Development of Right-hemispheric Dominance of Inferior Parietal Lobule in Proprioceptive Illusion Task

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Naito, Eiichi; Morita, Tomoyo; Saito, Daisuke N; Ban, Midori; Shimada, Koji; Okamoto, Yuko; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Asada, Minoru

2017-01-01

Abstract Functional lateralization can be an indicator of brain maturation. We have consistently shown that, in the adult brain, proprioceptive processing of muscle spindle afferents generating illusory movement of the right hand activates inferior frontoparietal cortical regions in a right-side dominant manner in addition to the cerebrocerebellar motor network. Here we provide novel evidence regarding the development of the right-dominant use of the inferior frontoparietal cortical regions in humans using this task. We studied brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging while 60 right-handed blindfolded healthy children (8–11 years), adolescents (12–15 years), and young adults (18–23 years) (20 per group) experienced the illusion. Adult-like right-dominant use of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was observed in adolescents, while children used the IPL bilaterally. In contrast, adult-like lateralized cerebrocerebellar motor activation patterns were already observable in children. The right-side dominance progresses during adolescence along with the suppression of the left-sided IPL activity that emerges during childhood. Therefore, the neuronal processing implemented in the adult's right IPL during the proprioceptive illusion task is likely mediated bilaterally during childhood, and then becomes right-lateralized during adolescence at a substantially later time than the lateralized use of the cerebrocerebellar motor system for kinesthetic processing. PMID:28968653

Development of Right-hemispheric Dominance of Inferior Parietal Lobule in Proprioceptive Illusion Task.

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Naito, Eiichi; Morita, Tomoyo; Saito, Daisuke N; Ban, Midori; Shimada, Koji; Okamoto, Yuko; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Asada, Minoru

2017-11-01

Functional lateralization can be an indicator of brain maturation. We have consistently shown that, in the adult brain, proprioceptive processing of muscle spindle afferents generating illusory movement of the right hand activates inferior frontoparietal cortical regions in a right-side dominant manner in addition to the cerebrocerebellar motor network. Here we provide novel evidence regarding the development of the right-dominant use of the inferior frontoparietal cortical regions in humans using this task. We studied brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging while 60 right-handed blindfolded healthy children (8-11 years), adolescents (12-15 years), and young adults (18-23 years) (20 per group) experienced the illusion. Adult-like right-dominant use of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was observed in adolescents, while children used the IPL bilaterally. In contrast, adult-like lateralized cerebrocerebellar motor activation patterns were already observable in children. The right-side dominance progresses during adolescence along with the suppression of the left-sided IPL activity that emerges during childhood. Therefore, the neuronal processing implemented in the adult's right IPL during the proprioceptive illusion task is likely mediated bilaterally during childhood, and then becomes right-lateralized during adolescence at a substantially later time than the lateralized use of the cerebrocerebellar motor system for kinesthetic processing. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

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.

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

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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...

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

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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.

Time course of the involvement of the right anterior superior temporal gyrus and the right fronto-parietal operculum in emotional prosody perception.

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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.

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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

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.

Self-Face Recognition Begins to Share Active Region in Right Inferior Parietal Lobule with Proprioceptive Illusion During Adolescence.

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Morita, Tomoyo; Saito, Daisuke N; Ban, Midori; Shimada, Koji; Okamoto, Yuko; Kosaka, Hirotaka; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Asada, Minoru; Naito, Eiichi

2018-04-01

We recently reported that right-side dominance of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in self-body recognition (proprioceptive illusion) task emerges during adolescence in typical human development. Here, we extend this finding by demonstrating that functional lateralization to the right IPL also develops during adolescence in another self-body (specifically a self-face) recognition task. We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 60 right-handed healthy children (8-11 years), adolescents (12-15 years), and adults (18-23 years; 20 per group) while they judged whether a presented face was their own (Self) or that of somebody else (Other). We also analyzed fMRI data collected while they performed proprioceptive illusion task. All participants performed self-face recognition with high accuracy. Among brain regions where self-face-related activity (Self vs. Other) developed, only right IPL activity developed predominantly for self-face processing, with no substantial involvement in other-face processing. Adult-like right-dominant use of IPL emerged during adolescence, but was not yet present in childhood. Adult-like common activation between the tasks also emerged during adolescence. Adolescents showing stronger right-lateralized IPL activity during illusion also showed this during self-face recognition. Our results suggest the importance of the right IPL in neuronal processing of information associated with one's own body in typically developing humans.

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)

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

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reveals a role for the left inferior parietal lobule in matching observed kinematics during imitation.

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Reader, Arran T; Royce, Ben P; Marsh, Jade E; Chivers, Katy-Jayne; Holmes, Nicholas P

2018-04-01

Apraxia (a disorder of complex movement) suggests that the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) plays a role in kinematic or spatial aspects of imitation, which may be particularly important for meaningless (i.e. unfamiliar intransitive) actions. Mirror neuron theories indicate that the IPL is part of a frontoparietal system that can support imitation by linking observed and stored actions through visuomotor matching, and have less to say about different subregions of the left IPL, or how different types of action (i.e. meaningful or meaningless) are processed for imitation. We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to bridge this gap and better understand the roles of the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and left angular gyrus (AG) in imitation. We also examined whether these areas are differentially involved in meaningful and meaningless action imitation. We applied rTMS over the left SMG, over the left AG or during a no-rTMS baseline condition, and then asked participants to imitate a confederate's actions whilst the arm and hand movements of both individuals were motion-tracked. rTMS over both the left SMG and the left AG reduced the velocity of participants' finger movements relative to the actor during imitation of finger gestures, regardless of action meaning. Our results support recent claims in apraxia and confirm a role for the left IPL in kinematic processing during gesture imitation, regardless of action meaning. © 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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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.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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)

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

Schizophrenia affects speech-induced functional connectivity of the superior temporal gyrus under cocktail-party listening conditions.

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Li, Juanhua; Wu, Chao; Zheng, Yingjun; Li, Ruikeng; Li, Xuanzi; She, Shenglin; Wu, Haibo; Peng, Hongjun; Ning, Yuping; Li, Liang

2017-09-17

The superior temporal gyrus (STG) is involved in speech recognition against informational masking under cocktail-party-listening conditions. Compared to healthy listeners, people with schizophrenia perform worse in speech recognition under informational speech-on-speech masking conditions. It is not clear whether the schizophrenia-related vulnerability to informational masking is associated with certain changes in FC of the STG with some critical brain regions. Using sparse-sampling fMRI design, this study investigated the differences between people with schizophrenia and healthy controls in FC of the STG for target-speech listening against informational speech-on-speech masking, when a listening condition with either perceived spatial separation (PSS, with a spatial release of informational masking) or perceived spatial co-location (PSC, without the spatial release) between target speech and masking speech was introduced. The results showed that in healthy participants, but not participants with schizophrenia, the contrast of either the PSS or PSC condition against the masker-only condition induced an enhancement of functional connectivity (FC) of the STG with the left superior parietal lobule and the right precuneus. Compared to healthy participants, participants with schizophrenia showed declined FC of the STG with the bilateral precuneus, right SPL, and right supplementary motor area. Thus, FC of the STG with the parietal areas is normally involved in speech listening against informational masking under either the PSS or PSC conditions, and declined FC of the STG in people with schizophrenia with the parietal areas may be associated with the increased vulnerability to informational masking. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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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.

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.

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)

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

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.

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

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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

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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

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.

Self-face recognition shares brain regions active during proprioceptive illusion in the right inferior fronto-parietal superior longitudinal fasciculus III network.

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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.

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.

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

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.

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 ...

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.

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.

Voxel-based gray and white matter morphometry correlates of hallucinations in schizophrenia: The superior temporal gyrus does not stand alone.

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van Tol, Marie-José; van der Meer, Lisette; Bruggeman, Richard; Modinos, Gemma; Knegtering, Henderikus; Aleman, André

2014-01-01

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in schizophrenia (SZ) have been proposed to result from abnormal local, interregional and interhemispheric integration of brain signals in regions involved in language production and perception. This abnormal functional integration may find its base in morphological abnormalities. Structurally, AVHs have been frequently linked to abnormal morphology of the superior temporal gyrus (STG), but only a few studies investigated the relation of hallucination presence with both whole-brain gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) morphometry. Using a unified voxel-based morphometry-DARTEL approach, we investigated correlates of AVH presence in 51 schizophrenia patients (20 non-hallucinating [SZ -], 31 hallucinating [SZ +]), and included 51 age and sex matched healthy participants. Effects are reported at p frontal and right parahippocampal gyrus, and higher WM volume of the left postcentral and superior parietal lobule than controls. Finally, volume of the putamen was lower in SZ + compared to SZ -. No effects on corpus callosum morphometry were observed. Delusion severity, general positive and negative symptomatology illness duration, and medication status could not explain the results. Results suggest that STG GM abnormalities underlie the general susceptibility to experience psychotic symptoms and that additional abnormalities in a network of medial temporal, ventrolateral, putaminal, and parietal regions related to verbal memory and speech production may specifically increase the likelihood of experiencing AVH. Future studies should clarify the meaning of morphometry abnormalities for functional interregional communication.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Heritability analysis of surface-based cortical thickness estimation on a large twin cohort

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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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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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.

Thalamic and parietal brain morphology predicts auditory category learning.

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Scharinger, Mathias; Henry, Molly J; Erb, Julia; Meyer, Lars; Obleser, Jonas

2014-01-01

Auditory categorization is a vital skill involving the attribution of meaning to acoustic events, engaging domain-specific (i.e., auditory) as well as domain-general (e.g., executive) brain networks. A listener's ability to categorize novel acoustic stimuli should therefore depend on both, with the domain-general network being particularly relevant for adaptively changing listening strategies and directing attention to relevant acoustic cues. Here we assessed adaptive listening behavior, using complex acoustic stimuli with an initially salient (but later degraded) spectral cue and a secondary, duration cue that remained nondegraded. We employed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify cortical and subcortical brain structures whose individual neuroanatomy predicted task performance and the ability to optimally switch to making use of temporal cues after spectral degradation. Behavioral listening strategies were assessed by logistic regression and revealed mainly strategy switches in the expected direction, with considerable individual differences. Gray-matter probability in the left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and left precentral gyrus was predictive of "optimal" strategy switch, while gray-matter probability in thalamic areas, comprising the medial geniculate body, co-varied with overall performance. Taken together, our findings suggest that successful auditory categorization relies on domain-specific neural circuits in the ascending auditory pathway, while adaptive listening behavior depends more on brain structure in parietal cortex, enabling the (re)direction of attention to salient stimulus properties. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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.

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.

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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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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.

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

Neural evidence for the use of digit-image mnemonic in a superior memorist: An fMRI study

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Li-Jun eYin

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Some superior memorists demonstrated exceptional memory for reciting a large body of information. The underlying neural correlates, however, are seldom addressed. C.L., the current holder of Guinness World Record for reciting 67,890 digits in π, participated in this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study. Thirteen participants without any mnemonics training were included as controls. Our previous studies suggested that C.L. used a digit-image mnemonic in studying and recalling lists of digits, namely associating 2-digit groups of ‘00’ to ‘99’ with images and generating vivid stories out of them (Hu, Ericsson, Yang & Lu, 2009. Thus, 2-digit condition was included, with 1-digit numbers and letters as control conditions. We hypothesized that 2-digit condition in C.L. should elicit the strongest activity in the brain regions which are associated with his mnemonic. Functional MRI results revealed that bilateral frontal poles (FPs, BA10, left superior parietal lobule (SPL, left premotor cortex (PMC, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, were more engaged in both the study and recall phase of 2-digit condition for C.L. relative to controls. Moreover, the left middle/inferior frontal gyri (M/IFG and intraparietal sulci (IPS were less engaged in the study phase of 2-digit condition for C.L. (vs. controls. These results suggested that C.L. relied more on brain regions that are associated with episodic memory other than verbal rehearsal while he used his mnemonic strategies. This study supported theoretical accounts of restructured cognitive mechanisms for the acquisition of superior memory performance.

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.

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

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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…

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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Microsurgical anatomy of the central lobe.

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Frigeri, Thomas; Paglioli, Eliseu; de Oliveira, Evandro; Rhoton, Albert L

2015-03-01

The central lobe consists of the pre- and postcentral gyri on the lateral surface and the paracentral lobule on the medial surface and corresponds to the sensorimotor cortex. The objective of the present study was to define the neural features, craniometric relationships, arterial supply, and venous drainage of the central lobe. Cadaveric hemispheres dissected using microsurgical techniques provided the material for this study. The coronal suture is closer to the precentral gyrus and central sulcus at its lower rather than at its upper end, but they are closest at a point near where the superior temporal line crosses the coronal suture. The arterial supply of the lower two-thirds of the lateral surface of the central lobe was from the central, precentral, and anterior parietal branches that arose predominantly from the superior trunk of the middle cerebral artery. The medial surface and the superior third of the lateral surface were supplied by the posterior interior frontal, paracentral, and superior parietal branches of the pericallosal and callosomarginal arteries. The venous drainage of the superior two-thirds of the lateral surface and the central lobe on the medial surface was predominantly through the superior sagittal sinus, and the inferior third of the lateral surface was predominantly through the superficial sylvian veins to the sphenoparietal sinus or the vein of Labbé to the transverse sinus. The pre- and postcentral gyri and paracentral lobule have a morphological and functional anatomy that differentiates them from the remainder of their respective lobes and are considered by many as a single lobe. An understanding of the anatomical relationships of the central lobe can be useful in preoperative planning and in establishing reliable intraoperative landmarks.

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

[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

Anhedonia correlates with abnormal functional connectivity of the superior temporal gyrus and the caudate nucleus in patients with first-episode drug-naive major depressive disorder.

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Yang, Xin-Hua; Tian, Kai; Wang, Dong-Fang; Wang, Yi; Cheung, Eric F C; Xie, Guang-Rong; Chan, Raymond C K

2017-08-15

Recent empirical findings have suggested that imbalanced neural networks may underlie the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the contribution of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the caudate nucleus to its pathophysiology remains unclear. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) date were acquired from 40 patients with first-episode drug-naive MDD and 36 matched healthy controls during wakeful rest. We used whole-brain voxel-wise statistical maps to quantify within-group resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) and between-group differences of bilateral caudate and STG seeds. Compared with healthy controls, first-episode MDD patients were found to have reduced connectivity between the ventral caudate and several brain regions including the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), the superior parietal lobule (SPL) and the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), as well as increased connectivity with the cuneus. We also found increased connectivity between the left STG and the precuneus, the angular gyrus and the cuneus. Moreover, we found that increased anhedonia severity was correlated with the magnitude of ventral caudate functional connectivity with the cuneus and the MTG in MDD patients. Due to our small sample size, we did not correct the statistical threshold in the correlation analyses between clinical variables and connectivity abnormalities. The present study suggests that anhedonia is mainly associated with altered ventral caudate-cortical connectivity and highlights the importance of the ventral caudate in the neurobiology of MDD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

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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

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)

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

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.

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

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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

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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

Learning of spatial relationships between observed and imitated actions allows invariant inverse computation in the frontal mirror neuron system.

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Oh, Hyuk; Gentili, Rodolphe J; Reggia, James A; Contreras-Vidal, José L

2011-01-01

It has been suggested that the human mirror neuron system can facilitate learning by imitation through coupling of observation and action execution. During imitation of observed actions, the functional relationship between and within the inferior frontal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex, and the superior temporal sulcus can be modeled within the internal model framework. The proposed biologically plausible mirror neuron system model extends currently available models by explicitly modeling the intraparietal sulcus and the superior parietal lobule in implementing the function of a frame of reference transformation during imitation. Moreover, the model posits the ventral premotor cortex as performing an inverse computation. The simulations reveal that: i) the transformation system can learn and represent the changes in extrinsic to intrinsic coordinates when an imitator observes a demonstrator; ii) the inverse model of the imitator's frontal mirror neuron system can be trained to provide the motor plans for the imitated actions.

Age-related functional brain changes in young children.

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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.

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

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

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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.

Mapping and characterization of positive and negative BOLD responses to visual stimulation in multiple brain regions at 7T.

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Jorge, João; Figueiredo, Patrícia; Gruetter, Rolf; van der Zwaag, Wietske

2018-02-20

External stimuli and tasks often elicit negative BOLD responses in various brain regions, and growing experimental evidence supports that these phenomena are functionally meaningful. In this work, the high sensitivity available at 7T was explored to map and characterize both positive (PBRs) and negative BOLD responses (NBRs) to visual checkerboard stimulation, occurring in various brain regions within and beyond the visual cortex. Recently-proposed accelerated fMRI techniques were employed for data acquisition, and procedures for exclusion of large draining vein contributions, together with ICA-assisted denoising, were included in the analysis to improve response estimation. Besides the visual cortex, significant PBRs were found in the lateral geniculate nucleus and superior colliculus, as well as the pre-central sulcus; in these regions, response durations increased monotonically with stimulus duration, in tight covariation with the visual PBR duration. Significant NBRs were found in the visual cortex, auditory cortex, default-mode network (DMN) and superior parietal lobule; NBR durations also tended to increase with stimulus duration, but were significantly less sustained than the visual PBR, especially for the DMN and superior parietal lobule. Responses in visual and auditory cortex were further studied for checkerboard contrast dependence, and their amplitudes were found to increase monotonically with contrast, linearly correlated with the visual PBR amplitude. Overall, these findings suggest the presence of dynamic neuronal interactions across multiple brain regions, sensitive to stimulus intensity and duration, and demonstrate the richness of information obtainable when jointly mapping positive and negative BOLD responses at a whole-brain scale, with ultra-high field fMRI. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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.

Structural and Functional Connectivity Changes in the Brain Associated with Shyness but Not with Social Anxiety

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Wu, Qizhu; Chen, Taolin; Lama, Sunima; Cheng, Bochao; Li, Shiguang; Huang, Xiaoqi; Gong, Qiyong

2013-01-01

Shyness and social anxiety are correlated to some extent and both are associated with hyper-responsivity to social stimuli in the frontal cortex and limbic system. However to date no studies have investigated whether common structural and functional connectivity differences in the brain may contribute to these traits. We addressed this issue in a cohort of 61 healthy adult subjects. Subjects were first assessed for their levels of shyness (Cheek and Buss Shyness scale) and social anxiety (Liebowitz Social Anxiety scale) and trait anxiety. They were then given MRI scans and voxel-based morphometry and seed-based, resting-state functional connectivity analysis investigated correlations with shyness and anxiety scores. Shyness scores were positively correlated with gray matter density in the cerebellum, bilateral superior temporal gyri and parahippocampal gyri and right insula. Functional connectivity correlations with shyness were found between the superior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and the frontal gyri, between the insula and precentral gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, and between the cerebellum and precuneus. Additional correlations were found for amygdala connectivity with the medial frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, despite the absence of any structural correlation. By contrast no structural or functional connectivity measures correlated with social or trait anxiety. Our findings show that shyness is specifically associated with structural and functional connectivity changes in cortical and limbic regions involved with processing social stimuli. These associations are not found with social or trait anxiety in healthy subjects despite some behavioral correlations with shyness. PMID:23675458

Neuronal Correlates of Individual Differences in the Big Five Personality Traits: Evidences from Cortical Morphology and Functional Homogeneity.

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Li, Ting; Yan, Xu; Li, Yuan; Wang, Junjie; Li, Qiang; Li, Hong; Li, Junfeng

2017-01-01

There have been many neuroimaging studies of human personality traits, and it have already provided glimpse into the neurobiology of complex traits. And most of previous studies adopt voxel-based morphology (VBM) analysis to explore the brain-personality mechanism from two levels (vertex and regional based), the findings are mixed with great inconsistencies and the brain-personality relations are far from a full understanding. Here, we used a new method of surface-based morphology (SBM) analysis, which provides better alignment of cortical landmarks to generate about the associations between cortical morphology and the personality traits across 120 healthy individuals at both vertex and regional levels. While to further reveal local functional correlates of the morphology-personality relationships, we related surface-based functional homogeneity measures to the regions identified in the regional-based SBM correlation. Vertex-wise analysis revealed that people with high agreeableness exhibited larger areas in the left superior temporal gyrus. Based on regional parcellation we found that extroversion was negatively related with the volume of the left lateral occipito-temporal gyrus and agreeableness was negatively associated with the sulcus depth of the left superior parietal lobule. Moreover, increased regional homogeneity in the left lateral occipito-temporal gyrus is related to the scores of extroversion, and increased regional homogeneity in the left superior parietal lobule is related to the scores of agreeableness. These findings provide supporting evidence of a link between personality and brain structural mysteries with a method of SBM, and further suggest that local functional homogeneity of personality traits has neurobiological relevance that is likely based on anatomical substrates.

The Role of Insula-Associated Brain Network in Touch

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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

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.

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

Learning of Spatial Relationships between Observed and Imitated Actions allows Invariant Inverse Computation in the Frontal Mirror Neuron System

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Oh, Hyuk; Gentili, Rodolphe J.; Reggia, James A.; Contreras-Vidal, José L.

2014-01-01

It has been suggested that the human mirror neuron system can facilitate learning by imitation through coupling of observation and action execution. During imitation of observed actions, the functional relationship between and within the inferior frontal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex, and the superior temporal sulcus can be modeled within the internal model framework. The proposed biologically plausible mirror neuron system model extends currently available models by explicitly modeling the intraparietal sulcus and the superior parietal lobule in implementing the function of a frame of reference transformation during imitation. Moreover, the model posits the ventral premotor cortex as performing an inverse computation. The simulations reveal that: i) the transformation system can learn and represent the changes in extrinsic to intrinsic coordinates when an imitator observes a demonstrator; ii) the inverse model of the imitator’s frontal mirror neuron system can be trained to provide the motor plans for the imitated actions. PMID:22255261

Larger right posterior parietal volume in action video game experts: a behavioral and voxel-based morphometry (VBM study.

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Satoshi Tanaka

Full Text Available Recent studies suggest that action video game players exhibit superior performance in visuospatial cognitive tasks compared with non-game players. However, the neural basis underlying this visuospatial cognitive performance advantage remains largely unknown. The present human behavioral and imaging study compared gray matter volume in action video game experts and non-experts using structural magnetic resonance imaging and voxel-based morphometry analysis. The results revealed significantly larger gray matter volume in the right posterior parietal cortex in experts compared with non-experts. Furthermore, the larger gray matter volume in the right posterior parietal cortex significantly correlated with individual performance in a visual working memory task in experts. These results suggest that differences in brain structure may be linked to extensive video game play, leading to superior visuospatial cognitive performance in action video game experts.

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.

Cortical mechanisms of cognitive control for shifting attention in vision and working memory.

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Tamber-Rosenau, Benjamin J; Esterman, Michael; Chiu, Yu-Chin; Yantis, Steven

2011-10-01

Organisms operate within both a perceptual domain of objects and events, and a mnemonic domain of past experiences and future goals. Each domain requires a deliberate selection of task-relevant information, through deployments of external (perceptual) and internal (mnemonic) attention, respectively. Little is known about the control of attention shifts in working memory, or whether voluntary control of attention in these two domains is subserved by a common or by distinct functional networks. We used human fMRI to examine the neural basis of cognitive control while participants shifted attention in vision and in working memory. We found that these acts of control recruit in common a subset of the dorsal fronto-parietal attentional control network, including the medial superior parietal lobule, intraparietal sulcus, and superior frontal sulcus/gyrus. Event-related multivoxel pattern classification reveals, however, that these regions exhibit distinct spatio-temporal patterns of neural activity during internal and external shifts of attention, respectively. These findings constrain theoretical accounts of selection in working memory and perception by showing that populations of neurons in dorsal fronto-parietal network regions exhibit selective tuning for acts of cognitive control in different cognitive domains.

Altered resting brain function and structure in professional badminton players.

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Di, Xin; Zhu, Senhua; Jin, Hua; Wang, Pin; Ye, Zhuoer; Zhou, Ke; Zhuo, Yan; Rao, Hengyi

2012-01-01

Neuroimaging studies of professional athletic or musical training have demonstrated considerable practice-dependent plasticity in various brain structures, which may reflect distinct training demands. In the present study, structural and functional brain alterations were examined in professional badminton players and compared with healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI. Gray matter concentration (GMC) was assessed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and resting-brain functions were measured by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and seed-based functional connectivity. Results showed that the athlete group had greater GMC and ALFF in the right and medial cerebellar regions, respectively. The athlete group also demonstrated smaller ALFF in the left superior parietal lobule and altered functional connectivity between the left superior parietal and frontal regions. These findings indicate that badminton expertise is associated with not only plastic structural changes in terms of enlarged gray matter density in the cerebellum, but also functional alterations in fronto-parietal connectivity. Such structural and functional alterations may reflect specific experiences of badminton training and practice, including high-capacity visuo-spatial processing and hand-eye coordination in addition to refined motor skills.

Emotional face expression modulates occipital-frontal effective connectivity during memory formation in a bottom-up fashion

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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.

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.

Neuronal Correlates of Individual Differences in the Big Five Personality Traits: Evidences from Cortical Morphology and Functional Homogeneity

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Ting Li

2017-07-01

Full Text Available There have been many neuroimaging studies of human personality traits, and it have already provided glimpse into the neurobiology of complex traits. And most of previous studies adopt voxel-based morphology (VBM analysis to explore the brain-personality mechanism from two levels (vertex and regional based, the findings are mixed with great inconsistencies and the brain-personality relations are far from a full understanding. Here, we used a new method of surface-based morphology (SBM analysis, which provides better alignment of cortical landmarks to generate about the associations between cortical morphology and the personality traits across 120 healthy individuals at both vertex and regional levels. While to further reveal local functional correlates of the morphology-personality relationships, we related surface-based functional homogeneity measures to the regions identified in the regional-based SBM correlation. Vertex-wise analysis revealed that people with high agreeableness exhibited larger areas in the left superior temporal gyrus. Based on regional parcellation we found that extroversion was negatively related with the volume of the left lateral occipito-temporal gyrus and agreeableness was negatively associated with the sulcus depth of the left superior parietal lobule. Moreover, increased regional homogeneity in the left lateral occipito-temporal gyrus is related to the scores of extroversion, and increased regional homogeneity in the left superior parietal lobule is related to the scores of agreeableness. These findings provide supporting evidence of a link between personality and brain structural mysteries with a method of SBM, and further suggest that local functional homogeneity of personality traits has neurobiological relevance that is likely based on anatomical substrates.

Parietal podocytes in normal human glomeruli.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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)

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.

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

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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.

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Virtual dissection and comparative connectivity of the superior longitudinal fasciculus in chimpanzees and humans

Science.gov (United States)

Hecht, Erin E.; Gutman, David A.; Bradley, Bruce A.; Preuss, Todd M.; Stout, Dietrich

2015-01-01

Many of the behavioral capacities that distinguish humans from other primates rely on fronto-parietal circuits. The superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) is the primary white matter tract connecting lateral frontal with lateral parietal regions; it is distinct from the arcuate fasciculus, which interconnects the frontal and temporal lobes. Here we report a direct, quantitative comparison of SLF connectivity using virtual in vivo dissection of the SLF in chimpanzees and humans. SLF I, the superior-most branch of the SLF, showed similar patterns of connectivity between humans and chimpanzees, and was proportionally volumetrically larger in chimpanzees. SLF II, the middle branch, and SLF III, the inferior-most branch, showed species differences in frontal connectivity. In humans, SLF II showed greater connectivity with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, whereas in chimps SLF II showed greater connectivity with the inferior frontal gyrus. SLF III was right-lateralized and proportionally volumetrically larger in humans, and human SLF III showed relatively reduced connectivity with dorsal premotor cortex and greater extension into the anterior inferior frontal gyrus, especially in the right hemisphere. These results have implications for the evolution of fronto-parietal functions including spatial attention to observed actions, social learning, and tool use, and are in line with previous research suggesting a unique role for the right anterior inferior frontal gyrus in the evolution of human fronto-parietal network architecture. PMID:25534109

White Matter Microstructure in Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus Associated with Spatial Working Memory Performance in Children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vestergaard, Martin; Madsen, Kathrine Skak; Baaré, William F C

2011-01-01

During childhood and adolescence, ongoing white matter maturation in the fronto-parietal cortices and connecting fiber tracts is measurable with diffusion-weighted imaging. Important questions remain, however, about the links between these changes and developing cognitive functions. Spatial working...... memory (SWM) performance improves significantly throughout the childhood years, and several lines of evidence implicate the left fronto-parietal cortices and connecting fiber tracts in SWM processing. Here we report results from a study of 76 typically developing children, 7 to 13 years of age. We...... hypothesized that better SWM performance would be associated with increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in a left fronto-parietal network composed of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the regional white matter underlying the dorsolateral pFC, and the posterior parietal cortex. As hypothesized, we...

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...

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.

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)

The neural career of sensory-motor metaphors.

