report tasks is associated with reduced parietal activations for multiple letter processing. While this hints towards a non-specific, attention-based dysfunction, it is still unclear whether reduced parietal activity generalizes to other types of stimuli. Furthermore, putative links between reduced parietal activity and reduced ventral occipito-temporal (vOT in dyslexia have yet to be explored. Using fMRI, we measured brain activity in 12 VA span impaired dyslexic adults and 12 adult skilled readers while they carried out a categorization task on single or multiple alphanumeric or non-alphanumeric characters. While healthy readers activated parietal areas more strongly for multiple than single element processing (right-sided for alphanumeric and bilateral for non-alphanumeric, similar stronger multiple element right parietal activations were absent for dyslexic participants. Contrasts between skilled and dyslexic readers revealed significantly reduced right superior parietal lobule (SPL activity for dyslexic readers regardless of stimuli type. Using a priori anatomically defined ROI, we showed that neural activity was reduced for dyslexic participants in both SPL and vOT bilaterally. Finally, we used multiple regressions to test whether SPL activity could predict vOT activity in each group. In the left hemisphere, SPL activity modulated vOT activity for both normal and dyslexic readers. In contrast, in the right hemisphere, SPL activity modulated vOT activity only for dyslexic readers. These results bring critical support to the visual attention interpretation of the VA Span deficit. In addition, they offer a new insight on how deficits in automatic vOT based word recognition could arise in developmental dyslexia.

The role of human parietal area 7A as a link between sequencing in hand actions and in overt speech production

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Stefan eHeim

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Research on the evolutionary basis of the human language faculty has proposed the mirror neuron system as a link between motor processing and speech development. Consequently, most work has focussed on the left inferior frontal cortex, in particular Broca's region, and the left inferior parietal cortex. However, the direct link between planning of hand motor and speech actions remains to be elucidated. Thus, the present study investigated whether sequencing of hand motor actions vs. speech motor actions has a common neural denominator. For the hand motor task, 25 subjects performed single, repeated, or sequenced button presses with either the left or right hand. The speech task was in analogy; the same subjects produced the syllable "po" once or repeatedly, or a sequence of different syllables (po-pi-po. Speech motor vs. hand motor effectors resulted in increased perisylvian activation including Broca's region (left area 44 and areas medially adjacent to left area 45. In contrast, common activation for sequenced vs. repeated production of button presses and syllables revealed the effector-independent involvement of left area 7A in the superior parietal lobule (SPL in sequencing. These data demonstrate that sequencing of vocal gestures, an important precondition for ordered utterances and ultimately human speech, shares area 7A, rather than inferior parietal regions, as a common cortical module with hand motor sequencing. Interestingly, area 7A has previously also been shown to be involved in the observation of hand and non-hand actions. In combination with the literature, the present data thus suggest a distinction between area 44, which is specifically recruited for (cognitive aspects of speech, and SPL area 7A for general aspects of motor sequencing. In sum, the study demonstrates a yet little considered role of the superior parietal lobule in the origins of speech, and may be discussed in the light of embodiment of speech and language in the

Right parietal cortex and calculation processing: intraoperative functional mapping of multiplication and addition in patients affected by a brain tumor.

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Della Puppa, Alessandro; De Pellegrin, Serena; d'Avella, Elena; Gioffrè, Giorgio; Munari, Marina; Saladini, Marina; Salillas, Elena; Scienza, Renato; Semenza, Carlo

2013-11-01

The role of parietal areas in number processing is well known. The significance of intraoperative functional mapping of these areas has been only partially explored, however, and only a few discordant data are available in the surgical literature with regard to the right parietal lobe. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical impact of simple calculation in cortical electrostimulation of right-handed patients affected by a right parietal brain tumor. Calculation mapping in awake surgery was performed in 3 right-handed patients affected by high-grade gliomas located in the right parietal lobe. Preoperatively, none of the patients presented with calculation deficits. In all 3 cases, after sensorimotor and language mapping, cortical and intraparietal sulcus areas involved in single-digit multiplication and addition calculations were mapped using bipolar electrostimulation. In all patients, different sites of the right parietal cortex, mainly in the inferior lobule, were detected as being specifically related to calculation (multiplication or addition). In 2 patients the intraparietal sulcus was functionally specific for multiplication. No functional sites for language were detected. All sites functional for calculation were spared during tumor resection, which was complete in all cases without postoperative neurological deficits. These findings provide intraoperative data in support of an anatomofunctional organization for multiplication and addition within the right parietal area. Furthermore, the study shows the potential clinical relevance of intraoperative mapping of calculation in patients undergoing surgery in the right parietal area. Further and larger studies are needed to confirm these data and assess whether mapped areas are effectively essential for function.

Lobule separator prosthesis to prevent adhesion of reconstructed ear lobe

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Lokendra Gupta

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An adhesion is a band of scar tissue that binds two parts of the tissue together, which develops when the body's repair mechanisms respond to any tissue disturbance, such as surgery, infection, trauma, or radiation. Prevention of unwanted scar bands is of utmost importance to develop esthetic and healthy tissue. This article describes a technique to prevent the adhesion of the surgically reconstructed ear lobule with facial skin, using novel lobule separator prosthesis.

Differential Medial Temporal Lobe and Parietal Cortical Contributions to Real-world Autobiographical Episodic and Autobiographical Semantic Memory.

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Brown, Thackery I; Rissman, Jesse; Chow, Tiffany E; Uncapher, Melina R; Wagner, Anthony D

2018-04-18

Autobiographical remembering can depend on two forms of memory: episodic (event) memory and autobiographical semantic memory (remembering personally relevant semantic knowledge, independent of recalling a specific experience). There is debate about the degree to which the neural signals that support episodic recollection relate to or build upon autobiographical semantic remembering. Pooling data from two fMRI studies of memory for real-world personal events, we investigated whether medial temporal lobe (MTL) and parietal subregions contribute to autobiographical episodic and semantic remembering. During scanning, participants made memory judgments about photograph sequences depicting past events from their life or from others' lives, and indicated whether memory was based on episodic or semantic knowledge. Results revealed several distinct functional patterns: activity in most MTL subregions was selectively associated with autobiographical episodic memory; the hippocampal tail, superior parietal lobule, and intraparietal sulcus were similarly engaged when memory was based on retrieval of an autobiographical episode or autobiographical semantic knowledge; and angular gyrus demonstrated a graded pattern, with activity declining from autobiographical recollection to autobiographical semantic remembering to correct rejections of novel events. Collectively, our data offer insights into MTL and parietal cortex functional organization, and elucidate circuitry that supports different forms of real-world autobiographical memory.

Effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS on parietal and premotor cortex during planning of reaching movements.

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Pierpaolo Busan

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Cerebral activation during planning of reaching movements occurs both in the superior parietal lobule (SPL and premotor cortex (PM, and their activation seems to take place in parallel. METHODOLOGY: The activation of the SPL and PM has been investigated using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS during planning of reaching movements under visual guidance. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A facilitory effect was found when TMS was delivered on the parietal cortex at about half of the time from sight of the target to hand movement, independently of target location in space. Furthermore, at the same stimulation time, a similar facilitory effect was found in PM, which is probably related to movement preparation. CONCLUSIONS: This data contributes to the understanding of cortical dynamics in the parieto-frontal network, and suggests that it is possible to interfere with the planning of reaching movements at different cortical points within a particular time window. Since similar effects may be produced at similar times on both the SPL and PM, parallel processing of visuomotor information is likely to take place in these regions.

Multi-lobulation of the nucleus in prolonged S phase by nuclear expression of Chk tyrosine kinase.

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Nakayama, Yuji; Yamaguchi, Naoto

2005-04-01

Chk tyrosine kinase phosphorylates Src-family tyrosine kinases and suppresses their kinase activity. We recently showed that Chk localizes to the nucleus as well as the cytoplasm and inhibits cell proliferation. To investigate the role of nuclear Chk in proliferation, various Chk mutants were constructed and expressed. Nuclear localization of Chk-induced dynamic multi-lobulation of the nucleus and prolonged S phase of the cell cycle. The N-terminal domain of Chk and a portion of its kinase domain but not the kinase activity were responsible for induction of the multi-lobulation. Cell sorting analysis revealed that nuclear multi-lobulated cells were enriched in late S phase. Multi-lobulated nuclei were surrounded with lamin B1 that was particularly concentrated in concave regions of the nuclei. Furthermore, treatment with nocodazole or taxol disrupted multi-lobulation of the nucleus. These results suggest that nuclear multi-lobulation in late S phase, which is dependent on polymerization and depolymerization of microtubules, may be involved in nuclear Chk-induced inhibition of proliferation.

Multi-lobulation of the nucleus in prolonged S phase by nuclear expression of Chk tyrosine kinase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakayama, Yuji; Yamaguchi, Naoto

2005-01-01

Chk tyrosine kinase phosphorylates Src-family tyrosine kinases and suppresses their kinase activity. We recently showed that Chk localizes to the nucleus as well as the cytoplasm and inhibits cell proliferation. To investigate the role of nuclear Chk in proliferation, various Chk mutants were constructed and expressed. Nuclear localization of Chk-induced dynamic multi-lobulation of the nucleus and prolonged S phase of the cell cycle. The N-terminal domain of Chk and a portion of its kinase domain but not the kinase activity were responsible for induction of the multi-lobulation. Cell sorting analysis revealed that nuclear multi-lobulated cells were enriched in late S phase. Multi-lobulated nuclei were surrounded with lamin B1 that was particularly concentrated in concave regions of the nuclei. Furthermore, treatment with nocodazole or taxol disrupted multi-lobulation of the nucleus. These results suggest that nuclear multi-lobulation in late S phase, which is dependent on polymerization and depolymerization of microtubules, may be involved in nuclear Chk-induced inhibition of proliferation

Anatomical substrates of the alerting, orienting and executive control components of attention: focus on the posterior parietal lobe.

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Xuntao Yin

Full Text Available Both neuropsychological and functional neuroimaging studies have identified that the posterior parietal lobe (PPL is critical for the attention function. However, the unique role of distinct parietal cortical subregions and their underlying white matter (WM remains in question. In this study, we collected both magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI data in normal participants, and evaluated their attention performance using attention network test (ANT, which could isolate three different attention components: alerting, orienting and executive control. Cortical thickness, surface area and DTI parameters were extracted from predefined PPL subregions and correlated with behavioural performance. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS was used for the voxel-wise statistical analysis. Results indicated structure-behaviour relationships on multiple levels. First, a link between the cortical thickness and WM integrity of the right inferior parietal regions and orienting performance was observed. Specifically, probabilistic tractography demonstrated that the integrity of WM connectivity between the bilateral inferior parietal lobules mediated the orienting performance. Second, the scores of executive control were significantly associated with the WM diffusion metrics of the right supramarginal gyrus. Finally, TBSS analysis revealed that alerting performance was significant correlated with the fractional anisotropy of local WM connecting the right thalamus and supplementary motor area. We conclude that distinct areas and features within PPL are associated with different components of attention. These findings could yield a more complete understanding of the nature of the PPL contribution to visuospatial attention.

Multimodal FMRI resting-state functional connectivity in granulin mutations: the case of fronto-parietal dementia.

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Enrico Premi

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Monogenic dementias represent a great opportunity to trace disease progression from preclinical to symptomatic stages. Frontotemporal Dementia related to Granulin (GRN mutations presents a specific framework of brain damage, involving fronto-temporal regions and long inter-hemispheric white matter bundles. Multimodal resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI is a promising tool to carefully describe disease signature from the earliest disease phase. OBJECTIVE: To define local connectivity alterations in GRN related pathology moving from the presymptomatic (asymptomatic GRN mutation carriers to the clinical phase of the disease (GRN- related Frontotemporal Dementia. METHODS: Thirty-one GRN Thr272fs mutation carriers (14 patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and 17 asymptomatic carriers and 38 healthy controls were recruited. Local connectivity measures (Regional Homogeneity (ReHo, Fractional Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuation (fALFF and Degree Centrality (DC were computed, considering age and gender as nuisance variables as well as the influence of voxel-level gray matter atrophy. RESULTS: Asymptomatic GRN carriers had selective reduced ReHo in the left parietal region and increased ReHo in frontal regions compared to healthy controls. Considering Frontotemporal Dementia patients, all measures (ReHo, fALFF and DC were reduced in inferior parietal, frontal lobes and posterior cingulate cortex. Considering GRN mutation carriers, an inverse correlation with age in the posterior cingulate cortex, inferior parietal lobule and orbitofrontal cortex was found. CONCLUSIONS: GRN pathology is characterized by functional brain network alterations even decades before the clinical onset; they involve the parietal region primarily and then spread to the anterior regions of the brain, supporting the concept of molecular nexopathies.

Altered synthesis of some secretory proteins in pancreatic lobules isolated from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, R.D.; Erlanson-Albertsson, C.

1990-01-01

The in vitro incorporation of [35S]cysteine into lipase, colipase, amylase, procarboxypeptidase A and B, and the serine proteases and total proteins was studied in pancreatic lobules isolated from normal and diabetic rats with or without insulin treatment. The incorporation of [35S]cysteine into total proteins was 65% greater in pancreatic lobules from diabetic animals than from normal rats. The increased incorporation was partly reversed by insulin treatment (2 U/100 g/day for 5 days) of diabetic rats. The relative rates of biosynthesis for amylase and the procarboxypeptidases in diabetic pancreatic lobules were decreased by 75 and 25%, respectively, after 1 h of incubation, while those for lipase, colipase, and the serine proteases were increased by 90, 85, and 35%, respectively. The absolute rates of synthesis for these enzymes changed in the same direction as the relative rates in diabetic lobules, except that for the procarboxypeptidases, which did not change. The changed rates of biosynthesis for the pancreatic enzymes were reversed by insulin treatment of the diabetic rats. Kinetic studies showed that the incorporation of [35S]cysteine into amylase, lipase, and colipase was linear until up to 2 h of incubation in normal pancreatic lobules, while in the diabetic lobules the incorporation into lipase and colipase was accelerated, reaching a plateau level already after 1 h of incubation. It is concluded that the biosynthesis of pancreatic secretory proteins in diabetic rats is greatly changed both in terms of quantity and kinetics

Functional Heterogeneity in Posterior Parietal Cortex Across Attention and Episodic Memory Retrieval

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Hutchinson, J. Benjamin; Uncapher, Melina R.; Weiner, Kevin S.; Bressler, David W.; Silver, Michael A.; Preston, Alison R.; Wagner, Anthony D.

2014-01-01

While attention is critical for event memory, debate has arisen regarding the extent to which posterior parietal cortex (PPC) activation during episodic retrieval reflects engagement of PPC-mediated mechanisms of attention. Here, we directly examined the relationship between attention and memory, within and across subjects, using functional magnetic resonance imaging attention-mapping and episodic retrieval paradigms. During retrieval, 4 functionally dissociable PPC regions were identified. Specifically, 2 PPC regions positively tracked retrieval outcomes: lateral intraparietal sulcus (latIPS) indexed graded item memory strength, whereas angular gyrus (AnG) tracked recollection. By contrast, 2 other PPC regions demonstrated nonmonotonic relationships with retrieval: superior parietal lobule (SPL) tracked retrieval reaction time, consistent with a graded engagement of top-down attention, whereas temporoparietal junction displayed a complex pattern of below-baseline retrieval activity, perhaps reflecting disengagement of bottom-up attention. Analyses of retrieval effects in PPC topographic spatial attention maps (IPS0-IPS5; SPL1) revealed that IPS5 and SPL1 exhibited a nonmonotonic relationship with retrieval outcomes resembling that in the SPL region, further suggesting that SPL activation during retrieval reflects top-down attention. While demands on PPC attention mechanisms vary during retrieval attempts, the present functional parcellation of PPC indicates that 2 additional mechanisms (mediated by latIPS and AnG) positively track retrieval outcomes. PMID:23019246

Development of parietal bone surrogates for parietal graft lift training

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Hollensteiner Marianne

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Currently the surgical training of parietal bone graft techniques is performed on patients or specimens. Commercially available bone models do not deliver realistic haptic feedback. Thus customized parietal skull surrogates were developed for surgical training purposes. Two human parietal bones were used as reference. Based on the measurement of insertion forces of drilling, milling and saw procedures suitable material compositions for molding cortical and cancellous calvarial layers were found. Artificial skull caps were manufactured and tested. Additionally microtomograpy images of human and artificial parietal bones were performed to analyze outer table and diploe thicknesses. Significant differences between human and artificial skulls were not detected with the mechanical procedures tested. Highly significant differences were found for the diploe thickness values. In conclusion, an artificial bone has been created, mimicking the properties of human parietal bone thus being suitable for tabula externa graft lift training.

Neural underpinnings of divergent production of rules in numerical analogical reasoning.

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Wu, Xiaofei; Jung, Rex E; Zhang, Hao

2016-05-01

Creativity plays an important role in numerical problem solving. Although the neural underpinnings of creativity have been studied over decades, very little is known about neural mechanisms of the creative process that relates to numerical problem solving. In the present study, we employed a numerical analogical reasoning task with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of divergent production of rules in numerical analogical reasoning. Participants performed two tasks: a multiple solution analogical reasoning task and a single solution analogical reasoning task. Results revealed that divergent production of rules involves significant activations at Brodmann area (BA) 10 in the right middle frontal cortex, BA 40 in the left inferior parietal lobule, and BA 8 in the superior frontal cortex. The results suggest that right BA 10 and left BA 40 are involved in the generation of novel rules, and BA 8 is associated with the inhibition of initial rules in numerical analogical reasoning. The findings shed light on the neural mechanisms of creativity in numerical processing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Repair of soft tissue defect in hand or foot with lobulated medial sural artery perforator flap].

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Fengjing, Zhao; Jianmin, Yao; Xingqun, Zhang; Liang, Ma; Longchun, Zhang; Yibo, Xu; Peng, Wang; Zhen, Zhu

2015-11-01

To explore the clinical effect of the lobulated medial sural artery perforator flap in repairing soft tissue defect in hand or foot. Since March 2012 to September 2014, 6 cases with soft tissue defects in hands or feet were treated by lobulated medial sural artery flaps pedicled with 1st musculo-cutaneous perforator and 2st musculo-cutaneous perforator of the medial sural artery. The size of the flaps ranged from 4.5 cm x 10.0 cm to 6.0 cm x 17.0 cm. 5 cases of lobulated flap survived smoothly, only 1 lobulated flap had venous articulo, but this flap also survived after the articulo was removed by vascular exploration. All flaps had desirable appearance and sensation and the two-point discrimination was 6 mm in mean with 4 to 12 months follow-up (average, 7 months). Linear scar was left in donor sites in 3 cases and skin scar in 3 cases. There was no malfunction in donor sites. Lobulated medial sural artery perforator flap is feasible and ideal method for the treatment of soft tissue defect in hand or foot with satisfactory effect.

Early Left Parietal Activity Elicited by Direct Gaze: A High-Density EEG Study

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Burra, Nicolas; Kerzel, Dirk; George, Nathalie

2016-01-01

Gaze is one of the most important cues for human communication and social interaction. In particular, gaze contact is the most primary form of social contact and it is thought to capture attention. A very early-differentiated brain response to direct versus averted gaze has been hypothesized. Here, we used high-density electroencephalography to test this hypothesis. Topographical analysis allowed us to uncover a very early topographic modulation (40–80 ms) of event-related responses to faces with direct as compared to averted gaze. This modulation was obtained only in the condition where intact broadband faces–as opposed to high-pass or low-pas filtered faces–were presented. Source estimation indicated that this early modulation involved the posterior parietal region, encompassing the left precuneus and inferior parietal lobule. This supports the idea that it reflected an early orienting response to direct versus averted gaze. Accordingly, in a follow-up behavioural experiment, we found faster response times to the direct gaze than to the averted gaze broadband faces. In addition, classical evoked potential analysis showed that the N170 peak amplitude was larger for averted gaze than for direct gaze. Taken together, these results suggest that direct gaze may be detected at a very early processing stage, involving a parallel route to the ventral occipito-temporal route of face perceptual analysis. PMID:27880776

Sequential neural processes in abacus mental addition: an EEG and FMRI case study.

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Ku, Yixuan; Hong, Bo; Zhou, Wenjing; Bodner, Mark; Zhou, Yong-Di

2012-01-01

Abacus experts are able to mentally calculate multi-digit numbers rapidly. Some behavioral and neuroimaging studies have suggested a visuospatial and visuomotor strategy during abacus mental calculation. However, no study up to now has attempted to dissociate temporally the visuospatial neural process from the visuomotor neural process during abacus mental calculation. In the present study, an abacus expert performed the mental addition tasks (8-digit and 4-digit addends presented in visual or auditory modes) swiftly and accurately. The 100% correct rates in this expert's task performance were significantly higher than those of ordinary subjects performing 1-digit and 2-digit addition tasks. ERPs, EEG source localizations, and fMRI results taken together suggested visuospatial and visuomotor processes were sequentially arranged during the abacus mental addition with visual addends and could be dissociated from each other temporally. The visuospatial transformation of the numbers, in which the superior parietal lobule was most likely involved, might occur first (around 380 ms) after the onset of the stimuli. The visuomotor processing, in which the superior/middle frontal gyri were most likely involved, might occur later (around 440 ms). Meanwhile, fMRI results suggested that neural networks involved in the abacus mental addition with auditory stimuli were similar to those in the visual abacus mental addition. The most prominently activated brain areas in both conditions included the bilateral superior parietal lobules (BA 7) and bilateral middle frontal gyri (BA 6). These results suggest a supra-modal brain network in abacus mental addition, which may develop from normal mental calculation networks.

Differential contributions of the superior and inferior parietal cortex to feedback versus feedforward control of tools.

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Macuga, Kristen L; Frey, Scott H

2014-05-15

Damage to the superior and/or inferior parietal lobules (SPL, IPL) (Sirigu et al., 1996) or cerebellum (Grealy and Lee, 2011) can selectively disrupt motor imagery, motivating the hypothesis that these regions participate in predictive (i.e., feedforward) control. If so, then the SPL, IPL, and cerebellum should show greater activity as the demands on feedforward control increase from visually-guided execution (closed-loop) to execution without visual feedback (open-loop) to motor imagery. Using fMRI and a Fitts' reciprocal aiming task with tools directed at targets in far space, we found that the SPL and cerebellum exhibited greater activity during closed-loop control. Conversely, open-loop and imagery conditions were associated with increased activity within the IPL and prefrontal areas. These results are consistent with a superior-to-inferior gradient in the representation of feedback-to-feedforward control within the posterior parietal cortex. Additionally, the anterior SPL displayed greater activity when aiming movements were performed with a stick vs. laser pointer. This may suggest that it is involved in the remapping of far into near (reachable) space (Maravita and Iriki, 2004), or in distalization of the end-effector from hand to stick (Arbib et al., 2009). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microstructural analyses of the posterior cerebellar lobules in relapsing-onset multiple sclerosis and their implication in cognitive impairment.

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Amandine Moroso

Full Text Available The posterior cerebellar lobules seem to be the anatomical substrate of cognitive cerebellar processes, but their microstructural alterations in multiple sclerosis (MS remain unclear.To correlate diffusion metrics in lobules VI to VIIIb in persons with clinically isolated syndrome (PwCIS and in cognitively impaired persons with MS (CIPwMS with their cognitive performances.Sixty-nine patients (37 PwCIS, 32 CIPwMS and 36 matched healthy subjects (HS underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging, including 3D T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI. Fractional anisotropy (FA and mean diffusivity (MD were calculated within each lobule and in the cerebellar peduncles. We investigated the correlations between cognitive outcomes and the diffusion parameters of cerebellar sub-structures and performed multiple linear regression analysis to predict cognitive disability.FA was generally lower and MD was higher in the cerebellum and specifically in the vermis Crus II, lobules VIIb and VIIIb in CIPwMS compared with PwCIS and HS. In hierarchical regression analyses, 31% of the working memory z score variance was explained by FA in the left lobule VI and in the left superior peduncle. Working memory was also associated with MD in the vermis Crus II. FA in the left lobule VI and right VIIIa predicted part of the information processing speed (IPS z scores.DTI indicators of cerebellar microstructural damage were associated with cognitive deficits in MS. Our results suggested that cerebellar lobular alterations have an impact on attention, working memory and IPS.

Altered Parietal Activation during Non-symbolic Number Comparison in Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

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Keri J. Woods

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Number processing is a cognitive domain particularly sensitive to prenatal alcohol exposure, which relies on intact parietal functioning. Alcohol-related alterations in brain activation have been found in the parietal lobe during symbolic number processing. However, the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the neural correlates of non-symbolic number comparison and the numerical distance effect have not been investigated. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, we examined differences in brain activation associated with prenatal alcohol exposure in five parietal regions involved in number processing during a non-symbolic number comparison task with varying degrees of difficulty. fMRI results are presented for 27 Cape Colored children (6 fetal alcohol syndome (FAS/partial FAS, 5 heavily exposed (HE non-sydromal, 16 controls; mean age ± SD = 11.7 ± 1.1 years. Fetal alcohol exposure was assessed by interviewing mothers using a timeline follow-back approach. Separate subject analyses were performed in each of five regions of interest, bilateral horizontal intraparietal sulci (IPS, bilateral posterior superior parietal lobules (PSPL, and left angular gyrus (left AG, using the general linear model with predictors for number comparison and difficulty level. Mean percent signal change for each predictor was extracted for each subject for each region to examine group differences and associations with continuous measures of alcohol exposure. Although groups did not differ in performance, controls activated the right PSPL more during non-symbolic number comparison than exposed children, but this was not significant after controlling for maternal smoking, and the right IPS more than children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS or partial FAS. More heavily exposed children recruited the left AG to a greater extent as task difficulty increased, possibly to compensate, in part, for impairments in function in the PSPL and IPS. Notably, in non

Gender differences in brain regional homogeneity of healthy subjects after normal sleep and after sleep deprivation: a resting-state fMRI study.

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Dai, Xi-Jian; Gong, Hong-Han; Wang, Yi-Xiang; Zhou, Fu-Qing; Min, You-Jiang; Zhao, Feng; Wang, Si-Yong; Liu, Bi-Xia; Xiao, Xiang-Zuo

2012-06-01

To explore the gender differences of brain regional homogeneity (ReHo) in healthy subjects during the resting-state, after normal sleep, and after sleep deprivation (SD) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the ReHo method. Sixteen healthy subjects (eight males and eight females) each underwent the resting-state fMRI exams twice, i.e., once after normal sleep and again after 24h's SD. According to the gender and sleep, 16 subjects were all measured twice and divided into four groups: the male control group (MC), female control group (FC), male SD group (MSD), and female SD group (FSD). The ReHo method was used to calculate and analyze the data, SPM5 software was used to perform a two-sample T-test and a two-pair T-test with a P value right paracentral lobule (BA3/6), but in no obviously lower regions. Compared with the FC, the FSD showed significantly higher ReHo in bilateral parietal lobes (BA2/3), bilateral vision-related regions of occipital lobes (BA17/18/19), right frontal lobe (BA4/6), and lower ReHo in the right frontal lobe. Compared with the FC, the MC showed significantly higher ReHo in the left occipital lobe (BA18/19), and left temporal lobe (BA21), left frontal lobe, and lower ReHo in the right insula and in the left parietal lobe. Compared with the FSD, the MSD showed significantly higher ReHo in the left cerebellum posterior lobe (uvula/declive of vermis), left parietal lobe, and bilateral frontal lobes, and lower ReHo in the right occipital lobe (BA17) and right frontal lobe (BA4). The differences of brain activity in the resting state can be widely found not only between the control and SD group in a same gender group, but also between the male group and female group. Thus, we should take the gender differences into consideration in future fMRI studies, especially the treatment of brain-related diseases (e.g., depression). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parietal podocytes in normal human glomeruli.

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Bariety, Jean; Mandet, Chantal; Hill, Gary S; Bruneval, Patrick

2006-10-01

Although parietal podocytes along the Bowman's capsule have been described by electron microscopy in the normal human kidney, their molecular composition remains unknown. Ten human normal kidneys that were removed for cancer were assessed for the presence and the extent of parietal podocytes along the Bowman's capsule. The expression of podocyte-specific proteins (podocalyxin, glomerular epithelial protein-1, podocin, nephrin, synaptopodin, and alpha-actinin-4), podocyte synthesized proteins (vascular endothelial growth factor and novH), transcription factors (WT1 and PAX2), cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p57, and intermediate filaments (cytokeratins and vimentin) was tested. In addition, six normal fetal kidneys were studied to track the ontogeny of parietal podocytes. The podocyte protein labeling detected parietal podocytes in all of the kidneys, was found in 76.6% on average of Bowman's capsule sections, and was prominent at the vascular pole. WT1 and p57 were expressed in some parietal cells, whereas PAX2 was present in all or most of them, so some parietal cells coexpressed WT1 and PAX2. Furthermore, parietal podocytes coexpressed WT1 and podocyte proteins. Cytokeratin-positive cells covered a variable part of the capsule and did not express podocyte proteins. Tuft-capsular podocyte bridges were present in 15.5 +/- 3.7% of the glomerular sections. Parietal podocytes often covered the juxtaglomerular arterioles and were present within the extraglomerular mesangium. Parietal podocytes were present in fetal kidneys. Parietal podocytes that express the same epitopes as visceral podocytes do exist along Bowman's capsule in the normal adult kidney. They are a constitutive cell type of the Bowman's capsule. Therefore, their role in physiology and pathology should be investigated.

Single Stage Reconstruction of Type IIA Defect of the Ear Lobule ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

its loss causes an obvious aesthetic abnormality.[3,4]. There are key ... The aesthetic results are generally well acceptable and there is a good color match between the neolobule and the surrounding skin. Key words: Ear lobule, Limberg flap, reconstruction, ... burden on the patient from a two‑stage procedure, an unnatural ...

Visual Categorization and the Parietal Cortex

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Jamie K Fitzgerald

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The primate brain is adept at rapidly grouping items and events into functional classes, or categories, in order to recognize the significance of stimuli and guide behavior. Higher cognitive functions have traditionally been considered the domain of frontal areas. However, increasing evidence suggests that parietal cortex is also involved in categorical and associative processes. Previous work showed that the parietal cortex is highly involved in spatial processing, attention and saccadic eye movement planning, and more recent studies have found decision-making signals in LIP. We recently found that a subdivision of parietal cortex, the lateral intraparietal area (LIP, reflects learned categories for multiple types of visual stimuli. Additionally, a comparison of categorization signals in parietal and frontal areas found stronger and earlier categorization signals in parietal cortex, arguing that parietal abstract association or category signals are unlikely to arise via feedback from prefrontal cortex (PFC.

Holding Biological Motion in Working Memory: An fMRI Study

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Xiqian eLu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Holding biological motion (BM, the movements of animate entities, in working memory (WM is important to our daily life activities. However, the neural substrates underlying the WM processing of BM remain largely unknown. Employing the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI technique, the current study directly investigated this issue. We used point-light BM animations as the tested stimuli, and explored the neural substrates involved in encoding and retaining BM information in WM. Participants were required to remember two or four BM stimuli in a change-detection task. We first defined a set of potential brain regions devoted to the BM processing in WM in one experiment. We then conducted the second fMRI experiment, and performed time-course analysis over the pre-defined regions, which allowed us to differentiate the encoding and maintenance phases of WM. The results showed that a set of brain regions were involved in encoding BM into WM, including the middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, inferior parietal lobule, superior temporal sulcus, fusiform gyrus, and middle occipital gyrus. However, only the middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, and inferior parietal lobule were involved in retaining BM into WM. These results suggest that an overlapped network exists between the WM encoding and maintenance for BM; however, retaining BM in WM predominately relies on the mirror neuron system.

Fat-plug myringoplasty of ear lobule vs abdominal donor sites.

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Acar, Mustafa; Yazıcı, Demet; San, Turhan; Muluk, Nuray Bayar; Cingi, Cemal

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study is to compare the success rates of fat-graft myringoplasties harvesting adipose grafts from different donor sites (ear lobule vs abdomen). The clinical records of 61 patients (24 males and 37 females) who underwent fat-plug myringoplasty (FPM) were reviewed retrospectively. Fat from ear lobule (FEL) and abdominal fat were used as graft materials. The impact of age, gender, systemic diseases, topography of the perforation, utilization of fat graft materials of different origin on the tympanic membrane closure rate and the effect of FPM on hearing gain was analyzed. Our tympanic membrane (TM) closure rate was 82 %. No statistical significant difference was observed regarding age, gender, comorbidities (septal deviation, hypertension and diabetes mellitus) or habits (smoking). Posterior TM perforations had significantly lower healing rate. The change in TM closure rate considering different adipose tissue donor sites was not statistically significant. The hearing gain of the patients was mostly below 20 dB. Fat-plug myringoplasty (FPM) is a safe, cost-effective and easy operation for selected patients. Abdominal fat graft is as effective as ear lobe fat graft on tympanic membrane healing, has cosmetic advantages and should be taken into consideration when planning fat as the graft source.

Atypical modulation of distant functional connectivity by cognitive state in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Xiaozhen eYou

2013-08-01

Full Text Available We examined whether modulation of functional connectivity by cognitive state differed between pre-adolescent children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD and age and IQ-matched control children. Children underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI during two states, a resting state followed by a sustained attention task. A voxel-wise method was used to characterize functional connectivity at two levels, local (within a voxel’s 14 mm neighborhood and distant (outside of the voxel’s 14 mm neighborhood to the rest of the brain and regions exhibiting Group X State interaction were identified for both types of connectivity maps. Distant functional connectivity of regions in the left frontal lobe (dorsolateral [BA 11, 10]; supplementary motor area extending into dorsal anterior cingulate [BA 32/8]; and premotor [BA 6, 8, 9], right parietal lobe (paracentral lobule [BA 6 ]; angular gyrus [BA 39/40], and left posterior middle temporal cortex (BA 19/39 showed a Group X State interaction such that relative to the resting state, connectivity reduced (i.e., became focal in control children but increased (i.e., became diffuse in ASD children during the task state. Higher state-related increase in distant connectivity of left frontal and right angular gyrus predicted worse inattention in ASD children. Two graph theory measures (global efficiency and modularity were also sensitive to Group X State differences, with the magnitude of state-related change predicting inattention in the ASD children. Our results indicate that as ASD children transition from an unconstrained to a sustained attentional state, functional connectivity of frontal and parietal regions with the rest of the brain becomes more widespread in a manner that may be maladaptive as it was associated with attention problems in everyday life.

Neurobiological evidence for attention bias to food, emotional dysregulation, disinhibition and deficient somatosensory awareness in obesity with binge eating disorder.

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Aviram-Friedman, Roni; Astbury, Nerys; Ochner, Christopher N; Contento, Isobel; Geliebter, Allan

2018-02-01

To refine the biobehavioral markers of binge eating disorder (BED). We conducted fMRI brain scans using images of high energy processed food (HEPF), low energy unprocessed food (LEUF), or non-foods (NF) in 42 adults (obese with BED [obese -BED; n=13] and obese with no BED [obese non-BED; n=29]) selected via ads. Two blood oxygenated level dependent (BOLD) signal contrast maps were examined: food versus nonfood, and HEPF versus LEUF. In addition, score differences on the disinhibition scale were correlated with BOLD signals. food versus nonfood showed greater BOLD activity for BED in emotional, motivational and somatosensory brain areas: insula, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), Brodmann areas (BA) 19 & 32, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and lingual, postcentral, middle temporal and cuneate gyri (p≤0.005; k≥88). HEPF versus LEUF showed greater BOLD activity for BED in inhibitory brain regions: BA 6, middle and superior frontal gyri (pFood images elicited neural activity indicating attention bias (cuneate & PCG), emotion dysregulation (BA 19 & 32), and disinhibition (MFG, BA6 & SFG) in obese with BED. These may help tailor a treatment for the obesity with BED phenotype. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

CERES: A new cerebellum lobule segmentation method.

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Romero, Jose E; Coupé, Pierrick; Giraud, Rémi; Ta, Vinh-Thong; Fonov, Vladimir; Park, Min Tae M; Chakravarty, M Mallar; Voineskos, Aristotle N; Manjón, Jose V

2017-02-15

The human cerebellum is involved in language, motor tasks and cognitive processes such as attention or emotional processing. Therefore, an automatic and accurate segmentation method is highly desirable to measure and understand the cerebellum role in normal and pathological brain development. In this work, we propose a patch-based multi-atlas segmentation tool called CERES (CEREbellum Segmentation) that is able to automatically parcellate the cerebellum lobules. The proposed method works with standard resolution magnetic resonance T1-weighted images and uses the Optimized PatchMatch algorithm to speed up the patch matching process. The proposed method was compared with related recent state-of-the-art methods showing competitive results in both accuracy (average DICE of 0.7729) and execution time (around 5 minutes). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MEG reveals a fast pathway from somatosensory cortex to occipital areas via posterior parietal cortex in a blind subject.

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Ioannides, Andreas A; Liu, Lichan; Poghosyan, Vahe; Saridis, George A; Gjedde, Albert; Ptito, Maurice; Kupers, Ron

2013-01-01

Cross-modal activity in visual cortex of blind subjects has been reported during performance of variety of non-visual tasks. A key unanswered question is through which pathways non-visual inputs are funneled to the visual cortex. Here we used tomographic analysis of single trial magnetoencephalography (MEG) data recorded from one congenitally blind and two sighted subjects after stimulation of the left and right median nerves at three intensities: below sensory threshold, above sensory threshold and above motor threshold; the last sufficient to produce thumb twitching. We identified reproducible brain responses in the primary somatosensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortices at around 20 ms post-stimulus, which were very similar in sighted and blind subjects. Time-frequency analysis revealed strong 45-70 Hz activity at latencies of 20-50 ms in S1 and M1, and posterior parietal cortex Brodmann areas (BA) 7 and 40, which compared to lower frequencies, were substantially more pronounced in the blind than the sighted subjects. Critically, at frequencies from α-band up to 100 Hz we found clear, strong, and widespread responses in the visual cortex of the blind subject, which increased with the intensity of the somatosensory stimuli. Time-delayed mutual information (MI) revealed that in blind subject the stimulus information is funneled from the early somatosensory to visual cortex through posterior parietal BA 7 and 40, projecting first to visual areas V5 and V3, and eventually V1. The flow of information through this pathway occurred in stages characterized by convergence of activations into specific cortical regions. In sighted subjects, no linked activity was found that led from the somatosensory to the visual cortex through any of the studied brain regions. These results provide the first evidence from MEG that in blind subjects, tactile information is routed from primary somatosensory to occipital cortex via the posterior parietal cortex.

A Voxel Based Morphometry Study of Brain Gray Matter Volumes in Juvenile Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

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Jayarajan, Rajan Nishanth; Agarwal, Sri Mahavir; Viswanath, Biju; Kalmady, Sunil V; Venkatasubramanian, Ganesan; Srinath, Shoba; Chandrashekar, C R; Janardhan Reddy, Y C

2015-01-01

Adult patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have been shown to have gray matter (GM) volume differences from healthy controls in multiple regions - the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), medial frontal gyri (MFG), striatum, thalamus, and superior parietal lobule. However, there is paucity of data with regard to juvenile OCD. Hence, we examined GM volume differences between juvenile OCD patients and matched healthy controls using voxel based morphometry (VBM) with the above apriori regions of interest. Fifteen right handed juvenile patients with OCD and age- sex- handedness- matched healthy controls were recruited after administering the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview-KID and the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and scanned using a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner. VBM methodology was followed. In comparison with healthy controls, patients had significantly smaller GM volumes in left ACC. YBOCS total score (current) showed significant negative correlation with GM volumes in bilateral OFC, and left superior parietal lobule. These findings while reiterating the important role of the orbito-fronto-striatal circuitry, also implicate in the parietal lobe - especially the superior parietal lobule as an important structure involved in the pathogenesis of OCD.

Encefalomenigocele atrésico parietal Parietal atresic encephalomeningocele

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Liliana Rivera Oliva

2011-09-01

Full Text Available El encefalocele es una anomalía congénita rara, en la que una porción del encéfalo protruye a través de un orificio craneal (evaginación, generalmente situado en la línea media. Clínicamente se caracteriza por una masa epicraneal, de consistencia blanda, muchas veces acompañada de trastornos psicomotores, convulsiones y trastornos de la visión. Se presenta el caso de un recién nacido con diagnóstico de encefalomeningocele atrésico parietal, intervenido quirúrgicamente y con evolución satisfactoria.The encephalocele is a uncommon congenital anomaly where a portion of encephalon protrudes through a cranial orifice (evagination, generally located in the middle line. Clinically, it is characterized by a soft epicranial mass often accompanied or psychomotor disorders, convulsions and vision disorders. This is the case of a newborn diagnosed with parietal atresic encephalomeningocele operated on with a satisfactory evolution.

Theta Burst Stimulation Enhances Connectivity of the Dorsal Attention Network in Young Healthy Subjects: An Exploratory Study

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Lubomira Anderkova

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We examined effects of theta burst stimulation (TBS applied over two distinct cortical areas (the right inferior frontal gyrus and the left superior parietal lobule on the Stroop task performance in 20 young healthy subjects. Neural underpinnings of the behavioral effect were tested using fMRI. A single session of intermittent TBS of the left superior parietal lobule induced certain cognitive speed enhancement and significantly increased resting-state connectivity of the dorsal attention network. This is an exploratory study that prompts further research with multiple-session TBS in subjects with cognitive impairment.

Dissociable Changes of Frontal and Parietal Cortices in Inherent Functional Flexibility across the Human Life Span.

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Yin, Dazhi; Liu, Wenjing; Zeljic, Kristina; Wang, Zhiwei; Lv, Qian; Fan, Mingxia; Cheng, Wenhong; Wang, Zheng

2016-09-28

Extensive evidence suggests that frontoparietal regions can dynamically update their pattern of functional connectivity, supporting cognitive control and adaptive implementation of task demands. However, it is largely unknown whether this flexibly functional reconfiguration is intrinsic and occurs even in the absence of overt tasks. Based on recent advances in dynamics of resting-state functional resonance imaging (fMRI), we propose a probabilistic framework in which dynamic reconfiguration of intrinsic functional connectivity between each brain region and others can be represented as a probability distribution. A complexity measurement (i.e., entropy) was used to quantify functional flexibility, which characterizes heterogeneous connectivity between a particular region and others over time. Following this framework, we identified both functionally flexible and specialized regions over the human life span (112 healthy subjects from 13 to 76 years old). Across brainwide regions, we found regions showing high flexibility mainly in the higher-order association cortex, such as the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), lateral parietal cortex, and lateral temporal lobules. In contrast, visual, auditory, and sensory areas exhibited low flexibility. Furthermore, we observed that flexibility of the right LPFC improved during maturation and reduced due to normal aging, with the opposite occurring for the left lateral parietal cortex. Our findings reveal dissociable changes of frontal and parietal cortices over the life span in terms of inherent functional flexibility. This study not only provides a new framework to quantify the spatiotemporal behavior of spontaneous brain activity, but also sheds light on the organizational principle behind changes in brain function across the human life span. Recent neuroscientific research has demonstrated that the human capability of adaptive task control is primarily the result of the flexible operation of frontal brain networks. However

Functional MRI study of verbal working memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

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Lu Youran; Geng Daoying; Feng Xiaoyuan; Du Yasong; Zhao Zhimin

2006-01-01

Objective: To study the verbal working memory of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as to explore the characteristics of functional areas of verbal working memory with blood oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Method: Eighteen children were selected in the study. There were 9 ADHD children with inattention subtype and 9 healthy subjects. All patients and healthy subjects completed the cognitive examination and the block- designed N-block verbal working memory task using a GE 3.0 T MR. Data were analyzed by AFNI software. Result: The neural activations of ADHD's children are lower than that of control under verbal working memory. Especially in the areas of bilateral middle frontal gyri and inferior frontal gyri, bilateral superior parietal lobules and inferior parietal lobules, right basal ganglia in the 1-BACK task. And bilateral middle frontal gyri and inferior frontal gyri, bilateral superior parietal lobules, left cortex inferior parietallobule, right basal ganglia, anterior cingulatecortex in the 2-BACK task. Conclusion: The hypofunctional areas of verbal working memory (including bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex) can be seen in the ADHD children especially who also has lower activation of anterior cingulate cortex under 2-BACK task. (authors)

Interaction Between Hippocampus and Cerebellum Crus I in Sequence-Based but not Place-Based Navigation

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Iglói, Kinga; Doeller, Christian F.; Paradis, Anne-Lise; Benchenane, Karim; Berthoz, Alain; Burgess, Neil; Rondi-Reig, Laure

2015-01-01

To examine the cerebellar contribution to human spatial navigation we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and virtual reality. Our findings show that the sensory-motor requirements of navigation induce activity in cerebellar lobules and cortical areas known to be involved in the motor loop and vestibular processing. By contrast, cognitive aspects of navigation mainly induce activity in a different cerebellar lobule (VIIA Crus I). Our results demonstrate a functional link between cerebellum and hippocampus in humans and identify specific functional circuits linking lobule VIIA Crus I of the cerebellum to medial parietal, medial prefrontal, and hippocampal cortices in nonmotor aspects of navigation. They further suggest that Crus I belongs to 2 nonmotor loops, involved in different strategies: place-based navigation is supported by coherent activity between left cerebellar lobule VIIA Crus I and medial parietal cortex along with right hippocampus activity, while sequence-based navigation is supported by coherent activity between right lobule VIIA Crus I, medial prefrontal cortex, and left hippocampus. These results highlight the prominent role of the human cerebellum in both motor and cognitive aspects of navigation, and specify the cortico-cerebellar circuits by which it acts depending on the requirements of the task. PMID:24947462

MEG reveals a fast pathway from somatosensory cortex to occipital areas via posterior parietal cortex in a blind subject

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Andreas A Ioannides

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Cross-modal activity in visual cortex of blind subjects has been reported during performance of variety of non-visual tasks. A key unanswered question is through which pathways non-visual inputs are funneled to the visual cortex. Here we used tomographic analysis of single trial magnetoencephalography (MEG data recorded from one congenitally blind and two sighted subjects after stimulation of the left and right median nerves at three intensities: below sensory threshold, above sensory threshold and above motor threshold; the last sufficient to produce thumb twitching. We identified reproducible brain responses in the primary somatosensory (S1 and motor (M1 cortices at around 20 ms post-stimulus, which were very similar in sighted and blind subjects. Time-frequency analysis revealed strong 45 to 70 Hz activity at latencies of 20 to 50 ms in S1 and M1, and posterior parietal cortex Brodmann areas (BA 7 and 40, which compared to lower frequencies, were substantially more pronounced in the blind than the sighted subjects. Critically, at frequencies from α-band up to 100 Hz we found clear, strong and widespread responses in the visual cortex of the blind subject, which increased with the intensity of the somatosensory stimuli. Time-delayed mutual information (MI revealed that in blind subject the stimulus information is funneled from the early somatosensory to visual cortex through posterior parietal BA 7 and 40, projecting first to visual areas V5 and V3, and eventually V1. The flow of information through this pathway occured in stages characterized by convergence of activations into specific cortical regions. In sighted subjects, no linked activity was found that led from the somatosensory to the visual cortex through any of the studied brain regions. These results provide the first evidence from MEG that in blind subjects, tactile information is routed from primary somatosensory to occipital cortex via the posterior parietal cortex.

Human left ventral premotor cortex mediates matching of hand posture to object use.

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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.

Cortical-limbic regions modulate depression and anxiety factors in functional dyspepsia. A PET-CT study

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Liu Mailan; Liang Fanrong; Zeng Fang; Tang Yong; Lan Lei; Song Wenzhong

2012-01-01

The objective of this study was to observe some specific brain areas or cerebral functional network participating in the modulation of depression and anxiety factors in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients by detecting cerebral glucose metabolism (CGM) in fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scans. Eight FD patients with depression and anxiety (DA-FD group) and eight FD patients without depression and anxiety (non-DA-FD group) were recruited and evaluated by the Nepean Dyspepsia Index (NDI) and Dyspepsia Symptom Scores (DSS). Cerebral 18 F-FDG PET-CT scans were performed on the DA-FD group and non-DA-FD group, respectively. The differences in CGM between the two groups were analyzed with Statistical Parametric Mapping 2.0 (SPM2). Extensive changes in the CGM signals were observed in the cerebral cortex and limbic system of FD patients with depression and anxiety. Compared to non-DA-FD patients, DA-FD patients showed a higher glucose metabolism in the right postcentral gyrus (BA 1 and 5), inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45), superior temporal gyrus (BA 22), middle temporal gyrus (BA 22), inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), lingual gyrus (BA 18) and the left middle occipital gyrus (BA 37), as well as the limbic system including the left thalamus, lateral globus pallidus, parahippocampal gyrus (BA 35), right insular cortex (BA 13) and parahippocampal gyrus (BA 18); a lower glucose metabolism was presented in the left middle cingulated gyrus (BA 24), the right superior frontal gyrus (BA 6), the medial frontal gyrus (BA 6) and middle temporal gyrus (BA 21). An extensive cortical-limbic brain network might modulate the procession of FD patients with depression and anxiety factors. (author)

Dissociating Neural Correlates of Meaningful Emblems from Meaningless Gestures in Deaf Signers and Hearing Non-Signers

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Husain, Fatima T.; Patkin, Debra J.; Kim, Jieun; Braun, Allen R.; Horwitz, Barry

2012-01-01

Emblems are meaningful, culturally-specific hand gestures that are analogous to words. In this fMRI study, we contrasted the processing of emblematic gestures with meaningless gestures by pre-lingually Deaf and hearing participants. Deaf participants, who used American Sign Language, activated bilateral auditory processing and associative areas in the temporal cortex to a greater extent than the hearing participants while processing both types of gestures relative to rest. The hearing non-signers activated a diverse set of regions, including those implicated in the mirror neuron system, such as premotor cortex (BA 6) and inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) for the same contrast. Further, when contrasting the processing of meaningful to meaningless gestures (both relative to rest), the Deaf participants, but not the hearing, showed greater response in the left angular and supramarginal gyri, regions that play important roles in linguistic processing. These results suggest that whereas the signers interpreted emblems to be comparable to words, the non-signers treated emblems as similar to pictorial descriptions of the world and engaged the mirror neuron system. PMID:22968047

Alterations of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in healthy subjects with theta-burst stimulation of the cortex of the suprahyoid muscles.

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Ruan, Xiuhang; Xu, Guangqing; Gao, Cuihua; Liu, Lingling; Liu, Yanli; Jiang, Lisheng; Chen, Xin; Yu, Shaode; Jiang, Xinqing; Lan, Yue; Wei, Xinhua

2017-12-04

Theta burst stimulation (TBS) has emerged as a promising tool for the treatment of swallowing disorders; however, the short-term after-effects of brain activation induced by TBS remain unknown. Here, we measured the changes in spontaneous brain activation using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) approach in subjects who underwent different TBS protocols. Sixty right-handed healthy participants (male, n=30; female, n=30; mean age=23.5y) were recruited in this study and randomly assigned to three groups that underwent three different TBS protocols. In group 1, continuous TBS (cTBS) was positioned on the left hemisphere of the suprahyoid muscle cortex. For group 2, intermittent TBS (iTBS) was placed on the left hemisphere of the suprahyoid muscle cortex. Group 3 underwent combined cTBS/iTBS protocols in which iTBS on the right hemisphere was performed immediately after completing cTBS on the left suprahyoid muscle cortex. Compared to pre-TBS, post-cTBS showed decreased ALFF in the anterior cingulate gyrus (BA 32); post-iTBS induced an increase in ALFF in the bilateral precuneus (BA 7); and post-cTBS/iTBS induced a decrease in ALFF in the brainstem, and resulted in increased ALFF in the middle cingulate gyrus (BA 24) as well as the left precentral gyrus (BA 6). Compared the effect of post-TBS protocols, increased ALFF was found in left posterior cerebellum lobe and left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) (post-cTBS vs post-iTBS), and decreased ALFF exhibited in paracentral lobule (BA 4) (post-iTBS vs post-cTBS/iTBS). These findings indicate that multiple brain areas involved in swallowing regulation after stimulation of TBS over the suprahyoid muscles. cTBS induces decreased after-effects while iTBS results in increased after-effects on spontaneous brain activation. Moreover, iTBS can eliminate the after-effects of cTBS applied on the contralateral swallowing cortex and alter the activity of contralateral motor cortex and brainstem. Our findings provide a

Sylvian Fissure and Parietal Anatomy in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Tracey A. Knaus

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Autism spectrum disorder (ASD is characterized by deficits in social functioning and language and communication, with restricted interests or stereotyped behaviors. Anatomical differences have been found in the parietal cortex in children with ASD, but parietal subregions and associations between Sylvian fissure (SF and parietal anatomy have not been explored. In this study, SF length and anterior and posterior parietal volumes were measured on MRI in 30 right-handed boys with ASD and 30 right-handed typically developing boys (7–14 years, matched on age and non-verbal IQ. There was leftward SF and anterior parietal asymmetry, and rightward posterior parietal asymmetry, across groups. There were associations between SF and parietal asymmetries, with slight group differences. Typical SF asymmetry was associated with typical anterior and posterior parietal asymmetry, in both groups. In the atypical SF asymmetry group, controls had atypical parietal asymmetry, whereas in ASD there were more equal numbers of individuals with typical as atypical anterior parietal asymmetry. We did not find significant anatomical-behavioral associations. Our findings of more individuals in the ASD group having a dissociation between cortical asymmetries warrants further investigation of these subgroups and emphasizes the importance of investigating anatomical relationships in addition to group differences in individual regions.

Use of explicit memory cues following parietal lobe lesions.

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Dobbins, Ian G; Jaeger, Antonio; Studer, Bettina; Simons, Jon S

2012-11-01

The putative role of the lateral parietal lobe in episodic memory has recently become a topic of considerable debate, owing primarily to its consistent activation for studied materials during functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of recognition. Here we examined the performance of patients with parietal lobe lesions using an explicit memory cueing task in which probabilistic cues ("Likely Old" or "Likely New"; 75% validity) preceded the majority of verbal recognition memory probes. Without cues, patients and control participants did not differ in accuracy. However, group differences emerged during the "Likely New" cue condition with controls responding more accurately than parietal patients when these cues were valid (preceding new materials) and trending towards less accuracy when these cues were invalid (preceding old materials). Both effects suggest insufficient integration of external cues into memory judgments on the part of the parietal patients whose cued performance largely resembled performance in the complete absence of cues. Comparison of the parietal patients to a patient group with frontal lobe lesions suggested the pattern was specific to parietal and adjacent area lesions. Overall, the data indicate that parietal lobe patients fail to appropriately incorporate external cues of novelty into recognition attributions. This finding supports a role for the lateral parietal lobe in the adaptive biasing of memory judgments through the integration of external cues and internal memory evidence. We outline the importance of such adaptive biasing through consideration of basic signal detection predictions regarding maximum possible accuracy with and without informative environmental cues. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parietal cortex and representation of the mental Self

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Lou, Hans C; Luber, Bruce; Crupain, Michael

2004-01-01

For a coherent and meaningful life, conscious self-representation is mandatory. Such explicit "autonoetic consciousness" is thought to emerge by retrieval of memory of personally experienced events ("episodic memory"). During episodic retrieval, functional imaging studies consistently show....... The medial parietal region may, then, be conceived of as a nodal structure in self-representation, functionally connected to both the right parietal and the medial prefrontal cortices. To determine whether medial parietal cortex in this network is essential for episodic memory retrieval with self...

Functional connectivity between prefrontal and parietal cortex drives visuo-spatial attention shifts.

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Heinen, Klaartje; Feredoes, Eva; Ruff, Christian C; Driver, Jon

2017-05-01

It is well established that the frontal eye-fields (FEF) in the dorsal attention network (DAN) guide top-down selective attention. In addition, converging evidence implies a causal role for the FEF in attention shifting, which is also known to recruit the ventral attention network (VAN) and fronto-striatal regions. To investigate the causal influence of the FEF as (part of) a central hub between these networks, we applied thetaburst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) off-line, combined with functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) during a cued visuo-spatial attention shifting paradigm. We found that TBS over the right FEF impaired performance on a visual discrimination task in both hemifields following attention shifts, while only left hemifield performance was affected when participants were cued to maintain the focus of attention. These effects recovered ca. 20min post stimulation. Furthermore, particularly following attention shifts, TBS suppressed the neural signal in bilateral FEF, right inferior and superior parietal lobule (IPL/SPL) and bilateral supramarginal gyri (SMG). Immediately post stimulation, functional connectivity was impaired between right FEF and right SMG as well as right putamen. Importantly, the extent of decreased connectivity between right FEF and right SMG correlated with behavioural impairment following attention shifts. The main finding of this study demonstrates that influences from right FEF on SMG in the ventral attention network causally underly attention shifts, presumably by enabling disengagement from the current focus of attention. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Abnormal brain glucose metabolism and depressive mood in patients with pre-dialytic chronic kidney disease: SPM analysis of F-18 FDG positron emission tomography

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Jun, Sung Min; Song, Sang Heon; Kim, Seong Jang; Kim, Ji Hoon; Kwak, Ihm Soo; Kim, In Ju; Kim, Yong Ki [Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan (Korea, Republic of)

2007-07-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between depressive mood and pre-dialytic CKD, to localize and quantify depressive mood -related lesions in pre-dialytic CKD patients through statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis of brain positron emission tomography (PET), and to examine the usefulness of brain PET for early detection and proper treatment of depressive mood. Twenty one patients with stage 5 CKD and 22 healthy volunteers were analyzed by depressive mood assessment and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis of 18F-FDG PET. Depressive mood assessment was done by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The largest clusters were areas including precentral gyrus, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulated cortex of left hemisphere. Other clusters were left transverse temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, right prefrontal cortex, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 46, 44), right inferior frontal gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, left angular gyrus. In addition, correlation was found between hypometabolized areas and HDRS scores of CKD patients in right prefrontal cortex (BA 11) and right anterior cingulated gyrus (BA 24). In conclusion, this study demonstrated specific depressive mood-related abnormal metabolic lesion. Interestingly, in CKD patients with severe depressive mood, cerebral metabolism was similar to that of MDD.

Abnormal brain glucose metabolism and depressive mood in patients with pre-dialytic chronic kidney disease: SPM analysis of F-18 FDG positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, Sung Min; Song, Sang Heon; Kim, Seong Jang; Kim, Ji Hoon; Kwak, Ihm Soo; Kim, In Ju; Kim, Yong Ki

2007-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between depressive mood and pre-dialytic CKD, to localize and quantify depressive mood -related lesions in pre-dialytic CKD patients through statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis of brain positron emission tomography (PET), and to examine the usefulness of brain PET for early detection and proper treatment of depressive mood. Twenty one patients with stage 5 CKD and 22 healthy volunteers were analyzed by depressive mood assessment and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis of 18F-FDG PET. Depressive mood assessment was done by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The largest clusters were areas including precentral gyrus, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulated cortex of left hemisphere. Other clusters were left transverse temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, right prefrontal cortex, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 46, 44), right inferior frontal gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, left angular gyrus. In addition, correlation was found between hypometabolized areas and HDRS scores of CKD patients in right prefrontal cortex (BA 11) and right anterior cingulated gyrus (BA 24). In conclusion, this study demonstrated specific depressive mood-related abnormal metabolic lesion. Interestingly, in CKD patients with severe depressive mood, cerebral metabolism was similar to that of MDD

Interleukin-17A Promotes Parietal Cell Atrophy by Inducing ApoptosisSummary

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Kevin A. Bockerstett

Full Text Available Background & Aims: Atrophic gastritis caused by chronic inflammation in the gastric mucosa leads to the loss of gastric glandular cells, including acid-secreting parietal cells. Parietal cell atrophy in a setting of chronic inflammation induces spasmolytic polypeptide expressing metaplasia, a critical step in gastric carcinogenesis. However, the mechanisms by which inflammation causes parietal cell atrophy and spasmolytic polypeptide expressing metaplasia are not well defined. We investigated the role of interleukin-17A (IL-17A in causing parietal cell atrophy. Methods: A mouse model of autoimmune atrophic gastritis was used to examine IL-17A production during early and late stages of disease. Organoids derived from corpus glands were used to determine the direct effects of IL-17A on gastric epithelial cells. Immunofluorescent staining was used to examine IL-17A receptors and the direct effect of signaling on parietal cells. Mice were infected with an IL-17A-producing adenovirus to determine the effects of IL-17A on parietal cells in vivo. Finally, IL-17A neutralizing antibodies were administered to mice with active atrophic gastritis to evaluate the effects on parietal cell atrophy and metaplasia. Results: Increased IL-17A correlated with disease severity in mice with chronic atrophic gastritis. IL-17A caused caspase-dependent gastric organoid degeneration, which could not be rescued with a necroptosis inhibitor. Parietal cells expressed IL-17A receptors and IL-17A treatment induced apoptosis in parietal cells. Overexpressing IL-17A in vivo induced caspase-3 activation and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling staining in parietal cells. Finally, IL-17A neutralizing antibody decreased parietal cell atrophy and metaplasia in mice with chronic atrophic gastritis. Conclusions: These data identify IL-17A as a cytokine that promotes parietal cell apoptosis during atrophic gastritis, a

[Study on corresponding areas the liver and lung channels in brain with fMRI].

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Xu, Fang-Ming; Xie, Peng; Lü, Fa-Jin; Mou, Jun; Li, Yong-Mei; Zhao, Jian-Nong; Chen, Wei-Juan; Gong, Qi-Yong; Zhao, Li-Bo; Liu, Qing-Jun; Shen, Lin; Zhai, Hong; Yang, De-Yu

2007-10-01

To explore distribution of the Liver and Lung Channels in the brain so as to provide imaging basis for construction of channel theory in the brain. Sixty healthy student volunteers were randomly divided into a Liver Channel group (I) and a Lung Channel group (II), and the each group was further divided into five subgroups with 6 volunteers in each subgroup, based on five-shu-point principles which, were Dadun (LR 1, I 1), Xingjian (LR 2, I 2), Taichong (LR 3, I 3), Zhongfeng (LR 4, I 4), Ququan (LR 8, I 5), Shaoshang (LU 11, II 1), Yuji (LU 10, II 2), Taiyuan (LU 9, II 3), Jingqu (LU 8, II 4), and Chize (LU 5, II 5), respectively. In order to observe the brain activating patterns during acupuncture at the different acupoints, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique was adopted. All image data were then analyzed with SPM 2 software. The statistical parameter gram was composed of the pixel P areas, and the commonly activated area of five-shu-point of each channel was considered as the brain distribution of the Liver and Lung Channels. The common areas activated by the five-shu-points of the Liver Channel were homolateral Brodmann area (BA) 34, BA 47, red nucleus, contralateral BA 19, BA 30, BA 39, the superior parietal lobule, cerebellum decline, and bilateral BA 3 and culmen. The common areas activated by the five-shu-points of the Lung Channels included homolateral BA 2, BA 18, BA 35, and contralateral BA 9 and substania nigra. There are relatively specific corresponding brain areas for the Liver and Lung Channels, indicating that there is possible relatively specific connection between channels and the brain.