Science.gov (United States)

Desai, Rutvik H; Binder, Jeffrey R; Conant, Lisa L; Mano, Quintino R; Seidenberg, Mark S

2011-09-01

The role of sensory-motor systems in conceptual understanding has been controversial. It has been proposed that many abstract concepts are understood metaphorically through concrete sensory-motor domains such as actions. Using fMRI, we compared neural responses with literal action (Lit; The daughter grasped the flowers), metaphoric action (Met; The public grasped the idea), and abstract (Abs; The public understood the idea) sentences of varying familiarity. Both Lit and Met sentences activated the left anterior inferior parietal lobule, an area involved in action planning, with Met sentences also activating a homologous area in the right hemisphere, relative to Abs sentences. Both Met and Abs sentences activated the left superior temporal regions associated with abstract language. Importantly, activation in primary motor and biological motion perception regions was inversely correlated with Lit and Met familiarity. These results support the view that the understanding of metaphoric action retains a link to sensory-motor systems involved in action performance. However, the involvement of sensory-motor systems in metaphor understanding changes through a gradual abstraction process whereby relatively detailed simulations are used for understanding unfamiliar metaphors, and these simulations become less detailed and involve only secondary motor regions as familiarity increases. Consistent with these data, we propose that anterior inferior parietal lobule serves as an interface between sensory-motor and conceptual systems and plays an important role in both domains. The similarity of abstract and metaphoric sentences in the activation of left superior temporal regions suggests that action metaphor understanding is not completely based on sensory-motor simulations but relies also on abstract lexical-semantic codes.

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

CERES: A new cerebellum lobule segmentation method.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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.

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.

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

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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)

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

Perceiving pitch absolutely: Comparing absolute and relative pitch possessors in a pitch memory task

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Schlaug Gottfried

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The perceptual-cognitive mechanisms and neural correlates of Absolute Pitch (AP are not fully understood. The aim of this fMRI study was to examine the neural network underlying AP using a pitch memory experiment and contrasting two groups of musicians with each other, those that have AP and those that do not. Results We found a common activation pattern for both groups that included the superior temporal gyrus (STG extending into the adjacent superior temporal sulcus (STS, the inferior parietal lobule (IPL extending into the adjacent intraparietal sulcus (IPS, the posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA, and superior lateral cerebellar regions. Significant between-group differences were seen in the left STS during the early encoding phase of the pitch memory task (more activation in AP musicians and in the right superior parietal lobule (SPL/intraparietal sulcus (IPS during the early perceptual phase (ITP 0–3 and later working memory/multimodal encoding phase of the pitch memory task (more activation in non-AP musicians. Non-significant between-group trends were seen in the posterior IFG (more in AP musicians and the IPL (more anterior activations in the non-AP group and more posterior activations in the AP group. Conclusion Since the increased activation of the left STS in AP musicians was observed during the early perceptual encoding phase and since the STS has been shown to be involved in categorization tasks, its activation might suggest that AP musicians involve categorization regions in tonal tasks. The increased activation of the right SPL/IPS in non-AP musicians indicates either an increased use of regions that are part of a tonal working memory (WM network, or the use of a multimodal encoding strategy such as the utilization of a visual-spatial mapping scheme (i.e., imagining notes on a staff or using a spatial coding for their relative pitch height for pitch

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.

Malignant primary germ-cell tumor of the brain

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Yamamoto, Toyoshiro; Sato, Shinichi; Nakao, Satoshi; Ban, Sadahiko; Namba, Koh

1983-01-01

The unusual case of a 15 year old boy with three discrete paraventricular germ-cell tumors is reported.FThe first tumor was located just lateral to the left thalamus and included a massive cystic part around it, the second tumor in the paraventricular region above the head of the left caudate nucleus and the third tumor in the medial part of the left parietal lobe.FTotal removal of all tumors was successfully accomplished in stages at four separate operations, namely, the first tumor was removed through the left transsylvian approach, the second tumor via left superior frontal gyrus and the third tumor via left superior frontal gyrus and left superior parietal lobule.FHistological examination revealed that the first tumor was teratoma, the second was choriocarcinoma and the third was germinoma.FPrimary germ-cell tumors of the brain can be divided into 5 groups: 1) germinoma; 2) embryonal carcinoma; 3) choriocarcinoma; 4) yolk-sac tumor; or 5) teratoma.FIn this case, a combination of three different histological patterns was seen. If malignant germ-cell tumor is supected on CT, aggressive extirpation should be done, not only to determine the exact diagnosis, but also to provide the basis for subsequent adjunctive therapy. (author)

Malignant primary germ-cell tumor of the brain: case report

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Yamamoto, Toyoshiro; Sato, Shinichi; Nakao, Satoshi; Ban, Sadahiko; Namba, Koh (Kobe Municipal Central Hospital (Japan))

1983-04-01

The unusual case of a 15 year old boy with three discrete paraventricular germ-cell tumors is reported. The first tumor was located just lateral to the left thalamus and included a massive cystic part around it, the second tumor in the paraventricular region above the head of the left caudate nucleus and the third tumor in the medial part of the left parietal lobe. Total removal of all tumors was successfully accomplished in stages at four separate operations, namely, the first tumor was removed through the left transsylvian approach, the second tumor via left superior frontal gyrus and the third tumor via left superior frontal gyrus and left superior parietal lobule. Histological examination revealed that the first tumor was teratoma, the second was choriocarcinoma and the third was germinoma. Primary germ-cell tumors of the brain can be divided into 5 groups: 1) germinoma; 2) embryonal carcinoma; 3) choriocarcinoma; 4) yolk-sac tumor; or 5) teratoma. In this case, a combination of three different histological patterns was seen. If malignant germ-cell tumor is supected on CT, aggressive extirpation should be done, not only to determine the exact diagnosis, but also to provide the basis for subsequent adjunctive therapy.

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.

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

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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.

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

Neural correlates for perception of companion animal photographs.

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Hayama, Sara; Chang, Linda; Gumus, Kazim; King, George R; Ernst, Thomas

2016-05-01

Anthrozoological neuroscience, which we propose as the use of neuroscience techniques to study human-animal interaction, may help to elucidate mechanisms underlying the associated psychological, physiological, and other purported health effects. This preliminary study investigates the neural response to animal photographs in pet owners and non-pet owners, and both attraction and attachment to companion animals as modulators of human perception of companion animal photographs. Thirty male participants, 15 "Pet Owners" (PO) and 15 "Non-Pet Owners" (NPO), viewed photographs of companion animals during functional MRI (fMRI) scans at 3 T and provided ratings of attraction to the animal species represented in the photographs. Fourteen subjects additionally submitted and viewed personal pet photographs during fMRI scans, and completed the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS). PO exhibited greater activation than NPO during the viewing of animal photographs in areas of the insula, and frontal and occipital cortices. Moreover, ratings of attraction to animals correlated positively with neural activation in the cingulate gyrus, precentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and superior temporal gyrus during the viewing of representative photographs. For subjects with household pets, scores on the LAPS correlated positively with neural activation during the viewing of owned pet photographs in the precuneus, cuneus, and superior parietal lobule. Our preliminary findings suggest that human perception of companion animals involve the visual attention network, which may be modulated at the neural level by subjective experiences of attraction or attachment to animals. Our understanding of human-animal interactions through anthrozoological neuroscience may better direct therapeutic applications, such as animal-assisted therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attribution of emotions to body postures: an independent component analysis study of functional connectivity in autism.

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Libero, Lauren E; Stevens, Carl E; Kana, Rajesh K

2014-10-01

The ability to interpret others' body language is a vital skill that helps us infer their thoughts and emotions. However, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been found to have difficulty in understanding the meaning of people's body language, perhaps leading to an overarching deficit in processing emotions. The current fMRI study investigates the functional connectivity underlying emotion and action judgment in the context of processing body language in high-functioning adolescents and young adults with autism, using an independent components analysis (ICA) of the fMRI time series. While there were no reliable group differences in brain activity, the ICA revealed significant involvement of occipital and parietal regions in processing body actions; and inferior frontal gyrus, superior medial prefrontal cortex, and occipital cortex in body expressions of emotions. In a between-group analysis, participants with autism, relative to typical controls, demonstrated significantly reduced temporal coherence in left ventral premotor cortex and right superior parietal lobule while processing emotions. Participants with ASD, on the other hand, showed increased temporal coherence in left fusiform gyrus while inferring emotions from body postures. Finally, a positive predictive relationship was found between empathizing ability and the brain areas underlying emotion processing in ASD participants. These results underscore the differential role of frontal and parietal brain regions in processing emotional body language in autism. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

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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.

Effects of aging on neuromagnetic mismatch responses to pitch changes.

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Cheng, Chia-Hsiung; Baillet, Sylvain; Hsiao, Fu-Jung; Lin, Yung-Yang

2013-06-07

Although aging-related alterations in the auditory sensory memory and involuntary change discrimination have been widely studied, it remains controversial whether the mismatch negativity (MMN) or its magnetic counterpart (MMNm) is modulated by physiological aging. This study aimed to examine the effects of aging on mismatch activity to pitch deviants by using a whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) together with distributed source modeling analysis. The neuromagnetic responses to oddball paradigms consisting of standards (1000 Hz, p=0.85) and deviants (1100 Hz, p=0.15) were recorded in healthy young (n=20) and aged (n=18) male adults. We used minimum norm estimate of source reconstruction to characterize the spatiotemporal neural dynamics of MMNm responses. Distributed activations to MMNm were identified in the bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal areas. Compared to younger participants, the elderly exhibited a significant reduction of cortical activation in bilateral superior temporal guri, superior temporal sulci, inferior fontal gyri, orbitofrontal cortices and right inferior parietal lobules. In conclusion, our results suggest an aging-related decline in auditory sensory memory and automatic change detection as indexed by MMNm. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synaesthetic colour in the brain: beyond colour areas. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of synaesthetes and matched controls.

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van Leeuwen, Tessa M; Petersson, Karl Magnus; Hagoort, Peter

2010-08-10

In synaesthesia, sensations in a particular modality cause additional experiences in a second, unstimulated modality (e.g., letters elicit colour). Understanding how synaesthesia is mediated in the brain can help to understand normal processes of perceptual awareness and multisensory integration. In several neuroimaging studies, enhanced brain activity for grapheme-colour synaesthesia has been found in ventral-occipital areas that are also involved in real colour processing. Our question was whether the neural correlates of synaesthetically induced colour and real colour experience are truly shared. First, in a free viewing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, we located main effects of synaesthesia in left superior parietal lobule and in colour related areas. In the left superior parietal lobe, individual differences between synaesthetes (projector-associator distinction) also influenced brain activity, confirming the importance of the left superior parietal lobe for synaesthesia. Next, we applied a repetition suppression paradigm in fMRI, in which a decrease in the BOLD (blood-oxygenated-level-dependent) response is generally observed for repeated stimuli. We hypothesized that synaesthetically induced colours would lead to a reduction in BOLD response for subsequently presented real colours, if the neural correlates were overlapping. We did find BOLD suppression effects induced by synaesthesia, but not within the colour areas. Because synaesthetically induced colours were not able to suppress BOLD effects for real colour, we conclude that the neural correlates of synaesthetic colour experience and real colour experience are not fully shared. We propose that synaesthetic colour experiences are mediated by higher-order visual pathways that lie beyond the scope of classical, ventral-occipital visual areas. Feedback from these areas, in which the left parietal cortex is likely to play an important role, may induce V4 activation and the percept of

Synaesthetic colour in the brain: beyond colour areas. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of synaesthetes and matched controls.

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Tessa M van Leeuwen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In synaesthesia, sensations in a particular modality cause additional experiences in a second, unstimulated modality (e.g., letters elicit colour. Understanding how synaesthesia is mediated in the brain can help to understand normal processes of perceptual awareness and multisensory integration. In several neuroimaging studies, enhanced brain activity for grapheme-colour synaesthesia has been found in ventral-occipital areas that are also involved in real colour processing. Our question was whether the neural correlates of synaesthetically induced colour and real colour experience are truly shared. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: First, in a free viewing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI experiment, we located main effects of synaesthesia in left superior parietal lobule and in colour related areas. In the left superior parietal lobe, individual differences between synaesthetes (projector-associator distinction also influenced brain activity, confirming the importance of the left superior parietal lobe for synaesthesia. Next, we applied a repetition suppression paradigm in fMRI, in which a decrease in the BOLD (blood-oxygenated-level-dependent response is generally observed for repeated stimuli. We hypothesized that synaesthetically induced colours would lead to a reduction in BOLD response for subsequently presented real colours, if the neural correlates were overlapping. We did find BOLD suppression effects induced by synaesthesia, but not within the colour areas. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Because synaesthetically induced colours were not able to suppress BOLD effects for real colour, we conclude that the neural correlates of synaesthetic colour experience and real colour experience are not fully shared. We propose that synaesthetic colour experiences are mediated by higher-order visual pathways that lie beyond the scope of classical, ventral-occipital visual areas. Feedback from these areas, in which the left parietal

SU-F-J-139: Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuation(ALFF) and Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) Study of the Respiration Motion Control Byhypnosis

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Liu, Y; Li, R; Xie, Y [Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong (China)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Respiration control by hypnosis is a method in reducing the detriment to the healthy organs or organizations for patients during radiotherapy, especially for lung and abdomen cancer (Fig.1). It’s hypothesized that there exists alterations neurological brain activity during the hypnosis state of respiratory motion control in comparison with resting state. Methods: Thirteen healthy volunteers were organized to participate in a hypnosis experiment that consisted of two sectional scans of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), rest state condition (RSC) scanning and hypnosis state condition (HSC) scanning. In addition, the coronal section of the lung was scanned during both conditions. During the hypnosis scan, the volunteers were under the hypnotists’ guidance to keep peace and stable respiration. To evaluate the altered physiological performance of hypnosis in the respiratory control, three conventional indicators ALFF/fALFF (0.01–0.08Hz) and ReHo, were applied to identify the difference. Results: Compared with RSC, HSC showed significant (p<0.05) higher ReHo in superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, frontal lobe, middle occipital gyrus, parietal lobe, cerebellum anterior Lobe and lingual gyrus, and left brainstem (Fig.2). While significant lower ReHo in middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, inferior semi-lunar lobule, sub-lobar and limbic lobe (Fig.2). As for the ALFF results, significant higher value of HSC was observed in superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, cerebellum anterior lobe, lingual gyrus, sub-lobar, limbic lobe, and lower in cerebellum posterior lobe, inferior semi-lunar lobule, inferior parietal lobule right middle frontal gyrus, cerebellar tonsil (Fig.3). The results of fALFF were similar to ALFF (Fig.4). The above results demonstrated that most significant regions of brain were uniform between ReHo and ALFF/fALFF. Conclusion: Hypnosis is a new

SU-F-J-139: Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuation(ALFF) and Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) Study of the Respiration Motion Control Byhypnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y; Li, R; Xie, Y

2016-01-01

Purpose: Respiration control by hypnosis is a method in reducing the detriment to the healthy organs or organizations for patients during radiotherapy, especially for lung and abdomen cancer (Fig.1). It’s hypothesized that there exists alterations neurological brain activity during the hypnosis state of respiratory motion control in comparison with resting state. Methods: Thirteen healthy volunteers were organized to participate in a hypnosis experiment that consisted of two sectional scans of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), rest state condition (RSC) scanning and hypnosis state condition (HSC) scanning. In addition, the coronal section of the lung was scanned during both conditions. During the hypnosis scan, the volunteers were under the hypnotists’ guidance to keep peace and stable respiration. To evaluate the altered physiological performance of hypnosis in the respiratory control, three conventional indicators ALFF/fALFF (0.01–0.08Hz) and ReHo, were applied to identify the difference. Results: Compared with RSC, HSC showed significant (p<0.05) higher ReHo in superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, frontal lobe, middle occipital gyrus, parietal lobe, cerebellum anterior Lobe and lingual gyrus, and left brainstem (Fig.2). While significant lower ReHo in middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, inferior semi-lunar lobule, sub-lobar and limbic lobe (Fig.2). As for the ALFF results, significant higher value of HSC was observed in superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, cerebellum anterior lobe, lingual gyrus, sub-lobar, limbic lobe, and lower in cerebellum posterior lobe, inferior semi-lunar lobule, inferior parietal lobule right middle frontal gyrus, cerebellar tonsil (Fig.3). The results of fALFF were similar to ALFF (Fig.4). The above results demonstrated that most significant regions of brain were uniform between ReHo and ALFF/fALFF. Conclusion: Hypnosis is a new

Specific marker of feigned memory impairment: The activation of left superior frontal gyrus.

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Chen, Zi-Xiang; Xue, Li; Liang, Chun-Yu; Wang, Li-Li; Mei, Wei; Zhang, Qiang; Zhao, Hu

2015-11-01

Faking memory impairment means normal people complain lots of memory problems without organic damage in forensic assessments. Using alternative forced-choice paradigm, containing digital or autobiographical information, previous neuroimaging studies have indicated that faking memory impairment could cause the activation in the prefrontal and parietal regions, and might involve a fronto-parietal-subcortical circuit. However, it is still unclear whether different memory types have influence on faking or not. Since different memory types, such as long-term memory (LTM) and short-term memory (STM), were found supported by different brain areas, we hypothesized that feigned STM or LTM impairment had distinct neural activation mapping. Besides that, some common neural correlates may act as the general characteristic of feigned memory impairment. To verify this hypothesis, the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) combined with an alternative word forced-choice paradigm were used in this study. A total of 10 right-handed participants, in this study, had to perform both STW and LTM tasks respectively under answering correctly, answering randomly and feigned memory impairment conditions. Our results indicated that the activation of the left superior frontal gyrus and the left medial frontal gyrus was associated with feigned LTM impairment, whereas the left superior frontal gyrus, the left precuneus and the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were highly activated while feigning STM impairment. Furthermore, an overlapping was found in the left superior frontal gyrus, and it suggested that the activity of the left superior frontal gyrus might be acting as a specific marker of feigned memory impairment. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Parietal and premotor cortices: activation reflects imitation accuracy during observation, delayed imitation and concurrent imitation.

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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.

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.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation of right inferior parietal cortex causally influences prefrontal activation for visual detection

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Leitao, Joana; Thielscher, Axel; Lee, Hweeling

2017-01-01

-parietal areas integrating the evidence into a decision variable that is compared to a decisional threshold. This concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-fMRI study applied 10 Hz bursts of four TMS (or Sham) pulses to the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) to investigate the causal influence of IPS...... affect participants' performance accuracy, it affected how observers adjusted their response times after making an error. We therefore suggest that activation increases in superior frontal gyri for misses relative to correct responses may not be critical for signal detection performance, but rather...

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation affects behavior by biasing endogenous cortical oscillations

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Massihullah Hamidi

2009-06-01

Full Text Available A governing assumption about repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS has been that it interferes with task-related neuronal activity – in effect, by “injecting noise” into the brain – and thereby disrupts behavior. Recent reports of rTMS-produced behavioral enhancement, however, call this assumption into question. We investigated the neurophysiological effects of rTMS delivered during the delay period of a visual working memory task by simultaneously recording brain activity with electroencephalography (EEG. Subjects performed visual working memory for locations or for shapes, and in half the trials a 10-Hz train of rTMS was delivered to the superior parietal lobule or a control brain area. The wide range of individual differences in the effects of rTMS on task accuracy, from improvement to impairment, was predicted by individual differences in the effect of rTMS on power in the alpha-band of the EEG (~ 10 Hz: a decrease in alpha-band power corresponded to improved performance, whereas an increase in alpha-band power corresponded to the opposite. The EEG effect was localized to cortical sources encompassing the frontal eye fields and the intraparietal sulcus, and was specific to task (location, but not object memory and to rTMS target (superior parietal lobule, not control area. Furthermore, for the same task condition, rTMS-induced changes in cross-frequency phase synchrony between alpha- and gamma-band (> 40 Hz oscillations predicted changes in behavior. These results suggest that alpha-band oscillations play an active role cognitive processes and do not simply reflect absence of processing. Furthermore, this study shows that the complex effects of rTMS on behavior can result from biasing endogenous patterns of network-level oscillations.

Phonological memory in sign language relies on the visuomotor neural system outside the left hemisphere language network.

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Kanazawa, Yuji; Nakamura, Kimihiro; Ishii, Toru; Aso, Toshihiko; Yamazaki, Hiroshi; Omori, Koichi

2017-01-01

Sign language is an essential medium for everyday social interaction for deaf people and plays a critical role in verbal learning. In particular, language development in those people should heavily rely on the verbal short-term memory (STM) via sign language. Most previous studies compared neural activations during signed language processing in deaf signers and those during spoken language processing in hearing speakers. For sign language users, it thus remains unclear how visuospatial inputs are converted into the verbal STM operating in the left-hemisphere language network. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the present study investigated neural activation while bilinguals of spoken and signed language were engaged in a sequence memory span task. On each trial, participants viewed a nonsense syllable sequence presented either as written letters or as fingerspelling (4-7 syllables in length) and then held the syllable sequence for 12 s. Behavioral analysis revealed that participants relied on phonological memory while holding verbal information regardless of the type of input modality. At the neural level, this maintenance stage broadly activated the left-hemisphere language network, including the inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, superior temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, for both letter and fingerspelling conditions. Interestingly, while most participants reported that they relied on phonological memory during maintenance, direct comparisons between letters and fingers revealed strikingly different patterns of neural activation during the same period. Namely, the effortful maintenance of fingerspelling inputs relative to letter inputs activated the left superior parietal lobule and dorsal premotor area, i.e., brain regions known to play a role in visuomotor analysis of hand/arm movements. These findings suggest that the dorsal visuomotor neural system subserves verbal learning via sign language by relaying gestural inputs to

Changes of cerebral current source by audiovisual erotic stimuli in premature ejaculation patients.

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Hyun, Jae-Seog; Kam, Sung-Chul; Kwon, Oh-Young

2008-06-01

Premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most common forms of male sexual dysfunction. The mechanisms of PE remain poorly understood, despite its high prevalence. To investigate the pathophysiology and causes of PE in the central nervous system, we tried to observe the changes in brain current source distribution by audiovisual induction of sexual arousal. Electroencephalograpies were recorded in patients with PE (45.0 +/- 10.3 years old, N = 18) and in controls (45.6 +/- 9.8 years old, N = 18) during four 10-minute segments of resting, watching a music video excerpt, resting, and watching an erotic video excerpt. Five artifact-free 5-second segments were used to obtain cross-spectral low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) images. Statistical nonparametric maps (SnPM) were obtained to detect the current density changes of six frequency bands between the erotic video session and the music video session in each group. Comparisons were also made between the two groups in the erotic video session. In the SnPM of each spectrum in patients with PE, the current source density of the alpha band was significantly reduced in the right precentral gyrus, the right insula, and both superior parietal lobules (P erotic video session, the current densities of the beta-2 and -3 bands in the PE group were significantly decreased in the right parahippocampal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus (P < 0.01). Neuronal activity in the right precental gyrus, the right insula, both the superior parietal lobule, the right parahippocampal gyrus, and the left middle temporal gyrus may be decreased in PE patients upon sexual arousal. Further studies are needed to evaluate the meaning of decreased neuronal activities in PE patients.

Neural network of body representation differs between transsexuals and cissexuals.

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Chia-Shu Lin

Full Text Available Body image is the internal representation of an individual's own physical appearance. Individuals with gender identity disorder (GID, commonly referred to as transsexuals (TXs, are unable to form a satisfactory body image due to the dissonance between their biological sex and gender identity. We reasoned that changes in the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC network would neurologically reflect such experiential incongruence in TXs. Using graph theory-based network analysis, we investigated the regional changes of the degree centrality of the rsFC network. The degree centrality is an index of the functional importance of a node in a neural network. We hypothesized that three key regions of the body representation network, i.e., the primary somatosensory cortex, the superior parietal lobule and the insula, would show a higher degree centrality in TXs. Twenty-three pre-treatment TXs (11 male-to-female and 12 female-to-male TXs as one psychosocial group and 23 age-matched healthy cissexual control subjects (CISs, 11 males and 12 females were recruited. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and binarized rsFC networks were constructed. The TXs demonstrated a significantly higher degree centrality in the bilateral superior parietal lobule and the primary somatosensory cortex. In addition, the connectivity between the right insula and the bilateral primary somatosensory cortices was negatively correlated with the selfness rating of their desired genders. These data indicate that the key components of body representation manifest in TXs as critical function hubs in the rsFC network. The negative association may imply a coping mechanism that dissociates bodily emotion from body image. The changes in the functional connectome may serve as representational markers for the dysphoric bodily self of TXs.

Abnormal Intrinsic Functional Hubs in Severe Male Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Evidence from a Voxel-Wise Degree Centrality Analysis.

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Li, Haijun; Li, Lan; Shao, Yi; Gong, Honghan; Zhang, Wei; Zeng, Xianjun; Ye, Chenglong; Nie, Si; Chen, Liting; Peng, Dechang

2016-01-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with changes in brain structure and regional function in certain brain areas. However, the functional features of network organization in the whole brain remain largely uncertain. The purpose of this study was to identify the OSA-related spatial centrality distribution of the whole brain functional network and to investigate the potential altered intrinsic functional hubs. Forty male patients with newly confirmed severe OSA on polysomnography, and well-matched good sleepers, participated in this study. All participants underwent a resting-state functional MRI scan and clinical and cognitive evaluation. Voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) was measured across the whole brain, and group difference in DC was compared. The relationship between the abnormal DC value and clinical variables was assessed using a linear correlation analysis. Remarkably similar spatial distributions of the functional hubs (high DC) were found in both groups. However, OSA patients exhibited a pattern of significantly reduced regional DC in the left middle occipital gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, left superior frontal gyrus, and bilateral inferior parietal lobule, and DC was increased in the right orbital frontal cortex, bilateral cerebellum posterior lobes, and bilateral lentiform nucleus, including the putamen, extending to the hippocampus, and the inferior temporal gyrus, which overlapped with the functional hubs. Furthermore, a linear correlation analysis revealed that the DC value in the posterior cingulate cortex and left superior frontal gyrus were positively correlated with Montreal cognitive assessment scores, The DC value in the left middle occipital gyrus and bilateral inferior parietal lobule were negatively correlated with apnea-hypopnea index and arousal index in OSA patients. Our findings suggest that OSA patients exhibited specific abnormal intrinsic functional hubs including relatively reduced and increased DC. This expands

Brain morphometry shows effects of long-term musical practice in middle-aged keyboard players

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Hanna eGärtner

2013-09-01

Full Text Available To what extent does musical practice change the structure of the brain? In order to understand how long-lasting musical training changes brain structure, 20 male right-handed, middle-aged professional musicians and 19 matched controls were investigated. Among the musicians, 13 were pianists or organists with intensive practice regimes. The others were either music teachers at schools or string instrumentalists, who had studied the piano at least as a subsidiary subject, and practiced less intensively. The study was based on T1-weighted MR images, which were analyzed using Deformation Field Morphometry. Cytoarchitectonic probabilistic maps of cortical areas and subcortical nuclei as well as myeloarchitectonic maps of fiber tracts were used as regions of interest to compare volume differences in the brains of musicians and controls. In addition, maps of voxel-wise volume differences were computed and analyzed.Musicians showed a significantly better symmetric motor performance as well as a greater capability of controlling hand independence than controls. Structural MRI-data revealed significant volumetric differences between the brains of keyboard players, who practiced intensively and controls in right sensorimotor areas and the corticospinal tract as well as in the entorhinal cortex and the left superior parietal lobule. Moreover, they showed also larger volumes in a comparable set of regions than the less intensively practicing musicians. The structural changes in the sensory and motor systems correspond well to the behavioral results, and can be interpreted in terms of plasticity as a result of intensive motor training. Areas of the superior parietal lobule and the entorhinal cortex might be enlarged in musicians due to their special skills in sight-playing and memorizing of scores. In conclusion, intensive and specific musical training seems to have an impact on brain structure, not only during the sensitive period of childhood but throughout

Uncertain relational reasoning in the parietal cortex.

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Ragni, Marco; Franzmeier, Imke; Maier, Simon; Knauff, Markus

2016-04-01

The psychology of reasoning is currently transitioning from the study of deductive inferences under certainty to inferences that have degrees of uncertainty in both their premises and conclusions; however, only a few studies have explored the cortical basis of uncertain reasoning. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we show that areas in the right superior parietal lobe (rSPL) are necessary for solving spatial relational reasoning problems under conditions of uncertainty. Twenty-four participants had to decide whether a single presented order of objects agreed with a given set of indeterminate premises that could be interpreted in more than one way. During the presentation of the order, 10-Hz TMS was applied over the rSPL or a sham control site. Right SPL TMS during the inference phase disrupted performance in uncertain relational reasoning. Moreover, we found differences in the error rates between preferred mental models, alternative models, and inconsistent models. Our results suggest that different mechanisms are involved when people reason spatially and evaluate different kinds of uncertain conclusions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of brain surface anatomy: technique comparison between flash and diffusion-weighted imaging

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Sun Jianzhong; Wang Zhikang; Gong Xiangyang

2006-01-01

Objective: To compare two methods 3D flash and diffusion-weighted images (DWI) in reconstructing the brain surface anatomy, and to evaluate their displaying ability, advantages, limitations and clinical application. Methods: Thrity normal cases were prospectively examined with 3D flash sequence and echo-planar DWI. Three-dimensional images were acquired with volume-rendering on workstation. Brain surface structures were evaluated and scored by a group of doctors. Results: Main structures of brain surface were clearly displayed on three-dimensional images based on 3D flash sequence. Average scores were all above 2.50. For images based on DWI, precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, superior parietal lobule, superior frontal gyrus, precentral sulcus, central sulcus, postcentral sulcus, intraparietal sulcus and superior frontal sulcus were best shown with average scores between 2.60-2.75, However, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, lateral sulcus, inferior frontal sulcus could not be well shown, with average scores between 1.67-2.48. Middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, superior temporal sulcus and inferior temporal sulcus can only get scores from 0.88 to 1.27. Scores of images based on 3D flash were much higher than that based on DWI with distinct differentiations, P values were all below 0.01. Conclusion: Three-dimensional images based on 3D flash can really display brain surface structures. It is very useful for anatomic researches. Three-dimensional reconstruction of brain surface based on DWI is a worthy technique to display brain surface anatomy, especially for frontal and parietal structures. (authors)

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...

Feasibility of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to Investigate the Mirror Neuron System: An Experimental Study in a Real-Life Situation

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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

Feasibility of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS to Investigate the Mirror Neuron System: An Experimental Study in a Real-Life Situation

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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.

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

Abnormal Baseline Brain Activity in Drug-Naïve Patients with Tourette Syndrome: A Resting-state fMRI Study

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Yonghua eCui

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Tourette Syndrome (TS is a childhood-onset chronic disorder characterized by the presence of multiple motor and vocal tics. This study investigated spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations in TS patients during resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI scans. We obtained resting-state fMRI scans from seventeen drug-naïve TS children and fifteen demographically matched healthy children. We computed the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF and fractional ALFF (fALFF of resting-state fMRI data to measure spontaneous brain activity, and assessed the between-group differences in ALFF/fALFF and the relationship between ALFF/fALFF and tic severity scores. Our results showed that the children with TS exhibited significantly decreased ALFF in the posterior cingulate gyrus/precuneus and bilateral parietal gyrus. fALFF was decreased in TS children in the anterior cingulated cortex, bilateral middle and superior frontal cortices and superior parietal lobule, and increased in the left putamen and bilateral thalamus. Moreover, we found significantly positive correlations between fALFF and tic severity scores in the right thalamus. Our study provides empirical evidence for abnormal spontaneous neuronal activity in TS patients, which may implicate the underlying neurophysiological mechanism in TS and demonstrate the possibility of applying ALFF/fALFF for clinical TS studies.

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

Segregation of Brain Structural Networks Supports Spatio-Temporal Predictive Processing

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Valentina Ciullo

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The ability to generate probabilistic expectancies regarding when and where sensory stimuli will occur, is critical to derive timely and accurate inferences about updating contexts. However, the existence of specialized neural networks for inferring predictive relationships between events is still debated. Using graph theoretical analysis applied to structural connectivity data, we tested the extent of brain connectivity properties associated with spatio-temporal predictive performance across 29 healthy subjects. Participants detected visual targets appearing at one out of three locations after one out of three intervals; expectations about stimulus location (spatial condition or onset (temporal condition were induced by valid or invalid symbolic cues. Connectivity matrices and centrality/segregation measures, expressing the relative importance of, and the local interactions among specific cerebral areas respect to the behavior under investigation, were calculated from whole-brain tractography and cortico-subcortical parcellation.Results: Response preparedness to cued stimuli relied on different structural connectivity networks for the temporal and spatial domains. Significant covariance was observed between centrality measures of regions within a subcortical-fronto-parietal-occipital network -comprising the left putamen, the right caudate nucleus, the left frontal operculum, the right inferior parietal cortex, the right paracentral lobule and the right superior occipital cortex-, and the ability to respond after a short cue-target delay suggesting that the local connectedness of such nodes plays a central role when the source of temporal expectation is explicit. When the potential for functional segregation was tested, we found highly clustered structural connectivity across the right superior, the left middle inferior frontal gyrus and the left caudate nucleus as related to explicit temporal orienting. Conversely, when the interaction between

Segregation of Brain Structural Networks Supports Spatio-Temporal Predictive Processing.

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Ciullo, Valentina; Vecchio, Daniela; Gili, Tommaso; Spalletta, Gianfranco; Piras, Federica

2018-01-01

The ability to generate probabilistic expectancies regarding when and where sensory stimuli will occur, is critical to derive timely and accurate inferences about updating contexts. However, the existence of specialized neural networks for inferring predictive relationships between events is still debated. Using graph theoretical analysis applied to structural connectivity data, we tested the extent of brain connectivity properties associated with spatio-temporal predictive performance across 29 healthy subjects. Participants detected visual targets appearing at one out of three locations after one out of three intervals; expectations about stimulus location (spatial condition) or onset (temporal condition) were induced by valid or invalid symbolic cues. Connectivity matrices and centrality/segregation measures, expressing the relative importance of, and the local interactions among specific cerebral areas respect to the behavior under investigation, were calculated from whole-brain tractography and cortico-subcortical parcellation. Results: Response preparedness to cued stimuli relied on different structural connectivity networks for the temporal and spatial domains. Significant covariance was observed between centrality measures of regions within a subcortical-fronto-parietal-occipital network -comprising the left putamen, the right caudate nucleus, the left frontal operculum, the right inferior parietal cortex, the right paracentral lobule and the right superior occipital cortex-, and the ability to respond after a short cue-target delay suggesting that the local connectedness of such nodes plays a central role when the source of temporal expectation is explicit. When the potential for functional segregation was tested, we found highly clustered structural connectivity across the right superior, the left middle inferior frontal gyrus and the left caudate nucleus as related to explicit temporal orienting. Conversely, when the interaction between explicit and

Brain anomalies in children exposed prenatally to a common organophosphate pesticide.

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Rauh, Virginia A; Perera, Frederica P; Horton, Megan K; Whyatt, Robin M; Bansal, Ravi; Hao, Xuejun; Liu, Jun; Barr, Dana Boyd; Slotkin, Theodore A; Peterson, Bradley S

2012-05-15

Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphate insecticide, is associated with neurobehavioral deficits in humans and animal models. We investigated associations between CPF exposure and brain morphology using magnetic resonance imaging in 40 children, 5.9-11.2 y, selected from a nonclinical, representative community-based cohort. Twenty high-exposure children (upper tertile of CPF concentrations in umbilical cord blood) were compared with 20 low-exposure children on cortical surface features; all participants had minimal prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. High CPF exposure was associated with enlargement of superior temporal, posterior middle temporal, and inferior postcentral gyri bilaterally, and enlarged superior frontal gyrus, gyrus rectus, cuneus, and precuneus along the mesial wall of the right hemisphere. Group differences were derived from exposure effects on underlying white matter. A significant exposure × IQ interaction was derived from CPF disruption of normal IQ associations with surface measures in low-exposure children. In preliminary analyses, high-exposure children did not show expected sex differences in the right inferior parietal lobule and superior marginal gyrus, and displayed reversal of sex differences in the right mesial superior frontal gyrus, consistent with disruption by CPF of normal behavioral sexual dimorphisms reported in animal models. High-exposure children also showed frontal and parietal cortical thinning, and an inverse dose-response relationship between CPF and cortical thickness. This study reports significant associations of prenatal exposure to a widely used environmental neurotoxicant, at standard use levels, with structural changes in the developing human brain.

[Analysis of the Characteristics of Infantile Small World Neural Network Node Properties Correlated with the Influencing Factors].

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Qu, Haibo; Lu, Su; Zhang, Wenjing; Xiao, Yuan; Ning, Gang; Sun, Huaiqiang

2016-10-01

We applied resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rfMRI)combined with graph theory to analyze 90 regions of the infantile small world neural network of the whole brain.We tried to get the following two points clear:1 whether the parameters of the node property of the infantile small world neural network are correlated with the level of infantile intelligence development;2 whether the parameters of the infantile small world neural network are correlated with the children’s baseline parameters,i.e.,the demographic parameters such as gender,age,parents’ education level,etc.Twelve cases of healthy infants were included in the investigation(9males and 3females with the average age of 33.42±8.42 months.)We then evaluated the level of infantile intelligence of all the cases and graded by Gesell Development Scale Test.We used a Siemens 3.0T Trio imaging system to perform resting-state(rs)EPI scans,and collected the BOLD functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI)data.We performed the data processing with Statistical Parametric Mapping 5(SPM5)based on Matlab environment.Furthermore,we got the attributes of the whole brain small world and node attributes of 90 encephalic regions of templates of Anatomatic Automatic Labeling(ALL).At last,we carried out correlation study between the above-mentioned attitudes,intelligence scale parameters and demographic data.The results showed that many node attributes of small world neural network were closely correlated with intelligence scale parameters.Betweeness was mainly centered in thalamus,superior frontal gyrus,and occipital lobe(negative correlation).The r value of superior occipital gyrus associated with the individual and social intelligent scale was-0.729(P=0.007);degree was mainly centered in amygdaloid nucleus,superior frontal gyrus,and inferior parietal gyrus(positive correlation).The r value of inferior parietal gyrus associated with the gross motor intelligent scale was 0.725(P=0.008);efficiency was mainly

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.

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

Neural Mechanism of Inferring Person's Inner Attitude towards Another Person through Observing the Facial Affect in an Emotional Context.

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Kim, Ji-Woong; Kim, Jae-Jin; Jeong, Bumseok; Kim, Sung-Eun; Ki, Seon Wan

2010-03-01

The goal of the present study was to identify the brain mechanism involved in the attribution of person's attitude toward another person, using facial affective pictures and pictures displaying an affectively-loaded situation. Twenty four right-handed healthy subjects volunteered for our study. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine brain activation during attitude attribution task as compared to gender matching tasks. We identified activation in the left inferior frontal cortex, left superior temporal sulcus, and left inferior parietal lobule during the attitude attribution task, compared to the gender matching task. This study suggests that mirror neuron system and ventrolateral inferior frontal cortex play a critical role in the attribution of a person's inner attitude towards another person in an emotional situation.

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.

CNS activation and regional connectivity during pantomime observation: no engagement of the mirror neuron system for deaf signers.

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Emmorey, Karen; Xu, Jiang; Gannon, Patrick; Goldin-Meadow, Susan; Braun, Allen

2010-01-01

Deaf signers have extensive experience using their hands to communicate. Using fMRI, we examined the neural systems engaged during the perception of manual communication in 14 deaf signers and 14 hearing non-signers. Participants passively viewed blocked video clips of pantomimes (e.g., peeling an imaginary banana) and action verbs in American Sign Language (ASL) that were rated as meaningless by non-signers (e.g., TO-DANCE). In contrast to visual fixation, pantomimes strongly activated fronto-parietal regions (the mirror neuron system, MNS) in hearing non-signers, but only bilateral middle temporal regions in deaf signers. When contrasted with ASL verbs, pantomimes selectively engaged inferior and superior parietal regions in hearing non-signers, but right superior temporal cortex in deaf signers. The perception of ASL verbs recruited similar regions as pantomimes for deaf signers, with some evidence of greater involvement of left inferior frontal gyrus for ASL verbs. Functional connectivity analyses with left hemisphere seed voxels (ventral premotor, inferior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus) revealed robust connectivity with the MNS for the hearing non-signers. Deaf signers exhibited functional connectivity with the right hemisphere that was not observed for the hearing group for the fusiform gyrus seed voxel. We suggest that life-long experience with manual communication, and/or auditory deprivation, may alter regional connectivity and brain activation when viewing pantomimes. We conclude that the lack of activation within the MNS for deaf signers does not support an account of human communication that depends upon automatic sensorimotor resonance between perception and action.

The time-course of activation in the dorsal and ventral visual streams during landmark cueing and perceptual discrimination tasks.

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Lambert, Anthony J; Wootton, Adrienne

2017-08-01

Different patterns of high density EEG activity were elicited by the same peripheral stimuli, in the context of Landmark Cueing and Perceptual Discrimination tasks. The C1 component of the visual event-related potential (ERP) at parietal - occipital electrode sites was larger in the Landmark Cueing task, and source localisation suggested greater activation in the superior parietal lobule (SPL) in this task, compared to the Perceptual Discrimination task, indicating stronger early recruitment of the dorsal visual stream. In the Perceptual Discrimination task, source localisation suggested widespread activation of the inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and fusiform gyrus (FFG), structures associated with the ventral visual stream, during the early phase of the P1 ERP component. Moreover, during a later epoch (171-270ms after stimulus onset) increased temporal-occipital negativity, and stronger recruitment of ITG and FFG were observed in the Perceptual Discrimination task. These findings illuminate the contrasting functions of the dorsal and ventral visual streams, to support rapid shifts of attention in response to contextual landmarks, and conscious discrimination, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Preliminary Study of the Effects of an Arts Education Program on Executive Function, Behavior, and Brain Structure in a Sample of Nonclinical School-Aged Children.

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Park, Subin; Lee, Jong-Min; Baik, Young; Kim, Kihyun; Yun, Hyuk Jin; Kwon, Hunki; Jung, Yeon-Kyung; Kim, Bung-Nyun

2015-11-01

The authors examined the effects of arts education on cognition, behavior, and brain of children. Twenty-nine nonclinical children participated in a 15-week arts education program that was composed of either creative movement or musical arts. Children completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, clinical scales, and brain magnetic resonance imaging before and after the intervention. Following program completion, performances on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Children's Depression Inventory scores, and conduct disorder scores were significantly improved. Furthermore, cortical thickness in the left postcentral gyrus and superior parietal lobule were increased, and the mean diffusivity values in the right posterior corona radiate and superior longitudinal fasciculus were decreased. Positive correlations between changes in cognitive measurements and changes in cortical thickness were observed. This preliminary study suggests a positive effect of arts education on executive functions in association with brain changes. However, these findings must be interpreted with caution due to the noncomparative study design. © The Author(s) 2015.

Retrosplenial cortical thinning as a possible major contributor for cognitive impairment in HIV patients

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Shin, Na-Young [The Catholic University of Korea, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Jinwoo; Yoon, Uicheul [Catholic University of Daegu, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Health and Medical Science, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongbuk (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Jun Yong [Yonsei University College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and AIDS Research Institute, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Seung-Koo [Yonsei University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Soo Mee [Ewha Womans University, School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-11-15

To identify brain cortical regions relevant to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) in HIV patients. HIV patients with HAND (n = 10), those with intact cognition (HIV-IC; n = 12), and age-matched, seronegative controls (n = 11) were recruited. All participants were male and underwent 3-dimensional T1-weighted imaging. Both vertex-wise and region of interest (ROI) analyses were performed to analyse cortical thickness. Compared to controls, both HIV-IC and HAND showed decreased cortical thickness mainly in the bilateral primary sensorimotor areas, extending to the prefrontal and parietal cortices. When directly comparing HIV-IC and HAND, HAND showed cortical thinning in the left retrosplenial cortex, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral superior medial prefrontal cortices, right temporoparietal junction and left hippocampus, and cortical thickening in the left middle occipital cortex. Left retrosplenial cortical thinning showed significant correlation with slower information processing, declined verbal memory and executive function, and impaired fine motor skills. This study supports previous research suggesting the selective vulnerability of the primary sensorimotor cortices and associations between cortical thinning in the prefrontal and parietal cortices and cognitive impairment in HIV-infected patients. Furthermore, for the first time, we propose retrosplenial cortical thinning as a possible major contributor to HIV-associated cognitive impairment. (orig.)

Retrosplenial cortical thinning as a possible major contributor for cognitive impairment in HIV patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Na-Young; Hong, Jinwoo; Yoon, Uicheul; Choi, Jun Yong; Lee, Seung-Koo; Lim, Soo Mee

2017-01-01

To identify brain cortical regions relevant to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) in HIV patients. HIV patients with HAND (n = 10), those with intact cognition (HIV-IC; n = 12), and age-matched, seronegative controls (n = 11) were recruited. All participants were male and underwent 3-dimensional T1-weighted imaging. Both vertex-wise and region of interest (ROI) analyses were performed to analyse cortical thickness. Compared to controls, both HIV-IC and HAND showed decreased cortical thickness mainly in the bilateral primary sensorimotor areas, extending to the prefrontal and parietal cortices. When directly comparing HIV-IC and HAND, HAND showed cortical thinning in the left retrosplenial cortex, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral superior medial prefrontal cortices, right temporoparietal junction and left hippocampus, and cortical thickening in the left middle occipital cortex. Left retrosplenial cortical thinning showed significant correlation with slower information processing, declined verbal memory and executive function, and impaired fine motor skills. This study supports previous research suggesting the selective vulnerability of the primary sensorimotor cortices and associations between cortical thinning in the prefrontal and parietal cortices and cognitive impairment in HIV-infected patients. Furthermore, for the first time, we propose retrosplenial cortical thinning as a possible major contributor to HIV-associated cognitive impairment. (orig.)

Functional integration processes underlying the instruction-based learning of novel goal-directed behaviors.

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Ruge, Hannes; Wolfensteller, Uta

2013-03-01

How does the human brain translate symbolic instructions into overt behavior? Previous studies suggested that this process relies on a rapid control transition from the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) to the anterior striatum (aSTR) and premotor cortex (PMC). The present fMRI study investigated whether the transfer from symbolic to pragmatic stimulus-response (S-R) rules relies on changes in the functional coupling among these and other areas and to which extent action goal representations might get integrated within this symbolic-pragmatic transfer. Goal integration processes were examined by manipulating the contingency between actions and differential outcomes (i.e. action goals). We observed a rapid strengthening of the functional coupling between the LPFC and the basal ganglia (aSTR and putamen) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as well as between the LPFC and the anterior dorsal PMC (pre-PMd), the anterior inferior parietal lobule (aIPL), and the posterior superior parietal lobule (pSPL). Importantly, only some of these functional integration processes were sensitive to the outcome contingency manipulation, including LPFC couplings with aSTR, OFC, aIPL, and pre-PMd. This suggests that the symbolic-pragmatic rule transfer is governed by principles of both, instrumental learning (increasingly tighter coupling between LPFC and aSTR/OFC) and ideomotor learning (increasingly tighter coupling between LPFC and aIPL/pre-PMd). By contrast, increased functional coupling between LPFC and putamen was insensitive to outcome contingency possibly indicating an early stage of habit formation under instructed learning conditions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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

Neural bases of imitation and pantomime in acute stroke patients: distinct streams for praxis.

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Hoeren, Markus; Kümmerer, Dorothee; Bormann, Tobias; Beume, Lena; Ludwig, Vera M; Vry, Magnus-Sebastian; Mader, Irina; Rijntjes, Michel; Kaller, Christoph P; Weiller, Cornelius

2014-10-01

Apraxia is a cognitive disorder of skilled movements that characteristically affects the ability to imitate meaningless gestures, or to pantomime the use of tools. Despite substantial research, the neural underpinnings of imitation and pantomime have remained debated. An influential model states that higher motor functions are supported by different processing streams. A dorso-dorsal stream may mediate movements based on physical object properties, like reaching or grasping, whereas skilled tool use or pantomime rely on action representations stored within a ventro-dorsal stream. However, given variable results of past studies, the role of the two streams for imitation of meaningless gestures has remained uncertain, and the importance of the ventro-dorsal stream for pantomime of tool use has been questioned. To clarify the involvement of ventral and dorsal streams in imitation and pantomime, we performed voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping in a sample of 96 consecutive left-hemisphere stroke patients (mean age ± SD, 63.4 ± 14.8 years, 56 male). Patients were examined in the acute phase after ischaemic stroke (after a mean of 5.3, maximum 10 days) to avoid interference of brain reorganization with a reliable lesion-symptom mapping as best as possible. Patients were asked to imitate 20 meaningless hand and finger postures, and to pantomime the use of 14 common tools depicted as line drawings. Following the distinction between movement engrams and action semantics, pantomime errors were characterized as either movement or content errors, respectively. Whereas movement errors referred to incorrect spatio-temporal features of overall recognizable movements, content errors reflected an inability to associate tools with their prototypical actions. Both imitation and pantomime deficits were associated with lesions within the lateral occipitotemporal cortex, posterior inferior parietal lobule, posterior intraparietal sulcus and superior parietal lobule. However, the areas

Neuroanatomical correlates of developmental dyscalculia: combined evidence from morphometry and tractography

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Elena Rykhlevskaia

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Poor mathematical abilities adversely affect academic and career opportunities. The neuroanatomical basis of developmental dyscalculia (DD, a specific learning deficit with prevalence rates exceeding 5%, is poorly understood. We used structural MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI to examine macro- and micro-structural impairments in 7-9 year old children with DD, compared to a group of typically developing (TD children matched on age, gender, intelligence, reading abilities and working memory capacity. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM revealed reduced grey matter (GM bilaterally in superior parietal lobule, intra-parietal sulcus, fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and right anterior temporal cortex in children with DD. VBM analysis also showed reduced white matter (WM volume in right temporal-parietal cortex. DTI revealed reduced fractional anisotropy (FA in this WM region, pointing to significant right hemisphere micro-structural impairments. Furthermore, FA in this region was correlated with numerical operations but not verbal mathematical reasoning or word reading. Atlas-based tract mapping identified the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and caudal forceps major as key pathways impaired in DD. DTI tractography suggests that long-range WM projection fibers linking the right fusiform gyrus with temporal-parietal WM are a specific source of vulnerability in DD. Network and classification analysis suggest that DD in children may be characterized by multiple dysfunctional circuits arising from a core WM deficit. Our findings link GM and WM abnormalities in children with DD and they point to macro- and micro-structural abnormalities in right hemisphere temporal-parietal WM, and pathways associated with it, as key neuroanatomical correlates of DD.

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.

Do you like Arcimboldo's? Esthetic appreciation modulates brain activity in solving perceptual ambiguity.

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Boccia, M; Nemmi, F; Tizzani, E; Guariglia, C; Ferlazzo, F; Galati, G; Giannini, A M

2015-02-01

Esthetic experience is a unique, affectively colored, self-transcending subject-object relationship in which cognitive processing is felt to flow differently than during everyday experiences. Notwithstanding previous multidisciplinary investigations, how esthetic experience modulates perception is still obscure. We used Arcimboldo's ambiguous portraits to assess how the esthetic context organizes ambiguous percepts. The study was carried out using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in healthy young volunteers (mean age 25.45; S.D. 4.51; 9 females), during both an explicit esthetic judgment task and an artwork/non-artwork classification task. We show that a distinct neural mechanism in the fusiform gyrus contributes to the esthetic experience of ambiguous portraits, according to the valence of the esthetic experience. Ambiguous artworks eliciting a negative esthetic experience lead to more pronounced activation of the fusiform face areas than ambiguous artworks eliciting a positive esthetic experience. We also found an interaction between task and ambiguity in the right superior parietal lobule. Taken together, our results demonstrate that a neural mechanism in the content-dependent brain regions of face processing underlies the esthetic experience of ambiguous portraits. Furthermore, they suggest that esthetic experience interacts with perceptual qualities of stimuli in the right superior parietal lobe, supporting the idea that esthetic experience arises from the interaction between top-down orienting of attention and bottom-up perceptual facilitation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The neural circuitry of visual artistic production and appreciation: A proposition

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Ambar Chakravarty

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The nondominant inferior parietal lobule is probably a major "store house" of artistic creativity. The ventromedial prefrontal lobe (VMPFL is supposed to be involved in creative cognition and the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe (DLPFL in creative output. The conceptual ventral and dorsal visual system pathways likely represent the inferior and superior longitudinal fasciculi. During artistic production, conceptualization is conceived in the VMPFL and the executive part is operated through the DLFPL. The latter transfers the concept to the visual brain through the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF, relaying on its path to the parietal cortex. The conceptualization at VMPFL is influenced by activity from the anterior temporal lobe through the uncinate fasciculus and limbic system pathways. The final visual image formed in the visual brain is subsequently transferred back to the DLPFL through the SLF and then handed over to the motor cortex for execution. During art appreciation, the image at the visual brain is transferred to the frontal lobe through the SLF and there it is matched with emotional and memory inputs from the anterior temporal lobe transmitted through the uncinate fasiculus. Beauty is perceived at the VMPFL and transferred through the uncinate fasciculus to the hippocampo-amygdaloid complex in the anterior temporal lobe. The limbic system (Papez circuit is activated and emotion of appreciation is evoked. It is postulated that in practice the entire circuitry is activated simultaneously.

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 circuitry of visual artistic production and appreciation: A proposition.

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Chakravarty, Ambar

2012-04-01

The nondominant inferior parietal lobule is probably a major "store house" of artistic creativity. The ventromedial prefrontal lobe (VMPFL) is supposed to be involved in creative cognition and the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe (DLPFL) in creative output. The conceptual ventral and dorsal visual system pathways likely represent the inferior and superior longitudinal fasciculi. During artistic production, conceptualization is conceived in the VMPFL and the executive part is operated through the DLFPL. The latter transfers the concept to the visual brain through the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), relaying on its path to the parietal cortex. The conceptualization at VMPFL is influenced by activity from the anterior temporal lobe through the uncinate fasciculus and limbic system pathways. The final visual image formed in the visual brain is subsequently transferred back to the DLPFL through the SLF and then handed over to the motor cortex for execution. During art appreciation, the image at the visual brain is transferred to the frontal lobe through the SLF and there it is matched with emotional and memory inputs from the anterior temporal lobe transmitted through the uncinate fasiculus. Beauty is perceived at the VMPFL and transferred through the uncinate fasciculus to the hippocampo-amygdaloid complex in the anterior temporal lobe. The limbic system (Papez circuit) is activated and emotion of appreciation is evoked. It is postulated that in practice the entire circuitry is activated simultaneously.

Spatial imagery relies on a sensory independent, though sensory sensitive, functional organization within the parietal cortex: a fMRI study of angle discrimination in sighted and congenitally blind individuals.

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Bonino, Daniela; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Bernardi, Giulio; Sani, Lorenzo; Gentili, Claudio; Vecchi, Tomaso; Pietrini, Pietro

2015-02-01

Although vision offers distinctive information to space representation, individuals who lack vision since birth often show perceptual and representational skills comparable to those found in sighted individuals. However, congenitally blind individuals may result in impaired spatial analysis, when engaging in 'visual' spatial features (e.g., perspective or angle representation) or complex spatial mental abilities. In the present study, we measured behavioral and brain responses using functional magnetic resonance imaging in sighted and congenitally blind individuals during spatial imagery based on a modified version of the mental clock task (e.g., angle discrimination) and a simple recognition control condition, as conveyed across distinct sensory modalities: visual (sighted individuals only), tactile and auditory. Blind individuals were significantly less accurate during the auditory task, but comparable-to-sighted during the tactile task. As expected, both groups showed common neural activations in intraparietal and superior parietal regions across visual and non-visual spatial perception and imagery conditions, indicating the more abstract, sensory independent functional organization of these cortical areas, a property that we named supramodality. At the same time, however, comparisons in brain responses and functional connectivity patterns across experimental conditions demonstrated also a functional lateralization, in a way that correlated with the distinct behavioral performance in blind and sighted individuals. Specifically, blind individuals relied more on right parietal regions, mainly in the tactile and less in the auditory spatial processing. In sighted, spatial representation across modalities relied more on left parietal regions. In conclusions, intraparietal and superior parietal regions subserve supramodal spatial representations in sighted and congenitally blind individuals. Differences in their recruitment across non-visual spatial processing in

Functional changes in people with different hearing status and experiences of using Chinese sign language: an fMRI study.

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Li, Qiang; Xia, Shuang; Zhao, Fei; Qi, Ji

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess functional changes in the cerebral cortex in people with different sign language experience and hearing status whilst observing and imitating Chinese Sign Language (CSL) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 50 participants took part in the study, and were divided into four groups according to their hearing status and experience of using sign language: prelingual deafness signer group (PDS), normal hearing non-signer group (HnS), native signer group with normal hearing (HNS), and acquired signer group with normal hearing (HLS). fMRI images were scanned from all subjects when they performed block-designed tasks that involved observing and imitating sign language stimuli. Nine activation areas were found in response to undertaking either observation or imitation CSL tasks and three activated areas were found only when undertaking the imitation task. Of those, the PDS group had significantly greater activation areas in terms of the cluster size of the activated voxels in the bilateral superior parietal lobule, cuneate lobe and lingual gyrus in response to undertaking either the observation or the imitation CSL task than the HnS, HNS and HLS groups. The PDS group also showed significantly greater activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus which was also found in the HNS or the HLS groups but not in the HnS group. This indicates that deaf signers have better sign language proficiency, because they engage more actively with the phonetic and semantic elements. In addition, the activations of the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule were only found in the PDS group and HNS group, and not in the other two groups, which indicates that the area for sign language processing appears to be sensitive to the age of language acquisition. After reading this article, readers will be able to: discuss the relationship between sign language and its neural mechanisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc

Parietal and temporal activity during a multimodal dance video game: an fNIRS study.

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Tachibana, Atsumichi; Noah, J Adam; Bronner, Shaw; Ono, Yumie; Onozuka, Minoru

2011-10-03

Using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) we studied how playing a dance video game employs coordinated activation of sensory-motor integration centers of the superior parietal lobe (SPL) and superior temporal gyrus (STG). Subjects played a dance video game, in a block design with 30s of activity alternating with 30s of rest, while changes in oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels were continuously measured. The game was modified to compare difficult (4-arrow), simple (2-arrow), and stepping conditions. Oxy-Hb levels were greatest with increased task difficulty. The quick-onset, trapezoidal time-course increase in SPL oxy-Hb levels reflected the on-off neuronal response of spatial orienting and rhythmic motor timing that were required during the activity. Slow-onset, bell-shaped increases in oxy-Hb levels observed in STG suggested the gradually increasing load of directing multisensory information to downstream processing centers associated with motor behavior and control. Differences in temporal relationships of SPL and STG oxy-Hb concentration levels may reflect the functional roles of these brain structures during the task period. NIRS permits insights into temporal relationships of cortical hemodynamics during real motor tasks. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Evidence of a Christmas spirit network in the brain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Anders; Lindberg, Ulrich; Arngrim, Nanna

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To detect and localise the Christmas spirit in the human brain. DESIGN: Single blinded, cross cultural group study with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). SETTING: Functional imaging unit and department of clinical physiology, nuclear medicine and PET in Denmark. PARTICIPANTS......: 10 healthy people from the Copenhagen area who routinely celebrate Christmas and 10 healthy people living in the same area who have no Christmas traditions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Brain activation unique to the group with Christmas traditions during visual stimulation with images with a Christmas......, differences between the two groups were calculated to determine Christmas specific brain activation. RESULTS: Significant clusters of increased BOLD activation in the sensory motor cortex, the premotor and primary motor cortex, and the parietal lobule (inferior and superior) were found in scans of people who...