Reduced parietal activation in cervical dystonia after parietal TMS interleaved with fMRI

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, Paulien M.; de Jong, Bauke M.; Bohning, Daryl E.; Hinson, Vanessa K.; George, Mark S.; Leenders, Klaus L.

Objective: Clinically normal hand movement with altered cerebral activation patterns in cervical dystonia (CD) may imply cerebral adaptation. Since impaired sensorimotor integration appears to play a role in dystonia, left superior parietal cortex modulation with repetitive transcranial magnetic

Functional segregation and integration within fronto-parietal networks.

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Parlatini, Valeria; Radua, Joaquim; Dell'Acqua, Flavio; Leslie, Anoushka; Simmons, Andy; Murphy, Declan G; Catani, Marco; Thiebaut de Schotten, Michel

2017-02-01

Experimental data on monkeys and functional studies in humans support the existence of a complex fronto-parietal system activating for cognitive and motor tasks, which may be anatomically supported by the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Advanced tractography methods have recently allowed the separation of the three branches of the SLF but are not suitable for their functional investigation. In order to gather comprehensive information about the functional organisation of these fronto-parietal connections, we used an innovative method, which combined tractography of the SLF in the largest dataset so far (129 participants) with 14 meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. We found that frontal and parietal functions can be clustered into a dorsal spatial/motor network associated with the SLF I, and a ventral non-spatial/motor network associated with the SLF III. Further, all the investigated functions activated a middle network mostly associated with the SLF II. Our findings suggest that dorsal and ventral fronto-parietal networks are segregated but also share regions of activation, which may support flexible response properties or conscious processing. In sum, our novel combined approach provided novel findings on the functional organisation of fronto-parietal networks, and may be successfully applied to other brain connections. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Motor role of parietal cortex in a monkey model of hemispatial neglect.

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Kubanek, Jan; Li, Jingfeng M; Snyder, Lawrence H

2015-04-21

Parietal cortex is central to spatial cognition. Lesions of parietal cortex often lead to hemispatial neglect, an impairment of choices of targets in space. It has been unclear whether parietal cortex implements target choice at the general cognitive level, or whether parietal cortex subserves the choice of targets of particular actions. To address this question, monkeys engaged in choice tasks in two distinct action contexts--eye movements and arm movements. We placed focused reversible lesions into specific parietal circuits using the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol and validated the lesion placement using MRI. We found that lesions on the lateral bank of the intraparietal sulcus [lateral intraparietal area (LIP)] specifically biased choices made using eye movements, whereas lesions on the medial bank of the intraparietal sulcus [parietal reach region (PRR)] specifically biased choices made using arm movements. This double dissociation suggests that target choice is implemented in dedicated parietal circuits in the context of specific actions. This finding emphasizes a motor role of parietal cortex in spatial choice making and contributes to our understanding of hemispatial neglect.

Reshaping the brain after stroke: The effect of prismatic adaptation in patients with right brain damage.

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Crottaz-Herbette, Sonia; Fornari, Eleonora; Notter, Michael P; Bindschaedler, Claire; Manzoni, Laura; Clarke, Stephanie

2017-09-01

Prismatic adaptation has been repeatedly reported to alleviate neglect symptoms; in normal subjects, it was shown to enhance the representation of the left visual space within the left inferior parietal cortex. Our study aimed to determine in humans whether similar compensatory mechanisms underlie the beneficial effect of prismatic adaptation in neglect. Fifteen patients with right hemispheric lesions and 11 age-matched controls underwent a prismatic adaptation session which was preceded and followed by fMRI using a visual detection task. In patients, the prismatic adaptation session improved the accuracy of target detection in the left and central space and enhanced the representation of this visual space within the left hemisphere in parts of the temporal convexity, inferior parietal lobule and prefrontal cortex. Across patients, the increase in neuronal activation within the temporal regions correlated with performance improvements in this visual space. In control subjects, prismatic adaptation enhanced the representation of the left visual space within the left inferior parietal lobule and decreased it within the left temporal cortex. Thus, a brief exposure to prismatic adaptation enhances, both in patients and in control subjects, the competence of the left hemisphere for the left space, but the regions extended beyond the inferior parietal lobule to the temporal convexity in patients. These results suggest that the left hemisphere provides compensatory mechanisms in neglect by assuming the representation of the whole space within the ventral attentional system. The rapidity of the change suggests that the underlying mechanism relies on uncovering pre-existing synaptic connections. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

rCBF and cognitive impairment changes assessed by SPECT and ADAS-cog in late-onset Alzheimer's disease after 18 months of treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitors donepezil or galantamine.

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Shirayama, Yukihiko; Takahashi, Michio; Oda, Yasunori; Yoshino, Kouhei; Sato, Koichi; Okubo, Toshiyuki; Iyo, Masaomi

2017-12-15

Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) differs substantially from early-onset AD. In this cross sectional study we investigated brain perfusion changes after 18 months of treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) donepezil or galantamine. Twenty-five drug-naïve late-onset AD patients were recruited from outpatient clinics. We examined brain perfusion using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and used three-dimensional stereotactic surface projection (3D-SSP) and the stereotactic extraction estimation method (SEE) level 3 to analyze classified gyrus level segments. We assessed cognitive function using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) grouped into three subgroup domains, language, memory, and praxis. In the follow-up data, some regions were further hypoperfused, reflecting worsening of the disease, while other regions showed alleviated hypoperfusion, potentially related to the ChEIs treatment. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) decreased in the parietal cortex and increased in the frontal and the limbic cortices. Increased hypoperfusion significantly correlated with ADAS-cog scores changes were seen in the superior parietal lobule, inferior parietal lobule, angular gyrus, and supramarginal gyrus of the parietal cortex. Alleviated hypoperfusion significantly related to recovery of ADAS-cog scores were seen in the rectal and paracentral lobule of the frontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate of the limbic cortex. These regions showed significant relationships with total ADAS-cog and language, memory and praxis subscales scores. The current longitudinal study indicates prominent rCBF changes and their relationships with changes in ADAS-cog scores in late-onset AD patients.

Dissociating neural correlates of meaningful emblems from meaningless gestures in deaf signers and hearing non-signers.

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Husain, Fatima T; Patkin, Debra J; Kim, Jieun; Braun, Allen R; Horwitz, Barry

2012-10-10

Emblems are meaningful, culturally-specific hand gestures that are analogous to words. In this fMRI study, we contrasted the processing of emblematic gestures with meaningless gestures by pre-lingually Deaf and hearing participants. Deaf participants, who used American Sign Language, activated bilateral auditory processing and associative areas in the temporal cortex to a greater extent than the hearing participants while processing both types of gestures relative to rest. The hearing non-signers activated a diverse set of regions, including those implicated in the mirror neuron system, such as premotor cortex (BA 6) and inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) for the same contrast. Further, when contrasting the processing of meaningful to meaningless gestures (both relative to rest), the Deaf participants, but not the hearing, showed greater response in the left angular and supramarginal gyri, regions that play important roles in linguistic processing. These results suggest that whereas the signers interpreted emblems to be comparable to words, the non-signers treated emblems as similar to pictorial descriptions of the world and engaged the mirror neuron system. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differential roles of polar orbital prefrontal cortex and parietal lobes in logical reasoning with neutral and negative emotional content.

Science.gov (United States)

Eimontaite, Iveta; Goel, Vinod; Raymont, Vanessa; Krueger, Frank; Schindler, Igor; Grafman, Jordan

2018-05-14

To answer the question of how brain pathology affects reasoning about negative emotional content, we administered a disjunctive logical reasoning task involving arguments with neutral content (e.g. Either there are tigers or women in NYC, but not both; There are no tigers in NYC; There are women in NYC) and emotionally laden content (e.g. Either there are pedophiles or politicians in Texas, but not both; There are politicians in Texas; There are no pedophiles in Texas) to 92 neurological patients with focal lesions to various parts of the brain. A Voxel Lesion Symptom Mapping (VLSM) analysis identified 16 patients, all with lesions to the orbital polar prefrontal cortex (BA 10 & 11), as being selectively impaired in the emotional reasoning condition. Another 17 patients, all with lesions to the parietal cortex, were identified as being impaired in the neutral content condition. The reasoning scores of these two patient groups, along with 23 matched normal controls, underwent additional analysis to explore the effect of belief bias. This analysis revealed that the differences identified above were largely driven by trials where there was an incongruency between the believability of the conclusion and the validity of the argument (i.e. valid argument /false conclusion or invalid argument /true conclusion). Patients with lesions to polar orbital prefrontal cortex underperformed in incongruent emotional content trials and over performed in incongruent neutral content trials (compared to both normal controls and patients with parietal lobe lesions). Patients with lesions to parietal lobes underperformed normal controls (at a trend level) in neutral trials where there was a congruency between the believability of the conclusion and the validity of the argument (i.e. valid argument/true conclusion or invalid argument/false conclusion). We conclude that lesions to the polar orbital prefrontal cortex (i) prevent these patients from enjoying any emotionally induced cognitive

Parietal lesion effects on cued recall following pair associate learning.

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Ben-Zvi, Shir; Soroker, Nachum; Levy, Daniel A

2015-07-01

We investigated the involvement of the posterior parietal cortex in episodic memory in a lesion-effects study of cued recall following pair-associate learning. Groups of patients who had experienced first-incident stroke, generally in middle cerebral artery territory, and exhibited damage that included lateral posterior parietal regions, were tested within an early post-stroke time window. In three experiments, patients and matched healthy comparison groups executed repeated study and cued recall test blocks of pairs of words (Experiment 1), pairs of object pictures (Experiment 2), or pairs of object pictures and environmental sounds (Experiment 3). Patients' brain CT scans were subjected to quantitative analysis of lesion volumes. Behavioral and lesion data were used to compute correlations between area lesion extent and memory deficits, and to conduct voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. These analyses implicated lateral ventral parietal cortex, especially the angular gyrus, in cued recall deficits, most pronouncedly in the cross-modal picture-sound pairs task, though significant parietal lesion effects were also found in the unimodal word pairs and picture pairs tasks. In contrast to an earlier study in which comparable parietal lesions did not cause deficits in item recognition, these results indicate that lateral posterior parietal areas make a substantive contribution to demanding forms of recollective retrieval as represented by cued recall, especially for complex associative representations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bilateral, posterior parietal polymicrogyria as part of speech therapy ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

SA Journal of Radiology ... Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been associated with either diffuse polymicrogyria around the entire extent of the sylvian fissure or in the posterior aspects of the parietal regions, in which case it is called posterior parietal ... This article discusses the possible embryological origin of these

Mass spectrometric determination of stability of gaseous BaMoO2, Ba2MoO4, Ba2MoO5, Ba2Mo2O8 molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kudin, L.S.; Balduchchi, Dzh.; Dzhil'i, G.; Gvido, M.

1982-01-01

During the mass spectrometric investigation of BaCrO 4 evaporation Cr + , Ba + , BaO + main ions are recorded as well as BaMoO 4 + , BaMoO 3 + , BaMoO 2 + , BaMoO + , BaMoO 4 + , Ba 2 MoO 5 + , BaMo 2 O 8 + ions - the products of ionization of three-component (Ba, Mo, M) molecules, forming as a result of substance chemical interaction with the material of an effusion cell (Mo). Heats of formation of BaMoO 2 , Ba 2 MoO 4 , Ba 2 MoO 5 and Ba 2 Mo 2 O 8 molecules which constituted - 577+-70, -1343+-115, -1464+-70, -2393+-90 k J/mol respectively are determined on the base of the analysis of curves of ionisation efficiency and of reaction heats Ba 2 MoO 5 =BaO+BaMoO 4 , ΔH 0 0 =322+-60 kJ/mol Ba 2 Mo 2 O 8 =2BaMoO 4 , ΔH 0 0 =351+-80 kJ/mol calculated with the use of third low of thermodynamics [ru

Isolation, culture and adenoviral transduction of parietal cells from mouse gastric mucosa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gliddon, Briony L; Nguyen, Nhung V; Gunn, Priscilla A; Gleeson, Paul A; Driel, Ian R van

2008-01-01

Here we describe a method for the isolation of intact gastric glands from mice and primary culture and transfection of mouse gastric epithelial cells. Collagenase digestion of PBS-perfused mouse stomachs released large intact gastric glands that were plated on a basement membrane matrix. The heterogeneous gland cell cultures typically contain ∼60% parietal cells. Isolated mouse parietal cells remain viable in culture for up to 5 days and react strongly with an antibody specific to the gastric H + /K + ATPase. Isolated intact mouse gastric glands and primary cultures of mouse parietal cells respond to the secretagogue, histamine. Typical morphological changes from a resting to an acid-secreting active parietal cell were observed. In resting cultures of mouse parietal cells, the H + /K + ATPase displayed a cytoplasmic punctate staining pattern consistent with tubulovesicle element structures. Following histamine stimulation, an expansion of internal apical vacuole structures was observed together with a pronounced redistribution of the H + /K + ATPase from the cytoplasm to the apical vacuoles. A reproducible procedure to express genes of interest exogenously in these cultures of mouse parietal cells was also established. This method combines recombinant adenoviral transduction with magnetic field-assisted transfection resulting in ∼30% transduced parietal cells. Adenoviral-transduced parietal cells maintain their ability to undergo agonist-induced activation. This protocol will be useful for the isolation, culture and expression of genes in parietal cells from genetically modified mice and as such will be an invaluable tool for studying the complex exocytic and endocytic trafficking events of the H + /K + ATPase which underpin the regulation of acid secretion

Cortical network during deception detection by functional neuroimaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Keiichi

2008-01-01

We examined the coherence of cortical network during deception detection. First, we performed combined EEG-MRI experiments during the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) using number cards which has been used to model deception and 5 right-handed healthy participants performed the experiment. The superior frontal gyrus, the anterior cingulate cortex and the inferior parietal lobule were activated and the P 300 event-related brain potential (300-450 ms) was detected at only 'Lie' card. Secondary, we measured magnetoencephalography (MEG) data during GKT and the other 5 right-handed healthy subjects participated in the next experiment. The coherence between the superior frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobule showed significant differences between 'Lie' card and 'truth' cards during P 300 emerging. This results indicates that the coherence of cortical network is useful for GKT. (author)

Origin of parietal podocytes in atubular glomeruli mapped by lineage tracing.

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Schulte, Kevin; Berger, Katja; Boor, Peter; Jirak, Peggy; Gelman, Irwin H; Arkill, Kenton P; Neal, Christopher R; Kriz, Wilhelm; Floege, Jürgen; Smeets, Bart; Moeller, Marcus J

2014-01-01

Parietal podocytes are fully differentiated podocytes lining Bowman's capsule where normally only parietal epithelial cells (PECs) are found. Parietal podocytes form throughout life and are regularly observed in human biopsies, particularly in atubular glomeruli of diseased kidneys; however, the origin of parietal podocytes is unresolved. To assess the capacity of PECs to transdifferentiate into parietal podocytes, we developed and characterized a novel method for creating atubular glomeruli by electrocoagulation of the renal cortex in mice. Electrocoagulation produced multiple atubular glomeruli containing PECs as well as parietal podocytes that projected from the vascular pole and lined Bowman's capsule. Notably, induction of cell death was evident in some PECs. In contrast, Bowman's capsules of control animals and normal glomeruli of electrocoagulated kidneys rarely contained podocytes. PECs and podocytes were traced by inducible and irreversible genetic tagging using triple transgenic mice (PEC- or Pod-rtTA/LC1/R26R). Examination of serial cryosections indicated that visceral podocytes migrated onto Bowman's capsule via the vascular stalk; direct transdifferentiation from PECs to podocytes was not observed. Similar results were obtained in a unilateral ureter obstruction model and in human diseased kidney biopsies, in which overlap of PEC- or podocyte-specific antibody staining indicative of gradual differentiation did not occur. These results suggest that induction of atubular glomeruli leads to ablation of PECs and subsequent migration of visceral podocytes onto Bowman's capsule, rather than transdifferentiation from PECs to parietal podocytes.

Study of cerebral metabolism of glucose in normal human brain correlated with age

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Si, M.

2007-01-01

Full text: The objective was to determine whether cerebral metabolism in various regions of the brain differs with advancing age by using 18F-FDG PET instrument and SPM software. Materials and Methods We reviewed clinical information of 295 healthy normal samples who were examined by a whole body GE Discovery LS PET-CT instrument in our center from Aug. 2004 to Dec. 2005.They (with the age ranging from 21 to 88; mean age+/-SD: 49.77+/-13.51) were selected with: (i)absence of clear focal brain lesions (epilepsy.cerebrovascular diseases etc);(ii) absence of metabolic diseases, such as hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and diabetes;(iii) absence of psychiatric disorders and abuse of drugs and alcohol. They were sub grouped into six groups with the interval of 10 years old starting from 21, and the gender, educational background and serum glucose were matched. All subgroups were compared to the control group of 31-40 years old (84 samples; mean age+/-SD: 37.15+/-2.63). All samples were injected with 18F-FDG (5.55MBq/kg), 45-60 minutes later, their brains were scanned for 10min. Pixel-by-pixel t-statistic analysis was applied to all brain images using the Statistical parametric mapping (SPM2) .The hypometabolic areas (p < 0. 01 or p<0.001, uncorrected) were identified in the Stereotaxic coordinate human brain atlas and three-dimensional localized by MNI Space utility (MSU) software. Results:Relative hypometabolic brain areas detected are mainly in the cortical structures such as bilateral prefrontal cortex, superior temporal gyrus(BA22), parietal cortex (inferior parietal lobule and precuneus(BA40, insula(BA13)), parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala (p<0.01).It is especially apparent in the prefrontal cortex (BA9)and sensory-motor cortex(BA5, 7) (p<0.001), while basal ganglia and cerebellum remained metabolically unchanged with advancing age. Conclusions Regional cerebral metabolism of glucose shows a descent tendency with aging, especially in the prefrontal cortex (BA9)and

Effects of cue focality on the neural mechanisms of prospective memory: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies.

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Cona, Giorgia; Bisiacchi, Patrizia Silvia; Sartori, Giuseppe; Scarpazza, Cristina

2016-05-17

Remembering to execute pre-defined intentions at the appropriate time in the future is typically referred to as Prospective Memory (PM). Studies of PM showed that distinct cognitive processes underlie the execution of delayed intentions depending on whether the cue associated with such intentions is focal to ongoing activity processing or not (i.e., cue focality). The present activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis revealed several differences in brain activity as a function of focality of the PM cue. The retrieval of intention is supported mainly by left anterior prefrontal cortex (Brodmann Area, BA 10) in nonfocal tasks, and by cerebellum and ventral parietal regions in focal tasks. Furthermore, the precuneus showed increased activation during the maintenance phase of intentions compared to the retrieval phase in nonfocal tasks, whereas the inferior parietal lobule showed increased activation during the retrieval of intention compared to maintenance phase in the focal tasks. Finally, the retrieval of intention relies more on the activity in anterior cingulate cortex for nonfocal tasks, and on posterior cingulate cortex for focal tasks. Such focality-related pattern of activations suggests that prospective remembering is mediated mainly by top-down and stimulus-independent processes in nonfocal tasks, whereas by more automatic, bottom-up, processes in focal tasks.

Brain mechanisms for loss of awareness of thought and movement

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Oakley, David A.; Halligan, Peter W.; Mehta, Mitul A.; Deeley, Quinton

2017-01-01

Abstract Loss or reduction of awareness is common in neuropsychiatric disorders and culturally influenced dissociative phenomena but the underlying brain mechanisms are poorly understood. fMRI was combined with suggestions for automatic writing in 18 healthy highly hypnotically suggestible individuals in a within-subjects design to determine whether clinical alterations in awareness of thought and movement can be experimentally modelled and studied independently of illness. Subjective ratings of control, ownership, and awareness of thought and movement, and fMRI data were collected following suggestions for thought insertion and alien control of writing movement, with and without loss of awareness. Subjective ratings confirmed that suggestions were effective. At the neural level, our main findings indicated that loss of awareness for both thought and movement during automatic writing was associated with reduced activation in a predominantly left-sided posterior cortical network including BA 7 (superior parietal lobule and precuneus), and posterior cingulate cortex, involved in self-related processing and awareness of the body in space. Reduced activity in posterior parietal cortices may underlie specific clinical and cultural alterations in awareness of thought and movement. Clinically, these findings may assist development of imaging assessments for loss of awareness of psychological origin, and interventions such as neurofeedback. PMID:28338742

Intradiploic encephalocele of the left parietal bone: A case report

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Kim, Hyung Sock; Huh, Choon Woong; Kim, Dal Soo; Mok, Jin Ho; Kim, In Soo; Yang, Geun Seok [Myongji St. Mary' s Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-06-15

Encephaloceles are generally regarded as midline abnormalities. A 50-year-old man presented with a parietal intradiploic encephalocele manifesting as intermittent headache for the past 6 months. Computed tomography (CT) showed bone destruction associated with a left parietal lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated brain herniation within the intradiploic space. Cerebral angiographic imaging showed a normal cerebral vessel pattern within the herniated brain lesion. In this case, surgical treatment may not be necessary in the absence of concurrent symptoms and neurologic deficit. We report the CT, MRI, and angiographic findings of an extremely rare case of parietal intradiploic encephalocele in adulthood.

Intradiploic encephalocele of the left parietal bone: A case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyung Sock; Huh, Choon Woong; Kim, Dal Soo; Mok, Jin Ho; Kim, In Soo; Yang, Geun Seok

2015-01-01

Encephaloceles are generally regarded as midline abnormalities. A 50-year-old man presented with a parietal intradiploic encephalocele manifesting as intermittent headache for the past 6 months. Computed tomography (CT) showed bone destruction associated with a left parietal lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated brain herniation within the intradiploic space. Cerebral angiographic imaging showed a normal cerebral vessel pattern within the herniated brain lesion. In this case, surgical treatment may not be necessary in the absence of concurrent symptoms and neurologic deficit. We report the CT, MRI, and angiographic findings of an extremely rare case of parietal intradiploic encephalocele in adulthood

Temporal order processing of syllables in the left parietal lobe.

Science.gov (United States)

Moser, Dana; Baker, Julie M; Sanchez, Carmen E; Rorden, Chris; Fridriksson, Julius

2009-10-07

Speech processing requires the temporal parsing of syllable order. Individuals suffering from posterior left hemisphere brain injury often exhibit temporal processing deficits as well as language deficits. Although the right posterior inferior parietal lobe has been implicated in temporal order judgments (TOJs) of visual information, there is limited evidence to support the role of the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) in processing syllable order. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the left inferior parietal lobe is recruited during temporal order judgments of speech stimuli. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected on 14 normal participants while they completed the following forced-choice tasks: (1) syllable order of multisyllabic pseudowords, (2) syllable identification of single syllables, and (3) gender identification of both multisyllabic and monosyllabic speech stimuli. Results revealed increased neural recruitment in the left inferior parietal lobe when participants made judgments about syllable order compared with both syllable identification and gender identification. These findings suggest that the left inferior parietal lobe plays an important role in processing syllable order and support the hypothesized role of this region as an interface between auditory speech and the articulatory code. Furthermore, a breakdown in this interface may explain some components of the speech deficits observed after posterior damage to the left hemisphere.

Pain modulation in waking and hypnosis in women: event-related potentials and sources of cortical activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vilfredo De Pascalis

Full Text Available Using a strict subject selection procedure, we tested in High and Low Hypnotizable subjects (HHs and LHs whether treatments of hypoalgesia and hyperalgesia, as compared to a relaxation-control, differentially affected subjective pain ratings and somatosensory event-related potentials (SERPs during painful electric stimulation. Treatments were administered in waking and hypnosis conditions. LHs showed little differentiation in pain and distress ratings between hypoalgesia and hyperalgesia treatments, whereas HHs showed a greater spread in the instructed direction. HHs had larger prefrontal N140 and P200 waves of the SERPs during hypnotic hyperalgesia as compared to relaxation-control treatment. Importantly, HHs showed significant smaller frontocentral N140 and frontotemporal P200 waves during hypnotic hypoalgesia. LHs did not show significant differences for these SERP waves among treatments in both waking and hypnosis conditions. Source localization (sLORETA method revealed significant activations of the bilateral primary somatosensory (BA3, middle frontal gyrus (BA6 and anterior cingulate cortices (BA24. Activity of these contralateral regions significantly correlated with subjective numerical pain scores for control treatment in waking condition. Moreover, multivariate regression analyses distinguished the contralateral BA3 as the only region reflecting a stable pattern of pain coding changes across all treatments in waking and hypnosis conditions. More direct testing showed that hypnosis reduced the strength of the association of pain modulation and brain activity changes at BA3. sLORETA in HHs revealed, for the N140 wave, that during hypnotic hyperalgesia, there was an increased activity within medial, supramarginal and superior frontal gyri, and cingulated gyrus (BA32, while for the P200 wave, activity was increased in the superior (BA22, middle (BA37, inferior temporal (BA19 gyri and superior parietal lobule (BA7. Hypnotic hypoalgesia in

Pain Modulation in Waking and Hypnosis in Women: Event-Related Potentials and Sources of Cortical Activity

Science.gov (United States)

De Pascalis, Vilfredo; Varriale, Vincenzo; Cacace, Immacolata

2015-01-01

Using a strict subject selection procedure, we tested in High and Low Hypnotizable subjects (HHs and LHs) whether treatments of hypoalgesia and hyperalgesia, as compared to a relaxation-control, differentially affected subjective pain ratings and somatosensory event-related potentials (SERPs) during painful electric stimulation. Treatments were administered in waking and hypnosis conditions. LHs showed little differentiation in pain and distress ratings between hypoalgesia and hyperalgesia treatments, whereas HHs showed a greater spread in the instructed direction. HHs had larger prefrontal N140 and P200 waves of the SERPs during hypnotic hyperalgesia as compared to relaxation-control treatment. Importantly, HHs showed significant smaller frontocentral N140 and frontotemporal P200 waves during hypnotic hypoalgesia. LHs did not show significant differences for these SERP waves among treatments in both waking and hypnosis conditions. Source localization (sLORETA) method revealed significant activations of the bilateral primary somatosensory (BA3), middle frontal gyrus (BA6) and anterior cingulate cortices (BA24). Activity of these contralateral regions significantly correlated with subjective numerical pain scores for control treatment in waking condition. Moreover, multivariate regression analyses distinguished the contralateral BA3 as the only region reflecting a stable pattern of pain coding changes across all treatments in waking and hypnosis conditions. More direct testing showed that hypnosis reduced the strength of the association of pain modulation and brain activity changes at BA3. sLORETA in HHs revealed, for the N140 wave, that during hypnotic hyperalgesia, there was an increased activity within medial, supramarginal and superior frontal gyri, and cingulated gyrus (BA32), while for the P200 wave, activity was increased in the superior (BA22), middle (BA37), inferior temporal (BA19) gyri and superior parietal lobule (BA7). Hypnotic hypoalgesia in HHs, for N

Aspirin induces morphological transformation to the secretory state in isolated rabbit parietal cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Murthy, U K; Levine, R A

1991-08-01

The morphological response of rabbit parietal cells to aspirin was evaluated by grading several ultra-structural features including the extent of the tubulovesicular system, intracellular secretory canaliculi, and microvilli. After exposure of isolated parietal cells and gastric glands to aspirin or histamine, there was an approximately twofold increase in the ratio of secretory to nonsecretory parietal cells, and depletion of extracellular Ca2+ abolished the aspirin-induced morphological changes. Morphometry in parietal cells showed that aspirin induced a sixfold increase in secretory canalicular membrane elaboration. Aspirin potentiated histamine-induced parietal cell respiration and aminopyrine uptake ratio but did not increase basal respiration or aminopyrine uptake, suggesting an apparent dissociation from aspirin-induced morphological changes.

Parietal epithelial cells: their role in health and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Romagnani, Paola

2011-01-01

Parietal epithelial cells of Bowman's capsules were first described by Sir William Bowman in 1842 in his paper On the Structure and Use of the Malpighian Bodies of the Kidney [London, Taylor, 1842], but since then their functions have remained poorly understood. A large body of evidence has recently suggested that parietal epithelial cells represent a reservoir of renal progenitors in adult human kidney which generate novel podocytes during childhood and adolescence, and can regenerate injured podocytes. The discovery that parietal epithelial cells represent a potential source for podocyte regeneration suggests that podocyte injury can be repaired. However, recent results also suggest that an abnormal proliferative response of renal progenitors to podocyte injury can generate hyperplastic glomerular lesions that are observed in crescentic glomerulonephritis and other types of glomerular disorders. Taken together, these results establish an entirely novel view that changes the way of thinking about renal physiology and pathophysiology, and suggest that understanding how self-renewal and fate decision of parietal epithelial cells in response to podocyte injury may be perturbed or modulated will be crucial for obtaining novel tools for prevention and treatment of glomerulosclerosis. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Interhemispheric differences of fMRI responses to visual stimuli in patients with side-fixed migraine aura

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Anders; Amin, Faisal Mohammad; Hoffmann, Michael B

2014-01-01

hemifield. We recruited 20 patients with frequent side-fixed visual aura attacks (≥90% of auras occurring in the same visual hemifield) and 20 age and sex matched healthy controls and compared the fMRI blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses to visual stimulation between symptomatic...... and asymptomatic hemispheres during the interictal phase and between migraine patients and controls. BOLD responses were selectively increased in the symptomatic hemispheres. This was found in the inferior parietal lobule (P = 0.002), the inferior frontal gyrus (P = 0.003), and the superior parietal lobule (P = 0.......017). The affected cortical areas comprise a visually driven functional network involved in oculomotor control, guidance of movement, motion perception, visual attention, and visual spatial memory. The patients also had significantly increased response in the same cortical areas when compared to controls (P

CT findings and clinical analysis of subcortical hematomas in elderly patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueno, Yasushi; Tanaka, Akira; Yoshinaga, Shinya; Kimura, Masato

1991-01-01

Ten elderly patients (73-87 years, 78.4 years on the average) with subcortical hematomas were divided into two groups according to the shape of the hematoma on a CT scan: a lobulated group (6 patients) and a global group (4 patients). The lobulated group had a history of hypertension in one patient. The hematomas extended widely around the parietal lobe and were accompanied by perifocal edema, brain shifts and subarachnoid hemorrhages, deep consciousness disturbances, and poor prognosis of life and function. Amyloid depositions in the arteries around the hematomas were confirmed histologically in one patient. The global group had a history of hypertension in two patients. The hematomas were localized in the parietal, temporal, or occipital lobe without perifocal edema, brain shift and subarachnoid hemorrhages, and accompanied by mild consciousness disturbances. The life prognosis was good, but the functional prognosis was poor, with a subsequent development of dementia. A lobulated subcortical hematoma is thought to be due to amyloid angiopathy, while a global subcortical hematoma is thought to be due to hypertension. A surgical evacuation is seldom indicated for either type of subcortical hematoma in elderly patients. (author)

Study of regional cerebral blood flow in obsessive compulsive disorder patients with SPM and ROI method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Peiyong; Jiang Xufeng; Zhang Liying; Guo Wanhua; Zhu Chengmo

2002-01-01

Objective: To investigate the alternations in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Methods: rCBF measurements using 99 Tc m -ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) SPECT was performed on 14 OCD patients and 23 age-matched healthy volunteers. The rCBF distribution was compared between these two groups with SPM under the conditions of increased and decreased perfusion, and with regions of interest (ROIs) using cerebral template. P value was set at 0.01 level. Results: SPM analysis showed that rCBF decreased in cerebral areas including bilateral putamen, superior temporal gyrus and precuneus, and right orbital gyrus, superior and middle frontal gyrus, and left temporo-occipital lobule and superior parietal gyrus, and vermis. rCBF was also increased in left inferior frontal gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus. With ROIs method, rCBF was decreased in right anterior frontal, temporo-parietal lobule and left temporo-occipital lobule. Conclusions: The study supports the viewpoint that rCBF abnormality of fronto-striatal circuits is involved in OCD patients. SPM method is a forceful tool in analyzing cerebral regional characters

The mirror neuron system and the strange case of Broca's area.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerri, Gabriella; Cabinio, Monia; Blasi, Valeria; Borroni, Paola; Iadanza, Antonella; Fava, Enrica; Fornia, Luca; Ferpozzi, Valentina; Riva, Marco; Casarotti, Alessandra; Martinelli Boneschi, Filippo; Falini, Andrea; Bello, Lorenzo

2015-03-01

Mirror neurons, originally described in the monkey premotor area F5, are embedded in a frontoparietal network for action execution and observation. A similar Mirror Neuron System (MNS) exists in humans, including precentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and superior temporal sulcus. Controversial is the inclusion of Broca's area, as homologous to F5, a relevant issue in light of the mirror hypothesis of language evolution, which postulates a key role of Broca's area in action/speech perception/production. We assess "mirror" properties of this area by combining neuroimaging and intraoperative neurophysiological techniques. Our results show that Broca's area is minimally involved in action observation and has no motor output on hand or phonoarticulatory muscles, challenging its inclusion in the MNS. The presence of these functions in premotor BA6 makes this area the likely homologue of F5 suggesting that the MNS may be involved in the representation of articulatory rather than semantic components of speech. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Visuo-spatial construction in patients with frontal and parietal lobe lesions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Himani Kashyap

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Visuospatial construction, traditionally viewed as a putative parietal function, also requires sustained attention, planning, organization strategies and error correction, and hence frontal lobe mediation. The relative contributions of the frontal and parietal lobes are poorly understood. To examine the contributions of parietal, frontal lobes, as well as right and left cerebral hemispheres to visuospatial construction. The Stick Construction Test for two-dimensional construction and the Block Construction Test for three-dimensional construction were administered pre-surgically to patients with lesions in the parietal lobe (n =9 and the frontal lobe (n=11, along with normal control subjects (n =20 matched to the patients on age (+/- 3 years, gender, education (+/- 3 years and handedness. The patients were significantly slower than the controls on both two-dimensional and three-dimensional tests. Patients with parietal lesions were slower than those with frontal lesions on the test of three-dimensional construction. Within each lobe patients with right and left sided lesions did not differ significantly. It appears that tests of three-dimensional construction might be most sensitive to visuospatial construction deficits. Visuospatial construction involves the mediation of both frontal and parietal lobes. The function does not appear to be lateralized. The networks arising from the parieto-occipital areas and projecting to the frontal cortices (e.g., occipito-frontal fasciculus may be the basis of the mediation of both lobes in visuospatial construction. The present findings need replication from studies with larger sample sizes.

Functional connectivity of parietal cortex during temporal selective attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyler, Sarah C; Dasgupta, Samhita; Agosta, Sara; Battelli, Lorella; Grossman, Emily D

2015-04-01

Perception of natural experiences requires allocation of attention towards features, objects, and events that are moving and changing over time. This allocation of attention is controlled by large-scale brain networks that, when damaged, cause widespread cognitive deficits. In particular, damage to ventral parietal cortex (right lateralized TPJ, STS, supramarginal and angular gyri) is associated with failures to selectively attend to and isolate features embedded within rapidly changing visual sequences (Battelli, Pascual-Leone, & Cavanagh, 2007; Husain, Shapiro, Martin, & Kennard, 1997). In this study, we used fMRI to investigate the neural activity and functional connectivity of intact parietal cortex while typical subjects judged the relative onsets and offsets of rapidly flickering tokens (a phase discrimination task in which right parietal patients are impaired). We found two regions in parietal cortex correlated with task performance: a bilateral posterior TPJ (pTPJ) and an anterior right-lateralized TPJ (R aTPJ). Both regions were deactivated when subjects engaged in the task but showed different patterns of functional connectivity. The bilateral pTPJ was strongly connected to nodes within the default mode network (DMN) and the R aTPJ was connected to the attention network. Accurate phase discriminations were associated with increased functional correlations between sensory cortex (hMT+) and the bilateral pTPJ, whereas accuracy on a control task was associated with yoked activity in the hMT+ and the R aTPJ. We conclude that temporal selective attention is particularly sensitive for revealing information pathways between sensory and core cognitive control networks that, when damaged, can lead to nonspatial attention impairments in right parietal stroke patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain structure in post-traumatic stress disorder: A voxel-based morphometry analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Liwen; Zhang, Li; Qi, Rongfeng; Lu, Guangming; Li, Lingjiang; Liu, Jun; Li, Weihui

2013-09-15

This study compared the difference in brain structure in 12 mine disaster survivors with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, 7 cases of improved post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and 14 controls who experienced the same mine disaster but did not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, using the voxel-based morphometry method. The correlation between differences in brain structure and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms was also investigated. Results showed that the gray matter volume was the highest in the trauma control group, followed by the symptoms-improved group, and the lowest in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. Compared with the symptoms-improved group, the gray matter volume in the lingual gyrus of the right occipital lobe was reduced in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. Compared with the trauma control group, the gray matter volume in the right middle occipital gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus was reduced in the symptoms-improved group. Compared with the trauma control group, the gray matter volume in the left superior parietal lobule and right superior frontal gyrus was reduced in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. The gray matter volume in the left superior parietal lobule was significantly positively correlated with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory subscale score in the symptoms-improved group and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group (r = 0.477, P = 0.039). Our findings indicate that (1) chronic post-traumatic stress disorder patients have gray matter structural damage in the prefrontal lobe, occipital lobe, and parietal lobe, (2) after post-traumatic stress, the disorder symptoms are improved and gray matter structural damage is reduced, but cannot recover to the trauma-control level, and (3) the superior parietal lobule is possibly associated with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder patients exhibit gray matter abnormalities.

Brain structure in post-traumatic stress disorder: A voxel-based morphometry analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Liwen; Zhang, Li; Qi, Rongfeng; Lu, Guangming; Li, Lingjiang; Liu, Jun; Li, Weihui

2013-01-01

This study compared the difference in brain structure in 12 mine disaster survivors with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, 7 cases of improved post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and 14 controls who experienced the same mine disaster but did not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, using the voxel-based morphometry method. The correlation between differences in brain structure and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms was also investigated. Results showed that the gray matter volume was the highest in the trauma control group, followed by the symptoms-improved group, and the lowest in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. Compared with the symptoms-improved group, the gray matter volume in the lingual gyrus of the right occipital lobe was reduced in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. Compared with the trauma control group, the gray matter volume in the right middle occipital gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus was reduced in the symptoms-improved group. Compared with the trauma control group, the gray matter volume in the left superior parietal lobule and right superior frontal gyrus was reduced in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. The gray matter volume in the left superior parietal lobule was significantly positively correlated with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory subscale score in the symptoms-improved group and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group (r = 0.477, P = 0.039). Our findings indicate that (1) chronic post-traumatic stress disorder patients have gray matter structural damage in the prefrontal lobe, occipital lobe, and parietal lobe, (2) after post-traumatic stress, the disorder symptoms are improved and gray matter structural damage is reduced, but cannot recover to the trauma-control level, and (3) the superior parietal lobule is possibly associated with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder patients exhibit gray matter abnormalities. PMID:25206550

Refinement of crystal structures of CaHCl, SrHCl, BaHCl, BaHBr, and BaHI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, H.P.; Limmer, A.

1983-01-01

The structures of CaHCl, SrHCl, BaHBr, BaHCl, and BaHI have been refined using single crystal data. The comparison of the parameters with the corresponding data of isotypic fluorohalide compounds gives a valuable insight into the bonding interactions in this structure type. (author)

Refinement of crystal structures of CaHCl, SrHCl, BaHCl, BaHBr, and BaHI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beck, H.P.; Limmer, A. (Erlangen-Nuernberg Univ., Erlangen (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Anorganische Chemie)

1983-07-01

The structures of CaHCl, SrHCl, BaHBr, BaHCl, and BaHI have been refined using single crystal data. The comparison of the parameters with the corresponding data of isotypic fluorohalide compounds gives a valuable insight into the bonding interactions in this structure type.

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

The impact of auditory working memory training on the fronto-parietal working memory network.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneiders, Julia A; Opitz, Bertram; Tang, Huijun; Deng, Yuan; Xie, Chaoxiang; Li, Hong; Mecklinger, Axel

2012-01-01

Working memory training has been widely used to investigate working memory processes. We have shown previously that visual working memory benefits only from intra-modal visual but not from across-modal auditory working memory training. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study we examined whether auditory working memory processes can also be trained specifically and which training-induced activation changes accompany theses effects. It was investigated whether working memory training with strongly distinct auditory materials transfers exclusively to an auditory (intra-modal) working memory task or whether it generalizes to a (across-modal) visual working memory task. We used adaptive n-back training with tonal sequences and a passive control condition. The memory training led to a reliable training gain. Transfer effects were found for the (intra-modal) auditory but not for the (across-modal) visual transfer task. Training-induced activation decreases in the auditory transfer task were found in two regions in the right inferior frontal gyrus. These effects confirm our previous findings in the visual modality and extents intra-modal effects in the prefrontal cortex to the auditory modality. As the right inferior frontal gyrus is frequently found in maintaining modality-specific auditory information, these results might reflect increased neural efficiency in auditory working memory processes. Furthermore, task-unspecific (amodal) activation decreases in the visual and auditory transfer task were found in the right inferior parietal lobule and the superior portion of the right middle frontal gyrus reflecting less demand on general attentional control processes. These data are in good agreement with amodal activation decreases within the same brain regions on a visual transfer task reported previously.

The impact of auditory working memory training on the fronto-parietal working memory network

Science.gov (United States)

Schneiders, Julia A.; Opitz, Bertram; Tang, Huijun; Deng, Yuan; Xie, Chaoxiang; Li, Hong; Mecklinger, Axel

2012-01-01

Working memory training has been widely used to investigate working memory processes. We have shown previously that visual working memory benefits only from intra-modal visual but not from across-modal auditory working memory training. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study we examined whether auditory working memory processes can also be trained specifically and which training-induced activation changes accompany theses effects. It was investigated whether working memory training with strongly distinct auditory materials transfers exclusively to an auditory (intra-modal) working memory task or whether it generalizes to a (across-modal) visual working memory task. We used adaptive n-back training with tonal sequences and a passive control condition. The memory training led to a reliable training gain. Transfer effects were found for the (intra-modal) auditory but not for the (across-modal) visual transfer task. Training-induced activation decreases in the auditory transfer task were found in two regions in the right inferior frontal gyrus. These effects confirm our previous findings in the visual modality and extents intra-modal effects in the prefrontal cortex to the auditory modality. As the right inferior frontal gyrus is frequently found in maintaining modality-specific auditory information, these results might reflect increased neural efficiency in auditory working memory processes. Furthermore, task-unspecific (amodal) activation decreases in the visual and auditory transfer task were found in the right inferior parietal lobule and the superior portion of the right middle frontal gyrus reflecting less demand on general attentional control processes. These data are in good agreement with amodal activation decreases within the same brain regions on a visual transfer task reported previously. PMID:22701418

Two different streams form the dorsal visual system: anatomy and functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzolatti, Giacomo; Matelli, Massimo

2003-11-01

There are two radically different views on the functional role of the dorsal visual stream. One considers it as a system involved in space perception. The other is of a system that codes visual information for action organization. On the basis of new anatomical data and a reconsideration of previous functional and clinical data, we propose that the dorsal stream and its recipient parietal areas form two distinct functional systems: the dorso-dorsal stream (d-d stream) and the ventro-dorsal stream (v-d stream). The d-d stream is formed by area V6 (main d-d extrastriate visual node) and areas V6A and MIP of the superior parietal lobule. Its major functional role is the control of actions "on line". Its damage leads to optic ataxia. The v-d stream is formed by area MT (main v-d extrastriate visual node) and by the visual areas of the inferior parietal lobule. As the d-d stream, v-d stream is responsible for action organization. It, however, also plays a crucial role in space perception and action understanding. The putative mechanisms linking action and perception in the v-d stream is discussed.

Intrinsic resting-state activity predicts working memory brain activation and behavioral performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Qihong; Ross, Thomas J; Gu, Hong; Geng, Xiujuan; Zuo, Xi-Nian; Hong, L Elliot; Gao, Jia-Hong; Stein, Elliot A; Zang, Yu-Feng; Yang, Yihong

2013-12-01

Although resting-state brain activity has been demonstrated to correspond with task-evoked brain activation, the relationship between intrinsic and evoked brain activity has not been fully characterized. For example, it is unclear whether intrinsic activity can also predict task-evoked deactivation and whether the rest-task relationship is dependent on task load. In this study, we addressed these issues on 40 healthy control subjects using resting-state and task-driven [N-back working memory (WM) task] functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected in the same session. Using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) as an index of intrinsic resting-state activity, we found that ALFF in the middle frontal gyrus and inferior/superior parietal lobules was positively correlated with WM task-evoked activation, while ALFF in the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, superior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and fusiform gyrus was negatively correlated with WM task-evoked deactivation. Further, the relationship between the intrinsic resting-state activity and task-evoked activation in lateral/superior frontal gyri, inferior/superior parietal lobules, superior temporal gyrus, and midline regions was stronger at higher WM task loads. In addition, both resting-state activity and the task-evoked activation in the superior parietal lobule/precuneus were significantly correlated with the WM task behavioral performance, explaining similar portions of intersubject performance variance. Together, these findings suggest that intrinsic resting-state activity facilitates or is permissive of specific brain circuit engagement to perform a cognitive task, and that resting activity can predict subsequent task-evoked brain responses and behavioral performance. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Secondary vestibulocerebellar projections to the flocculus and uvulo-nodular lobule of the rabbit: a study using HRP and double fluorescent tracer techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.H. Epema; N.M. Gerrits (N.); J. Voogd (Jan)

1990-01-01

textabstractThe distribution of vestibular neurons projecting to the flocculus and the nodulus and uvula of the caudal vermis (Larsell's lobules X and IX) was investigated with retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase and the fluorescent tracers Fast Blue, Nuclear Yellow and Diamidino

Phase equilibria in the BaUO3-BaZrO3-BaMoO3 system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurosaki, Ken; Yamanaka, Shinsuke; Matsuda, Tetsushi; Uno, Masayoshi; Yamamoto, Kazuya; Namekawa, Takashi

2002-01-01

The phase equilibria in the pseudo-ternary BaUO 3 -BaZrO 3 -BaMoO 3 system were studied to understand the thermochemical properties of the perovskite type gray oxide phase in high burnup MOX fuel. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculation for the system was performed by using a Chem Sage program under the various oxygen potentials. Solid solutions existing in the system were treated by an ideal solution model. The present calculation results well agreed with the previous reported post irradiation examination results, showing that BaMoO 3 was scarcely included in the gray oxide phase. (author)

Modulation of fronto-parietal connections during the rubber hand illusion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karabanov, Anke Ninija; Ritterband-Rosenbaum, Anina; Christensen, Mark Schram

2017-01-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that parieto-frontal connections play a role in adjusting body ownership during the Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI). Using a motor version of the rubber hand illusion paradigm, we applied single-site and dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate...... and during three RHI conditions: a) agency and ownership, b) agency but no ownership and c) neither agency nor ownership. Parietal-motor communication differed among experimental conditions. The induction of action ownership was associated with an inhibitory parietal-to-motor connectivity, which...... cortico-spinal and parietal-frontal connectivity during perceived rubber hand ownership. Healthy volunteers received a conditioning TMS pulse over left anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) and a test TMS pulse over left primary motor cortex (M1). Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) were recorded at rest...

Overlapping Parietal Activity in Memory and Perception: Evidence for the Attention to Memory Model

Science.gov (United States)

Cabeza, Roberto; Mazuz, Yonatan S.; Stokes, Jared; Kragel, James E.; Woldorff, Marty G.; Ciaramelli, Elisa; Olson, Ingrid R.; Moscovitch, Morris

2011-01-01

The specific role of different parietal regions to episodic retrieval is a topic of intense debate. According to the Attention to Memory (AtoM) model, dorsal parietal cortex (DPC) mediates top-down attention processes guided by retrieval goals, whereas ventral parietal cortex (VPC) mediates bottom-up attention processes captured by the retrieval…

Syntheses, crystal structure, and electronic properties of the five ABaMQ{sub 4} compounds RbBaPS{sub 4}, CsBaPS{sub 4}, CsBaVS{sub 4}, RbBaVSe{sub 4}, and CsBaVSe{sub 4}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mesbah, Adel [Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113 (United States); ICSM, UMR 5257 CEA / CNRS / UM / ENSCM, Site de Marcoule-Bâtiment 426, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze Cedex (France); Prakash, Jai [Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113 (United States); Rocca, Dario; Lebègue, Sébastien [Laboratoire de Cristallographie, Résonance Magnétique, et Modélisations CRM2 (UMR UHP-CNRS 7036), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, Boulevard des Aiguillettes, 54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex (France); Beard, Jessica C.; Lewis, Benjamin A. [Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113 (United States); Ibers, James A., E-mail: ibers@chem.northwestern.edu [Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113 (United States)

2016-01-15

Five new compounds belonging to the ABaMQ{sub 4} family were synthesized by solid-state chemistry at 1123 K. The compounds RbBaPS{sub 4}, CsBaPS{sub 4}, CsBaVS{sub 4}, RbBaVSe{sub 4}, and CsBaVSe{sub 4} are isostructural and have the TlEuPS{sub 4} structure type. They crystallize in space group D{sup 16}{sub 2h} – Pnma of the orthorhombic system. Their structure consists isolated MQ{sub 4} tetrahedra separated by A and Ba atoms to form a salt-like structure. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations of the electronic structures with the use of the HSE functional suggest that the compounds are semiconductors with calculated band gaps of 3.3 eV (RbBaPS{sub 4}), 3.4 eV (CsBaPS{sub 4}), 2.3 eV (CsBaVS{sub 4}), and 1.6 eV (RbBaVSe{sub 4}). - Graphical abstract: General view of the ABaMQ{sub 4} structure down the a axis. - Highlights: • Five new ABaMQ{sub 4} compounds were synthesized by solid-state chemistry at 1123 K. • RbBaPS{sub 4}, CsBaPS{sub 4}, CsBaVS{sub 4}, RbBaVSe{sub 4}, and CsBaVSe{sub 4} have the TlEuPS{sub 4} structure type. • The compounds are semiconductors with calculated band gaps ranging from 1.6 to 3.4 eV.

Significance of parietal projection in radiosotope scintigraphy of the brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fomchenkov, E.P.

1978-01-01

The diagnostic value of the isotope scintigraphy of the brain in the parieal projection with the change of the dip angle of the gamma-chamber detector to the plane of the physiological horizontal was revealed. The observation was made on 100 patients with suspected presence of the volumetric process of the brain. Three variants of placing were studied: the parietal projection - standard (collimator plane parallel to the plane of physiological horizontal and strictly perpendicular to the sagittal plane); the placing with an angle of 30 deg between the detector plane and the physiological horizontal, opened at the front (posterio-parietal); placing with an angle of 30 deg between the detector plane and the physiological horizontal opened at the back (anterio-parietal). A comparative analysis of scintigrams with focal processes of the brain showed the largest informativeness of the proposed modification of the parietal projection in the form of a change of the dip angle of the gamma-chamber detector plane to the plane of the physiological horizontal opened at the back; this makes it possible to reveal more thoroughly the focus of the increased, pathological accumulation of the isotope in different parts of the skull, where the use of as standard placing is of small informativeness

Predicting oculomotor behaviour from correlated populations of posterior parietal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Graf, Arnulf B A; Andersen, Richard A

2015-01-23

Oculomotor function critically depends on how signals representing saccade direction and eye position are combined across neurons in the lateral intraparietal (LIP) area of the posterior parietal cortex. Here we show that populations of parietal neurons exhibit correlated variability, and that using these interneuronal correlations yields oculomotor predictions that are more accurate and also less uncertain. The structure of LIP population responses is therefore essential for reliable read-out of oculomotor behaviour.

The structure of the parietal pleura and its relationship to pleural liquid dynamics in sheep.

Science.gov (United States)

Albertine, K H; Wiener-Kronish, J P; Staub, N C

1984-03-01

We studied the parietal pleura of six sheep to obtain information on pleural structure, blood supply, and lymphatic drainage. In the strict sense, the parietal pleura is composed of a single layer of mesothelial cells and a uniform layer of loose, irregular connective tissue (about 23 micron in width) subjacent to the mesothelial cells. The parietal pleural blood vessels are 10-15 micron from the pleural space. Tracer substances put in the pleural space are removed at specific locations. Colloidal carbon and chick red blood cells are cleared by the parietal pleural lymphatics located over the intercostal spaces at the caudal end of the thoracic wall and over the lateral sides of the pericardial sac. In these areas the mesothelial cells have specialized openings, the stomata, that directly communicate with the underlying lymphatic lacunae. Cells and particulate matter in the pleural space are cleared only by the parietal pleural lymphatics. Compared to the visceral pleura, we believe the thinness of the parietal pleura, the closeness of its blood vessels to the pleural space, and its specialized lymphatic clearance pathways, together indicate that the parietal pleura plays a major role in pleural liquid and protein dynamics in sheep.

Patterns of morphological integration between parietal and temporal areas in the human skull.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruner, Emiliano; Pereira-Pedro, Ana Sofia; Bastir, Markus

2017-10-01

Modern humans have evolved bulging parietal areas and large, projecting temporal lobes. Both changes, largely due to a longitudinal expansion of these cranial and cerebral elements, were hypothesized to be the result of brain evolution and cognitive variations. Nonetheless, the independence of these two morphological characters has not been evaluated. Because of structural and functional integration among cranial elements, changes in the position of the temporal poles can be a secondary consequence of parietal bulging and reorientation of the head axis. In this study, we use geometric morphometrics to test the correlation between parietal shape and the morphology of the endocranial base in a sample of adult modern humans. Our results suggest that parietal proportions show no correlation with the relative position of the temporal poles within the spatial organization of the endocranial base. The vault and endocranial base are likely to be involved in distinct morphogenetic processes, with scarce or no integration between these two districts. Therefore, the current evidence rejects the hypothesis of reciprocal morphological influences between parietal and temporal morphology, suggesting that evolutionary spatial changes in these two areas may have been independent. However, parietal bulging exerts a visible effect on the rotation of the cranial base, influencing head position and orientation. This change can have had a major relevance in the reorganization of the head functional axis. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

On direct comparison of the two groups, Fl subjects showed additional activation in parts of primary visual cortex, thalamus, cerebellum, inferior and middle frontal gyrus. Conversely, FDs showed greater activation in inferior frontal gyms, precentral gyms, putamen, caudate nucleus and superior parietal lobule as compared ...

PATTERNS OF SEVEN AND COMPLICATED MALARIA IN CHILDREN

African Journals Online (AJOL)

GB

2017-11-01

Nov 1, 2017 ... treatment of tuberculosis and be diagnosed as paradoxical reactions. (6). We report a ... tumor (PNET). Figure 2: A right fronto-parietal heterogeneously enhancing mass with calcifications & a mass effect. The boy underwent craniotomy, and a huge lobulated ... findings mimicked brain tumors such as an.

Sex-dependent age modulation of frontostriatal and temporo-parietal activation during cognitive control.

Science.gov (United States)

Christakou, Anastasia; Halari, Rozmin; Smith, Anna B; Ifkovits, Eve; Brammer, Mick; Rubia, Katya

2009-10-15

Developmental functional imaging studies of cognitive control show progressive age-related increase in task-relevant fronto-striatal activation in male development from childhood to adulthood. Little is known, however, about how gender affects this functional development. In this study, we used event related functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine effects of sex, age, and their interaction on brain activation during attentional switching and interference inhibition, in 63 male and female adolescents and adults, aged 13 to 38. Linear age correlations were observed across all subjects in task-specific frontal, striatal and temporo-parietal activation. Gender analysis revealed increased activation in females relative to males in fronto-striatal areas during the Switch task, and laterality effects in the Simon task, with females showing increased left inferior prefrontal and temporal activation, and males showing increased right inferior prefrontal and parietal activation. Increased prefrontal activation clusters in females and increased parietal activation clusters in males furthermore overlapped with clusters that were age-correlated across the whole group, potentially reflecting more mature prefrontal brain activation patterns for females, and more mature parietal activation patterns for males. Gender by age interactions further supported this dissociation, revealing exclusive female-specific age correlations in inferior and medial prefrontal brain regions during both tasks, and exclusive male-specific age correlations in superior parietal (Switch task) and temporal regions (Simon task). These findings show increased recruitment of age-correlated prefrontal activation in females, and of age-correlated parietal activation in males, during tasks of cognitive control. Gender differences in frontal and parietal recruitment may thus be related to gender differences in the neurofunctional maturation of these brain regions.

Dissociation of Subtraction and Multiplication in the Right Parietal Cortex: Evidence from Intraoperative Cortical Electrostimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiaodan; Chen, Chuansheng; Pu, Song; Wu, Chenxing; Li, Yongnian; Jiang, Tao; Zhou, Xinlin

2011-01-01

Previous research has consistently shown that the left parietal cortex is critical for numerical processing, but the role of the right parietal lobe has been much less clear. This study used the intraoperative cortical electrical stimulation approach to investigate neural dissociation in the right parietal cortex for subtraction and…

Propofol and memory: a study using a process dissociation procedure and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Quan, X; Yi, J; Ye, T H; Tian, S Y; Zou, L; Yu, X R; Huang, Y G

2013-04-01

Thirty volunteers randomly received either mild or deep propofol sedation, to assess its effect on explicit and implicit memory. Blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance during sedation examined brain activation by auditory word stimulus and a process dissociation procedure was performed 4 h after scanning. Explicit memory formation did not occur in either group. Implicit memories were formed during mild but not deep sedation (p = 0.04). Mild propofol sedation inhibited superior temporal gyrus activation (Z value 4.37, voxel 167). Deep propofol sedation inhibited superior temporal gyrus (Z value 4.25, voxel 351), middle temporal gyrus (Z value 4.39, voxel 351) and inferior parietal lobule (Z value 5.06, voxel 239) activation. Propofol only abolishes implicit memory during deep sedation. The superior temporal gyrus is associated with explicit memory processing, while the formation of both implicit and explicit memories is associated with superior and middle temporal gyri and inferior parietal lobule activation. Anaesthesia © 2013 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

Attenuating illusory binding with TMS of the right parietal cortex

OpenAIRE

Esterman, Michael; Verstynen, Timothy; Robertson, Lynn C.

2007-01-01

A number of neuroimaging and neuropsychology studies have implicated various regions of parietal cortex as playing a critical role in the binding of color and form into conjunctions. The current study investigates the role of two such regions by examining how parietal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) influences binding errors known as ‘illusory conjunctions.’ Participants made fewer binding errors after 1 Hz rTMS of the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS), while basic perception of featur...

Detection of Alzheimer’s disease by displacement field and machine learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yudong Zhang

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Aim. Alzheimer’s disease (AD is a chronic neurodegenerative disease. Recently, computer scientists have developed various methods for early detection based on computer vision and machine learning techniques.Method. In this study, we proposed a novel AD detection method by displacement field (DF estimation between a normal brain and an AD brain. The DF was treated as the AD-related features, reduced by principal component analysis (PCA, and finally fed into three classifiers: support vector machine (SVM, generalized eigenvalue proximal SVM (GEPSVM, and twin SVM (TSVM. The 10-fold cross validation repeated 50 times.Results. The results showed the “DF + PCA + TSVM” achieved the accuracy of 92.75 ± 1.77, sensitivity of 90.56 ± 1.15, specificity of 93.37 ± 2.05, and precision of 79.61 ± 2.21. This result is better than or comparable with not only the other proposed two methods, but also ten state-of-the-art methods. Besides, our method discovers the AD is related to following brain regions disclosed in recent publications: Angular Gyrus, Anterior Cingulate, Cingulate Gyrus, Culmen, Cuneus, Fusiform Gyrus, Inferior Frontal Gyrus, Inferior Occipital Gyrus, Inferior Parietal Lobule, Inferior Semi-Lunar Lobule, Inferior Temporal Gyrus, Insula, Lateral Ventricle, Lingual Gyrus, Medial Frontal Gyrus, Middle Frontal Gyrus, Middle Occipital Gyrus, Middle Temporal Gyrus, Paracentral Lobule, Parahippocampal Gyrus, Postcentral Gyrus, Posterior Cingulate, Precentral Gyrus, Precuneus, Sub-Gyral, Superior Parietal Lobule, Superior Temporal Gyrus, Supramarginal Gyrus, and Uncus.Conclusion. The displacement filed is effective in detection of AD and related brain-regions.

Brain activity changes in cognitive networks in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis - insights from a longitudinal FMRI study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marisa Loitfelder

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Extrapolations from previous cross-sectional fMRI studies suggest cerebral functional changes with progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS, but longitudinal studies are scarce. We assessed brain activation changes over time in MS patients using a cognitive fMRI paradigm and examined correlations with clinical and cognitive status and brain morphology. METHODS: 13 MS patients and 15 healthy controls (HC underwent MRI including fMRI (go/no-go task, neurological and neuropsychological exams at baseline (BL and follow-up (FU; minimum 12, median 20 months. We assessed estimates of and changes in fMRI activation, total brain and subcortical grey matter volumes, cortical thickness, and T2-lesion load. Bland-Altman (BA plots served to assess fMRI signal variability. RESULTS: Cognitive and disability levels remained largely stable in the patients. With the fMRI task, both at BL and FU, patients compared to HC showed increased activation in the insular cortex, precuneus, cerebellum, posterior cingulate cortex, and occipital cortex. At BL, patients vs. HC also had lower caudate nucleus, thalamus and putamen volumes. Over time, patients (but not HC demonstrated fMRI activity increments in the left inferior parietal lobule. These correlated with worse single-digit-modality test (SDMT performance. BA-plots attested to reproducibility of the fMRI task. In the patients, the right caudate nucleus decreased in volume which again correlated with worsening SDMT performance. CONCLUSIONS: Given preserved cognitive performance, the increased activation at BL in the patients may be viewed as largely adaptive. In contrast, the negative correlation with SDMT performance suggests increasing parietal activation over time to be maladaptive. Several areas with purported relevance for cognition showed decreased volumes at BL and right caudate nucleus volume decline correlated with decreasing SDMT performance. This highlights the dynamics of functional changes and

Brain activity changes in cognitive networks in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis - insights from a longitudinal FMRI study.

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Loitfelder, Marisa; Fazekas, Franz; Koschutnig, Karl; Fuchs, Siegrid; Petrovic, Katja; Ropele, Stefan; Pichler, Alexander; Jehna, Margit; Langkammer, Christian; Schmidt, Reinhold; Neuper, Christa; Enzinger, Christian

2014-01-01

Extrapolations from previous cross-sectional fMRI studies suggest cerebral functional changes with progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), but longitudinal studies are scarce. We assessed brain activation changes over time in MS patients using a cognitive fMRI paradigm and examined correlations with clinical and cognitive status and brain morphology. 13 MS patients and 15 healthy controls (HC) underwent MRI including fMRI (go/no-go task), neurological and neuropsychological exams at baseline (BL) and follow-up (FU; minimum 12, median 20 months). We assessed estimates of and changes in fMRI activation, total brain and subcortical grey matter volumes, cortical thickness, and T2-lesion load. Bland-Altman (BA) plots served to assess fMRI signal variability. Cognitive and disability levels remained largely stable in the patients. With the fMRI task, both at BL and FU, patients compared to HC showed increased activation in the insular cortex, precuneus, cerebellum, posterior cingulate cortex, and occipital cortex. At BL, patients vs. HC also had lower caudate nucleus, thalamus and putamen volumes. Over time, patients (but not HC) demonstrated fMRI activity increments in the left inferior parietal lobule. These correlated with worse single-digit-modality test (SDMT) performance. BA-plots attested to reproducibility of the fMRI task. In the patients, the right caudate nucleus decreased in volume which again correlated with worsening SDMT performance. Given preserved cognitive performance, the increased activation at BL in the patients may be viewed as largely adaptive. In contrast, the negative correlation with SDMT performance suggests increasing parietal activation over time to be maladaptive. Several areas with purported relevance for cognition showed decreased volumes at BL and right caudate nucleus volume decline correlated with decreasing SDMT performance. This highlights the dynamics of functional changes and the strategic importance of specific brain areas for

Investigating the effects of nitrous oxide sedation on frontal-parietal interactions.

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Ryu, Ji-Ho; Kim, Pil-Jong; Kim, Hong-Gee; Koo, Yong-Seo; Shin, Teo Jeon

2017-06-09

Although functional connectivity has received considerable attention in the study of consciousness, few studies have investigated functional connectivity limited to the sedated state where consciousness is maintained but impaired. The aim of the present study was to investigate changes in functional connectivity of the parietal-frontal network resulting from nitrous oxide-induced sedation, and to determine the neural correlates of cognitive impairment during consciousness transition states. Electroencephalography was acquired from healthy adult patients who underwent nitrous oxide inhalation to induce cognitive impairment, and was analyzed using Granger causality (GC). Periods of awake, sedation and recovery for GC between frontal and parietal areas in the delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma and total frequency bands were obtained. The Friedman test with post-hoc analysis was conducted for GC values of each period for comparison. As a sedated state was induced by nitrous oxide inhalation, power in the low frequency band showed increased activity in frontal regions that was reversed with discontinuation of nitrous oxide. Feedback and feedforward connections analyzed in spectral GC were changed differently in accordance with EEG frequency bands in the sedated state by nitrous oxide administration. Calculated spectral GC of the theta, alpha, and beta frequency regions in the parietal-to-frontal direction was significantly decreased in the sedated state while spectral GC in the reverse direction did not show significant change. Frontal-parietal functional connectivity is significantly affected by nitrous oxide inhalation. Significantly decreased parietal-to-frontal interaction may induce a sedated state. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Auditory Working Memory Training on the Fronto-Parietal Working Memory Network

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Julia eSchneiders

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Working memory training has been widely used to investigate working memory processes. We have shown previously that visual working memory benefits only from intra-modal visual but not from across-modal auditory working memory training. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study we examined whether auditory working memory processes can also be trained specifically and which training-induced activation changes accompany theses effects. It was investigated whether working memory training with strongly distinct auditory materials transfers exclusively to an auditory (intra-modal working memory task or whether it generalizes to an (across-modal visual working memory task. We used an adaptive n-back training with tonal sequences and a passive control condition. The memory training led to a reliable training gain. Transfer effects were found for the (intra-modal auditory but not for the (across-modal visual 2-back task. Training-induced activation changes in the auditory 2-back task were found in two regions in the right inferior frontal gyrus. These effects confirm our previous findings in the visual modality and extends intra-modal effects to the auditory modality. These results might reflect increased neural efficiency in auditory working memory processes as in the right inferior frontal gyrus is frequently found in maintaining modality-specific auditory information. By this, these effects are analogical to the activation decreases in the right middle frontal gyrus for the visual modality in our previous study. Furthermore, task-unspecific (across-modal activation decreases in the visual and auditory 2-back task were found in the right inferior parietal lobule and the superior portion of the right middle frontal gyrus reflecting less demands on general attentional control processes. These data are in good agreement with across-modal activation decreases within the same brain regions on a visual 2-back task reported previously.

The mirror mechanism in the parietal lobe.

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Rizzolatti, Giacomo; Rozzi, Stefano

2018-01-01

The mirror mechanism is a basic mechanism that transforms sensory representations of others' actions into motor representations of the same actions in the brain of the observer. The mirror mechanism plays an important role in understanding actions of others. In the present chapter we discuss first the basic organization of the posterior parietal lobe in the monkey, stressing that it is best characterized as a motor scaffold, on the top of which sensory information is organized. We then describe the location of the mirror mechanism in the posterior parietal cortex of the monkey, and its functional role in areas PFG, and anterior, ventral, and lateral intraparietal areas. We will then present evidence that a similar functional organization is present in humans. We will conclude by discussing the role of the mirror mechanism in the recognition of action performed with tools. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The contribution of the human posterior parietal cortex to episodic memory

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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...

Optimized gamma synchronization enhances functional binding of fronto-parietal cortices in mathematically gifted adolescents during deductive reasoning

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Li eZhang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available As enhanced fronto-parietal network has been suggested to support reasoning ability of math-gifted adolescents, the main goal of this EEG source analysis is to investigate the temporal binding of the gamma-band (30-60Hz synchronization between frontal and parietal cortices in adolescents with exceptional mathematical ability, including the functional connectivity of gamma neurocognitive network, the temporal dynamics of fronto-parietal network (phase-locking durations and network lability in time domain, and the self-organized criticality of synchronizing oscillation. Compared with the average-ability subjects, the math-gifted adolescents show a highly integrated fronto-parietal network due to distant gamma phase-locking oscillations, which is indicated by lower modularity of the global network topology, more connector bridges between the frontal and parietal cortices and less connector hubs in the sensorimotor cortex. The time-domain analysis finds that, while maintaining more stable phase dynamics of the fronto-parietal coupling, the math-gifted adolescents are characterized by more extensive fronto-parietal connection reconfiguration. The results from sample fitting in the power-law model further find that the phase-locking durations in the math-gifted brain abides by a wider interval of the power-law distribution. This phase-lock distribution mechanism could represent a relatively optimized pattern for the functional binding of frontal-parietal network, which underlies stable fronto-parietal connectivity and increases flexibility of timely network reconfiguration.

The Oft-Neglected Role of Parietal EEG Asymmetry and Risk for Major Depressive Disorder

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Stewart, Jennifer L.; Towers, David N.; Coan, James A.; Allen, John J.B.

2010-01-01

Relatively less right parietal activity may reflect reduced arousal and signify risk for major depressive disorder (MDD). Inconsistent findings with parietal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry, however, suggest issues such as anxiety comorbidity and sex differences have yet to be resolved. Resting parietal EEG asymmetry was assessed in 306 individuals (31% male) with (n = 143) and without (n = 163) a DSM-IV diagnosis of lifetime MDD and no comorbid anxiety disorders. Past MDD+ women displayed relatively less right parietal activity than current MDD+ and MDD- women, replicating prior work. Recent caffeine intake, an index of arousal, moderated the relationship between depression and EEG asymmetry for women and men. Findings suggest that sex differences and arousal should be examined in studies of depression and regional brain activity. PMID:20525011

Hemispheric involvement in the processing of Chinese idioms: An fMRI study.

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Yang, Jie; Li, Ping; Fang, Xiaoping; Shu, Hua; Liu, Youyi; Chen, Lang

2016-07-01

Although the left hemisphere is believed to handle major language functions, the role of the right hemisphere in language comprehension remains controversial. Recently researchers have investigated hemispheric language processing with figurative language materials (e.g., metaphors, jokes, and idioms). The current study capitalizes on the pervasiveness and distinct features of Chinese idioms to examine the brain mechanism of figurative language processing. Native Chinese speakers performed a non-semantic task while reading opaque idioms, transparent idioms, and non-idiomatic literal phrases. Whole-brain analyses indicated strong activations for all three conditions in an overlapping brain network that includes the bilateral inferior/middle frontal gyrus and the temporo-parietal and occipital-temporal regions. The two idiom conditions elicited additional activations in the right superior parietal lobule and right precuneus. Item-based modulation analyses further demonstrated that activation amplitudes in the right angular gyrus, right superior parietal lobule and right precuneus, as well as left inferior temporo-occipital cortex, are negatively correlated with the semantic transparency of the idioms. These results suggest that both hemispheres are involved in idiom processing but they play different roles. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of theories of figurative language processing and hemispheric functions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Where do bright ideas occur in our brain? Meta-analytic evidence from neuroimaging studies of domain-specific creativity

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Boccia, Maddalena; Piccardi, Laura; Palermo, Liana; Nori, Raffaella; Palmiero, Massimiliano

2015-01-01

Many studies have assessed the neural underpinnings of creativity, failing to find a clear anatomical localization. We aimed to provide evidence for a multi-componential neural system for creativity. We applied a general activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to 45 fMRI studies. Three individual ALE analyses were performed to assess creativity in different cognitive domains (Musical, Verbal, and Visuo-spatial). The general ALE revealed that creativity relies on clusters of activations in the bilateral occipital, parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes. The individual ALE revealed different maximal activation in different domains. Musical creativity yields activations in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, in the left cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule and in the right postcentral and fusiform gyri. Verbal creativity yields activations mainly located in the left hemisphere, in the prefrontal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, postcentral and supramarginal gyri, middle occipital gyrus, and insula. The right inferior frontal gyrus and the lingual gyrus were also activated. Visuo-spatial creativity activates the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, the bilateral thalamus and the left precentral gyrus. This evidence suggests that creativity relies on multi-componential neural networks and that different creativity domains depend on different brain regions. PMID:26322002

Trail Making Test Part A and Brain Perfusion Imaging in Mild Alzheimer's Disease

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Aki Shindo

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: The Trail Making Test (TMT has long been used to investigate deficits in cognitive processing speed and executive function in humans. However, there are few studies that elucidate the neural substrates of the TMT. The aim of the present study was to identify the regional perfusion patterns of the brain associated with performance on the TMT part A (TMT-A in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD. Methods: Eighteen AD patients with poor performance on the TMT-A and 36 age- and sex-matched AD patients with good performance were selected. All subjects underwent brain single photon emission computed tomography. Results: No significant differences between the good and poor performance groups were found with respect to years of education and revised Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination scores. However, higher z-scores for hypoperfusion in the bilateral superior parietal lobule were observed in the group that scored poorly on the TMT-A compared with the good performance group. Conclusion: Our results suggest that functional activity of the bilateral superior parietal lobules is closely related to performance time on the TMT-A. Thus, the performance time on the TMT-A might be a promising index of dysfunction of the superior parietal area among mild AD patients.

Global cognitive impairment should be taken into account in SPECT-neuropsychology correlations: the example of verbal memory in very mild Alzheimer's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, G.; Brugnolo, A.; Girtler, N.; Nobili, F.; Morbelli, S.; Piccardo, A.; Calvini, P.; Dougall, N.J.; Ebmeier, K.P.; Baron, J.C.

2005-01-01

To examine the impact of severity of global cognitive impairment on SPECT-neuropsychology correlations, we correlated a verbal memory test with brain perfusion in patients with very mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), taking into account the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score as an index of global cognitive impairment. Twenty-nine outpatients (mean age 78.2±5.5 years) affected by very mild, probable AD underwent brain SPECT with 99m Tc-ethylcysteinate dimer and a word list learning test. SPM99 was used for voxel-based correlation analysis after normalisation to mean cerebellar counts (height threshold: p<0.01). In a first analysis, only age and years of education were inserted as nuisance covariates, while in a second analysis the MMSE score was inserted as well. In the first analysis, two clusters of significant correlation were found in both hemispheres, mainly including regions of the right hemisphere, such as the inferior parietal lobule, the middle temporal gyrus and the posterior cingulate. Significant correlation in the left hemisphere was observed in the lingual lobule, the parietal precuneus and the posterior cingulate. After taking into consideration the MMSE, the largest cluster of correlation was found in the left hemisphere, including the parietal gyrus angularis, the posterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus. (orig.)

Global cognitive impairment should be taken into account in SPECT-neuropsychology correlations: the example of verbal memory in very mild Alzheimer's disease

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Rodriguez, G.; Brugnolo, A.; Girtler, N.; Nobili, F. [University of Genoa, Clinical Neurophysiology, Department of Endocrinological and Metabolic Sciences, Genoa (Italy); Morbelli, S.; Piccardo, A. [University of Genoa, Section of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Genoa (Italy); Calvini, P. [University of Genoa, INFN and Department of Physics, Genoa (Italy); Dougall, N.J.; Ebmeier, K.P. [University of Edinburgh, Division of Psychiatry, Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Baron, J.C. [University of Cambridge, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Stroke Unit, Addenbrooke' s Hospital, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

2005-10-01

To examine the impact of severity of global cognitive impairment on SPECT-neuropsychology correlations, we correlated a verbal memory test with brain perfusion in patients with very mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), taking into account the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score as an index of global cognitive impairment. Twenty-nine outpatients (mean age 78.2{+-}5.5 years) affected by very mild, probable AD underwent brain SPECT with {sup 99m}Tc-ethylcysteinate dimer and a word list learning test. SPM99 was used for voxel-based correlation analysis after normalisation to mean cerebellar counts (height threshold: p<0.01). In a first analysis, only age and years of education were inserted as nuisance covariates, while in a second analysis the MMSE score was inserted as well. In the first analysis, two clusters of significant correlation were found in both hemispheres, mainly including regions of the right hemisphere, such as the inferior parietal lobule, the middle temporal gyrus and the posterior cingulate. Significant correlation in the left hemisphere was observed in the lingual lobule, the parietal precuneus and the posterior cingulate. After taking into consideration the MMSE, the largest cluster of correlation was found in the left hemisphere, including the parietal gyrus angularis, the posterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus. (orig.)

Phosphene-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation of occipital but not parietal cortex suppresses stimulus visibility

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Tapia, Evelina; Mazzi, Chiara; Savazzi, Silvia; Beck, Diane M.

2014-01-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied over the occipital lobe approximately 100 ms after the onset of a stimulus decreases its visibility if it appears in the location of the phosphene. Because phosphenes can also be elicited by stimulation of the parietal regions, we asked if the same procedure that is used to reduce visibility of stimuli with occipital TMS will lead to decreased stimulus visibility when TMS is applied to parietal regions. TMS was randomly applied at 0 to 130 ms after the onset of the stimulus (SOA) in steps of 10 ms in occipital and parietal regions. Participants responded to the orientation of the line stimulus and rated its visibility. We replicate previous reports of phosphenes from both occipital and parietal TMS. As previously reported, we also observed visual suppression around the classical 100 ms window both in the objective line orientation and subjective visibility responses with occipital TMS. Parietal stimulation, on the other hand, did not consistently reduce stimulus visibility in any time window. PMID:24584900

Different central effects of needle rotation in false and real acupoints on functional MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Jiliang; Meister, I.

2004-01-01

Objective: To observed the cerebral activation patterns under different acupuncture stimuli by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods: The cortical activation patterns on fMRI during stimulation of two real (LIV3 and GB40) and one sham acupoints were investigated in 13 healthy subjects, they were punctured in a randomized fashion and for the subjects blinded order employing a) rotating and b) non-rotating methods using a blocked paradigm on a 1.5 T scanner. Results: Only during stimulation of the real acupoints, differential effects were observed, namely on LIV3 an increase of activation within both parietal cortices Brodmann's area (BA) 40, right frontal cortices BA47 and BA10, right thalamus, and left cerebellum; on GB40 an increase of activation within both parietal BA40, right parietal BA2, left frontal BA9, 10, 44, left insula cortices BA13, left temporal cortices BA22, right temporal BA42, right putamen, and left cerebellum. When doing the same contrast in the sham point, there were no suprathreshold voxels. The rotating needle strengthened the effects of acupuncture (the so-called De-Qi) only in real acupoints. Conclusion: Acupuncture seems to result in specific cerebral activation patterns which might explain its therapeutic effects in specific subjects. (author)

Parietal cells-new perspectives in glomerular disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miesen, L.; Steenbergen, E.; Smeets, B.

2017-01-01

In normal glomeruli, parietal epithelial cells (PECs) line the inside of Bowman's capsule and form an inconspicuous sheet of flat epithelial cells in continuity with the proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs) at the urinary pole and with the podocytes at the vascular pole. PECs, PTECs and

Long Duration Head Down Tilt Bed Rest and Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance: Extent, Longevity and Neural Bases

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Seidler, R. D.; Mulavara, A. P.; Koppelmans, V.; Cassady, K.; Yuan, P.; Kofman, I. S.; De Dios, Y. E.; Riascos-Castaneda, R. F.; Wood, S. J.; Bloomberg, J. J.

2017-01-01

We have recently completed a long duration head down tilt bed rest (HDBR) study in which we performed structural and functional magnetic resonance brain imaging to identify the relationships between changes in neurocognitive function and neural structural alterations in a spaceflight analog environment. We are also collecting the same measures in crewmembers prior to and following a six month International Space Station mission. We will present data demonstrating that bed rest resulted in functional mobility and balance deterioration with recovery post-HDBR. We observed numerous changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity relative to a control group which were associated with pre to post bed rest changes in sensorimotor function. For example, gray matter volume (GMv) increased in posterior parietal areas and decreased in frontal regions. GMv increases largely overlapped with fluid decreases and vice versa. Larger increases in precentral gyrus (M1)/ postcentral gyrus (S1+2) GMv and fluid decreases were associated with smaller balance decrements. Vestibular activation in the bilateral insular cortex increased with bed rest and subsequently recovered. Larger increases in vestibular activation in multiple brain regions were associated with greater decrements in balance and mobility. We found connectivity increases between left M1 with right S1+2 and the superior parietal lobule, and right vestibular cortex with the cerebellum. Decreases were observed between right Lobule VIII with right S1+2 and the supramarginal gyrus, right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) with occipital regions, and the right superior posterior fissure with right Crus I and II. Connectivity strength between left M1 and right S1+2/superior parietal lobule increased the most in individuals that exhibited the least balance impairments. In sum, we observed HDBR-related changes in measures of brain structure, function, and network connectivity, which correlated with indices of sensorimotor

Evolution of posterior parietal cortex and parietal-frontal networks for specific actions in primates.

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Kaas, Jon H; Stepniewska, Iwona

2016-02-15

Posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is an extensive region of the human brain that develops relatively late and is proportionally large compared with that of monkeys and prosimian primates. Our ongoing comparative studies have led to several conclusions about the evolution of this posterior parietal region. In early placental mammals, PPC likely was a small multisensory region much like PPC of extant rodents and tree shrews. In early primates, PPC likely resembled that of prosimian galagos, in which caudal PPC (PPCc) is visual and rostral PPC (PPCr) has eight or more multisensory domains where electrical stimulation evokes different complex motor behaviors, including reaching, hand-to-mouth, looking, protecting the face or body, and grasping. These evoked behaviors depend on connections with functionally matched domains in premotor cortex (PMC) and motor cortex (M1). Domains in each region compete with each other, and a serial arrangement of domains allows different factors to influence motor outcomes successively. Similar arrangements of domains have been retained in New and Old World monkeys, and humans appear to have at least some of these domains. The great expansion and prolonged development of PPC in humans suggest the addition of functionally distinct territories. We propose that, across primates, PMC and M1 domains are second and third levels in a number of parallel, interacting networks for mediating and selecting one type of action over others. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Subnitride chemistry: A first-principles study of the NaBa3N, Na5Ba3N, and Na16Ba6N phases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliva, Josep M.

2005-01-01

An ab initio study on the electronic structure of the subnitrides NaBa 3 N, Na 5 Ba 3 N, and Na 16 Ba 6 N is performed for the first time. The NaBa 3 N and Na 5 Ba 3 N phases consist of infinite 1 ∞ [NBa 6/2 ] strands composed of face-sharing NBa 6 octahedra surrounded by a 'sea' of sodium atoms. The Na 16 Ba 6 N phase consist of discrete [NBa 6 ] octahedra arranged in a body-cubic fashion, surrounded by a 'sea' of sodium atoms. Our calculations suggest that the title subnitrides are metals. Analysis of the electronic structure shows partial interaction of N(2s) with Ba(5p) electrons in the lower energy region for NaBa 3 N and Na 5 Ba 3 N. However, no dispersion is observed for the N(2s) and Ba(5p) bands in the cubic phase Na 16 Ba 6 N. The metallic band below the Fermi level shows a strong mixing of N(2p), Ba(6s), Ba(5d), Ba(6p), Na(3s) and Na(3p) orbitals. The metallic character in these nitrides stems from delocalized electrons corresponding to hybridized 5d l 6s m 6p n barium orbitals which interact with hybridized 3s n 3p m sodium orbitals. Analysis of the electron density and electronic structure in these nitrides shows two different regions: a metallic matrix corresponding to the sodium atoms and the regions around them and heteropolar bonding between nitrogen and barium within the infinite 1 ∞ [NBa 6/2 ] strands of the NaBa 3 N and Na 5 Ba 3 N phases, and within the isolated [NBa 6 ] octahedra of the Na 16 Ba 6 N phase. The nitrogen atoms inside the strands and octahedra are negatively charged, the anionic character of nitrogens being larger in the isolated octahedra of the cubic phase Na 16 Ba 6 N, due to the lack of electron delocalization along one direction as opposed to the other phases. The sodium and barium atoms appear to be slightly negatively and positively charged, the latter to a larger extent. From the computed Ba-N overlap populations as well as the analysis of the contour maps of differences between total density and superposition of

The Neural Correlates of the Body-Object Interaction Effect in Semantic Processing

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Ian Scott Hargreaves

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The semantic richness dimension referred to as body-object interaction (BOI measures perceptions of the ease with which people can physically interact with words’ referents. Previous studies have shown facilitated lexical and semantic processing for words rated high in BOI (e.g., belt than for words rated low in BOI (e.g., sun (e.g., Siakaluk, Pexman, Sears, Wilson, Locheed, & Owen, 2008b. These BOI effects have been taken as evidence that embodied information is relevant to word recognition. However, to date there is no evidence linking BOI manipulations to differences in the utilization of perceptual or sensorimotor areas of the brain. The current study used event-related fMRI to examine the neural correlates of BOI in a semantic categorization task (SCT. Sixteen healthy adults participated. Results showed that high BOI words were associated with activation in the left inferior parietal lobule (supramarginal gyrus, BA 40, a sensory association area involved in kinesthetic memory. These results provide evidence that the BOI dimension captures sensorimotor information, and that this contributes to semantic processing.

Nuclear Glycogen Inclusions in Canine Parietal Cells.

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Silvestri, S; Lepri, E; Dall'Aglio, C; Marchesi, M C; Vitellozzi, G

2017-05-01

Nuclear glycogen inclusions occur infrequently in pathologic conditions but also in normal human and animal tissues. Their function or significance is unclear. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no reports of nuclear glycogen inclusions in canine parietal cells exist. After initial observations of nuclear inclusions/pseudoinclusions during routine histopathology, the authors retrospectively examined samples of gastric mucosa from dogs presenting with gastrointestinal signs for the presence of intranuclear inclusions/pseudoinclusions and determined their composition using histologic and electron-microscopic methods. In 24 of 108 cases (22%), the authors observed various numbers of intranuclear inclusions/pseudoinclusions within scattered parietal cells. Nuclei were characterized by marked karyomegaly and chromatin margination around a central optically empty or slightly eosinophilic area. The intranuclear inclusions/pseudoinclusions stained positive with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and were diastase sensitive, consistent with glycogen. Several PAS-positive/diastase-sensitive sections were further examined by transmission electron microscopy, also using periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate (PA-TCH-SP) staining to identify polysaccharides. Ultrastructurally, the nuclear inclusions were composed of electron-dense particles that were not membrane bound, without evidence of nuclear membrane invaginations or cytoplasmic organelles in the nuclei, and positive staining with PA-TCH-SP, confirming a glycogen composition. No cytoplasmic glycogen deposits were observed, suggesting that the intranuclear glycogen inclusions were probably synthesized in loco. Nuclear glycogen inclusions were not associated with gastritis or colonization by Helicobacter-like organisms ( P > .05). Our findings suggest that nuclear glycogen inclusions in canine parietal cells could be an incidental finding. Nevertheless, since nuclear glycogen is present in several pathologic

Neuronal oscillations form parietal/frontal networks during contour integration.

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Castellano, Marta; Plöchl, Michael; Vicente, Raul; Pipa, Gordon

2014-01-01

The ability to integrate visual features into a global coherent percept that can be further categorized and manipulated are fundamental abilities of the neural system. While the processing of visual information involves activation of early visual cortices, the recruitment of parietal and frontal cortices has been shown to be crucial for perceptual processes. Yet is it not clear how both cortical and long-range oscillatory activity leads to the integration of visual features into a coherent percept. Here, we will investigate perceptual grouping through the analysis of a contour categorization task, where the local elements that form contour must be linked into a coherent structure, which is then further processed and manipulated to perform the categorization task. The contour formation in our visual stimulus is a dynamic process where, for the first time, visual perception of contours is disentangled from the onset of visual stimulation or from motor preparation, cognitive processes that until now have been behaviorally attached to perceptual processes. Our main finding is that, while local and long-range synchronization at several frequencies seem to be an ongoing phenomena, categorization of a contour could only be predicted through local oscillatory activity within parietal/frontal sources, which in turn, would synchronize at gamma (>30 Hz) frequency. Simultaneously, fronto-parietal beta (13-30 Hz) phase locking forms a network spanning across neural sources that are not category specific. Both long range networks, i.e., the gamma network that is category specific, and the beta network that is not category specific, are functionally distinct but spatially overlapping. Altogether, we show that a critical mechanism underlying contour categorization involves oscillatory activity within parietal/frontal cortices, as well as its synchronization across distal cortical sites.

Counteracting fatigue in multiple sclerosis with right parietal anodal transcranial direct current stimulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrin Hanken

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS patients appears to correlate with vigilance decrement as reflected in an increase in reaction time and errors with prolonged time-on-task. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS over the right parietal or frontal cortex counteracts fatigue-associated vigilance decrement and subjective fatigue. Methods: In study I, a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, anodal tDCS (1,5mA was delivered to the right parietal cortex or the right frontal cortex of 52 healthy participants during the first 20min of a 40min lasting visual vigilance task. Study II, also a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, investigated the effect of anodal tDCS (1.5mA over the right parietal cortex in 46 MS patients experiencing cognitive fatigue. TDCS was delivered for 20min before patients performed a 20min lasting visual vigilance task.Results: Study I showed that right parietal stimulation, but not right frontal stimulation, counteracts the increase in reaction time associated with vigilance decrement. Hence, only right parietal stimulation was applied to the MS patients in study II. Stimulation had a significant effect on vigilance decrement in mildly to moderately cognitively fatigued MS patients. Vigilance testing significantly increased the feeling of fatigue independent of stimulation.Conclusions: Anodal tDCS over the right parietal cortex can counteract the increase in reaction times during vigilance performance but not the increase in subjective fatigue. This finding is compatible with our model of fatigue in MS, suggesting a dissociation between the feeling and the behavioral characteristics of fatigue.

Counteracting Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis with Right Parietal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanken, Katrin; Bosse, Mona; Möhrke, Kim; Eling, Paul; Kastrup, Andreas; Antal, Andrea; Hildebrandt, Helmut

2016-01-01

Fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients appears to correlate with vigilance decrement as reflected in an increase in reaction time (RT) and errors with prolonged time-on-task. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right parietal or frontal cortex counteracts fatigue-associated vigilance decrement and subjective fatigue. In study I, a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, anodal tDCS (1.5 mA) was delivered to the right parietal cortex or the right frontal cortex of 52 healthy participants during the first 20 min of a 40-min lasting visual vigilance task. Study II, also a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, investigated the effect of anodal tDCS (1.5 mA) over the right parietal cortex in 46 MS patients experiencing cognitive fatigue. tDCS was delivered for 20 min before patients performed a 20-min lasting visual vigilance task. Study I showed that right parietal stimulation, but not right frontal stimulation, counteracts the increase in RT associated with vigilance decrement. Hence, only right parietal stimulation was applied to the MS patients in study II. Stimulation had a significant effect on vigilance decrement in mildly to moderately cognitively fatigued MS patients. Vigilance testing significantly increased the feeling of fatigue independent of stimulation. Anodal tDCS over the right parietal cortex can counteract the increase in RTs during vigilance performance, but not the increase in subjective fatigue. This finding is compatible with our model of fatigue in MS, suggesting a dissociation between the feeling and the behavioral characteristics of fatigue.

Muscarinic responses of gastric parietal cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkes, J.M.; Kajimura, M.; Scott, D.R.; Hersey, S.J.; Sachs, G.

1991-01-01

Isolated rabbit gastric glands were used to study the nature of the muscarinic cholinergic responses of parietal cells. Carbachol stimulation of acid secretion, as measured by the accumulation of aminopyrine, was inhibited by the M1 antagonist, pirenzepine, with an IC50 of 13 microM; by the M2 antagonist, 11,2-(diethylamino)methyl-1 piperidinyl acetyl-5,11-dihydro-6H-pyrido 2,3-b 1,4 benzodiazepin-6-one (AF-DX 116), with an IC50 of 110 microM; and by the M1/M3 antagonist, diphenyl-acetoxy-4-methylpiperidinemethiodide, with an IC50 of 35 nM. The three antagonists displayed equivalent IC50 values for the inhibition of carbachol-stimulated production of 14CO2 from radiolabeled glucose, which is a measure of the turnover of the H,K-ATPase, the final step of acid secretion. Intracellular calcium levels were measured in gastric glands loaded with FURA 2. Carbachol was shown to both release calcium from an intracellular pool and to promote calcium entry across the plasma membrane. The calcium entry was inhibitable by 20 microM La3+. The relative potency of the three muscarinic antagonists for inhibition of calcium entry was essentially the same as for inhibition of acid secretion or pump related glucose oxidation. Image analysis of the glands showed the effects of carbachol, and of the antagonists, on intracellular calcium were occurring largely in the parietal cell. The rise in cell calcium due to release of calcium from intracellular stores was inhibited by 4-DAMP with an IC50 of 1.7 nM, suggesting that the release pathway was regulated by a low affinity M3 muscarinic receptor or state; Ca entry and acid secretion are regulated by a high affinity M3 muscarinic receptor or state, inhibited by higher 4-DAMP concentrations, suggesting that it is the steady-state elevation of Ca that is related to parietal cell function rather than the [Ca]i transient

Syntheses and crystal structures of BaAgTbS{sub 3}, BaCuGdTe{sub 3}, BaCuTbTe{sub 3}, BaAgTbTe{sub 3}, and CsAgUTe{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prakash, Jai; Beard, Jessica C.; Ibers, James A. [Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113 (United States); Mesbah, Adel [Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113 (United States); ICSM-UMR 5257 CNRS/CEA/UM2/ENSCM, Bat 426, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols/Ceze (France)

2015-06-15

Five new quaternary chalcogenides of the 1113 family, namely BaAgTbS{sub 3}, BaCuGdTe{sub 3}, BaCuTbTe{sub 3}, BaAgTbTe{sub 3}, and CsAgUTe{sub 3}, were synthesized by the reactions of the elements at 1173-1273 K. For CsAgUTe{sub 3} CsCl flux was used. Their crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The sulfide BaAgTbS{sub 3} crystallizes in the BaAgErS{sub 3} structure type in the monoclinic space group C{sup 3},{sub 2h}-C2/m, whereas the tellurides BaCuGdTe{sub 3}, BaCuTbTe{sub 3}, BaAgTbTe{sub 3}, and CsAgUTe{sub 3} crystallize in the KCuZrS{sub 3} structure type in the orthorhombic space group D{sup 1},{sub 2}{sup 7},{sub h}-Cmcm. The BaAgTbS{sub 3} structure consists of edge-sharing [TbS{sub 6}{sup 9-}] octahedra and [AgS{sub 5}{sup 9-}] trigonal pyramids. The connectivity of these polyhedra creates channels that are occupied by Ba atoms. The telluride structure features {sup 2}{sub ∞}[MLnTe{sub 3}{sup 2-}] layers for BaCuGdTe{sub 3}, BaCuTbTe{sub 3}, BaAgTbTe{sub 3}, and {sup 2}{sub ∞}[AgUTe{sub 3}{sup 1-}] layers for CsAgUTe{sub 3}. These layers comprise [MTe{sub 4}] tetrahedra and [LnTe{sub 6}] or [UTe{sub 6}] octahedra. Ba or Cs atoms separate these layers. As there are no short Q..Q (Q = S or Te) interactions these compounds achieve charge balance as Ba{sup 2+}M{sup +}Ln{sup 3+}(Q{sup 2-}){sub 3} (Q = S and Te) and Cs{sup +}Ag{sup +}U{sup 4+}(Te{sup 2-}){sub 3}. (Copyright copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Visual Short-Term Memory Activity in Parietal Lobe Reflects Cognitive Processes beyond Attentional Selection.

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Sheremata, Summer L; Somers, David C; Shomstein, Sarah

2018-02-07

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) and attention are distinct yet interrelated processes. While both require selection of information across the visual field, memory additionally requires the maintenance of information across time and distraction. VSTM recruits areas within human (male and female) dorsal and ventral parietal cortex that are also implicated in spatial selection; therefore, it is important to determine whether overlapping activation might reflect shared attentional demands. Here, identical stimuli and controlled sustained attention across both tasks were used to ask whether fMRI signal amplitude, functional connectivity, and contralateral visual field bias reflect memory-specific task demands. While attention and VSTM activated similar cortical areas, BOLD amplitude and functional connectivity in parietal cortex differentiated the two tasks. Relative to attention, VSTM increased BOLD amplitude in dorsal parietal cortex and decreased BOLD amplitude in the angular gyrus. Additionally, the tasks differentially modulated parietal functional connectivity. Contrasting VSTM and attention, intraparietal sulcus (IPS) 1-2 were more strongly connected with anterior frontoparietal areas and more weakly connected with posterior regions. This divergence between tasks demonstrates that parietal activation reflects memory-specific functions and consequently modulates functional connectivity across the cortex. In contrast, both tasks demonstrated hemispheric asymmetries for spatial processing, exhibiting a stronger contralateral visual field bias in the left versus the right hemisphere across tasks, suggesting that asymmetries are characteristic of a shared selection process in IPS. These results demonstrate that parietal activity and patterns of functional connectivity distinguish VSTM from more general attention processes, establishing a central role of the parietal cortex in maintaining visual information. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Visual short-term memory (VSTM) and

Differential frontal-parietal phase synchrony during hypnosis as a function of hypnotic suggestibility.

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Terhune, Devin Blair; Cardeña, Etzel; Lindgren, Magnus

2011-10-01

Spontaneous dissociative alterations in awareness and perception among highly suggestible individuals following a hypnotic induction may result from disruptions in the functional coordination of the frontal-parietal network. We recorded EEG and self-reported state dissociation in control and hypnosis conditions in two sessions with low and highly suggestible participants. Highly suggestible participants reliably experienced greater state dissociation and exhibited lower frontal-parietal phase synchrony in the alpha2 frequency band during hypnosis than low suggestible participants. These findings suggest that highly suggestible individuals exhibit a disruption of the frontal-parietal network that is only observable following a hypnotic induction. Copyright © 2011 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Modality specificity in the cerebro-cerebellar neurocircuitry during working memory.

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Ng, H B Tommy; Kao, K-L Cathy; Chan, Y C; Chew, Effie; Chuang, K H; Chen, S H Annabel

2016-05-15

Previous studies have suggested cerebro-cerebellar circuitry in working memory. The present fMRI study aims to distinguish differential cerebro-cerebellar activation patterns in verbal and visual working memory, and employs a quantitative analysis to deterimine lateralization of the activation patterns observed. Consistent with Chen and Desmond (2005a,b) predictions, verbal working memory activated a cerebro-cerebellar circuitry that comprised left-lateralized language-related brain regions including the inferior frontal and posterior parietal areas, and subcortically, right-lateralized superior (lobule VI) and inferior cerebellar (lobule VIIIA/VIIB) areas. In contrast, a distributed network of bilateral inferior frontal and inferior temporal areas, and bilateral superior (lobule VI) and inferior (lobule VIIB) cerebellar areas, was recruited during visual working memory. Results of the study verified that a distinct cross cerebro-cerebellar circuitry underlies verbal working memory. However, a neural circuitry involving specialized brain areas in bilateral neocortical and bilateral cerebellar hemispheres subserving visual working memory is observed. Findings are discussed in the light of current models of working memory and data from related neuroimaging studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional Connectivity Between Anterior Insula and Key Nodes of Frontoparietal Executive Control and Salience Networks Distinguish Bipolar Depression From Unipolar Depression and Healthy Control Subjects.

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Ellard, Kristen K; Zimmerman, Jared P; Kaur, Navneet; Van Dijk, Koene R A; Roffman, Joshua L; Nierenberg, Andrew A; Dougherty, Darin D; Deckersbach, Thilo; Camprodon, Joan A

2018-05-01

Patients with bipolar depression are characterized by dysregulation across the full spectrum of mood, differentiating them from patients with unipolar depression. The ability to switch neural resources among the default mode network, salience network, and executive control network (ECN) has been proposed as a key mechanism for adaptive mood regulation. The anterior insula is implicated in the modulation of functional network switching. Differential connectivity between anterior insula and functional networks may provide insights into pathophysiological differences between bipolar and unipolar mood disorders, with implications for diagnosis and treatment. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 98 subjects (35 unipolar, 24 bipolar, and 39 healthy control subjects). Pearson correlations were computed between bilateral insula seed regions and a priori defined target regions from the default mode network, salience network, and ECN. After r-to-z transformation, a one-way multivariate analysis of covariance was conducted to identify significant differences in connectivity between groups. Post hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted and Bonferroni corrections were applied. Receiver-operating characteristics were computed to assess diagnostic sensitivity. Patients with bipolar depression evidenced significantly altered right anterior insula functional connectivity with the inferior parietal lobule of the ECN relative to patients with unipolar depression and control subjects. Right anterior insula-inferior parietal lobule connectivity significantly discriminated patients with bipolar depression. Impaired functional connectivity between the anterior insula and the inferior parietal lobule of the ECN distinguishes patients with bipolar depression from those with unipolar depression and healthy control subjects. This finding highlights a pathophysiological mechanism with potential as a therapeutic target and a clinical biomarker for bipolar

Cortico-cortical connections of areas 44 and 45B in the macaque monkey.

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Frey, Stephen; Mackey, Scott; Petrides, Michael

2014-04-01

In the human brain, areas 44 and 45 constitute Broca's region, the ventrolateral frontal region critical for language production. The homologues of these areas in the macaque monkey brain have been established by direct cytoarchitectonic comparison with the human brain. The cortical areas that project monosynaptically to areas 44 and 45B in the macaque monkey brain require clarification. Fluorescent retrograde tracers were placed in cytoarchitectonic areas 44 and 45B of the macaque monkey, as well as in the anterior part of the inferior parietal lobule and the superior temporal gyrus. The results demonstrate that ipsilateral afferent connections of area 44 arise from local frontal areas, including rostral premotor cortical area 6, from secondary somatosensory cortex, the caudal insula, and the cingulate motor region. Area 44 is strongly linked with the anterior inferior parietal lobule (particularly area PFG and the adjacent anterior intraparietal sulcus). Input from the temporal lobe is limited to the fundus of the superior temporal sulcus extending caudal to the central sulcus. There is also input from the sulcal part of area Tpt in the upper bank of the superior temporal sulcus. Area 45B shares some of the connections of area 44, but can be distinguished from area 44 by input from the caudal inferior parietal lobule (area PG) and significant input from the part of the superior temporal sulcus that extends anterior to the central sulcus. Area 45B also receives input from visual association cortex that is not observed in area 44. The results have provided a clarification of the relative connections of areas 44 and 45B of the ventrolateral frontal region which, in the human brain, subserves certain aspects of language processing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment after memantine therapy. A preliminary study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yong-Wook; Shin, Ji-Cheol; An, Young-Sil

2010-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment after memantine therapy. We performed serial F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography studies before and after memantine therapy (20 mg per day) on 17 patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment using statistical parametric mapping analysis. In addition, covariance analysis was performed to identify regions, where changes in regional cerebral glucose metabolism correlated significantly with increased Mini-Mental Status Examination scores. Statistical parametric mapping analysis demonstrated that, compared with baseline, significantly increased cerebral glucose metabolism occurred in both inferior, middle and superior frontal gyri, both angular gyri, both precuneus, the right middle cingulum, the left inferior parietal lobule, the left fusiform gyrus, the left precentral gyrus, the left paracentral lobule, and the left lingual gyrus after memantine therapy (P uncorrected uncorrected corrected <0.0001). Our findings indicate that the prefrontal and the parietal association cortices may be the relevant structures for the pharmacological response to memantine therapy in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment. (author)

Gaze-related mimic word activates the frontal eye field and related network in the human brain: an fMRI study.

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Osaka, Naoyuki; Osaka, Mariko

2009-09-18

This is an fMRI study demonstrating new evidence that a mimic word highly suggestive of an eye gaze, heard by the ear, significantly activates the frontal eye field (FEF), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), dorsolateral premotor area (PMdr) and superior parietal lobule (SPL) connected with the frontal-parietal network. However, hearing a non-sense words that did not imply gaze under the same task does not activate this area in humans. We concluded that the FEF would be a critical area for generating/processing an active gaze, evoked by an onomatopoeia word that implied gaze closely associated with social skill. We suggest that the implied active gaze may depend on prefrontal-parietal interactions that modify cognitive gaze led by spatial visual attention associated with the SPL.

Parietal epithelial cells and podocytes in glomerular diseases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smeets, B.; Moeller, M.J.

2012-01-01

In recent years, it has become apparent that parietal epithelial cells (PECs) play an important role within the renal glomerulus, in particular in diseased conditions. In this review, we examine current knowledge about the role of PECs and their interactions with podocytes in development and under

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of BaWO{sub 4} and Ba{sub 2}CaWO{sub 6}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Capece, Angela M., E-mail: acapece@pppl.gov [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Polk, James E. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (United States); Shepherd, Joseph E. [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States)

2014-12-15

Highlights: • XPS reference spectra for Ba{sub 2}CaWO{sub 6} and BaWO{sub 4} are presented. • Binding energies of Ba 3d and W 4f lines are 0.7 eV higher for BaWO{sub 4} than Ba{sub 2}CaWO{sub 6}. • Ca 2p spectrum contains two sets of Ca 2p doublets attributed to Ba{sub 2}CaWO{sub 6} and CaCO{sub 3}. - Abstract: XPS reference spectra for Ba{sub 2}CaWO{sub 6} and BaWO{sub 4} are presented, including high resolution spectra of the Ba 3d, W 4f, C 1s, Ca 2p, and O 1s lines. The peak locations and full widths at half maximum are also given. The binding energies of the Ba 3d and W 4f lines are 0.7 eV higher for BaWO{sub 4} than for Ba{sub 2}CaWO{sub 6}. The Ca 2p spectrum contains two sets of Ca 2p doublets that were attributed to Ba{sub 2}CaWO{sub 6} and CaCO{sub 3}.

Multimodal responses induced by cortical stimulation of the parietal lobe: a stereo-electroencephalography study.

Science.gov (United States)

Balestrini, Simona; Francione, Stefano; Mai, Roberto; Castana, Laura; Casaceli, Giuseppe; Marino, Daniela; Provinciali, Leandro; Cardinale, Francesco; Tassi, Laura

2015-09-01

The functional complexity of the parietal lobe still represents a challenge for neurophysiological and functional neuroimaging studies. While the somatosensory functions of the anterior parietal cortex are well established, the posterior parietal cortex has a relevant role in processing the sensory information, including visuo-spatial perception, visual attention, visuo-motor transformations and other complex and not completely understood functions. We retrospectively analysed all the clinical manifestations induced by intracerebral bipolar electrical stimulation in 172 patients suffering from drug-resistant focal epilepsy (mean age 25.6, standard deviation 11.6; 44% females and 56% males) with at least one electrode stereotactically implanted in the parietal cortex. A total of 1186 electrical stimulations were included in the analysis, of which 88 were subsequently excluded because of eliciting pathological electric activity or inducing ictal symptomatology. In the dominant parietal lobe, clinical responses were observed for 56 (25%) of the low-frequency stimulations and for 76 (50%) of the high-frequency stimulations. In the non-dominant parietal lobe, 111 (27%) low-frequency and 176 (55%) high-frequency stimulations were associated with a clinical response. Body scheme alteration was the only clinical effect showing a lateralization, as they were evoked only in the non-dominant hemisphere. The occurrence of somatosensory sensations, motor symptoms, dysarthria and multimodal responses were significantly associated with stimulation of the postcentral gyrus (odds ratio: 5.83, P < 0.001; odds ratio: 8.77, P < 0.001; odds ratio: 5.44, P = 0.011; odds ratio: 8.33, P = 0.006; respectively). Stimulation of the intraparietal sulcus was associated with the occurrence of sensory illusions or hallucinations (odds ratio: 8.68, P < 0.001) and eyeball/eyelid movements or sensations (odds ratio: 4.35, P = 0.047). To our knowledge, this is the only currently available complete

Kinesthetic alexia due to left parietal lobe lesions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ihori, Nami; Kawamura, Mitsuru; Araki, Shigeo; Kawachi, Juro

2002-01-01

To investigate the neuropsychological mechanisms of kinesthetic alexia, we asked 7 patients who showed kinesthetic alexia with preserved visual reading after damage to the left parietal region to perform tasks consisting of kinesthetic written reproduction (writing down the same letter as the kinesthetic stimulus), kinesthetic reading aloud, visual written reproduction (copying letters), and visual reading aloud of hiragana (Japanese phonograms). We compared the performance in these tasks and the lesion sites in each patient. The results suggested that deficits in any one of the following functions might cause kinesthetic alexia: (1) the retrieval of kinesthetic images (motor engrams) of characters from kinesthetic stimuli, (2) kinesthetic images themselves, (3) access to cross-modal association from kinesthetic images, and (4) cross-modal association itself (retrieval of auditory and visual images from kinesthetic images of characters). Each of these factors seemed to be related to different lesion sites in the left parietal lobe. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Polarizabilities of Ba and Ba2: Comparison of molecular beam experiments with relativistic quantum chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaefer, Sascha; Mehring, Max; Schaefer, Rolf; Schwerdtfeger, Peter

2007-01-01

The dielectric response to an inhomogeneous electric field has been investigated for Ba and Ba 2 within a molecular beam experiment. The ratio of the polarizabilities per atom of Ba 2 and Ba is determined to be 1.30±0.13. The experimental result is compared to a high level ab initio quantum chemical coupled cluster calculation with an energy-consistent scalar relativistic small-core pseudopotential for Ba. For the barium atom a polarizability of 40.82 A 3 is obtained and the isotropic value of the polarizability calculated for Ba 2 is 97.88 A 3 , which is in good agreement with the experimental results, demonstrating that a quantitative understanding of the interaction between two closed-shell heavy element metal atoms has been achieved

Enhanced Working Memory Binding by Direct Electrical Stimulation of the Parietal Cortex

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Agustina Birba

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Recent works evince the critical role of visual short-term memory (STM binding deficits as a clinical and preclinical marker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD. These studies suggest a potential role of posterior brain regions in both the neurocognitive deficits of Alzheimer’s patients and STM binding in general. Thereupon, we surmised that stimulation of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC might be a successful approach to tackle working memory deficits in this condition, especially at early stages. To date, no causal evidence exists of the role of the parietal cortex in STM binding. A unique approach to assess this issue is afforded by single-subject direct intracranial electrical stimulation of specific brain regions during a relevant cognitive task. Electrical stimulation has been used both for clinical purposes and to causally probe brain mechanisms. Previous evidence of electrical currents spreading through white matter along well defined functional circuits indicates that visual working memory mechanisms are subserved by a specific widely distributed network. Here, we stimulated the parietal cortex of a subject with intracranial electrodes as he performed the visual STM task. We compared the ensuing results to those from a non-stimulated condition and to the performance of a matched control group. In brief, direct stimulation of the parietal cortex induced a selective improvement in STM. These results, together with previous studies, provide very preliminary but promising ground to examine behavioral changes upon parietal stimulation in AD. We discuss our results regarding: (a the usefulness of the task to target prodromal stages of AD; (b the role of a posterior network in STM binding and in AD; and (c the potential opportunity to improve STM binding through brain stimulation.

Comparison of cerebral metabolism of glucose in normal human and cancer patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Si, M.

2007-01-01

Full text: Objective: To determine whether the cerebral metabolism in various regions of the normal human brain differs from those of cancer patients in aging by using 18F-FDG PET instrument and SPM software. Materials and Methods We reviewed clinical information of 295 healthy normal samples so called 'normal group' (ranging 21 to 88; mean age+/-SD: 50+/-14) and 290 cancer patients called 'cancer group' (ranging 21 to 85; mean age+/-SD: 54+/-14) who were examined by a whole body GE Discovery LS PET-CT instrument in our center from Aug. 2004 to Dec. 2005.They were selected with: (i) absence of clear focal brain lesions (epilepsy, cerebrovascular diseases etc.); (ii) absence of metabolic diseases, such as hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and diabetes; (iii) absence of psychiatric disorders and abuse of drugs and alcohol;( iiii) cancer patients were diagnosed definitely of variable cancers except brain cancer or brain metastasis. Both groups were sub grouped into six with the interval of 10 years old starting from 21, and the gender, educational background and serum glucose are matched. All 12 subgroups were compared to the subgroup of normal 31-40 years old called 'control subgroup' (84 samples; mean age+/-SD: 37.15+/- 2.63). All samples were injected with 18F-FDG (5.55MBq/kg), 45-60 minutes later; their brains were scanned for 10 minutes. Pixel-by-pixel t-statistic analysis was applied to all brain images using the Statistical parametric mapping (SPM2). The hypometabolic areas (p < 0. 01 or p<0.001, uncorrected) were identified in the Stereotaxic coordinate human brain atlas and three dimensional localized by MNI Space utility (MSU) software. Results:1.With increasing of age interval, similar hypometabolic brain areas are detected in both 'normal group' and 'cancer group', they are mainly in the cortical structures such as bilateral prefrontal cortex (BA9), superior temporal gyrus (BA22), parietal cortex (inferior parietal lobule and precuneus(BA40), insula (BA13

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

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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.

The role of parietal cortex in the formation of colour and motion based concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel William Cheadle

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Imaging evidence shows that separate subdivisions of parietal cortex, in and around the intraparietal sulcus (IPS, are engaged when stimuli are grouped according to colour and to motion (Zeki and Stutters 2013. Since grouping is an essential step in the formation of concepts, we wanted to learn whether parietal cortex is also engaged in the formation of concepts according to these two attributes. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, and choosing the recognition of concept-based colour or motion stimuli as our paradigm, we found that there was strong concept-related activity in and around the intraparietal sulcus (IPS, a region whose homologue in the macaque monkey is known to receive direct but segregated anatomical inputs from V4 and V5. Parietal activity related to colour concepts was juxtaposed but did not overlap with activity related to motion concepts, thus emphasizing the continuation of the segregation of colour and motion into the conceptual system. Concurrent retinotopic mapping experiments showed that within the parietal cortex, concept-related activity increases within later stage IPS areas.

Investigation of Parietal Polysaccharides from Retama raetam Roots ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These results indicate the presence of the homogalacturonans and rhamnogalacturonans in pectin. This study constitutes the preliminary data obtained in the biochemical analysis of the parietal compounds of the roots of a species which grows in an arid area in comparison with those of its aerial parts. Keywords: Retama ...

Fractionation of parietal function in bistable perception probed with concurrent TMS-EEG.

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Schauer, Georg; Chang, Acer; Schwartzman, David; Rae, Charlotte L; Iriye, Heather; Seth, Anil K; Kanai, Ryota

2016-08-16

When visual input has conflicting interpretations, conscious perception can alternate spontaneously between these possible interpretations. This is called bistable perception. Previous neuroimaging studies have indicated the involvement of two right parietal areas in resolving perceptual ambiguity (ant-SPLr and post-SPLr). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies that selectively interfered with the normal function of these regions suggest that they play opposing roles in this type of perceptual switch. In the present study, we investigated this fractionation of parietal function by use of combined TMS with electroencephalography (EEG). Specifically, while participants viewed either a bistable stimulus, a replay stimulus, or resting-state fixation, we applied single pulse TMS to either location independently while simultaneously recording EEG. Combined with participant's individual structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, this dataset allows for complex analyses of the effect of TMS on neural time series data, which may further elucidate the causal role of the parietal cortex in ambiguous perception.

Parietal neural prosthetic control of a computer cursor in a graphical-user-interface task

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Revechkis, Boris; Aflalo, Tyson NS; Kellis, Spencer; Pouratian, Nader; Andersen, Richard A.

2014-12-01

Objective. To date, the majority of Brain-Machine Interfaces have been used to perform simple tasks with sequences of individual targets in otherwise blank environments. In this study we developed a more practical and clinically relevant task that approximated modern computers and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). This task could be problematic given the known sensitivity of areas typically used for BMIs to visual stimuli, eye movements, decision-making, and attentional control. Consequently, we sought to assess the effect of a complex, GUI-like task on the quality of neural decoding. Approach. A male rhesus macaque monkey was implanted with two 96-channel electrode arrays in area 5d of the superior parietal lobule. The animal was trained to perform a GUI-like ‘Face in a Crowd’ task on a computer screen that required selecting one cued, icon-like, face image from a group of alternatives (the ‘Crowd’) using a neurally controlled cursor. We assessed whether the crowd affected decodes of intended cursor movements by comparing it to a ‘Crowd Off’ condition in which only the matching target appeared without alternatives. We also examined if training a neural decoder with the Crowd On rather than Off had any effect on subsequent decode quality. Main results. Despite the additional demands of working with the Crowd On, the animal was able to robustly perform the task under Brain Control. The presence of the crowd did not itself affect decode quality. Training the decoder with the Crowd On relative to Off had no negative influence on subsequent decoding performance. Additionally, the subject was able to gaze around freely without influencing cursor position. Significance. Our results demonstrate that area 5d recordings can be used for decoding in a complex, GUI-like task with free gaze. Thus, this area is a promising source of signals for neural prosthetics that utilize computing devices with GUI interfaces, e.g. personal computers, mobile devices, and tablet

Parietal neural prosthetic control of a computer cursor in a graphical-user-interface task.

Science.gov (United States)

Revechkis, Boris; Aflalo, Tyson N S; Kellis, Spencer; Pouratian, Nader; Andersen, Richard A

2014-12-01

To date, the majority of Brain-Machine Interfaces have been used to perform simple tasks with sequences of individual targets in otherwise blank environments. In this study we developed a more practical and clinically relevant task that approximated modern computers and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). This task could be problematic given the known sensitivity of areas typically used for BMIs to visual stimuli, eye movements, decision-making, and attentional control. Consequently, we sought to assess the effect of a complex, GUI-like task on the quality of neural decoding. A male rhesus macaque monkey was implanted with two 96-channel electrode arrays in area 5d of the superior parietal lobule. The animal was trained to perform a GUI-like 'Face in a Crowd' task on a computer screen that required selecting one cued, icon-like, face image from a group of alternatives (the 'Crowd') using a neurally controlled cursor. We assessed whether the crowd affected decodes of intended cursor movements by comparing it to a 'Crowd Off' condition in which only the matching target appeared without alternatives. We also examined if training a neural decoder with the Crowd On rather than Off had any effect on subsequent decode quality. Despite the additional demands of working with the Crowd On, the animal was able to robustly perform the task under Brain Control. The presence of the crowd did not itself affect decode quality. Training the decoder with the Crowd On relative to Off had no negative influence on subsequent decoding performance. Additionally, the subject was able to gaze around freely without influencing cursor position. Our results demonstrate that area 5d recordings can be used for decoding in a complex, GUI-like task with free gaze. Thus, this area is a promising source of signals for neural prosthetics that utilize computing devices with GUI interfaces, e.g. personal computers, mobile devices, and tablet computers.

Structural brain alterations in hemifacial spasm: A voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Ye; Yu, Tian; Wei, Yongxu; Sun, Kun; Zhao, Weiguo; Yu, Buwei

2016-02-01

Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is characterized by involuntary, irregular clonic or tonic movement of muscles innervated by the facial nerve. We evaluated structural reorganization in brain gray matter and white matter and whether neuroplasticity is linked to clinical features in HFS patients. High-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging data were acquired by 3.0 T MRI from 42 patients with HFS and 30 healthy subjects. The severity of the spasm was assessed according to Jankovic disability rating scale. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis were performed to identify regional grey matter volume (GMV) changes and whole-brain microstructural integrity disruption measured by fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD). The VBM analysis showed that patients with HFS reduced GMV in the right inferior parietal lobule and increased GMV in the cerebellar lobule VIII, when compared with healthy subjects. Furthermore, within the HFS disease group, GMV decreased with the disease duration in the right inferior parietal lobule. TBSS did not identify group differences in diffusivity parameters. While no white matter integrity disruption was detected in the brain of patients with HFS, our study identified evident GMV changes in brain areas which were known to be involved in motor control. Our results suggest that HFS, a chronic neurovascular conflict disease, is related to structural reorganization in the brain. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural modulation of brain development by oxygen: evidence on adolescents migrating from high altitude to sea level environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jiaxing; Zhang, Haiyan; Chen, Ji; Fan, Ming; Gong, Qiyong

2013-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate structural modulation of brain by high level of oxygen during its peak period of development. Voxel-based morphometry analysis of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes and Tract-Based Spatial Statistics analysis of WM fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusion (MD) based on MRI images were carried out on 21 Tibetan adolencents (15-18 years), who were born and raised in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (2900-4700 m) and have lived at sea level (SL) in the last 4 years. The control group consisted of matched Tibetan adolescents born and raised at high altitude all the time. SL immigrants had increased GM volume in the left insula, left inferior parietal gyrus, and right superior parietal gyrus and decreased GM in the left precentral cortex and multiple sites in cerebellar cortex (left lobule 8, bilateral lobule 6 and crus 1/2). Decreased WM volume was found in the right superior frontal gyrus in SL immigrants. SL immigrants had higher FA and lower MD at multiple sites of WM tracts. Moreover, we detected changes in ventilation and circulation. GM volume in cerebellum lobule 8 positively correlated with diastolic pressure, while GM volume in insula positively correlated vital capacity and hypoxic ventilatory response. Our finding indicate that the structural modulations of GM by high level of oxygen during its peak period of development are related to respiratory and circulatory regulations, while the modulation in WM mainly exhibits an enhancement in myelin maturation.

Parietal seeding of unsuspected gallbladder carcinoma after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Marmorale, C; Scibé, R; Siquini, W; Massa, M; Brunelli, A; Landi, E

1998-01-01

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (VALC) represents the treatment of choice for the symptomatic gallstones. However the occurrence of an adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder results a controindication for this surgical technique. We present a case of a 52 years old woman who underwent a VALC; histology revealed a gallbladder adenocarcinoma. For this reason the patient underwent a second operation that is right hepatic trisegmentectomy. Six months later the patient presented with a parietal recurrence at the extraction site of the gallbladder. We discuss the possible mechanism responsible for carcinomatous dissemination during laparoscopic surgery and we raccommend the use of some procedures in order to limit the risk and eventually to treat a neoplastic parietal seeding. These complications suggest the problem about the utility and the future played by video assisted laparoscopic surgery in the diagnosis and treatment of intraabdominal malignancies.

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

Exogenous vs. endogenous attention: Shifting the balance of fronto-parietal activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Kristin N; Du, Feng; Parks, Emily; Hopfinger, Joseph B

2018-03-01

Despite behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for dissociations between endogenous (voluntary) and exogenous (reflexive) attention, fMRI results have yet to consistently and clearly differentiate neural activation patterns between these two types of attention. This study specifically aimed to determine whether activity in the dorsal fronto-parietal network differed between endogenous and exogenous conditions. Participants performed a visual discrimination task in endogenous and exogenous attention conditions while undergoing fMRI scanning. Analyses revealed robust and bilateral activation throughout the dorsal fronto-parietal network for each condition, in line with many previous results. In order to investigate possible differences in the balance of neural activity within this network with greater sensitivity, a priori regions of interest (ROIs) were selected for analysis, centered on the frontal eye fields (FEF) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) regions identified in previous studies. The results revealed a significant interaction between region, condition, and hemisphere. Specifically, in the left hemisphere, frontal areas were more active than parietal areas, but only during endogenous attention. Activity in the right hemisphere, in contrast, remained relatively consistent for these regions across conditions. Analysis of this activity over time indicates that this left-hemispheric regional imbalance is present within the FEF early, at 3-6.5 s post-stimulus presentation, whereas a regional imbalance in the exogenous condition is not evident until 6.5-8 s post-stimulus presentation. Overall, our results provide new evidence that although the dorsal fronto-parietal network is indeed associated with both types of attentional orienting, regions of the network are differentially engaged over time and across hemispheres depending on the type of attention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differential Recruitment of Parietal Cortex during Spatial and Non-spatial Reach Planning

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Pierre-Michel Bernier

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The planning of goal-directed arm reaching movements is associated with activity in the dorsal parieto-frontal cortex, within which multiple regions subserve the integration of arm- and target-related sensory signals to encode a motor goal. Surprisingly, many of these regions show sustained activity during reach preparation even when target location is not specified, i.e., when a motor goal cannot be unambiguously formed. The functional role of these non-spatial preparatory signals remains unresolved. Here this process was investigated in humans by comparing reach preparatory activity in the presence or absence of information regarding upcoming target location. In order to isolate the processes specific to reaching and to control for visuospatial attentional factors, the reaching task was contrasted to a finger movement task. Functional MRI and electroencephalography (EEG were used to characterize the spatio-temporal pattern of reach-related activity in the parieto-frontal cortex. Reach planning with advance knowledge of target location induced robust blood oxygenated level dependent and EEG responses across parietal and premotor regions contralateral to the reaching arm. In contrast, reach preparation without knowledge of target location was associated with a significant BOLD response bilaterally in the parietal cortex. Furthermore, EEG alpha- and beta-band activity was restricted to parietal scalp sites, the magnitude of the latter being correlated with reach reaction times. These results suggest an intermediate stage of sensorimotor transformations in bilateral parietal cortex when target location is not specified.