The neural network involved in a bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination task: a functional imaging study at 3 T

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Habas, Christophe; Cabanis, Emmanuel A. [UPMC Paris 6, Service de NeuroImagerie, Hopital des Quinze-Vingts, Paris (France)

2007-08-15

The cerebral and cerebellar network involved in a bimanual object recognition was studied in blood oxygenation dependent level functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Nine healthy right-handed volunteers were scanned (1) while performing bilateral finger movements (nondiscrimination motor task), and (2) while performing a bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination task using small chess pieces (tactile discrimination task). Extensive activations were specifically observed in the parietal (SII, superior lateral lobule), insular, prefrontal, cingulate and neocerebellar cortices (HVIII), with a left predominance in motor areas, during the tactile discrimination task in contrast to the findings during the nondiscrimination motor task. Bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination recruits multiple sensorimotor and associative cerebral and neocerebellar networks (including the cerebellar second homunculus, HVIII), comparable to the neural circuits involved in unimanual tactile object recognition. (orig.)

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

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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...

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.

Amyloid- and FDG-PET imaging in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

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Matias-Guiu, Jordi A.; Pytel, Vanesa; Galan, Lucia; Valles-Salgado, Maria; Guerrero, Antonio; Moreno-Ramos, Teresa; Matias-Guiu, Jorge [Hospital Clinico San Carlos, San Carlos Institute for Health Research (IdISSC), Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Neurology, Madrid (Spain); Cabrera-Martin, Maria Nieves; Carreras, Jose Luis [Hospital Clinico San Carlos, San Carlos Institute for Health Research (IdISSC), Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Madrid (Spain)

2016-10-15

We aimed to study brain metabolism and presence of beta-amyloid deposits using positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This prospective cross-sectional study included 18 patients with definite or probable ALS according to the revised El Escorial diagnostic criteria, and 24 healthy controls. Patients underwent neurological and neuropsychological assessments, PET with {sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), and amyloid-PET with {sup 18}F-florbetaben. Patients with ALS showed hypometabolism in the frontal area and hypermetabolism in the cerebellum compared to healthy controls. Four patients (22 %) displayed cognitive impairment and decreased metabolism in the frontal area extending bilaterally to the parietal regions, and increased metabolism in the posterior area of the cerebellum. In patients with no cognitive impairment, metabolism was lower in the left superior frontal gyrus and higher in the anterior and posterior lobes of the cerebellum. In the individual analysis, six patients (35 %) displayed more anterior involvement with hypometabolism affecting the superior frontal, medial, and inferior gyri; six patients (35 %) exhibited a more posterior pattern with hypometabolism in the precentral and postcentral gyri and in the superior and inferior parietal lobules; two patients (11 %) showed a mixed pattern; and three patients (17 %) showed no alterations in brain metabolism. Three (16 %) showed increased {sup 18}F-florbetaben uptake compared to controls. We have identified two main patterns of brain metabolism with an association to cognitive status. Only a subgroup of patients showed an increased uptake of the amyloid tracer. Our results suggest that ALS is heterogeneous from a clinical, metabolic, and molecular standpoint. (orig.)

Amyloid- and FDG-PET imaging in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matias-Guiu, Jordi A.; Pytel, Vanesa; Galan, Lucia; Valles-Salgado, Maria; Guerrero, Antonio; Moreno-Ramos, Teresa; Matias-Guiu, Jorge; Cabrera-Martin, Maria Nieves; Carreras, Jose Luis

2016-01-01

We aimed to study brain metabolism and presence of beta-amyloid deposits using positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This prospective cross-sectional study included 18 patients with definite or probable ALS according to the revised El Escorial diagnostic criteria, and 24 healthy controls. Patients underwent neurological and neuropsychological assessments, PET with 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), and amyloid-PET with 18 F-florbetaben. Patients with ALS showed hypometabolism in the frontal area and hypermetabolism in the cerebellum compared to healthy controls. Four patients (22 %) displayed cognitive impairment and decreased metabolism in the frontal area extending bilaterally to the parietal regions, and increased metabolism in the posterior area of the cerebellum. In patients with no cognitive impairment, metabolism was lower in the left superior frontal gyrus and higher in the anterior and posterior lobes of the cerebellum. In the individual analysis, six patients (35 %) displayed more anterior involvement with hypometabolism affecting the superior frontal, medial, and inferior gyri; six patients (35 %) exhibited a more posterior pattern with hypometabolism in the precentral and postcentral gyri and in the superior and inferior parietal lobules; two patients (11 %) showed a mixed pattern; and three patients (17 %) showed no alterations in brain metabolism. Three (16 %) showed increased 18 F-florbetaben uptake compared to controls. We have identified two main patterns of brain metabolism with an association to cognitive status. Only a subgroup of patients showed an increased uptake of the amyloid tracer. Our results suggest that ALS is heterogeneous from a clinical, metabolic, and molecular standpoint. (orig.)

Role of the right inferior parietal cortex in auditory selective attention: An rTMS study.

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Bareham, Corinne A; Georgieva, Stanimira D; Kamke, Marc R; Lloyd, David; Bekinschtein, Tristan A; Mattingley, Jason B

2018-02-01

Selective attention is the process of directing limited capacity resources to behaviourally relevant stimuli while ignoring competing stimuli that are currently irrelevant. Studies in healthy human participants and in individuals with focal brain lesions have suggested that the right parietal cortex is crucial for resolving competition for attention. Following right-hemisphere damage, for example, patients may have difficulty reporting a brief, left-sided stimulus if it occurs with a competitor on the right, even though the same left stimulus is reported normally when it occurs alone. Such "extinction" of contralesional stimuli has been documented for all the major sense modalities, but it remains unclear whether its occurrence reflects involvement of one or more specific subregions of the temporo-parietal cortex. Here we employed repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the right hemisphere to examine the effect of disruption of two candidate regions - the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and the superior temporal gyrus (STG) - on auditory selective attention. Eighteen neurologically normal, right-handed participants performed an auditory task, in which they had to detect target digits presented within simultaneous dichotic streams of spoken distractor letters in the left and right channels, both before and after 20 min of 1 Hz rTMS over the SMG, STG or a somatosensory control site (S1). Across blocks, participants were asked to report on auditory streams in the left, right, or both channels, which yielded focused and divided attention conditions. Performance was unchanged for the two focused attention conditions, regardless of stimulation site, but was selectively impaired for contralateral left-sided targets in the divided attention condition following stimulation of the right SMG, but not the STG or S1. Our findings suggest a causal role for the right inferior parietal cortex in auditory selective attention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

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

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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.

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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.

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)

Functional Imaging of Human Vestibular Cortex Activity Elicited by Skull Tap and Auditory Tone Burst

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Noohi, Fatemeh; Kinnaird, Catherine; Wood, Scott; Bloomberg, Jacob; Mulavara, Ajitkumar; Seidler, Rachael

2014-01-01

The aim of the current study was to characterize the brain activation in response to two modes of vestibular stimulation: skull tap and auditory tone burst. The auditory tone burst has been used in previous studies to elicit saccular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP) (Colebatch & Halmagyi 1992; Colebatch et al. 1994). Some researchers have reported that airconducted skull tap elicits both saccular and utricle VEMPs, while being faster and less irritating for the subjects (Curthoys et al. 2009, Wackym et al., 2012). However, it is not clear whether the skull tap and auditory tone burst elicit the same pattern of cortical activity. Both forms of stimulation target the otolith response, which provides a measurement of vestibular function independent from semicircular canals. This is of high importance for studying the vestibular disorders related to otolith deficits. Previous imaging studies have documented activity in the anterior and posterior insula, superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, pre and post central gyri, inferior frontal gyrus, and the anterior cingulate cortex in response to different modes of vestibular stimulation (Bottini et al., 1994; Dieterich et al., 2003; Emri et al., 2003; Schlindwein et al., 2008; Janzen et al., 2008). Here we hypothesized that the skull tap elicits the similar pattern of cortical activity as the auditory tone burst. Subjects put on a set of MR compatible skull tappers and headphones inside the 3T GE scanner, while lying in supine position, with eyes closed. All subjects received both forms of the stimulation, however, the order of stimulation with auditory tone burst and air-conducted skull tap was counterbalanced across subjects. Pneumatically powered skull tappers were placed bilaterally on the cheekbones. The vibration of the cheekbone was transmitted to the vestibular cortex, resulting in vestibular response (Halmagyi et al., 1995). Auditory tone bursts were also delivered for comparison. To validate

Extent of cortical involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--an analysis based on cortical thickness.

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Thorns, Johannes; Jansma, Henk; Peschel, Thomas; Grosskreutz, Julian; Mohammadi, Bahram; Dengler, Reinhard; Münte, Thomas F

2013-10-18

Besides the defining involvement of upper and lower motor neurons, the involvement of extramotor structures has been increasingly acknowledged in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here we investigated a group of 14 mildly to moderately affected ALS patients and 14 age-matched healthy control participants using cortical thickness analysis. Cortical thickness was determined from high resolution 3D T1 magnetic resonance images and involved semiautomatic segmentation in grey and white matter, cortical alignment and determination of thickness using the Laplace method. In addition to a whole-cortex analysis a region of interest approach was applied. ALS patients showed regions of significant cortical thinning in the pre- and postcentral gyri bilaterally. Further regions of cortical thinning included superior and inferior parietal lobule, angular and supramarginal gyrus, insula, superior frontal, temporal and occipital regions, thus further substantiating extramotor involvement in ALS. A relationship between cortical thickness of the right superior frontal cortex and clinical severity (assessed by the ALS functional rating scale) was also demonstrated. Cortical thickness is reduced in ALS not only in motor areas but in widespread non-motor cortical areas. Cortical thickness is related to clinical severity.

The cerebellum after trauma: Resting-state functional connectivity of the cerebellum in posttraumatic stress disorder and its dissociative subtype.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabellino, Daniela; Densmore, Maria; Théberge, Jean; McKinnon, Margaret C; Lanius, Ruth A

2018-04-17

The cerebellum plays a key role not only in motor function but also in affect and cognition. Although several psychopathological disorders have been associated with overall cerebellar dysfunction, it remains unclear whether different regions of the cerebellum contribute uniquely to psychopathology. Accordingly, we compared seed-based resting-state functional connectivity of the anterior cerebellum (lobule IV-V), of the posterior cerebellum (Crus I), and of the anterior vermis across posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 65), its dissociative subtype (PTSD + DS; n = 37), and non-trauma-exposed healthy controls (HC; n = 47). Here, we observed decreased functional connectivity of the anterior cerebellum and anterior vermis with brain regions involved in somatosensory processing, multisensory integration, and bodily self-consciousness (temporo-parietal junction, postcentral gyrus, and superior parietal lobule) in PTSD + DS as compared to PTSD and HC. Moreover, the PTSD + DS group showed increased functional connectivity of the posterior cerebellum with cortical areas related to emotion regulation (ventromedial prefrontal and orbito-frontal cortex, subgenual anterior cingulum) as compared to PTSD. By contrast, PTSD showed increased functional connectivity of the anterior cerebellum with cortical areas associated with visual processing (fusiform gyrus), interoceptive awareness (posterior insula), memory retrieval, and contextual processing (hippocampus) as compared to HC. Finally, we observed decreased functional connectivity between the posterior cerebellum and prefrontal regions involved in emotion regulation, in PTSD as compared to HC. These findings not only highlight the crucial role of each cerebellar region examined in the psychopathology of PTSD but also reveal unique alterations in functional connectivity distinguishing the dissociative subtype of PTSD versus PTSD. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

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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.

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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.

[Amplitude Changes of Low Frequency Fluctuation in Brain Spontaneous Nervous Activities Induced by Needling at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, You-long; Su, Cheng-guo; Liu, Shou-fang; Jin, Xiang-yu; Duan, Yan-li; Chen, Xiao-yan; Zhao, Shu-hua; Wang, Quan-liang; Dang, Chang-lin

2016-05-01

To observe amplitude changes of low frequency fluctuation in brain spontaneous nervous activities induced by needling at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel, and to preliminarily explore the possible brain function network of Hand Taiyin Lung Channel. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 16 healthy volunteers underwent resting-state scanning (R1) and scanning with retained acupuncture at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel (acupuncture, AP). Data of fMRI collected were statistically calculated using amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF). Under R1 significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus. Under AP significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, bilateral superior frontal gyrus, cerebellum, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, and so on. Compared with R1, needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly enhance ALFF in right gyrus subcallosum and right inferior frontal gyrus. Significant decreased ALFF appeared in right postcentral gyrus, left precuneus, left superior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and so on. Needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly change fixed activities of cerebral cortex, especially in right subcallosal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, and so on.

Top-down and bottom-up attention-to-memory: mapping functional connectivity in two distinct networks that underlie cued and uncued recognition memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Burianová, Hana; Ciaramelli, Elisa; Grady, Cheryl L; Moscovitch, Morris

2012-11-15

The objective of this study was to examine the functional connectivity of brain regions active during cued and uncued recognition memory to test the idea that distinct networks would underlie these memory processes, as predicted by the attention-to-memory (AtoM) hypothesis. The AtoM hypothesis suggests that dorsal parietal cortex (DPC) allocates effortful top-down attention to memory retrieval during cued retrieval, whereas ventral parietal cortex (VPC) mediates spontaneous bottom-up capture of attention by memory during uncued retrieval. To identify networks associated with these two processes, we conducted a functional connectivity analysis of a left DPC and a left VPC region, both identified by a previous analysis of task-related regional activations. We hypothesized that the two parietal regions would be functionally connected with distinct neural networks, reflecting their engagement in the differential mnemonic processes. We found two spatially dissociated networks that overlapped only in the precuneus. During cued trials, DPC was functionally connected with dorsal attention areas, including the superior parietal lobules, right precuneus, and premotor cortex, as well as relevant memory areas, such as the left hippocampus and the middle frontal gyri. During uncued trials, VPC was functionally connected with ventral attention areas, including the supramarginal gyrus, cuneus, and right fusiform gyrus, as well as the parahippocampal gyrus. In addition, activity in the DPC network was associated with faster response times for cued retrieval. This is the first study to show a dissociation of the functional connectivity of posterior parietal regions during episodic memory retrieval, characterized by a top-down AtoM network involving DPC and a bottom-up AtoM network involving VPC. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating low-resolution tomography neurofeedback by single dissociation of mental grotation task from stop signal task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Getter, Nir; Kaplan, Zeev; Todder, Doron

2015-10-01

Electroencephalography source localization neurofeedback, i.e Standardized low-resolution tomography (sLORETA) neurofeedback are non-invasive method for altering region specific brain activity. This is an improvement over traditional neurofeedback which were based on recordings from a single scalp-electrode. We proposed three criteria clusters as a methodological framework to evaluate electroencephalography source localization neurofeedback and present relevant data. Our objective was to evaluate standardized low resolution EEG tomography neurofeedback by examining how training one neuroanatomical area effects the mental rotation task (which is related to the activity of bilateral Parietal regions) and the stop-signal test (which is related to frontal structures). Twelve healthy participants were enrolled in a single session sLORETA neurofeedback protocol. The participants completed both the mental rotation task and the stop-signal test before and after one sLORETA neurofeedback session. During sLORETA neurofeedback sessions participants watched one sitcom episode while the picture quality co-varied with activity in the superior parietal lobule. Participants were rewarded for increasing activity in this region only. Results showed a significant reaction time decrease and an increase in accuracy after sLORETA neurofeedback on the mental rotation task but not after stop signal task. Together with behavioral changes a significant activity increase was found at the left parietal brain after sLORETA neurofeedback compared with baseline. We concluded that activity increase in the parietal region had a specific effect on the mental rotation task. Tasks unrelated to parietal brain activity were unaffected. Therefore, sLORETA neurofeedback could be used as a research, or clinical tool for cognitive disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Feature Interactions Enable Decoding of Sensorimotor Transformations for Goal-Directed Movement

Science.gov (United States)

Barany, Deborah A.; Della-Maggiore, Valeria; Viswanathan, Shivakumar; Cieslak, Matthew

2014-01-01

Neurophysiology and neuroimaging evidence shows that the brain represents multiple environmental and body-related features to compute transformations from sensory input to motor output. However, it is unclear how these features interact during goal-directed movement. To investigate this issue, we examined the representations of sensory and motor features of human hand movements within the left-hemisphere motor network. In a rapid event-related fMRI design, we measured cortical activity as participants performed right-handed movements at the wrist, with either of two postures and two amplitudes, to move a cursor to targets at different locations. Using a multivoxel analysis technique with rigorous generalization tests, we reliably distinguished representations of task-related features (primarily target location, movement direction, and posture) in multiple regions. In particular, we identified an interaction between target location and movement direction in the superior parietal lobule, which may underlie a transformation from the location of the target in space to a movement vector. In addition, we found an influence of posture on primary motor, premotor, and parietal regions. Together, these results reveal the complex interactions between different sensory and motor features that drive the computation of sensorimotor transformations. PMID:24828640

Functional MRI of tongue motor tasks in patients with tongue cancer: observations before and after partial glossectomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haupage, Samantha; Branski, Ryan C.; Kraus, Dennis; Peck, Kyung K.; Hsu, Meier; Holodny, Andrei

2010-01-01

The current study seeks to provide preliminary data regarding this central, adaptive response during tongue motor tasks utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after glossectomy. Six patients, with confirmed histological diagnoses of oral tongue cancer, underwent fMRI before and 6 months after partial glossectomy. These data were compared to nine healthy controls. All subjects performed three tongue motor tasks during fMRI: tongue tapping (TT), dry swallow (Dry), and wet swallow (Wet). Following surgery, increased activation was subjectively observed in the superior parietal lobule, supplementary motor area, and anterior cingulate. Region of interest (ROI) analysis of the precentral gyrus confirmed increased cortical activity following surgery. In addition, comparisons between pre-surgical scans and controls suggested the dry swallow task was sensitive to elicit tongue-related activation in the precentral gyrus (p ≤ 0.05). The adaptive changes in the cortex following partial glossectomy reflect recruitment of the parietal, frontal, and cingulate cortex during tongue motor tasks. In addition, post-operative activation patterns more closely approximated control levels than the pre-operative scans. Furthermore, the dry swallow task appears most specific to elicit tongue-related cortical activity. (orig.)

The brain and the subjective experience of time. A voxel based symptom-lesion mapping study.

Science.gov (United States)

Trojano, Luigi; Caccavale, Michelina; De Bellis, Francesco; Crisci, Claudio

2017-06-30

The aim of the study was to identify the anatomical bases involved in the subjective experience of time, by means of a voxel based symptom-lesion mapping (VLSM) study on patients with focal brain damage. Thirty-three patients (nineteen with right-hemisphere lesions -RBD, and fourteen with left lesion- LBD) and twenty-eight non-neurological controls (NNC) underwent the semi-structured QUEstionnaire for the Subjective experience of Time (QUEST) requiring retrospective and prospective judgements on self-relevant time intervals. All participants also completed tests to assess general cognitive functioning and two questionnaires to evaluate their emotional state. Both groups of brain-damaged patients achieved significantly different scores from NNC on the time performance, without differences between RBD and LBD. VLSM showed a cluster of voxels located in the right inferior parietal lobule significantly related to errors in the prospective items. The lesion subtraction analysis revealed two different patterns possibly associated with errors in the prospective items (the right inferior parietal cortex, rolandic operculum and posterior middle temporal gyrus) and in the retrospective items (superior middle temporal gyrus, white matter posterior to the insula). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional MRI of tongue motor tasks in patients with tongue cancer: observations before and after partial glossectomy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haupage, Samantha; Branski, Ryan C.; Kraus, Dennis [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Head and Neck Surgery, New York, NY (United States); Peck, Kyung K. [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Medical Physics, New York, NY (United States); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medical Physics and Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Hsu, Meier [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, New York, NY (United States); Holodny, Andrei [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States)

2010-12-15

The current study seeks to provide preliminary data regarding this central, adaptive response during tongue motor tasks utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after glossectomy. Six patients, with confirmed histological diagnoses of oral tongue cancer, underwent fMRI before and 6 months after partial glossectomy. These data were compared to nine healthy controls. All subjects performed three tongue motor tasks during fMRI: tongue tapping (TT), dry swallow (Dry), and wet swallow (Wet). Following surgery, increased activation was subjectively observed in the superior parietal lobule, supplementary motor area, and anterior cingulate. Region of interest (ROI) analysis of the precentral gyrus confirmed increased cortical activity following surgery. In addition, comparisons between pre-surgical scans and controls suggested the dry swallow task was sensitive to elicit tongue-related activation in the precentral gyrus (p {<=} 0.05). The adaptive changes in the cortex following partial glossectomy reflect recruitment of the parietal, frontal, and cingulate cortex during tongue motor tasks. In addition, post-operative activation patterns more closely approximated control levels than the pre-operative scans. Furthermore, the dry swallow task appears most specific to elicit tongue-related cortical activity. (orig.)

Connectivity differences between adult male and female patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder according to resting-state functional MRI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo-yong Park

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD is a pervasive psychiatric disorder that affects both children and adults. Adult male and female patients with ADHD are differentially affected, but few studies have explored the differences. The purpose of this study was to quantify differences between adult male and female patients with ADHD based on neuroimaging and connectivity analysis. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained and preprocessed in 82 patients. Group-wise differences between male and female patients were quantified using degree centrality for different brain regions. The medial-, middle-, and inferior-frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, precuneus, supramarginal gyrus, superior- and middle-temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, and cuneus were identified as regions with significant group-wise differences. The identified regions were correlated with clinical scores reflecting depression and anxiety and significant correlations were found. Adult ADHD patients exhibit different levels of depression and anxiety depending on sex, and our study provides insight into how changes in brain circuitry might differentially impact male and female ADHD patients.

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 neural networks of subjectively evaluated emotional conflicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohr, Christiane S; Villringer, Arno; Solms-Baruth, Carolina; van der Meer, Elke; Margulies, Daniel S; Okon-Singer, Hadas

2016-06-01

Previous work on the neural underpinnings of emotional conflict processing has largely focused on designs that instruct participants to ignore a distracter which conflicts with a target. In contrast, this study investigated the noninstructed experience and evaluation of an emotional conflict, where positive or negative cues can be subjectively prioritized. To this end, healthy participants freely watched short film scenes that evoked emotional conflicts while their BOLD responses were measured. Participants' individual ratings of conflict and valence perception during the film scenes were collected immediately afterwards, and the individual ratings were regressed against the BOLD data. Our analyses revealed that (a) amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex were significantly involved in prioritizing positive or negative cues, but not in subjective evaluations of conflict per se, and (b) superior temporal sulcus (STS) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), which have been implicated in social cognition and emotion control, were involved in both prioritizing positive or negative cues and subjectively evaluating conflict, and may thus constitute "hubs" or "switches" in emotional conflict processing. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses further revealed stronger functional connectivity between IPL and ventral prefrontal-medial parietal areas in prioritizing negative cues, and stronger connectivity between STS and dorsal-rostral prefrontal-medial parietal areas in prioritizing positive cues. In sum, our results suggest that IPL and STS are important in the subjective evaluation of complex conflicts and influence valence prioritization via prefrontal and parietal control centers. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2234-2246, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cytoarchitectonic identification and probabilistic mapping of two distinct areas within the anterior ventral bank of the human intraparietal sulcus

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Choi, Hi-Jae; Zilles, Karl; Mohlberg, Hartmut; Schleicher, Axel; Fink, Gereon R.; Armstrong, Este; Amunts, Katrin

2008-01-01

Anatomical studies in the macaque cortex and functional imaging studies in humans have demonstrated the existence of different cortical areas within the IntraParietal Sulcus (IPS). Such functional segregation, however, does not correlate with presently available architectonic maps of the human brain. This is particularly true for the classical Brodmann map, which is still widely used as an anatomical reference in functional imaging studies. The aim of this cytoarchitectonic mapping study was to use previously defined algorithms to determine whether consistent regions and borders can be found within the cortex of the anterior IPS in a population of ten postmortem human brains. Two areas, the human IntraParietal area 1 (hIP1) and the human IntraParietal area 2 (hIP2), were delineated in serial histological sections of the anterior, lateral bank of the human IPS. The region hIP1 is located posterior and medial to hIP2, and the former is always within the depths of the IPS. The latter, on the other hand, sometimes reaches the free surface of the superior parietal lobule. The delineations were registered to standard reference space, and probabilistic maps were calculated, thereby quantifying the intersubject variability in location and extent of both areas. In the future, they can be a tool in analyzing structure – function relationships and a basis for determining degrees of homology in the IPS among anthropoid primates. We conclude that the human intraparietal sulcus has a finer grained parcellation than shown in Brodmann’s map. PMID:16432904

Segmentation of the Cingulum Bundle in the Human Brain: A New Perspective Based on DSI Tractography and Fiber Dissection Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yupeng; Sun, Dandan; Wang, Yong; Wang, Yibao; Ou, Shaowu

2016-01-01

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 (CC). CB-II arched around the splenium and extended anteriorly above the CC to the medial aspect of the superior frontal gyrus (SFG). CB-III connected the superior parietal lobule (SPL) and precuneus with the medial aspect of the SFG. CB-IV was a relatively minor subcomponent from the SPL 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.

White matter abnormalities in young males with antisocial personality disorder Evidence from voxel-based morphometry-diffeomorphic anatomical registration using exponentiated lie algebra analysis

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Daxing Wu; Ying Zhao; Jian Liao; Huifang Yin; Wei Wang

2011-01-01

Voxel-based morphometry-diffeomorphic anatomical registration using exponentiated lie algebra analysis was used to investigate the structural characteristics of white matter in young males with antisocial personality disorder (APD) and healthy controls without APD. The results revealed that APD subjects, relative to healthy subjects, exhibited increased white matter volume in the bilateral prefrontal lobe, right insula, precentral gyrus, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, right precuneus, right middle occipital lobe, right parahippocampal gyrus and bilateral cingulate, and decreased volume in the middle temporal cortex and right cerebellum. The white matter volume in the medial frontal gyrus was significantly correlated with antisocial type scores on the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire in APD subjects. These experimental findings indicate that white matter abnormalities in several brain areas may contribute to antisocial behaviors in APD subjects.

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

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…

Aging memory for pictures: using high-density event-related potentials to understand the effect of aging on the picture superiority effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Ally, Brandon A; Waring, Jill D; Beth, Ellen H; McKeever, Joshua D; Milberg, William P; Budson, Andrew E

2008-01-31

High-density event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to understand the effect of aging on the neural correlates of the picture superiority effect. Pictures and words were systematically varied at study and test while ERPs were recorded at retrieval. Here, the results of the word-word and picture-picture study-test conditions are presented. Behavioral results showed that older adults demonstrated the picture superiority effect to a greater extent than younger adults. The ERP data helped to explain these findings. The early frontal effect, parietal effect, and late frontal effect were all indistinguishable between older and younger adults for pictures. In contrast, for words, the early frontal and parietal effects were significantly diminished for the older adults compared to the younger adults. These two old/new effects have been linked to familiarity and recollection, respectively, and the authors speculate that these processes are impaired for word-based memory in the course of healthy aging. The findings of this study suggest that pictures allow older adults to compensate for their impaired memorial processes, and may allow these memorial components to function more effectively in older adults.