Bilateral parietal extradural metastatic ewing's sarcoma simulating acute epidural hematoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aslam, E.; Imran, M.; Faridi, N.M.

2006-01-01

Sarcomas usually metastasize to lugs. The following case report describes an unusual metastasis of Ewing's sarcoma to extradural parietal region bilaterally. The primary was found at lower end of ulna. (author)

Clinical evidence of parietal cortex dysfunction and correlation with extent of allodynia in CRPS type 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, H; McCabe, C; Harris, N; Hall, J; Lewis, J; Blake, D R

2013-04-01

Unusual symptoms such as digit misidentification and neglect-like phenomena have been reported in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which we hypothesized could be explained by parietal lobe dysfunction. Twenty-two patients with chronic CRPS attending an in-patient rehabilitation programme underwent standard neurological examination followed by clinical assessment of parietal lobe function and detailed sensory testing. Fifteen (68%) patients had evidence of parietal lobe dysfunction. Six (27%) subjects failed six or more test categories and demonstrated new clinical signs consistent with their parietal testing impairments, which were impacting significantly on activities of daily living. A higher incidence was noted in subjects with >1 limb involvement, CRPS affecting the dominant side and in left-handed subjects. Eighteen patients (82%) had mechanical allodynia covering 3-57.5% of the body surface area. Allochiria (unilateral tactile stimulation perceived only in the analogous location on the opposite limb), sensory extinction (concurrent bilateral tactile stimulation perceived only in one limb), referred sensations (unilateral tactile stimulation perceived concurrently in another discrete body area) and dysynchiria (unilateral non-noxious tactile stimulation perceived bilaterally as noxious) were present in some patients. Greater extent of body surface allodynia was correlated with worse parietal function (Spearman's rho = -0.674, p = 0.001). In patients with chronic CRPS, detailed clinical examination may reveal parietal dysfunction, with severity relating to the extent of allodynia. © 2012 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters.

Ba incorporation in benthic foraminifera

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Nooijer, L.J.; Brombacher, Anieke; Mewes, A.; Langer, Gerald; Nehrke, G.; Bijma, Jelle; Reichart, G.J.

2017-01-01

Barium (Ba) incorporated in the calcite of many foraminiferal species is proportional to the concentration of Ba in seawater. Since the open ocean concentration of Ba closely follows seawater alkalinity, foraminiferal Ba ∕ Ca can be used to reconstruct the latter. Alternatively, Ba ∕ Ca from

Modality Specific Cerebro-Cerebellar Activations in Verbal Working Memory: An fMRI Study

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Matthew P. Kirschen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Verbal working memory (VWM engages frontal and temporal/parietal circuits subserving the phonological loop, as well as, superior and inferior cerebellar regions which have projections from these neocortical areas. Different cerebro-cerebellar circuits may be engaged for integrating aurally- and visually-presented information for VWM. The present fMRI study investigated load (2, 4, or 6 letters and modality (auditory and visual dependent cerebro-cerebellar VWM activation using a Sternberg task. FMRI revealed modality-independent activations in left frontal (BA 6/9/44, insular, cingulate (BA 32, and bilateral inferior parietal/supramarginal (BA 40 regions, as well as in bilateral superior (HVI and right inferior (HVIII cerebellar regions. Visual presentation evoked prominent activations in right superior (HVI/CrusI cerebellum, bilateral occipital (BA19 and left parietal (BA7/40 cortex while auditory presentation showed robust activations predominately in bilateral temporal regions (BA21/22. In the cerebellum, we noted a visual to auditory emphasis of function progressing from superior to inferior and from lateral to medial regions. These results extend our previous findings of fMRI activation in cerebro-cerebellar networks during VWM, and demonstrate both modality dependent commonalities and differences in activations with increasing memory load.

Modality Specific Cerebro-Cerebellar Activations in Verbal Working Memory: An fMRI Study

Science.gov (United States)

Kirschen, Matthew P.; Chen, S. H. Annabel; Desmond, John E.

2010-01-01

Verbal working memory (VWM) engages frontal and temporal/parietal circuits subserving the phonological loop, as well as, superior and inferior cerebellar regions which have projections from these neocortical areas. Different cerebro-cerebellar circuits may be engaged for integrating aurally- and visually-presented information for VWM. The present fMRI study investigated load (2, 4, or 6 letters) and modality (auditory and visual) dependent cerebro-cerebellar VWM activation using a Sternberg task. FMRI revealed modality-independent activations in left frontal (BA 6/9/44), insular, cingulate (BA 32), and bilateral inferior parietal/supramarginal (BA 40) regions, as well as in bilateral superior (HVI) and right inferior (HVIII) cerebellar regions. Visual presentation evoked prominent activations in right superior (HVI/CrusI) cerebellum, bilateral occipital (BA19) and left parietal (BA7/40) cortex while auditory presentation showed robust activations predominately in bilateral temporal regions (BA21/22). In the cerebellum, we noted a visual to auditory emphasis of function progressing from superior to inferior and from lateral to medial regions. These results extend our previous findings of fMRI activation in cerebro-cerebellar networks during VWM, and demonstrate both modality dependent commonalities and differences in activations with increasing memory load. PMID:20714061

Multicenter prospective randomized study comparing the technique of using a bovine pericardium biological prosthesis reinforcement in parietal herniorrhaphy (Tutomesh TUTOGEN) with simple parietal herniorrhaphy, in a potentially contaminated setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Nedelcu, Marius; Verhaeghe, Pierre; Skalli, Mehdi; Champault, Gerard; Barrat, Christophe; Sebbag, Hugues; Reche, Fabian; Passebois, Laurent; Beyrne, Daniel; Gugenheim, Jean; Berdah, Stephane; Bouayed, Amine; Michel Fabre, Jean; Nocca, David

2016-03-01

The use of parietal synthetic prosthetic reinforcement material in potentially contaminated settings is not recommended, as there is a risk that the prosthesis may become infected. Thus, simple parietal herniorrhaphy, is the conventional treatment, even though there is a significant risk that the hernia may recur. Using new biomaterials of animal origin presently appears to offer a new therapeutic solution, but their effectiveness has yet to be demonstrated. The purpose of this multicenter prospective randomized single-blind study was to compare the surgical treatment of inguinal hernia or abdominal incisional hernia by simple parietal herniorrhaphy without prosthetic reinforcement (Group A), with Tutomesh TUTOGEN biological prosthesis reinforcement parietal herniorrhaphy (Group B), in a potentially contaminated setting. We examined early postoperative complications in the first month after the operation, performed an assessment after one year of survival without recurrence and analyzed the quality of life and pain of the patients (using SF-12 health status questionnaire and Visual Analog Pain Scale) at 1, 6, and 12 months, together with an economic impact study. Hundred and thirty four patients were enrolled between January 2009 and October 2010 in 20 French hospitals. The groups were comparable with respect to their enrollment characteristics, their history, types of operative indications and procedures carried out. At one month post-op, the rate of infectious complications (n(A) = 11(18.33%) vs. n(B) = 12(19.05%), p = 0.919) was not significantly different between the two groups. The assessment after one year of survival without recurrence revealed that survival was significantly greater in Group B (Group A recurrence: 10, Group B: 3; p = 0.0475). No difference in the patients' quality of life was demonstrated at 1, 6, or 12 months. However, at the 1 month follow-up, the "perceived health" rating seemed better in the group with Tutomesh (p�

Word and picture matching: a PET study of semantic category effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Perani, D; Schnur, T; Tettamanti, M; Gorno-Tempini, M; Cappa, S F; Fazio, F

1999-03-01

We report two positron emission tomography (PET) studies of cerebral activation during picture and word matching tasks, in which we compared directly the processing of stimuli belonging to different semantic categories (animate and inanimate) in the visual (pictures) and verbal (words) modality. In the first experiment, brain activation was measured in eleven healthy adults during a same/different matching task for textures, meaningless shapes and pictures of animals and artefacts (tools). Activations for meaningless shapes when compared to visual texture discrimination were localized in the left occipital and inferior temporal cortex. Animal picture identification, either in the comparison with meaningless shapes and in the direct comparison with non-living pictures, involved primarily activation of occipital regions, namely the lingual gyrus bilaterally and the left fusiform gyrus. For artefact picture identification, in the same comparison with meaningless shape-baseline and in the direct comparison with living pictures, all activations were left hemispheric, through the dorsolateral frontal (Ba 44/6 and 45) and temporal (Ba 21, 20) cortex. In the second experiment, brain activation was measured in eight healthy adults during a same/different matching task for visually presented words referring to animals and manipulable objects (tools); the baseline was a pseudoword discrimination task. When compared with the tool condition, the animal condition activated posterior left hemispheric areas, namely the fusiform (Ba 37) and the inferior occipital gyrus (Ba 18). The right superior parietal lobule (Ba 7) and the left thalamus were also activated. The reverse comparison (tools vs animals) showed left hemispheric activations in the middle temporal gyrus (Ba 21) and precuneus (Ba 7), as well as bilateral activation in the occipital regions. These results are compatible with different brain networks subserving the identification of living and non-living entities; in

Alpha decay of 114Ba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazzocchi, C.; Janas, Z.; Batist, L.; Belleguic, V.; Doering, J.; Kapica, M.; Kirchner, R.; Roeckl, E.; Gierlik, M.; Zylicz, J.; Mahmud, H.; Schmidt, K.; Woods, P.J.

2003-01-01

The neutron-deficient isotope 114 Ba was produced in a fusion evaporation reaction at the GSI On-Line Mass Separator. We measured the α-particle energy of 114 Ba, the half-life of its daughter nucleus 110 Xe, and the α-decay branching ratios for 114 Ba, 110 Xe and 106 Te. (orig.)

Effect of local environment on crossluminescence kinetics in SrF{sub 2}:Ba and CaF{sub 2}:Ba solid solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terekhin, M.A. [P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Leninskij Prospekt 53, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Makhov, V.N., E-mail: makhov@sci.lebedev.ru [P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Leninskij Prospekt 53, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Lebedev, A.I.; Sluchinskaya, I.A. [Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation)

2015-10-15

Spectral and kinetic properties of extrinsic crossluminescence (CL) in SrF{sub 2}:Ba (1%) and CaF{sub 2}:Ba (1%) are compared with those of intrinsic CL in BaF{sub 2} and are analyzed taking into account EXAFS data obtained at the Ba L{sub III} edge and results of first-principles calculations. The CL decay time was revealed to be longer in SrF{sub 2}:Ba and CaF{sub 2}:Ba compared to BaF{sub 2}. This fact contradicts the expected acceleration of luminescence decay which could result from an increased overlap of wave functions in solid solutions due to shortening of the Ba-F distance obtained in both EXAFS measurements and first-principles calculations. This discrepancy is explained by the effect of migration and subsequent non-radiative decay of the Ba (5p) core holes in BaF{sub 2} and by decreasing of the probability of optical transitions between Ba (5p) states and the valence band in SrF{sub 2}:Ba and CaF{sub 2}:Ba predicted by first-principles calculations. - Highlights: • The crossluminescence kinetics in SrF{sub 2}:Ba and CaF{sub 2}:Ba is slower than in BaF{sub 2}. • Ba{sup 2+} ions substitute for host Ca{sup 2+}(Sr{sup 2+}) ions in the on-center positions. • The nearest Ba-F distances in SrF{sub 2}:Ba and CaF{sub 2}:Ba are shorter than in BaF{sub 2}. • EXAFS data and first-principles calculations of the local structure agree well. • First-principles calculations explain slower luminescence decay in solid solutions.

Subtotal ablation of parietal epithelial cells induces crescent formation.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sicking, E.M.; Fuss, A.; Uhlig, S.; Jirak, P.; Dijkman, H.; Wetzels, J.; Engel, D.R.; Urzynicok, T.; Heidenreich, S.; Kriz, W.; Kurts, C.; Ostendorf, T.; Floege, J.; Smeets, B.; Moeller, M.J.

2012-01-01

Parietal epithelial cells (PECs) of the renal glomerulus contribute to the formation of both cellular crescents in rapidly progressive GN and sclerotic lesions in FSGS. Subtotal transgenic ablation of podocytes induces FSGS but the effect of specific ablation of PECs is unknown. Here, we established

The compensatory dynamic of inter-hemispheric interactions in visuospatial attention revealed using rTMS and fMRI

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Ela B Plow

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A balance of mutual tonic inhibition between bi-hemispheric posterior parietal cortices is believed to play an important role in bilateral visual attention. However, experimental support for this notion has been mainly drawn from clinical models of unilateral damage. We have previously shown that low-frequency repetitive TMS (rTMS over the intraparietal sulcus (IPS generates a contralateral attentional deficit in bilateral visual tracking. Here, we used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI to study whether rTMS temporarily disrupts the inter-hemispheric balance between bilateral IPS in visual attention. Following application of 1 Hz rTMS over the left IPS, subjects performed a bilateral visual tracking task while their brain activity was recorded using fMRI. Behaviorally, tracking accuracy was reduced immediately following rTMS. Areas ventro-lateral to left IPS, including inferior parietal lobule (IPL, lateral IPS (LIPS, and middle occipital gyrus (MoG, showed decreased activity following rTMS, while dorsomedial areas, such as Superior Parietal Lobule (SPL, Superior occipital gyrus (SoG, and lingual gyrus, as well as middle temporal areas (MT+, showed higher activity. The brain activity of the homologues of these regions in the un-stimulated, right hemisphere was reversed. Interestingly, the evolution of network-wide activation related to attentional behavior following rTMS showed that activation of most occipital synergists adaptively compensated for contralateral and ipsilateral decrement after rTMS, but that of parietal synergists, and SoG remained competing. This pattern of ipsilateral and contralateral activations empirically supports the hypothesized loss of inter-hemispheric balance that underlies clinical manifestation of visual attentional extinction.

Mirrored and rotated stimuli are not the same: A neuropsychological and lesion mapping study.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinaud, Olivier; Mirlink, Nicolas; Bioux, Sandrine; Bliaux, Evangéline; Champmartin, Cécile; Pouliquen, Dorothée; Cruypeninck, Yohann; Hannequin, Didier; Gérardin, Emmanuel

2016-05-01

Agnosia for mirrored stimuli is a rare clinical deficit. Only eight patients have been reported in the literature so far and little is known about the neural substrates of this agnosia. Using a previously developed experimental test designed to assess this agnosia, namely the Mirror and Orientation Agnosia Test (MOAT), as well as voxel-lesion symptom mapping (VLSM), we tested the hypothesis that focal brain-injured patients with right parietal damage would be impaired in the discrimination between the canonical view of a visual object and its mirrored and rotated images. Thirty-four consecutively recruited patients with a stroke involving the right or left parietal lobe have been included: twenty patients (59%) had a deficit on at least one of the six conditions of the MOAT, fourteen patients (41%) had a deficit on the mirror condition, twelve patients (35%) had a deficit on at least one the four rotated conditions and one had a truly selective agnosia for mirrored stimuli. A lesion analysis showed that discrimination of mirrored stimuli was correlated to the mesial part of the posterior superior temporal gyrus and the lateral part of the inferior parietal lobule, while discrimination of rotated stimuli was correlated to the lateral part of the posterior superior temporal gyrus and the mesial part of the inferior parietal lobule, with only a small overlap between the two. These data suggest that the right visual 'dorsal' pathway is essential for accurate perception of mirrored and rotated stimuli, with a selective cognitive process and anatomical network underlying our ability to discriminate between mirrored images, different from the process of discriminating between rotated images. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain processing of visual sexual stimuli in healthy men: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mouras, Harold; Stoléru, Serge; Bittoun, Jacques; Glutron, Dominique; Pélégrini-Issac, Mélanie; Paradis, Anne-Lise; Burnod, Yves

2003-10-01

The brain plays a central role in sexual motivation. To identify cerebral areas whose activation was correlated with sexual desire, eight healthy male volunteers were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Visual stimuli were sexually stimulating photographs (S condition) and emotionally neutral photographs (N condition). Subjective responses pertaining to sexual desire were recorded after each condition. To image the entire brain, separate runs focused on the upper and the lower parts of the brain. Statistical Parametric Mapping was used for data analysis. Subjective ratings confirmed that sexual pictures effectively induced sexual arousal. In the S condition compared to the N condition, a group analysis conducted on the upper part of the brain demonstrated an increased signal in the parietal lobes (superior parietal lobules, left intraparietal sulcus, left inferior parietal lobule, and right postcentral gyrus), the right parietooccipital sulcus, the left superior occipital gyrus, and the precentral gyri. In addition, a decreased signal was recorded in the right posterior cingulate gyrus and the left precuneus. In individual analyses conducted on the lower part of the brain, an increased signal was found in the right and/or left middle occipital gyrus in seven subjects, and in the right and/or left fusiform gyrus in six subjects. In conclusion, fMRI allows to identify brain responses to visual sexual stimuli. Among activated regions in the S condition, parietal areas are known to be involved in attentional processes directed toward motivationally relevant stimuli, while frontal premotor areas have been implicated in motor preparation and motor imagery. Further work is needed to identify those specific features of the neural responses that distinguish sexual desire from other emotional and motivational states.

Regional intercostal bulging of the parietal pleura

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jantsch, H.; Greene, R.; Lechner, G.; Mavritz, W.; Pichler, W.; Winkler, M.; Zadrobilek, E.

1989-01-01

This paper describes bedside radiographs with localized intercostal bulging as the sole indication of tension pneumothorax in six patients with acute deterioration in gas exchange. Relief of the pneumothorax was followed by a rush of gas from the tension space and a prompt improvement in gas exchange. The authors concluded the regional intercostal bulging of the parietal pleura may be the sole indicator of life-threatening tension pneumothorax in patients on mechanical ventilation

Parietal cells?new perspectives in glomerular disease

OpenAIRE

Miesen, Laura; Steenbergen, Eric; Smeets, Bart

2017-01-01

In normal glomeruli, parietal epithelial cells (PECs) line the inside of Bowman?s capsule and form an inconspicuous sheet of flat epithelial cells in continuity with the proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs) at the urinary pole and with the podocytes at the vascular pole. PECs, PTECs and podocytes have a common mesenchymal origin and are the result of divergent differentiation during embryogenesis. Podocytes and PTECs are highly differentiated cells with well-established functions pertain...

Choline acetyltransferase-containing neurons in the human parietal neocortex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V Benagiano

2009-06-01

Full Text Available A number of immunocytochemical studies have indicated the presence of cholinergic neurons in the cerebral cortex of various species of mammals. Whether such cholinergic neurons in the human cerebral cortex are exclusively of subcortical origin is still debated. In this immunocytochemical study, the existence of cortical cholinergic neurons was investigated on surgical samples of human parietal association neocortex using a highly specific monoclonal antibody against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT, the acetylcholine biosynthesising enzyme. ChAT immunoreactivity was detected in a subpopulation of neurons located in layers II and III. These were small or medium-sized pyramidal neurons which showed cytoplasmic immunoreactivity in the perikarya and processes, often in close association to blood microvessels. This study, providing demonstration of ChAT neurons in the human parietal neocortex, strongly supports the existence of intrinsic cholinergic innervation of the human neocortex. It is likely that these neurons contribute to the cholinergic innervation of the intracortical microvessels.

Percent wall thickness evaluated by Gd-DTPA enhanced cine MRI as an indicator of local parietal movement in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirano, Masaharu

1998-01-01

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a cardiac disease, the basic pathology of which consists of a decrease in left ventricular dilation compliance due to uneven hypertrophy of the left ventricular wall. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful in monitoring uneven parietal hypertrophy and kinetics in HCM patients. The present study was undertaken in 47 HCM patients who showed asymmetrical septal hypertrophy to determine if percent thickness can be an indicator of left ventricular local movement using cine MRI. Longest and shortest axis images were acquired by the ECG synchronization method using a 1.5 T MR imager. Cardiac function was analyzed based on longest axis cine images, and telediastolic and telesystolic parietal thickness were measured based on shorter axis cine images at the papillary muscle level. Parietal movement index and percent thickness were used as indicators of local parietal movement. The correlation between these indicators and parietal thickness was evaluated. The percent thickness changed at an earlier stage of hypertrophy than the parietal movement index, thus it is thought to be useful in detecting left ventricular parietal movement disorders at an early stage of HCM. (author)

Percent wall thickness evaluated by Gd-DTPA enhanced cine MRI as an indicator of local parietal movement in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirano, Masaharu [Tokyo Medical Coll. (Japan)

1998-11-01

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a cardiac disease, the basic pathology of which consists of a decrease in left ventricular dilation compliance due to uneven hypertrophy of the left ventricular wall. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful in monitoring uneven parietal hypertrophy and kinetics in HCM patients. The present study was undertaken in 47 HCM patients who showed asymmetrical septal hypertrophy to determine if percent thickness can be an indicator of left ventricular local movement using cine MRI. Longest and shortest axis images were acquired by the ECG synchronization method using a 1.5 T MR imager. Cardiac function was analyzed based on longest axis cine images, and telediastolic and telesystolic parietal thickness were measured based on shorter axis cine images at the papillary muscle level. Parietal movement index and percent thickness were used as indicators of local parietal movement. The correlation between these indicators and parietal thickness was evaluated. The percent thickness changed at an earlier stage of hypertrophy than the parietal movement index, thus it is thought to be useful in detecting left ventricular parietal movement disorders at an early stage of HCM. (author)

Metabolic Hyperactivity of the Medial Posterior Parietal Lobes in Psychogenic Tremor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Hedera

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The pathophysiology of psychogenic movement disorders, including psychogenic tremor (PT, is only emerging. Case Report: This is a single case report of a patient who met diagnostic criteria for PT. He underwent positron emission tomography (PET of brain with 18F-deoxyglucose at resting state. His PET study showed symmetrically increased 18F-deoxyglucose uptake in both posterior medial parietal lobes. There was no corresponding abnormality on structural imaging. Discussion: Hypermetabolism of the medial aspects of posterior parietal lobes bilaterally may reflect abnormal activity of sensory integration that is important in the pathogenesis of PT. This further supports the idea that non-organic movement disorders may be associated with detectable functional brain abnormalities.

Improvement of the field-trapping capabilities of bulk Nd Ba Cu O superconductors using Ba Cu O substrates

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Matsui, Motohide; Nariki, Shinya; Sakai, Naomichi; Iwafuchi, Kengo; Murakami, Masato

2006-07-01

We used Ba-Cu-O substrates to fabricate bulk Nd-Ba-Cu-O superconductors using a top-seeded melt-growth method. There were several advantages for the use of Ba-Cu-O substrate compared to conventional substrate materials such as MgO, ZrO2, Al2O3, RE123 and RE211 (RE = rare earth). The Ba-Cu-O did not react with the precursor and minimized liquid loss. Accordingly, the introduction of large-sized cracks was suppressed. We also found that Tc values were high at the bottom regions, which was ascribed to the beneficial effect of Ba-Cu-O in suppressing Nd/Ba substitution. As a result, we obtained bulk Nd-Ba-Cu-O superconductors that exhibited fairly good field-trapping capabilities, even at the bottom surfaces.

Induction of motor associative plasticity in the posterior parietal cortex-primary motor network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chao, Chi-Chao; Karabanov, Anke Ninija; Paine, Rainer

2015-01-01

There is anatomical and functional connectivity between the primary motor cortex (M1) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) that plays a role in sensorimotor integration. In this study, we applied corticocortical paired-associative stimuli to ipsilateral PPC and M1 (parietal ccPAS) in healthy right......-handed subjects to test if this procedure could modulate M1 excitability and PPC–M1 connectivity. One hundred and eighty paired transcranial magnetic stimuli to the PPC and M1 at an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 8 ms were delivered at 0.2 Hz. We found that parietal ccPAS in the left hemisphere increased...... the excitability of conditioned left M1 assessed by motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and the input–output curve. Motor behavior assessed by the Purdue pegboard task was unchanged compared with controls. At baseline, conditioning stimuli over the left PPC potentiated MEPs from left M1 when ISI was 8 ms...

Co2FeAl based magnetic tunnel junctions with BaO and MgO/BaO barriers

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J. Rogge

2015-07-01

Full Text Available We succeed to integrate BaO as a tunneling barrier into Co2FeAl based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs. By means of Auger electron spectroscopy it could be proven that the applied annealing temperatures during BaO deposition and afterwards do not cause any diffusion of Ba neither into the lower Heusler compound lead nor into the upper Fe counter electrode. Nevertheless, a negative tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR ratio of -10% is found for Co2FeAl (24 nm / BaO (5 nm / Fe (7 nm MTJs, which can be attributed to the preparation procedure and can be explained by the formation of Co- and Fe-oxides at the interfaces between the Heusler and the crystalline BaO barrier by comparing with theory. Although an amorphous structure of the BaO barrier seems to be confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM, it cannot entirely be ruled out that this is an artifact of TEM sample preparation due to the sensitivity of BaO to moisture. By replacing the BaO tunneling barrier with an MgO/BaO double layer barrier, the electric stability could effectively be increased by a factor of five. The resulting TMR effect is found to be about +20% at room temperature, although a fully antiparallel state has not been realized.

Sensory-parietal cortical stimulation improves motor recovery in severe capsular infarct.

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Kim, Ra Gyung; Cho, Jongwook; Ree, Jinkyue; Kim, Hyung-Sun; Rosa-Neto, Pedro; Kim, Jin-Myung; Lee, Min-Cheol; Kim, Hyoung-Ihl

2016-12-01

The prevalence of subcortical white matter strokes in elderly patients is on the rise, but these patients show mixed responses to conventional rehabilitative interventions. To examine whether cortical electrical stimulation can promote motor recovery after white matter stroke, we delivered stimulation to a small or wide region of sensory-parietal cortex for two weeks in a rodent model of circumscribed subcortical capsular infarct. The sham-operated group (SOG) showed persistent and severe motor impairments together with decreased activation in bilateral sensorimotor cortices and striatum. In contrast, sensory-parietal cortex stimulation significantly improved motor recovery: final recovery levels were 72.9% of prelesion levels in the wide stimulation group (WSG) and 37% of prelesion levels in the small stimulation group (SSG). The microPET imaging showed reversal of cortical diaschisis in both groups: in both hemispheres for the WSG, and in the hemisphere ipsilateral to stimulation in the SSG. In addition, we observed activation of the corpus callosum and subcortical corticostriatal structures after stimulation. The results from the c-Fos mapping study were grossly consistent with the microPET imaging. Sensory-parietal cortex stimulation may therefore be a useful strategy for overcoming the limits of rehabilitative training in patients with severe forms of subcortical capsular infarct. © The Author(s) 2015.

Involvement of emotion in olfactory responses. A fMRI study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uno, Tominori; Wang, L.; Miwakeichi, Fumikazu; Tonoike, Mitsuo; Kaneda, Teruo

2010-01-01

We investigated the olfactory 'Kansei' information processing for two kinds of smells by measuring the brain activities associated with olfactory responses in humans. In this study, the brain activities related to discrimination and recognition of odors were examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In experiment 1, odor stimuli (lemon-like and banana-like) were presented using a block design in a blinded manner, and the kind of fruits was identified by its odor. The frontal and temporal lobe, inferior parietal lobule, cingulate gyrus, amygdaloid body and parahippocampal gyrus were primarily activated by each odor based on conjunction analysis. In experiment 2, as a result of performing an oddball experiment using the odors of experiment 1, the active areas were mainly found in the temporal lobe, superior and inferior parietal lobule, insula, thalamus, supramarginal gyrus, uncus and parahippocampal gyrus. Moreover, these regions overlapped with the emotional circuit. These experimental results suggest that common brain activities accompany the discrimination and cognition associated with odor stimuli, which may underlie the olfactory responses relevant to the higher brain function and emotions associated with olfactory function. (author)

Changes of Brain Glucose Metabolism in the Pretreatment Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Retrospective PET/CT Study.

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Zhang, Weishan; Ning, Ning; Li, Xianjun; Niu, Gang; Bai, Lijun; Guo, Youmin; Yang, Jian

2016-01-01

The tumor-to-brain communication has been emphasized by recent converging evidences. This study aimed to compare the difference of brain glucose metabolism between patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and control subjects. NSCLC patients prior to oncotherapy and control subjects without malignancy confirmed by 6 months follow-up were collected and underwent the resting state 18F-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) PET/CT. Normalized FDG metabolism was calculated by a signal intensity ratio of each brain region to whole brain. Brain glucose metabolism was compared between NSCLC patients and control group using two samples t-test and multivariate test by statistical parametric maps (SPM) software. Compared with the control subjects (n = 76), both brain glucose hyper- and hypometabolism regions with significant statistical differences (Pbrain signal transduction pathways, and the hypometabolism regions (the left superior parietal lobule, bilateral inferior parietal lobule and left fusiform gyrus) lied in dorsal attention network and visuospatial function areas. The changes of brain glucose metabolism exist in NSCLC patients prior to oncotherapy, which might be attributed to lung-cancer related visceral sympathetic activation and decrease of dorsal attention network function.

What Neural Substrates Trigger the Adept Scientific Pattern Discovery by Biologists?

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Lee, Jun-Ki; Kwon, Yong-Ju

2011-04-01

This study investigated the neural correlates of experts and novices during biological object pattern detection using an fMRI approach in order to reveal the neural correlates of a biologist's superior pattern discovery ability. Sixteen healthy male participants (8 biologists and 8 non-biologists) volunteered for the study. Participants were shown fifteen series of organism pictures and asked to detect patterns amid stimulus pictures. Primary findings showed significant activations in the right middle temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule amongst participants in the biologist (expert) group. Interestingly, the left superior temporal gyrus was activated in participants from the non-biologist (novice) group. These results suggested that superior pattern discovery ability could be related to a functional facilitation of the parieto-temporal network, which is particularly driven by the right middle temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule in addition to the recruitment of additional brain regions. Furthermore, the functional facilitation of the network might actually pertain to high coherent processing skills and visual working memory capacity. Hence, study results suggested that adept scientific thinking ability can be detected by neuronal substrates, which may be used as criteria for developing and evaluating a brain-based science curriculum and test instrument.

Comparison of gray matter and metabolic reduction in mild Alzheimer's disease using FDG-PET and voxel-based morphometric MR studies

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Ishii, Kazunari; Sasaki, Hiroki; Kono, Atsushi K.; Miyamoto, Naokazu; Fukuda, Tetsuya [Hyogo Brain and Heart Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Himeji, Hyogo (Japan); Mori, Etsuro [Hyogo Brain and Heart Center, Institute for Aging Brain and Cognitive Disorders, Himeji, Hyogo (Japan)

2005-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate regional differences between morphologic and functional changes in the same patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Thirty patients with very mild AD (mean age 66.8 years, mean MMSE score 24.0) and 30 age- and sex-matched normal volunteers underwent both{sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and three-dimensional spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Statistical parametric mapping was used to conduct VBM analysis of the morphological data, which were compared voxel by voxel with the results of a similar analysis of the glucose metabolic data. In AD patients, VBM data indicated a significant gray matter volume density decrease in bilateral amygdala/hippocampus complex (p<0.05, corrected), while FDG-PET analysis showed significant glucose metabolic reductions in the posterior cingulate gyri and the right parietal lobule, compared with those in the normal control group. In very mild AD, morphological change occurs in the medial temporal lobes, while in contrast, metabolic changes occur in the posterior cingulate gyri and parietal lobule. (orig.)

Regional homogeneity of the resting-state brain activity correlates with individual intelligence.

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Wang, Leiqiong; Song, Ming; Jiang, Tianzi; Zhang, Yunting; Yu, Chunshui

2011-01-25

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging has confirmed that the strengths of the long distance functional connectivity between different brain areas are correlated with individual differences in intelligence. However, the association between the local connectivity within a specific brain region and intelligence during rest remains largely unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between local connectivity and intelligence. Fifty-nine right-handed healthy adults participated in the study. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to assess the strength of local connectivity. The associations between ReHo and full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) scores were studied in a voxel-wise manner using partial correlation analysis controlling for age and sex. We found that the FSIQ scores were positively correlated with the ReHo values of the bilateral inferior parietal lobules, middle frontal, parahippocampal and inferior temporal gyri, the right thalamus, superior frontal and fusiform gyri, and the left superior parietal lobule. The main findings are consistent with the parieto-frontal integration theory (P-FIT) of intelligence, supporting the view that general intelligence involves multiple brain regions throughout the brain. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Segmentation of the cingulum bundle in the human brain: a new perspective based on DSI tractography and fiber dissection study

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Yupeng Wu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The cingulum bundle (CB is a critical white matter fiber tract in the brain, which forms connections between the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and temporal lobe. In non-human primates, the CB is actually divided into distinct subcomponents on the basis of corticocortical connections. However, at present, no study has verified similar distinct subdivisions in the human brain. In this study, we reconstructed these distinct subdivisions in the human brain, and determined their exact cortical connections using high definition fiber tracking (HDFT technique on 10 healthy adults and a 488-subject template from the Human Connectome Project (HCP-488. Fiber dissections were performed to verify tractography results. Five CB segments were identified. CB-I ran from the subrostral areas to the precuneus and splenium, encircling the corpus callosum. CB-II arched around the splenium and extended anteriorly above the corpus callosum to the medial aspect of the superior frontal gyrus. CB-III connected the superior parietal lobule and precuneus with the medial aspect of the superior frontal gyrus. CB-IV was a relatively minor subcomponent from the superior parietal lobule and precuneus to the frontal region. CB-V, the para-hippocampal cingulum, stemmed from the medial temporal lobe and fanned out to the occipital lobes. Our findings not only provide a more accurate and detailed description on the associated architecture of the subcomponents within the CB, but also offer new insights into the functional role of the CB in the human brain.

The different faces of one's self: an fMRI study into the recognition of current and past self-facial appearances.

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Apps, Matthew A J; Tajadura-Jiménez, Ana; Turley, Grainne; Tsakiris, Manos

2012-11-15

Mirror self-recognition is often considered as an index of self-awareness. Neuroimaging studies have identified a neural circuit specialised for the recognition of one's own current facial appearance. However, faces change considerably over a lifespan, highlighting the necessity for representations of one's face to continually be updated. We used fMRI to investigate the different neural circuits involved in the recognition of the childhood and current, adult, faces of one's self. Participants viewed images of either their own face as it currently looks morphed with the face of a familiar other or their childhood face morphed with the childhood face of the familiar other. Activity in areas which have a generalised selectivity for faces, including the inferior occipital gyrus, the superior parietal lobule and the inferior temporal gyrus, varied with the amount of current self in an image. Activity in areas involved in memory encoding and retrieval, including the hippocampus and the posterior cingulate gyrus, and areas involved in creating a sense of body ownership, including the temporo-parietal junction and the inferior parietal lobule, varied with the amount of childhood self in an image. We suggest that the recognition of one's own past or present face is underpinned by different cognitive processes in distinct neural circuits. Current self-recognition engages areas involved in perceptual face processing, whereas childhood self-recognition recruits networks involved in body ownership and memory processing. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The different faces of one’s self: an fMRI study into the recognition of current and past self-facial appearances

Science.gov (United States)

Apps, Matthew A. J.; Tajadura-Jiménez, Ana; Turley, Grainne; Tsakiris, Manos

2013-01-01

Mirror self-recognition is often considered as an index of self-awareness. Neuroimaging studies have identified a neural circuit specialised for the recognition of one’s own current facial appearance. However, faces change considerably over a lifespan, highlighting the necessity for representations of one’s face to continually be updated. We used fMRI to investigate the different neural circuits involved in the recognition of the childhood and current, adult, faces of one’s self. Participants viewed images of either their own face as it currently looks morphed with the face of a familiar other or their childhood face morphed with the childhood face of the familiar other. Activity in areas which have a generalised selectivity for faces, including the inferior occipital gyrus, the superior parietal lobule and the inferior temporal gyrus, varied with the amount of current self in an image. Activity in areas involved in memory encoding and retrieval, including the hippocampus and the posterior cingulate gyrus, and areas involved in creating a sense of body ownership, including the temporo-parietal junction and the inferior parietal lobule, varied with the amount of childhood self in an image. We suggest that the recognition of one’s own past or present face is underpinned by different cognitive processes in distinct neural circuits. Current self-recognition engages areas involved in perceptual face processing, whereas childhood self-recognition recruits networks involved in body ownership and memory processing. PMID:22940117

Gender differences in brain development in Chinese children and adolescents: a structural MRI study

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Guo, Xiaojuan; Jin, Zhen; Chen, Kewei; Peng, Danling; Yao, Li

2008-03-01

Using optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM), this study systematically investigated gender differences in brain development through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in 158 Chinese normal children and adolescents aged 7.26 to 22.80 years (mean age 15.03+/-4.70 years, 78 boys and 80 girls). Gender groups were matched for measures of age, handedness, education level. The customized brain templates, including T I-weighted image and gray matter (GM)/white matter (WM)/cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) prior probability maps, were created from all participants. Results showed that the total intracranial volume (TIV), global absolute GM and global WM volume in girls were significantly smaller than those in boys. The hippocampus grew faster in girls than that in boys, but the amygdala grew faster in boys than that in girls. The rate of regional GM decreases with age was steeper in the left superior parietal lobule, bilateral inferior parietal lobule, left precuneus, and bilateral supramarginal gyrus in boys compared to girls, which was possibly related to better spatial processing ability in boys. Regional GM volumes were greater in bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral middle frontal gyrus in girls. Regional WM volumes were greater in the left temporal lobe, right inferior parietal and bilateral middle frontal gyrus in girls. The gender differences in the temporal and frontal lobe maybe be related to better language ability in girls. These findings may aid in understanding the differences in cognitive function between boys and girls.

Characterization of visual percepts evoked by noninvasive stimulation of the human posterior parietal cortex.

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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.

Structural and electrical properties of Barium Titanate (BaTiO3 and Neodymium doped BaTiO3 (Ba0.995Nd0.005TiO3

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Tuan Sulong Tuan Amirah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Barium titanate (BaTiO3 and Neodymium (Nd doped BaTiO3 with composition Ba0.995Nd0.005TiO3 were prepared using conventional solid state reaction method to study the dielectric properties of materials. Pure phase samples were found at final heating temperature of 1400°C for overnight. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals the changes in the lattice parameter and unit cell volume of the pure perovskite tetragonal structure with space group (P4mm. Electrical analysis is carried out to investigate the dielectric properties, conductivity behaviour and dielectric loss of BaTiO3 and Ba0.995Nd0.005TiO3. Ba0.995Nd0.005TiO3 have a broaden dielectric peaks with high permittivity of 8000 and reasonably low loss tan δ which is about 0.004 (1 kHz.

IMAGING OF BRAIN FUNCTION BASED ON THE ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY - IMAGING ANALYSIS OF BRAIN FUNCTION BY FMRI AFTER ACUPUNCTURE AT LR3 IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yu; Wang, Yuying; Lan, Yujun; Qu, Xiaodong; Lin, Kelin; Zhang, Jiping; Qu, Shanshan; Wang, Yanjie; Tang, Chunzhi; Huang, Yong

2016-01-01

This Study observed the relevant brain areas activated by acupuncture at the Taichong acupoint (LR3) and analyzed the functional connectivity among brain areas using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore the acupoint specificity of the Taichong acupoint. A total of 45 healthy subjects were randomly divided into the Taichong (LR3) group, sham acupuncture group and sham acupoint group. Subjects received resting state fMRI before acupuncture, after true (sham) acupuncture in each group. Analysis of changes in connectivity among the brain areas was performed using the brain functional connectivity method. The right cerebrum temporal lobe was selected as the seed point to analyze the functional connectivity. It had a functional connectivity with right cerebrum superior frontal gyrus, limbic lobe cingulate gyrus and left cerebrum inferior temporal gyrus (BA 37), inferior parietal lobule compared by before vs. after acupuncture at LR3, and right cerebrum sub-lobar insula and left cerebrum middle frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus compared by true vs. sham acupuncture at LR3, and right cerebrum occipital lobe cuneus, occipital lobe sub-gyral, parietal lobe precuneus and left cerebellum anterior lobe culmen by acupuncture at LR3 vs. sham acupoint. Acupuncture at LR3 mainly specifically activated the brain functional network that participates in visual function, associative function, and emotion cognition, which are similar to the features on LR3 in tradition Chinese medicine. These brain areas constituted a neural network structure with specific functions that had specific reference values for the interpretation of the acupoint specificity of the Taichong acupoint.

Chalcogenidosilicates: Ba/sub 2/SiTe/sub 4/ and Ba/sub 2/SiSe/sub 4/

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brinkmann, C; Eisenmann, B; Schaefer, H [Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (Germany, F.R.). Fachbereich Anorganische Chemie und Kernchemie

1985-05-01

The new compounds Ba/sub 2/SiSe/sub 4/ and Ba/sub 2/SiTe/sub 4/ crystallize in the monoclinic system, space group: P2/sub 1//m (No. 11) with the lattice constants Ba/sub 2/SiSe/sub 4/: a = 918.4(5) pm, b = 703.3(3) pm, c = 687.2(3) pm, ..beta.. = 109.2(1)/sup 0/, Ba/sub 2/SiTe/sub 4/: a = 965.0(5) pm, b = 762.6(3) pm, c = 746.6(3) pm, ..beta.. = 108.9(1)/sup 0/. Both compounds are isotypic to the Sr/sub 2/GeS/sub 4/ structure. Ba/sub 2/SiTe/sub 4/ is the first o-telluridosilicate with discrete SiTe/sub 4//sup 4 -/ anions.

Stellar Laboratories: 3. New Ba 5, Ba 6, and Ba 7 Oscillator Strengths and the Barium Abundance in the Hot White Dwarfs G191-B2B and RE 0503-289

Science.gov (United States)

Rauch, T.; Werner, K.; Quinet, P.; Kruk, Jeffrey Walter

2014-01-01

Context. For the spectral analysis of high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra of hot stars, state-of-the-art non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) model atmospheres are mandatory. These are strongly dependent on the reliability of the atomic data that is used for their calculation. Aims. Reliable Ba 5-7 oscillator strengths are used to identify Ba lines in the spectra of the DA-type white dwarf G191-B2B and the DO-type white dwarf RE 0503-289 and to determine their photospheric Ba abundances. Methods. We newly calculated Ba v-vii oscillator strengths to consider their radiative and collisional bound-bound transitions in detail in our NLTE stellar-atmosphere models for the analysis of Ba lines exhibited in high-resolution and high-S/N UV observations of G191-B2B and RE 0503-289. Results. For the first time, we identified highly ionized Ba in the spectra of hot white dwarfs. We detected Ba vi and Ba vii lines in the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectrum of RE 0503-289. The Ba vi/Ba vii ionization equilibrium is well reproduced with the previously determined effective temperature of 70 000 K and surface gravity of log g=7.5. The Ba abundance is 3.5 +/- 0.5 × 10(exp-4) (mass fraction, about 23 000 times the solar value). In the FUSE spectrum of G191-B2B, we identified the strongest Ba vii line (at 993.41 Å) only, and determined a Ba abundance of 4.0 +/- 0.5 × 10(exp-6) (about 265 times solar). Conclusions. Reliable measurements and calculations of atomic data are a pre-requisite for stellar-atmosphere modeling. Observed Ba vi-vii line profiles in two white dwarfs' (G191-B2B and RE 0503-289) far-ultraviolet spectra were well reproduced with our newly calculated oscillator strengths. This allowed to determine the photospheric Ba abundance of these two stars precisely.

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

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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.

An enlarged parietal foramen in the late archaic Xujiayao 11 neurocranium from Northern China, and rare anomalies among Pleistocene Homo.

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Wu, Xiu-Jie; Xing, Song; Trinkaus, Erik

2013-01-01

We report here a neurocranial abnormality previously undescribed in Pleistocene human fossils, an enlarged parietal foramen (EPF) in the early Late Pleistocene Xujiayao 11 parietal bones from the Xujiayao (Houjiayao) site, northern China. Xujiayao 11 is a pair of partial posteromedial parietal bones from an adult. It exhibits thick cranial vault bones, arachnoid granulations, a deviated posterior sagittal suture, and a unilateral (right) parietal lacuna with a posteriorly-directed and enlarged endocranial vascular sulcus. Differential diagnosis indicates that the perforation is a congenital defect, an enlarged parietal foramen, commonly associated with cerebral venous and cranial vault anomalies. It was not lethal given the individual's age-at-death, but it may have been associated with secondary neurological deficiencies. The fossil constitutes the oldest evidence in human evolution of this very rare condition (a single enlarged parietal foramen). In combination with developmental and degenerative abnormalities in other Pleistocene human remains, it suggests demographic and survival patterns among Pleistocene Homo that led to an elevated frequency of conditions unknown or rare among recent humans.

An enlarged parietal foramen in the late archaic Xujiayao 11 neurocranium from Northern China, and rare anomalies among Pleistocene Homo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiu-Jie Wu

Full Text Available We report here a neurocranial abnormality previously undescribed in Pleistocene human fossils, an enlarged parietal foramen (EPF in the early Late Pleistocene Xujiayao 11 parietal bones from the Xujiayao (Houjiayao site, northern China. Xujiayao 11 is a pair of partial posteromedial parietal bones from an adult. It exhibits thick cranial vault bones, arachnoid granulations, a deviated posterior sagittal suture, and a unilateral (right parietal lacuna with a posteriorly-directed and enlarged endocranial vascular sulcus. Differential diagnosis indicates that the perforation is a congenital defect, an enlarged parietal foramen, commonly associated with cerebral venous and cranial vault anomalies. It was not lethal given the individual's age-at-death, but it may have been associated with secondary neurological deficiencies. The fossil constitutes the oldest evidence in human evolution of this very rare condition (a single enlarged parietal foramen. In combination with developmental and degenerative abnormalities in other Pleistocene human remains, it suggests demographic and survival patterns among Pleistocene Homo that led to an elevated frequency of conditions unknown or rare among recent humans.

The BaBar Mini

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, David N.

2003-01-01

BaBar has recently deployed a new event data format referred to as the Mini. The mini uses efficient packing and aggressive noise suppression to represent the average reconstructed BaBar event in under 7 KBytes. The Mini packs detector information into simple transient data objects, which are then aggregated into roughly 10 composite persistent objects per event. The Mini currently uses Objectivity persistence, and it is being ported to use Root persistence. The Mini contains enough information to support detailed detector studies, while remaining small and fast enough to be used directly in physics analysis. Mini output is customizable, allowing users to both truncate unnecessary content or add content, depending on their needs. The Mini has now replaced three older formats as the primary output of BaBar event reconstruction. A reduced form of the Mini will soon replace the physics analysis format as well, giving BaBar a single, flexible event data format covering all its needs

The BaBar mini

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, David N.; BaBar Collaboration

2003-01-01

BaBar has recently deployed a new event data format referred to as the Mini. The mini uses efficient packing and aggressive noise suppression to represent the average reconstructed BaBar event in under 7 KBytes. The Mini packs detector information into simple transient data objects, which are then aggregated into roughly 10 composite persistent objects per event. The Mini currently uses Objectivity persistence, and it is being ported to use Root persistence. The Mini contains enough information to support detailed detector studies, while remaining small and fast enough to be used directly in physics analysis. Mini output is customizable, allowing users to both truncate unnecessary content or add content, depending on their needs. The Mini has now replaced three older formats as the primary output of BaBar event reconstruction. A reduced form of the Mini will soon replace the physics analysis format as well, giving BaBar a single, flexible event data format covering all its needs

Neural sources of visual working memory maintenance in human parietal and ventral extrastriate visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Becke, Andreas; Müller, Notger; Vellage, Anne; Schoenfeld, Mircea Ariel; Hopf, Jens-Max

2015-04-15

Maintaining information in visual working memory is reliably indexed by the contralateral delay activity (CDA) - a sustained modulation of the event-related potential (ERP) with a topographical maximum over posterior scalp regions contralateral to the memorized input. Based on scalp topography, it is hypothesized that the CDA reflects neural activity in the parietal cortex, but the precise cortical origin of underlying electric activity was never determined. Here we combine ERP recordings with magnetoencephalography based source localization to characterize the cortical current sources generating the CDA. Observers performed a cued delayed match to sample task where either the color or the relative position of colored dots had to be maintained in memory. A detailed source-localization analysis of the magnetic activity in the retention interval revealed that the magnetic analog of the CDA (mCDA) is generated by current sources in the parietal cortex. Importantly, we find that the mCDA also receives contribution from current sources in the ventral extrastriate cortex that display a time-course similar to the parietal sources. On the basis of the magnetic responses, forward modeling of ERP data reveals that the ventral sources have non-optimal projections and that these sources are therefore concealed in the ERP by overlapping fields with parietal projections. The present observations indicate that visual working memory maintenance, as indexed by the CDA, involves the parietal cortical regions as well as the ventral extrastriate regions, which code the sensory representation of the memorized content. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

EFFECTS OF PARTIAL HEPATECTOMY, PHENOBARBITAL AND 3-METHYLCHOLANTHRENE ON KINETIC-PARAMETERS OF GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE AND PHOSPHOGLUCONATE DEHYDROGENASE IN-SITU IN PERIPORTAL, INTERMEDIATE AND PERICENTRAL ZONES OF RAT-LIVER LOBULES

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonges, G. N.; Vogels, I. M. C.; van Noorden, C. J. F.

1995-01-01

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (PGDH) are heterogeneously distributed in liver lobules of female rats. The maximum activity of both enzymes is approximately twice higher in intermediate and pericentral zones than in periportal zones. Enzyme activities

Examining the role of the temporo-parietal network in memory, imagery and viewpoint transformations

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Kiret eDhindsa

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The traditional view of the medial temporal lobe (MTL focuses on its role in episodic memory. However, some of the underlying functions of the MTL can be ascertained from its wider role in supporting spatial cognition in concert with parietal and prefrontal regions. The MTL is strongly implicated in the formation of enduring allocentric representations (e.g. O’Keefe (1976; Ekstrom et al. (2003; King et al. (2002. According to our BBB model (Byrne et al. (2007, these representations must interact with head-centered and body-centered representations in posterior parietal cortex via a transformation circuit involving retrosplenial areas. Egocentric sensory representations in parietal areas can then cue the recall of allocentric spatial representations in long-term memory and, conversely, the products of retrieval in MTL can generate mental imagery within a parietal ’window’. Such imagery is necessarily egocentric and forms part of visuospatial working memory, where it can be manipulated for the purpose of planning/imagining the future. Recent fMRI evidence (Lambrey et al. (2012; Zhang et al. (2012 supports the BBB model. To further test the model, we had participants learn the locations of objects in a virtual scene and tested their spatial memory under conditions that impose varying demands on the transformation circuit. We analyzed how brain activity correlated with accuracy in judging the direction of an object 1 from visuospatial working memory (we assume working memory due to the order of tasks and the consistency viewpoint, but long-term memory is also possible, 2 after a rotation of viewpoint, or 3 after a rotation and translation (judgement of relative direction. We found performance-related activity in both tasks requiring viewpoint rotation in the core medial temporal to medial parietal. These results are consistent with the BBB model and shed further light on the mechanisms underlying spatial memory, mental imagery and viewpoint

The regenerative potential of parietal epithelial cells in adult mice

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Berger, K.; Schulte, K.; Boor, P.; Kuppe, C.; Kuppevelt, T.H. van; Floege, J.; Smeets, B.; Moeller, M.J.

2014-01-01

Previously, we showed that some podocytes in juvenile mice are recruited from cells lining Bowman's capsule, suggesting that parietal epithelial cells (PECs) are a progenitor cell population for podocytes. To investigate whether PECs also replenish podocytes in adult mice, PECs were genetically

Assessment of synchronous neural activities revealed by regional homogeneity in individuals with acute eye pain: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

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Tang L

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Li-Yuan Tang,1,* Hai-Jun Li,2,* Xin Huang,1 Jing Bao,1 Zubin Sethi,3 Lei Ye,1 Qing Yuan,1 Pei-Wen Zhu,1 Nan Jiang,1 Gui-Ping Gao,1 Yi Shao1 1Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China; 2Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China; 3The Department of Medicine, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that pain-related diseases are associated with brain function and anatomical abnormalities, whereas altered synchronous neural activity in acute eye pain (EP patients has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not synchronous neural activity changes were measured with the regional homogeneity (ReHo method in acute EP patients.Methods: A total of 20 patients (15 males and 5 females with EP and 20 healthy controls (HCs consisting of 15 and 5 age-, sex-, and education-matched males and females, respectively, underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The ReHo method was applied to assess synchronous neural activity changes.Results: Compared with HCs, acute EP patients had significantly lower ReHo values in the left precentral/postcentral gyrus (Brodmann area [BA]3/4, right precentral/postcentral gyrus (BA3/4, and left middle frontal gyrus (BA6. In contrast, higher ReHo values in acute EP patients were observed in the left superior frontal gyrus (BA11, right inferior parietal lobule (BA39/40, and left precuneus (BA7. However, no relationship was found between the mean ReHo signal values of the different areas and clinical manifestations, which included both the duration and degree of pain in EP patients.Conclusion: Our study highlighted that acute EP patients showed altered synchronous neural activities in many brain regions, including somatosensory regions. These

Seeing is not feeling: posterior parietal but not somatosensory cortex engagement during touch observation.

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Chan, Annie W-Y; Baker, Chris I

2015-01-28

Observing touch has been reported to elicit activation in human primary and secondary somatosensory cortices and is suggested to underlie our ability to interpret other's behavior and potentially empathy. However, despite these reports, there are a large number of inconsistencies in terms of the precise topography of activation, the extent of hemispheric lateralization, and what aspects of the stimulus are necessary to drive responses. To address these issues, we investigated the localization and functional properties of regions responsive to observed touch in a large group of participants (n = 40). Surprisingly, even with a lenient contrast of hand brushing versus brushing alone, we did not find any selective activation for observed touch in the hand regions of somatosensory cortex but rather in superior and inferior portions of neighboring posterior parietal cortex, predominantly in the left hemisphere. These regions in the posterior parietal cortex required the presence of both brush and hand to elicit strong responses and showed some selectivity for the form of the object or agent of touch. Furthermore, the inferior parietal region showed nonspecific tactile and motor responses, suggesting some similarity to area PFG in the monkey. Collectively, our findings challenge the automatic engagement of somatosensory cortex when observing touch, suggest mislocalization in previous studies, and instead highlight the role of posterior parietal cortex. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/351468-13$15.00/0.

Increased parietal circuit-breaker activity in delta frequency band and abnormal delta/theta band connectivity in salience network in hyperacusis subjects.

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Jae Joon Han

Full Text Available Recent studies have suggested that hyperacusis, an abnormal hypersensitivity to ordinary environmental sounds, may be characterized by certain resting-state cortical oscillatory patterns, even with no sound stimulus. However, previous studies are limited in that most studied subjects with other comorbidities that may have affected cortical activity. In this regard, to assess ongoing cortical oscillatory activity in idiopathic hyperacusis patients with no comorbidities, we compared differences in resting-state cortical oscillatory patterns between five idiopathic hyperacusis subjects and five normal controls. The hyperacusis group demonstrated significantly higher electrical activity in the right auditory-related cortex for the gamma frequency band and left superior parietal lobule (SPL for the delta frequency band versus the control group. The hyperacusis group also showed significantly decreased functional connectivity between the left auditory cortex (AC and left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, between the left AC and left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC for the gamma band, and between the right insula and bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC and between the left AC and left sgACC for the theta band versus the control group. The higher electrical activity in the SPL may indicate a readiness of "circuit-breaker" activity to shift attention to forthcoming sound stimuli. Also, because of the disrupted salience network, consisting of the dACC and insula, abnormally increased salience to all sound stimuli may emerge, as a consequence of decreased top-down control of the AC by the dACC and dysfunctional emotional weight attached to auditory stimuli by the OFC. Taken together, abnormally enhanced attention and salience to forthcoming sound stimuli may render hyperacusis subjects hyperresponsive to non-noxious auditory stimuli.

Observing complex action sequences: The role of the fronto-parietal mirror neuron system.

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Molnar-Szakacs, Istvan; Kaplan, Jonas; Greenfield, Patricia M; Iacoboni, Marco

2006-11-15

A fronto-parietal mirror neuron network in the human brain supports the ability to represent and understand observed actions allowing us to successfully interact with others and our environment. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we wanted to investigate the response of this network in adults during observation of hierarchically organized action sequences of varying complexity that emerge at different developmental stages. We hypothesized that fronto-parietal systems may play a role in coding the hierarchical structure of object-directed actions. The observation of all action sequences recruited a common bilateral network including the fronto-parietal mirror neuron system and occipito-temporal visual motion areas. Activity in mirror neuron areas varied according to the motoric complexity of the observed actions, but not according to the developmental sequence of action structures, possibly due to the fact that our subjects were all adults. These results suggest that the mirror neuron system provides a fairly accurate simulation process of observed actions, mimicking internally the level of motoric complexity. We also discuss the results in terms of the links between mirror neurons, language development and evolution.

Back-contacted BaSi

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vismara, R.; Isabella, O.; Zeman, M.

2017-01-01

We present the optical investigation of a novel back-contacted architecture for solar cells based on a thin barium (di)silicide (BaSi₂) absorber. First, through the analysis of absorption limits of different semiconducting materials, we show the potential of BaSi₂ for

Octupole correlations in neutron-rich {sup 143,145}Ba and a type of superdeformed band in {sup 145}Ba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, S.J.; Wang, M.G.; Long, G.L.; Zhu, L.Y.; Gan, C.Y.; Yang, L.M.; Sakhaee, M.; Li, M.; Deng, J.K. [Physics Department, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, Peoples Republic of (China); Zhu, S.J.; Hamilton, J.H.; Ramayya, A.V.; Jones, E.F.; Hwang, J.K.; Zhang, X.Q.; Gore, P.M.; Peker, L.K.; Drafta, G.; Babu, B.R.; Deng, J.K.; Ginter, T.N.; Beyer, C.J.; Kormicki, J.; Ter-Akopian, G.M.; Daniel, A.V. [Physics Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235 (United States); Zhu, S.J.; Ter-Akopian, G.M.; Daniel, A.V. [Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Ma, W.C. [Physics Department, Mississippi State University, Mississippi 39762 (United States); Cole, J.D.; Aryaeinejad, R.; Drigert, M.W. [Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415 (United States); Rasmussen, J.O.; Asztalos, S.; Lee, I.Y.; Macchiavelli, A.O.; Chu, S.Y.; Gregorich, K.E.; Mohar, M.F. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Ter-Akopian, G.M.; Daniel, A.V.; Oganessian, Y.T.; Kliman, J. [Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russia); Donangelo, R. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Caixa Postal 68528, RG (Brazil); Stoyer, M.A.; Lougheed, R.W.; Moody, K.J.; Wild, J.F. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Prussin, S.G. [Nuclear Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Kliman, J. [Institute of Physics, SASc, Dubravskacesta 9, 84228 Bratislava (Slovakia); Griffin, H.C. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 (United States)

1999-11-01

High spin states in neutron-rich odd-{ital Z} {sup 143,145}Ba nuclei have been investigated from the study of prompt {gamma} rays in the spontaneous fission of {sup 252}Cf by using {gamma}-{gamma}- and {gamma}-{gamma}-{gamma}- coincidence techniques. Alternating parity bands are identified for the first time in {sup 145}Ba and extended in {sup 143}Ba. A new side band, with equal, constant dynamic, and kinetic moments of inertia equal to the rigid body value, as found in superdeformed bands, is discovered in {sup 145}Ba. Enhanced E1 transitions between the negative- and positive-parity bands in these nuclei give evidence for strong octupole deformation in {sup 143}Ba and in {sup 145}Ba. These collective bands show competition and coexistence between symmetric and asymmetric shapes in {sup 145}Ba. Evidence is found for crossing M1 and E1 transitions between the s=+i and s={minus}i doublets in {sup 143}Ba. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}

Phonon dispersion curves of BCC Ba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizuki, J.; Stassis, C.; Zarestky, J.

1985-01-01

Ba, as well as Sr and Ca, is a divalent alkaline earth metal. At room temperature and ambient pressure, the structure of Ba is bcc, whereas that of Sr and Ca is fcc. Under pressure, the bcc phase of Ba transforms to an hcp structure at 55 kbar. Also, at 37 kbar Ba becomes a superconductor with T/sub c/ = 0.06 K. These properties are highly dependent on the position of the d bands relative to the Fermi level. Experimental investigation of the elastic and lattice dynamical properties of these metals has been hindered by difficulties in growing single crystals. However, recently the authors were able to grow several single crystals of bcc Ba of sufficient volume for inelastic neutron scattering experiments. Some of the results are summarized here

Neural correlates of hemispheric dominance and ipsilaterality within the vestibular system.

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Janzen, J; Schlindwein, P; Bense, S; Bauermann, T; Vucurevic, G; Stoeter, P; Dieterich, M

2008-10-01

Earlier functional imaging studies on the processing of vestibular information mainly focused on cortical activations due to stimulation of the horizontal semicircular canals in right-handers. Two factors were found to determine its processing in the temporo-parietal cortex: a dominance of the non-dominant hemisphere and an ipsilaterality of the neural pathways. In an investigation of the role of these factors in the vestibular otoliths, we used vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in a fMRI study of monaural saccular-otolith stimulation. Our aim was to (1) analyze the hemispheric dominance for saccular-otolith information in healthy left-handers, (2) determine if there is a predominance of the ipsilateral saccular-otolith projection, and (3) evaluate the impact of both factors on the temporo-parieto-insular activation pattern. A block design with three stimulation and rest conditions was applied: (1) 102 dB-VEMP stimulation; (2) 65 dB-control-acoustic stimulation, (3) 102 dB-white-noise-control stimulation. After subtraction of acoustic side effects, bilateral activations were found in the posterior insula, the superior/middle/transverse temporal gyri, and the inferior parietal lobule. The distribution of the saccular-otolith activations was influenced by the two factors but with topographic disparity: whereas the inferior parts of the temporo-parietal cortex were mainly influenced by the ipsilaterality of the pathways, the upper parts reflected the dominance of the non-dominant hemisphere. This is in contrast to the processing of acoustic stimulation, which showed a predominance of the contralateral pathways. Our study proves the importance of the hemispheric preponderance also in left-handers, which is of relevance in the superior parts of the insula gyrus V, the inferior parietal lobule, and the superior temporal gyri.

Impaired Emotional Mirroring in Parkinson’s Disease—A Study on Brain Activation during Processing of Facial Expressions

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Anna Pohl

2017-12-01

Full Text Available BackgroundAffective dysfunctions are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease, but the underlying neurobiological deviations have rarely been examined. Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra resulting in impairment of motor and non-motor basal ganglia-cortical loops. Concerning emotional deficits, some studies provide evidence for altered brain processing in limbic- and lateral-orbitofrontal gating loops. In a second line of evidence, human premotor and inferior parietal homologs of mirror neuron areas were involved in processing and understanding of emotional facial expressions. We examined deviations in brain activation during processing of facial expressions in patients and related these to emotion recognition accuracy.Methods13 patients and 13 healthy controls underwent an emotion recognition task and a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI measurement. In the Emotion Hexagon test, participants were presented with blends of two emotions and had to indicate which emotion best described the presented picture. Blended pictures with three levels of difficulty were included. During fMRI scanning, participants observed video clips depicting emotional, non-emotional, and neutral facial expressions or were asked to produce these facial expressions themselves.ResultsPatients performed slightly worse in the emotion recognition task, but only when judging the most ambiguous facial expressions. Both groups activated inferior frontal and anterior inferior parietal homologs of mirror neuron areas during observation and execution of the emotional facial expressions. During observation, responses in the pars opercularis of the right inferior frontal gyrus, in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule and in the bilateral supplementary motor cortex were decreased in patients. Furthermore, in patients, activation of the right anterior inferior parietal lobule was positively related to accuracy in

Hyperfine structure and isotope shift of the neutron-rich barium isotopes 139-146Ba and 148Ba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wendt, K.; Ahmad, S.A.; Klempt, W.; Neugart, R.; Otten, E.W.

1988-01-01

The hyperfine structure and isotope shift in the 6s 2 S 1/2 -6p 2 P 3/2 line of Ba II (455.4 nm) have been measured by collinear fast-beam laser spectroscopy for the neutron-rich isotopes 139-146 Ba and 148 Ba. Nuclear moments and mean square charge radii of these isotopes have been recalculated. The isotope shift of the isotope 148 Ba (T 1/2 = 0.64 s) could be studied for the first time, yielding δ 2 > 138,148 = 1.245(3) fm 2 . (orig.)

Right hemisphere dominance during spatial selective attention and target detection occurs outside the dorsal fronto-parietal network

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Shulman, Gordon L.; Pope, Daniel L. W.; Astafiev, Serguei V.; McAvoy, Mark P.; Snyder, Abraham Z.; Corbetta, Maurizio

2010-01-01

Spatial selective attention is widely considered to be right hemisphere dominant. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, however, have reported bilateral blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in dorsal fronto-parietal regions during anticipatory shifts of attention to a location (Kastner et al., 1999; Corbetta et al., 2000; Hopfinger et al., 2000). Right-lateralized activity has mainly been reported in ventral fronto-parietal regions for shifts of attention to an unattended target stimulus (Arrington et al., 2000; Corbetta et al., 2000). However, clear conclusions cannot be drawn from these studies because hemispheric asymmetries were not assessed using direct voxel-wise comparisons of activity in left and right hemispheres. Here, we used this technique to measure hemispheric asymmetries during shifts of spatial attention evoked by a peripheral cue stimulus and during target detection at the cued location. Stimulus-driven shifts of spatial attention in both visual fields evoked right-hemisphere dominant activity in temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). Target detection at the attended location produced a more widespread right hemisphere dominance in frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex, including the TPJ region asymmetrically activated during shifts of spatial attention. However, hemispheric asymmetries were not observed during either shifts of attention or target detection in the dorsal fronto-parietal regions (anterior precuneus, medial intraparietal sulcus, frontal eye fields) that showed the most robust activations for shifts of attention. Therefore, right hemisphere dominance during stimulus-driven shifts of spatial attention and target detection reflects asymmetries in cortical regions that are largely distinct from the dorsal fronto-parietal network involved in the control of selective attention. PMID:20219998

Gastrin receptor characterization: affinity cross-linking of the gastrin receptor on canine gastric parietal cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, M.; Park, J.; Yamada, T.

1987-01-01

The authors applied affinity cross-linking methods to label the gastrin receptor on isolated canine gastric parietal cells in order to elucidate the nature of its chemical structure. 125 I-labeled Leu 15 -gastrin and 125 I-labeled gastrin/sub 2-17/ bound to intact parietal cells and their membranes with equal affinity, and half-maximal inhibition of binding was obtained at an incubation concentration of 3.2 x 10 -10 M unlabeled gastrin. 125 I-gastrin/sub 2-17/ was cross-linked to plasma membranes or intact parietal cells by incubation in disuccinimidyl suberate. The membrane pellets were solubilized with or without dithiothreitol and applied to electrophoresis on 7.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. Autoradiograms revealed a band of labeling at M/sub r/ 76,000 and labeling of this band was inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by addition of unlabeled gastrin to the incubation mixture. Dithiothreitol in concentrations as high as 100 mM did not later the electrophoretic mobility of the labeled band. After taking into account the molecular weight of 125 I-gastrin/sub 2-17/, the results suggest that the gastrin receptor on parietal cells is a single protein of M/sub r/ 74,000 without disulfide-linked subunits

Unique and shared roles of the posterior parietal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in cognitive functions

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Fumi eKatsuki

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex are two parts of a broader brain network involved in the control of cognitive functions such as working memory, spatial attention, and decision making. The two areas share many functional properties and exhibit similar patterns of activation during the execution of mental operations. However, neurophysiological experiments in non-human primates have also documented subtle differences, revealing functional specialization within the fronto-parietal network. These differences include the ability of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to influence memory performance, attention allocation and motor responses to a greater extent, and to resist interference by distracting stimuli. In recent years, distinct cellular and anatomical differences have been identified, offering insights into how functional specialization is achieved. This article reviews the common functions and functional differences between the dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex, and their underlying mechanisms.

Prediction of Reach Goals in Depth and Direction from the Parietal Cortex

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Matteo Filippini

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Summary: The posterior parietal cortex is well known to mediate sensorimotor transformations during the generation of movement plans, but its ability to control prosthetic limbs in 3D environments has not yet been fully demonstrated. With this aim, we trained monkeys to perform reaches to targets located at various depths and directions and tested whether the reach goal position can be extracted from parietal signals. The reach goal location was reliably decoded with accuracy close to optimal (>90%, and this occurred also well before movement onset. These results, together with recent work showing a reliable decoding of hand grip in the same area, suggest that this is a suitable site to decode the entire prehension action, to be considered in the development of brain-computer interfaces. : Filippini et al. show that it is possible to use parietal cortex activity to predict in which direction the arm will move and how far it will reach. This opens up the possibility of neural prostheses that can accurately guide reach and grasp using signals from this part of the brain. Keywords: neuroprosthetics, offline neural decoding, reaching in depth, monkey, V6A, machine learning, visuomotor transformations, hand guidance, prehension, robotics

Transcranial direct current stimulation over the parietal cortex alters bias in item and source memory tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Pergolizzi, Denise; Chua, Elizabeth F

2016-10-01

Neuroimaging data have shown that activity in the lateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC) correlates with item recognition and source recollection, but there is considerable debate about its specific contributions. Performance on both item and source memory tasks were compared between participants who were given bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the parietal cortex to those given prefrontal or sham tDCS. The parietal tDCS group, but not the prefrontal group, showed decreased false recognition, and less bias in item and source discrimination tasks compared to sham stimulation. These results are consistent with a causal role of the PPC in item and source memory retrieval, likely based on attentional and decision-making biases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Syntheses, crystal structures and characterizations of BaZn(SeO3)2 and BaZn(TeO3)Cl2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Hailong; Feng Meiling; Mao Jianggao

2006-01-01

Two new barium zinc selenite and tellurite, namely, BaZn(SeO 3 ) 2 and BaZn(TeO 3 )Cl 2 , have been synthesized by the solid state reaction. The structure of BaZn(SeO 3 ) 2 features double chains of [Zn(SeO 3 ) 2 ] 2- anions composed of four- and eight-member rings which are alternatively along a-axis. The double chains of [Zn 2 (TeO 3 ) 2 Cl 3 ] 3- anions in BaZn(TeO 3 )Cl 2 are formed by Zn 3 Te 3 rings in which each tellurite group connects with three ZnO 3 Cl tetrahedra. BaZn(SeO 3 ) 2 and BaZn(TeO 3 )Cl 2 are wide bandgap semiconductors based on optical diffuse reflectance spectrum measurements. -- Graphical abstract: Two new barium zinc selenite and tellurite, namely, BaZn(SeO 3 ) 2 and BaZn(TeO 3 )Cl 2 , have been synthesized by solid state reaction. The structure of BaZn(SeO 3 ) 2 features 1D double chains of [Zn(SeO 3 ) 2 ] 2- anions composed of four- and eight-member rings which are alternatively along a-axis. The 1D double chains of [Zn 2 (TeO 3 ) 2 Cl 3 ] 3- anions in BaZn(TeO 3 )Cl 2 are formed by Zn 3 Te 3 rings in which each tellurite group connects with one ZnO 3 Cl and two ZnO 2 Cl 2 tetrahedra. BaZn(SeO 3 ) 2 and BaZn(TeO 3 )Cl 2 are wide bandgap semiconductors based on optical diffuse reflectance spectrum measurements

Vulnerability of the frontal and parietal regions in hypertensive patients during working memory task.

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Li, Xin; Wang, Wenxiao; Wang, Ailin; Li, Peng; Zhang, Junying; Tao, Wuhai; Zhang, Zhanjun

2017-05-01

Hypertension is related with cognitive decline in the elderly. The frontal-parietal executive system plays an important role in cognitive aging and is also vulnerable to damage in elderly patients with hypertension. Examination of the brain's functional characteristics in frontal-parietal regions of hypertension is likely to be important for understanding the neural mechanisms of hypertension's effect on cognitive aging. We address this issue by comparing hypertension and control-performers in a functional MRI study. Twenty-eight hypertensive patients and 32 elderly controls were tested with n-back task with two load levels. The hypertensive patients exhibited worse executive and memory abilities than control subjects. The patterns of brain activation changed under different working memory loads in the hypertensive patients, who exhibited reduced activation only in the precentral gyrus under low loads and reduced activation in the middle frontal gyrus, left medial superior frontal gyrus and right precuneus under high loads. Thus, more regions of diminished activation were observed in the frontal and parietal regions with increasing task difficulty. More importantly, we found that lower activation in changed frontal and parietal regions was associated with worse cognitive function in high loads. The results demonstrate the relationship between cognitive function and frontoparietal functional activation in hypertension and their relevance to cognitive aging risk. Our findings provide a better understanding of the mechanism of cognitive decline in hypertension and highlight the importance of brain protection in hypertension.

Stellar laboratories. III. New Ba v, Ba vi, and Ba vii oscillator strengths and the barium abundance in the hot white dwarfs G191-B2B and RE 0503-289

Science.gov (United States)

Rauch, T.; Werner, K.; Quinet, P.; Kruk, J. W.

2014-06-01

Context. For the spectral analysis of high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra of hot stars, state-of-the-art non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) model atmospheres are mandatory. These are strongly dependent on the reliability of the atomic data that is used for their calculation. Aims: Reliable Ba v-vii oscillator strengths are used to identify Ba lines in the spectra of the DA-type white dwarf G191-B2B and the DO-type white dwarf RE 0503-289 and to determine their photospheric Ba abundances. Methods: We newly calculated Ba v-vii oscillator strengths to consider their radiative and collisional bound-bound transitions in detail in our NLTE stellar-atmosphere models for the analysis of Ba lines exhibited in high-resolution and high-S/N UV observations of G191-B2B and RE 0503-289. Results: For the first time, we identified highly ionized Ba in the spectra of hot white dwarfs. We detected Ba vi and Ba vii lines in the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectrum of RE 0503-289. The Ba vi/Ba vii ionization equilibrium is well reproduced with the previously determined effective temperature of 70 000 K and surface gravity of log g = 7.5. The Ba abundance is 3.5 ± 0.5 × 10-4 (mass fraction, about 23 000 times the solar value). In the FUSE spectrum of G191-B2B, we identified the strongest Ba vii line (at 993.41 Å) only, and determined a Ba abundance of 4.0 ± 0.5 × 10-6 (about 265 times solar). Conclusions: Reliable measurements and calculations of atomic data are a pre-requisite for stellar-atmosphere modeling. Observed Ba vi-vii line profiles in two white dwarfs' (G191-B2B and RE 0503-289) far-ultraviolet spectra were well reproduced with our newly calculated oscillator strengths. This allowed to determine the photospheric Ba abundance of these two stars precisely. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for

High spin structure in 130,131Ba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaur, Navneet; Kumar, A.; Singh, Amandeep; Kumar, S.; Kaur, Rajbir; Singh, Varinderjit; Behera, B.R.; Singh, K.P.; Singh, G.; Mukherjee, G.; Sharma, H.P.; Kumar, Suresh; Kumar Raju, M.; Madhusudhan Rao, P.V.; Muralithar, S.; Singh, R.P.; Kumar, Rakesh; Madhvan, N.; Bhowmik, R.K.

2014-01-01

High spin states of 130,131 Ba have been investigated via fusion evaporation reactions 122 Sn( 13 C,4n) 131 Ba and 122 Sn( 13 C, 5n) 130 Ba at E beam =65 MeV. The level schemes of 130,131 Ba have been extended by placing several new γ transitions. A few interband transitions connecting two negative-parity bands, which are the experimental fingerprints of signature partners, have been established in 130 Ba. Spin and parity of a side band have been assigned in 131 Ba and this dipole band is proposed to have a three-quasiparticle configuration, νh 11/2 x πh 11/2 x πg 7/2 . The observed band structures and nuclear shape evolution as a function of the angular momentum have been discussed in the light of Total-Routhian-Surface calculations. (orig.)

Automatic and Intentional Number Processing Both Rely on Intact Right Parietal Cortex: A Combined fMRI and Neuronavigated TMS Study

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen Kadosh, Roi; Bien, Nina; Sack, Alexander T.

2012-01-01

Practice and training usually lead to performance increase in a given task. In addition, a shift from intentional toward more automatic processing mechanisms is often observed. It is currently debated whether automatic and intentional processing is subserved by the same or by different mechanism(s), and whether the same or different regions in the brain are recruited. Previous correlational evidence provided by behavioral, neuroimaging, modeling, and neuropsychological studies addressing this question yielded conflicting results. Here we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to compare the causal influence of disrupting either left or right parietal cortex during automatic and intentional numerical processing, as reflected by the size congruity effect and the numerical distance effect, respectively. We found a functional hemispheric asymmetry within parietal cortex with only the TMS-induced right parietal disruption impairing both automatic and intentional numerical processing. In contrast, disrupting the left parietal lobe with TMS, or applying sham stimulation, did not affect performance during automatic or intentional numerical processing. The current results provide causal evidence for the functional relevance of right, but not left, parietal cortex for intentional, and automatic numerical processing, implying that at least within the parietal cortices, automatic, and intentional numerical processing rely on the same underlying hemispheric lateralization. PMID:22347175

Examining the role of the temporo-parietal network in memory, imagery, and viewpoint transformations.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhindsa, Kiret; Drobinin, Vladislav; King, John; Hall, Geoffrey B; Burgess, Neil; Becker, Suzanna

2014-01-01

The traditional view of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) focuses on its role in episodic memory. However, some of the underlying functions of the MTL can be ascertained from its wider role in supporting spatial cognition in concert with parietal and prefrontal regions. The MTL is strongly implicated in the formation of enduring allocentric representations (e.g., O'Keefe, 1976; King et al., 2002; Ekstrom et al., 2003). According to our BBB model (Byrne et al., 2007), these representations must interact with head-centered and body-centered representations in posterior parietal cortex via a transformation circuit involving retrosplenial areas. Egocentric sensory representations in parietal areas can then cue the recall of allocentric spatial representations in long-term memory and, conversely, the products of retrieval in MTL can generate mental imagery within a parietal "window." Such imagery is necessarily egocentric and forms part of visuospatial working memory, in which it can be manipulated for the purpose of planning/imagining the future. Recent fMRI evidence (Lambrey et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2012) supports the BBB model. To further test the model, we had participants learn the locations of objects in a virtual scene and tested their spatial memory under conditions that impose varying demands on the transformation circuit. We analyzed how brain activity correlated with accuracy in judging the direction of an object (1) from visuospatial working memory (we assume transient working memory due to the order of tasks and the absence of change in viewpoint, but long-term memory retrieval is also possible), (2) after a rotation of viewpoint, or (3) after a rotation and translation of viewpoint (judgment of relative direction). We found performance-related activity in both tasks requiring viewpoint rotation (ROT and JRD, i.e., conditions 2 and 3) in the core medial temporal to medial parietal circuit identified by the BBB model. These results are consistent with the

Thermal analysis of formation of nano-crystalline BaTiO3 using Ba(NO32 and TiO2

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Md. Jawed Ansaree

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The reaction of Ba(NO32 with TiO2 was studied by thermogravimetric (TG and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC techniques up to 1000 °C and in nitrogen atmosphere. It was found that the formation of BaTiO3 takes place above 600 °C and that precursor mixing time and heating rate have no effect on the reaction temperature. BaTiO3 powder was prepared by calcination of Ba(NO32 and TiO2 precursor mixture at 800 °C for 8 h. X-ray diffraction analysis of the synthesized BaTiO3 confirmed the formation of tetragonal phase with lattice parameters a = 3.9950±0.0003 Å and c = 4.0318±0.0004 Å. Thermal analysis of the synthesized BaTiO3 powder showed weight loss within temperature range 40–1000 °C of only 0.40%. This small amount of weight loss was connected with some impurity phase, and identified as BaCO3 using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR technique.

Haptically guided grasping. FMRI shows right-hemisphere parietal stimulus encoding, and bilateral dorso-ventral parietal gradients of object- and action-related processing during grasp execution

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Mattia eMarangon

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The neural bases of haptically-guided grasp planning and execution are largely unknown, especially for stimuli having no visual representations. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to monitor brain activity during haptic exploration of novel 3D complex objects, subsequent grasp planning, and the execution of the pre-planned grasps. Haptic object exploration, involving extraction of shape, orientation and length of the to-be-grasped targets, was associated with the fronto-parietal, temporo-occipital, and insular cortex activity. Yet, only the anterior divisions of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC of the right hemisphere were significantly more engaged in exploration of complex objects (vs. simple control disks. None of these regions were re-recruited during the planning phase. Even more surprisingly, the left-hemisphere intraparietal, temporal, and occipital areas that were significantly invoked for grasp planning did not show sensitivity to object features. Finally, grasp execution, involving the re-recruitment of the critical right-hemisphere PPC clusters, was also significantly associated with two kinds of bilateral parieto-frontal processes. The first represents transformations of grasp-relevant target features and is linked to the dorso-dorsal (lateral and medial parieto-frontal networks. The second monitors grasp kinematics and belongs to the ventro-dorsal networks. Indeed, signal modulations associated with these distinct functions follow dorso-ventral gradients, with left aIPS showing significant sensitivity to both target features and the characteristics of the required grasp. Thus, our results from the haptic domain are consistent with the notion that the parietal processing for action guidance reflects primarily transformations from object-related to effector-related coding, and these mechanisms are rather independent of sensory input modality.

Growth and characterization of acentric BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} and BaZr(BO{sub 3}){sub 2}

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Mączka, Mirosław, E-mail: m.maczka@int.pan.wroc.pl [Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1410, 50-950 Wrocław 2 (Poland); Szymborska-Małek, Katarzyna; Gągor, Anna [Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1410, 50-950 Wrocław 2 (Poland); Majchrowski, Andrzej [Institute of Applied Physics, Military University of Technology, 2 Kaliskiego Str., 00-908 Warszawa (Poland)

2015-05-15

Growth, single crystal X-ray diffraction, polarized Raman and infrared (IR) studies of BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} are presented. Raman and IR spectra of polycrystalline BaZr(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} are also reported to facilitate assignment of modes. BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} borate crystallizes in trigonal system, space group R3c, with lattice parameters: a=5.1540(4) Å, c=33.901(3) Å. It accommodates dolomite-like structure doubled in the c direction, which is built of alternating layers of HfO{sub 6} octahedra and BaO{sub 6} distorted trigonal prisms that are connected through borate groups. The obtained structural as well as spectroscopic data show that BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} is isostructural with BaZr(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} and the deviations from centrosymmetry is small. - Graphical abstract: Arrangement of BO{sub 3} groups in BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} along the c direction in one unit cell. Dark and light blue denote different borate groups. - Highlights: • BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} single crystals were grown. • X-ray diffraction showed that this borate crystallizes in the acentric R3c structure. • Raman and IR spectra were measured for BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} and BaZr(BO{sub 3}){sub 2}, respectively. • Assignment of modes is proposed.

Systemic acanthamoebiasis associated with canine distemper in dogs in the semiarid region of Paraíba, Brazil

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Maria T.S. Frade

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Infections by free-living amoebae can cause systemic disease in animals and humans. We describe the epidemiological, clinical and pathological aspects of disseminated acanthamoebiasis associated with canine distemper in three dogs of the semiarid region of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil. Affected dogs developed progressive neurological and respiratory signs that progressed to death within in two to 20 days. Gross lesions were irregular and with yellow-reddish nodules randomly distributed in the lungs, heart, kidneys, spleen, lymph nodes, adrenals, and intestine. One dog had foci of malacia in the parietal cortex and another one in nucleus of brain basis. Histologically, pyogranulomas with areas of necrosis and hemorrhage in all organs affected were observed, associated with myriads of intralesional amoebic trophozoites. All three cases were concomitant canine distemper, that possibly triggered immunosuppression in the dogs. The diagnosis was performed through microscopic findings of infection by free-living amoebae and confirmed Acanthamoeba sp. by immunohistochemistry

Tracing the origin of glomerular extracapillary lesions from parietal epithelial cells.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smeets, B.; Uhlig, S.; Fuss, A.; Mooren, F.; Wetzels, J.F.M.; Floege, J.; Moeller, M.J.

2009-01-01

Cellular lesions form in Bowman's space in both crescentic glomerulonephritis and collapsing glomerulopathy. The pathomechanism and origin of the proliferating cells in these lesions are unknown. In this study, we examined proliferating cells by lineage tracing of either podocytes or parietal

The role of frontal and parietal brain areas in bistable perception

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Knapen, T.; Brascamp, J.; Pearson, J.; van Ee, R.; Blake, R.

2011-01-01

When sensory input allows for multiple, competing perceptual interpretations, observers' perception can fluctuate over time, which is called bistable perception. Imaging studies in humans have revealed transient responses in a right-lateralized network in the frontal-parietal cortex (rFPC) around

Cerebral perfusion and metabolism in relation to the evolution of unilateral spatial neglect due to cerebral infarction. Contribution of bilateral hemispheres in appearance and recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Haruhisa

2006-01-01

To investigate the mechanisms underlying the evolution of unilateral spatial neglect (USN) due to cerebral infarction, the cerebral oxygen metabolism was measured quantitatively by positron emission tomography (PET). Out of 189 consecutive patients with right hemisphere lesions who underwent PET, we recruited 13 patients (group A) who exhibited USN at the time of PET examination, 11 patients (group B) who had already recovered from USN, and 27 patients (group C) with right hemisphere infarction who failed to present with USN throughout. Eight normal volunteers (group NV) served as controls. Statistical comparisons were performed on the local values of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO 2 ) from the region of interest (ROI) in the right dorsolateral frontal lobe, superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, cingulate gyrus, basal ganglia and thalamus which are associated with USN. We also obtained CMRO 2 values for the contralateral areas. As compared with group C or NV, there were significant decreases in CMRO 2 in the right frontal, right temporal and right parietal lobes, right basal ganglia, right thalamus and bilateral cingulate gyri in groups A and B. Except for the left inferior parietal lobule, no significant differences in regional CMRO 2 were noted between groups A and B. These findings indicate that extensive right hemisphere lesions may produce USN, but no specific brain region is associated with its recovery. Different from aphasics, no definite relationship is evident between recovery from USN and the role of the contralateral left hemisphere. This could be explained partly by the complexity of the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying USN. (author)

Synthesis of BaTiO3 nanoparticles from TiO2-coated BaCO3 particles derived using a wet-chemical method

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Yuuki Mochizuki

2014-03-01

Full Text Available BaCO3 particles coated with amorphous TiO2 precursor are prepared by a wet chemical method to produce BaTiO3 nanoparticles at low temperatures. Subsequently, we investigate the formation behavior of BaTiO3 particles and the particle growth behavior when the precursor is subjected to heat treatment. The state of the amorphous TiO2 coating on the surface of BaCO3 particles depends on the concentration of NH4HCO3, and the optimum concentration is found to be in the range 0.5–1.0 M. Thermogravimetric curves of the BaCO3 particles coated with the TiO2 precursor, prepared from BaCO3 particles of various sizes, show BaTiO3 formation occurring mainly at 550–650 °C in the case of fine BaCO3 particles. However, as evidenced from the curves, the temperature of formation of BaTiO3 shifts to higher values with an increase in the size of the BaCO3 particles. The average particle size of single phase BaTiO3 at heat-treatment temperature of 650–900 °C is observed to be in the range 60–250 nm.

Spectral analysis of Pr{sup 3+} doped germanate glasses modified by BaO and BaF{sub 2}

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Pisarska, Joanna, E-mail: joanna.pisarska@us.edu.pl [University of Silesia, Institute of Chemistry, Szkolna 9 Street, 40-007 Katowice (Poland); Pisarski, Wojciech A. [University of Silesia, Institute of Chemistry, Szkolna 9 Street, 40-007 Katowice (Poland); Dorosz, Dominik; Dorosz, Jan [Bialystok University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Wiejska 45D Street, 15-351 Bialystok (Poland)

2016-03-15

Luminescence properties of Pr{sup 3+} ions in germanate glasses modified by BaF{sub 2} were investigated. Several luminescence bands originating to transitions from the {sup 3}P{sub 0} state to the lower-lying states of Pr{sup 3+} were registered under 450 nm excitation. The spectral analysis suggests that the positions of luminescence bands and their relative intensities are changed significantly with BaF{sub 2} content. The relative integrated luminescence intensities of {sup 3}P{sub 0}→{sup 3}H{sub 4} transition (blue) to the {sup 3}P{sub 0}→{sup 3}F{sub 2} transition (red) of Pr{sup 3+} ions strongly depend on fluoride modifier BaF{sub 2} in glass composition. The luminescence bands of Pr{sup 3+} ions are shifted to shorter wavelengths with increasing BaF{sub 2} content. - Highlights: • Praseodymium doped lead-free germanate glasses modified by BaF{sub 2} were prepared. • Emission spectra correspond to transitions from {sup 3}P{sub 0} state to lower-lying states of Pr{sup 3+}. • The relative emission band intensities of Pr{sup 3+} depend strongly on BaF{sub 2} content. • Emission bands of Pr{sup 3+} are shifted to shorter wavelengths with increasing BaF{sub 2} content.

Potential role of monkey inferior parietal neurons coding action semantic equivalences as precursors of parts of speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamazaki, Yumiko; Yokochi, Hiroko; Tanaka, Michio; Okanoya, Kazuo; Iriki, Atsushi

2010-01-01

The anterior portion of the inferior parietal cortex possesses comprehensive representations of actions embedded in behavioural contexts. Mirror neurons, which respond to both self-executed and observed actions, exist in this brain region in addition to those originally found in the premotor cortex. We found that parietal mirror neurons responded differentially to identical actions embedded in different contexts. Another type of parietal mirror neuron represents an inverse and complementary property of responding equally to dissimilar actions made by itself and others for an identical purpose. Here, we propose a hypothesis that these sets of inferior parietal neurons constitute a neural basis for encoding the semantic equivalence of various actions across different agents and contexts. The neurons have mirror neuron properties, and they encoded generalization of agents, differentiation of outcomes, and categorization of actions that led to common functions. By integrating the activities of these mirror neurons with various codings, we further suggest that in the ancestral primates' brains, these various representations of meaningful action led to the gradual establishment of equivalence relations among the different types of actions, by sharing common action semantics. Such differential codings of the components of actions might represent precursors to the parts of protolanguage, such as gestural communication, which are shared among various members of a society. Finally, we suggest that the inferior parietal cortex serves as an interface between this action semantics system and other higher semantic systems, through common structures of action representation that mimic language syntax.

High field-effect mobility at the (Sr,Ba)SnO{sub 3}/BaSnO{sub 3} interface

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Fujiwara, Kohei, E-mail: kfujiwara@imr.tohoku.ac.jp; Nishihara, Kazuki; Shiogai, Junichi; Tsukazaki, Atsushi [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan)

2016-08-15

A perovskite oxide, BaSnO{sub 3}, has been classified as one of transparent conducting materials with high electron mobility, and its application for field-effect transistors has been the focus of recent research. Here we report transistor operation in BaSnO{sub 3}-based heterostructures with atomically smooth surfaces, fabricated on SrTiO{sub 3} substrates by the (Sr,Ba)SnO{sub 3} buffer technique. Indeed, modulation of band profiles at the channel interfaces with the insertion of wide bandgap (Sr,Ba)SnO{sub 3} as a barrier layer results in a significant improvement of field-effect mobility, implying effective carrier doping at the regulated heterointerface. These results provide an important step towards realization of high-performance BaSnO{sub 3}-based field-effect transistors.

Verbal to visual code switching improves working memory in older adults: An fMRI study

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Mariko eOsaka

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The effects of verbal to visual code switching training on working memory performance were investigated in the elderly. Twenty-five elderly people were introduced to a verbal to visual code switching strategy (training group while the other 25 were not (control group. During this strategy training period, participants in the training group practiced focusing their attention on a target word both by drawing the target’s figure and by forming mental images of the target. To explore the neural substrates underlying strategy effects, fMRI was used to measure brain activity of the elderly in both groups while they performed a working memory task (reading span test, RST, before and after the attention training period. RST recognition accuracy was enhanced only in the training group. fMRI data for this group showed increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, a region that typically shows activation in young adults performing the RST. Furthermore, activation was found both in the left and right inferior parietal lobule (IPL and right superior parietal lobule (SPL, while there was no activation in these areas for the control group. These findings suggest that using a strategy of verbal to visual code switching helped the elderly participants to maintain the words in working memory.

Working memory activation of neural networks in the elderly as a function of information processing phase and task complexity.

Science.gov (United States)

Charroud, Céline; Steffener, Jason; Le Bars, Emmanuelle; Deverdun, Jérémy; Bonafe, Alain; Abdennour, Meriem; Portet, Florence; Molino, François; Stern, Yaakov; Ritchie, Karen; Menjot de Champfleur, Nicolas; Akbaraly, Tasnime N

2015-11-01

Changes in working memory are sensitive indicators of both normal and pathological brain aging and associated disability. The present study aims to further understanding of working memory in normal aging using a large cohort of healthy elderly in order to examine three separate phases of information processing in relation to changes in task load activation. Using covariance analysis, increasing and decreasing neural activation was observed on fMRI in response to a delayed item recognition task in 337 cognitively healthy elderly persons as part of the CRESCENDO (Cognitive REServe and Clinical ENDOphenotypes) study. During three phases of the task (stimulation, retention, probe), increased activation was observed with increasing task load in bilateral regions of the prefrontal cortex, parietal lobule, cingulate gyrus, insula and in deep gray matter nuclei, suggesting an involvement of central executive and salience networks. Decreased activation associated with increasing task load was observed during the stimulation phase, in bilateral temporal cortex, parietal lobule, cingulate gyrus and prefrontal cortex. This spatial distribution of decreased activation is suggestive of the default mode network. These findings support the hypothesis of an increased activation in salience and central executive networks and a decreased activation in default mode network concomitant to increasing task load. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differential Localization of Pain-Related and Pain-Unrelated Neural Responses for Acupuncture at BL60 Using BOLD fMRI

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Na-Hee Kim

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to differentiate between pain-related and pain-unrelated neural responses of acupuncture at BL60 to investigate the specific effects of acupuncture. A total of 19 healthy volunteers were evaluated. fMRI was performed with sham or verum acupuncture stimulation at the left BL60 before and after local anesthesia. To investigate the relative BOLD signal effect for each session, a one-sample t-test was performed for individual contrast maps, and a paired t-test to investigate the differences between the pre- and post-anesthetic signal effects. Regarding verum acupuncture, areas that were more activated before local anesthesia included the superior, middle, and medial frontal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, superior temporal gyrus, thalamus, middle temporal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, culmen, and cerebellar tonsil. The postcentral gyrus was more deactivated before local anesthesia. After local anesthesia, the middle occipital gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, precuneus, superior parietal lobule, and declive were deactivated. Pre-anesthetic verum acupuncture at BL60 activated areas of vision and pain transmission. Post-anesthetic verum acupuncture deactivated brain areas of visual function, which is considered to be a pain-unrelated acupuncture response. It indicates that specific effects of acupoint BL60 are to control vision sense as used in the clinical setting.

Postural Effects on the Mental Rotation of Body-Related Pictures: An fMRI Study

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Fangbing Qu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the embodied effects involved in the mental rotation of pictures of body parts (hands and feet. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD signals were collected from 18 healthy volunteers who performed mental rotation tasks of rotated drawings of hands under different arm postures. Congruent drawings of hands (those congruent with left-hand posture evoked stronger activation in the left supplementary motor area (SMA, left precentral gyrus, and left superior parietal lobule (SPL than did incongruent drawings of hands. Congruent drawings of hands (those congruent with right-hand posture evoked significant activation in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL, right SMA, bilateral middle frontal gyrus (MFG, left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, and bilateral superior frontal gyrus (SFG compared to that evoked by the incongruent drawings of hands. Similar methodology was implemented with drawings of feet. However, no significant differences in brain activation were observed between congruent and incongruent drawings of feet. This finding suggests that body posture influences body part-related mental rotation in an effector-specific manner. A direct comparison between the medially and laterally rotated drawings revealed activation in the right IPL, left precentral gyrus, bilateral IFG, and bilateral SFG. These results suggest that biomechanical constraints affect the cognitive process of mental rotation.

Altered Amygdala Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Maintenance Hemodialysis End-Stage Renal Disease Patients with Depressive Mood.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hui Juan; Wang, Yun Fei; Qi, Rongfeng; Schoepf, U Joseph; Varga-Szemes, Akos; Ball, B Devon; Zhang, Zhe; Kong, Xiang; Wen, Jiqiu; Li, Xue; Lu, Guang Ming; Zhang, Long Jiang

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate patterns in the amygdala-based emotional processing circuit of hemodialysis patients using resting-state functional MR imaging (rs-fMRI). Fifty hemodialysis patients (25 with depressed mood and 25 without depressed mood) and 26 healthy controls were included. All subjects underwent neuropsychological tests and rs-fMRI, and patients also underwent laboratory tests. Functional connectivity of the bilateral amygdala was compared among the three groups. The relationship between functional connectivity and clinical markers was investigated. Depressed patients showed increased positive functional connectivity of the left amygdala with the left superior temporal gyrus and right parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) but decreased amygdala functional connectivity with the left precuneus, angular gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and left inferior parietal lobule compared with non-depressed patients (P amygdala with bilateral supplementary motor areas and PHG but decreased amygdala functional connectivity with the right superior frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, bilateral precuneus, and PCC (P amygdala (P amygdala-prefrontal-PCC-limbic circuits was impaired in depressive hemodialysis patients, with a gradual decrease in ACC between controls, non-depressed, and depressed patients for the right amygdala. This indicates that ACC plays a role in amygdala-based emotional regulatory circuits in these patients.

Functional MRI studies of the neural mechanisms of human brain attentional networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao Jing; Li Kuncheng; Chen Qi; Wang Yan; Peng Xiaozhe; Zhou Xiaolin

2005-01-01

Objective: To identify the neural mechanisms of the anterior attention network (AAN) and posterior attention network (PAN) , investigate the possible interaction between them with event-related functional MRI(ER-fMRI). Methods: Eight right-handed healthy volunteers participated in the experiment designed with inhibition of return in visual orienting and Stroop color-word interference effect. The fMRI data were collected on Siemens 1.5 T Sonata MRI systems and analyzed by AFNI to generate the activation map. Results: The data sets from 6 of 8 subjects were used in the study. The functional localizations of the Stroop and IOR, which manifest the function of the AAN and PAN respectively, were consistent with previous imaging researches. On cued locations, left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), area MT/V5, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) were significantly activated. On uncued locations, right superior parietal lobule (SPL) and bilateral area MT/V5 were significantly activated. Conclusion: The AAN exerts control over the PAN, while its function can be in turn modulated by the PAN. There are interaction between the AAN and PAN. In addition, it is also proved that ER-fMRI is a feasible method to revise preexisting cognitive model and theory. (authors)

Right parietal cortex mediates recognition memory for melodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaal, Nora K; Javadi, Amir-Homayoun; Halpern, Andrea R; Pollok, Bettina; Banissy, Michael J

2015-07-01

Functional brain imaging studies have highlighted the significance of right-lateralized temporal, frontal and parietal brain areas for memory for melodies. The present study investigated the involvement of bilateral posterior parietal cortices (PPCs) for the recognition memory of melodies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Participants performed a recognition task before and after tDCS. The task included an encoding phase (12 melodies), a retention period, as well as a recognition phase (24 melodies). Experiment 1 revealed that anodal tDCS over the right PPC led to a deterioration of overall memory performance compared with sham. Experiment 2 confirmed the results of Experiment 1 and further showed that anodal tDCS over the left PPC did not show a modulatory effect on memory task performance, indicating a right lateralization for musical memory. Furthermore, both experiments revealed that the decline in memory for melodies can be traced back to an interference of anodal stimulation on the recollection process (remember judgements) rather than to familiarity judgements. Taken together, this study revealed a causal involvement of the right PPC for memory for melodies and demonstrated a key role for this brain region in the recollection process of the memory task. © 2015 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Altered brain function in new onset childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia before chemotherapy: A resting-state fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zhanqi; Zou, Dongfang; Mai, Huirong; Yuan, Xiuli; Wang, Lihong; Li, Yue; Liao, Jianxiang; Liu, Liwei; Liu, Guosheng; Zeng, Hongwu; Wen, Feiqiu

2017-10-01

Cognitive impairments had been reported in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, what caused the impairments needed to be demonstrated, chemotherapy-related or the disease itself. The primary aim of this exploratory investigation was to determine if there were changes in brain function of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia before chemotherapy. In this study, we advanced a measure named regional homogeneity to evaluate the resting-state brain activities, intelligence quotient test was performed at same time. Using regional homogeneity, we first investigated the resting state brain function in patients with new onset childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia before chemotherapy, healthy children as control. The decreased ReHo values were mainly founded in the default mode network and left frontal lobe, bilateral inferior parietal lobule, bilateral temporal lobe, bilateral occipital lobe, precentral gyrus, bilateral cerebellum in the newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients compared with the healthy control. While in contrast, increased ReHo values were mainly shown in the right frontal lobe (language area), superior frontal gyrus-R, middle frontal gyrus-R and inferior parietal lobule-R for acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients group. There were no significant differences for intelligence quotient measurements between the acute lymphoblastic leukemia patient group and the healthy control in performance intelligence quotient, verbal intelligence quotient, total intelligence quotient. The altered brain functions are associated with cognitive change and language, it is suggested that there may be cognition impairment before the chemotherapy. Regional homogeneity by functional magnetic resonance image is a sensitive way for early detection on brain damage in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Copyright © 2017 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parietal theta burst TMS: Functional fractionation observed during bistable perception not evident in attention tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Schauer, Georg; Kanai, Ryota; Brascamp, Jan W

2016-02-01

When visual input is ambiguous, perception spontaneously alternates between interpretations: bistable perception. Studies have identified two distinct sites near the right intraparietal sulcus where inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) affects the frequency of occurrence of these alternations, but strikingly with opposite directions of effect for the two sites. Lesion and TMS studies on spatial and sustained attention have also indicated a parcellation of right parietal cortex, into areas serving distinct attentional functions. We used the exact TMS procedure previously employed to affect bistable perception, yet measured its effect on spatial and sustained attention tasks. Although there was a trend for TMS to affect performance, trends were consistently similar for both parietal sites, with no indication of opposite effects. We interpret this as signifying that the previously observed parietal fractionation of function regarding the perception of ambiguous stimuli is not due to TMS-induced modification of spatial or sustained attention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcriptional landscape of glomerular parietal epithelial cells.

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Sina A Gharib

Full Text Available Very little is known about the function of glomerular parietal epithelial cells (PECs. In this study, we performed genome-wide expression analysis on PEC-enriched capsulated vs. PEC-deprived decapsulated rat glomeruli to determine the transcriptional state of PECs under normal conditions. We identified hundreds of differentially expressed genes that mapped to distinct biologic modules including development, tight junction, ion transport, and metabolic processes. Since developmental programs were highly enriched in PECs, we characterized several of their candidate members at the protein level. Collectively, our findings confirm that PECs are multifaceted cells and help define their diverse functional repertoire.

Optical characteristics of BaGa2S4:Ho3+ and BaGa2Se4:Ho3+ single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choe, Sung-Hyu; Jin, Moon-Seog; Kim, Wha-Tek

2005-01-01

BaGa 2 S 4 , BaGa 2 S 4 :Ho 3+ , BaGa 2 Se 4 , and BaGa 2 Se 4 :Ho 3+ single crystals were grown by using the chemical transport reaction method. The optical energy gaps of the single crystals were investigated in the temperature region from 11 K to 300 K. The temperature dependence of the optical energy gap was well fitted by the Varshni equation. Two broad emission bands were observed in the photoluminescence spectra of the single crystals. These bands were attributed to donor-acceptor pair recombinations. Sharp emission peaks were observed in the BaGa 2 S 4 :Ho 3+ and the BaGa 2 Se 4 :Ho 3+ single crystals and were assigned to radiation recombination between split Stark levels of Ho 3+ .

Interlaminar differences in the pyramidal cell phenotype in parietal cortex of an Indian bat, cynopterus sphinx.

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Srivastava, U C; Pathak, S V

2010-10-30

To study interlaminar phenotypic variations in the pyramidal neurons of parietal isocortex in bat (Cynopterus sphinx), Golgi and Nissl methods have been employed. The parietal isocortex is relatively thin in the bat as compared to prototheria with layer III, V and VI accounting for more than two—thirds of total cortical thickness. Thick cell free layer I and thinnest accentuated layer II are quite in connotation with other chiropterids. Poor demarcation of layer III/IV in the present study is also in connotation with primitive eutherian mammal (i.e. prototherian) and other chiropterids. Most of the pyramidal cells in the different layers of the parietal isocortex are of typical type as seen in other eutherians but differ significantly in terms of soma shape and size, extent of dendritic arbor, diameter of dendrites and spine density. Percentage of pyramidal neurons, diameter of apical dendrite and spine density on apical dendrite appear to follow an increasing trend from primitive to advanced mammals; but extent of dendrites are probably governed by the specific life patterns of these mammals. It is thus concluded that 'typical' pyramidal neurons in parietal isocortex are similar in therians but different from those in prototherians. It is possible that these cells might have arisen among early eutherians after divergence from prototherian stock.

Fronto-parietal contributions to phonological processes in successful artificial grammar learning

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Dariya Goranskaya

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Sensitivity to regularities plays a crucial role in the acquisition of various linguistic features from spoken language input. Artificial grammar (AG learning paradigms explore pattern recognition abilities in a set of structured sequences (i.e. of syllables or letters. In the present study, we investigated the functional underpinnings of learning phonological regularities in auditorily presented syllable sequences. While previous neuroimaging studies either focused on functional differences between the processing of correct vs. incorrect sequences or between different levels of sequence complexity, here the focus is on the neural foundation of the actual learning success. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, participants were exposed to a set of syllable sequences with an underlying phonological rule system, known to ensure performance differences between participants. We expected that successful learning and rule application would require phonological segmentation and phoneme comparison. As an outcome of four alternating learning and test fMRI sessions, participants split into successful learners and non-learners. Relative to non-learners, successful learners showed increased task-related activity in a fronto-parietal network of brain areas encompassing the left lateral premotor cortex as well as bilateral superior and inferior parietal cortices during both learning and rule application. These areas were previously associated with phonological segmentation, phoneme comparison and verbal working memory. Based on these activity patterns and the phonological strategies for rule acquisition and application, we argue that successful learning and processing of complex phonological rules in our paradigm is mediated via a fronto-parietal network for phonological processes.

Body-centred map in parietal eye fields - functional MRI study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brotchie, P.; Chen, D.Y.; Bradley, W.G.

2002-01-01

Full text: In order for us to interact with our environment we need to know where objects are around us, relative to our body. In monkeys, a body-centred map of visual space is known to exist within the parietal eye fields. This map is formed by the modulation of neuronal activity by eye and head position (Brotchie et al, Nature 1995; Synder et al, Nature 1998). In humans no map of body centred space has been demonstrated. By using functional MRI we have localised a region along the intraparietal sulcus which has properties similar to the parietal eye fields of monkeys (Brotchie et al, ISMRM, 2000). The aim of this study was to determine if activity in this region is modulated by head position, consistent with a body centered representation of visual space. Functional MRI was performed on 6 subjects performing simple visually guided saccades using a 1.5 Tesla GE Echospeed scanner. 10 scans were performed on the 6 subjects at left and right body orientations. Regions of interest were selected around the intraparietal sulcus proper (IPSP) of both hemispheres and voxels with BOLD signal which correlated with the paradigm (r>0.35) were selected for further analysis. Comparisons of percentage signal change were made between the left and right IPSP using Student t test. Of the 10 MRI examinations, 6 demonstrated statistically significant differences in the amount of signal change between left and right IPSP. In each of these 6 cases, the signal change was greater within the IPSP contralateral to the direction of head position relative to the body. This indicates a modulation of activity within the IPSP related to head position, most likely reflecting modulation of the underlying neuronal activity and suggests the existence of a body-centred encoding of space within the parietal eye fields of humans. Copyright (2002) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd

Temporo-Parietal and Fronto-Parietal Lobe Contributions to Theory of Mind and Executive Control: An fMRI Study of Verbal Jokes

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Yu-Chen eChan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available ‘Getting a joke’ always requires resolving an apparent incongruity but the particular cognitive operations called upon vary depending on the nature of the joke itself. Previous research has identified the primary neural correlates of the cognitive and affective processes called upon to respond to humor generally, but little work has been done on the substrates underlying the distinct cognitive operations required to comprehend particular joke types. This study explored the neural correlates of the cognitive processes required to successfully comprehend three joke types: bridging-inference jokes, exaggeration jokes and ambiguity jokes. For all joke types, the left dlPFC appeared to support common cognitive mechanisms, such as script-shifting, while the vACC was associated with affective appreciation. The temporo-parietal lobe (TPJ and MTG was associated with bridging-inference jokes, suggesting involvement of these regions with ‘theory of mind’ processing. The ventral fronto-parietal lobe (IPL and IFG was associated with both exaggeration and ambiguity jokes, suggesting that it supports executive control processes such as retrieval from episodic memory, self-awareness, and language-based decoding. The social-affective appreciation of verbal jokes was associated with activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC, and parahippocampal gyrus. These results allow a more precise account of the neural

Parietal intradiploic encephalocele: Report of a case and review of the literature.

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Arevalo-Perez, Julio; Millán-Juncos, José M

2015-06-01

Encephaloceles consist of brain tissue and meninges that has herniated through a skull defect, usually located in the midline. They are seen more commonly in children and very rarely in adults. We present a case of an 84-year-old patient who was incidentally diagnosed with a lytic bone lesion in the right parietal intradiploic space, after computed tomography of the head was performed. A magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain showed herniation of brain tissue through the defect. Magnetic resonance imaging was crucial in demonstrating the presence of parenchyma and its continuity with the rest of the brain, consequently distinguishing it from other entities. We report the imaging findings of a parietal indradiploic encephalocele with its differential diagnosis and a review of the relevant literature. © The Author(s) 2015.

El contexto del arte parietal. La tecnología de los artistas en la Cueva de Tito Bustillo (Asturias

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Moure Romanillo, Alfonso

1988-12-01

Full Text Available This study overlaps in part with a communication presented to the «Colloque International d'Art Parietal Paléolithique» held at Perigueux-Le Thot in december 1984. The technological responses contained in a decorated zone of the cave of Tito Bustillo are analyzed, as well as the activities carried out on living floors related to the preparation and completion of the parietal art.

El trabajo coincide parcialmente con la comunicación presentada al «Colloque International d'Art Parietal Paléolithique» celebrado en Perigueux-Le Thot, en diciembre de 1984. Se analizan las respuestas tecnológicas contenidas en un área de decoración de la cueva de Tito Bustillo (Asturias, así como las actividades en áreas de estancia relacionadas con la preparación y ejecución del arte parietal.

Haptically Guided Grasping. fMRI Shows Right-Hemisphere Parietal Stimulus Encoding, and Bilateral Dorso-Ventral Parietal Gradients of Object- and Action-Related Processing during Grasp Execution.

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Marangon, Mattia; Kubiak, Agnieszka; Króliczak, Gregory

2015-01-01

The neural bases of haptically-guided grasp planning and execution are largely unknown, especially for stimuli having no visual representations. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity during haptic exploration of novel 3D complex objects, subsequent grasp planning, and the execution of the pre-planned grasps. Haptic object exploration, involving extraction of shape, orientation, and length of the to-be-grasped targets, was associated with the fronto-parietal, temporo-occipital, and insular cortex activity. Yet, only the anterior divisions of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of the right hemisphere were significantly more engaged in exploration of complex objects (vs. simple control disks). None of these regions were re-recruited during the planning phase. Even more surprisingly, the left-hemisphere intraparietal, temporal, and occipital areas that were significantly invoked for grasp planning did not show sensitivity to object features. Finally, grasp execution, involving the re-recruitment of the critical right-hemisphere PPC clusters, was also significantly associated with two kinds of bilateral parieto-frontal processes. The first represents transformations of grasp-relevant target features and is linked to the dorso-dorsal (lateral and medial) parieto-frontal networks. The second monitors grasp kinematics and belongs to the ventro-dorsal networks. Indeed, signal modulations associated with these distinct functions follow dorso-ventral gradients, with left aIPS showing significant sensitivity to both target features and the characteristics of the required grasp. Thus, our results from the haptic domain are consistent with the notion that the parietal processing for action guidance reflects primarily transformations from object-related to effector-related coding, and these mechanisms are rather independent of sensory input modality.

Incorporation of Ba in Al and Fe pollucite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vance, Eric R., E-mail: erv@ansto.gov.au [Institute of Materials Engineering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001 Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232 (Australia); Gregg, Daniel J.; Griffiths, Grant J. [Institute of Materials Engineering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001 Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232 (Australia); Gaugliardo, Paul R. [Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009 (Australia); Grant, Charmaine [Institute of Materials Engineering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001 Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232 (Australia)

2016-09-15

Ba, the transmutation product of radioactive Cs, can be incorporated at levels of up to ∼0.07 formula units in Cs{sub (1−2x)}Ba{sub x}AlSi{sub 2}O{sub 6} aluminium pollucite formed by sol-gel methods and sintering at 1400 °C, with more Ba forming BaAl{sub 2}Si{sub 2}O{sub 8} phases. The effect of Ba substitution in pollucite-structured CsFeSi{sub 2}O{sub 6} was also studied and no evidence of Ba substitution in the pollucite structure via cation vacancies or Fe{sup 2+} formation was obtained. The Ba entered a Fe-silicate glass structure. Charge compensation was also attempted with a Cs{sup +} + Fe{sup 3+} ↔ Ba{sup 2+} + Ni{sup 2+} scheme but again the Ba formed a glass and NiO was evident. PCT leaching data showed CsFeSi{sub 2}O{sub 6} to be very leach resistant. - Highlights: • Barium can be incorporated into aluminium pollucite. • Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy supports a charge vacancy mechanism of incorporation. • Iron pollucite does not appear to incorporate any barium with either vacancy or charge compensation mechanisms. • Leaching data suggest iron pollucite is very leach resistant.

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

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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.

Submillimeter and microwave residual losses in epitaxial films of Y-Ba-Cu-O and Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, D.; Richards, P.L.; Eom, C.B.; Geballe, T.H.; Etemad, S.; Inam, A.; Venkatesan, T.; Martens, J.S.; Lee, W.Y.

1992-12-01

We have used a novel bolometric technique and a resonant technique to obtain accurate submillimeter and microwave residual loss data for epitaxial thin films of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 , Tl 2 Ca 2 Ba 2 Cu 3 O 10 and Tl 2 CaBa 2 Cu 2 O 8 . For all films we obtain good agreement between the submillimeter and microwave data, with the residual losses in both the Y-Ba-Cu-O and Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O films scaling approximately as frequency squared below ∼ 1 THz. We are able to fit the losses in the Y-Ba-Cu-O films to a two fluid and a weakly coupled grain model for the a-b planeconductivity, in good agreement with results from a Kramers-Kronig analysis of the loss data

The organization of the posterior parietal cortex devoted to upper limb actions: An fMRI study

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Ferri, Stefania; Rizzolatti, Giacomo

2015-01-01

Abstract The present fMRI study examined whether upper‐limb action classes differing in their motor goal are encoded by different PPC sectors. Action observation was used as a proxy for action execution. Subjects viewed actors performing object‐related (e.g., grasping), skin‐displacing (e.g., rubbing the skin), and interpersonal upper limb actions (e.g., pushing someone). Observation of the three action classes activated a three‐level network including occipito‐temporal, parietal, and premotor cortex. The parietal region common to observing all three action classes was located dorsally to the left intraparietal sulcus (DIPSM/DIPSA border). Regions specific for observing an action class were obtained by combining the interaction between observing action classes and stimulus types with exclusive masking for observing the other classes, while for regions considered preferentially active for a class the interaction was exclusively masked with the regions common to all observed actions. Left putative human anterior intraparietal was specific for observing manipulative actions, and left parietal operculum including putative human SII region, specific for observing skin‐displacing actions. Control experiments demonstrated that this latter activation depended on seeing the skin being moved and not simply on seeing touch. Psychophysiological interactions showed that the two specific parietal regions had similar connectivities. Finally, observing interpersonal actions preferentially activated a dorsal sector of left DIPSA, possibly the homologue of ventral intraparietal coding the impingement of the target person's body into the peripersonal space of the actor. These results support the importance of segregation according to the action class as principle of posterior parietal cortex organization for action observation and by implication for action execution. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3845–3866, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley

Sustained attention is associated with right superior longitudinal fasciculus and superior parietal white matter microstructure in children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klarborg, Brith; Skak Madsen, Kathrine; Vestergaard, Martin

2013-01-01

Sustained attention develops during childhood and has been linked to the right fronto-parietal cortices in functional imaging studies; however, less is known about its relation to white matter (WM) characteristics. Here we investigated whether the microstructure of the WM underlying and connecting...... the right fronto-parietal cortices was associated with sustained attention performance in a group of 76 typically developing children aged 7-13 years. Sustained attention was assessed using a rapid visual information processing paradigm. The two behavioral measures of interest were the sensitivity index d......' and the coefficient of variation in reaction times (RT(CV) ). Diffusion-weighted imaging was performed. Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) was extracted from the WM underlying right dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) and parietal cortex (PC), and the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), as well as equivalent...

Processing of R-Ba-Cu-O superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, H.

1998-01-01

Precipitation processes were developed to introduce second phases as flux pinning centers in Gd-Ba-Cu-O and Nd-Ba-Cu-O superconductors. In Gd-Ba-Cu-O, precipitation is caused by the decrease of the upper solubility limit of Gd 1+x Ba 2-x Cu 3 O 7 solid solution (Gd123ss) in low oxygen partial pressure. Processing of supersaturated Gd 1.2 Ba 1.8 Cu 3 O 7 in low oxygen partial pressure can produce dispersed second phases. Gd211 is formed as a separate phase while extensive Gd124 type stacking fault is formed instead of a separate CuO phase. As a result of the precipitation reaction, the transition temperature and critical current density are increased. In Nd-Ba-Cu-O, precipitation is caused by the decrease of the lower solubility limit of Nd 1+x Ba 2-x Cu 3 O 7 solid solution (Nd123ss) in oxygen. DTA results reveal the relative stability of Nd123ss in different oxygen partial pressures. In 1 bar oxygen partial pressure, Nd123ss with x = 0.1 is the most stable phase. In lower oxygen partial pressures, the most stable composition shifts towards the stoichiometric composition. The relative stability changes faster with decreasing oxygen partial pressure. Therefore, processing in oxygen and air tends to produce broad superconducting transitions but sharp transitions can be achieved in 0.01 bar and 0.001 bar oxygen partial pressures. While the lower solubility limits in 0.01 bar and 0.001 bar oxygen partial pressures remain at x = 0.00, the solubility limits in oxygen and air show a narrowing with decreasing temperature. Because of the narrowing of the solubility range in oxygen, oxygen annealing of Nd123 initially processed in low oxygen partial pressures will result in precipitation of second phases. The equilibrium second phase is BaCuO 2 for temperature above 608 C, and at lower temperatures the equilibrium second phases are Ba 2 CuO 3.3 and Ba 2 Cu 3 O 5+y . However, annealing at low temperature may produce a fine metastable transition phase. A coherent intermediate

TRANSITIVITY AND THE BA CONSTRUCTION

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Pei-Jung Kuo

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I discuss the legitimacy of positing a Transitivity Projection (= TrP cf. Bowers 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2002 in the BA construction in Mandarin Chinese. BA has been proposed to be a semantically-bleached verb, inserted in the v position (Huang 1997 and Lin 2001. Several pieces of evidence such as manner adverbial placement (cf. Huang, Li and Li 2009 and GEI-insertion (cf. Tang 2001 indicate that there must be a functional projection between the vP and VP to host the BA NP. I propose that a TrP is probably the most apt candidate for the XP. I also argue, in contrast to the proposal by Huang, Li and Li (2009, that the present proposal which employs a TrP captures most of the properties of the BA construction. A comparison with the structure of the BEI construction also shows that the TrP proposal fits into the general picture of current linguistic theory on transitive constructions without extra stipulations.

Structural evolution of Ba8Ti3Nb4O24 from BaTiO3 using a series of Ba(Ti1−5xNb4x)O3 solid solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrientos Hernández, F.R.; Lira Hernández, I.A.; Gómez Yáñez, C.; Arenas Flores, A.; Cabrera Sierra, R.; Pérez Labra, M.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The evolution phase Ba 8 Ti 3 Nb 4 O 24 was obtained through the mechanism Ba(Ti 1-5x Nb 4x )O 3 . • Addition of niobium can accelerate grain growth of BaTiO 3 ceramics. • Ba 8 Ti 3 Nb 4 O 24 presents a dielectric loss of 0.0035 and permittivity value of 54.6. • Electrical measurements showed that Nb 5+ content drops Curie temperature. • Samples with x ⩾ 0.0625 shows an insulating behavior. -- Abstract: In this work, the structural evolution of hexagonal phase Ba 8 Ti 3 Nb 4 O 24 by adding Nb 2 O 5 to perovskite structure of BaTiO 3 was investigated. The compositions Ba(Ti 1-5x Nb 4x )O 3 ceramics, with 0.00025 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.125 were prepared by the conventional solid state route in air atmosphere, the powders precursors, BaTiO 3 , BaCO 3 and Nb 2 O 5 , were mixed in stoichiometric proportions and ground in a ball mill using alumina balls and acetone. The mixed powders were calcined at temperatures up to 1500 °C. The phase transformation of Ba 8 Ti 3 Nb 4 O 24 from BaTiO 3 was studied by DRX, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, electrical measurements (relative permittivity and P–E hysteresis loops); Rietveld’s refinement was used to structurally characterize the samples. For the devices obtained capacitance was measured at 1 kHz; with these values we calculated the relative permittivity. The samples show typical P–E hysteresis loops at room temperature accompanied by saturation polarization (Ps) and remnant polarization (Pr). The DRX and Rietveld’s refinement results show x ⩽ 0.01 has a ferroelectric behavior. When the doped level is increased x ⩾ 0.02, a peak displacement is observed, this is due to the phase transformation of tetragonal to cubic into the unit cell. Finally, with x = 0.125 the crystal structure transforms to the characteristic hexagonal phase Ba 8 Ti 3 Nb 4 O 24 which resonates at microwave frequencies

Musical anhedonia: selective loss of emotional experience in listening to music.

Science.gov (United States)

Satoh, Masayuki; Nakase, Taizen; Nagata, Ken; Tomimoto, Hidekazu

2011-10-01

Recent case studies have suggested that emotion perception and emotional experience of music have independent cognitive processing. We report a patient who showed selective impairment of emotional experience only in listening to music, that is musical anhednia. A 71-year-old right-handed man developed an infarction in the right parietal lobe. He found himself unable to experience emotion in listening to music, even to which he had listened pleasantly before the illness. In neuropsychological assessments, his intellectual, memory, and constructional abilities were normal. Speech audiometry and recognition of environmental sounds were within normal limits. Neuromusicological assessments revealed no abnormality in the perception of elementary components of music, expression and emotion perception of music. Brain MRI identified the infarct lesion in the right inferior parietal lobule. These findings suggest that emotional experience of music could be selectively impaired without any disturbance of other musical, neuropsychological abilities. The right parietal lobe might participate in emotional experience in listening to music.