Different patterns of spontaneous brain activity between tremor-dominant and postural instability/gait difficulty subtypes of Parkinson's disease: a resting-state fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hui-Min; Wang, Zhi-Jiang; Fang, Jin-Ping; Gao, Li-Yan; Ma, Ling-Yan; Wu, Tao; Hou, Ya-Nan; Zhang, Jia-Rong; Feng, Tao

2015-10-01

Postural instability/gait difficulty (PIGD) and tremor-dominant (TD) subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) show different clinical manifestations; however, their underlying neural substrates remain incompletely understood. This study aimed at investigating the subtype-specific patterns of spontaneous brain activity in PD. Thirty-one patients with PD (12 TD/19 PIGD) and 22 healthy gender- and age-matched controls were recruited. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected, and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was measured. Voxelwise one-way analysis of covariance and post hoc analyses of ALFF were performed among the three groups, with age and gender as covariates (levodopa daily dosage and gray matter volume as additional covariates for validation analysis). Correlations of clinical variables (e.g., disease duration and PIGD/tremor subscale score) with ALFF values were examined. Compared with controls, patients with TD exhibited higher ALFF in the right cerebellar posterior lobe and patients with PIGD exhibited lower ALFF in the bilateral putamen and cerebellar posterior lobe, and higher values primarily in several cortical areas including the inferior and superior temporal gyrus, superior frontal, and parietal gyrus. Compared with patients with PIGD, patients with TD had higher ALFF in the bilateral putamen and the cerebellar posterior lobe, as well as lower ALFF in the bilateral temporal gyrus and the left superior parietal lobule. In all patients, ALFF in the bilateral cerebellar posterior lobe positively correlated with tremor score and ALFF in the bilateral putamen negatively correlated with PIGD score. Different patterns of spontaneous neural activity in the cerebellum and putamen may underlie the neural substrate of PD motor subtypes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Individual Differences in Reasoning and Visuospatial Attention are Associated with Prefrontal and Parietal White Matter Tracts in Healthy Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Monge, Zachary A.; Greenwood, Pamela M.; Parasuraman, Raja; Strenziok, Maren

2016-01-01

Objective Although reasoning and attention are two cognitive processes necessary for ensuring the efficiency of many everyday activities in older adults, the role of white matter integrity in these processes has been little studied. This is an important question due to the role of white matter integrity as a neural substrate of cognitive aging. Here, we sought to examine the white matter tracts subserving reasoning and visuospatial attention in healthy older adults. Method Sixty-one adults aged 60 and older completed a battery of cognitive tests to assess reasoning and visuospatial attention. In addition, diffusion tensor images were collected to assess Fractional Anisotropy (FA) – a measure of white matter integrity. A principle component analysis of the test scores yielded two components: reasoning and visuospatial attention. Whole-brain correlations between FA and the cognitive components were submitted to probabilistic tractography analyses for visualization of cortical targets of tracts. Results For reasoning, bilateral thalamo-anterior prefrontal, anterior corpus callosum, and corpus callosum body tracts interconnecting the superior frontal cortices and right cingulum bundle were found. For visuospatial attention, a right inferior fronto-parietal tract, and bilateral parietal and temporal connections were found. Conclusions We conclude that in older adults, prefrontal cortex white matter tracts and interhemispheric communication are important in higher order cognitive functioning. On the other hand, right-sided fronto-parietal tracts appear to be critical for supporting control of cognitive processes, such as redirecting attention. Researchers may use our results to develop neuroscience-based interventions for older adults targeting brain mechanisms involved in cognitive plasticity. PMID:26986750

[Brodmann Areas 39 and 40: Human Parietal Association Area and Higher Cortical Function].

Science.gov (United States)

Sakurai, Yasuhisa

2017-04-01

The anatomy and function of the angular gyrus (Brodmann Area 39) and supramarginal gyrus (Brodmann Area 40) are described here. Both gyri constitute the inferior part of the parietal lobe. Association fibers from the angular gyrus project to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex via the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) II/arcuate fasciculus (AF), whereas those from the supramarginal gyrus project to the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex via SLF III/AF. Damage to the left angular gyrus causes kanji agraphia (lexical agraphia) and mild anomia, whereas damage to the left supramarginal gyrus causes kana alexia (phonological dyslexia) and kana agraphia (phonological agraphia). Damage to either gyrus causes Gerstmann's syndrome (finger agnosia, left-right disorientation, agraphia and acalculia) and verbal short-term memory impairment. "Angular alexia with agraphia" results from damage to the middle occipital gyrus posterior to the angular gyrus. Alexia and agraphia, with lesions in the angular or supramarginal gyrus, are characterized by kana transposition errors in reading words, which suggests the impairment of sequential phonological processing.

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

Differential activation of brain regions involved with error-feedback and imitation based motor simulation when observing self and an expert's actions in pilots and non-pilots on a complex glider landing task.

Science.gov (United States)

Callan, Daniel E; Terzibas, Cengiz; Cassel, Daniel B; Callan, Akiko; Kawato, Mitsuo; Sato, Masa-Aki

2013-05-15

In this fMRI study we investigate neural processes related to the action observation network using a complex perceptual-motor task in pilots and non-pilots. The task involved landing a glider (using aileron, elevator, rudder, and dive brake) as close to a target as possible, passively observing a replay of one's own previous trial, passively observing a replay of an expert's trial, and a baseline do nothing condition. The objective of this study is to investigate two types of motor simulation processes used during observation of action: imitation based motor simulation and error-feedback based motor simulation. It has been proposed that the computational neurocircuitry of the cortex is well suited for unsupervised imitation based learning, whereas, the cerebellum is well suited for error-feedback based learning. Consistent with predictions, pilots (to a greater extent than non-pilots) showed significant differential activity when observing an expert landing the glider in brain regions involved with imitation based motor simulation (including premotor cortex PMC, inferior frontal gyrus IFG, anterior insula, parietal cortex, superior temporal gyrus, and middle temporal MT area) than when observing one's own previous trial which showed significant differential activity in the cerebellum (only for pilots) thought to be concerned with error-feedback based motor simulation. While there was some differential brain activity for pilots in regions involved with both Execution and Observation of the flying task (potential Mirror System sites including IFG, PMC, superior parietal lobule) the majority was adjacent to these areas (Observation Only Sites) (predominantly in PMC, IFG, and inferior parietal loblule). These regions showing greater activity for observation than for action may be involved with processes related to motor-based representational transforms that are not necessary when actually carrying out the task. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Altered brain mechanisms of emotion processing in pre-manifest Huntington's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Marianne J U; Warren, Jason D; Henley, Susie M D; Draganski, Bogdan; Frackowiak, Richard S; Tabrizi, Sarah J

2012-04-01

, right pallidum, right thalamus, cerebellum, middle frontal, middle occipital, right superior and left inferior temporal gyri, and left superior parietal lobule. The modulated happiness network included postcentral gyri, left caudate, right cingulate cortex, right superior and inferior parietal lobules, and right superior frontal, middle temporal, middle occipital and precentral gyri. These effects were not driven merely by striatal dysfunction. We did not find equivalent associations between brain structure and emotion recognition, and the pre-manifest Huntington's disease cohort did not have a behavioural deficit in out-of-scanner emotion recognition relative to controls. In addition, we found increased neural activity in the pre-manifest subjects in response to all three emotions in frontal regions, predominantly in the middle frontal gyri. Overall, these findings suggest that pathophysiological effects of Huntington's disease may precede the development of overt clinical symptoms and detectable cerebral atrophy.

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

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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.

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.

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…

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...

Downregulation of GABA[Subscript A] Receptor Protein Subunits a6, ß2, d, e, ?2, ?, and ?2 in Superior Frontal Cortex of Subjects with Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Fatemi, S. Hossein; Reutiman, Teri J.; Folsom, Timothy D.; Rustan, Oyvind G.; Rooney, Robert J.; Thuras, Paul D.

2014-01-01

We measured protein and mRNA levels for nine gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABA[subscript A]) receptor subunits in three brain regions (cerebellum, superior frontal cortex, and parietal cortex) in subjects with autism versus matched controls. We observed changes in mRNA for a number of GABA[subscript A] and GABA[subscript B] subunits and overall…

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

Science.gov (United States)

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 mirror mechanism in the parietal lobe.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Interaction Effects of BDNF and COMT Genes on Resting-State Brain Activity and Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wen; Chen, Chunhui; Xia, Mingrui; Wu, Karen; Chen, Chuansheng; He, Qinghua; Xue, Gui; Wang, Wenjing; He, Yong; Dong, Qi

2016-01-01

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genes have been found to interactively influence working memory (WM) as well as brain activation during WM tasks. However, whether the two genes have interactive effects on resting-state activities of the brain and whether these spontaneous activations correlate with WM are still unknown. This study included behavioral data from WM tasks and genetic data (COMT rs4680 and BDNF Val66Met) from 417 healthy Chinese adults and resting-state fMRI data from 298 of them. Significant interactive effects of BDNF and COMT were found for WM performance as well as for resting-state regional homogeneity (ReHo) in WM-related brain areas, including the left medial frontal gyrus (lMeFG), left superior frontal gyrus (lSFG), right superior and medial frontal gyrus (rSMFG), right medial orbitofrontal gyrus (rMOFG), right middle frontal gyrus (rMFG), precuneus, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, left superior occipital gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, and right inferior parietal lobule. Simple effects analyses showed that compared to other genotypes, subjects with COMT-VV/BDNF-VV had higher WM and lower ReHo in all five frontal brain areas. The results supported the hypothesis that COMT and BDNF polymorphisms influence WM performance and spontaneous brain activity (i.e., ReHo). PMID:27853425

The contribution of the human posterior parietal cortex to episodic memory

OpenAIRE

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

2017-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

The where and how of attention-based rehearsal in spatial working memory.

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Postle, B R; Awh, E; Jonides, J; Smith, E E; D'Esposito, M

2004-07-01

Rehearsal in human spatial working memory is accomplished, in part, via covert shifts of spatial selective attention to memorized locations ("attention-based rehearsal"). We addressed two outstanding questions about attention-based rehearsal: the topography of the attention-based rehearsal effect, and the mechanism by which it operates. Using event-related fMRI and a procedure that randomized the presentation of trials with delay epochs that were either filled with a flickering checkerboard or unfilled, we localized the effect to extrastriate areas 18 and 19, and confirmed its absence in striate cortex. Delay-epoch activity in these extrastriate regions, as well as in superior parietal lobule and intraparietal sulcus, was also lateralized on unfilled trials, suggesting that attention-based rehearsal produces a baseline shift in areas representing the to-be-remembered location in space. No frontal regions (including frontal eye fields) demonstrated lateralized activity consistent with a role in attention-based rehearsal.

Connectivity pattern differences bilaterally in the cerebellum posterior lobe in healthy subjects after normal sleep and sleep deprivation: a resting-state functional MRI study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu XM

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Xuming Liu,1 Zhihan Yan,2 Tingyu Wang,1 Xiaokai Yang,1 Feng Feng,3 Luping Fan,1 Jian Jiang4 1Department of Radiology, The Third Clinical Institute Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 2Department of Radiology, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 3Peking Union Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 4Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China Objective: The aim of this study was to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI technique to explore the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC differences of the bilaterial cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL after normal sleep (NS and after sleep deprivation (SD. Methods: A total of 16 healthy subjects (eight males, eight females underwent an fMRI scan twice at random: once following NS and the other following 24 hours’ SD, with an interval of 1 month between the two scans. The fMRI scanning included resting state and acupuncture stimulation. The special activated regions located during the acupuncture stimulation were selected as regions of interest for rsFC analysis. Results: Bilateral CPLs were positively activated by acupuncture stimulation. In the NS group, the left CPL showed rsFC with the bilateral CPL, bilateral frontal lobe (BFL, left precuneus and right inferior parietal lobule, while the right CPL showed rsFC with the bilateral temporal lobe, right cerebellum anterior lobe, right CPL, left frontal lobe, left anterior cingulate, right posterior cingulate, and bilateral inferior parietal lobule. In the SD group, the left CPL showed rsFC with the left posterior cingulate gyrus bilateral CPL, left precuneus, left precentral gyrus, BFL, and the left parietal lobe, while the right CPL showed rsFC with bilateral cerebellum anterior lobe, bilateral CPL, left frontal lobe and left temporal lobe. Compared with the NS group, the

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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.)

Altered resting-state effective connectivity of fronto-parietal motor control systems on the primary motor network following stroke

Science.gov (United States)

Inman, Cory S.; James, G. Andrew; Hamann, Stephan; Rajendra, Justin K.; Pagnoni, Giuseppe; Butler, Andrew J.

2011-01-01

Previous brain imaging work suggests that stroke alters the effective connectivity (the influence neural regions exert upon each other) of motor execution networks. The present study examines the intrinsic effective connectivity of top-down motor control in stroke survivors (n=13) relative to healthy participants (n=12). Stroke survivors exhibited significant deficits in motor function, as assessed by the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) of resting-state fMRI data to investigate the relationship between motor deficits and the intrinsic effective connectivity between brain regions involved in motor control and motor execution. An exploratory adaptation of SEM determined the optimal model of motor execution effective connectivity in healthy participants, and confirmatory SEM assessed stroke survivors’ fit to that model. We observed alterations in spontaneous resting-state effective connectivity from fronto-parietal guidance systems to the motor network in stroke survivors. More specifically, diminished connectivity was found in connections from the superior parietal cortex to primary motor cortex and supplementary motor cortex. Furthermore, the paths demonstrated large individual variance in stroke survivors but less variance in healthy participants. These findings suggest that characterizing the deficits in resting-state connectivity of top-down processes in stroke survivors may help optimize cognitive and physical rehabilitation therapies by individually targeting specific neural pathway. PMID:21839174

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Decoding task-based attentional modulation during face categorization.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Yu-Chin; Esterman, Michael; Han, Yuefeng; Rosen, Heather; Yantis, Steven

2011-05-01

Attention is a neurocognitive mechanism that selects task-relevant sensory or mnemonic information to achieve current behavioral goals. Attentional modulation of cortical activity has been observed when attention is directed to specific locations, features, or objects. However, little is known about how high-level categorization task set modulates perceptual representations. In the current study, observers categorized faces by gender (male vs. female) or race (Asian vs. White). Each face was perceptually ambiguous in both dimensions, such that categorization of one dimension demanded selective attention to task-relevant information within the face. We used multivoxel pattern classification to show that task-specific modulations evoke reliably distinct spatial patterns of activity within three face-selective cortical regions (right fusiform face area and bilateral occipital face areas). This result suggests that patterns of activity in these regions reflect not only stimulus-specific (i.e., faces vs. houses) responses but also task-specific (i.e., race vs. gender) attentional modulation. Furthermore, exploratory whole-brain multivoxel pattern classification (using a searchlight procedure) revealed a network of dorsal fronto-parietal regions (left middle frontal gyrus and left inferior and superior parietal lobule) that also exhibit distinct patterns for the two task sets, suggesting that these regions may represent abstract goals during high-level categorization tasks.

Brain areas associated with numbers and calculations in children: Meta-analyses of fMRI studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Arsalidou

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Children use numbers every day and typically receive formal mathematical training from an early age, as it is a main subject in school curricula. Despite an increase in children neuroimaging studies, a comprehensive neuropsychological model of mathematical functions in children is lacking. Using quantitative meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI studies, we identify concordant brain areas across articles that adhere to a set of selection criteria (e.g., whole-brain analysis, coordinate reports and report brain activity to tasks that involve processing symbolic and non-symbolic numbers with and without formal mathematical operations, which we called respectively number tasks and calculation tasks. We present data on children 14 years and younger, who solved these tasks. Results show activity in parietal (e.g., inferior parietal lobule and precuneus and frontal (e.g., superior and medial frontal gyri cortices, core areas related to mental-arithmetic, as well as brain regions such as the insula and claustrum, which are not typically discussed as part of mathematical problem solving models. We propose a topographical atlas of mathematical processes in children, discuss findings within a developmental constructivist theoretical model, and suggest practical methodological considerations for future studies. Keywords: Mathematical cognition, Meta-analyses, fMRI, Children, Development, Insula

The effect of rehearsal rate and memory load on verbal working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Fegen, David; Buchsbaum, Bradley R; D'Esposito, Mark

2015-01-15

While many neuroimaging studies have investigated verbal working memory (WM) by manipulating memory load, the subvocal rehearsal rate at these various memory loads has generally been left uncontrolled. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate how mnemonic load and the rate of subvocal rehearsal modulate patterns of activity in the core neural circuits underlying verbal working memory. Using fMRI in healthy subjects, we orthogonally manipulated subvocal rehearsal rate and memory load in a verbal WM task with long 45-s delay periods. We found that middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and superior parietal lobule (SPL) exhibited memory load effects primarily early in the delay period and did not exhibit rehearsal rate effects. In contrast, we found that inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), premotor cortex (PM) and Sylvian-parietal-temporal region (area Spt) exhibited approximately linear memory load and rehearsal rate effects, with rehearsal rate effects lasting through the entire delay period. These results indicate that IFG, PM and area Spt comprise the core articulatory rehearsal areas involved in verbal WM, while MFG and SPL are recruited in a general supervisory role once a memory load threshold in the core rehearsal network has been exceeded. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brain mechanisms for loss of awareness of thought and movement

Science.gov (United States)

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

Mapping structural covariance networks of facial emotion recognition in early psychosis: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchy, Lisa; Barbato, Mariapaola; Makowski, Carolina; Bray, Signe; MacMaster, Frank P; Deighton, Stephanie; Addington, Jean

2017-11-01

People with psychosis show deficits recognizing facial emotions and disrupted activation in the underlying neural circuitry. We evaluated associations between facial emotion recognition and cortical thickness using a correlation-based approach to map structural covariance networks across the brain. Fifteen people with an early psychosis provided magnetic resonance scans and completed the Penn Emotion Recognition and Differentiation tasks. Fifteen historical controls provided magnetic resonance scans. Cortical thickness was computed using CIVET and analyzed with linear models. Seed-based structural covariance analysis was done using the mapping anatomical correlations across the cerebral cortex methodology. To map structural covariance networks involved in facial emotion recognition, the right somatosensory cortex and bilateral fusiform face areas were selected as seeds. Statistics were run in SurfStat. Findings showed increased cortical covariance between the right fusiform face region seed and right orbitofrontal cortex in controls than early psychosis subjects. Facial emotion recognition scores were not significantly associated with thickness in any region. A negative effect of Penn Differentiation scores on cortical covariance was seen between the left fusiform face area seed and right superior parietal lobule in early psychosis subjects. Results suggest that facial emotion recognition ability is related to covariance in a temporal-parietal network in early psychosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resting-state, functional MRI on regional homogeneity changes of brain in the heavy smokers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Shiqi; Wu Guangyao; Lin Fuchun; Kong Xiangquan; Zhou Guofeng; Pang Haopeng; Zhu Ling; Liu Guobing; Lei Hao

2012-01-01

Objective: To explore the mechanism of self-awareness in the heavy smokers (HS) by using regional homogeneity (ReHo) combined with resting-state functional MRI (fMRI). Methods: Thirty HS and 31 healthy non-smokers (NS) matched for age and sex underwent a 3.0 T resting-state fMRI. The data were post-processed by SPM 5 and then the ReHo values were calculated by REST software. The ReHo values between the two groups were compared by two-sample t-test. The brain map with significant difference of ReHo value was obtained. Results: Compared with that in NS group, the regions with decreased ReHo value included the bilateral precuneus, superior frontal gyrus,medial prefrontal cortex, right angular gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus, cerebellum, and left middle frontal gyrus in HS group. The regions of increased ReHo value included the bilateral insula, parahippocampal gyrus, white matter of parietal lobe, pons, left inferior parietal lobule, lingual gyrus, thalamus, inferior orbital gyrus, white matter of temporal-frontal lobe, and cerebellum. The difference was more obvious in the left hemisphere. Conclusions: In HS, abnormal ReHo on a resting state which reflects network of smoking addiction. This method may be helpful in understanding the mechanism of self-awareness in HS. (authors)

Two takes on the social brain: a comparison of theory of mind tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Gobbini, Maria Ida; Koralek, Aaron C; Bryan, Ronald E; Montgomery, Kimberly J; Haxby, James V

2007-11-01

We compared two tasks that are widely used in research on mentalizing--false belief stories and animations of rigid geometric shapes that depict social interactions--to investigate whether the neural systems that mediate the representation of others' mental states are consistent across these tasks. Whereas false belief stories activated primarily the anterior paracingulate cortex (APC), the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus (PCC/PC), and the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ)--components of the distributed neural system for theory of mind (ToM)--the social animations activated an extensive region along nearly the full extent of the superior temporal sulcus, including a locus in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), as well as the frontal operculum and inferior parietal lobule (IPL)--components of the distributed neural system for action understanding--and the fusiform gyrus. These results suggest that the representation of covert mental states that may predict behavior and the representation of intentions that are implied by perceived actions involve distinct neural systems. These results show that the TPJ and the pSTS play dissociable roles in mentalizing and are parts of different distributed neural systems. Because the social animations do not depict articulated body movements, these results also highlight that the perception of the kinematics of actions is not necessary to activate the mirror neuron system, suggesting that this system plays a general role in the representation of intentions and goals of actions. Furthermore, these results suggest that the fusiform gyrus plays a general role in the representation of visual stimuli that signify agency, independent of visual form.

Nuclear Glycogen Inclusions in Canine Parietal Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

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

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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.

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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

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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

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.

Autism: reduced connectivity between cortical areas involved in face expression, theory of mind, and the sense of self.

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Cheng, Wei; Rolls, Edmund T; Gu, Huaguang; Zhang, Jie; Feng, Jianfeng

2015-05-01

Whole-brain voxel-based unbiased resting state functional connectivity was analysed in 418 subjects with autism and 509 matched typically developing individuals. We identified a key system in the middle temporal gyrus/superior temporal sulcus region that has reduced cortical functional connectivity (and increased with the medial thalamus), which is implicated in face expression processing involved in social behaviour. This system has reduced functional connectivity with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is implicated in emotion and social communication. The middle temporal gyrus system is also implicated in theory of mind processing. We also identified in autism a second key system in the precuneus/superior parietal lobule region with reduced functional connectivity, which is implicated in spatial functions including of oneself, and of the spatial environment. It is proposed that these two types of functionality, face expression-related, and of one's self and the environment, are important components of the computations involved in theory of mind, whether of oneself or of others, and that reduced connectivity within and between these regions may make a major contribution to the symptoms of autism. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

Gender similarities and differences in brain activation strategies: Voxel-based meta-analysis on fMRI studies.

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AlRyalat, Saif Aldeen

2017-01-01

Gender similarities and differences have long been a matter of debate in almost all human research, especially upon reaching the discussion about brain functions. This large scale meta-analysis was performed on functional MRI studies. It included more than 700 active brain foci from more than 70 different experiments to study gender related similarities and differences in brain activation strategies for three of the main brain functions: Visual-spatial cognition, memory, and emotion. Areas that are significantly activated by both genders (i.e. core areas) for the tested brain function are mentioned, whereas those areas significantly activated exclusively in one gender are the gender specific areas. During visual-spatial cognition task, and in addition to the core areas, males significantly activated their left superior frontal gyrus, compared with left superior parietal lobule in females. For memory tasks, several different brain areas activated by each gender, but females significantly activated two areas from the limbic system during memory retrieval tasks. For emotional task, males tend to recruit their bilateral prefrontal regions, whereas females tend to recruit their bilateral amygdalae. This meta-analysis provides an overview based on functional MRI studies on how males and females use their brain.

Multisensory speech perception without the left superior temporal sulcus.

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Baum, Sarah H; Martin, Randi C; Hamilton, A Cris; Beauchamp, Michael S

2012-09-01

Converging evidence suggests that the left superior temporal sulcus (STS) is a critical site for multisensory integration of auditory and visual information during speech perception. We report a patient, SJ, who suffered a stroke that damaged the left tempo-parietal area, resulting in mild anomic aphasia. Structural MRI showed complete destruction of the left middle and posterior STS, as well as damage to adjacent areas in the temporal and parietal lobes. Surprisingly, SJ demonstrated preserved multisensory integration measured with two independent tests. First, she perceived the McGurk effect, an illusion that requires integration of auditory and visual speech. Second, her perception of morphed audiovisual speech with ambiguous auditory or visual information was significantly influenced by the opposing modality. To understand the neural basis for this preserved multisensory integration, blood-oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) was used to examine brain responses to audiovisual speech in SJ and 23 healthy age-matched controls. In controls, bilateral STS activity was observed. In SJ, no activity was observed in the damaged left STS but in the right STS, more cortex was active in SJ than in any of the normal controls. Further, the amplitude of the BOLD response in right STS response to McGurk stimuli was significantly greater in SJ than in controls. The simplest explanation of these results is a reorganization of SJ's cortical language networks such that the right STS now subserves multisensory integration of speech. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. 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

The neural basis of kinesthetic and visual imagery in sports: an ALE meta - analysis.

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Filgueiras, Alberto; Quintas Conde, Erick Francisco; Hall, Craig R

2017-12-19

Imagery is a widely spread technique in the sport sciences that entails the mental rehearsal of a given situation to improve an athlete's learning, performance and motivation. Two modalities of imagery are reported to tap into distinct brain structures, but sharing common components: kinesthetic and visual imagery. This study aimed to investigate the neural basis of those types of imagery with Activation Likelihood Estimation algorithm to perform a meta - analysis. A systematic search was used to retrieve only experimental studies with athletes or sportspersons. Altogether, nine studies were selected and an ALE meta - analysis was performed. Results indicated significant activation of the premotor, somatosensory cortex, supplementary motor areas, inferior and superior parietal lobule, caudate, cingulate and cerebellum in both imagery tasks. It was concluded that visual and kinesthetic imagery share similar neural networks which suggests that combined interventions are beneficial to athletes whereas separate use of those two modalities of imagery may seem less efficient from a neuropsychological approach.

Losing the rose tinted glasses: neural substrates of unbiased belief updating in depression

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Neil eGarrett

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Recent evidence suggests that a state of good mental health is associated with biased processing of information that supports a positively skewed view of the future. Depression, on the other hand, is associated with unbiased processing of such information. Here, we use brain imaging in conjunction with a belief update task administered to clinically depressed patients and healthy controls to characterize brain activity that supports unbiased belief updating in clinically depressed individuals. Our results reveal that unbiased belief updating in depression is mediated by strong neural coding of estimation errors in response to both good news (in left inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral superior frontal gyrus and bad news (in right inferior parietal lobule and right inferior frontal gyrus regarding the future. In contrast, intact mental health was linked to a relatively attenuated neural coding of bad news about the future. These findings identify a neural substrate mediating the breakdown of biased updating in Major Depression Disorder, which may be essential for mental health.

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

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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.

Language control in bilinguals: Intention to speak vs. execution of speech.

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Reverberi, Carlo; Kuhlen, Anna; Abutalebi, Jubin; Greulich, R Stefan; Costa, Albert; Seyed-Allaei, Shima; Haynes, John-Dylan

2015-05-01

Bilinguals require a high degree of cognitive control to select the language intended for speaking and inhibit the unintended. Previous neuroimaging studies have not teased apart brain regions for generating the intention to use a given language, and those for speaking in that language. Separating these two phases can clarify at what stage competition between languages occurs. In this fMRI study German-English bilinguals were first cued to use German or English. After a delay, they named a picture in the cued language. During the intention phase, the precuneus, right superior lateral parietal lobule, and middle temporal gyrus were more activated when participants had to update the currently active language. During language execution activation was higher for English compared to German in brain areas associated with cognitive control, most notably the anterior cingulate and the caudate. Our results suggest two different systems enabling cognitive control during bilingual language production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improved estimates for the role of grey matter volume and GABA in bistable perception.

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Sandberg, Kristian; Blicher, Jakob Udby; Del Pin, Simon Hviid; Andersen, Lau Møller; Rees, Geraint; Kanai, Ryota

2016-10-01

Across a century or more, ambiguous stimuli have been studied scientifically because they provide a method for studying the internal mechanisms of the brain while ensuring an unchanging external stimulus. In recent years, several studies have reported correlations between perceptual dynamics during bistable perception and particular brain characteristics such as the grey matter volume of areas in the superior parietal lobule (SPL) and the relative GABA concentration in the occipital lobe. Here, we attempt to replicate previous results using similar paradigms to those used in the studies first reporting the correlations. Using the original findings as priors for Bayesian analyses, we found strong support for the correlation between structure-from-motion percept duration and anterior SPL grey matter volume. Correlations between percept duration and other parietal areas as well as occipital GABA, however, were not directly replicated or appeared less strong than previous studies suggested. Inspection of the posterior distributions (current "best guess" based on new data given old data as prior) revealed that several original findings may reflect true relationships although no direct evidence was found in support of them in the current sample. Additionally, we found that multiple regression models based on grey matter volume at 2-3 parietal locations (but not including GABA) were the best predictors of percept duration, explaining approximately 35% of the inter-individual variance. Taken together, our results provide new estimates of correlation strengths, generally increasing confidence in the role of the aSPL while decreasing confidence in some of the other relationships. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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

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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.

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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

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.