Common and dissociable neural correlates associated with component processes of inductive reasoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Xiuqin; Liang, Peipeng; Lu, Jie; Yang, Yanhui; Zhong, Ning; Li, Kuncheng

2011-06-15

The ability to draw numerical inductive reasoning requires two key cognitive processes, identification and extrapolation. This study aimed to identify the neural correlates of both component processes of numerical inductive reasoning using event-related fMRI. Three kinds of tasks: rule induction (RI), rule induction and application (RIA), and perceptual judgment (Jud) were solved by twenty right-handed adults. Our results found that the left superior parietal lobule (SPL) extending into the precuneus and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were commonly recruited in the two components. It was also observed that the fronto-parietal network was more specific to identification, whereas the striatal-thalamic network was more specific to extrapolation. The findings suggest that numerical inductive reasoning is mediated by the coordination of multiple brain areas including the prefrontal, parietal, and subcortical regions, of which some are more specific to demands on only one of these two component processes, whereas others are sensitive to both. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Caracterización del injerto parietal

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José Manuel Díaz Fernández

1996-12-01

Full Text Available Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, longitudinal y prospectivo de 22 pacientes en los que se utilizó el injerto parietal autógeno para reconstruir defectos del cráneo, en los servicios de Cirugía Maxilofacial y Neurocirugía del Hospital Clinicoquirúrgico Docente "Saturnino Lora", de Santiago de Cuba, desde 1988 hasta 1991. El método de extracción del injerto con división in situ resultó el más empleado y el que ofreció las mejores posibilidades de reconstrucción en cuanto a forma, volumen y flexibilidad, por lo que se recomienda en los defectos pequeños y medianos, sobre todo de la región frontal y áreas adyacentes, donde el contorno y la simetría son los 2 aspectos fundamentales que se deben conseguir. El método de división, in vitro se utilizó en las reconstrucciones de las deformidades de grandes dimensiones, particularmente en aquellas que no incluían la frente. El índice de complicaciones fue bajoIt was carried out a descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study of 22 patients in whom an autogenous parietal graft was used to reconstruct cranial defects at the Maxillofacial Surgery and Neurosurgery Department of the "Saturnino Lora" Clinical and Surgical Teaching Hospital, in Santiago de Cuba, from 1988 to 1991. The graft extraction method with division in situ was the most used and offered the best possibilities for reconstruction as regards form, volume and flexibility. Therefore, it is recommended for small and medium defects, particularly of the frontal region and adjacent areas, where contour and symmetry are the two fundamental aspects to be taken into consideration. The method of division in vitro was used to reconstruct large deformities, specially those in which the forehead was not included. The complications index was low

Posterior parietal cortex and episodic encoding: insights from fMRI subsequent memory effects and dual-attention theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Uncapher, Melina R; Wagner, Anthony D

2009-02-01

The formation of episodic memories--memories for life events--is affected by attention during event processing. A leading neurobiological model of attention posits two separate yet interacting systems that depend on distinct regions in lateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC). From this dual-attention perspective, dorsal PPC is thought to support the goal-directed allocation of attention, whereas ventral PPC is thought to support reflexive orienting to information that automatically captures attention. To advance understanding of how parietal mechanisms may impact event encoding, we review functional MRI studies that document the relationship between lateral PPC activation during encoding and subsequent memory performance (e.g., later remembering or forgetting). This review reveals that (a) encoding-related activity is frequently observed in human lateral PPC, (b) increased activation in dorsal PPC is associated with later memory success, and (c) increased activation in ventral PPC predominantly correlates with later memory failure. From a dual-attention perspective, these findings suggest that allocating goal-directed attention during event processing increases the probability that the event will be remembered later, whereas the capture of reflexive attention during event processing may have negative consequences for event encoding. The prevalence of encoding-related activation in parietal cortex suggests that neurobiological models of episodic memory should consider how parietal-mediated attentional mechanisms regulate encoding.

Frontal and parietal cortical interactions with distributed visual representations during selective attention and action selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelissen, Natalie; Stokes, Mark; Nobre, Anna C; Rushworth, Matthew F S

2013-10-16

Using multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA), we studied how distributed visual representations in human occipitotemporal cortex are modulated by attention and link their modulation to concurrent activity in frontal and parietal cortex. We detected similar occipitotemporal patterns during a simple visuoperceptual task and an attention-to-working-memory task in which one or two stimuli were cued before being presented among other pictures. Pattern strength varied from highest to lowest when the stimulus was the exclusive focus of attention, a conjoint focus, and when it was potentially distracting. Although qualitatively similar effects were seen inside regions relatively specialized for the stimulus category and outside, the former were quantitatively stronger. By regressing occipitotemporal pattern strength against activity elsewhere in the brain, we identified frontal and parietal areas exerting top-down control over, or reading information out from, distributed patterns in occipitotemporal cortex. Their interactions with patterns inside regions relatively specialized for that stimulus category were higher than those with patterns outside those regions and varied in strength as a function of the attentional condition. One area, the frontal operculum, was distinguished by selectively interacting with occipitotemporal patterns only when they were the focus of attention. There was no evidence that any frontal or parietal area actively inhibited occipitotemporal representations even when they should be ignored and were suppressed. Using MVPA to decode information within these frontal and parietal areas showed that they contained information about attentional context and/or readout information from occipitotemporal cortex to guide behavior but that frontal regions lacked information about category identity.

Frontal and Parietal Cortical Interactions with Distributed Visual Representations during Selective Attention and Action Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Stokes, Mark; Nobre, Anna C.; Rushworth, Matthew F. S.

2013-01-01

Using multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA), we studied how distributed visual representations in human occipitotemporal cortex are modulated by attention and link their modulation to concurrent activity in frontal and parietal cortex. We detected similar occipitotemporal patterns during a simple visuoperceptual task and an attention-to-working-memory task in which one or two stimuli were cued before being presented among other pictures. Pattern strength varied from highest to lowest when the stimulus was the exclusive focus of attention, a conjoint focus, and when it was potentially distracting. Although qualitatively similar effects were seen inside regions relatively specialized for the stimulus category and outside, the former were quantitatively stronger. By regressing occipitotemporal pattern strength against activity elsewhere in the brain, we identified frontal and parietal areas exerting top-down control over, or reading information out from, distributed patterns in occipitotemporal cortex. Their interactions with patterns inside regions relatively specialized for that stimulus category were higher than those with patterns outside those regions and varied in strength as a function of the attentional condition. One area, the frontal operculum, was distinguished by selectively interacting with occipitotemporal patterns only when they were the focus of attention. There was no evidence that any frontal or parietal area actively inhibited occipitotemporal representations even when they should be ignored and were suppressed. Using MVPA to decode information within these frontal and parietal areas showed that they contained information about attentional context and/or readout information from occipitotemporal cortex to guide behavior but that frontal regions lacked information about category identity. PMID:24133250

The neural substrates associated with attentional resources and difficulty of concurrent processing of the two verbal tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Mizuno, Kei; Tanaka, Masaaki; Tanabe, Hiroki C; Sadato, Norihiro; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi

2012-07-01

The kana pick-out test has been widely used in Japan to evaluate the ability to divide attention in both adult and pediatric patients. However, the neural substrates underlying the ability to divide attention using the kana pick-out test, which requires participants to pick out individual letters (vowels) in a story while also reading for comprehension, thus requiring simultaneous allocation of attention to both activities, are still unclear. Moreover, outside of the clinical area, neuroimaging studies focused on the mechanisms of divided attention during complex story comprehension are rare. Thus, the purpose of the present study, to clarify the neural substrates of kana pick-out test, improves our current understanding of the basic neural mechanisms of dual task performance in verbal memory function. We compared patterns of activation in the brain obtained during performance of the individual tasks of vowel identification and story comprehension, to levels of activation when participants performed the two tasks simultaneously during the kana pick-out test. We found that activations of the left dorsal inferior frontal gyrus and superior parietal lobule increase in functional connectivity to a greater extent during the dual task condition compared to the two single task conditions. In contrast, activations of the left fusiform gyrus and middle temporal gyrus, which are significantly involved in picking out letters and complex sentences during story comprehension, respectively, were reduced in the dual task condition compared to during the two single task conditions. These results suggest that increased activations of the dorsal inferior frontal gyrus and superior parietal lobule during dual task performance may be associated with the capacity for attentional resources, and reduced activations of the left fusiform gyrus and middle temporal gyrus may reflect the difficulty of concurrent processing of the two tasks. In addition, the increase in synchronization between

Separation of Sr from Ca, Ba and Ra by means of Ca(OH)2 and Ba(Ra)Cl2 or Ba(Ra)SO4 for the determination of radiostrontium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Q.J.; Hou, Xiaolin; Yu, Y.X.

2002-01-01

be completed. The new separation procedure has been successfully used for the determination of Sr-90 in samples with high Ca content, such as 451 of seawater and 2001 of drinking water. The analytical quality of the results is comparable to that of the traditional method using fuming nitric acid and BaCrO4......A simple procedure is developed to separate Sr from a large amount of Ca, which relies on the insolubility of Ca(OH)(2) in alkaline solution. Calcium is quantitatively separated from Sr and more than 95% of Sr is recovered from a sample with as much as 50 g of Ca and a Ca/Sr mole ratio of 250....... A new procedure for the separation of Sr from Ba and Ra is also investigated, which is based on the difference in solubility of the chlorides of Sr, Ba and Ra in HCl media. In 9.5 mol 1(-1) HCl or 7.5 mol 1(-1) HCl-10% acetone media, >97% of Ba and Ra can be removed by Ba(Ra)Cl-2 precipitation, and >94...

Characterization and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 prepared from Ba(NO3)2-TiO2 mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Othman, K.I.; Hassan, A.A.; Ali, M.E.; Abdelal, O.A.; Salah El Dien, F.E.; El-Raghy, S.M.; Abdel-Karim, R.

2012-01-01

BaTiO 3 powder was prepared through a solid-state reaction between the Ba(NO 3 ) 2 and TiO 2 . The thermal analysis and XRD techniques were used to study its formation. A single phase BaTiO 3 was formed after calcination at 600 degree C for 6 hrs. The dielectric properties of the sintered BaTiO 3 were determined in the temperature range from room temperature to 20 degree C at a frequency ranging from 500 Hz to 100 khz. The relative permittivity and the dielectric loss of the sintered pellets at 1 khz, measured at room temperature,were 1805 and 0.419 respectively.

Primary cultures of glomerular parietal epithelial cells or podocytes with proven origin.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kabgani, N.; Grigoleit, T.; Schulte, K.; Sechi, A.; Sauer-Lehnen, S.; Tag, C.; Boor, P.; Kuppe, C.; Warsow, G.; Schordan, S.; Mostertz, J.; Chilukoti, R.K.; Homuth, G.; Endlich, N.; Tacke, F.; Weiskirchen, R.; Fuellen, G.; Endlich, K.; Floege, J.; Smeets, B.; Moeller, M.J.

2012-01-01

Parietal epithelial cells (PECs) are crucially involved in the pathogenesis of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) as well as in focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). In this study, transgenic mouse lines were used to isolate pure, genetically tagged primary cultures of PECs or

Individual structural differences in left inferior parietal area are associated with schoolchildrens’ arithmetic scores

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Yongxin eLi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Arithmetic skill is of critical importance for academic achievement, professional success and everyday life, and childhood is the key period to acquire this skill. Neuroimaging studies have identified that left parietal regions are a key neural substrate for representing arithmetic skill. Although the relationship between functional brain activity in left parietal regions and arithmetic skill has been studied in detail, it remains unclear about the relationship between arithmetic achievement and structural properties in left inferior parietal area in schoolchildren. The current study employed a combination of voxel-based morphometry (VBM for high-resolution T1-weighted images and fiber tracking on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI to examine the relationship between structural properties in the inferior parietal area and arithmetic achievement in 10-year-old schoolchildren. VBM of the T1-weighted images revealed that individual differences in arithmetic scores were significantly and positively correlated with the grey matter (GM volume in the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS. Fiber tracking analysis revealed that the forceps major, left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF, bilateral inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF were the primary pathways connecting the left IPS with other brain areas. Furthermore, the regression analysis of the probabilistic pathways revealed a significant and positive correlation between the fractional anisotropy (FA values in the left SLF, ILF and bilateral IFOF and arithmetic scores. The brain structure-behavior correlation analyses indicated that the GM volumes in the left IPS and the FA values in the tract pathways connecting left IPS were both related to children’s arithmetic achievement. The present findings provide evidence that individual structural differences in the left IPS are associated with arithmetic scores in schoolchildren.

An atretic parietal cephalocele associated with multiple intracranial and eye anomalies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saatci, I.; Yelgec, S.; Aydin, K.; Akalan, N.

1998-01-01

We present the cranial MRI findings in a 4-month-old girl with an atretic parietal cephalocele associated with multiple cerebral and ocular anomalies including lobar holoprosencephaly, a Dandy-Walker malformation, agenesis of the corpus callosum, grey-matter heterotopia, extra-axial cysts in various locations, bilateral microphthalmia and a retroocular cyst. (orig.)

Lateralization of Egocentric and Allocentric Spatial Processing after Parietal Brain Lesions

Science.gov (United States)

Iachini, Tina; Ruggiero, Gennaro; Conson, Massimiliano; Trojano, Luigi

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to verify whether left and right parietal brain lesions may selectively impair egocentric and allocentric processing of spatial information in near/far spaces. Two Right-Brain-Damaged (RBD), 2 Left-Brain-Damaged (LBD) patients (not affected by neglect or language disturbances) and eight normal controls were submitted…

Synthesis, crystal structure and electrical properties of A-site cation ordered BaErMn2O5 and BaErMn2O6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Świerczek, Konrad; Klimkowicz, Alicja; Zheng, Kun; Dabrowski, Bogdan

2013-01-01

In this paper, we report on a synthesis procedure, structural and electrical properties of BaErMn 2 O 5 and BaErMn 2 O 6 , A-site double perovskites having layered arrangement of Ba and Er cations. These materials belong to a family of BaLnMn 2 O 5+δ oxides, which up to now were successfully synthesized for Ln=Y and La–Ho lanthanides. Up to our knowledge, this is the first report on the successful synthesis of BaErMn 2 O 5 and BaErMn 2 O 6 , yielding>95 wt% of the considered compounds. Structural characterization of the materials is given at room temperature, together with in situ XRD studies, performed during oxidation of BaErMn 2 O 5 in air, at elevated temperatures up to 500 °C. A complex structural behavior was observed, with oxidation process of BaErMn 2 O 5 occurring at around 300 °C. The oxidized BaErMn 2 O 6 shows a structural phase transition at about 225 °C. Results of structural studies are supported by thermogravimetric measurements of the oxidation process, performed in air, as well as reduction process, preformed in 5 vol% of H 2 in Ar. Additionally, isothermal oxidation/reduction cycles were measured at 500 °C, showing interesting properties of BaErMn 2 O 5+δ , from a point of view of oxygen storage technology. Electrical conductivity of BaErMn 2 O 5 is of the order of 10 −4 S cm −1 at room temperature and shows activated character on temperature with activation energy E a =0.30(1) eV. Positive sign of Seebeck coefficient for this material indicates holes as dominant charge carriers. Oxidized BaErMn 2 O 6 possesses much higher electrical conductivity, almost 0.2 S cm −1 at room temperature. Additional, about 10-fold increase of electrical conductivity, occurring in the vicinity of 225 °C for this material, can be associated with phase transition from charge/orbital-ordered insulator COI(CE) to paramagnetic metal PM phase. The highest conductivity for BaErMn 2 O 6 was measured near 500 °C and is almost equal to 40 S cm −1 , while

11C-PBR28 binding to translocator protein increases with progression of Alzheimer’s disease

OpenAIRE

Kreisl, William C.; Lyoo, Chul Hyoung; Liow, Jeih-San; Wei, Monica; Snow, Joseph; Page, Emily; Jenko, Kimberly J.; Morse, Cheryl L.; Zoghbi, Sami S.; Pike, Victor W.; Turner, R. Scott; Innis, Robert B.

2016-01-01

This longitudinal study sought to determine whether the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO), a marker of neuroinflammation, increases over time in Alzheimer’s disease. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with the TSPO radioligand 11C-PBR28 imaging was performed at baseline and after a median follow-up of 2.7 years in 14 amyloid-positive patients and eight amyloid-negative controls. Patients had a greater increase in TSPO binding than controls in inferior parietal lobul...

The magical activation of left amygdala when reading Harry Potter: an fMRI study on how descriptions of supra-natural events entertain and enchant.

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Chun-Ting Hsu

Full Text Available Literature containing supra-natural, or magical events has enchanted generations of readers. When reading narratives describing such events, readers mentally simulate a text world different from the real one. The corresponding violation of world-knowledge during this simulation likely increases cognitive processing demands for ongoing discourse integration, catches readers' attention, and might thus contribute to the pleasure and deep emotional experience associated with ludic immersive reading. In the present study, we presented participants in an MR scanner with passages selected from the Harry Potter book series, half of which described magical events, while the other half served as control condition. Passages in both conditions were closely matched for relevant psycholinguistic variables including, e.g., emotional valence and arousal, passage-wise mean word imageability and frequency, and syntactic complexity. Post-hoc ratings showed that readers considered supra-natural contents more surprising and more strongly associated with reading pleasure than control passages. In the fMRI data, we found stronger neural activation for the supra-natural than the control condition in bilateral inferior frontal gyri, bilateral inferior parietal lobules, left fusiform gyrus, and left amygdala. The increased activation in the amygdala (part of the salience and emotion processing network appears to be associated with feelings of surprise and the reading pleasure, which supra-natural events, full of novelty and unexpectedness, brought about. The involvement of bilateral inferior frontal gyri likely reflects higher cognitive processing demand due to world knowledge violations, whereas increased attention to supra-natural events is reflected in inferior frontal gyri and inferior parietal lobules that are part of the fronto-parietal attention network.

The magical activation of left amygdala when reading Harry Potter: an fMRI study on how descriptions of supra-natural events entertain and enchant.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Chun-Ting; Jacobs, Arthur M; Altmann, Ulrike; Conrad, Markus

2015-01-01

Literature containing supra-natural, or magical events has enchanted generations of readers. When reading narratives describing such events, readers mentally simulate a text world different from the real one. The corresponding violation of world-knowledge during this simulation likely increases cognitive processing demands for ongoing discourse integration, catches readers' attention, and might thus contribute to the pleasure and deep emotional experience associated with ludic immersive reading. In the present study, we presented participants in an MR scanner with passages selected from the Harry Potter book series, half of which described magical events, while the other half served as control condition. Passages in both conditions were closely matched for relevant psycholinguistic variables including, e.g., emotional valence and arousal, passage-wise mean word imageability and frequency, and syntactic complexity. Post-hoc ratings showed that readers considered supra-natural contents more surprising and more strongly associated with reading pleasure than control passages. In the fMRI data, we found stronger neural activation for the supra-natural than the control condition in bilateral inferior frontal gyri, bilateral inferior parietal lobules, left fusiform gyrus, and left amygdala. The increased activation in the amygdala (part of the salience and emotion processing network) appears to be associated with feelings of surprise and the reading pleasure, which supra-natural events, full of novelty and unexpectedness, brought about. The involvement of bilateral inferior frontal gyri likely reflects higher cognitive processing demand due to world knowledge violations, whereas increased attention to supra-natural events is reflected in inferior frontal gyri and inferior parietal lobules that are part of the fronto-parietal attention network.

Revisiting the BaO2/BaO redox cycle for solar thermochemical energy storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrillo, A J; Sastre, D; Serrano, D P; Pizarro, P; Coronado, J M

2016-03-21

The barium peroxide-based redox cycle was proposed in the late 1970s as a thermochemical energy storage system. Since then, very little attention has been paid to such redox couples. In this paper, we have revisited the use of reduction-oxidation reactions of the BaO2/BaO system for thermochemical heat storage at high temperatures. Using thermogravimetric analysis, reduction and oxidation reactions were studied in order to find the main limitations associated with each process. Furthermore, the system was evaluated through several charge-discharge stages in order to analyse its possible degradation after repeated cycling. Through differential scanning calorimetry the heat stored and released were also determined. Oxidation reaction, which was found to be slower than reduction, was studied in more detail using isothermal tests. It was observed that the rate-controlling step of BaO oxidation follows zero-order kinetics, although at high temperatures a deviation from Arrhenius behaviour was observed probably due to hindrances to anionic oxygen diffusion caused by the formation of an external layer of BaO2. This redox couple was able to withstand several redox cycles without deactivation, showing reaction conversions close to 100% provided that impurities are previously eliminated through thermal pre-treatment, demonstrating the feasibility of this system for solar thermochemical heat storage.

Central and peripheral components of writing critically depend on a defined area of the dominant superior parietal gyrus.

Science.gov (United States)

Magrassi, Lorenzo; Bongetta, Daniele; Bianchini, Simonetta; Berardesca, Marta; Arienta, Cesare

2010-07-30

Classical neuropsychological models of writing separate central (linguistic) processes common to oral spelling, writing and typing from peripheral (motor) processes that are modality specific. Damage to the left superior parietal gyrus, an area of the cortex involved in peripheral processes specific to handwriting, should generate distorted graphemes but not misspelled words, while damage to other areas of the cortex like the frontal lobe should produce alterations in written and oral spelling without distorted graphemes. We describe the clinical and neuropsychological features of a patient with combined agraphia for handwriting and typewriting bearing a small glioblastoma in the left parietal lobe. His agraphia resolved after antiedema therapy and we tested by bipolar cortical stimulation his handwriting abilities during an awake neurosurgical procedure. We found that we could reversibly re-induce the same defects of writing by stimulating during surgery a limited area of the superior parietal gyrus in the same patient and in an independent patient that was never agraphic before the operation. In those patients stimulation caused spelling errors, poorly formed letters and in some cases a complete cessation of writing with minimal or no effects on oral spelling. Our results suggest that stimulating a specific area in the superior parietal gyrus we can generate different patterns of agraphia. Moreover, our findings also suggest that some of the central processes specific for typing and handwriting converge with motor processes at least in the limited portion of the superior parietal gyrus we mapped in our patients. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and characterization of BaTiO3 ferroelectric material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osman, K.I.

2011-01-01

BaTiO 3 powder was prepared at low temperatures using the solid-state reaction, starting with two different precursors; the BaCO 3 /TiO 2 and the Ba(NO 3 ) 2 /TiO 2 powder mixtures. It was found that, a single phase BaTiO 3 was formed after calcination at 750 degree C for 10 h and at 600 degree C for 6 h for the first and second mixtures, respectively. Thermal and XRD analyses were used to study the formation kinetics of BaTiO 3 . Contracting volume reaction model was found to control both reactions. The SEM of the as milled powder, TMA, TG and thermodynamics analysis have been used to propose a realistic approach describing the reaction mechanism of BaTiO 3 . Characterization and the dielectric properties of the sintered BaTiO 3 were investigated. The relative permittivity and the dielectric loss measured at room temperature and at 1 khz were 2028.5 and 0.043 for BaTiO 3 prepared from BaCO 3 /TiO 2 , while they were 1805.33 and 0.41 for BaTiO 3 prepared from Ba(NO 3 ) 2 /TiO 2 .

Syndecan-1 in the mouse parietal peritoneum microcirculation in inflammation.

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Paulina M Kowalewska

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 (CD138 was shown to regulate inflammatory responses by binding chemokines and cytokines and interacting with adhesion molecules, thereby modulating leukocyte trafficking to tissues. The objectives of this study were to examine the expression of syndecan-1 and its role in leukocyte recruitment and chemokine presentation in the microcirculation underlying the parietal peritoneum. METHODS: Wild-type BALB/c and syndecan-1 null mice were stimulated with an intraperitoneal injection of Staphylococcus aureus LTA, Escherichia coli LPS or TNFα and the microcirculation of the parietal peritoneum was examined by intravital microscopy after 4 hours. Fluorescence confocal microscopy was used to examine syndecan-1 expression in the peritoneal microcirculation using fluorescent antibodies. Blocking antibodies to adhesion molecules were used to examine the role of these molecules in leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions in response to LTA. To determine whether syndecan-1 co-localizes with chemokines in vivo, fluorescent antibodies to syndecan-1 were co-injected intravenously with anti-MIP-2 (CXCL2, anti-KC (CXCL1 or anti-MCP-1 (CCL2. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Syndecan-1 was localized to the subendothelial region of peritoneal venules and the mesothelial layer. Leukocyte rolling was significantly decreased with LPS treatment while LTA and TNFα significantly increased leukocyte adhesion compared with saline control. Leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions were not different in syndecan-1 null mice. Antibody blockade of β2 integrin (CD18, ICAM-1 (CD54 and VCAM-1 (CD106 did not decrease leukocyte adhesion in response to LTA challenge while blockade of P-selectin (CD62P abrogated leukocyte rolling. Lastly, MIP-2 expression in the peritoneal venules was not dependent on syndecan-1 in vivo. Our data suggest that syndecan-1 is expressed in the parietal peritoneum microvasculature but does not regulate leukocyte

Bilateral fronto-parietal integrity in young chronic cigarette smokers: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

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Yanhui Liao

Full Text Available Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in China and other countries. Previous studies have demonstrated gray matter loss in chronic smokers. However, only a few studies assessed the changes of white matter integrity in this group. Based on those previous reports of alterations in white matter integrity in smokers, the aim of this study was to examine the alteration of white matter integrity in a large, well-matched sample of chronic smokers and non-smokers.Using in vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI to measure the differences of whole-brain white matter integrity between 44 chronic smoking subjects (mean age, 28.0±5.6 years and 44 healthy age- and sex-matched comparison non-smoking volunteers (mean age, 26.3±5.8 years. DTI was performed on a 3-Tesla Siemens scanner (Allegra; Siemens Medical System. The data revealed that smokers had higher fractional anisotropy (FA than healthy non-smokers in almost symmetrically bilateral fronto-parietal tracts consisting of a major white matter pathway, the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF.We found the almost symmetrically bilateral fronto-parietal whiter matter changes in a relatively large sample of chronic smokers. These findings support the hypothesis that chronic cigarette smoking involves alterations of bilateral fronto-parietal connectivity.

Noninvasive brain stimulation of the parietal lobe for improving neurologic, neuropsychologic, and neuropsychiatric deficits.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolognini, Nadia; Miniussi, Carlo

2018-01-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electric stimulation (tES) are noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) tools that are now widely used in neuroscientific research in humans. The fact that both TMS and tES are able to modulate brain plasticity and, in turn, affect behavior is opening up new horizons in the treatment of brain circuit and plasticity disorders. In the present chapter, we will first provide the reader with a brief background on the basic principles of NIBS, describing the electromagnetic and physical foundations of TMS and tES, as well as the current knowledge of the neurophysiologic basis of their effects on brain activity and plasticity. In the main part, we will outline studies aimed at improving persistent symptoms and deficits in patients suffering from neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders featured by dysfunction of the parietal lobe. The emerging view is that NIBS of parietal areas holds the promise to overcome various sensory, motor, and cognitive disorders that are often refractory to standard medical or behavioral therapies. The chapter closes with an outlook on further developments in this realm, discussing novel therapeutic approaches that could lead to more effective rehabilitation procedures, better suited for the specific parietal lobe dysfunction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental investigation of decay properties of neutron deficient $^{116-118}$Ba isotopes and test of $^{112-115}$Ba beam counts

CERN Multimedia

We propose to study decay of neutron deficient isotopes $^{116-118}$Ba using Double Sided Silicon Strip Detector (DSSSD). To study delayed-proton and $\\alpha$-decay branching ratios of $^{116-118}$Ba are of special interest because of their vicinity to the proton drip line. The nuclear life-times and properties of the proton unstable states of Cs isotopes, populated through decay of $^{116-118}$Ba isotopes will be measured. In addition to that we propose beam development of $^{112-115}$Ba to study exotic decay properties of these neutron deficient nuclei and to search for super-allowed $\\alpha$-decay in future.

Enhanced 77 K vortex-pinning in Y Ba2Cu3O7−x films with Ba2Y TaO6 and mixed Ba2Y TaO6 + Ba2Y NbO6 nano-columnar inclusions with irreversibility field to 11 T

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F. Rizzo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Pulsed laser deposited thin Y Ba2Cu3O7−x (YBCO films with pinning additions of 5 at. % Ba2Y TaO6 (BYTO were compared to films with 2.5 at. % Ba2Y TaO6 + 2.5 at. % Ba2Y NbO6 (BYNTO additions. Excellent magnetic flux-pinning at 77 K was obtained with remarkably high irreversibility fields greater than 10 T (YBCO-BYTO and 11 T (YBCO-BYNTO, representing the highest ever achieved values in YBCO films.

Recency Effects in the Inferior Parietal Lobe during Verbal Recognition Memory

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Bradley Russell Buchsbaum

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The most recently encountered information is often most easily remembered in psychological tests of memory. Recent investigations of the neural basis of such recency effects have shown that activation in the lateral inferior parietal cortex (LIPC tracks the recency of a probe item when subjects make recognition memory judgments. A key question regarding recency effects in the LIPC is whether they fundamentally reflect the storage (and strength of information in memory, or whether such effects are a consequence of task difficulty or an upswing in resting state network activity. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI we show that recency effects in the LIPC are independent of the difficulty of recognition memory decisions, that they are not a by-product of an increase in resting state network activity, and that they appear to dissociate from regions known to be involved in verbal working memory maintenance. We conclude with a discussion of two alternative explanations – the memory strength and expectancy hypotheses, respectively -- of the parietal lobe recency effect.

(Ba+Sr)/Ti ratio dependence of the dielectric properties for (Ba0.5Sr0.5)TiO3 thin films prepared by ion beam sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamichi, Shintaro; Yabuta, Hisato; Sakuma, Toshiyuki; Miyasaka, Yoichi

1994-03-01

(Ba0.5Sr0.5)TiO3 thin films were prepared by ion beam sputtering from powder targets with (Ba+Sr)/Ti ratios ranging from 0.80 to 1.50. All of the perovskite (Ba,Sr)TiO3 films were single phase except for the film with a (Ba+Sr)/Ti ratio of 1.41. The dielectric constant values notably depended on the (Ba+Sr)/Ti ratio for films thicker than 70 nm. The highest dielectric constant of 580 was achieved for the 5% (Ba+Sr) rich film. This (Ba+Sr)/Ti ratio dependence was diminished by the thickness dependence for thinner films. The grain sizes for the 9% (Ba+Sr) rich film and for the 6% (Ba+Sr) poor film ranged from 70 to 100 nm and from 30 to 60 nm, respectively. This grain size difference could explain why slightly A-site rich (Ba,Sr)TiO3 films have a larger dielectric constant than A-site poor films.

Structural and thermodynamic characterization of the perovskite-related BA{sub 1+y}UO{sub 3+x} and (BA,SR){sub 1+y}UO{sub 3+x} phases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cordfunke, E.H.P. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Booij, A.S. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Smit-Groen, V. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Vlaanderen, P. van [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); IJdo, D.J.W. [Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (Netherlands). Gorlaeus Labs.

1996-11-01

The perovskite-type BaUO{sub 3} structure has been investigated by X-ray and neutron diffraction. The Ba/U ratio, the (Ba, Sr)/U ratio, and the oxygen stoichiometry in Ba{sub 1+y}UO{sub 3+x} were varied, and the integral enthalpies of formation determined by solution calorimetry. In addition, equilibrium oxygen partial pressures were measured using a reversible EMF cell. The chemical defect mechanism is discussed, and it is shown that a continuous series BaUO{sub 3}-Ba{sub 1+y}UO{sub 3+x}-Ba{sub 3}UO{sub 6} exist in which uranium vacancies are gradually filled up with barium ions, whereas uranium is oxidized via the pentavalent to the hexavalent state in Ba{sub 3}UO{sub 6}(=Ba{sub 2}(Ba, U)O{sub 6}). (orig.).

Dynamics of photoexcited Ba+ cations in 4He nanodroplets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain))" data-affiliation=" (Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and IN2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain))" >Leal, Antonio; 2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain))" data-affiliation=" (Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and IN2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain))" >Pi, Martí; Zhang, Xiaohang; Drabbels, Marcel; 2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Laboratoire des Collisions, Agrégats, Réactivité, IRSAMC, UMR 5589, CNRS et Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse 3, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse Cedex 09 (France))" data-affiliation=" (Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and IN2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Laboratoire des Collisions, Agrégats, Réactivité, IRSAMC, UMR 5589, CNRS et Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse 3, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse Cedex 09 (France))" >Barranco, Manuel; Cargnoni, Fausto; Hernando, Alberto; Mateo, David; Mella, Massimo

2016-01-01

We present a joint experimental and theoretical study on the desolvation of Ba + cations in 4 He nanodroplets excited via the 6p ← 6s transition. The experiments reveal an efficient desolvation process yielding mainly bare Ba + cations and Ba + He n exciplexes with n = 1 and 2. The speed distributions of the ions are well described by Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions with temperatures ranging from 60 to 178 K depending on the excitation frequency and Ba + He n exciplex size. These results have been analyzed by calculations based on a time-dependent density functional description for the helium droplet combined with classical dynamics for the Ba + . In agreement with experiment, the calculations reveal the dynamical formation of exciplexes following excitation of the Ba + cation. In contrast to experimental observation, the calculations do not reveal desolvation of excited Ba + cations or exciplexes, even when relaxation pathways to lower lying states are included.

Parietal pleural invasion/adhesion of subpleural lung cancer: Quantitative 4-dimensional CT analysis using dynamic-ventilatory scanning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakuma, Kotaro, E-mail: ksakuma@ohara-hp.or.jp [Department of Radiology, Ohara General Hospital, 6-11 Omachi, Fukushima City, Fukushima 960-8611 (Japan); Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikariga-oka, Fukushima City, Fukushima 960-1295 (Japan); Yamashiro, Tsuneo, E-mail: clatsune@yahoo.co.jp [Department of Radiology, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0215 (Japan); Moriya, Hiroshi, E-mail: hrshmoriya@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Ohara General Hospital, 6-11 Omachi, Fukushima City, Fukushima 960-8611 (Japan); Murayama, Sadayuki, E-mail: sadayuki@med.u-ryukyu.ac.jp [Department of Radiology, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0215 (Japan); Ito, Hiroshi, E-mail: h-ito@fmu.ac.jp [Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikariga-oka, Fukushima City, Fukushima 960-1295 (Japan)

2017-02-15

Highlights: • 4DCT can be used for assessment of pleural invasion/adhesion by lung cancer. • Quantitative 4DCT indices of lung cancer and adjacent structures are described. • An automatic analysis of pleural invasion/adhesion would be developed in the future. - Abstract: Purpose: Using 4-dimensional dynamic-ventilatory scanning by a 320-row computed tomography (CT) scanner, we performed a quantitative assessment of parietal pleural invasion and adhesion by peripheral (subpleural) lung cancers. Methods: Sixteen patients with subpleural lung cancer underwent dynamic-ventilation CT during free breathing. Neither parietal pleural invasion nor adhesion was subsequently confirmed by surgery in 10 patients, whereas the other 6 patients were judged to have parietal pleural invasion or adhesion. Using research software, we tracked the movements of the cancer and of an adjacent structure such as the rib or aorta, and converted the data to 3-dimensional loci. The following quantitative indices were compared by the Mann-Whitney test: cross-correlation coefficient between time curves for the distances moved from the inspiratory frame by the cancer and the adjacent structure, the ratio of the total movement distances (cancer/adjacent structure), and the cosine similarities between the inspiratory and expiratory vectors (from the cancer to the adjacent structure) and between vectors of the cancer and of the adjacent structure (from inspiratory to expiratory frames). Results: Generally, the movements of the loci of the lung cancer and the adjacent structure were similar in patients with parietal pleural invasion/adhesion, while they were independent in patients without. There were significant differences in all the parameters between the two patient groups (cross-correlation coefficient and the movement distance ratio, P < 0.01; cosine similarities, P < 0.05). Conclusion: These observations suggest that quantitative indices by dynamic-ventilation CT can be utilized as a

Gyri of the human parietal lobe: Volumes, spatial extents, automatic labelling, and probabilistic atlases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather M Wild

Full Text Available Accurately describing the anatomy of individual brains enables interlaboratory communication of functional and developmental studies and is crucial for possible surgical interventions. The human parietal lobe participates in multimodal sensory integration including language processing and also contains the primary somatosensory area. We describe detailed protocols to subdivide the parietal lobe, analyze morphological and volumetric characteristics, and create probabilistic atlases in MNI152 stereotaxic space. The parietal lobe was manually delineated on 3D T1 MR images of 30 healthy subjects and divided into four regions: supramarginal gyrus (SMG, angular gyrus (AG, superior parietal lobe (supPL and postcentral gyrus (postCG. There was the expected correlation of male gender with larger brain and intracranial volume. We examined a wide range of anatomical features of the gyri and the sulci separating them. At least a rudimentary primary intermediate sulcus of Jensen (PISJ separating SMG and AG was identified in nearly all (59/60 hemispheres. Presence of additional gyri in SMG and AG was related to sulcal features and volumetric characteristics. The parietal lobe was slightly (2% larger on the left, driven by leftward asymmetries of the postCG and SMG. Intersubject variability was highest for SMG and AG, and lowest for postCG. Overall the morphological characteristics tended to be symmetrical, and volumes also tended to covary between hemispheres. This may reflect developmental as well as maturation factors. To assess the accuracy with which the labels can be used to segment newly acquired (unlabelled T1-weighted brain images, we applied multi-atlas label propagation software (MAPER in a leave-one-out experiment and compared the resulting automatic labels with the manually prepared ones. The results showed strong agreement (mean Jaccard index 0.69, corresponding to a mean Dice index of 0.82, average mean volume error of 0.6%. Stereotaxic

The interaction of NO2 with BaO: from cooperative adsorption to Ba(NO3)2 formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Cheol-Woo W.; Kwak, Ja Hun H.; Szanyi, Janos

2007-01-01

The effect of water on the morphology of BaO/Al2O3-based NOx storage materials was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, temperature programmed desorption, and time-resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques. The results of this multi-spectroscopy study reveal that, in the presence of water, surface Ba-nitrates convert to bulk nitrates, and water facilitates the formation of large Ba(NO3)2 particles. The conversion of surface to bulk Ba-nitrates is completely reversible, i.e. after the removal of water from the storage material a significant fraction of the bulk nitrates re-convert to surface nitrates. NO2 exposure of a H2O-containing (wet) BaO/Al2O3 sample results in the formation of nitrites and bulk nitrates exclusively, i.e. no surface nitrates form. After further exposure to NO2, the nitrites completely convert to bulk nitrates. The amount of NOx taken up by the storage material is, however, essentially unaffected by the presence of water, regardless of whether the water was dosed prior to or after NO2 exposure. Based on the results of this study we are now able to explain most of the observations reported in the literature on the effect of water on NOx uptake on similar storage materials

Growth of BaSi2 continuous films on Ge(111) by molecular beam epitaxy and fabrication of p-BaSi2/n-Ge heterojunction solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Takabe, Ryota; Yachi, Suguru; Tsukahara, Daichi; Toko, Kaoru; Suemasu, Takashi

2017-05-01

We grew BaSi2 films on Ge(111) substrates by various growth methods based on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). First, we attempted to form BaSi2 films directly on Ge(111) by MBE without templates. We next formed BaSi2 films using BaGe2 templates as commonly used for MBE growth of BaSi2 on Si substrates. Contrary to our prediction, the lateral growth of BaSi2 was not promoted by these two methods; BaSi2 formed not into a continuous film but into islands. Although streaky patterns of reflection high-energy electron diffraction were observed inside the growth chamber, no X-ray diffraction lines of BaSi2 were observed in samples taken out from the growth chamber. Such BaSi2 islands were easily to get oxidized. We finally attempted to form a continuous BaSi2 template layer on Ge(111) by solid phase epitaxy, that is, the deposition of amorphous Ba-Si layers onto MBE-grown BaSi2 epitaxial islands, followed by post annealing. We achieved the formation of an approximately 5-nm-thick BaSi2 continuous layer by this method. Using this BaSi2 layer as a template, we succeeded in forming a-axis-oriented 520-nm-thick BaSi2 epitaxial films on Ge substrates, although (111)-oriented Si grains were included in the grown layer. We next formed a B-doped p-BaSi2(20 nm)/n-Ge(111) heterojunction solar cell. A wide-spectrum response from 400 to 2000 nm was achieved. At an external bias voltage of 1 V, the external quantum efficiency reached as high as 60%, demonstrating the great potential of BaSi2/Ge combination. However, the efficiency of a solar cell under AM1.5 illumination was quite low (0.1%). The origin of such a low efficiency was examined.

Posterior Parietal Cortex and Episodic Encoding: Insights from fMRI Subsequent Memory Effects and Dual Attention Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Uncapher, Melina; Wagner, Anthony D.

2010-01-01

The formation of episodic memories –– memories for life events –– is affected by attention during event processing. A leading neurobiological model of attention posits two separate yet interacting systems that depend on distinct regions in lateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC). From this dual-attention perspective, dorsal PPC is thought to support the goal-directed allocation of attention, whereas ventral PPC is thought to support reflexive orienting to information that automatically captures attention. To advance understanding of how parietal mechanisms may impact event encoding, we review functional MRI studies that document the relationship between lateral PPC activation during encoding and subsequent memory performance (e.g., later remembering or forgetting). This review reveals that (a) encoding-related activity is frequently observed in human lateral PPC, (b) increased activation in dorsal PPC is associated with later memory success, and (c) increased activation in ventral PPC predominantly correlates with later memory failure. From a dual-attention perspective, these findings suggest that allocating goal-directed attention during event processing increases the probability that the event will be remembered later, whereas the capture of reflexive attention during event processing may have negative consequences for event encoding. The prevalence of encoding-related activation in parietal cortex suggests that neurobiological models of episodic memory should consider how parietal-mediated attentional mechanisms regulate encoding. PMID:19028591

Superior Parietal Lobule Dysfunction in a Homogeneous Group of Dyslexic Children with a Visual Attention Span Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Peyrin, C.; Demonet, J. F.; N'Guyen-Morel, M. A.; Le Bas, J. F.; Valdois, S.

2011-01-01

A visual attention (VA) span disorder has been reported in dyslexic children as potentially responsible for their poor reading outcome. The purpose of the current paper was to identify the cerebral correlates of this VA span disorder. For this purpose, 12 French dyslexic children with severe reading and VA span disorders and 12 age-matched control…

Glomerular parietal epithelial cells in kidney physiology, pathology, and repair

OpenAIRE

Shankland, Stuart J.; Anders, Hans-Joachim; Romagnani, Paola

2013-01-01

Purpose of review We have summarized recently published glomerular parietal epithelial cell (PEC) research, focusing on their roles in glomerular development and physiology, and in certain glomerular diseases. The rationale is that PECs have been largely ignored until the recent availability of cell lineage tracing studies, human and murine PEC culture systems, and potential therapeutic interventions of PECs. Recent findings Several new paradigms involving PECs have emerged demonstrating thei...

Laserspectroscopic studies of collective properties of neutron deficient Ba nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bekk, K.; Andl, A.; Goering, S.; Hanser, A.; Nowicki, G.; Rebel, H.; Schatz, G.

1979-01-01

Isotope shifts and hyperfine structure of the BaI resonance-line (lambda=553.6 nm) have been measured by dye laser induced resonance fluorescence on an atomic beam for sup(135m,129g,129m,126) Ba thus extending previous high resolution measurements of neutron deficient Ba nuclides (N - isomers sup(135m) Ba and sup(135m) Ba show a decreased staggering. Conspicuously the isomer shift of the g 7/2 + isomer sup(129m) Ba proves to be negative. The nuclear structure information is discussed in the context of gamma-spectroscopic studies of transitional nuclei with 50 [de

Trait impulsivity and impaired prefrontal impulse inhibition function in adolescents with internet gaming addiction revealed by a Go/No-Go fMRI study.

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Ding, Wei-na; Sun, Jin-hua; Sun, Ya-Wen; Chen, Xue; Zhou, Yan; Zhuang, Zhi-guo; Li, Lei; Zhang, Yong; Xu, Jian-rong; Du, Ya-song

2014-05-30

Recent studies suggest that Internet gaming addiction (IGA) is an impulse disorder, or is at least related to impulse control disorders. In the present study, we hypothesized that different facets of trait impulsivity may be specifically linked to the brain regions with impaired impulse inhibition function in IGA adolescents. Seventeen adolescents with IGA and seventeen healthy controls were scanned during performance of a response-inhibition Go/No-Go task using a 3.0 T MRI scanner. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS)-11 was used to assess impulsivity. There were no differences in the behavioral performance on the Go/No-Go task between the groups. However, the IGA group was significantly hyperactive during No-Go trials in the left superior medial frontal gyrus, right anterior cingulate cortex, right superior/middle frontal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, left precentral gyrus, and left precuneus and cuneus. Further, the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, and right superior parietal lobule were significantly hypoactive during No-Go trials. Activation of the left superior medial frontal gyrus was positively associated with BIS-11 and Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) total score across IGA participants. Our data suggest that the prefrontal cortex may be involved in the circuit modulating impulsivity, while its impaired function may relate to high impulsivity in adolescents with IGA, which may contribute directly to the Internet addiction process.

Dissociation of writing processes: functional magnetic resonance imaging during writing of Japanese ideographic characters.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuo, K; Nakai, T; Kato, C; Moriya, T; Isoda, H; Takehara, Y; Sakahara, H

2000-06-01

Dissociation between copying letters and writing to dictation has been reported in the clinical neuropsychological literature. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted in normal volunteers to detect the neurofunctional differences between 'copying Kanji', the Japanese ideographic characters, and 'writing Kanji corresponding to phonological information'. Four tasks were conducted: the copying-Kanji task, the writing-Kanji-corresponding-to-phonogram task, the Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task, and the control task. The right superior parietal lobule was extensively activated during the copying-Kanji task (a model of the copying letters process) and the Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task. These observations suggested that this area was involved in referring the visual stimuli closely related to the ongoing handwriting movements. On the other hand, Broca's area, which is crucial for language production, was extensively activated during the writing-Kanji-corresponding-to-phonogram task (a model of the writing-to-dictation process). The Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task activated the bilateral border portions between the inferior parietal lobule and the occipital lobe, the left premotor area, and the bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA). Since the Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task involved manipulospatial characteristics, these results suggested cooperation between visuospatial and motor executive functions, which may be extensively utilized in demanding visual language processing. The neurofunctional difference between 'copying Kanji' and 'writing Kanji corresponding to phonogram' was efficiently demonstrated by this fMRI experiment.

Longitudinal intrinsic brain activity changes in cirrhotic patients before and one month after liver transplantation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Yue; Huang, Li Xiang; Xie, Shuang [Dept. of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin (China); and others

2017-04-15

To evaluate the spontaneous brain activity alterations in liver transplantation (LT) recipients using resting-state functional MRI. Twenty cirrhotic patients as transplant candidates and 25 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. All patients repeated the MRI study one month after LT. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) values were compared between cirrhotic patients (both pre- and post-LT) and HCs as well as between the pre- and post-LT groups. The relationship between ALFF changes and venous blood ammonia levels and neuropsychological tests were investigated using Pearson's correlation analysis. In the cirrhotic patients, decreased ALFF in the vision-related regions (left lingual gyrus and calcarine), sensorimotor-related regions (left postcentral gyrus and middle cingulate cortex), and the default-mode network (bilateral precuneus and left inferior parietal lobule) were restored, and the increased ALFF in the temporal and frontal lobe improved in the early period after LT. The ALFF decreases persisted in the right supplementary motor area, inferior parietal lobule, and calcarine. The ALFF changes in the right precuneus were negatively correlated with changes in number connection test-A scores (r = 0.507, p < 0.05). LT improved spontaneous brain activity and the results for associated cognition tests. However, decreased ALFF in some areas persisted, and new-onset abnormal ALFF were possible, indicating that complete cognitive function recovery may need more time.

Longitudinal intrinsic brain activity changes in cirrhotic patients before and one month after liver transplantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Yue; Huang, Li Xiang; Xie, Shuang

2017-01-01

To evaluate the spontaneous brain activity alterations in liver transplantation (LT) recipients using resting-state functional MRI. Twenty cirrhotic patients as transplant candidates and 25 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. All patients repeated the MRI study one month after LT. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) values were compared between cirrhotic patients (both pre- and post-LT) and HCs as well as between the pre- and post-LT groups. The relationship between ALFF changes and venous blood ammonia levels and neuropsychological tests were investigated using Pearson's correlation analysis. In the cirrhotic patients, decreased ALFF in the vision-related regions (left lingual gyrus and calcarine), sensorimotor-related regions (left postcentral gyrus and middle cingulate cortex), and the default-mode network (bilateral precuneus and left inferior parietal lobule) were restored, and the increased ALFF in the temporal and frontal lobe improved in the early period after LT. The ALFF decreases persisted in the right supplementary motor area, inferior parietal lobule, and calcarine. The ALFF changes in the right precuneus were negatively correlated with changes in number connection test-A scores (r = 0.507, p < 0.05). LT improved spontaneous brain activity and the results for associated cognition tests. However, decreased ALFF in some areas persisted, and new-onset abnormal ALFF were possible, indicating that complete cognitive function recovery may need more time

Regional homogeneity and functional connectivity patterns in major depressive disorder, cognitive vulnerability to depression and healthy subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Hui; Luo, Lizhu; Yuan, Xinru; Zhang, Lu; He, Yini; Yao, Shuqiao; Wang, Jiaojian; Xiao, Jing

2018-08-01

Cognitive vulnerability to depression (CVD) is a high risk for depressive disorder. Recent studies focus on individuals with CVD to determine the neural basis of major depressive disorder (MDD) neuropathology. However, whether CVD showed specific or similar brain functional activity and connectivity patterns, compared to MDD, remain largely unknown. Here, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in subjects with CVD, healthy controls (HC) and MDD, regional homogeneity (ReHo) and resting-state functional connectivity (R-FC) analyses were conducted to assess local synchronization and changes in functional connectivity patterns. Significant ReHo differences were found in right posterior lobe of cerebellum (PLC), left lingual gyrus (LG) and precuneus. Compared to HC, CVD subjects showed increased ReHo in the PLC, which was similar to the difference found between MDD and HC. Compared to MDD patients, CVD subjects showed decreased ReHo in PLC, LG, and precuneus. R-FC analyses found increased functional connections between LG and left inferior parietal lobule, posterior cingulate cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in CVD compared to both HC and MDD. Moreover, Regional mean ReHo values were positively correlated with Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale scores. These analyses revealed that PLC and functional connections between LG and left inferior parietal lobule, posterior cingulate cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may be a potential marker for CVD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Age-related functional brain changes in young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Xiangyu; Benischek, Alina; Dewey, Deborah; Lebel, Catherine

2017-07-15

Brain function and structure change significantly during the toddler and preschool years. However, most studies focus on older or younger children, so the specific nature of these changes is unclear. In the present study, we analyzed 77 functional magnetic resonance imaging datasets from 44 children aged 2-6 years. We extracted measures of both local (amplitude of low frequency fluctuation and regional homogeneity) and global (eigenvector centrality mapping) activity and connectivity, and examined their relationships with age using robust linear correlation analysis and strict control for head motion. Brain areas within the default mode network and the frontoparietal network, such as the middle frontal gyrus, the inferior parietal lobule and the posterior cingulate cortex, showed increases in local and global functional features with age. Several brain areas such as the superior parietal lobule and superior temporal gyrus presented opposite development trajectories of local and global functional features, suggesting a shifting connectivity framework in early childhood. This development of functional connectivity in early childhood likely underlies major advances in cognitive abilities, including language and development of theory of mind. These findings provide important insight into the development patterns of brain function during the preschool years, and lay the foundation for future studies of altered brain development in young children with brain disorders or injury. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gas1 expression in parietal cells of Bowman's capsule in experimental diabetic nephropathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Luna-Antonio, Brenda I; Rodriguez-Muñoz, Rafael; Namorado-Tonix, Carmen; Vergara, Paula; Segovia, Jose; Reyes, Jose L

2017-07-01

Gas1 (Growth Arrest-Specific 1) is a pleiotropic protein with novel functions including anti-proliferative and proapoptotic activities. In the kidney, the expression of Gas1 has been described in mesangial cells. In this study, we described that renal parietal cells of Bowman's capsule (BC) and the distal nephron cells also express Gas1. The role of Gas1 in the kidney is not yet known. There is a subpopulation of progenitor cells in Bowman's capsule with self-renewal properties which can eventually differentiate into podocytes as a possible mechanism of regeneration in the early stages of diabetic nephropathy. We analyzed the expression of Gas1 in the parietal cells of Bowman's capsule in murine experimental diabetes. We found that diabetes reduced the expression of Gas1 and increased the expression of progenitor markers like NCAM, CD24, and SIX1/2, and mesenchymal markers like PAX2 in the Bowman's capsule. We also analyzed the expression of WT1 (a podocyte-specific marker) on BC and observed an increase in the number of WT1 positive cells in diabetes. In contrast, nephrin, another podocyte-specific protein, decreases its expression in the first week of diabetes in the glomerular tuft, which is gradually restored during the second and third weeks of diabetes. These results suggest that in diabetes the decrease of Gas1 promotes the activation of parietal progenitor cells of Bowman's capsule that might differentiate into podocytes and compensate their loss observed in this pathology.

Frontal and parietal theta burst TMS impairs working memory for visual-spatial conjunctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Helen M; Jackson, Margaret C; van Koningsbruggen, Martijn G; Shapiro, Kimron L; Linden, David E J

2013-03-01

In tasks that selectively probe visual or spatial working memory (WM) frontal and posterior cortical areas show a segregation, with dorsal areas preferentially involved in spatial (e.g. location) WM and ventral areas in visual (e.g. object identity) WM. In a previous fMRI study [1], we showed that right parietal cortex (PC) was more active during WM for orientation, whereas left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was more active during colour WM. During WM for colour-orientation conjunctions, activity in these areas was intermediate to the level of activity for the single task preferred and non-preferred information. To examine whether these specialised areas play a critical role in coordinating visual and spatial WM to perform a conjunction task, we used theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce a functional deficit. Compared to sham stimulation, TMS to right PC or left IFG selectively impaired WM for conjunctions but not single features. This is consistent with findings from visual search paradigms, in which frontal and parietal TMS selectively affects search for conjunctions compared to single features, and with combined TMS and functional imaging work suggesting that parietal and frontal regions are functionally coupled in tasks requiring integration of visual and spatial information. Our results thus elucidate mechanisms by which the brain coordinates spatially segregated processing streams and have implications beyond the field of working memory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid-enriched diets on lipid metabolism in periportal and pericentral compartments of female rat liver lobules and the consequences for cell proliferation after partial hepatectomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Noorden, C. J.

1995-01-01

The effects of a low fat diet or diets enriched with either n-6 or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (safflower or fish oil, respectively) on lipid metabolism in periportal and pericentral zones of female rat liver lobules were investigated in relation with cell proliferation after partial

Decrease in electrical contact resistance of Sb-doped n+-BaSi2 layers and spectral response of an Sb-doped n+-BaSi2/undoped BaSi2 structure for solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Kodama, Komomo; Takabe, Ryota; Yachi, Suguru; Toko, Kaoru; Suemasu, Takashi

2018-03-01

We investigated how the electron concentration n in a 300-nm-thick Sb-doped n+-BaSi2 layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy affected the contact resistance R C to surface electrodes (Al, indium-tin-oxide). As the n of n-BaSi2 increased, R C decreased and reached a minimum of 0.019 Ω cm2 at n = 2.4 × 1018 cm-3 for the Al electrodes. This value was more than 1 order of magnitude smaller than that obtained for Al/B-doped p-BaSi2. We believe that this significant decrease in R C came from Sb segregation. Furthermore, the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) spectrum was evaluated for an Sb-doped n+-BaSi2 (20 nm)/undoped BaSi2 (500 nm)/n+-Si(111) structure. Its IQE reached as high as ˜50% over a wide wavelength range under a small bias voltage of 0.1 V applied between the top and bottom electrodes.

Phase relationships in the BaO-Ga2O3-Ta2O5 system and the structure of Ba6Ga21TaO40.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Jiang; Yu, Xiaodi; Kuang, Xiaojun; Su, Qiang

2012-07-16

Phase relationships in the BaO-Ga(2)O(3)-Ta(2)O(5) ternary system at 1200 °C were determined. The A(6)B(10)O(30) tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB) related solution in the BaO-Ta(2)O(5) subsystem dissolved up to ~11 mol % Ga(2)O(3), forming a ternary trapezoid-shaped TTB-related solid solution region defined by the BaTa(2)O(6), Ba(1.1)Ta(5)O(13.6), Ba(1.58)Ga(0.92)Ta(4.08)O(13.16), and Ba(6)GaTa(9)O(30) compositions in the BaO-Ga(2)O(3)-Ta(2)O(5) system. Two ternary phases Ba(6)Ga(21)TaO(40) and eight-layer twinned hexagonal perovskite solid solution Ba(8)Ga(4-x)Ta(4+0.6x)O(24) were confirmed in the BaO-Ga(2)O(3)-Ta(2)O(5) system. Ba(6)Ga(21)TaO(40) crystallized in a monoclinic cell of a = 15.9130(2) Å, b = 11.7309(1) Å, c = 5.13593(6) Å, β = 107.7893(9)°, and Z = 1 in space group C2/m. The structure of Ba(6)Ga(21)TaO(40) was solved by the charge flipping method, and it represents a three-dimensional (3D) mixed GaO(4) tetrahedral and GaO(6)/TaO(6) octahedral framework, forming mixed 1D 5/6-fold tunnels that accommodate the Ba cations along the c axis. The electrical property of Ba(6)Ga(21)TaO(40) was characterized by using ac impedance spectroscopy.

Activity in the fronto-parietal network indicates numerical inductive reasoning beyond calculation: An fMRI study combined with a cognitive model.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Peipeng; Jia, Xiuqin; Taatgen, Niels A; Borst, Jelmer P; Li, Kuncheng

2016-05-19

Numerical inductive reasoning refers to the process of identifying and extrapolating the rule involved in numeric materials. It is associated with calculation, and shares the common activation of the fronto-parietal regions with calculation, which suggests that numerical inductive reasoning may correspond to a general calculation process. However, compared with calculation, rule identification is critical and unique to reasoning. Previous studies have established the central role of the fronto-parietal network for relational integration during rule identification in numerical inductive reasoning. The current question of interest is whether numerical inductive reasoning exclusively corresponds to calculation or operates beyond calculation, and whether it is possible to distinguish between them based on the activity pattern in the fronto-parietal network. To directly address this issue, three types of problems were created: numerical inductive reasoning, calculation, and perceptual judgment. Our results showed that the fronto-parietal network was more active in numerical inductive reasoning which requires more exchanges between intermediate representations and long-term declarative knowledge during rule identification. These results survived even after controlling for the covariates of response time and error rate. A computational cognitive model was developed using the cognitive architecture ACT-R to account for the behavioral results and brain activity in the fronto-parietal network.

A parietal biomarker for ADHD liability:As predicted by The Distributed Effects Perspective Model of ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Sigi eHale

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background: We previously hypothesized that poor task-directed sensory information processing should be indexed by increased weighting of right hemisphere (RH biased attention and visuo-perceptual brain functions during task operations, and have demonstrated this phenotype in ADHD across multiple studies, using multiple methodologies. However, in our recent Distributed Effects Model of ADHD, we surmised that this phenotype is not ADHD specific, but rather more broadly reflective of any circumstance that disrupts the induction and maintenance of an emergent task-directed neural architecture. Under this view, increased weighting of RH biased attention and visuo-perceptual brain functions is expected to generally index neurocognitive sets that are not optimized for task-directed thought and action, and when durable expressed, liability for ADHD. Method: The current study tested this view by examining whether previously identified rightward parietal EEG asymmetry in ADHD was associated with common ADHD characteristics and comorbidities (i.e., ADHD risk factors. Results: Barring one exception (non-right handedness, we found that it was. Rightward parietal asymmetry was associated with carrying the DRD4-7R risk allele, being male, having mood disorder, and having anxiety disorder. However, differences in the specific expression of rightward parietal asymmetry were observed, which are discussed in relation to possible unique mechanisms underlying ADHD liability in different ADHD RFs. Conclusion: Rightward parietal asymmetry appears to be a durable feature of ADHD liability, as predicted by the Distributed Effects Perspective Model of ADHD. Moreover, variability in the expression of this phenotype may shed light on different sources of ADHD liability.

Distinct parietal sites mediate the influences of mood, arousal, and their interaction on human recognition memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Ciara M; Flannery, Oliver; Soto, David

2014-12-01

The two dimensions of emotion, mood valence and arousal, have independent effects on recognition memory. At present, however, it is not clear how those effects are reflected in the human brain. Previous research in this area has generally dealt with memory for emotionally valenced or arousing stimuli, but the manner in which interacting mood and arousal states modulate responses in memory substrates remains poorly understood. We investigated memory for emotionally neutral items while independently manipulating mood valence and arousal state by means of music exposure. Four emotional conditions were created: positive mood/high arousal, positive mood/low arousal, negative mood/high arousal, and negative mood/low arousal. We observed distinct effects of mood valence and arousal in parietal substrates of recognition memory. Positive mood increased activity in ventral posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and orbitofrontal cortex, whereas arousal condition modulated activity in dorsal PPC and the posterior cingulate. An interaction between valence and arousal was observed in left ventral PPC, notably in a parietal area distinct from the those identified for the main effects, with a stronger effect of mood on recognition memory responses here under conditions of relative high versus low arousal. We interpreted the PPC activations in terms of the attention-to-memory hypothesis: Increased arousal may lead to increased top-down control of memory, and hence dorsal PPC activation, whereas positive mood valence may result in increased activity in ventral PPC regions associated with bottom-up attention to memory. These findings indicate that distinct parietal sites mediate the influences of mood, arousal, and their interplay during recognition memory.

Ruthenium perovskites of type Ba/sub 2/BRuO/sub 6/ and Ba/sub 3/BRu/sub 2/O/sub 9/ with B = indium, rhodium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaller, H U; Kemmler-Sack, S [Tuebingen Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Lehrstuhl fuer Anorganische Chemie 2

1981-02-01

The black perovskites Ba/sub 2/InRu/sup 5 +/O/sub 6/ and Ba/sub 3/InRu/sub 2/O/sub 9/ (mean oxydation state of ruthenium: +4.5) adopt the hexagonal BaTiO/sub 3/ structure and form a continuous series of mixed crystals. According to the intensity calculations and analysis of the vibrational spectroscopic data an ordered distribution between indium and ruthenium is present: 1:1 order in Ba/sub 2/RuO/sub 6/ (space group P-3m1 respective Dsub(3d)/sup 3/; R' = 5.3%); 1:2 order in Ba/sub 3/InRu/sub 2/O/sub 9/ (space group P6/sub 3//mmc respective Dsub(6h)/sup 4/; R' = 4.6%). The corresponding black Rh compounds, Ba/sub 2/RhRuO/sub 6/ and Ba/sub 3/RhRu/sub 2/O/sub 9/, crystallize in the rhombohedral 9 L type of BaRuO/sub 3/ (author).

Time course of the involvement of the right anterior superior temporal gyrus and the right fronto-parietal operculum in emotional prosody perception.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjolijn Hoekert

Full Text Available In verbal communication, not only the meaning of the words convey information, but also the tone of voice (prosody conveys crucial information about the emotional state and intentions of others. In various studies right frontal and right temporal regions have been found to play a role in emotional prosody perception. Here, we used triple-pulse repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS to shed light on the precise time course of involvement of the right anterior superior temporal gyrus and the right fronto-parietal operculum. We hypothesized that information would be processed in the right anterior superior temporal gyrus before being processed in the right fronto-parietal operculum. Right-handed healthy subjects performed an emotional prosody task. During listening to each sentence a triplet of TMS pulses was applied to one of the regions at one of six time points (400-1900 ms. Results showed a significant main effect of Time for right anterior superior temporal gyrus and right fronto-parietal operculum. The largest interference was observed half-way through the sentence. This effect was stronger for withdrawal emotions than for the approach emotion. A further experiment with the inclusion of an active control condition, TMS over the EEG site POz (midline parietal-occipital junction, revealed stronger effects at the fronto-parietal operculum and anterior superior temporal gyrus relative to the active control condition. No evidence was found for sequential processing of emotional prosodic information from right anterior superior temporal gyrus to the right fronto-parietal operculum, but the results revealed more parallel processing. Our results suggest that both right fronto-parietal operculum and right anterior superior temporal gyrus are critical for emotional prosody perception at a relatively late time period after sentence onset. This may reflect that emotional cues can still be ambiguous at the beginning of sentences, but become

Time course of the involvement of the right anterior superior temporal gyrus and the right fronto-parietal operculum in emotional prosody perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoekert, Marjolijn; Bais, Leonie; Kahn, René S; Aleman, André

2008-05-21

In verbal communication, not only the meaning of the words convey information, but also the tone of voice (prosody) conveys crucial information about the emotional state and intentions of others. In various studies right frontal and right temporal regions have been found to play a role in emotional prosody perception. Here, we used triple-pulse repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to shed light on the precise time course of involvement of the right anterior superior temporal gyrus and the right fronto-parietal operculum. We hypothesized that information would be processed in the right anterior superior temporal gyrus before being processed in the right fronto-parietal operculum. Right-handed healthy subjects performed an emotional prosody task. During listening to each sentence a triplet of TMS pulses was applied to one of the regions at one of six time points (400-1900 ms). Results showed a significant main effect of Time for right anterior superior temporal gyrus and right fronto-parietal operculum. The largest interference was observed half-way through the sentence. This effect was stronger for withdrawal emotions than for the approach emotion. A further experiment with the inclusion of an active control condition, TMS over the EEG site POz (midline parietal-occipital junction), revealed stronger effects at the fronto-parietal operculum and anterior superior temporal gyrus relative to the active control condition. No evidence was found for sequential processing of emotional prosodic information from right anterior superior temporal gyrus to the right fronto-parietal operculum, but the results revealed more parallel processing. Our results suggest that both right fronto-parietal operculum and right anterior superior temporal gyrus are critical for emotional prosody perception at a relatively late time period after sentence onset. This may reflect that emotional cues can still be ambiguous at the beginning of sentences, but become more apparent half

Scintillation and radiation damage of doped BaF2 crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong Zufang; Xu Zizong; Chang Jin

1992-01-01

The emission spectra and the radiation damage of BaF 2 crystals doped Ce and Dy have been studied. The results indicate that the doped BaF 2 crystals have the intrinsic spectra of impurity besides the intrinsic spectra of BaF 2 crystals. The crystals colored and the transmissions decrease with the concentration of impurity in BaF 2 crystals after radiation by γ-ray of 60 Co. The doped Ce BaF 2 irradiated by ultraviolet has faster recover of transmissions but for doped Dy the effect is not obvious. The radiation resistance is not good as pure BaF 2 crystals

Heritability analysis of surface-based cortical thickness estimation on a large twin cohort

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Kaikai; Doré, Vincent; Rose, Stephen; Fripp, Jurgen; McMahon, Katie L.; de Zubicaray, Greig I.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Thompson, Paul M.; Wright, Margaret J.; Salvado, Olivier

2015-03-01

The aim of this paper is to assess the heritability of cerebral cortex, based on measurements of grey matter (GM) thickness derived from structural MR images (sMRI). With data acquired from a large twin cohort (328 subjects), an automated method was used to estimate the cortical thickness, and EM-ICP surface registration algorithm was used to establish the correspondence of cortex across the population. An ACE model was then employed to compute the heritability of cortical thickness. Heritable cortical thickness measures various cortical regions, especially in frontal and parietal lobes, such as bilateral postcentral gyri, superior occipital gyri, superior parietal gyri, precuneus, the orbital part of the right frontal gyrus, right medial superior frontal gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, right paracentral lobule, left precentral gyrus, and left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus.

Autoimmune gastritis and parietal cell reactivity in two children with abnormal intestinal permeability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Greenwood, Deanne L. V.; Crock, Patricia; Braye, Stephen; Davidson, Patricia; Sentry, John W.

Autoimmune gastritis is characterised by lymphocytic infiltration of the gastric submucosa, with loss of parietal and chief cells and achlorhydria. Often, gastritis is expressed clinically as cobalamin deficiency with megaloblastic anaemia, which is generally described as a disease of the elderly.

Parietal scalp is another affected area in female pattern hair loss: an analysis of hair density and hair diameter

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Rojhirunsakool S

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Salinee Rojhirunsakool, Poonkiat Suchonwanit Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand Purpose: Female pattern hair loss (FPHL is a common hair disease. However, studies of the quantitative measurement of FPHL are still limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of hair density and hair diameter in normal women and FPHL patients, and further correlate the quantitative measurement with the clinical presentation of FPHL.Patients and methods: An evaluation of 471 FPHL patients and 236 normal women was carried out according to the Ludwig classification, and analysis was performed by using a computerized handheld USB camera with computer-assisted software. Various areas of the scalp, including frontal, parietal, midscalp, and occipital, were analyzed for hair density, non-vellus hair diameter, and percentage of miniaturized hair.Results: The hair density in normal women was the highest and the lowest in the midscalp and parietal areas, respectively. The FPHL group revealed the lowest hair density in the parietal area. Significant differences in hair density, non-vellus hair diameter, and percentage of miniaturized hair between the normal and FPHL groups were observed, especially in the midscalp and parietal areas.Conclusion: The parietal area is another important affected area in FPHL in addition to the midscalp area. This finding provides novel important information of FPHL and will be useful for hair transplant surgeons choosing the optimal donor sites for hair transplantation in women. Keywords: androgenetic alopecia, alopecia, phototrichogram, miniaturization

The Regenerative Potential of Parietal Epithelial Cells in Adult Mice

OpenAIRE

Berger, Katja; Schulte, Kevin; Boor, Peter; Kuppe, Christoph; van Kuppevelt, Toin H.; Floege, Jürgen; Smeets, Bart; Moeller, Marcus J.

2014-01-01

Previously, we showed that some podocytes in juvenile mice are recruited from cells lining Bowman’s capsule, suggesting that parietal epithelial cells (PECs) are a progenitor cell population for podocytes. To investigate whether PECs also replenish podocytes in adult mice, PECs were genetically labeled in an irreversible fashion in 5-week-old mice. No significant increase in labeled podocytes was observed, even after 18 months. To accelerate a potential regenerative mechanism, progressive glo...

Distributed patterns of occipito-parietal functional connectivity predict the precision of visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Galeano Weber, Elena M; Hahn, Tim; Hilger, Kirsten; Fiebach, Christian J

2017-02-01

Limitations in visual working memory (WM) quality (i.e., WM precision) may depend on perceptual and attentional limitations during stimulus encoding, thereby affecting WM capacity. WM encoding relies on the interaction between sensory processing systems and fronto-parietal 'control' regions, and differences in the quality of this interaction are a plausible source of individual differences in WM capacity. Accordingly, we hypothesized that the coupling between perceptual and attentional systems affects the quality of WM encoding. We combined fMRI connectivity analysis with behavioral modeling by fitting a variable precision and fixed capacity model to the performance data obtained while participants performed a visual delayed continuous response WM task. We quantified functional connectivity during WM encoding between occipital and parietal brain regions activated during both perception and WM encoding, as determined using a conjunction of two independent experiments. The multivariate pattern of voxel-wise inter-areal functional connectivity significantly predicted WM performance, most specifically the mean of WM precision but not the individual number of items that could be stored in memory. In particular, higher occipito-parietal connectivity was associated with higher behavioral mean precision. These results are consistent with a network perspective of WM capacity, suggesting that the efficiency of information flow between perceptual and attentional neural systems is a critical determinant of limitations in WM quality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemiluminescence from the reaction of Ba 3D with nitric oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, S.A.; Solarz, R.W.; Dubrin, J.W.; Brotzmann, R.

1977-01-01

The reaction of laser excited Ba*( 3 D) states with nitric oxide is presented. BaO product is not detected, although the channel is thermodynamically open, and instead chemiluminescence is observed. Experiments which suggest that radiative recombination, Ba + NO → BaNO* → BaNO, is the observed reaction channel will also be presented

Endoplasmic reticulum stress responses differ in meninges and associated vasculature, striatum, and parietal cortex after a neurotoxic amphetamine exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Monzy; George, Nysia I; Saini, Upasana T; Patterson, Tucker A; Hanig, Joseph P; Bowyer, John F

2010-08-01

Amphetamine (AMPH) is used to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, but it can produce neurotoxicity and adverse vascular effects at high doses. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response (ERSR) entails the unfolded protein response, which helps to avoid or minimize ER dysfunction. ERSR is often associated with toxicities resulting from the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins and has been associated with methamphetamine toxicity in the striatum. The present study evaluates the effect of AMPH on several ERSR elements in meninges and associated vasculature (MAV), parietal cortex, and striatum. Adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to saline, environmentally induced hyperthermia (EIH) or four consecutive doses of AMPH that produce hyperthermia. Expression changes (mRNA and protein levels) of key ERSR-related genes in MAV, striatum, and parietal cortex at 3 h or 1 day postdosing were monitored. AMPH increased the expression of some ERSR-related genes in all tissues. Atf4 (activating transcription factor 4, an indicator of Perk pathway activation), Hspa5/Grp78 (Glucose regulated protein 78, master regulator of ERSR), Pdia4 (protein disulfide isomerase, protein-folding enzyme), and Nfkb1 (nuclear factor of kappa b, ERSR sensor) mRNA increased significantly in MAV and parietal cortex 3 h after AMPH. In striatum, Atf4 and Hspa5/Grp78 mRNA significantly increased 3 h after AMPH, but Pdia4 and Nfkb11 did not. Thus, AMPH caused a robust activation of the Perk pathway in all tissues, but significant Ire1 pathway activation occurred only after AMPH treatment in the parietal cortex and striatum. Ddit3/Chop, a downstream effector of the ERSR pathway related to the neurotoxicity, was only increased in striatum and parietal cortex. Conversely, Pdia4, an enzyme protective in the ERSR, was only increased in MAV. The overall ERSR manifestation varied significantly between MAV, striatum, and parietal cortex after a neurotoxic exposure to AMPH.

Thermoelectric properties of doped BaHfO_3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixit, Chandra Kr.; Bhamu, K. C.; Sharma, Ramesh

2016-01-01

We have studied the structural stability, electronic structure, optical properties and thermoelectric properties of doped BaHfO_3 by full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The electronic structure of BaHfO_3 doped with Sr shows enhances the indirect band gaps of 3.53 eV, 3.58 eV. The charge density plots show strong ionic bonding in Ba-Hf, and ionic and covalent bonding between Hf and O. Calculations of the optical spectra, viz., the dielectric function, refractive index and extinction coefficient are performed for the energy range are calculated and analyzed. Thermoelectric properties of semi conducting are also reported first time. The doped BaHfO_3 is approximately wide band gap semiconductor with the large p-type Seebeck coefficient. The power factor of BaHfO_3 is increased with Sr doping, decreases because of low electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity.

Crystal structure of a new natural (Ba, Nb) silicate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamnova, N.A.; Pushcharovskii, D.Yu.; Voloshin, A.V.

1990-01-01

The structure of a new mineral Ba 3 (Ti 1.2 Nb 4.8 ) Si 4 O 25.4 is determined (166 reflections, method of least squares in anisotropic approximation, R = 0.040). The crystallographic parameters are: a = 9.03(1), c = 7.868(6) angstrom, Z = 1, space group P anti 62m. Like the previously investigated synthetic analogs Ba 3 Si 4 Nb 6 O 26 , Ba 3 Si 4 Ti 6 O 23 , and Ba 3 Si 4 Ta 6 O 26 , the structure contains a mixed framework of octahedral columns of triangular section, bound to the diortho groups [Si 2 O 7 ], of which the cavities contain the Ba atoms

AHP 45: REVIEW: PHYUR BA

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'Brug mo skyid འབྲུག་མོ་སྐྱིད། (Zhoumaoji 周毛吉

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Mkha' mo rgyal was born in Dgon gong ma Village, 'Ba' (Tongde County, Mtsho lho (Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai Province. While attending the Tibetan Studies College of Mtsho sngon Nationalities University she began writing. In addition to editing and translating teaching materials for primary and secondary schools, she has also published short stories and poetry (Mkha' mo rgyal, 2015. Phyur ba is the first Tibetan women's novel (Robin 2016:86 and was recognized as an Outstanding Work by the Qinghai Writers Guild in 2014 (Duojiecairang and Limaoyou 2014. 1 The name, which translates as 'dried cheese' is a food eaten daily by many Tibetans. Made from fermented milk without cream, it is dried in the sun by women in pastoral areas. Both sweet and sour, phyur ba brings to mind the happiness and sadness, ups and downs, laughter and tears that life brings. ...

Altered thalamic connectivity during spontaneous attacks of migraine without aura

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amin, Faisal Mohammad; Hougaard, Anders; Magon, Stefano

2017-01-01

,-58,-30) and cerebellum lobule VI (right, 34,-42,-36 and left, -32,-42,-36). Results We found increased functional connectivity between the right thalamus and several contralateral brain regions (superior parietal lobule, insular cortex, primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area and orbitofrontal cortex...... and the headache-free days. Functional connectivity was assessed in four different networks using seed-based analysis. The chosen seeds were in the thalamus (MNI coordinates x,y,z: right, 22,-24,0 and left, -22,-28,6), pons (right, 8,-24,-32 and left, -8,-24,-32), cerebellum crus I (right, 46,-58,-30 and left, -46......). There was decreased functional connectivity between the right thalamus and three ipsilateral brain areas (primary somatosensory cortex and premotor cortex). We found no change in functional connectivity in the pontine or the cerebellar networks. Conclusions The study indicates that network connectivity between...

High-pressure BaCrO_3 polytypes and the 5H–BaCrO_2_._8 phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arévalo-López, Angel M.; Paul Attfield, J.

2015-01-01

Polytypism of BaCrO_3 perovskites has been investigated at 900–1100 °C and pressures up to 22 GPa. Hexagonal 5H, 4H, and 6H perovskites are observed with increasing pressure, and the cubic 3C perovskite (a=3.99503(1) Å) is observed in bulk form for the first time at 19–22 GPa. An oxygen-deficient material with limiting composition 5H–BaCrO_2_._8 is synthesised at 1200 °C under ambient pressure. This contains double tetrahedral Cr"4"+ layers and orders antiferromagnetically below 260 K with a (0 0 1/2) magnetic structure. - Graphical abstract: Hexagonal 5H, 4H, and 6H perovskites polytypes of BaCrO_3 are observed with increasing pressure and the cubic 3C perovskite is stabilised in bulk form for the first time at 19–22 GPa. Oxygen-deficient 5H–BaCrO_2_._8 synthesised at ambient pressure contains double tetrahedral Cr"4"+ layers and orders antiferromagnetically below 260 K with a (0 0 1/2) magnetic structure.

Parietal and occipital encephalocele in same child: A rarest variety of double encephalocele.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Somnath; Ojha, Bal Krishan; Chandra, Anil; Singh, Sunil Kumar; Srivastava, Chhitij

2016-05-01

An encephalocele is a protrusion of the brain and/or meninges through a defect in the skull. Based on the location of the skull defect they are classified into sincipital, basal, occipital or parietal varieties. Occurrence of more than one Encephalocele in a patient is very rare and very few cases of double encephalocele are reported. We report an interesting case where a parietal and an occipital encephalocele were present together. The patient was a 2 months boy who was brought to us with complaints of two swelling on the scalp since birth. Neuroimaging studies confirmed it to be a case of double encephalocele. The rarity of the findings prompted us to report this case. The presentation and management of the case along with and review of the relevant literature is presented. Copyright © 2016 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EEG source reconstruction reveals frontal-parietal dynamics of spatial conflict processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Michael X; Ridderinkhof, K Richard

2013-01-01

Cognitive control requires the suppression of distracting information in order to focus on task-relevant information. We applied EEG source reconstruction via time-frequency linear constrained minimum variance beamforming to help elucidate the neural mechanisms involved in spatial conflict processing. Human subjects performed a Simon task, in which conflict was induced by incongruence between spatial location and response hand. We found an early (∼200 ms post-stimulus) conflict modulation in stimulus-contralateral parietal gamma (30-50 Hz), followed by a later alpha-band (8-12 Hz) conflict modulation, suggesting an early detection of spatial conflict and inhibition of spatial location processing. Inter-regional connectivity analyses assessed via cross-frequency coupling of theta (4-8 Hz), alpha, and gamma power revealed conflict-induced shifts in cortical network interactions: Congruent trials (relative to incongruent trials) had stronger coupling between frontal theta and stimulus-contrahemifield parietal alpha/gamma power, whereas incongruent trials had increased theta coupling between medial frontal and lateral frontal regions. These findings shed new light into the large-scale network dynamics of spatial conflict processing, and how those networks are shaped by oscillatory interactions.

EEG source reconstruction reveals frontal-parietal dynamics of spatial conflict processing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael X Cohen

Full Text Available Cognitive control requires the suppression of distracting information in order to focus on task-relevant information. We applied EEG source reconstruction via time-frequency linear constrained minimum variance beamforming to help elucidate the neural mechanisms involved in spatial conflict processing. Human subjects performed a Simon task, in which conflict was induced by incongruence between spatial location and response hand. We found an early (∼200 ms post-stimulus conflict modulation in stimulus-contralateral parietal gamma (30-50 Hz, followed by a later alpha-band (8-12 Hz conflict modulation, suggesting an early detection of spatial conflict and inhibition of spatial location processing. Inter-regional connectivity analyses assessed via cross-frequency coupling of theta (4-8 Hz, alpha, and gamma power revealed conflict-induced shifts in cortical network interactions: Congruent trials (relative to incongruent trials had stronger coupling between frontal theta and stimulus-contrahemifield parietal alpha/gamma power, whereas incongruent trials had increased theta coupling between medial frontal and lateral frontal regions. These findings shed new light into the large-scale network dynamics of spatial conflict processing, and how those networks are shaped by oscillatory interactions.

EEG Source Reconstruction Reveals Frontal-Parietal Dynamics of Spatial Conflict Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Michael X; Ridderinkhof, K. Richard

2013-01-01

Cognitive control requires the suppression of distracting information in order to focus on task-relevant information. We applied EEG source reconstruction via time-frequency linear constrained minimum variance beamforming to help elucidate the neural mechanisms involved in spatial conflict processing. Human subjects performed a Simon task, in which conflict was induced by incongruence between spatial location and response hand. We found an early (∼200 ms post-stimulus) conflict modulation in stimulus-contralateral parietal gamma (30–50 Hz), followed by a later alpha-band (8–12 Hz) conflict modulation, suggesting an early detection of spatial conflict and inhibition of spatial location processing. Inter-regional connectivity analyses assessed via cross-frequency coupling of theta (4–8 Hz), alpha, and gamma power revealed conflict-induced shifts in cortical network interactions: Congruent trials (relative to incongruent trials) had stronger coupling between frontal theta and stimulus-contrahemifield parietal alpha/gamma power, whereas incongruent trials had increased theta coupling between medial frontal and lateral frontal regions. These findings shed new light into the large-scale network dynamics of spatial conflict processing, and how those networks are shaped by oscillatory interactions. PMID:23451201

Parietal disruption alters audiovisual binding in the sound-induced flash illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamke, Marc R; Vieth, Harrison E; Cottrell, David; Mattingley, Jason B

2012-09-01

Selective attention and multisensory integration are fundamental to perception, but little is known about whether, or under what circumstances, these processes interact to shape conscious awareness. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the causal role of attention-related brain networks in multisensory integration between visual and auditory stimuli in the sound-induced flash illusion. The flash illusion is a widely studied multisensory phenomenon in which a single flash of light is falsely perceived as multiple flashes in the presence of irrelevant sounds. We investigated the hypothesis that extrastriate regions involved in selective attention, specifically within the right parietal cortex, exert an influence on the multisensory integrative processes that cause the flash illusion. We found that disruption of the right angular gyrus, but not of the adjacent supramarginal gyrus or of a sensory control site, enhanced participants' veridical perception of the multisensory events, thereby reducing their susceptibility to the illusion. Our findings suggest that the same parietal networks that normally act to enhance perception of attended events also play a role in the binding of auditory and visual stimuli in the sound-induced flash illusion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Acute parietal lobe infarction presenting as Gerstmann’s syndrome and cognitive decline mimicking senile dementia

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Chen TY

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Tien-Yu Chen,1 Chun-Yen Chen,1,3 Che-Hung Yen,2,3 Shin-Chang Kuo,1,3 Yi-Wei Yeh,1,3 Serena Chang,1 San-Yuan Huang1,31Department of Psychiatry, 2Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, 3Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of ChinaAbstract: Gerstmann’s syndrome encompasses the tetrad of finger agnosia, agraphia, acalculia, and right-left confusion. An elderly man with a history of several cardiovascular diseases was initially brought to the psychiatric outpatient department by his family because of worsening of recent memory, executive function, and mixed anxious-depressive mood. Gerstmann’s syndrome without obvious motor function impairment and dementia-like features could be observed at first. Emergent brain computed tomography scan revealed new left-middle cerebral artery infarction over the left posterior parietal lobe. This case reminds us that acute cerebral infarction involving the parietal lobe may present as Gerstmann’s syndrome accompanied by cognitive decline mimicking dementia. As a result, emergent organic workups should be arranged, especially for elderly patients at high risk for cerebral vascular accident.Keywords: Gerstmann’s syndrome, dementia, parietal lobe infarction

Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry of the Integrin Marker 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 Determined from Whole-Body PET/CT in a Non-Human Primate

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shuanglong; Vorobyova, Ivetta; Park, Ryan; Conti, Peter S.

2017-10-01

Introduction: 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 is a positron emission radiotracer taken up by integrin αvβ3, which is overexpressed in many malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biodistribution of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 in a non-human primate with positron emission tomography and to estimate the absorbed doses in major organs for human. Materials and methods: Whole-body PET imaging was done in a Siemens Biograph scanner in a male macaque monkey. After an i.v. injection of 13.1–19.7 MBq/kg of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2, whole body scan was collected for a total duration of 180 min. Attenuation and scatter corrections were applied to reconstruction of the whole-body emission scan. After image reconstruction, three-dimensional volumes of interest (VOI) were hand-drawn on the PET transaxial or coronal slices of the frame where the organ was most conspicuous. Time-activity curves for each VOI were obtained, and residence time of each organ was calculated by integration of the time-activity curves. Human absorbed doses were estimated using the standard human model in OLINDA/EXM software. Results: Injection of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 was well tolerated in the macaque monkey, with no serious tracer-related adverse events observed. 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 was cleared rapidly from the blood pool, with a 12.1-min biological half-time. Increased 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 uptake was observed in the kidneys, and bladder, with mean percentage injected dose (ID%) values at 1 h after injection approximately 35.50 ± 6.47 and 36.89 ± 5.48, respectively. The calculated effective dose was 15.30 ± 2.21 µSv/MBq, and the kidneys had the highest absorbed dose at 108.43 ± 16.41 µGy/MBq using the non-voiding model. For an injected activity of 925 MBq 64Cu for human, the effective dose would be 14.2 ± 2.1 mSv. Discussion: Due to the limitation of the monkey number, we evaluated 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 in the same monkey of three imaging sessions. Measured absorbed doses and effective doses of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 are

An approach to WWER fuels with BaCo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marino, A.; Demarco, G.

2008-01-01

BaCo is a code for the simulation of the behaviour of a nuclear fuel rod under operation conditions. BaCo, a quasi 2D code based on a finite differences scheme, has been used for simulating PHWR, CANDU, PWR, BWR, MOX, WWER, and experimental fuel rods. We improve the performance of BaCo with a set of tools based on the method of finite elements for 3D analysis of the stress-strain state. We can simulate any UO 2 pellet geometry. Standard WWER-440 fuel assemblies irradiated in the Kola-3 reactor of the CRP FUMEX II of the IAEA were the first WWER simulations with BaCo. We find a very good agreement among our calculations, the experimental results and other qualified fuel codes. We present the BaCo code and our results for PWR and WWER fuels of the CRP FUMEX II, the 3D analysis of WWER fuel pellet and the projections of these results with the Argentinean nuclear fuels development. (authors)

Investigating the Functional Utility of the Left Parietal ERP Old/New Effect: Brain Activity Predicts within But Not between Participant Variance in Episodic Recollection

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Catherine A. MacLeod

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A success story within neuroimaging has been the discovery of distinct neural correlates of episodic retrieval, providing insight into the processes that support memory for past life events. Here we focus on one commonly reported neural correlate, the left parietal old/new effect, a positive going modulation seen in event-related potential (ERP data that is widely considered to index episodic recollection. Substantial evidence links changes in the size of the left parietal effect to changes in remembering, but the precise functional utility of the effect remains unclear. Here, using forced choice recognition of verbal stimuli, we present a novel population level test of the hypothesis that the magnitude of the left parietal effect correlates with memory performance. We recorded ERPs during old/new recognition, source accuracy and Remember/Know/Guess tasks in two large samples of healthy young adults, and successfully replicated existing within participant modulations of the magnitude of the left parietal effect with recollection. Critically, however, both datasets also show that across participants the magnitude of the left parietal effect does not correlate with behavioral measures of memory – including both subjective and objective estimates of recollection. We conclude that in these tasks, and across this healthy young adult population, the generators of the left parietal ERP effect do not index performance as expected. Taken together, these novel findings provide important constraints on the functional interpretation of the left parietal effect, suggesting that between group differences in the magnitude of old/new effects cannot always safely be used to infer differences in recollection.

Three new chalcohalides, Ba4Ge2PbS8Br2, Ba4Ge2PbSe8Br2 and Ba4Ge2SnS8Br2: Syntheses, crystal structures, band gaps, and electronic structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Zuohong; Feng, Kai; Tu, Heng; Kang, Lei; Lin, Zheshuai; Yao, Jiyong; Wu, Yicheng

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Three new chalcohalides: Ba 4 Ge 2 PbS 8 Br 2 , Ba 4 Ge 2 PbSe 8 Br 2 and Ba 4 Ge 2 SnS 8 Br 2 have been synthesized. • The MQ 5 Br octahedra and GeQ 4 tetrahedra form a three-dimensional framework with Ba 2+ in the channels. • Band Gaps and electronic structures of the three compounds were studied. - Abstract: Single crystals of three new chalcohalides: Ba 4 Ge 2 PbS 8 Br 2 , Ba 4 Ge 2 PbSe 8 Br 2 and Ba 4 Ge 2 SnS 8 Br 2 have been synthesized for the first time. These isostructural compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Pnma. In the structure, the tetra-valent Ge atom is tetrahedrally coordinated with four Q (Q = S, Se) atoms, while the bi-valent M atom (M = Pb, Sn) is coordinated with an obviously distorted octahedron of five Q (Q = S, Se) atoms and one Br atom, showing the stereochemical activity of the ns 2 lone pair electron. The MQ 5 Br (M = Sn, Pb; Q = S, Se) distorted octahedra and the GeQ 4 (Q = S, Se) tetrahedra are connected to each other to form a three-dimensional framework with channels occupied by Ba 2+ cations. Based on UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy measurements and the electronic structure calculations, Ba 4 Ge 2 PbS 8 Br 2 , Ba 4 Ge 2 PbSe 8 Br 2 and Ba 4 Ge 2 SnS 8 Br 2 have indirect band gaps of 2.054, 1.952, and 2.066 eV respectively, which are mainly determined by the orbitals from the Ge, M and Q atoms (M = Pb, Sn; Q = S, Se)

Intermetallic and metal-rich phases in the system Li-Ba-In-N

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smetana, Volodymyr; Vajenine, Grigori V.; Kienle, Lorenz; Duppel, Viola; Simon, Arndt

2010-01-01

Three new intermetallic phases, BaLi 2.1 In 1.9 , BaLi 1.12 In 0.98 , and BaLi 1.06 In 1.16 and two subnitrides Li 35 In 45 Ba 39 N 9 and LiIn 2 Ba 3 N 0.83 have been synthesized and their crystal structures have been determined. According to single crystal X-ray diffraction data BaLi 2.1 In 1.9 and BaLi 1.12 In 0.98 crystallize with hexagonal symmetry (BaLi 2.1 In 1.9 : P6 3 /mmc, a=10.410(2), c=8.364(2) A, Z=6, V=785.0(2) A 3 ) and BaLi 1.12 In 0.98 : P6/mmm, a=17.469(1), c=10.6409(7) A, Z=30, V=2813.5(8) A 3 ), while BaLi 1.06 In 1.16 has a rhombohedral structure (R-3c, a=18.894(3), c=85.289(17) A, Z=276, V=26368(8) A 3 ). BaLi 2.1 In 1.9 is isostructural with the known phase BaLi 4 . The phase BaLi 1.12 In 0.98 is structurally related to Na 8 K 23 Cd 12 In 48 , while BaLi 1.06 In 1.16 is isostructural with Li 33.3 Ba 13.1 Ca 3 . A sample containing structurally similar BaLi 1.12 In 0.98 and BaLi 1.02 In 1.16 was also investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Li 35 In 45 Ba 39 N 9 and LiIn 2 Ba 3 N 0.83 crystallize with tetragonal (I-42m, a=15.299(2), c=30.682(6) A, Z=2, V=7182(2) A 3 ) and cubic (Fd-3m, a=14.913(2) A, Z=8, V=3316.7(7) A 3 ) symmetry, respectively. While the first-mentioned subnitride belongs to the Li 80 Ba 39 N 9 structure type, the second extends the structural family of Ba 6 In 4.78 N 2.72 . The structural features of the new compounds are discussed in comparison to the known phases and the results of total energy calculations. - Graphical abstract: One-dimensional chain of face-sharing centered icosahedra in BaLi 2.1 In 1.9

Pneumothorax simulated by detachment of parietal pleura associated with pneumomediastinum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozeik, C.; Kotterer, O.; Deininger, H.K.

1994-01-01

We report a case of blunt chest trauma, where findings on repeated conventional chest radiographs were compatible with pneumothorax developing after 2 days of mechanical high-pressure ventilation. CT showed that the appearance was due to a detachment of the parietal pleura along the lateral, mediastinal and diaphragmatic boundaries of the lungs, imitating a pneumothorax. The case report illustrates the key role of CT in the differential diagnosis of epipleural interstitial air collection versus pneumothorax. (orig./MG)

Pneumothorax simulated by detachment of parietal pleura associated with pneumomediastinum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rozeik, C. [Radiologie 1, Staedtische Kliniken Darmstadt (Germany); Kotterer, O. [Radiologie 1, Staedtische Kliniken Darmstadt (Germany); Deininger, H.K. [Radiologie 1, Staedtische Kliniken Darmstadt (Germany)

1994-10-01

We report a case of blunt chest trauma, where findings on repeated conventional chest radiographs were compatible with pneumothorax developing after 2 days of mechanical high-pressure ventilation. CT showed that the appearance was due to a detachment of the parietal pleura along the lateral, mediastinal and diaphragmatic boundaries of the lungs, imitating a pneumothorax. The case report illustrates the key role of CT in the differential diagnosis of epipleural interstitial air collection versus pneumothorax. (orig./MG)

Wet routes of high purity BaTiO3 nanopowders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Liqiu; Liu Liang; Xue Dongfeng; Kang Hongmin; Liu Changhou

2007-01-01

High purity BaTiO 3 nanopowders were prepared in wet routes through stearic acid gel (SAG) and acetic acid gel (AAG) techniques, respectively. BaTiO 3 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The present results indicate that both methods have a similar reaction process during calcination, while BaTiO 3 crystallites were initially formed at 550 deg. C by SAG and 800 deg. C by AAG. Both methods could produce BaTiO 3 powders with a cubic perovskite structure, while they had different grain size distributions within 25-50 nm for SAG and 50-80 nm for AAG. BaTiO 3 samples prepared by SAG had a lower agglomeration than those by AAG. SAG has shown many distinctive advantages in the preparation of high purity BaTiO 3 nanopowders, without Ba and Ti losses and hazardous wastes

Ferroelectric relaxor Ba(TiCe)O3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ang; Zhi Jing; Yu Zhi

2002-01-01

The dielectric behaviour of Ba(Ti 1-y Ce y )O 3 solid solutions (y=0-0.3) has been studied. A small amount of Ce doping (y=0.02) has weak influence on the dielectric behaviour of Ba(Ti 1-y Ce y )O 3 . With increasing Ce concentration, three phase transitions of pure BaTiO 3 are pinched into one rounded dielectric peak with frequency dispersion, and the relaxation time follows the Vogel-Fulcher relation. The evolution from a normal ferroelectric to a ferroelectric relaxor is emphasized. High strains (S=∼0.1-0.19%) with a small hysteresis under ac fields are obtained in ferroelectric relaxors Ba(Ti 1-y Ce y )O 3 . The physical mechanism of the relaxation process, the pinching effect of the phase transitions and their influence on the ferroelectric and electrostrictive behaviour are discussed. (author)

Posterior parietal cortex mediates encoding and maintenance processes in change blindness.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Philip; Hsu, Tzu-Yu; Muggleton, Neil G; Tzeng, Ovid J L; Hung, Daisy L; Juan, Chi-Hung

2010-03-01

It is commonly accepted that right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) plays an important role in updating spatial representations, directing visuospatial attention, and planning actions. However, recent studies suggest that right PPC may also be involved in processes that are more closely associated with our visual awareness as its activation level positively correlates with successful conscious change detection (Beck, D.M., Rees, G., Frith, C.D., & Lavie, N. (2001). Neural correlates of change detection and change blindness. Nature Neuroscience, 4, 645-650.). Furthermore, disruption of its activity increases the occurrences of change blindness, thus suggesting a causal role for right PPC in change detection (Beck, D.M., Muggleton, N., Walsh, V., & Lavie, N. (2006). Right parietal cortex plays a critical role in change blindness. Cerebral Cortex, 16, 712-717.). In the context of a 1-shot change detection paradigm, we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) during different time intervals to elucidate the temporally precise involvement of PPC in change detection. While subjects attempted to detect changes between two image sets separated by a brief time interval, TMS was applied either during the presentation of picture 1 when subjects were encoding and maintaining information into visual short-term memory, or picture 2 when subjects were retrieving information relating to picture 1 and comparing it to picture 2. Our results show that change blindness occurred more often when TMS was applied during the viewing of picture 1, which implies that right PPC plays a crucial role in the processes of encoding and maintaining information in visual short-term memory. In addition, since our stimuli did not involve changes in spatial locations, our findings also support previous studies suggesting that PPC may be involved in the processes of encoding non-spatial visual information (Todd, J.J. & Marois, R. (2004). Capacity limit of visual short-term memory in human

Metaplasia mieloide do baço na Ancilostomose

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W. O. Cruz

1934-06-01

Full Text Available Pesquizamos, no figado e baço de dez casos puros de ancilostomose, elementos hemocitopoieticos; verificamos o peso do baço em 23 casos de individuos com idades compreendidas entre 3 e 60 anos; não encontramos, em nenhum caso, celulas hemoformadoras no figado. Em sete casos, encontramos, no baço, elementos da série vermelha em adiantado estado de evolução (eritroblastos ortocromaticos de nucleo picnotico. Em alguns destes casos observamos megacariocitos e numerosos mielocitos eosinofilos. Os tres casos que não apresentavam metaplasia mieloide no baço, eram os de individuos acima de 50 anos de idade. Entretanto, em outro caso de um individuo com 59 anos esta metaplasia foi verificada. Em individuos acima de 20 anos, o peso médio do baço, em nove casos, mostrou-se igual ao peso normal. Em 14 casos, compreendidos entre 3 e 14 anos, o peso deste orgão foi sempre sensivelmente mais elevado que nos normais de idade correspondente. Estes resultados sugerem a possibilidade de ser a metaplasia mieloide responsavel pelos aumentos de pezo nos baços de individuos jovens, vitimados pela anemia ancilostomica. A notavel proliferação dos eritroblastos ortocromaticos mostra que o grão e a rapidez da regeneração sanguinea, após a administração de ferro, são devidos, essencialmente, á grande quantidade de hemoglobina já preformada no baço e na medula ossea dos organismos ancilostomados.

Abacus in the brain: a longitudinal functional MRI study of a skilled abacus user with a right hemispheric lesion.

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Tanaka, Satoshi; Seki, Keiko; Hanakawa, Takashi; Harada, Madoka; Sugawara, Sho K; Sadato, Norihiro; Watanabe, Katsumi; Honda, Manabu

2012-01-01

The abacus, a traditional physical calculation device, is still widely used in Asian countries. Previous behavioral work has shown that skilled abacus users perform rapid and precise mental arithmetic by manipulating a mental representation of an abacus, which is based on visual imagery. However, its neurophysiological basis remains unclear. Here, we report the case of a patient who was a good abacus user, but transiently lost her "mental abacus" and superior arithmetic performance after a stroke owing to a right hemispheric lesion including the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments were conducted 6 and 13 months after her stroke. In the mental calculation task, her brain activity was shifted from the language-related areas, including Broca's area and the left dorsolateral prefrontal and IPLs, to the visuospatial-related brain areas including the left superior parietal lobule (SPL), according to the recovery of her arithmetic abilities. In the digit memory task, activities in the bilateral SPL, and right visual association cortex were also observed after recovery. The shift of brain activities was consistent with her subjective report that she was able to shift the calculation strategy from linguistic to visuospatial as her mental abacus became stable again. In a behavioral experiment using an interference paradigm, a visual presentation of an abacus picture, but not a human face picture, interfered with the performance of her digit memory, confirming her use of the mental abacus after recovery. This is the first case report on the impairment of the mental abacus by a brain lesion and on recovery-related brain activity. We named this rare case "abacus-based acalculia." Together with previous neuroimaging studies, the present result suggests an important role for the PMd and parietal cortex in the superior arithmetic ability of abacus users.

Neural dynamics of learning sound-action associations.

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Adam McNamara

Full Text Available A motor component is pre-requisite to any communicative act as one must inherently move to communicate. To learn to make a communicative act, the brain must be able to dynamically associate arbitrary percepts to the neural substrate underlying the pre-requisite motor activity. We aimed to investigate whether brain regions involved in complex gestures (ventral pre-motor cortex, Brodmann Area 44 were involved in mediating association between novel abstract auditory stimuli and novel gestural movements. In a functional resonance imaging (fMRI study we asked participants to learn associations between previously unrelated novel sounds and meaningless gestures inside the scanner. We use functional connectivity analysis to eliminate the often present confound of 'strategic covert naming' when dealing with BA44 and to rule out effects of non-specific reductions in signal. Brodmann Area 44, a region incorporating Broca's region showed strong, bilateral, negative correlation of BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent response with learning of sound-action associations during data acquisition. Left-inferior-parietal-lobule (l-IPL and bilateral loci in and around visual area V5, right-orbital-frontal-gyrus, right-hippocampus, left-para-hippocampus, right-head-of-caudate, right-insula and left-lingual-gyrus also showed decreases in BOLD response with learning. Concurrent with these decreases in BOLD response, an increasing connectivity between areas of the imaged network as well as the right-middle-frontal-gyrus with rising learning performance was revealed by a psychophysiological interaction (PPI analysis. The increasing connectivity therefore occurs within an increasingly energy efficient network as learning proceeds. Strongest learning related connectivity between regions was found when analysing BA44 and l-IPL seeds. The results clearly show that BA44 and l-IPL is dynamically involved in linking gesture and sound and therefore provides evidence that one of

Inhibition of partially purified K+/H+-ATPase from guinea-pig isolated and enriched parietal cells by substituted benzimidazoles.

Science.gov (United States)

Beil, W.; Sewing, K. F.

1984-01-01

The cellular and subcellular distributions of adenosinetriphosphatases (ATPases) were examined in guinea-pig gastric mucosal cells. All cell types displayed Mg2+-ATPase and bicarbonate (HCO3-)-stimulated ATPase activity. K+-ATPase was located only in fractions derived from parietal cells. Differential and density-gradient centrifugation of material prepared from parietal cells revealed that K+-ATPase activity was located in a tubulo-vesicular membrane fraction. Enzyme activity was ten fold greater in this fraction than in a crude parietal cell homogenate. The substituted benzimidazoles, omeprazole and picoprazole, inhibited K+-ATPase (IC50 1.8 +/- 0.5 mumol l-1 and 3.1 +/- 0.4 mumol l-1, respectively). Detailed kinetic analysis indicated that these compounds were non-competitive and reversible inhibitors of the enzyme. In contrast cimetidine and verapamil were without effect on the enzyme. The relevance of the inhibition of K+-ATPase to the antisecretory activity of the benzimidazoles, in experimental animals and man, is discussed. PMID:6146367

Low-frequency rTMS in the superior parietal cortex affects the working memory in horizontal axis during the spatial task performance.

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Ribeiro, Jéssica Alves; Marinho, Francisco Victor Costa; Rocha, Kaline; Magalhães, Francisco; Baptista, Abrahão Fontes; Velasques, Bruna; Ribeiro, Pedro; Cagy, Mauricio; Bastos, Victor Hugo; Gupta, Daya; Teixeira, Silmar

2018-03-01

Spatial working memory has been extensively investigated with different tasks, treatments, and analysis tools. Several studies suggest that low frequency of the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the parietal cortex may influence spatial working memory (SWM). However, it is not yet known if after low-frequency rTMS applied to the superior parietal cortex, according to Pz electroencephalography (EEG) electrode, would change the orientation interpretation about the vertical and horizontal axes coordinates in an SWM task. The current study aims at filling this gap and obtains a better understanding of the low-frequency rTMS effect in SWM. In this crossover study, we select 20 healthy subjects in two conditions (control and 1-Hz rTMS). The subjects performed an SWM task with two random coordinates. Our results presented that low-frequency rTMS applied over the superior parietal cortex may influence the SWM to lead to a larger distance of axes interception point (p low-frequency rTMS over the superior parietal cortex (SPC) changes the SWM performance, and it has more predominance in horizontal axis.

Compounds of the type Ba/sub 3/Bsup(II)M/sub 2/sup(V)O/sub 9/ with Bsup(II) = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, and Msup(V) = Nb, Ta

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemmler-Sack, S; Thumm, I; Herrmann, M [Tuebingen Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Lehrstuhl fuer Anorganische Chemie 2

1981-08-01

The hexagonal perovskites Ba/sub 3/Bsup(II)M/sub 2/sup(V)O/sub 9/ (Msup(V) = Nb, Ta) crystallize with Bsup(II) = Mg, Ca in a 3 L structure (sequence (c)/sub 3/) and Bsup(II) = Sr in the hexagonal BaTiO/sub 3/ type (6 L; sequence (hcc)/sub 2/) with an 1:2 order for the B and M ions. Intensity calculations for Ba/sub 3/SrNb/sub 2/O/sub 9/ and Ba/sub 3/SrTa/sub 2/O/sub 9/ gave in the space group P6/sub 3//mmc a refined, intensity related R' value of 8.4% (Nb) and 9.0% (Ta) respectively. For Bsup(II) = Ba the perovskite Ba/sub 3/BaTa/sub 2/O/sub 9/ has an orthorhombic distorted 6 L structure and forms with Ba/sub 3/SrTa/sub 2/O/sub 9/ a continuous series of mixed crystals (Ba/sub 3/Srsub(1-x)Basub(x)Ta/sub 2/O/sub 9/). In the system Ba/sub 3/Srsub(1-x)Basub(x)Nb/sub 2/O/sub 9/ the range of existence of the hexagonal BaTiO/sub 3/ type is confined to the Sr richer end. The pure Ba compound posesses a proper structure type (5 L: Ba/sub 5/BaNb/sub 3/vacantOsub(13.5)vacantsub(1.5)).

Attentional Demands Predict Short-Term Memory Load Response in Posterior Parietal Cortex

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Magen, Hagit; Emmanouil, Tatiana-Aloi; McMains, Stephanie A.; Kastner, Sabine; Treisman, Anne

2009-01-01

Limits to the capacity of visual short-term memory (VSTM) indicate a maximum storage of only 3 or 4 items. Recently, it has been suggested that activity in a specific part of the brain, the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), is correlated with behavioral estimates of VSTM capacity and might reflect a capacity-limited store. In three experiments that…

Structural brain abnormalities in a single gene disorder associated with epilepsy, language impairment and intellectual disability

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Joe Bathelt

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Childhood speech and language deficits are highly prevalent and are a common feature of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, it is difficult to investigate the underlying causal pathways because many diagnostic groups have a heterogeneous aetiology. Studying disorders with a shared genetic cause and shared cognitive deficits can provide crucial insight into the cellular mechanisms and neural systems that give rise to those impairments. The current study investigated structural brain differences of individuals with mutations in ZDHHC9, which is associated with a specific neurodevelopmental phenotype including prominent speech and language impairments and intellectual disability. We used multiple structural neuroimaging methods to characterise neuroanatomy in this group, and observed bilateral reductions in cortical thickness in areas surrounding the temporo-parietal junction, parietal lobule, and inferior frontal lobe, and decreased microstructural integrity of cortical, subcortical-cortical, and interhemispheric white matter projections. These findings are compared to reports for other genetic groups and genetically heterogeneous disorders with a similar presentation. Overlap in the neuroanatomical phenotype suggests a common pathway that particularly affects the development of temporo-parietal and inferior frontal areas, and their connections.

First-principles study of (Ba ,Ca ) TiO3 and Ba (Ti ,Zr ) O3 solid solutions

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Amoroso, Danila; Cano, Andrés; Ghosez, Philippe

2018-05-01

(Ba ,Ca ) TiO3 and Ba (Ti ,Zr ) O3 solid solutions are the building blocks of lead-free piezoelectric materials that attract a renewed interest. We investigate the properties of these systems by means of first-principles calculations, with a focus on the lattice dynamics and the competition between different ferroelectric phases. We first analyze the four parent compounds in order to compare their properties and their different tendency towards ferroelectricity. The core of our study is systematic characterization of the binary systems (Ba ,Ca ) TiO3 and Ba (Ti ,Zr ) O3 within both the virtual crystal approximation and direct supercell calculations. In the case of Ca doping, we find a gradual transformation from B -site to A -site ferroelectricity due to steric effects that largely determines the behavior of the system. In the case of Zr doping, in contrast, the behavior is eventually dominated by cooperative Zr-Ti motions and the local electrostatics. In addition, our comparative study reveals that the specific microscopic physics of these solids sets severe limits to the applicability of the virtual crystal approximation for these systems.

Electronic structure of Ca, Sr, and Ba under pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Animalu, A. O. E.; Heine, V.; Vasvari, B.

1967-01-01

Electronic band structure calculations phase of Ca, Sr and Ba over wide range of atomic volumes under pressure electronic band structure calculations for fcc phase of Ca, Sr and Ba over wide range of atomic volumes under pressure electronic band structure calculations for fcc phase of Ca, Sr and Ba over wide range of atomic volumes under pressure

Effect of Barium-Precursors on Reaction Kinetics in Y-Ba-Cu-O System

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2001-01-01

The reactions of stoichiometric Y2O3, CuO, and different Ba salts or oxides (BaCO3, Ba(NO3)2, BaO2, BaCuO2) for forming various compounds in the Y-Ba-Cu-O system (i.e., YBa2Cu3O7-δ, BaCuO2, Y2BaCuO5 and Y2Cu2O5) were systematically investigated by thermal analysis and X-ray diffractometry. The relevant activation energies were calculated from thermogravimetric data. It is found that the reaction pathway significantly depends on the thermal stability of the Ba precursors. Binary BaO-CuO phases form at low temperature (650～700 ℃) when in presence of easy-to-decompose Ba precursors, and then slowly transform to ternary compounds. On the contrary, when Ba ions are released at temperature higher than 900 ℃, ternary phases form directly from the components.

Strain induced optical properties of BaReO3

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Kumavat, Sandip R.; Kansara, Shivam; Gupta, Sanjeev K.; Sonvane, Yogesh

2018-05-01

Here, we have performed strain induce optical properties of BaReO3 by using density functional theory (DFT). We noticed that after applying intrinsic and extrinsic strain to the BaReO3, it shows the metallic behavior. We also studied optical properties, which show good activity in the ultraviolet region. The results show that after applying intrinsic and extrinsic strain to BaReO3 the absorption peaks are shifted towards the high UV region of the spectrum. Thus, we concluded that, BaReO3 material with extrinsic strain can be useful for high frequency UV device and optoelectronic devices.

IR-spectroscopic study and electrical properties of glasses in the Ba(PO3)2-Ba(Hal)2 systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolov, I.A.; Tarlakov, Yu.P.; Murin, I.V.; Pronkin, A.A.

2000-01-01

Temperature-concentration dependence of electric conductivity of glasses in the systems Ba(PO 3 ) 2 -Ba(Hal) 2 , where Hal = Cl, Br, I, is studied by the method of conductometry, the numbers of iodide-ions transfer are determined and their concentration dependence is found. Data of IR spectroscopy permitted ascertained participation of halide ions in formation of anionic constituent of the glass structure at the expense of bridge bonds formation, as well as formation of structural-chemical units of [(Hal) - Ba 2+ O - POO 2/2 ] type, their dissociation giving rise to formation of halide ions their dissociation giving rise to formation of halide ions taking part in electric current transfer [ru

High-Temperature Superconductivity in Doped BaFe2As2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Marianne

2011-01-01

This thesis provides a detailed look on the synthesis, structural features and physical properties of iron arsenides. Especially the properties of BaFe 2 As 2 and the solid solutions (Ba 1-x K x )Fe 2 As 2 , (Ba 1-x Sr x )Fe 2 As 2 and BaFe 2 (As 1-x P x ) 2 which were all synthesized by solid state reactions by heating mixtures of the elements, were intensively investigated.

Distinct antigenic characteristics of murine parietal yolk sac laminin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wewer, U M; Tichy, D; Damjanov, A

1987-01-01

Two monoclonal antibodies (LAM-A and LAM-B) specific for laminin from normal and neoplastic parietal yolk sac (PYS) cells were produced in rats immunized with a mouse yolk sac carcinoma cell line. Both antibodies immunoprecipitated the 400,000- and 200,000-Da chains of laminin and reacted...... with purified PYS laminin in ELISA. LAM-A reacted with mouse and rat PYS laminin, whereas LAM-B reacted only with mouse PYS laminin. Formaldehyde- and methanol-fixed adult and fetal somatic tissues were immunohistochemically unreactive with either of the two antibodies. In acetone-fixed tissue sections, both...

Molecular recognition at methyl methacrylate/n-butyl acrylate (MMA/nBA) monomer unit boundaries of phospholipids at p-MMA/nBA copolymer surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Min; Urban, Marek W; Sheng, Yinghong; Leszczynski, Jerzy

2008-09-16

Lipid structural features and their interactions with proteins provide a useful vehicle for further advances in membrane proteins research. To mimic one of potential lipid-protein interactions we synthesized poly(methyl methacrylate/ n-butyl acrylate) (p-MMA/nBA) colloidal particles that were stabilized by phospholipid (PLs). Upon the particle coalescence, PL stratification resulted in the formation of surface localized ionic clusters (SLICs). These entities are capable of recognizing MMA/nBA monomer interfaces along the p-MMA/nBA copolymer backbone and form crystalline SLICs at the monomer interface. By utilizing attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy and selected area electron diffraction (SAD) combined with ab initio calculations, studies were conducted that identified the origin of SLICs as well as their structural features formed on the surface of p-MMA/nBA copolymer films stabilized by 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC) PL. Specific entities responsible for SLIC formation are selective noncovalent bonds of anionic phosphate and cationic quaternary ammonium segments of DLPC that interact with two neighboring carbonyl groups of nBA and MMA monomers of the p-MMA/nBA polymer backbone. To the best of our knowledge this is the first example of molecular recognition facilitated by coalescence of copolymer colloidal particles and the ability of PLs to form SLICs at the boundaries of the neighboring MMA and nBA monomer units of the p-MMA/nBA chain. The dominating noncovalent bonds responsible for the molecular recognition is a combination of H-bonding and electrostatic interactions.

Epitaxial thin-film growth of Ruddlesden-Popper-type Ba3Zr2O7 from a BaZrO3 target by pulsed laser deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butt, Shariqa Hassan; Rafique, M.S.; Siraj, K.; Latif, A.; Afzal, Amina; Awan, M.S.; Bashir, Shazia; Iqbal, Nida

2016-01-01

Ruddlesden-Popper Ba 3 Zr 2 O 7 thin films have been synthesized via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The optimization of deposition parameters in PLD enables the formation of thin film of metastable Ba 3 Zr 2 O 7 phase from BaZrO 3 target. In order to see the post-annealing effects on the structural and optical properties, the deposited Ba 3 Zr 2 O 7 thin films were annealed at 500, 600 and 800 C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals the formation of Ba 3 Zr 2 O 7 phase with tetragonal structure. The changes in the surface of the deposited films were analysed by FE-SEM and AFM. The thin film post-annealed at 500 C exhibited the best structural, optical and surface properties. Furthermore, the chemical states and chemical composition of the films were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) near the surface. The XPS results show that Ba, Zr and O exist mainly in the form of Ba 3 Zr 2 O 7 Ruddlesden-Popper-type perovskite structure. (orig.)

Parietal and premotor cortices: activation reflects imitation accuracy during observation, delayed imitation and concurrent imitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Krüger, Britta; Bischoff, Matthias; Blecker, Carlo; Langhanns, Christine; Kindermann, Stefan; Sauerbier, Isabell; Reiser, Mathias; Stark, Rudolf; Munzert, Jörn; Pilgramm, Sebastian

2014-10-15

This study investigated whether activation within areas belonging to the action observation and imitation network reveals a linear relation to the subsequent accuracy of imitating a bimanual rhythmic movement measured via a motion capturing system. 20 participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when asked to imitate observed bimanual movements either concurrently versus with a delay (2s) or simply to observe the movements without imitation. Results showed that action observation relates to activation within classic mirror-related areas. Activation patterns were more widespread when participants were asked to imitate the movement. During observation with concurrent imitation, activation in the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) was associated negatively with imitation accuracy. During observation in the delayed imitation condition, higher subsequent imitation accuracy was coupled with higher activation in the right superior parietal lobe (SPL) and the left parietal operculum (POp). During the delayed imitation itself, a negative association between imitation accuracy and brain activation was revealed in the right ventral premotor cortex (vPMC). We conclude that the IPL is involved in online comparison and visuospatial attention processes during imitation, the SPL provides a kinesthetic blueprint during movement observation, the POp preserves body identity, and the vPMC recruits motor representations--especially when no concurrent visual guidance is possible. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experimental study on Ra2+ uptake by barite (BaSO{sub 4}). Kinetics of solid solution formation via BaSO{sub 4} dissolution and Ra{sub x}Ba{sub 1-x}SO{sub 4} (re) precipitation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bosbach, Dirk; Boettle, Melanie; Metz, Volker (Karlsruher Inst. fuer Technologie, Inst fuer Nukleare Entsorgung (INE), Karlsruhe (Germany))

2010-03-15

226Ra2+ and 133Ba2+ uptake by barite in aqueous solution is studied on the basis of batch type experiments with two different barite powders with different specific surface area (0.5 m2/g and 3.2 m2/g, respectively). The uptake of 226Ra2+ and 133Ba2+ is not only limited to adsorption reactions but proceeds significantly into the bulk of the barite crystals. 133Ba2+ uptake kinetics is affected by various parameters, such as amount of sample, specific surface area, sample type and solution composition. In the case of 133Ba2+, complete isotopic equilibration of the 133Ba2+ spiked solution with the barite powder occurs within 50 to 600 days. This information is derived by monitoring the aqueous 133Ba2+ concentration combined with simple mass balance calculations. In the case of 226Ra2+ a Ra{sub x}Ba{sub 1-x}SO{sub 4} solid solution forms and the uptake rate drops significantly within 400 days. The observed 226Ra2+ concentration in solution is controlled by the solubility of a Ra{sub x}Ba{sub 1-x}SO{sub 4} solid solution and several orders of magnitude below the Ra2+ solubility with respect to a pure RaSO{sub 4}(s) end member. It cannot be demonstrated unambiguously that a zero exchange rate and therefore thermodynamic equilibrium has been established within the observation period. The observed concentrations may be interpreted either as (1) a partial equilibration of 20 to 50% of the barite crystals with 226Ra2+ or (2) as complete equilibration of a Ra{sub 0.000128}Ba{sub 0.999872}SO{sub 4} solid solution with 226Ra2+ with no pure barite left. In both cases it is concluded that equilibration between aqueous Ra2+ and barite involves the replacement of a substantial fraction of the initial barite and proceeds significantly beyond pure surface adsorption processes

Enhancement of polarization property of silane-modified BaTiO3 nanoparticles and its effect in increasing dielectric property of epoxy/BaTiO3 nanocomposites

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Thi Tuyet Mai Phan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The surface modification of synthesized nano-BaTiO3 particles was carried out using γ-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane (γ-APS in an ethanol/water solution. The modified particles were characterized by FTIR, TGA, surface charge analysis, and by dielectric constant measurement. The silane molecules were attached to the surface of BaTiO3 particles through SiOBaTiO3 bonds. The γ-APS grafted on BaTiO3 made the dielectric constant of the particles increase at frequencies ≥0.3 kHz in a wide range of temperature (25 °C–140 °C, due to the presence of NH2 groups. The dependence of the polarization vs. electrical field was measured in order to elucidate the dielectric behavior of the silane treated BaTiO3 in comparison to untreated BaTiO3. The nanocomposite based on epoxy resin containing BaTiO3 nanoparticles untreated and treated with γ-APS was also prepared and characterized. The results indicated that the γ-APS-modified BaTiO3 surfaces significantly enhanced the dielectric property of the nanocomposite.

Inactivation of Parietal Reach Region Affects Reaching But Not Saccade Choices in Internally Guided Decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Christopoulos, Vassilios N; Bonaiuto, James; Kagan, Igor; Andersen, Richard A

2015-08-19

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has traditionally been considered important for awareness, spatial perception, and attention. However, recent findings provide evidence that the PPC also encodes information important for making decisions. These findings have initiated a running argument of whether the PPC is critically involved in decision making. To examine this issue, we reversibly inactivated the parietal reach region (PRR), the area of the PPC that is specialized for reaching movements, while two monkeys performed a memory-guided reaching or saccade task. The task included choices between two equally rewarded targets presented simultaneously in opposite visual fields. Free-choice trials were interleaved with instructed trials, in which a single cue presented in the peripheral visual field defined the reach and saccade target unequivocally. We found that PRR inactivation led to a strong reduction of contralesional choices, but only for reaches. On the other hand, saccade choices were not affected by PRR inactivation. Importantly, reaching and saccade movements to single instructed targets remained largely intact. These results cannot be explained as an effector-nonspecific deficit in spatial attention or awareness, since the temporary "lesion" had an impact only on reach choices. Hence, the PPR is a part of a network for reach decisions and not just reach planning. There has been an ongoing debate on whether the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) represents only spatial awareness, perception, and attention or whether it is also involved in decision making for actions. In this study we explore whether the parietal reach region (PRR), the region of the PPC that is specialized for reaches, is involved in the decision process. We inactivated the PRR while two monkeys performed reach and saccade choices between two targets presented simultaneously in both hemifields. We found that inactivation affected only the reach choices, while leaving saccade choices intact

Neural sources of performance decline during continuous multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Hashimi, Omar; Zanto, Theodore P; Gazzaley, Adam

2015-10-01

Multitasking performance costs have largely been characterized by experiments that involve two overlapping and punctuated perceptual stimuli, as well as punctuated responses to each task. Here, participants engaged in a continuous performance paradigm during fMRI recording to identify neural signatures associated with multitasking costs under more natural conditions. Our results demonstrated that only a single brain region, the superior parietal lobule (SPL), exhibited a significant relationship with multitasking performance, such that increased activation in the multitasking condition versus the singletasking condition was associated with higher task performance (i.e., least multitasking cost). Together, these results support previous research indicating that parietal regions underlie multitasking abilities and that performance costs are related to a bottleneck in control processes involving the SPL that serves to divide attention between two tasks. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Reduced Metabolism in Brain 'Control Networks' Following Cocaine-Cues Exposure in Female Cocaine Abusers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkow, N.D.; Tomasi, D.; Wang, G.-J.; Fowler, J.S.; Telang, F.; Goldstein, R.Z.; Alia-Klein, N.; Wong, C.T.