Characteristic pattern of cerebral perfusion in patients with the early stage of subcortical vascular dementia compared with Alzheimer's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Young Jin; Kang, Do Young; Park, Kyung Won; Cheon, Sang Myung; Kim, Jong Kuk; Kim, Jae Woo

2004-01-01

Brain perfusion SPECT has been commonly used to evaluate several different types of dementia. The aim of this study is to assess the specific patterns of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with the early stage of subcortical vascular dementia (SVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT, and to compare the differences between the two conditions. Sixteen SVD (mean age; 68.0±7.0 years, educational period; 6.3±5.6 years, CDR; 0.80±0.26). 46 AD (mean age; 69.9±7.4 years, educational period; 5.4±4.7 years, CDR; 0.86±0.23) and 12 normal control subjects (mean age; 67.1±7.7 years, educational period; 6.2±4.2 years) participated in this study. We included the patients with SVD and AD according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable AD and NINDS-AIREN criteria for probable or possible VD. They were all matched for age, education and clinical dementia scale scores. SPM analysis of the SPECT image showed significant perfusion deficits on the right temporal region and right thalamus, left insula and superior temporal gyrus, both cingulate gyri and frontal subgyral regions in patients with SVD and on the left supramarginal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, postcentral gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, right fugiform gyrus and both cingulate gyri in patients with AD compared with control subjects (uncorrected p<0.01). SVD patients revealed significant hypoperfusion in the right parahippocampal gyrus, right cingulated gyrus, left insula, and both frontal subgyral regions compared with AD patients (uncorrected p<0.01). SVD patients revealed significant hyperperfusion in right superior frontal gyrus, left pre- and postcentral gyri, left paracentral lobule, left precuneus and both medial frontal gyri compared with AD patients (uncorrected p<0.01). Our study shows characteristic and different pattern of perfusion deficits in patients with SVD and AD, and these results may be helpful to discriminate the two conditions in the early stage of illness

Characteristic pattern of cerebral perfusion in patients with the early stage of subcortical vascular dementia compared with Alzheimer's disease

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Jeong, Young Jin; Kang, Do Young; Park, Kyung Won; Cheon, Sang Myung; Kim, Jong Kuk; Kim, Jae Woo [Dong-A University School of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2004-07-01

Brain perfusion SPECT has been commonly used to evaluate several different types of dementia. The aim of this study is to assess the specific patterns of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with the early stage of subcortical vascular dementia (SVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT, and to compare the differences between the two conditions. Sixteen SVD (mean age; 68.0{+-}7.0 years, educational period; 6.3{+-}5.6 years, CDR; 0.80{+-}0.26). 46 AD (mean age; 69.9{+-}7.4 years, educational period; 5.4{+-}4.7 years, CDR; 0.86{+-}0.23) and 12 normal control subjects (mean age; 67.1{+-}7.7 years, educational period; 6.2{+-}4.2 years) participated in this study. We included the patients with SVD and AD according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable AD and NINDS-AIREN criteria for probable or possible VD. They were all matched for age, education and clinical dementia scale scores. SPM analysis of the SPECT image showed significant perfusion deficits on the right temporal region and right thalamus, left insula and superior temporal gyrus, both cingulate gyri and frontal subgyral regions in patients with SVD and on the left supramarginal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, postcentral gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, right fugiform gyrus and both cingulate gyri in patients with AD compared with control subjects (uncorrected p<0.01). SVD patients revealed significant hypoperfusion in the right parahippocampal gyrus, right cingulated gyrus, left insula, and both frontal subgyral regions compared with AD patients (uncorrected p<0.01). SVD patients revealed significant hyperperfusion in right superior frontal gyrus, left pre- and postcentral gyri, left paracentral lobule, left precuneus and both medial frontal gyri compared with AD patients (uncorrected p<0.01). Our study shows characteristic and different pattern of perfusion deficits in patients with SVD and AD, and these results may be helpful to discriminate the two conditions in the

Statistical parametric mapping analysis of the relationship between regional cerebral blood flow and symptom clusters of the depressive mood in patients with pre-dialytic chronic kidney disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seong-Jang; Song, Sang Heon; Kim, Ji Hoon; Kwak, Ihm Soo

2008-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and symptom clusters of depressive mood in pre-dialytic chronic kidney disease (CKD). Twenty-seven patients with stage 4-5 CKD were subjected to statistical parametric mapping analysis of brain single-photon emission computed tomography. Correlation analyses between separate symptom clusters of depressive mood and rCBF were done. The first factor (depressive mood) was negatively correlated with rCBF in the right insula, posterior cingulate gyrus, and left superior temporal gyrus, and positively correlated with rCBF in the left fusiform gyrus. The second factor (insomnia) was negatively correlated with rCBF in the right middle frontal gyrus, bilateral cingulate gyri, right insula, right putamen, and right inferior parietal lobule, and positively correlated with rCBF in left fusiform gyrus and bilateral cerebellar tonsils. The third factor (anxiety and psychomotor aspects) was negatively correlated with rCBF in the left inferior frontal gyms, right superior frontal gyms, right middle temporal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, and left superior frontal gyrus, and positively correlated with rCBF in the right ligual gyrus and right parahippocampal gyrus. In this study, the separate symptom clusters were correlated with specific rCBF patterns similar to those in major depressive disorder patients without CKD. However, some areas with discordant rCBF patterns were also noted when compared with major depressive disorder patients. Further larger scale investigations are needed. (author)

Imaging the neurobiological substrate of atypical depression by SPECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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.)

The Superior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus in the Human Brain Revealed by Diffusion Spectrum Imaging Tractography: An Anatomical Reality or a Methodological Artifact?

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Yue; Wang, Yong; Wang, Wei; Wang, Yibao

2017-01-01

The existence of the superior fronto-occipital fasciculus (SFOF) in the human brain remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to clarify the existence, course, and terminations of the SFOF. High angular diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) analysis was performed on six healthy adults and on a template of 842 subjects from the Human Connectome Project. To verify tractography results, we performed fiber microdissections of four post-mortem human brains. Based on DSI tractography, we reconstructed the SFOF in the subjects and the template from the Human Connectome Project that originated from the rostral and medial parts of the superior and middle frontal gyri. By tractography, we found that the fibers formed a compact fascicle at the level of the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle coursing above the head of caudate nucleus, medial to the corona radiate and under the corpus callosum (CC), and terminated at the parietal region via the lower part of the caudate nucleus. We consider that this fiber bundle observed by tractography is the SFOF, although it terminates mainly at the parietal region, rather than occipital lobe. By contrast, we were unable to identify a fiber bundle corresponding to the SFOF in our fiber dissection study. Although we did not provide definite evidence of the SFOF in the human brain, these findings may be useful for future studies in this field. PMID:29321729

The Superior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus in the Human Brain Revealed by Diffusion Spectrum Imaging Tractography: An Anatomical Reality or a Methodological Artifact?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yue Bao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The existence of the superior fronto-occipital fasciculus (SFOF in the human brain remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to clarify the existence, course, and terminations of the SFOF. High angular diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI analysis was performed on six healthy adults and on a template of 842 subjects from the Human Connectome Project. To verify tractography results, we performed fiber microdissections of four post-mortem human brains. Based on DSI tractography, we reconstructed the SFOF in the subjects and the template from the Human Connectome Project that originated from the rostral and medial parts of the superior and middle frontal gyri. By tractography, we found that the fibers formed a compact fascicle at the level of the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle coursing above the head of caudate nucleus, medial to the corona radiate and under the corpus callosum (CC, and terminated at the parietal region via the lower part of the caudate nucleus. We consider that this fiber bundle observed by tractography is the SFOF, although it terminates mainly at the parietal region, rather than occipital lobe. By contrast, we were unable to identify a fiber bundle corresponding to the SFOF in our fiber dissection study. Although we did not provide definite evidence of the SFOF in the human brain, these findings may be useful for future studies in this field.

Recovery from Proactive Semantic Interference in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Normal Aging: Relationship to Atrophy in Brain Regions Vulnerable to Alzheimer's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Loewenstein, David A; Curiel, Rosie E; Wright, Clinton; Sun, Xiaoyan; Alperin, Noam; Crocco, Elzabeth; Czaja, Sara J; Raffo, Arlene; Penate, Ailyn; Melo, Jose; Capp, Kimberly; Gamez, Monica; Duara, Ranjan

2017-01-01

There is growing evidence that proactive semantic interference (PSI) and failure to recover from PSI may represent early features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated the association between PSI, recovery from PSI, and reduced MRI volumes in AD signature regions among cognitively impaired and unimpaired older adults. Performance on the LASSI-L (a novel test of PSI and recovery from PSI) and regional brain volumetric measures were compared between 38 cognitively normal (CN) elders and 29 older participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The relationship between MRI measures and performance on the LASSI-L as well as traditional memory and non-memory cognitive measures was also evaluated in both diagnostic groups. Relative to traditional neuropsychological measures, MCI patients' failure to recover from PSI was associated with reduced volumes in the hippocampus (rs = 0.48), precuneus (rs = 0.50); rostral middle frontal lobules (rs = 0.54); inferior temporal lobules (rs = 0.49), superior parietal lobules (rs = 0.47), temporal pole (rs = 0.44), and increased dilatation of the inferior lateral ventricle (rs = -0.49). For CN elders, only increased inferior lateral ventricular size was associated with vulnerability to PSI (rs = -0.49), the failure to recover from PSI (rs = -0.57), and delayed recall on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (rs = -0.48). LASSI-L indices eliciting failure to recover from PSI were more highly associated with more MRI regional biomarkers of AD than other traditional cognitive measures. These results as well as recent amyloid imaging studies with otherwise cognitively normal subjects, suggest that recovery from PSI may be a sensitive marker of preclinical AD and deserves further investigation.

Superior Sagittal Sinus Thrombosis Complicating Typhoid Fever in a Teenager

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P. O. Okunola

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Cerebral venous sinus (sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT is a rare life-threatening disorder in childhood that is often misdiagnosed. CSVT encompasses cavernous sinus thrombosis, lateral sinus thrombosis, and superior sagittal sinus thrombosis (SSST. We present an adolescent girl who was well until two weeks earlier when she had a throbbing frontal headache and fever with chills; she later had dyspnoea, jaundice, melena stool, multiple seizures, nuchal rigidity, and monoparesis of the right lower limb a day before admission. Urine test for Salmonella typhi Vi antigen was positive, and Widal reaction was significant. Serial cranial computerized tomography scans revealed an expanding hypodense lesion in the parafalcine region consistent with SSST or a parasagittal abscess. Inadvertent left parietal limited craniectomy confirmed SSST. She recovered completely with subsequent conservative management. Beyond neuropsychiatric complications of Typhoid fever, CSVT should be highly considered when focal neurologic deficits are present.

Evaluation of resting brain conditions measured by two different methods (i.v. and oral administration) with 18F-FDG-PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masud, M.; Yamaguchi, Keiichiro; Rikimaru, Hisashi; Tashiro, Manabu; Ozaki, Kaoru; Watanuki, Shoichi; Miyake, Masayasu; Ido, Tatsuo; Itoh, Masatoshi

2001-01-01

Our aim was to evaluate regional differences between brain activity in two resting control conditions measured by 3D PET after administration of FDG through either the intravenous (i.v.) or the oral route. Ten healthy male volunteers engaged in the study as the i.v. group (mean age, 26±9.3 years, ±S.D.) who received FDG intravenously and another 10 volunteers as the oral group (mean age, 27.9±11.3 years, ±S.D.) who received FDG per os. A set of 3D-PET scans (emission and transmission scans) were performed in both groups. To explore possible functional differences between the brains of the two groups, the SPM-96 software was used for statistical analysis. The results revealed that glucose metabolism was significantly higher in the superior frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, lingual gyrus and left cerebellar hemisphere in the i.v. group than in the oral group. Metabolically active areas were found in the superior, middle and inferior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdaloid nucleus, pons and cerebellum in the oral group when compared with the i.v. group. These differences were presumably induced by differences between FDG kinetics and/or time-weighted behavioral effects in the two studies. This study suggests the need for extreme caution when selecting a pooled control population for designated activation studies. (author)

Neural signatures of lexical tone reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, Veronica P Y; Wang, Tianfu; Chen, Siping; Yakpo, Kofi; Zhu, Linlin; Fox, Peter T; Tan, Li Hai

2015-01-01

Research on how lexical tone is neuroanatomically represented in the human brain is central to our understanding of cortical regions subserving language. Past studies have exclusively focused on tone perception of the spoken language, and little is known as to the lexical tone processing in reading visual words and its associated brain mechanisms. In this study, we performed two experiments to identify neural substrates in Chinese tone reading. First, we used a tone judgment paradigm to investigate tone processing of visually presented Chinese characters. We found that, relative to baseline, tone perception of printed Chinese characters were mediated by strong brain activation in bilateral frontal regions, left inferior parietal lobule, left posterior middle/medial temporal gyrus, left inferior temporal region, bilateral visual systems, and cerebellum. Surprisingly, no activation was found in superior temporal regions, brain sites well known for speech tone processing. In activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to combine results of relevant published studies, we attempted to elucidate whether the left temporal cortex activities identified in Experiment one is consistent with those found in previous studies of auditory lexical tone perception. ALE results showed that only the left superior temporal gyrus and putamen were critical in auditory lexical tone processing. These findings suggest that activation in the superior temporal cortex associated with lexical tone perception is modality-dependent. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluation of resting brain conditions measured by two different methods (i.v. and oral administration) with {sup 18}F-FDG-PET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masud, M.; Yamaguchi, Keiichiro; Rikimaru, Hisashi; Tashiro, Manabu; Ozaki, Kaoru; Watanuki, Shoichi; Miyake, Masayasu; Ido, Tatsuo; Itoh, Masatoshi [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center

2001-02-01

Our aim was to evaluate regional differences between brain activity in two resting control conditions measured by 3D PET after administration of FDG through either the intravenous (i.v.) or the oral route. Ten healthy male volunteers engaged in the study as the i.v. group (mean age, 26{+-}9.3 years, {+-}S.D.) who received FDG intravenously and another 10 volunteers as the oral group (mean age, 27.9{+-}11.3 years, {+-}S.D.) who received FDG per os. A set of 3D-PET scans (emission and transmission scans) were performed in both groups. To explore possible functional differences between the brains of the two groups, the SPM-96 software was used for statistical analysis. The results revealed that glucose metabolism was significantly higher in the superior frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, lingual gyrus and left cerebellar hemisphere in the i.v. group than in the oral group. Metabolically active areas were found in the superior, middle and inferior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdaloid nucleus, pons and cerebellum in the oral group when compared with the i.v. group. These differences were presumably induced by differences between FDG kinetics and/or time-weighted behavioral effects in the two studies. This study suggests the need for extreme caution when selecting a pooled control population for designated activation studies. (author)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-02-17

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

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

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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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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.

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

Meningioma anaplásico Anaplastic meningioma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arlines Alina Piña Tornés

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Se presenta el caso clínico de un paciente que comenzó a presentar cefalea, vértigos, trastornos visuales y pérdida del equilibrio. Mediante la resonancia magnética se visualizó una imagen tumoral parietal izquierda de 3 cm diámetro, de localización extraaxial y contornos lobulados bien definidos, con gran captación no homogénea de contraste, rodeada de extenso edema perilesional. Se realizó angiotomografía, previa a la cirugía, en busca de irrigación y daño vascular. Se logró la resección de 95% de la lesión (grado II de Simpson, que incluyó duramadre adyacente infiltrada y respetó el seno longitudinal superior. Los resultados anatomopatológicos confirmaron que se trataba de un meningioma anaplásico de grado III, con criterio de tratamiento coadyuvante.The case report of a patient who began presenting headache, vertigos, visual disorders and loss of balance is presented. By means of the magnetic resonance a left tumoral parietal image of 3 cm diameter was visualized, of extra-axial localization and well defined lobulated contours, with great non-homogeneous zones of contrast, surrounded by extensive perilesional edema. An angiotomography was carried out, previous to the surgery, looking for irrigation and vascular compromise. The resection of 95% of the lesion was achieved (grade II of Simpson which included adjacent infiltrated dura madre and preserving the superior longitudinal sinus. Pathological results confirmed that it was an anaplastic meningioma grade III, with criterium for adyuvant treatment.

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.

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

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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.

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�

Neural correlates of British sign language comprehension: spatial processing demands of topographic language.

Science.gov (United States)

MacSweeney, Mairéad; Woll, Bencie; Campbell, Ruth; Calvert, Gemma A; McGuire, Philip K; David, Anthony S; Simmons, Andrew; Brammer, Michael J

2002-10-01

In all signed languages used by deaf people, signs are executed in "sign space" in front of the body. Some signed sentences use this space to map detailed "real-world" spatial relationships directly. Such sentences can be considered to exploit sign space "topographically." Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we explored the extent to which increasing the topographic processing demands of signed sentences was reflected in the differential recruitment of brain regions in deaf and hearing native signers of the British Sign Language. When BSL signers performed a sentence anomaly judgement task, the occipito-temporal junction was activated bilaterally to a greater extent for topographic than nontopographic processing. The differential role of movement in the processing of the two sentence types may account for this finding. In addition, enhanced activation was observed in the left inferior and superior parietal lobules during processing of topographic BSL sentences. We argue that the left parietal lobe is specifically involved in processing the precise configuration and location of hands in space to represent objects, agents, and actions. Importantly, no differences in these regions were observed when hearing people heard and saw English translations of these sentences. Despite the high degree of similarity in the neural systems underlying signed and spoken languages, exploring the linguistic features which are unique to each of these broadens our understanding of the systems involved in language comprehension.

A key role for experimental task performance: effects of math talent, gender and performance on the neural correlates of mental rotation.

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Hoppe, Christian; Fliessbach, Klaus; Stausberg, Sven; Stojanovic, Jelena; Trautner, Peter; Elger, Christian E; Weber, Bernd

2012-02-01

The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying superior cognitive performance are a research area of high interest. The majority of studies on the brain-performance relationship assessed the effects of capability-related group factors (e.g. talent, gender) on task-related brain activations while only few studies examined the effect of the inherent experimental task performance factor. In this functional MRI study, we combined both approaches and simultaneously assessed the effects of three relatively independent factors on the neurofunctional correlates of mental rotation in same-aged adolescents: math talent (gifted/controls: 17/17), gender (male/female: 16/18) and experimental task performance (median split on accuracy; high/low: 17/17). Better experimental task performance of mathematically gifted vs. control subjects and male vs. female subjects validated the selected paradigm. Activation of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was identified as a common effect of mathematical giftedness, gender and experimental task performance. However, multiple linear regression analyses (stepwise) indicated experimental task performance as the only predictor of parietal activations. In conclusion, increased activation of the IPL represents a positive neural correlate of mental rotation performance, irrespective of but consistent with the obtained neurocognitive and behavioral effects of math talent and gender. As experimental performance may strongly affect task-related activations this factor needs to be considered in capability-related group comparison studies on the brain-performance relationship. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Occipital GABA correlates with cognitive failures in daily life.

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Sandberg, Kristian; Blicher, Jakob Udby; Dong, Mia Yuan; Rees, Geraint; Near, Jamie; Kanai, Ryota

2014-02-15

The brain has limited capacity, and so selective attention enhances relevant incoming information while suppressing irrelevant information. This process is not always successful, and the frequency of such cognitive failures varies to a large extent between individuals. Here we hypothesised that individual differences in cognitive failures might be reflected in inhibitory processing in the sensory cortex. To test this hypothesis, we measured GABA in human visual cortex using MR spectroscopy and found a negative correlation between occipital GABA (GABA+/Cr ratio) and cognitive failures as measured by an established cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ). For a second site in parietal cortex, no correlation between CFQ score and GABA+/Cr ratio was found, thus establishing the regional specificity of the link between occipital GABA and cognitive failures. We further found that grey matter volume in the left superior parietal lobule (SPL) correlated with cognitive failures independently from the impact of occipital GABA and together, occipital GABA and SPL grey matter volume statistically explained around 50% of the individual variability in daily cognitive failures. We speculate that the amount of GABA in sensory areas may reflect the potential capacity to selectively suppress irrelevant information already at the sensory level, or alternatively that GABA influences the specificity of neural representations in visual cortex thus improving the effectiveness of successful attentional modulation. © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patterns of brain and cardiovascular activation while solving rule-discovery and rule-application numeric tasks.

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Sosnowski, Tytus; Rynkiewicz, Andrzej; Wordecha, Małgorzata; Kępkowicz, Anna; Majewska, Adrianna; Pstrągowska, Aleksandra; Oleksy, Tomasz; Wypych, Marek; Marchewka, Artur

2017-07-01

It is known that solving mental tasks leads to tonic increase in cardiovascular activity. Our previous research showed that tasks involving rule application (RA) caused greater tonic increase in cardiovascular activity than tasks requiring rule discovery (RD). However, it is not clear what brain mechanisms are responsible for this difference. The aim of two experimental studies was to compare the patterns of brain and cardiovascular activity while both RD and the RA numeric tasks were being solved. The fMRI study revealed greater brain activation while solving RD tasks than while solving RA tasks. In particular, RD tasks evoked greater activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus and selected areas in the parietal, and temporal cortices, including the precuneus, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and the superior temporal gyrus, and the cingulate cortex. In addition, RA tasks caused larger increases in HR than RD tasks. The second study, carried out in a cardiovascular laboratory, showed greater increases in heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) while solving RA tasks than while solving RD tasks. The results support the hypothesis that RD and RA tasks involve different modes of information processing, but the neuronal mechanism responsible for the observed greater cardiovascular response to RA tasks than to RD tasks is not completely clear. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Single photon emission computed tomography and statistical parametric mapping analysis in cirrhotic patients with and without minimal hepatic encephalopathy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagawa, Yuri; Matsumura, Kaname; Iwasa, Motoh; Kaito, Masahiko; Adachi, Yukihiko; Takeda, Kan

2004-01-01

The early diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment in cirrhotic patients is needed to improve the patients' daily living. In this study, alterations of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were evaluated in cirrhotic patients using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). The relationships between rCBF and neuropsychological test, severity of disease and biochemical data were also assessed. 99m Tc-ethyl cysteinate dimer single photon emission computed tomography was performed in 20 patients with non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis without overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and in 20 age-matched healthy subjects. Neuropsychological tests were performed in 16 patients; of these 7 had minimal HE. Regional CBF images were also analyzed in these groups using SPM. On SPM analysis, cirrhotic patients showed regions of significant hypoperfusion in the superior and middle frontal gyri, and inferior parietal lobules compared with the control group. These areas included parts of the premotor and parietal associated areas of the cortex. Among the cirrhotic patients, those with minimal HE had regions of significant hypoperfusion in the cingulate gyri bilaterally as compared with those without minimal HE. Abnormal function in the above regions may account for the relatively selective neuropsychological deficits in the cognitive status of patients with cirrhosis. These findings may be important in the identification and management of cirrhotic patients with minimal HE. (author)

Different Brain Network Activations Induced by Modulation and Nonmodulation Laser Acupuncture

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Chang-Wei Hsieh

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to compare the distinct cerebral activation with continued wave (CW and 10 Hz-modulated wave (MW stimulation during low-level laser acupuncture. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI studies were performed to investigate the possible mechanism during laser acupuncture stimulation at the left foot's yongquan (K1 acupoint. There are 12 healthy right-handed volunteers for each type of laser stimulation (10-Hz-Modulated wave: 8 males and 4 females; continued wave: 9 males and 3 females. The analysis of multisubjects in this experiment was applied by random-effect (RFX analysis. In CW groups, significant activations were found within the inferior parietal lobule, the primary somatosensory cortex, and the precuneus of left parietal lobe. Medial and superior frontal gyrus of left frontal lobe were also aroused. In MW groups, significant activations were found within the primary motor cortex and middle temporal gyrus of left hemisphere and bilateral cuneus. Placebo stimulation did not show any activation. Most activation areas were involved in the functions of memory, attention, and self-consciousness. The results showed the cerebral hemodynamic responses of two laser acupuncture stimulation modes and implied that its mechanism was not only based upon afferent sensory information processing, but that it also had the hemodynamic property altered during external stimulation.

Pre-attentive modulation of brain responses to tones in coloured-hearing synesthetes

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Jäncke Lutz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Coloured-hearing (CH synesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which an acoustic stimulus (the inducer initiates a concurrent colour perception (the concurrent. Individuals with CH synesthesia "see" colours when hearing tones, words, or music; this specific phenomenon suggesting a close relationship between auditory and visual representations. To date, it is still unknown whether the perception of colours is associated with a modulation of brain functions in the inducing brain area, namely in the auditory-related cortex and associated brain areas. In addition, there is an on-going debate as to whether attention to the inducer is necessarily required for eliciting a visual concurrent, or whether the latter can emerge in a pre-attentive fashion. Results By using the EEG technique in the context of a pre-attentive mismatch negativity (MMN paradigm, we show that the binding of tones and colours in CH synesthetes is associated with increased MMN amplitudes in response to deviant tones supposed to induce novel concurrent colour perceptions. Most notably, the increased MMN amplitudes we revealed in the CH synesthetes were associated with stronger intracerebral current densities originating from the auditory cortex, parietal cortex, and ventral visual areas. Conclusions The automatic binding of tones and colours in CH synesthetes is accompanied by an early pre-attentive process recruiting the auditory cortex, inferior and superior parietal lobules, as well as ventral occipital areas.

Top-Down Modulation of Auditory-Motor Integration during Speech Production: The Role of Working Memory.

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Guo, Zhiqiang; Wu, Xiuqin; Li, Weifeng; Jones, Jeffery A; Yan, Nan; Sheft, Stanley; Liu, Peng; Liu, Hanjun

2017-10-25

Although working memory (WM) is considered as an emergent property of the speech perception and production systems, the role of WM in sensorimotor integration during speech processing is largely unknown. We conducted two event-related potential experiments with female and male young adults to investigate the contribution of WM to the neurobehavioural processing of altered auditory feedback during vocal production. A delayed match-to-sample task that required participants to indicate whether the pitch feedback perturbations they heard during vocalizations in test and sample sequences matched, elicited significantly larger vocal compensations, larger N1 responses in the left middle and superior temporal gyrus, and smaller P2 responses in the left middle and superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, somatosensory cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, and insula compared with a control task that did not require memory retention of the sequence of pitch perturbations. On the other hand, participants who underwent extensive auditory WM training produced suppressed vocal compensations that were correlated with improved auditory WM capacity, and enhanced P2 responses in the left middle frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, right inferior frontal gyrus, and insula that were predicted by pretraining auditory WM capacity. These findings indicate that WM can enhance the perception of voice auditory feedback errors while inhibiting compensatory vocal behavior to prevent voice control from being excessively influenced by auditory feedback. This study provides the first evidence that auditory-motor integration for voice control can be modulated by top-down influences arising from WM, rather than modulated exclusively by bottom-up and automatic processes. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT One outstanding question that remains unsolved in speech motor control is how the mismatch between predicted and actual voice auditory feedback is detected and corrected. The present study

Altered default network resting-state functional connectivity in adolescents with Internet gaming addiction.

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Wei-na Ding

Full Text Available Excessive use of the Internet has been linked to a variety of negative psychosocial consequences. This study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to investigate whether functional connectivity is altered in adolescents with Internet gaming addiction (IGA.Seventeen adolescents with IGA and 24 normal control adolescents underwent a 7.3 minute resting-state fMRI scan. Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC connectivity was determined in all subjects by investigating synchronized low-frequency fMRI signal fluctuations using a temporal correlation method. To assess the relationship between IGA symptom severity and PCC connectivity, contrast images representing areas correlated with PCC connectivity were correlated with the scores of the 17 subjects with IGA on the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11 and their hours of Internet use per week.There were no significant differences in the distributions of the age, gender, and years of education between the two groups. The subjects with IGA showed longer Internet use per week (hours (p<0.0001 and higher CIAS (p<0.0001 and BIS-11 (p = 0.01 scores than the controls. Compared with the control group, subjects with IGA exhibited increased functional connectivity in the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe and middle temporal gyrus. The bilateral inferior parietal lobule and right inferior temporal gyrus exhibited decreased connectivity. Connectivity with the PCC was positively correlated with CIAS scores in the right precuneus, posterior cingulate gyrus, thalamus, caudate, nucleus accumbens, supplementary motor area, and lingual gyrus. It was negatively correlated with the right cerebellum anterior lobe and left superior parietal lobule.Our results suggest that adolescents with IGA exhibit different resting-state patterns of brain activity. As these alterations are partially consistent with those in patients with substance addiction, they support the

Behavioral and Neural Sustained Attention Deficits in Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

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Pagliaccio, David; Wiggins, Jillian Lee; Adleman, Nancy E; Curhan, Alexa; Zhang, Susan; Towbin, Kenneth E; Brotman, Melissa A; Pine, Daniel S; Leibenluft, Ellen

2017-05-01

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), characterized by severe irritability, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are highly comorbid. This is the first study to characterize neural and behavioral similarities and differences in attentional functioning across these disorders. Twenty-seven healthy volunteers, 31 patients with DMDD, and 25 patients with ADHD (8 to 18 years old) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging attention task. Group differences in intra-subject variability in reaction time (RT) were examined. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging analytic approach precisely quantified trial-wise associations between RT and brain activity. Group differences manifested in the relation between RT and brain activity (all regions: p  2.54, partial eta-squared [η p 2 ] > 0.06). Patients with DMDD showed specific alterations in the right paracentral lobule, superior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus, and cerebellar culmen. In contrast, patients with DMDD and those with ADHD exhibited blunted compensatory increases in activity on long RT trials. In addition, youth with DMDD exhibited increased activity in the postcentral gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, and cerebellar tonsil and declive (all regions: p  2.46, η p 2 > 0.06). Groups in the imaging sample did not differ significantly in intra-subject variability in RT (F 2,79  = 2.664, p = .076, η p 2  = 0.063), although intra-subject variability in RT was significantly increased in youth with DMDD and ADHD when including those not meeting strict motion and accuracy criteria for imaging analysis (F 2,96  = 4.283, p = .017, η p 2  = 0.083). Patients with DMDD exhibited specific alterations in the relation between pre-stimulus brain activity and RT. Patients with DMDD and those with ADHD exhibited similar blunting of compensatory neural activity in frontal, parietal, and other regions. In addition, patients with DMDD showed increased RT variability compared with healthy

Dysfunction of the Human Mirror Neuron System in Ideomotor Apraxia: Evidence from Mu Suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Frenkel-Toledo, Silvi; Liebermann, Dario G; Bentin, Shlomo; Soroker, Nachum

2016-06-01

Stroke patients with ideomotor apraxia (IMA) have difficulties controlling voluntary motor actions, as clearly seen when asked to imitate simple gestures performed by the examiner. Despite extensive research, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying failure to imitate gestures in IMA remain controversial. The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between imitation failure in IMA and mirror neuron system (MNS) functioning. Mirror neurons were found to play a crucial role in movement imitation and in imitation-based motor learning. Their recruitment during movement observation and execution is signaled in EEG recordings by suppression of the lower (8-10 Hz) mu range. We examined the modulation of EEG in this range in stroke patients with left (n = 21) and right (n = 15) hemisphere damage during observation of video clips showing different manual movements. IMA severity was assessed by the DeRenzi standardized diagnostic test. Results showed that failure to imitate observed manual movements correlated with diminished mu suppression in patients with damage to the right inferior parietal lobule and in patients with damage to the right inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis-areas where major components of the human MNS are assumed to reside. Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping revealed a significant impact on imitation capacity for the left inferior and superior parietal lobules and the left post central gyrus. Both left and right hemisphere damages were associated with imitation failure typical of IMA, yet a clear demonstration of relationship to the MNS was obtained only in the right hemisphere damage group. Suppression of the 8-10 Hz range was stronger in central compared with occipital sites, pointing to a dominant implication of mu rather than alpha rhythms. However, the suppression correlated with De Renzi's apraxia test scores not only in central but also in occipital sites, suggesting a multifactorial mechanism for IMA, with a possible

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

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

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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

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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.