2011-01-01

Gender differences in vulnerability for cocaine addiction have been reported. Though the mechanisms are not understood, here we hypothesize that gender differences in reactivity to conditioned-cues, which contributes to relapse, are involved. To test this we compared brain metabolism (using PET and 18 FDG) between female (n = 10) and male (n = 16) active cocaine abusers when they watched a neutral video (nature scenes) versus a cocaine-cues video. Self-reports of craving increased with the cocaine-cue video but responses did not differ between genders. In contrast, changes in whole brain metabolism with cocaine-cues differed by gender (p<0.05); females significantly decreased metabolism (-8.6% ± 10) whereas males tended to increase it (+5.5% ± 18). SPM analysis (Cocaine-cues vs Neutral) in females revealed decreases in frontal, cingulate and parietal cortices, thalamus and midbrain (p<0.001) whereas males showed increases in right inferior frontal gyrus (BA 44/45) (only at p<0.005). The gender-cue interaction showed greater decrements with Cocaine-cues in females than males (p<0.001) in frontal (BA 8, 9, 10), anterior cingulate (BA 24, 32), posterior cingulate (BA 23, 31), inferior parietal (BA 40) and thalamus (dorsomedial nucleus). Females showed greater brain reactivity to cocaine-cues than males but no differences in craving, suggesting that there may be gender differences in response to cues that are not linked with craving but could affect subsequent drug use. Specifically deactivation of brain regions from 'control networks' (prefrontal, cingulate, inferior parietal, thalamus) in females could increase their vulnerability to relapse since it would interfere with executive function (cognitive inhibition). This highlights the importance of gender tailored interventions for cocaine addiction.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression is enhanced in renal parietal epithelial cells of zucker diabetic Fatty rats and is induced by albumin in in vitro primary parietal cell culture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuanyuan Zhang

Full Text Available As a subfamily of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs, gelatinases including MMP-2 and MMP-9 play an important role in remodeling and homeostasis of the extracellular matrix. However, conflicting results have been reported regarding their expression level and activity in the diabetic kidney. This study investigated whether and how MMP-9 expression and activity were changed in glomerular epithelial cells upon albumin overload. In situ zymography, immunostaining and Western blot for renal MMP gelatinolytic activity and MMP-9 protein expression were performed in Zucker lean and Zucker diabetic rats. Confocal microscopy revealed a focal increase in gelatinase activity and MMP-9 protein in the glomeruli of diabetic rats. Increased glomerular MMP-9 staining was mainly observed in hyperplastic parietal epithelial cells (PECs expressing claudin-1 in the diabetic kidneys. Interestingly, increased parietal MMP-9 was often accompanied by decreased staining for podocyte markers (nephrin and podocalyxin in the sclerotic area of affected glomeruli in diabetic rats. Additionally, urinary excretion of podocyte marker proteins was significantly increased in association with the levels of MMP-9 and albumin in the urine of diabetic animals. To evaluate the direct effect of albumin on expression and activity of MMP-9, primary cultured rat glomerular PECs were incubated with rat serum albumin (0.25 - 1 mg/ml for 24 - 48 hrs. MMP-9 mRNA levels were significantly increased following albumin treatment. Meanwhile, albumin administration resulted in a dose-dependent increase in MMP-9 protein and activity in culture supernatants of PECs. Moreover, albumin activated p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK in PECs. Inhibition of p44/42 MAPK suppressed albumin-induced MMP-9 secretion from glomerular PECs. Taken together, we have demonstrated that an up-regulation of MMP-9 in activated parietal epithelium is associated with a loss of adjacent podocytes in progressive

Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Expression Is Enhanced in Renal Parietal Epithelial Cells of Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats and Is Induced by Albumin in In Vitro Primary Parietal Cell Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuanyuan; George, Jasmine; Li, Yun; Olufade, Rebecca; Zhao, Xueying

2015-01-01

As a subfamily of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), gelatinases including MMP-2 and MMP-9 play an important role in remodeling and homeostasis of the extracellular matrix. However, conflicting results have been reported regarding their expression level and activity in the diabetic kidney. This study investigated whether and how MMP-9 expression and activity were changed in glomerular epithelial cells upon albumin overload. In situ zymography, immunostaining and Western blot for renal MMP gelatinolytic activity and MMP-9 protein expression were performed in Zucker lean and Zucker diabetic rats. Confocal microscopy revealed a focal increase in gelatinase activity and MMP-9 protein in the glomeruli of diabetic rats. Increased glomerular MMP-9 staining was mainly observed in hyperplastic parietal epithelial cells (PECs) expressing claudin-1 in the diabetic kidneys. Interestingly, increased parietal MMP-9 was often accompanied by decreased staining for podocyte markers (nephrin and podocalyxin) in the sclerotic area of affected glomeruli in diabetic rats. Additionally, urinary excretion of podocyte marker proteins was significantly increased in association with the levels of MMP-9 and albumin in the urine of diabetic animals. To evaluate the direct effect of albumin on expression and activity of MMP-9, primary cultured rat glomerular PECs were incubated with rat serum albumin (0.25 - 1 mg/ml) for 24 - 48 hrs. MMP-9 mRNA levels were significantly increased following albumin treatment. Meanwhile, albumin administration resulted in a dose-dependent increase in MMP-9 protein and activity in culture supernatants of PECs. Moreover, albumin activated p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in PECs. Inhibition of p44/42 MAPK suppressed albumin-induced MMP-9 secretion from glomerular PECs. Taken together, we have demonstrated that an up-regulation of MMP-9 in activated parietal epithelium is associated with a loss of adjacent podocytes in progressive diabetic nephropathy

Controlled Confinement of Half-metallic 2D Electron Gas in BaTiO3/Ba2FeReO6/BaTiO3 Heterostructures: A First-principles Study

Science.gov (United States)

Saha-Dasgupta, Tanusri; Baidya, Santu; Waghmare, Umesh; Paramekanti, Arun

Using density functional theory calculations, we establish that the half-metallicity of bulk Ba2FeReO6 survives down i to 1 nm thickness in BaTiO3/Ba2FeReO6/BaTiO3 heterostructures grown along the (001) and (111) directions. The confinement of the two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in this quantum well structure arises from the suppressed hybridization between Re/Fe d states and unoccupied Ti d states, and it is further strengthened by polar fields for the (111) direction. This mechanism, distinct from the polar catastrophe, leads to an order of magnitude stronger confinement of the 2D electron gas than that at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. We further show low-energy bands of (111) heterostructure display nontrivial topological character. Our work opens up the possibility of realizing ultra-thin spintronic devices. Journal Ref: Phys. Rev. B 92, 161106(R) (2015) S.B. and T.S.D thank Department of Science and Technology, India for the support through Thematic Unit of Excellence. AP was supported by NSERC (Canada).

The Role of Insula-Associated Brain Network in Touch

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Ruixue

2013-01-01

The insula is believed to be associated with touch-evoked effects. In this work, functional MRI was applied to investigate the network model of insula function when 20 normal subjects received tactile stimulation over segregated areas. Data analysis was performed with SPM8 and Conn toolbox. Activations in the contralateral posterior insula were consistently revealed for all stimulation areas, with the overlap located in area Ig2. The area Ig2 was then used as the seed to estimate the insula-associated network. The right insula, left superior parietal lobule, left superior temporal gyrus, and left inferior parietal cortex showed significant functional connectivity with the seed region for all stimulation conditions. Connectivity maps of most stimulation conditions were mainly distributed in the bilateral insula, inferior parietal cortex, and secondary somatosensory cortex. Post hoc ROI-to-ROI analysis and graph theoretical analysis showed that there were higher correlations between the left insula and the right insula, left inferior parietal cortex and right OP1 for all networks and that the global efficiency was more sensitive than the local efficiency to detect differences between notes in a network. These results suggest that the posterior insula serves as a hub to functionally connect other regions in the detected network and may integrate information from these regions. PMID:23936840

Expression of UV-sensitive parapinopsin in the iguana parietal eyes and its implication in UV-sensitivity in vertebrate pineal-related organs.

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Seiji; Kawano-Yamashita, Emi; Koyanagi, Mitsumasa; Terakita, Akihisa

2012-01-01

The pineal-related organs of lower vertebrates have the ability to discriminate different wavelengths of light. This wavelength discrimination is achieved through antagonistic light responses to UV or blue and visible light. Previously, we demonstrated that parapinopsin underlies the UV reception in the lamprey pineal organ and identified parapinopsin genes in teleosts and frogs of which the pineal-related organs were reported to discriminate light. In this study, we report the first identification of parapinopsin in the reptile lineage and show its expression in the parietal eye of the green iguana. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that iguana parapinopsin is a UV-sensitive pigment, similar to lamprey parapinopsin. Interestingly, immunohistochemical analyses using antibodies specific to parapinopsin and parietopsin, a parietal eye green-sensitive pigment, revealed that parapinopsin and parietopsin are colocalized in the outer segments of the parietal eye photoreceptor cells in iguanas. These results strongly suggest that parapinopsin underlies the wavelength discrimination involving UV reception in the iguana parietal eye. The current findings support the idea that parapinopsin is a common photopigment underlying the UV-sensitivity in wavelength discrimination of the pineal-related organs found from lampreys to reptiles.

Expression of UV-Sensitive Parapinopsin in the Iguana Parietal Eyes and Its Implication in UV-Sensitivity in Vertebrate Pineal-Related Organs

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Seiji; Kawano-Yamashita, Emi; Koyanagi, Mitsumasa; Terakita, Akihisa

2012-01-01

The pineal-related organs of lower vertebrates have the ability to discriminate different wavelengths of light. This wavelength discrimination is achieved through antagonistic light responses to UV or blue and visible light. Previously, we demonstrated that parapinopsin underlies the UV reception in the lamprey pineal organ and identified parapinopsin genes in teleosts and frogs of which the pineal-related organs were reported to discriminate light. In this study, we report the first identification of parapinopsin in the reptile lineage and show its expression in the parietal eye of the green iguana. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that iguana parapinopsin is a UV-sensitive pigment, similar to lamprey parapinopsin. Interestingly, immunohistochemical analyses using antibodies specific to parapinopsin and parietopsin, a parietal eye green-sensitive pigment, revealed that parapinopsin and parietopsin are colocalized in the outer segments of the parietal eye photoreceptor cells in iguanas. These results strongly suggest that parapinopsin underlies the wavelength discrimination involving UV reception in the iguana parietal eye. The current findings support the idea that parapinopsin is a common photopigment underlying the UV-sensitivity in wavelength discrimination of the pineal-related organs found from lampreys to reptiles. PMID:22720013

Expression of UV-sensitive parapinopsin in the iguana parietal eyes and its implication in UV-sensitivity in vertebrate pineal-related organs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seiji Wada

Full Text Available The pineal-related organs of lower vertebrates have the ability to discriminate different wavelengths of light. This wavelength discrimination is achieved through antagonistic light responses to UV or blue and visible light. Previously, we demonstrated that parapinopsin underlies the UV reception in the lamprey pineal organ and identified parapinopsin genes in teleosts and frogs of which the pineal-related organs were reported to discriminate light. In this study, we report the first identification of parapinopsin in the reptile lineage and show its expression in the parietal eye of the green iguana. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that iguana parapinopsin is a UV-sensitive pigment, similar to lamprey parapinopsin. Interestingly, immunohistochemical analyses using antibodies specific to parapinopsin and parietopsin, a parietal eye green-sensitive pigment, revealed that parapinopsin and parietopsin are colocalized in the outer segments of the parietal eye photoreceptor cells in iguanas. These results strongly suggest that parapinopsin underlies the wavelength discrimination involving UV reception in the iguana parietal eye. The current findings support the idea that parapinopsin is a common photopigment underlying the UV-sensitivity in wavelength discrimination of the pineal-related organs found from lampreys to reptiles.

Assessing cue-induced brain response as a function of abstinence duration in heroin-dependent individuals: an event-related fMRI study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiang Li

Full Text Available The brain activity induced by heroin-related cues may play a role in the maintenance of heroin dependence. Whether the reinforcement or processing biases construct an everlasting feature of heroin addiction remains to be resolved. We used an event-related fMRI paradigm to measure brain activation in response to heroin cue-related pictures versus neutral pictures as the control condition in heroin-dependent patients undergoing short-term and long-term abstinence. The self-reported craving scores were significantly increased after cue exposure in the short-term abstinent patients (t = 3.000, P = 0.008, but no increase was found in the long-term abstinent patients (t = 1.510, P = 0.149. However, no significant differences in cue-induced craving changes were found between the two groups (t = 1.193, P = 0.850. Comparing between the long-term abstinence and short-term abstinence groups, significant decreases in brain activation were detected in the bilateral anterior cingulated cortex, left medial prefrontal cortex, caudate, middle occipital gyrus, inferior parietal lobule and right precuneus. Among all of the heroin dependent patients, the abstinence duration was negatively correlated with brain activation in the left medial prefrontal cortex and left inferior parietal lobule. These findings suggest that long-term abstinence may be useful for heroin-dependent patients to diminish their saliency value of heroin-related cues and possibly lower the relapse vulnerability to some extent.

Feasibility of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to Investigate the Mirror Neuron System: An Experimental Study in a Real-Life Situation

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Pei-Pei; Tan, Fu-Lun; Zhang, Zong; Jiang, Yi-Han; Zhao, Yang; Zhu, Chao-Zhe

2018-01-01

The mirror neuron system (MNS), mainly including the premotor cortex (PMC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior parietal lobule (SPL), and rostral inferior parietal lobule (IPL), has attracted extensive attention as a possible neural mechanism of social interaction. Owing to high ecological validity, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has become an ideal approach for exploring the MNS. Unfortunately, for the feasibility of fNIRS to detect the MNS, none of the four dominant regions were found in previous studies, implying a very limited capacity of fNIRS to investigate the MNS. Here, we adopted an experimental paradigm in a real-life situation to evaluate whether the MNS activity, including four dominant regions, can be detected by using fNIRS. Specifically, 30 right-handed subjects were asked to complete a table-setting task that included action execution and action observation. A double density probe configuration covered the four regions of the MNS in the left hemisphere. We used a traditional channel-based group analysis and also a ROI-based group analysis to find which regions are activated during both action execution and action observation. The results showed that the IFG, adjacent PMC, SPL, and IPL were involved in both conditions, indicating the feasibility of fNIRS to detect the MNS. Our findings provide a foundation for future research to explore the functional role of the MNS in social interaction and various disorders using fNIRS. PMID:29556185

Emotional face expression modulates occipital-frontal effective connectivity during memory formation in a bottom-up fashion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daiming eXiu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the role of bottom-up and top-down neural mechanisms in the processing of emotional face expression during memory formation. Functional brain imaging data was acquired during incidental learning of positive (‘happy’, neutral and negative (‘angry’ or ‘fearful’ faces. Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM was applied on the fMRI data to characterize effective connectivity within a brain network involving face perception (inferior occipital gyrus and fusiform gyrus and successful memory formation related areas (hippocampus, superior parietal lobule, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. The bottom-up models assumed processing of emotional face expression along feed forward pathways to the orbitofrontal cortex. The top-down models assumed that the orbitofrontal cortex processed emotional valence and mediated connections to the hippocampus. A subsequent recognition memory test showed an effect of negative emotion on the response bias, but not on memory performance. Our DCM findings showed that the bottom-up model family of effective connectivity best explained the data across all subjects and specified that emotion affected most bottom-up connections to the orbitofrontal cortex, especially from the occipital visual cortex and superior parietal lobule. Of those pathways to the orbitofrontal cortex the connection from the inferior occipital gyrus correlated with memory performance independently of valence. We suggest that bottom-up neural mechanisms support effects of emotional face expression and memory formation in a parallel and partially overlapping fashion.

Feasibility of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS to Investigate the Mirror Neuron System: An Experimental Study in a Real-Life Situation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei-Pei Sun

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The mirror neuron system (MNS, mainly including the premotor cortex (PMC, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, superior parietal lobule (SPL, and rostral inferior parietal lobule (IPL, has attracted extensive attention as a possible neural mechanism of social interaction. Owing to high ecological validity, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS has become an ideal approach for exploring the MNS. Unfortunately, for the feasibility of fNIRS to detect the MNS, none of the four dominant regions were found in previous studies, implying a very limited capacity of fNIRS to investigate the MNS. Here, we adopted an experimental paradigm in a real-life situation to evaluate whether the MNS activity, including four dominant regions, can be detected by using fNIRS. Specifically, 30 right-handed subjects were asked to complete a table-setting task that included action execution and action observation. A double density probe configuration covered the four regions of the MNS in the left hemisphere. We used a traditional channel-based group analysis and also a ROI-based group analysis to find which regions are activated during both action execution and action observation. The results showed that the IFG, adjacent PMC, SPL, and IPL were involved in both conditions, indicating the feasibility of fNIRS to detect the MNS. Our findings provide a foundation for future research to explore the functional role of the MNS in social interaction and various disorders using fNIRS.

The new barium zinc mercurides Ba3ZnHg10 and BaZn0.6Hg3.4 – Synthesis, crystal and electronic structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarz, Michael; Wendorff, Marco; Röhr, Caroline

2012-01-01

The title compounds Ba 3 ZnHg 10 and BaZn 0.6 Hg 3.4 were synthesized from stoichiometric ratios of the elements in Ta crucibles. Their crystal structures, which both represent new structure types, have been determined using single crystal X-ray data. The structure of Ba 3 ZnHg 10 (orthorhombic, oP28, space group Pmmn, a=701.2(3), b=1706.9(8), c=627.3(3)pm, Z=2, R1=0.0657) contains folded 4 4 Hg nets, where the meshes form the bases of flat rectangular pyramids resembling the structure of BaAl 4 . The flat pyramids are connected via Hg–Zn/Hg bonds, leaving large channels at the folds, in which Ba(1) and Hg(2) atoms alternate. Whereas the remaining Hg/Zn atoms form a covalent 3D network of three- to five-bonded atoms with short M–M distances (273–301 pm; CN 9–11), the Hg(2) atoms in the channels adopt a comparatively large coordination number of 12 and increased distances (317–348 pm) to their Zn/Hg neighbours. In the structure of BaZn 0.6 Hg 3.4 (cubic, cI320, space group I4 ¯ 3d, a=2025.50(7) pm, Z=64, R1=0.0440), with a chemical composition not much different from that of Ba 3 ZnHg 10 , the Zn/Hg atoms of the mixed positions M(1/2) are arranged in an slightly distorted primitive cubic lattice with a 4×4×4 subcell relation to the unit cell. The 24 of the originating 64 cubes contain planar cis tetramers Hg(5,6) 4 with Hg in a nearly trigonal planar or tetrahedral coordination. In another 24 of the small cubes, two opposing faces are decorated by Hg(3,4) 2 dumbbells, two by Ba(2) atoms respectively. The third type of small cubes are centered by Ba(1) atoms only. The complex 3D polyanionic Hg/Zn network thus formed is compared with the Hg partial structure in Rb 3 Hg 20 applying a group-subgroup relation. Despite their different overall structures, the connectivity of the negatively charged Hg atoms, the rather metallic Zn bonding characteristic (as obtained from FP-LAPW band structure calculations) and the coordination number of 16 for all Ba cations

Dynamics of photoexcited Ba{sup +} cations in {sup 4}He nanodroplets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leal, Antonio; Pi, Martí [Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and IN" 2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Zhang, Xiaohang; Drabbels, Marcel [Laboratoire de Chimie Physique Moléculaire, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Barranco, Manuel [Departament ECM, Facultat de Física, and IN" 2UB, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Laboratoire des Collisions, Agrégats, Réactivité, IRSAMC, UMR 5589, CNRS et Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse 3, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse Cedex 09 (France); Cargnoni, Fausto [Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Molecolari (ISTM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via Golgi 19, 20133 Milano (Italy); Hernando, Alberto [Social Thermodynamics Applied Research (SThAR), EPFL Innovation Park, Bâtiment C, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Mateo, David [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University at Northridge, Northridge, California 91330 (United States); Mella, Massimo [Dipartimento di Scienza ed Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como (Italy)

2016-03-07

We present a joint experimental and theoretical study on the desolvation of Ba{sup +} cations in {sup 4}He nanodroplets excited via the 6p ← 6s transition. The experiments reveal an efficient desolvation process yielding mainly bare Ba{sup +} cations and Ba{sup +}He{sub n} exciplexes with n = 1 and 2. The speed distributions of the ions are well described by Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions with temperatures ranging from 60 to 178 K depending on the excitation frequency and Ba{sup +} He{sub n} exciplex size. These results have been analyzed by calculations based on a time-dependent density functional description for the helium droplet combined with classical dynamics for the Ba{sup +}. In agreement with experiment, the calculations reveal the dynamical formation of exciplexes following excitation of the Ba{sup +} cation. In contrast to experimental observation, the calculations do not reveal desolvation of excited Ba{sup +} cations or exciplexes, even when relaxation pathways to lower lying states are included.

Thermoelectric properties of doped BaHfO{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dixit, Chandra Kr., E-mail: ckparadise@gmail.com, E-mail: sharmarameshfgiet@gmail.com [Dept. of Physics, Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow-229001, U.P India (India); Bhamu, K. C. [Department of Physics, Goa University, Goa-403 206 (India); Sharma, Ramesh, E-mail: ckparadise@gmail.com, E-mail: sharmarameshfgiet@gmail.com [Dept. of Physics, Feroze Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology, Raebareli-229001, U.P India (India)

2016-05-06

We have studied the structural stability, electronic structure, optical properties and thermoelectric properties of doped BaHfO{sub 3} by full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The electronic structure of BaHfO{sub 3} doped with Sr shows enhances the indirect band gaps of 3.53 eV, 3.58 eV. The charge density plots show strong ionic bonding in Ba-Hf, and ionic and covalent bonding between Hf and O. Calculations of the optical spectra, viz., the dielectric function, refractive index and extinction coefficient are performed for the energy range are calculated and analyzed. Thermoelectric properties of semi conducting are also reported first time. The doped BaHfO{sub 3} is approximately wide band gap semiconductor with the large p-type Seebeck coefficient. The power factor of BaHfO{sub 3} is increased with Sr doping, decreases because of low electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity.

Operability test procedure for 211BA flow proportional sampler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weissenfels, R.D.

1994-01-01

The purpose of this operability test procedure (OTP) is to verify the 211-BA flow proportional sampler system and components function correctly as intended by design. System test will include the sampling system, all associated instrumentation, and Facility Process Monitor and Control System (FPMCS). The combined chemical sewer stream from B Plant flows through sump 211BA-SMP-01 located in 211-BA and is continuously monitored for gamma and beta radiation and pH. 211-BA has been upgraded to include a flow proportional sampler. A specified sample volume will be withdrawn at programmed intervals from the 211BA sump and deposited in a 19 liter plastic carboy. The sampler will be programmed per the vendor installation and operations manual by B Plant instrument maintenance personnel. Samples will be taken during five consecutive sample cycles with the sample volumes and sample frequencies recorded for comparison purposes. Additional tests related to the sampler include the alarm circuitry for loss of power and failure to obtain sample

Ba-bah on tulnud / Liina Jänes

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Jänes, Liina, 1977-

2005-01-01

Eesti noori disainereid-sisearhitekte ühendavast disainiagentuurist Ba-bah, selle eesmärgist. Agentuuri juhib Veiko Jääger. Mais 2005 Disaini- ja Arhitektuurigaleriis toimunud Ba-bahi avanäitusest, kus oli väljas töid EKA sisearhitektuuri, klaasi-, ehte- ja sepakunsti eriala üliõpilastelt ning metallmööbli valmistajalt Kalle Pruudenilt

The microscopic twins and their crystal phase in the high Tc Y-Ba-Cu-O and Dy-Ba-Cu-O superconductive ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zu, Z.J.; Chen, Y.L.

1988-01-01

Most consider that the structure of Y-Ba- Cu-O and Dy-Ba-Cu-O stable superconductive crystals with high Tc is associated with the right-angled phase. The superconductivity is closely connected with the right-angled character of the crystalline texture; the better the right- angled character, the better the superconductivity. From statistical investigations of examples the authors have discovered that most of the Y-Ba-Cu-O and Dy-Ba-Cu-O superconductivity with high Tc ceramic crystals is in the monoclinic phase, which, consists of microscopic, lamellar, single twins. The long-columnar grains consisting of lamellar twin slabs show the optical characteristics of right-angled phase. The microscopic twinning and grain morphologies are summarized in this paper

Spatial summation in macaque parietal area 7a follows a winner-take-all rule

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oleksiak, Anna; Klink, P. Christiaan; Postma, Albert; van der Ham, Ineke J.M.; Lankheet, Martin J.M.; van Wezel, Richard Jack Anton

2011-01-01

While neurons in posterior parietal cortex have been found to signal the presence of a salient stimulus among multiple items in a display, spatial summation within their receptive field in the absence of an attentional bias has never been investigated. This information, however, is indispensable

Local manifestations of a static magnetoelectric effect in nanostructured BaTiO3-BaFe12O9 composite multiferroics

Science.gov (United States)

Trivedi, Harsh; Shvartsman, Vladimir V.; Lupascu, Doru C.; Medeiros, Marco S. A.; Pullar, Robert C.; Kholkin, Andrei L.; Zelenovskiy, Pavel; Sosnovskikh, Andrey; Shur, Vladimir Ya.

2015-02-01

A study on magnetoelectric phenomena in the barium titanate-barium hexaferrite (BaTiO3-BaFe12O19) composite system, using high resolution techniques including switching spectroscopy piezoresponse force microscopy (SSPFM) and spatially resolved confocal Raman microscopy (CRM), is presented. It is found that both the local piezoelectric coefficient and polarization switching parameters change on the application of an external magnetic field. The latter effect is rationalized by the influence of magnetostrictive stress on the domain dynamics. Processing of the Raman spectral data using principal component analysis (PCA) and self-modelling curve resolution (SMCR) allowed us to achieve high resolution phase distribution maps along with separation of average and localized spectral components. A significant effect of the magnetic field on the Raman spectra of the BaTiO3 phase has been revealed. The observed changes are comparable with the classical pressure dependent studies on BaTiO3, confirming the strain mediated character of the magnetoelectric coupling in the studied composites.

The BaBar silicon vertex tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozzi, C.; Carassiti, V.; Ramusino, A. Cotta; Dittongo, S.; Folegani, M.; Piemontese, L.; Abbott, B.K.; Breon, A.B.; Clark, A.R.; Dow, S.; Fan, Q.; Goozen, F.; Hernikl, C.; Karcher, A.; Kerth, L.T.; Kipnis, I.; Kluth, S.; Lynch, G.; Levi, M.; Luft, P.; Luo, L.; Nyman, M.; Pedrali-Noy, M.; Roe, N.A.; Zizka, G.; Roberts, D.; Barni, D.; Brenna, E.; Defendi, I.; Forti, A.; Giugni, D.; Lanni, F.; Palombo, F.; Vaniev, V.; Leona, A.; Mandelli, E.; Manfredi, P.F.; Perazzo, A.; Re, V.; Angelini, C.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Bondioli, M.; Bosi, F.; Calderini, G.; Carpinelli, M.; Dutra, F.; Forti, F.; Gagliardi, D.; Giorgi, M.A.; Lusiani, A.; Mammini, P.; Morganti, M.; Morsani, F.; Paoloni, E.; Profeti, A.; Rama, M.; Rampino, G.; Rizzo, G.; Sandrelli, F.; Simi, G.; Triggiani, G.; Tritto, S.; Vitale, R.; Burchat, P.; Cheng, C.; Kirkby, D.; Meyer, T.; Roat, C.; Bona, M.; Bianchi, F.; Daudo, F.; Girolamo, B. Di; Gamba, D.; Giraudo, G.; Grosso, P.; Romero, A.; Smol, A.; Trapani, P.; Zanin, D.; Bosisio, L.; Ricca, G. Della; Lanceri, L.; Pompili, A.; Poropat, P.; Prest, M.; Rastelli, C.; Vallazza, E.; Vuagnin, G.; Hast, C.; Potter, E.P.; Sharma, V.; Burke, S.; Callahan, D.; Campagnari, C.; Dahmes, B.; Eppich, A.; Hale, D.; Hall, K.; Hart, P.; Kuznetsova, N.; Kyre, S.; Levy, S.; Long, O.; May, J.; Richman, J.; Verkerke, W.; Witherell, M.; Beringer, J.; Eisner, A.M.; Frey, A.; Grillo, A.; Grothe, M.; Johnson, R.; Kroeger, W.; Lockman, W.; Pulliam, T.; Rowe, W.; Schmitz, R.; Seiden, A.; Spencer, E.; Turri, M.; Wilder, M.; Charles, E.; Elmer, P.; Nielsen, J.; Orejudos, W.; Scott, I.; Walsh, J.; Zobernig, H.

2000-01-01

The BaBar Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT) is designed to provide the high-precision vertexing necessary for making measurements of CP violation at the SLAC B-Factory PEP-II. The instrument consists of five layers of double-sided silicon strip detectors and has been installed in the BaBar experiment and taking colliding beam data since May 1999. An overview of the design as well as performance and experience from the initial running will be presented

Improving ideomotor limb apraxia by electrical stimulation of the left posterior parietal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolognini, Nadia; Convento, Silvia; Banco, Elisabetta; Mattioli, Flavia; Tesio, Luigi; Vallar, Giuseppe

2015-02-01

Limb apraxia, a deficit of planning voluntary gestures, is most frequently caused by damage to the left hemisphere, where, according to an influential neurofunctional model, gestures are planned, before being executed through the motor cortex of the hemisphere contralateral to the acting hand. We used anodal transcranial direct current stimulation delivered to the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC), the right motor cortex (M1), and a sham stimulation condition, to modulate the ability of six left-brain-damaged patients with ideomotor apraxia, and six healthy control subjects, to imitate hand gestures, and to perform skilled hand movements using the left hand. Transcranial direct current stimulation delivered to the left PPC reduced the time required to perform skilled movements, and planning, but not execution, times in imitating gestures, in both patients and controls. In patients, the amount of decrease of planning times brought about by left PPC transcranial direct current stimulation was influenced by the size of the parietal lobe damage, with a larger parietal damage being associated with a smaller improvement. Of interest from a clinical perspective, left PPC stimulation also ameliorated accuracy in imitating hand gestures in patients. Instead, transcranial direct current stimulation to the right M1 diminished execution, but not planning, times in both patients and healthy controls. In conclusion, by using a transcranial stimulation approach, we temporarily improved ideomotor apraxia in the left hand of left-brain-damaged patients, showing a role of the left PPC in planning gestures. This evidence opens up novel perspectives for the use of transcranial direct current stimulation in the rehabilitation of limb apraxia. © 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.

Genome Sequence of African Swine Fever Virus BA71, the Virulent Parental Strain of the Nonpathogenic and Tissue-Culture Adapted BA71V.

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Rodríguez, Javier M; Moreno, Leticia Tais; Alejo, Alí; Lacasta, Anna; Rodríguez, Fernando; Salas, María L

2015-01-01

The strain BA71V has played a key role in African swine fever virus (ASFV) research. It was the first genome sequenced, and remains the only genome completely determined. A large part of the studies on the function of ASFV genes, viral transcription, replication, DNA repair and morphogenesis, has been performed using this model. This avirulent strain was obtained by adaptation to grow in Vero cells of the highly virulent BA71 strain. We report here the analysis of the genome sequence of BA71 in comparison with that of BA71V. They possess the smallest genomes for a virulent or an attenuated ASFV, and are essentially identical except for a relatively small number of changes. We discuss the possible contribution of these changes to virulence. Analysis of the BA71 sequence allowed us to identify new similarities among ASFV proteins, and with database proteins including two ASFV proteins that could function as a two-component signaling network.

Observational learning of new movement sequences is reflected in fronto-parietal coherence.

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Jurjen van der Helden

Full Text Available Mankind is unique in her ability for observational learning, i.e. the transmission of acquired knowledge and behavioral repertoire through observation of others' actions. In the present study we used electrophysiological measures to investigate brain mechanisms of observational learning. Analysis investigated the possible functional coupling between occipital (alpha and motor (mu rhythms operating in the 10 Hz frequency range for translating "seeing" into "doing". Subjects observed movement sequences consisting of six consecutive left or right hand button presses directed at one of two target-buttons for subsequent imitation. Each movement sequence was presented four times, intervened by short pause intervals for sequence rehearsal. During a control task subjects observed the same movement sequences without a requirement for subsequent reproduction. Although both alpha and mu rhythms desynchronized during the imitation task relative to the control task, modulations in alpha and mu power were found to be largely independent from each other over time, arguing against a functional coupling of alpha and mu generators during observational learning. This independence was furthermore reflected in the absence of coherence between occipital and motor electrodes overlaying alpha and mu generators. Instead, coherence analysis revealed a pair of symmetric fronto-parietal networks, one over the left and one over the right hemisphere, reflecting stronger coherence during observation of movements than during pauses. Individual differences in fronto-parietal coherence were furthermore found to predict imitation accuracy. The properties of these networks, i.e. their fronto-parietal distribution, their ipsilateral organization and their sensitivity to the observation of movements, match closely with the known properties of the mirror neuron system (MNS as studied in the macaque brain. These results indicate a functional dissociation between higher order areas for

Praseodymium valency from crystal structure in Pr-Ba-Cu-O and (Y-Pr)-Ba-Cu-O single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collin, G.; Albouy, P.A.; Monod, P.; Ribault, M.

1990-01-01

The substitution of Pr to Y leads to materials with a general formula (Y 1-v Pr v ) (Ba 2-x Pr x ) (Cu 3-y vac y ) O 6+x/2-y+z and with a structural transition around v + x' ∼ 0.5. For v + x 0.5 the crystals are tetragonal, La 1.5 Ba 1.5 Cu 3 O 7±z type, with the characteristic tri-twinning of this phase. The Pr valency, in the range 3-3.2 + depending on preparation conditions, is determined from interatomic distances. Orthorhombic crystals of Pr Ba Cu O prepared at high temperatures exhibit a high amount of defects, y ∼ 0.25 on the Cu(1) site and are semiconductors with a T -1/4 activation law attributed to the praseodymium valence fluctuation

Structural evolution of Ba{sub 8}Ti{sub 3}Nb{sub 4}O{sub 24} from BaTiO{sub 3} using a series of Ba(Ti{sub 1−5x}Nb{sub 4x})O{sub 3} solid solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barrientos Hernández, F.R., E-mail: frbh68@hotmail.com [Academic Area of Earth Sciences and Materials, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Road Pachuca-Tulancingo km 4.5, Mineral de la Reforma zip code 42184, Hidalgo (Mexico); Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, ESIQIE, National Polytechnic Institute, UPALM, Zacatenco, Mexico City, zip code 07738 (Mexico); Lira Hernández, I.A. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, ESIQIE, National Polytechnic Institute, UPALM, Zacatenco, Mexico City, zip code 07738 (Mexico); Industrial Engineering Department, Technological Institute of Pachuca, Road México-Pachuca km. 87.5, Pachuca de Soto zip code 42080, Hidalgo (Mexico); Gómez Yáñez, C. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, ESIQIE, National Polytechnic Institute, UPALM, Zacatenco, Mexico City, zip code 07738 (Mexico); Arenas Flores, A. [Academic Area of Earth Sciences and Materials, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Road Pachuca-Tulancingo km 4.5, Mineral de la Reforma zip code 42184, Hidalgo (Mexico); Cabrera Sierra, R. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, ESIQIE, National Polytechnic Institute, UPALM, Zacatenco, Mexico City, zip code 07738 (Mexico); Pérez Labra, M. [Academic Area of Earth Sciences and Materials, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Road Pachuca-Tulancingo km 4.5, Mineral de la Reforma zip code 42184, Hidalgo (Mexico)

2014-01-15

Highlights: • The evolution phase Ba{sub 8}Ti{sub 3}Nb{sub 4}O{sub 24} was obtained through the mechanism Ba(Ti{sub 1-5x}Nb{sub 4x})O{sub 3}. • Addition of niobium can accelerate grain growth of BaTiO{sub 3} ceramics. • Ba{sub 8}Ti{sub 3}Nb{sub 4}O{sub 24} presents a dielectric loss of 0.0035 and permittivity value of 54.6. • Electrical measurements showed that Nb{sup 5+} content drops Curie temperature. • Samples with x ⩾ 0.0625 shows an insulating behavior. -- Abstract: In this work, the structural evolution of hexagonal phase Ba{sub 8}Ti{sub 3}Nb{sub 4}O{sub 24} by adding Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} to perovskite structure of BaTiO{sub 3} was investigated. The compositions Ba(Ti{sub 1-5x}Nb{sub 4x})O{sub 3} ceramics, with 0.00025 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.125 were prepared by the conventional solid state route in air atmosphere, the powders precursors, BaTiO{sub 3}, BaCO{sub 3} and Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}, were mixed in stoichiometric proportions and ground in a ball mill using alumina balls and acetone. The mixed powders were calcined at temperatures up to 1500 °C. The phase transformation of Ba{sub 8}Ti{sub 3}Nb{sub 4}O{sub 24} from BaTiO{sub 3} was studied by DRX, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, electrical measurements (relative permittivity and P–E hysteresis loops); Rietveld’s refinement was used to structurally characterize the samples. For the devices obtained capacitance was measured at 1 kHz; with these values we calculated the relative permittivity. The samples show typical P–E hysteresis loops at room temperature accompanied by saturation polarization (Ps) and remnant polarization (Pr). The DRX and Rietveld’s refinement results show x ⩽ 0.01 has a ferroelectric behavior. When the doped level is increased x ⩾ 0.02, a peak displacement is observed, this is due to the phase transformation of tetragonal to cubic into the unit cell. Finally, with x = 0.125 the crystal structure transforms to the characteristic hexagonal phase Ba{sub 8}Ti{sub 3}Nb{sub 4}O{sub 24} which

El arte parietal, espejo de las sociedades paleolíticas

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Georges SAUVET

2009-12-01

Full Text Available RESUMEN: El presente trabajo aboga por un estudio del arte parietal como instrumento del conocimiento de la geografía humana de las sociedades de cazadores y de la evolución de sus redes de alianza, durante el Paleolítico superior. Tomando como ejemplo el componente figurativo de este arte y un amplio corpus de 3981 figuras procedentes de 154 yacimientos franceses y españoles, se demuestra que las asociaciones entre especies animales diferentes obedecen a reglas simples y coherentes, que se dejan fácilmente exprimir por un modelo formal. El análisis de doce sub-conjuntos sincrónicos y diacrónicos evidencia la movilidad de las connexiones interregionales (por ejemplo el desarrollo del Solutrense cantábrico en relación con los centros peninsulares y con escaso contacto con el sudoeste francés, al contrario de la situación que prevalece durante el Magdaleniense medio-superior. Sin embargo conforta la idea que las variaciones regionales operan dentro de un sistema de pensamiento religioso relativamente estable. Una segunda fase del trabajo se propone describir la estructuración del arte parietal a un nivel mucho más fino, teniendo en cuenta la diversidad formal de cada figura y sus relaciones topológicas con las demás. Una larga base de datos está en curso de elaboración para su tratamiento con las técnicas de "extracción de conocimiento" (Knowledge Discovery in Databases. Unos resultados preliminares dejan esperar que una base de datos de este tipo servirá el objetivo y proporcionará une visión más precisa y segura de la historia de los pueblos paleolíticos, dado que la fuente del estilo propio de cada grupo debe buscarse en la construcción gráfica de paneles complejos.ABSTRACT: This paper pleads in favour of the study of parietal art as a means to investigate the human geography of palaeolithic hunter-gatherers in Europe and the evolution of their alliance networks. Taking the example of the figurative component of Rock

Parietal Lobe Volume Deficits in Adolescents with Schizophrenia and Adolescents with Cannabis Use Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Kumra, Sanjiv; Robinson, Paul; Tambyraja, Rabindra; Jensen, Daniel; Schimunek, Caroline; Houri, Alaa; Reis, Tiffany; Lim, Kelvin

2012-01-01

Objective: In early-onset schizophrenia (EOS), the earliest structural brain volumetric abnormalities appear in the parietal cortices. Early exposure to cannabis may represent an environmental risk factor for developing schizophrenia. This study characterized cerebral cortical gray matter structure in adolescents in regions of interest (ROIs) that…

From Ba3Ta5O14N to LaBa2Ta5O13N2: Decreasing the optical band gap of a photocatalyst

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anke, B.; Bredow, T.; Pilarski, M.; Wark, M.; Lerch, M.

2017-01-01

Yellow LaBa 2 Ta 5 O 13 N 2 was successfully synthesized as phase-pure material crystallizing isostructurally to previously reported Ba 3 Ta 5 O 14 N and mixed-valence Ba 3 Ta V 4 Ta IV O 15 . The electronic structure of LaBa 2 Ta 5 O 13 N 2 was studied theoretically with the range-separated hybrid method HSE06. The most stable structure was obtained when lanthanum was placed on 2a and nitrogen on 4h sites confirming Pauling's second rule. By incorporating nitrogen, the measured band gap decreases from ∼3.8 eV for the oxide via 2.74 eV for Ba 3 Ta 5 O 14 N to 2.63 eV for the new oxide nitride, giving rise to an absorption band well in the visible-light region. Calculated fundamental band gaps confirm the experimental trend. The atom-projected density of states has large contributions from N2p orbitals close to the valence band edge. These are responsible for the observed band gap reduction. Photocatalytic hydrogen formation was investigated and compared with that of Ba 3 Ta 5 O 14 N revealing significantly higher activity for LaBa 2 Ta 5 O 13 N 2 under UV-light. - Graphical abstract: X-ray powder diffraction pattern of LaBa 2 Ta 5 O 13 N 2 with the results of the Rietveld refinements. Inset: Unit cell of LaBa 2 Ta 5 O 13 N 2 and polyhedral representation of the crystal structure. - Highlights: • Synthesis of a new oxide nitride LaBa 2 Ta 5 O 13 N 2 . • Refinement of the crystal structure. • Quantum chemical calculations provided band gap close to the measured value. • New phase shows a higher photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate compared to prior tested Ba 3 Ta 5 O 14 N.

Comparison between Early-Onset and Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Patients with Amnestic Presentation: CSF and 18F-FDG PET Study

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Agostino Chiaravalloti

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: To investigate the differences in brain glucose consumption between patients with early onset of Alzheimer's disease (EOAD, aged ≤65 years and patients with late onset of Alzheimer's disease (LOAD, aged >65 years. Methods: Differences in brain glucose consumption between the groups have been evaluated by means of Statistical Parametric Mapping version 8, with the use of age, sex, Mini-Mental State Examination and cerebrospinal fluid values of Aβ1-42, phosphorylated Tau and total Tau as covariates in the comparison between EOAD and LOAD. Results: As compared to LOAD, EOAD patients showed a significant decrease in glucose consumption in a wide portion of the left parietal lobe (BA7, BA31 and BA40. No significant differences were obtained when subtracting the EOAD from the LOAD group. Conclusions: The results of our study show that patients with EOAD show a different metabolic pattern as compared to those with LOAD that mainly involves the left parietal lobe.

Comparison between Early-Onset and Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Patients with Amnestic Presentation: CSF and 18F-FDG PET Study

Science.gov (United States)

Chiaravalloti, Agostino; Koch, Giacomo; Toniolo, Sofia; Belli, Lorena; Lorenzo, Francesco Di; Gaudenzi, Sara; Schillaci, Orazio; Bozzali, Marco; Sancesario, Giuseppe; Martorana, Alessandro

2016-01-01

Background/Aims To investigate the differences in brain glucose consumption between patients with early onset of Alzheimer's disease (EOAD, aged ≤65 years) and patients with late onset of Alzheimer's disease (LOAD, aged >65 years). Methods Differences in brain glucose consumption between the groups have been evaluated by means of Statistical Parametric Mapping version 8, with the use of age, sex, Mini-Mental State Examination and cerebrospinal fluid values of AΒ1-42, phosphorylated Tau and total Tau as covariates in the comparison between EOAD and LOAD. Results As compared to LOAD, EOAD patients showed a significant decrease in glucose consumption in a wide portion of the left parietal lobe (BA7, BA31 and BA40). No significant differences were obtained when subtracting the EOAD from the LOAD group. Conclusions The results of our study show that patients with EOAD show a different metabolic pattern as compared to those with LOAD that mainly involves the left parietal lobe. PMID:27195000

Flora da Paraíba, Brasil: Loganiaceae Flora of Paraíba, Brazil: Loganiaceae

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Kiriaki Nurit

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Neste trabalho apresenta-se o tratamento taxonômico da família Loganiaceae, como parte do projeto "Flora da Paraíba", que vem sendo realizado com o objetivo de identificar e catalogar as espécies da flora local. Realizouse coletas e observações de campo para as identificações, descrições e ilustrações botânicas que foram efetuadas após estudos morfológicos, com o auxílio da bibliografia especializada, complementados pela análise de fotos de tipos, espécimes dos herbários EAN, JPB e IPA, e comparação com material identificado por especialistas. Registrou-se para a Paraíba quatro espécies: Spigelia anthelmia L., com ampla distribuição, e três espécies de Strychnos, somente coletadas em remanescentes de Mata Atlântica, S. atlantica Krukoff & Barneby, S. parvifolia A. DC. e S. trinervis (Vell. Mart.This work constitutes a taxonomic treatment of the Loganiaceae family as part of the project "Flora da Paraíba", which have been carried out with the objective to identify and catalogue the species of the local flora. The botanical identifications and illustrations were made by morphological studies supported by bibliography, analysis of the types, specimens from herbaria EAN, JPB and IPA, and comparison with samples previously identified by specialists, complemented by field observations. Four species of Loganiaceae belonging two genera were found in State of Paraíba: Spigelia anthelmia L. that has wide distribution and three species of Strychnos, found on remains of Atlantic forest, which are S. atlantica Krukoff & Barneby, S. parvifolia A. DC. and S. trinervis (Vell. Mart.

Optical characteristics of BaGa{sub 2}S{sub 4}:Ho{sup 3+} and BaGa{sub 2}Se{sub 4}:Ho{sup 3+} single crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choe, Sung-Hyu [Chosun University, Kwangju (Korea, Republic of); Jin, Moon-Seog [Dongshin University, Naju (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Wha-Tek [Chonnam National University, Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2005-11-15

BaGa{sub 2}S{sub 4}, BaGa{sub 2}S{sub 4}:Ho{sup 3+}, BaGa{sub 2}Se{sub 4}, and BaGa{sub 2}Se{sub 4}:Ho{sup 3+} single crystals were grown by using the chemical transport reaction method. The optical energy gaps of the single crystals were investigated in the temperature region from 11 K to 300 K. The temperature dependence of the optical energy gap was well fitted by the Varshni equation. Two broad emission bands were observed in the photoluminescence spectra of the single crystals. These bands were attributed to donor-acceptor pair recombinations. Sharp emission peaks were observed in the BaGa{sub 2}S{sub 4}:Ho{sup 3+} and the BaGa{sub 2}Se{sub 4}:Ho{sup 3+} single crystals and were assigned to radiation recombination between split Stark levels of Ho{sup 3+}.

Deficits in visual search for conjunctions of motion and form after parietal damage but with spared hMT+/V5.

Science.gov (United States)

Dent, Kevin; Lestou, Vaia; Humphreys, Glyn W

2010-02-01

It has been argued that area hMT+/V5 in humans acts as a motion filter, enabling targets defined by a conjunction of motion and form to be efficiently selected. We present data indicating that (a) damage to parietal cortex leads to a selective problem in processing motion-form conjunctions, and (b) that the presence of a structurally and functional intact hMT+/V5 is not sufficient for efficient search for motion-form conjunctions. We suggest that, in addition to motion-processing areas (e.g., hMT+/V5), the posterior parietal cortex is necessary for efficient search with motion-form conjunctions, so that damage to either brain region may bring about deficits in search. We discuss the results in terms of the involvement of the posterior parietal cortex in the top-down guidance of search or in the binding of motion and form information.

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...

Hippocampal and posterior parietal contributions to developmental increases in visual short-term memory capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

von Allmen, David Yoh; Wurmitzer, Karoline; Klaver, Peter

2014-10-01

Developmental increases in visual short-term memory (VSTM) capacity have been associated with changes in attention processing limitations and changes in neural activity within neural networks including the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). A growing body of evidence suggests that the hippocampus plays a role in VSTM, but it is unknown whether the hippocampus contributes to the capacity increase across development. We investigated the functional development of the hippocampus and PPC in 57 children, adolescents and adults (age 8-27 years) who performed a visuo-spatial change detection task. A negative relationship between age and VSTM related activity was found in the right posterior hippocampus that was paralleled by a positive age-activity relationship in the right PPC. In the posterior hippocampus, VSTM related activity predicted individual capacity in children, whereas neural activity in the right anterior hippocampus predicted individual capacity in adults. The findings provide first evidence that VSTM development is supported by an integrated neural network that involves hippocampal and posterior parietal regions.

Non-observation of 12C cluster decay of 114Ba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guglielmetti, A.; Bonetti, R.; Poli, G.; Collatz, R.; Hu, Z.; Kirchner, R.; Roeckl, E.; Gunn, N.; Price, P.B.; Weaver, B.A.; Westphal, A.; California Univ., Berkeley, CA; Szerypo, J.

1997-10-01

By means of the on-line mass separator at Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, we produced 114 Ba through the 58 Ni( 58 Ni,2n) reaction, separated it as a 114 Ba 19 F + beam, and implanted it into a stopper foil positioned in the center of an array of track detectors, which were used to search for 12 C radioactivity of 114 Ba. A total number of (5.4±1.7).10 4 114 Ba atoms were implanted. No 12 C event was found after a total exposure time of 116 hours, corresponding to a 58 Ni beam dose of 1.3.10 17 . The resulting upper limit of 3.4.10 -5 (84% c. 1.) for the branching ratio for 12 C decay of 114 Ba is considerably lower than the limits obtained in previous experiments, which represents an inconsistency at levels of more than 90%. A semiempirical estimate of 19.3 MeV for the upper limit of the Q-value for 12 C decay of 114 Ba is derived. (orig.)

Analysis of oxygen binding-energy variations for BaO on W

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, G. A.; Shih, A.; Mueller, D.; Thomas, R. E.

Interatomic Auger analyses have been made of different forms of BaO layers on W substrates. Variations in Auger spectroscopy energies of the Ba4dBa5pO2p interatomic Auger transition were found to be largely governed by the O2p binding energy of the BaO adsorbate. This was illustrated by comparing results of the Auger data values with values derived from O2p binding energies using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Very good agreement was observed not only for the W substrate but also for the W substrate which showed two oxygen-induced electronics state. Variations in binding energy were noted for different states of BaO lattice formation and for different amounts of oxidation, ranging from the transition of Ba to BaO and continuing to the BaO 2 stoichiometry and beyond. Effects were also reported for adsorbate alignment and thermal activation (i.e., reduction) of the oxidized state. An empirical relationship was found suggesting that the more tightly bound the O2p states of the BaO adsorbate were, the lower its work function would be. This link between binding energy and work function was observed to be valid not only for cases of poisoning by oxidation, but held as well during reactivation by the subsequent reduction of the oxide. In addition, this relationship also appeared to predict the low work function obtained through the introduction of substances such as Sc to the BaO-W system. Possible qualitative reasons which might contribute to this are discussed in terms of enhanced dipole effects and shifts in band structure.

Temporo-Parietal Junction Activity in Theory-of-Mind Tasks: Falseness, Beliefs, or Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Aichhorn, Markus; Perner, Josef; Weiss, Benjamin; Kronbichler, Martin; Staffen, Wolfgang; Ladurner, Gunther

2009-01-01

By combining the false belief (FB) and photo (PH) vignettes to identify theory-of-mind areas with the false sign (FS) vignettes, we re-establish the functional asymmetry between the left and right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). The right TPJ (TPJ-R) is specially sensitive to processing belief information, whereas the left TPJ (TPJ-L) is equally…

Optical energy gaps and photoluminescence peaks of BaGa2S4:Er3+ and BaGa2Se4:Er3+ single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choe, Sung-Hyu; Jin, Moon-Seog; Kim, Wha-Tek

2005-01-01

BaGa 2 S 4 :Er 3+ and BaGa 2 Se 4 :Er 3+ single crystals were grown by using the chemical transport reaction method. The optical energy gaps of the BaGa 2 S 4 :Er 3+ and the BaGa 2 Se 4 :Er 3+ single crystals were found to be 4.045 eV and 3.073 eV, respectively, at 11 K. The temperature dependence of the optical energy gap was well fitted by the Varshni equation. Sharp emission peaks were observed in the photoluminescence spectra of the single crystals and assigned to radiation recombination between split Stark levels of the Er 3+ ion.

Asymmetric multisensory interactions of visual and somatosensory responses in a region of the rat parietal cortex.

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Michael T Lippert

Full Text Available Perception greatly benefits from integrating multiple sensory cues into a unified percept. To study the neural mechanisms of sensory integration, model systems are required that allow the simultaneous assessment of activity and the use of techniques to affect individual neural processes in behaving animals. While rodents qualify for these requirements, little is known about multisensory integration and areas involved for this purpose in the rodent. Using optical imaging combined with laminar electrophysiological recordings, the rat parietal cortex was identified as an area where visual and somatosensory inputs converge and interact. Our results reveal similar response patterns to visual and somatosensory stimuli at the level of current source density (CSD responses and multi-unit responses within a strip in parietal cortex. Surprisingly, a selective asymmetry was observed in multisensory interactions: when the somatosensory response preceded the visual response, supra-linear summation of CSD was observed, but the reverse stimulus order resulted in sub-linear effects in the CSD. This asymmetry was not present in multi-unit activity however, which showed consistently sub-linear interactions. These interactions were restricted to a specific temporal window, and pharmacological tests revealed significant local intra-cortical contributions to this phenomenon. Our results highlight the rodent parietal cortex as a system to model the neural underpinnings of multisensory processing in behaving animals and at the cellular level.

Preparation of Ba1-xSrxWO4 and Ba1-xCaxWO4 films on tungsten plate by mechanically assisted solution reaction at room temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rangappa, Dinesh; Fujiwara, Takeshi; Watanabe, Tomoaki; Yoshimura, Masahiro

2008-01-01

Preparation of the alkaline earth tungstate films such as Ba 1-x Sr x WO 4 and Ba 1-x Ca x WO 4 on the tungsten substrate was studied with a simple solution process assisted with the ball rotation at room temperature. The solid solution formation and limitations, the effect of oxidizing agent H 2 O 2 and alkaline earth ions concentration on the dissolution of W substrate and the growth of Ba 1-x Sr x WO 4 and Ba 1-x Ca x WO 4 films were studied in detail. The ball rotation assistance plays a very important role to enhance the dissolution of the W substrate and mass transport of the reactant species such as alkaline earth ions and WO 4 2- ions onto the solid/solution interface region, where precipitation occurs. Therefore, the rate of film formation was accelerated by the ball rotation assistance to the reaction system. Ba-rich Ba 1-x Sr x WO 4 and Ba 1-x Ca x WO 4 films were formed without high energy or high temperature treatment

Self-face recognition shares brain regions active during proprioceptive illusion in the right inferior fronto-parietal superior longitudinal fasciculus III network.

Science.gov (United States)

Morita, Tomoyo; Saito, Daisuke N; Ban, Midori; Shimada, Koji; Okamoto, Yuko; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Asada, Minoru; Naito, Eiichi

2017-04-21

Proprioception is somatic sensation that allows us to sense and recognize position, posture, and their changes in our body parts. It pertains directly to oneself and may contribute to bodily awareness. Likewise, one's face is a symbol of oneself, so that visual self-face recognition directly contributes to the awareness of self as distinct from others. Recently, we showed that right-hemispheric dominant activity in the inferior fronto-parietal cortices, which are connected by the inferior branch of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF III), is associated with proprioceptive illusion (awareness), in concert with sensorimotor activity. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that visual self-face recognition shares brain regions active during proprioceptive illusion in the right inferior fronto-parietal SLF III network. We scanned brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging while twenty-two right-handed healthy adults performed two tasks. One was a proprioceptive illusion task, where blindfolded participants experienced a proprioceptive illusion of right hand movement. The other was a visual self-face recognition task, where the participants judged whether an observed face was their own. We examined whether the self-face recognition and the proprioceptive illusion commonly activated the inferior fronto-parietal cortices connected by the SLF III in a right-hemispheric dominant manner. Despite the difference in sensory modality and in the body parts involved in the two tasks, both tasks activated the right inferior fronto-parietal cortices, which are likely connected by the SLF III, in a right-side dominant manner. Here we discuss possible roles for right inferior fronto-parietal activity in bodily awareness and self-awareness. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Altered intrinsic regional brain activity in male patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng DC

2014-09-01

Full Text Available De-Chang Peng,1 Xi-Jian Dai,1,2 Hong-Han Gong,1 Hai-Jun Li,1 Xiao Nie,1 Wei Zhang3 1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi, 2Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, 3Department of Pneumology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA is associated with abnormal brain structural deficits. However, little is known about the changes in local synchronization of spontaneous activity in patients with OSA. The primary aim of the present study was to investigate spontaneous brain activity in patients with OSA compared with good sleepers (GSs using regional homogeneity (ReHo analysis based on resting-state ­functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI. Methods: Twenty-five untreated male patients with severe OSA and 25 male GSs matched for age and years of education were included in this study. The ReHo method was calculated to assess the strength of local signal synchrony and was compared between the two groups. The observed mean ReHo values were entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software to assess their correlation with behavioral performance. Results: Compared with GSs, patients with OSA showed significantly lower ReHo in the right medial frontal gyrus (BA11, right superior frontal gyrus (BA10, right cluster of the precuneus and angular gyrus (BA39, and left superior parietal lobule (BA7, and higher ReHo in the right posterior lobe of the cerebellum, right cingulate gyrus (BA23, and bilateral cluster covering the lentiform nucleus, putamen, and insula (BA13. The lower mean ReHo value in the right cluster of the precuneus and angular gyrus had a significant negative correlation with sleep time (r=-0.430, P=0.032, and higher ReHo in

A whole-brain gray and white matter analysis in children with 45XO karyotype Turner syndrome: voxel-based morphometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Qiuling; Zhang Zhixin; Cheng Pangui; Xie Sheng; Liu Xiwei; Pan Hui; Li Kang; Zhang Jiaying; Gong Gaolang

2013-01-01

Objective: To detect the structural changes of cerebral gray and white matter in children of monosomy Turner syndrome (TS) by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Methods: Nine children 45XO karyotype TS and 20 age-matched control girls were recruited in this study. Wechsler intelligence scale for children was used to obtain their intelligence quotients (IQ). High-resolution magnetic MR imaging was performed in TS children and control girls to collect the whole brain structural data. The data were analyzed by VBM based on SPM 8 to compare the volume of gray and white matter between the TS children and normal controls by using covariance analysis. Results: The IQ of TS children was 81 ± 13, and the IQ of the controls was 109 ± 16. Statistical analysis revealed significant difference of IQ between the two groups (t = -4.70, P < 0.05). Compared with normal controls, TS children showed significantly decreased volume (numbers of voxel in clusters were 631, 525, 520, t = 3.95, 3.50, 3.36, P < 0.05, FWE-corrected) in the gray matter of the right superior parietal lobule, postcentral gyrus, precuneus lobule, calcarine, cuneus cortices, as well as the left middle and inferior occipital lobe. However, the volume of the bilateral supplemental motor area and the medial superior frontal lobes, the right middle cingulum, the left superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri were increased in the TS children compared to the controls. The left fusiform, the left parahippocampus, the left hippocampus and the left cerebellum were also enlarged in TS children (numbers of voxel in clusters were 2082, 974, 1708, 588, 579, t = 5.45, 4.59, 4.40, 4.29, 3.55, P < 0.05, FWE-corrected). White matter regions in the left postcentral gyrus and inferior parietal lobule showed significantly reduced volume (voxel number 957, t = 5.85, P < 0.05, FWE-corrected). Conclusion: Children with monosomy TS show abnormal gray and white matter volumes in some brain regions, which may be involved in the

Trepanation and enlarged parietal foramen on skulls from the Loyalty Islands (Melanesia).

Science.gov (United States)

Vasilyev, Sergey V; Sviridov, Alexey A

2017-06-01

The goal of this study is a comprehensive examination of openings discovered on two skulls in the collection of skeletal remains from the Loyalty Islands (Melanesia). The skull No. 1524 displayed an evidence of successful trepanation, and the skull No. 7985 revealed openings that were reminiscent of a trepanation, however, we are inclined to believe that in the latter case we are dealing with a rare genetic anomaly - enlarged parietal foramen.

Thermochemical investigations into the system Y-Ba-Cu-O

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neuschuetz, D.; Zimmermann, E.; Hack, K.; Boudene, A.; Mohammad, A.

1992-01-01

For a consistent thermodynamic description of the quaternary system Y-Ba-Cu-O, the binary and ternary subsystems must be known. The metallic binaries and the ternary system Y-Ba-Cu have been evaluated by the authors. Discrepancies within the Cu-O system made a thorough experimental re-investigation necessary, leading to a new consistent thermodynamic data set for copper-oxygen which can now serve as a basis for the description of phase equilibria of all high temperature superconductors. Extensive experimental work on the ternaries Y-Cu-O and Ba-Cu-O, which are oxygen partial pressure dependent, revealed liquid phases down to 790degC. The ternary Y-Ba-O could be described more easily on the basis of literature values and present experimental results, because it does not contain any liquid phases at relevant temperatures. The representation of the quaternary Y-Ba-Cu-O is complicated both by its dependence on the oxygen potential and the existence of liquid oxide phases. In contrast to common practice, the present investigations had to start from Cu-free Ba-Y-O in order to avoid unknown liquid phases in the experiments. The present results being insufficient for a complete description of the quaternary system, the work is being continued within an EC joint research project. (orig.) With 84 refs., 8 tabs., 47 figs [de

Studi On Oxidation State Of U In Ba2NdUO6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Firman Windarto, Hendri

1996-01-01

Ba 2 NdUO 6 is not of the important compounds that is formed from a solidification process for high level liquid waste using super high temperature method Ba 2 NdUO 6 has ordered perovskite structure. The objective of this study is to investigate oxidation state of U in Ba 2 NdUO 6 . The properties of Ba 2 NdUO 6 were observed by using Faraday-type torsion magnetometer and X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS). The magnetic susceptibility measured in the temperature range of 4K to room temperature showed that the Ba 2 NdUO 6 is paramagnetism that obeys the Curie-Weiss law. The effective moment of Ba 2 NdUO 6 is 3.04 μB. The results of xPs spectrum showed that the peaks of U4f for Ba 2 NdUO 6 appeared exactly between binding energy of UO 2 and UO 3 . It can be concluded that Ba 2 NdUO 6 has binding energy peaks corresponding to pentavalent uranium