Is there a critical lesion site for unilateral spatial neglect? A meta-analysis using activation likelihood estimation.

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Pascal eMolenberghs

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The critical lesion site responsible for the syndrome of unilateral spatial neglect has been debated for more than a decade. Here we performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE to provide for the first time an objective quantitative index of the consistency of lesion sites across anatomical group studies of spatial neglect. The analysis revealed several distinct regions in which damage has consistently been associated with spatial neglect symptoms. Lesioned clusters were located in several cortical and subcortical regions of the right hemisphere, including the middle and superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, intraparietal sulcus, precuneus, middle occipital gyrus, caudate nucleus and posterior insula, as well as in the white matter pathway corresponding to the posterior part of the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Further analyses suggested that separate lesion sites are associated with impairments in different behavioural tests, such as line bisection and target cancellation. Similarly, specific subcomponents of the heterogeneous neglect syndrome, such as extinction and allocentric and personal neglect, are associated with distinct lesion sites. Future progress in delineating the neuropathological correlates of spatial neglect will depend upon the development of more refined measures of perceptual and cognitive functions than those currently available in the clinical setting.

Mapping brain morphological and functional conversion patterns in amnestic MCI: a voxel-based MRI and FDG-PET study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morbelli, Silvia [University of Genoa, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Genoa (Italy); Piccardo, Arnoldo; Villavecchia, Giampiero [Galliera Hospital, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Radiology, Genoa (Italy); Dessi, Barbara; Brugnolo, Andrea; Rodriguez, Guido; Nobili, Flavio [University of Genoa, Clinical Neurophysiology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Ophthalmology and Genetics, Genoa (Italy); Piccini, Alessandra [Cell Biology Unit, National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa (Italy); Caroli, Anna [LENITEM - Laboratory of Epidemiology Neuroimaging and Telemedicine, Brescia (Italy); Mario Negri Institute, Medical Imaging Unit, Biomedical Engineering Department, Bergamo (Italy); Frisoni, Giovanni [LENITEM - Laboratory of Epidemiology Neuroimaging and Telemedicine, Brescia (Italy)

2010-01-15

To reveal the morphological and functional substrates of memory impairment and conversion to Alzheimer disease (AD) from the stage of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Brain MRI and FDG-PET were performed in 20 patients with aMCI and 12 controls at baseline. During a mean follow-up of about 2 years, 9 patients developed AD (converters), and 11 did not (nonconverters). All images were processed with SPM2. FDG-PET and segmented grey matter (GM) images were compared in: (1) converters versus controls, (2) nonconverters versus controls, and (3) converters versus nonconverters. As compared to controls, converters showed lower GM density in the left parahippocampal gyrus and both thalami, and hypometabolism in the precuneus, posterior cingulate and superior parietal lobule in the left hemisphere. Hypometabolism was found in nonconverters as compared to controls in the left precuneus and posterior cingulated gyrus. As compared to nonconverters, converters showed significant hypometabolism in the left middle and superior temporal gyri. The discordant topography between atrophy and hypometabolism reported in AD is already present at the aMCI stage. Posterior cingulate-precuneus hypometabolism seemed to be an early sign of memory deficit, whereas hypometabolism in the left temporal cortex marked the conversion to AD. (orig.)

Altered resting state connectivity in right side frontoparietal network in primary insomnia patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Shumei; Tian, Junzhang; Li, Meng; Wang, Tianyue; Lin, Chulan; Yin, Yi; Jiang, Guihua [Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Department of Medical Imaging, Guangzhou (China); Zeng, Luxian [Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Department of Science and Education, Guangzhou (China); Li, Cheng [Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Department of Renal Transplantation, Guangzhou (China)

2018-02-15

This study investigated alterations of resting-state networks (RSNs) in primary insomnia patients as well as relationships between these changes and clinical features. Fifty-nine primary insomnia patients and 53 healthy control subjects underwent a resting-state fMRI scan (rs-fMRI). Ten RSNs were identified using independent component analysis of rs-fMRI data. To assess significant differences between the two groups, voxel-wise analysis of ten RSNs was conducted using dual regression with FSL randomised non-parametric permutation testing and a threshold-free cluster enhanced technique to control for multiple comparisons. Relationships between abnormal functional connectivity and clinical variables were then investigated with Pearson's correlation analysis. Primary insomnia patients showed decreased connectivity in regions of the right frontoparietal network (FPN), including the superior parietal lobule and superior frontal gyrus. Moreover, decreased connectivity in the right middle temporal gyrus and right lateral occipital cortex with the FPN showed significant positive correlations with disease duration and self-rated anxiety, respectively. Our study suggests that primary insomnia patients are characterised by abnormal organisation of the right FPN, and dysfunction of the FPN is correlated with disease duration and anxiety. The results enhance our understanding of neural substrates underlying symptoms of primary insomnia from the viewpoint of resting-state networks. (orig.)

Positron-emission tomography of brain regions activated by recognition of familiar music.

Science.gov (United States)

Satoh, M; Takeda, K; Nagata, K; Shimosegawa, E; Kuzuhara, S

2006-05-01

We can easily recognize familiar music by listening to only one or 2 of its opening bars, but the brain regions that participate in this cognitive processing remain undetermined. We used positron-emission tomography (PET) to study changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) that occur during listening to familiar music. We used a PET subtraction technique to elucidate the brain regions associated with the recognition of familiar melodies such as well-known nursery tunes. Nonmusicians performed 2 kinds of musical tasks: judging the familiarity of musical pieces (familiarity task) and detecting deliberately altered notes in the pieces (alteration-detecting task). During the familiarity task, bilateral anterior portions of bilateral temporal lobes, superior temporal regions, and parahippocampal gyri were activated. The alteration-detecting task bilaterally activated regions in the precunei, superior/inferior parietal lobules, and lateral surface of frontal lobes, which seemed to show a correlation with the analysis of music. We hypothesize that during the familiarity task, activated brain regions participate in retrieval from long-term memory and verbal and emotional processing of familiar melodies. Our results reinforced the hypothesis reported in the literature as a result of group and case studies, that temporal lobe regions participate in the recognition of familiar melodies.

Mapping brain morphological and functional conversion patterns in amnestic MCI: a voxel-based MRI and FDG-PET study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morbelli, Silvia; Piccardo, Arnoldo; Villavecchia, Giampiero; Dessi, Barbara; Brugnolo, Andrea; Rodriguez, Guido; Nobili, Flavio; Piccini, Alessandra; Caroli, Anna; Frisoni, Giovanni

2010-01-01

To reveal the morphological and functional substrates of memory impairment and conversion to Alzheimer disease (AD) from the stage of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Brain MRI and FDG-PET were performed in 20 patients with aMCI and 12 controls at baseline. During a mean follow-up of about 2 years, 9 patients developed AD (converters), and 11 did not (nonconverters). All images were processed with SPM2. FDG-PET and segmented grey matter (GM) images were compared in: (1) converters versus controls, (2) nonconverters versus controls, and (3) converters versus nonconverters. As compared to controls, converters showed lower GM density in the left parahippocampal gyrus and both thalami, and hypometabolism in the precuneus, posterior cingulate and superior parietal lobule in the left hemisphere. Hypometabolism was found in nonconverters as compared to controls in the left precuneus and posterior cingulated gyrus. As compared to nonconverters, converters showed significant hypometabolism in the left middle and superior temporal gyri. The discordant topography between atrophy and hypometabolism reported in AD is already present at the aMCI stage. Posterior cingulate-precuneus hypometabolism seemed to be an early sign of memory deficit, whereas hypometabolism in the left temporal cortex marked the conversion to AD. (orig.)

Altered resting state connectivity in right side frontoparietal network in primary insomnia patients

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Li, Shumei; Tian, Junzhang; Li, Meng; Wang, Tianyue; Lin, Chulan; Yin, Yi; Jiang, Guihua; Zeng, Luxian; Li, Cheng

2018-01-01

This study investigated alterations of resting-state networks (RSNs) in primary insomnia patients as well as relationships between these changes and clinical features. Fifty-nine primary insomnia patients and 53 healthy control subjects underwent a resting-state fMRI scan (rs-fMRI). Ten RSNs were identified using independent component analysis of rs-fMRI data. To assess significant differences between the two groups, voxel-wise analysis of ten RSNs was conducted using dual regression with FSL randomised non-parametric permutation testing and a threshold-free cluster enhanced technique to control for multiple comparisons. Relationships between abnormal functional connectivity and clinical variables were then investigated with Pearson's correlation analysis. Primary insomnia patients showed decreased connectivity in regions of the right frontoparietal network (FPN), including the superior parietal lobule and superior frontal gyrus. Moreover, decreased connectivity in the right middle temporal gyrus and right lateral occipital cortex with the FPN showed significant positive correlations with disease duration and self-rated anxiety, respectively. Our study suggests that primary insomnia patients are characterised by abnormal organisation of the right FPN, and dysfunction of the FPN is correlated with disease duration and anxiety. The results enhance our understanding of neural substrates underlying symptoms of primary insomnia from the viewpoint of resting-state networks. (orig.)

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

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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...

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.

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.

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.)

Temporal dynamics of visual working memory.

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Sobczak-Edmans, M; Ng, T H B; Chan, Y C; Chew, E; Chuang, K H; Chen, S H A

2016-01-01

The involvement of the human cerebellum in working memory has been well established in the last decade. However, the cerebro-cerebellar network for visual working memory is not as well defined. Our previous fMRI study showed superior and inferior cerebellar activations during a block design visual working memory task, but specific cerebellar contributions to cognitive processes in encoding, maintenance and retrieval have not yet been established. The current study examined cerebellar contributions to each of the components of visual working memory and presence of cerebellar hemispheric laterality was investigated. 40 young adults performed a Sternberg visual working memory task during fMRI scanning using a parametric paradigm. The contrast between high and low memory load during each phase was examined. We found that the most prominent activation was observed in vermal lobule VIIIb and bilateral lobule VI during encoding. Using a quantitative laterality index, we found that left-lateralized activation of lobule VIIIa was present in the encoding phase. In the maintenance phase, there was bilateral lobule VI and right-lateralized lobule VIIb activity. Changes in activation in right lobule VIIIa were present during the retrieval phase. The current results provide evidence that superior and inferior cerebellum contributes to visual working memory, with a tendency for left-lateralized activations in the inferior cerebellum during encoding and right-lateralized lobule VIIb activations during maintenance. The results of the study are in agreement with Baddeley's multi-component working memory model, but also suggest that stored visual representations are additionally supported by maintenance mechanisms that may employ verbal coding. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Q-Ball of Inferior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus and Beyond

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Amirbekian, Bagrat; Berger, Mitchel S.; Henry, Roland G.

2014-01-01

The inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) is historically described as the longest associative bundle in the human brain and it connects various parts of the occipital cortex, temporo-basal area and the superior parietal lobule to the frontal lobe through the external/extreme capsule complex. The exact functional role and the detailed anatomical definition of the IFOF are still under debate within the scientific community. In this study we present a fiber tracking dissection of the right and left IFOF by using a q-ball residual-bootstrap reconstruction of High-Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) data sets in 20 healthy subjects. By defining a single seed region of interest on the coronal fractional anisotropy (FA) color map of each subject, we investigated all the pathways connecting the parietal, occipital and posterior temporal cortices to the frontal lobe through the external/extreme capsule. In line with recent post-mortem dissection studies we found more extended anterior-posterior association connections than the “classical” fronto-occipital representation of the IFOF. In particular the pathways we evidenced showed: a) diffuse projections in the frontal lobe, b) fronto-parietal lobes connections trough the external capsule in almost all the subjects and c) widespread connections in the posterior regions. Our study represents the first consistent in vivo demonstration across a large group of individuals of these novel anterior and posterior terminations of the IFOF detailed described only by post-mortem anatomical dissection. Furthermore our work establishes the feasibility of consistent in vivo mapping of this architecture with independent in vivo methodologies. In conclusion q-ball tractography dissection supports a more complex definition of IFOF, which includes several subcomponents likely underlying specific function. PMID:24945305

Analysis of lesions in patients with unilateral tactile agnosia using cytoarchitectonic probabilistic maps.

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Hömke, Lars; Amunts, Katrin; Bönig, Lutz; Fretz, Christian; Binkofski, Ferdinand; Zilles, Karl; Weder, Bruno

2009-05-01

We propose a novel methodical approach to lesion analyses involving high-resolution MR images in combination with probabilistic cytoarchitectonic maps. 3D-MR images of the whole brain and the manually segmented lesion mask are spatially normalized to the reference brain of a stereotaxic probabilistic cytoarchitectonic atlas using a multiscale registration algorithm based on an elastic model. The procedure is demonstrated in three patients suffering from aperceptive tactile agnosia of the right hand due to chronic infarction of the left parietal cortex. Patient 1 presents a lesion in areas of the postcentral sulcus, Patient 3 in areas of the superior parietal lobule and adjacent intraparietal sulcus, and Patient 2 lesions in both regions. On the basis of neurobehavioral data, we conjectured degradation of sequential elementary sensory information processing within the postcentral gyrus, impeding texture recognition in Patients 1 and 2, and disturbed kinaesthetic information processing in the posterior parietal lobe, causing degraded shape recognition in the patients 2 and 3. The involvement of Brodmann areas 4a, 4p, 3a, 3b, 1, 2, and areas IP1 and IP2 of the intraparietal sulcus was assessed in terms of the voxel overlap between the spatially transformed lesion masks and the 50%-isocontours of the cytoarchitectonic maps. The disruption of the critical cytoarchitectonic areas and the impaired subfunctions, texture and shape recognition, relate as conjectured above. We conclude that the proposed method represents a promising approach to hypothesis-driven lesion analyses, yielding lesion-function correlates based on a cytoarchitectonic model. Finally, the lesion-function correlates are validated by functional imaging reference data. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Q-ball of inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and beyond.

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Eduardo Caverzasi

Full Text Available The inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF is historically described as the longest associative bundle in the human brain and it connects various parts of the occipital cortex, temporo-basal area and the superior parietal lobule to the frontal lobe through the external/extreme capsule complex. The exact functional role and the detailed anatomical definition of the IFOF are still under debate within the scientific community. In this study we present a fiber tracking dissection of the right and left IFOF by using a q-ball residual-bootstrap reconstruction of High-Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI data sets in 20 healthy subjects. By defining a single seed region of interest on the coronal fractional anisotropy (FA color map of each subject, we investigated all the pathways connecting the parietal, occipital and posterior temporal cortices to the frontal lobe through the external/extreme capsule. In line with recent post-mortem dissection studies we found more extended anterior-posterior association connections than the "classical" fronto-occipital representation of the IFOF. In particular the pathways we evidenced showed: a diffuse projections in the frontal lobe, b fronto-parietal lobes connections trough the external capsule in almost all the subjects and c widespread connections in the posterior regions. Our study represents the first consistent in vivo demonstration across a large group of individuals of these novel anterior and posterior terminations of the IFOF detailed described only by post-mortem anatomical dissection. Furthermore our work establishes the feasibility of consistent in vivo mapping of this architecture with independent in vivo methodologies. In conclusion q-ball tractography dissection supports a more complex definition of IFOF, which includes several subcomponents likely underlying specific function.

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.

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.

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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.

Laminar thickness alterations in the fronto-parietal cortical mantle of patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Elseline Hoekzema

Full Text Available Although Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD was initially regarded as a disorder exclusive to childhood, nowadays its prevalence in adulthood is well established. The development of novel techniques for quantifying the thickness of the cerebral mantle allows the further exploration of the neuroanatomical profiles underlying the child and adult form of the disorder. To examine the cortical mantle in children and adults with ADHD, we applied a vertex-wise analysis of cortical thickness to anatomical brain MRI scans acquired from children with (n = 43 and without ADHD (n = 41, as well as a group of adult neurotypical individuals (n = 31, adult patients with a history of stimulant treatment (n = 31 and medication-naïve adults with ADHD (n = 24. We observed several clusters of reduced laminar cortical thickness in ADHD patients in comparison to neurotypical individuals. These differences were primarily located in the dorsal attention network, including the bilateral inferior and superior parietal cortex and a section of the frontal cortex (centered on the superior frontal and precentral gyrus bilaterally. Further laminar thickness deficits were observed in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and medial occipital cortex. The deficits in the cortical surface were especially pronounced in the child sample, while adult patients showed a more typical laminar thickness across the cerebral mantle. These findings show that the neuroanatomical profile of ADHD, especially the childhood form of the disorder, involves robust alterations in the cortical mantle, which are most prominent in brain regions subserving attentional processing.

Prospective relations between resting-state connectivity of parietal subdivisions and arithmetic competence.

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Price, Gavin R; Yeo, Darren J; Wilkey, Eric D; Cutting, Laurie E

2018-04-01

The present study investigates the relation between resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of cytoarchitectonically defined subdivisions of the parietal cortex at the end of 1st grade and arithmetic performance at the end of 2nd grade. Results revealed a dissociable pattern of relations between rsFC and arithmetic competence among subdivisions of intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and angular gyrus (AG). rsFC between right hemisphere IPS subdivisions and contralateral IPS subdivisions positively correlated with arithmetic competence. In contrast, rsFC between the left hIP1 and the right medial temporal lobe, and rsFC between the left AG and left superior frontal gyrus, were negatively correlated with arithmetic competence. These results suggest that strong inter-hemispheric IPS connectivity is important for math development, reflecting either neurocognitive mechanisms specific to arithmetic processing, domain-general mechanisms that are particularly relevant to arithmetic competence, or structural 'cortical maturity'. Stronger connectivity between IPS, and AG, subdivisions and frontal and temporal cortices, however, appears to be negatively associated with math development, possibly reflecting the ability to disengage suboptimal problem-solving strategies during mathematical processing, or to flexibly reorient task-based networks. Importantly, the reported results pertain even when controlling for reading, spatial attention, and working memory, suggesting that the observed rsFC-behavior relations are specific to arithmetic competence. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Mental reversal of imagined melodies: a role for the posterior parietal cortex.

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Zatorre, Robert J; Halpern, Andrea R; Bouffard, Marc

2010-04-01

Two fMRI experiments explored the neural substrates of a musical imagery task that required manipulation of the imagined sounds: temporal reversal of a melody. Musicians were presented with the first few notes of a familiar tune (Experiment 1) or its title (Experiment 2), followed by a string of notes that was either an exact or an inexact reversal. The task was to judge whether the second string was correct or not by mentally reversing all its notes, thus requiring both maintenance and manipulation of the represented string. Both experiments showed considerable activation of the superior parietal lobe (intraparietal sulcus) during the reversal process. Ventrolateral and dorsolateral frontal cortices were also activated, consistent with the memory load required during the task. We also found weaker evidence for some activation of right auditory cortex in both studies, congruent with results from previous simpler music imagery tasks. We interpret these results in the context of other mental transformation tasks, such as mental rotation in the visual domain, which are known to recruit the intraparietal sulcus region, and we propose that this region subserves general computations that require transformations of a sensory input. Mental imagery tasks may thus have both task or modality-specific components as well as components that supersede any specific codes and instead represent amodal mental manipulation.

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

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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

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.

Audio-visual perception of 3D cinematography: an fMRI study using condition-based and computation-based analyses.

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Akitoshi Ogawa

Full Text Available The use of naturalistic stimuli to probe sensory functions in the human brain is gaining increasing interest. Previous imaging studies examined brain activity associated with the processing of cinematographic material using both standard "condition-based" designs, as well as "computational" methods based on the extraction of time-varying features of the stimuli (e.g. motion. Here, we exploited both approaches to investigate the neural correlates of complex visual and auditory spatial signals in cinematography. In the first experiment, the participants watched a piece of a commercial movie presented in four blocked conditions: 3D vision with surround sounds (3D-Surround, 3D with monaural sound (3D-Mono, 2D-Surround, and 2D-Mono. In the second experiment, they watched two different segments of the movie both presented continuously in 3D-Surround. The blocked presentation served for standard condition-based analyses, while all datasets were submitted to computation-based analyses. The latter assessed where activity co-varied with visual disparity signals and the complexity of auditory multi-sources signals. The blocked analyses associated 3D viewing with the activation of the dorsal and lateral occipital cortex and superior parietal lobule, while the surround sounds activated the superior and middle temporal gyri (S/MTG. The computation-based analyses revealed the effects of absolute disparity in dorsal occipital and posterior parietal cortices and of disparity gradients in the posterior middle temporal gyrus plus the inferior frontal gyrus. The complexity of the surround sounds was associated with activity in specific sub-regions of S/MTG, even after accounting for changes of sound intensity. These results demonstrate that the processing of naturalistic audio-visual signals entails an extensive set of visual and auditory areas, and that computation-based analyses can track the contribution of complex spatial aspects characterizing such life

Audio-visual perception of 3D cinematography: an fMRI study using condition-based and computation-based analyses.

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Ogawa, Akitoshi; Bordier, Cecile; Macaluso, Emiliano

2013-01-01

The use of naturalistic stimuli to probe sensory functions in the human brain is gaining increasing interest. Previous imaging studies examined brain activity associated with the processing of cinematographic material using both standard "condition-based" designs, as well as "computational" methods based on the extraction of time-varying features of the stimuli (e.g. motion). Here, we exploited both approaches to investigate the neural correlates of complex visual and auditory spatial signals in cinematography. In the first experiment, the participants watched a piece of a commercial movie presented in four blocked conditions: 3D vision with surround sounds (3D-Surround), 3D with monaural sound (3D-Mono), 2D-Surround, and 2D-Mono. In the second experiment, they watched two different segments of the movie both presented continuously in 3D-Surround. The blocked presentation served for standard condition-based analyses, while all datasets were submitted to computation-based analyses. The latter assessed where activity co-varied with visual disparity signals and the complexity of auditory multi-sources signals. The blocked analyses associated 3D viewing with the activation of the dorsal and lateral occipital cortex and superior parietal lobule, while the surround sounds activated the superior and middle temporal gyri (S/MTG). The computation-based analyses revealed the effects of absolute disparity in dorsal occipital and posterior parietal cortices and of disparity gradients in the posterior middle temporal gyrus plus the inferior frontal gyrus. The complexity of the surround sounds was associated with activity in specific sub-regions of S/MTG, even after accounting for changes of sound intensity. These results demonstrate that the processing of naturalistic audio-visual signals entails an extensive set of visual and auditory areas, and that computation-based analyses can track the contribution of complex spatial aspects characterizing such life-like stimuli.

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

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

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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.

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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.

Regional gray matter density associated with emotional conflict resolution: evidence from voxel-based morphometry.

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Deng, Z; Wei, D; Xue, S; Du, X; Hitchman, G; Qiu, J

2014-09-05

Successful emotion regulation is a fundamental prerequisite for well-being and dysregulation may lead to psychopathology. The ability to inhibit spontaneous emotions while behaving in accordance with desired goals is an important dimension of emotion regulation and can be measured using emotional conflict resolution tasks. Few studies have investigated the gray matter correlates underlying successful emotional conflict resolution at the whole-brain level. We had 190 adults complete an emotional conflict resolution task (face-word task) and examined the brain regions significantly correlated with successful emotional conflict resolution using voxel-based morphometry. We found successful emotional conflict resolution was associated with increased regional gray matter density in widely distributed brain regions. These regions included the dorsal anterior cingulate/dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, ventral medial prefrontal cortex, supplementary motor area, amygdala, ventral striatum, precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, inferior parietal lobule, superior temporal gyrus and fusiform face area. Together, our results indicate that individual differences in emotional conflict resolution ability may be attributed to regional structural differences across widely distributed brain regions. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Neural Basis of Typewriting: A Functional MRI Study.

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Higashiyama, Yuichi; Takeda, Katsuhiko; Someya, Yoshiaki; Kuroiwa, Yoshiyuki; Tanaka, Fumiaki

2015-01-01

To investigate the neural substrate of typewriting Japanese words and to detect the difference between the neural substrate of typewriting and handwriting, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in 16 healthy volunteers. All subjects were skillful touch typists and performed five tasks: a typing task, a writing task, a reading task, and two control tasks. Three brain regions were activated during both the typing and the writing tasks: the left superior parietal lobule, the left supramarginal gyrus, and the left premotor cortex close to Exner's area. Although typing and writing involved common brain regions, direct comparison between the typing and the writing task revealed greater left posteromedial intraparietal cortex activation in the typing task. In addition, activity in the left premotor cortex was more rostral in the typing task than in the writing task. These findings suggest that, although the brain circuits involved in Japanese typewriting are almost the same as those involved in handwriting, there are brain regions that are specific for typewriting.

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.

The Neural Basis of Typewriting: A Functional MRI Study.

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Yuichi Higashiyama

Full Text Available To investigate the neural substrate of typewriting Japanese words and to detect the difference between the neural substrate of typewriting and handwriting, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study in 16 healthy volunteers. All subjects were skillful touch typists and performed five tasks: a typing task, a writing task, a reading task, and two control tasks. Three brain regions were activated during both the typing and the writing tasks: the left superior parietal lobule, the left supramarginal gyrus, and the left premotor cortex close to Exner's area. Although typing and writing involved common brain regions, direct comparison between the typing and the writing task revealed greater left posteromedial intraparietal cortex activation in the typing task. In addition, activity in the left premotor cortex was more rostral in the typing task than in the writing task. These findings suggest that, although the brain circuits involved in Japanese typewriting are almost the same as those involved in handwriting, there are brain regions that are specific for typewriting.

Psychophysiological interaction between superior temporal gyrus (STG) and cerebellum: An fMRI study

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Yusoff, A. N.; Teng, X. L.; Ng, S. B.; Hamid, A. I. A.; Mukari, S. Z. M.

2016-03-01

This study aimed to model the psychophysiological interaction (PPI) between the bilateral STG and cerebellum (lobule VI and lobule VII) during an arithmetic addition task. Eighteen young adults participated in this study. They were instructed to solve single-digit addition tasks in quiet and noisy backgrounds during an fMRI scan. Results showed that in both hemispheres, the response in the cerebellum was found to be linearly influenced by the activity in STG (vice-versa) for both in-quiet and in-noise conditions. However, the influence of the cerebellum on STG seemed to be modulated by noise. A two-way PPI model between STG and cerebellum is suggested. The connectivity between the two regions during a simple addition task in a noisy condition is modulated by the participants’ higher attention to perceive.

Double elevator weakening for unilateral congenital superior oblique palsy with ipsilateral superior rectus contracture and lax superior oblique tendon.

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Khan, Arif O

2012-06-01

In unilateral congenital superior oblique palsy, a large hypertropia is sometimes associated with ipsilateral contracture of the superior rectus muscle and apparent overaction of the contralateral superior oblique. Ipsilateral double elevator weakening is one surgical approach; however, this procedure could compromise supraduction. We report a series of three consecutive patients who underwent ipsilateral superior rectus and inferior oblique recessions for unilateral superior oblique palsy. Intraoperatively, all three patients were found to have a lax ipsilateral superior oblique tendon. Postoperatively, all three patients had satisfactory correction of the hypertropia and abnormal head position with minimal supraduction defect. This procedure seems to be an acceptable initial surgical option for treating congenital superior oblique muscle palsy with ipsilateral contracture of the superior rectus muscle, even when the ipsilateral superior oblique tendon is lax. Copyright © 2012 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Speech networks at rest and in action: interactions between functional brain networks controlling speech production

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Fuertinger, Stefan

2015-01-01

Speech production is one of the most complex human behaviors. Although brain activation during speaking has been well investigated, our understanding of interactions between the brain regions and neural networks remains scarce. We combined seed-based interregional correlation analysis with graph theoretical analysis of functional MRI data during the resting state and sentence production in healthy subjects to investigate the interface and topology of functional networks originating from the key brain regions controlling speech, i.e., the laryngeal/orofacial motor cortex, inferior frontal and superior temporal gyri, supplementary motor area, cingulate cortex, putamen, and thalamus. During both resting and speaking, the interactions between these networks were bilaterally distributed and centered on the sensorimotor brain regions. However, speech production preferentially recruited the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and cerebellum into the large-scale network, suggesting the importance of these regions in facilitation of the transition from the resting state to speaking. Furthermore, the cerebellum (lobule VI) was the most prominent region showing functional influences on speech-network integration and segregation. Although networks were bilaterally distributed, interregional connectivity during speaking was stronger in the left vs. right hemisphere, which may have underlined a more homogeneous overlap between the examined networks in the left hemisphere. Among these, the laryngeal motor cortex (LMC) established a core network that fully overlapped with all other speech-related networks, determining the extent of network interactions. Our data demonstrate complex interactions of large-scale brain networks controlling speech production and point to the critical role of the LMC, IPL, and cerebellum in the formation of speech production network. PMID:25673742

Structural and functional hyperconnectivity within the sensorimotor system in xenomelia.

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Hänggi, Jürgen; Vitacco, Deborah A; Hilti, Leonie M; Luechinger, Roger; Kraemer, Bernd; Brugger, Peter

2017-03-01

Xenomelia is a rare condition characterized by the persistent and compulsive desire for the amputation of one or more physically healthy limbs. We highlight the neurological underpinnings of xenomelia by assessing structural and functional connectivity by means of whole-brain connectome and network analyses of regions previously implicated in empirical research in this condition. We compared structural and functional connectivity between 13 xenomelic men with matched controls using diffusion tensor imaging combined with fiber tractography and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Altered connectivity in xenomelia within the sensorimotor system has been predicted. We found subnetworks showing structural and functional hyperconnectivity in xenomelia compared with controls. These subnetworks were lateralized to the right hemisphere and mainly comprised by nodes belonging to the sensorimotor system. In the connectome analyses, the paracentral lobule, supplementary motor area, postcentral gyrus, basal ganglia, and the cerebellum were hyperconnected to each other, whereas in the xenomelia-specific network analyses, hyperconnected nodes have been found in the superior parietal lobule, primary and secondary somatosensory cortex, premotor cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, and insula. Our study provides empirical evidence of structural and functional hyperconnectivity within the sensorimotor system including those regions that are core for the reconstruction of a coherent body image. Aberrant connectivity is a common response to focal neurological damage. As exemplified here, it may affect different brain regions differentially. Due to the small sample size, our findings must be interpreted cautiously and future studies are needed to elucidate potential associations between hyperconnectivity and limb disownership reported in xenomelia.

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

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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.

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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

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.

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

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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

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

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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.

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

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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.

Right parietal cortex mediates recognition memory for melodies.

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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.

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

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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.

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.

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

The gyri of the octopus vertical lobe have distinct neurochemical identities.

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Shigeno, Shuichi; Ragsdale, Clifton W

2015-06-15

The cephalopod vertical lobe is the largest learning and memory structure known in invertebrate nervous systems. It is part of the visual learning circuit of the central brain, which also includes the superior frontal and subvertical lobes. Despite the well-established functional importance of this system, little is known about neuropil organization of these structures and there is to date no evidence that the five longitudinal gyri of the vertical lobe, perhaps the most distinctive morphological feature of the octopus brain, differ in their connections or molecular identities. We studied the histochemical organization of these structures in hatchling and adult Octopus bimaculoides brains with immunostaining for serotonin, octopus gonadotropin-releasing hormone (oGNRH), and octopressin-neurophysin (OP-NP). Our major finding is that the five lobules forming the vertical lobe gyri have distinct neurochemical signatures. This is most prominent in the hatchling brain, where the median and mediolateral lobules are enriched in OP-NP fibers, the lateral lobule is marked by oGNRH innervation, and serotonin immunostaining heavily labels the median and lateral lobules. A major source of input to the vertical lobe is the superior frontal lobe, which is dominated by a neuropil of interweaving fiber bundles. We have found that this neuropil also has an intrinsic neurochemical organization: it is partitioned into territories alternately enriched or impoverished in oGNRH-containing fascicles. Our findings establish that the constituent lobes of the octopus superior frontal-vertical system have an intricate internal anatomy, one likely to reflect the presence of functional subsystems within cephalopod learning circuitry. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The cerebral cortex of Albert Einstein: a description and preliminary analysis of unpublished photographs.

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Falk, Dean; Lepore, Frederick E; Noe, Adrianne

2013-04-01

Upon his death in 1955, Albert Einstein's brain was removed, fixed and photographed from multiple angles. It was then sectioned into 240 blocks, and histological slides were prepared. At the time, a roadmap was drawn that illustrates the location within the brain of each block and its associated slides. Here we describe the external gross neuroanatomy of Einstein's entire cerebral cortex from 14 recently discovered photographs, most of which were taken from unconventional angles. Two of the photographs reveal sulcal patterns of the medial surfaces of the hemispheres, and another shows the neuroanatomy of the right (exposed) insula. Most of Einstein's sulci are identified, and sulcal patterns in various parts of the brain are compared with those of 85 human brains that have been described in the literature. To the extent currently possible, unusual features of Einstein's brain are tentatively interpreted in light of what is known about the evolution of higher cognitive processes in humans. As an aid to future investigators, these (and other) features are correlated with blocks on the roadmap (and therefore histological slides). Einstein's brain has an extraordinary prefrontal cortex, which may have contributed to the neurological substrates for some of his remarkable cognitive abilities. The primary somatosensory and motor cortices near the regions that typically represent face and tongue are greatly expanded in the left hemisphere. Einstein's parietal lobes are also unusual and may have provided some of the neurological underpinnings for his visuospatial and mathematical skills, as others have hypothesized. Einstein's brain has typical frontal and occipital shape asymmetries (petalias) and grossly asymmetrical inferior and superior parietal lobules. Contrary to the literature, Einstein's brain is not spherical, does not lack parietal opercula and has non-confluent Sylvian and inferior postcentral sulci.

The cerebral cortex of Albert Einstein: a description and preliminary analysis of unpublished photographs

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Lepore, Frederick E.; Noe, Adrianne

2013-01-01

Upon his death in 1955, Albert Einstein’s brain was removed, fixed and photographed from multiple angles. It was then sectioned into 240 blocks, and histological slides were prepared. At the time, a roadmap was drawn that illustrates the location within the brain of each block and its associated slides. Here we describe the external gross neuroanatomy of Einstein’s entire cerebral cortex from 14 recently discovered photographs, most of which were taken from unconventional angles. Two of the photographs reveal sulcal patterns of the medial surfaces of the hemispheres, and another shows the neuroanatomy of the right (exposed) insula. Most of Einstein’s sulci are identified, and sulcal patterns in various parts of the brain are compared with those of 85 human brains that have been described in the literature. To the extent currently possible, unusual features of Einstein’s brain are tentatively interpreted in light of what is known about the evolution of higher cognitive processes in humans. As an aid to future investigators, these (and other) features are correlated with blocks on the roadmap (and therefore histological slides). Einstein’s brain has an extraordinary prefrontal cortex, which may have contributed to the neurological substrates for some of his remarkable cognitive abilities. The primary somatosensory and motor cortices near the regions that typically represent face and tongue are greatly expanded in the left hemisphere. Einstein’s parietal lobes are also unusual and may have provided some of the neurological underpinnings for his visuospatial and mathematical skills, as others have hypothesized. Einstein’s brain has typical frontal and occipital shape asymmetries (petalias) and grossly asymmetrical inferior and superior parietal lobules. Contrary to the literature, Einstein’s brain is not spherical, does not lack parietal opercula and has non-confluent Sylvian and inferior postcentral sulci. PMID:23161163

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.

Hemispheric Lateralization of Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Anterior Insula: Association with Age, Gender, and a Novelty-Seeking Trait

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Kann, Sarah; Zhang, Sheng; Manza, Peter; Leung, Hoi-Chung

2016-01-01

Abstract Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is widely used to examine cerebral functional organization. The imaging literature has described lateralization of insula activations during cognitive and affective processing. Evidence appears to support a role of the right-hemispheric insula in attentional orientation to salient stimulus, interoception, and physiological arousal, and a role of the left-hemispheric insula in cognitive and affective control, as well as perspective taking. In this study, in a large data set of healthy adults, we examined lateralization of the rsFC of the anterior insula (AI) by computing a laterality index (LI) of connectivity with 54 regions from the Automated Anatomic Labeling atlas. At a corrected threshold (p lateralized in connectivity with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, superior frontal gyrus, inferior frontal cortex, and posterior orbital gyrus and right lateralized in connectivity with the postcentral gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and superior parietal lobule. In gender differences, women, but not men, showed right-lateralized connectivity to the thalamus. Furthermore, in a subgroup of participants assessed by the tridimensional personality questionnaire, novelty seeking is correlated with the extent of left lateralization of AI connectivity to the pallidum and putamen in men and with the extent of right lateralization of AI connectivity to the parahippocampal gyrus in women. These findings support hemispheric functional differentiation of the AI. PMID:27604154

The Crossed Projection to the Striatum in Two Species of Monkey and in Humans: Behavioral and Evolutionary Significance.

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Innocenti, Giorgio M; Dyrby, Tim B; Andersen, Kasper Winther; Rouiller, Eric M; Caminiti, Roberto

2017-06-01

The corpus callosum establishes the anatomical continuity between the 2 hemispheres and coordinates their activity. Using histological tracing, single axon reconstructions, and diffusion tractography, we describe a callosal projection to n caudatus and putamen in monkeys and humans. In both species, the origin of this projection is more restricted than that of the ipsilateral projection. In monkeys, it consists of thin axons (0.4-0.6 µm), appropriate for spatial and temporal dispersion of subliminal inputs. For prefrontal cortex, contralateral minus ipsilateral delays to striatum calculated from axon diameters and conduction distance are <2 ms in the monkey and, by extrapolation, <4 ms in humans. This delay corresponds to the performance in Poffenberger's paradigm, a classical attempt to estimate central conduction delays, with a neuropsychological task. In both species, callosal cortico-striatal projections originate from prefrontal, premotor, and motor areas. In humans, we discovered a new projection originating from superior parietal lobule, supramarginal, and superior temporal gyrus, regions engaged in language processing. This projection crosses in the isthmus the lesion of which was reported to dissociate syntax and prosody. The projection might originate from an overproduction of callosal projections in development, differentially pruned depending on species. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Pain anticipation: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of brain imaging studies.

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Palermo, Sara; Benedetti, Fabrizio; Costa, Tommaso; Amanzio, Martina

2015-05-01

The anticipation of pain has been investigated in a variety of brain imaging studies. Importantly, today there is no clear overall picture of the areas that are involved in different studies and the exact role of these regions in pain expectation remains especially unexploited. To address this issue, we used activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis to analyze pain anticipation in several neuroimaging studies. A total of 19 functional magnetic resonance imaging were included in the analysis to search for the cortical areas involved in pain anticipation in human experimental models. During anticipation, activated foci were found in the dorsolateral prefrontal, midcingulate and anterior insula cortices, medial and inferior frontal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, middle and superior temporal gyrus, thalamus, and caudate. Deactivated foci were found in the anterior cingulate, superior frontal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and in the claustrum. The results of the meta-analytic connectivity analysis provide an overall view of the brain responses triggered by the anticipation of a noxious stimulus. Such a highly distributed perceptual set of self-regulation may prime brain regions to process information where emotion, action and perception as well as their related subcategories play a central role. Not only do these findings provide important information on the neural events when anticipating pain, but also they may give a perspective into nocebo responses, whereby negative expectations may lead to pain worsening. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

From Thirst to Satiety: The Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex and Right Posterior Insula Indicate Dynamic Changes in Incentive Value

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Christoph A. Becker

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The cingulate cortex and insula are among the neural structures whose activations have been modulated in functional imaging studies examining discrete states of thirst and drinking to satiation. Building upon these findings, the present study aimed to identify neural structures that change their pattern of activation elicited by water held in the mouth in relation to the internal body state, i.e., proportional to continuous water consumption. Accordingly, participants in a thirsty state were scanned while receiving increments of water until satiety was reached. As expected, fluid ingestion led to a clear decrease in self-reported thirst and the pleasantness ratings of the water ingested. Furthermore, linear decreases in the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD response to water ingestion were observed in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC and right posterior insula as participants shifted towards the non-thirsty state. In addition, regions in the superior temporal gyrus (STG, supplementary motor area (SMA, superior parietal lobule (SPL, precuneus and calcarine sulcus also showed a linear decrease with increasing fluid consumption. Further analyses related single trial BOLD responses of associated regions to trial-by-trial ratings of thirst and pleasantness. Overall, the aMCC and posterior insula may be key sites of a neural network representing the motivation for drinking based on the dynamic integration of internal state and external stimuli.

Contralateral delay activity tracks object identity information in visual short term memory.

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Gao, Zaifeng; Xu, Xiaotian; Chen, Zhibo; Yin, Jun; Shen, Mowei; Shui, Rende

2011-08-11

Previous studies suggested that ERP component contralateral delay activity (CDA) tracks the number of objects containing identity information stored in visual short term memory (VSTM). Later MEG and fMRI studies implied that its neural source lays in superior IPS. However, since the memorized stimuli in previous studies were displayed in distinct spatial locations, hence possibly CDA tracks the object-location information instead. Moreover, a recent study implied the activation in superior IPS reflected the location load. The current research thus explored whether CDA tracks the object-location load or the object-identity load, and its neural sources. Participants were asked to remember one color, four identical colors or four distinct colors. The four-identical-color condition was the critical one because it contains the same amount of identity information as that of one color while the same amount of location information as that of four distinct colors. To ensure the participants indeed selected four colors in the four-identical-color condition, we also split the participants into two groups (low- vs. high-capacity), analyzed late positive component (LPC) in the prefrontal area, and collected participant's subjective-report. Our results revealed that most of the participants selected four identical colors. Moreover, regardless of capacity-group, there was no difference on CDA between one color and four identical colors yet both were lower than 4 distinct colors. Besides, the source of CDA was located in the superior parietal lobule, which is very close to the superior IPS. These results support the statement that CDA tracks the object identity information in VSTM. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Effects of typical antipsychotic, haloperidol on regional cerebral blood flow in drug-naive schizophrenic patients-study with 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT

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Kamoya, Masatoshi

2001-01-01

For the purpose of examining antipsychotic action of haloperidol (HPD), effects of chronic perioral administration of HPD 4.5 mg/day on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) with 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT were investigated in 12 drug-naive schizophrenic patients with acute hallucinatory and delusional state. Further, the SPECT examinations were performed on 20 normal adult volunteers to investigate differences in rCBFs between schizophrenics and the normal subjects. Results are itemized as follows. The rCBF values were significantly increased in the bilateral superior and middle frontal, cingulate, middle temporal, pre-and post-central gyri, the left superior temporal gyrus, the bilateral inferior parietal lobule, and the bilateral hippocampal and thalamic cortices in comparison between normal subjects and before the HPD dose in schizophrenics. However, the rCBF values after the HPD dose showed significant increases only in the bilateral pre-and post-central gyri in comparison with the normal subjects. The rCBF values were significantly decreased in the bilateral superior, middle and inferior frontal, superior and middle temporal gyri, and the left insular gyrus after the HPD dose in comparison with before the HPD dose. The psychiatric assessment with PANSS showed an improvement of positive symptoms consisting of auditory hallucination and delusions after the HPD dose. Statistical analyses on relationships between the rCBF values and PANSS scores before and after the HPD dose showed positive correlations between the right inferior frontal gyrus and auditory hallucination or positive symptoms, between the right superior temporal gyrus, left thalamus and delusions, and between the left thalamus, insular gyrus and negative symptoms. These results suggest that acute drug-naive schizophrenic patients have widespread cortico-subcortical energic hypermetabolism and HPD reduces the hypermetabolism, leading to whole normalized brain metabolism, in particular with the larger region

Effects of typical antipsychotic, haloperidol on regional cerebral blood flow in drug-naive schizophrenic patients-study with 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT

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Kamoya, Masatoshi [Kanazawa Medical Univ., Ishikawa (Japan)

2001-03-01

For the purpose of examining antipsychotic action of haloperidol (HPD), effects of chronic perioral administration of HPD 4.5 mg/day on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) with 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT were investigated in 12 drug-naive schizophrenic patients with acute hallucinatory and delusional state. Further, the SPECT examinations were performed on 20 normal adult volunteers to investigate differences in rCBFs between schizophrenics and the normal subjects. Results are itemized as follows. The rCBF values were significantly increased in the bilateral superior and middle frontal, cingulate, middle temporal, pre-and post-central gyri, the left superior temporal gyrus, the bilateral inferior parietal lobule, and the bilateral hippocampal and thalamic cortices in comparison between normal subjects and before the HPD dose in schizophrenics. However, the rCBF values after the HPD dose showed significant increases only in the bilateral pre-and post-central gyri in comparison with the normal subjects. The rCBF values were significantly decreased in the bilateral superior, middle and inferior frontal, superior and middle temporal gyri, and the left insular gyrus after the HPD dose in comparison with before the HPD dose. The psychiatric assessment with PANSS showed an improvement of positive symptoms consisting of auditory hallucination and delusions after the HPD dose. Statistical analyses on relationships between the rCBF values and PANSS scores before and after the HPD dose showed positive correlations between the right inferior frontal gyrus and auditory hallucination or positive symptoms, between the right superior temporal gyrus, left thalamus and delusions, and between the left thalamus, insular gyrus and negative symptoms. These results suggest that acute drug-naive schizophrenic patients have widespread cortico-subcortical energic hypermetabolism and HPD reduces the hypermetabolism, leading to whole normalized brain metabolism, in particular with the larger region

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

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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.

Predicting Intentions of a Familiar Significant Other Beyond the Mirror Neuron System

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Stephanie Cacioppo

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Inferring intentions of others is one of the most intriguing issues in interpersonal interaction. Theories of embodied cognition and simulation suggest that this mechanism takes place through a direct and automatic matching process that occurs between an observed action and past actions. This process occurs via the reactivation of past self-related sensorimotor experiences within the inferior frontoparietal network (including the mirror neuron system, MNS. The working model is that the anticipatory representations of others' behaviors require internal predictive models of actions formed from pre-established, shared representations between the observer and the actor. This model suggests that observers should be better at predicting intentions performed by a familiar actor, rather than a stranger. However, little is known about the modulations of the intention brain network as a function of the familiarity between the observer and the actor. Here, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI with a behavioral intention inference task, in which participants were asked to predict intentions from three types of actors: A familiar actor (their significant other, themselves (another familiar actor, and a non-familiar actor (a stranger. Our results showed that the participants were better at inferring intentions performed by familiar actors than non-familiar actors and that this better performance was associated with greater activation within and beyond the inferior frontoparietal network i.e., in brain areas related to familiarity (e.g., precuneus. In addition, and in line with Hebbian principles of neural modulations, the more the participants reported being cognitively close to their partner, the less the brain areas associated with action self-other comparison (e.g., inferior parietal lobule, attention (e.g., superior parietal lobule, recollection (hippocampus, and pair bond (ventral tegmental area, VTA were recruited, suggesting that the

Lateralization of Resting State Networks and Relationship to Age and Gender

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Agcaoglu, O.; Miller, R.; Mayer, A.R.; Hugdahl, K.; Calhoun, V.D.

2014-01-01

Brain lateralization is a widely studied topic, however there has been little work focused on lateralization of intrinsic networks (regions showing similar patterns of covariation among voxels) in the resting brain. In this study, we evaluate resting state network lateralization in an age and gender-balanced functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dataset comprising over 600 healthy subjects ranging in age from 12 to 71. After establishing sample-wide network lateralization properties, we continue with an investigation of age and gender effects on network lateralization. All data was gathered on the same scanner and preprocessed using an automated pipeline (Scott et al., 2011). Networks were extracted via group independent component analysis (gICA) (Calhoun, Adali, Pearlson, & Pekar, 2001). Twenty-eight resting state networks discussed in previous (Allen et al., 2011) work were re-analyzed with a focus on lateralization. We calculated homotopic voxelwise measures of laterality in addition to a global lateralization measure, called the laterality cofactor, for each network. As expected, many of the intrinsic brain networks were lateralized. For example, the visual network was strongly right lateralized, auditory network and default mode networks were mostly left lateralized. Attentional and frontal networks included nodes that were left lateralized and other nodes that were right lateralized. Age was strongly related to lateralization in multiple regions including sensorimotor network regions precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus and supramarginal gyrus; and visual network regions lingual gyrus; attentional network regions inferior parietal lobule, superior parietal lobule and middle temporal gyrus; and frontal network regions including the inferior frontal gyrus. Gender showed significant effects mainly in two regions, including visual and frontal networks. For example, the inferior frontal gyrus was more right lateralized in males. Significant effects of age

Interaction of acupuncture treatment and manipulation laterality modulated by the default mode network.

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Niu, Xuan; Zhang, Ming; Liu, Zhenyu; Bai, Lijun; Sun, Chuanzhu; Wang, Shan; Wang, Xiaocui; Chen, Zhen; Chen, Hongyan; Tian, Jie

2017-01-01

Appropriate selection of ipsilateral or contralateral electroacupuncture (corresponding to the pain site) plays an important role in reaching its better curative effect; however, the involving brain mechanism still remains unclear. Compared with the heat pain model generally established in previous study, capsaicin pain model induces reversible cutaneous allodynia and is proved to be better simulating aspects of clinical nociceptive and neuropathic pain. In the current study, 24 subjects were randomly divided into two groups with a 2 × 2 factorial design: laterality (ipsi- or contralateral side, inter-subject) × treatment with counter-balanced at an interval of one week (verum and placebo electroacupuncture, within-subject). We observed subjective pain intensity and brain activations changes induced by capsaicin allodynia pain stimuli before and after electroacupuncture treatment at acupoint LI4 for 30 min. Analysis of variance results indicated that ipsilateral electroacupuncture treatment produced significant pain relief and wide brain signal suppressions in pain-related brain areas compared with contralateral electroacupuncture. We also found that verum electroacupuncture at either ipsi- or contralateral side to the pain site exhibited comparable significant magnitudes of analgesic effect. By contrast, placebo electroacupuncture elicited significant pain reductions only on the ipsilateral rather than contralateral side. It was inferred that placebo analgesia maybe attenuated on the region of the body (opposite to pain site) where attention was less focused, suggesting that analgesic effect of placebo electroacupuncture mainly rely on the motivation of its spatial-specific placebo responses via attention mechanism. This inference can be further supported by the evidence that the significant interaction effect of manipulation laterality and treatment was exclusively located within the default mode network, including the bilateral superior parietal

Lateralization of resting state networks and relationship to age and gender.

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Agcaoglu, O; Miller, R; Mayer, A R; Hugdahl, K; Calhoun, V D

2015-01-01

Brain lateralization is a widely studied topic, however there has been little work focused on lateralization of intrinsic networks (regions showing similar patterns of covariation among voxels) in the resting brain. In this study, we evaluate resting state network lateralization in an age and gender-balanced functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dataset comprising over 600 healthy subjects ranging in age from 12 to 71. After establishing sample-wide network lateralization properties, we continue with an investigation of age and gender effects on network lateralization. All data was gathered on the same scanner and preprocessed using an automated pipeline (Scott et al., 2011). Networks were extracted via group independent component analysis (gICA) (Calhoun et al., 2001). Twenty-eight resting state networks discussed in previous (Allen et al., 2011) work were re-analyzed with a focus on lateralization. We calculated homotopic voxelwise measures of laterality in addition to a global lateralization measure, called the laterality cofactor, for each network. As expected, many of the intrinsic brain networks were lateralized. For example, the visual network was strongly right lateralized, auditory network and default mode networks were mostly left lateralized. Attentional and frontal networks included nodes that were left lateralized and other nodes that were right lateralized. Age was strongly related to lateralization in multiple regions including sensorimotor network regions precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus and supramarginal gyrus; and visual network regions lingual gyrus; attentional network regions inferior parietal lobule, superior parietal lobule and middle temporal gyrus; and frontal network regions including the inferior frontal gyrus. Gender showed significant effects mainly in two regions, including visual and frontal networks. For example, the inferior frontal gyrus was more right lateralized in males. Significant effects of age were found in

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.

Characteristics of Brain Perfusion in Patients of Parkinson's Disease

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Jeong, Young Jin; Park, Min Jung; Kim, Jae Woo; Kang, Young Kang [Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2008-02-15

It was well known that cerebral blood perfusion is normal or diffusely decreased in the majority of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Actually we interpreted brain perfusion SPECT images of PD patients in the clinical situation, we observed various cerebral perfusion patterns in patients with PD. So we performed brain perfusion SPECT to know the brain perfusion patterns of PD patients and the difference of perfusion patterns according to the sex and the age. Also we classified PD patients into small groups based on the brain perfusion pattern. Two hundred nineteen patients (M: 70, F: 149, mean age: 62.9{+-}6.9 y/o) who were diagnosed as PD without dementia clinically and 55 patients (M: 15, F: 40, mean age: 61.4{+-}9.2 y/o) as normal controls who had no past illness history were performed {sup 99m}Tc-HMPAO brain perfusion SPECT and neuropsychological test. At first, we compared all patients with PD and normal controls. Brain perfusion in left inferior frontal gyrus, left insula, left transverse temporal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, left superior parietal lobule, right precuneus, right caudate tail were lower in patients with PD than normal controls. Secondly, we compared male and female patients with PD and normal controls, respectively. Brain perfusion SPECT showed more decreased cerebral perfusion in left hemisphere than right side in both male and female patients compared to normal controls. And there was larger hypoperfusion area in female patients compared with male. Thirdly, we classified patients with PD and normal controls into 4 groups according to the age and compared brain perfusion respectively. In patient below fifties, brain perfusion in both occipitoparietal and left temporal lobe were lower in PD group. As the patients with PD grew older, hypoperfusion area were shown in both frontal, temporal and limbic lobes. Fourthly, We were able to divide patients into small groups based on cerebral perfusion pattern. There was normal

Characteristics of Brain Perfusion in Patients of Parkinson's Disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Young Jin; Park, Min Jung; Kim, Jae Woo; Kang, Young Kang

2008-01-01

It was well known that cerebral blood perfusion is normal or diffusely decreased in the majority of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Actually we interpreted brain perfusion SPECT images of PD patients in the clinical situation, we observed various cerebral perfusion patterns in patients with PD. So we performed brain perfusion SPECT to know the brain perfusion patterns of PD patients and the difference of perfusion patterns according to the sex and the age. Also we classified PD patients into small groups based on the brain perfusion pattern. Two hundred nineteen patients (M: 70, F: 149, mean age: 62.9±6.9 y/o) who were diagnosed as PD without dementia clinically and 55 patients (M: 15, F: 40, mean age: 61.4±9.2 y/o) as normal controls who had no past illness history were performed 99m Tc-HMPAO brain perfusion SPECT and neuropsychological test. At first, we compared all patients with PD and normal controls. Brain perfusion in left inferior frontal gyrus, left insula, left transverse temporal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, left superior parietal lobule, right precuneus, right caudate tail were lower in patients with PD than normal controls. Secondly, we compared male and female patients with PD and normal controls, respectively. Brain perfusion SPECT showed more decreased cerebral perfusion in left hemisphere than right side in both male and female patients compared to normal controls. And there was larger hypoperfusion area in female patients compared with male. Thirdly, we classified patients with PD and normal controls into 4 groups according to the age and compared brain perfusion respectively. In patient below fifties, brain perfusion in both occipitoparietal and left temporal lobe were lower in PD group. As the patients with PD grew older, hypoperfusion area were shown in both frontal, temporal and limbic lobes. Fourthly, We were able to divide patients into small groups based on cerebral perfusion pattern. There was normal cerebral blood

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

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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

An fMRI study of differences in brain activity among elite, expert, and novice archers at the moment of optimal aiming.

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Kim, Woojong; Chang, Yongmin; Kim, Jingu; Seo, Jeehye; Ryu, Kwangmin; Lee, Eunkyung; Woo, Minjung; Janelle, Christopher M

2014-12-01

We investigated brain activity in elite, expert, and novice archers during a simulated archery aiming task to determine whether neural correlates of performance differ by skill level. Success in shooting sports depends on complex mental routines just before the shot, when the brain prepares to execute the movement. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, 40 elite, expert, or novice archers aimed at a simulated 70-meter-distant target and pushed a button when they mentally released the bowstring. At the moment of optimal aiming, the elite and expert archers relied primarily on a dorsal pathway, with greatest activity in the occipital lobe, temporoparietal lobe, and dorsolateral pre-motor cortex. The elites showed activity in the supplementary motor area, temporoparietal area, and cerebellar dentate, while the experts showed activity only in the superior frontal area. The novices showed concurrent activity in not only the dorsolateral pre-motor cortex but also the ventral pathways linked to the ventrolateral pre-motor cortex. The novices exhibited broad activity in the superior frontal area, inferior frontal area, ventral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, superior parietal lobule, and primary somatosensory cortex. The more localized neural activity of elite and expert archers than novices permits greater efficiency in the complex processes subserved by these regions. The elite group's high activity in the cerebellar dentate indicates that the cerebellum is involved in automating simultaneous movements by integrating the sensorimotor memory enabled by greater expertise in self-paced aiming tasks. A companion article comments on and generalizes our findings.

Altered resting-state functional connectivity in post-traumatic stress disorder: a perfusion MRI study

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Li, Baojuan; Liu, Jian; Liu, Yang; Lu, Hong-Bing; Yin, Hong

2013-03-01

The majority of studies on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) so far have focused on delineating patterns of activations during cognitive processes. Recently, more and more researches have started to investigate functional connectivity in PTSD subjects using BOLD-fMRI. Functional connectivity analysis has been demonstrated as a powerful approach to identify biomarkers of different brain diseases. This study aimed to detect resting-state functional connectivity abnormities in patients with PTSD using arterial spin labeling (ASL) fMRI. As a completely non-invasive technique, ASL allows quantitative estimates of cerebral blood flow (CBF). Compared with BOLD-fMRI, ASL fMRI has many advantages, including less low-frequency signal drifts, superior functional localization, etc. In the current study, ASL images were collected from 10 survivors in mining disaster with recent onset PTSD and 10 survivors without PTSD. Decreased regional CBF in the right middle temporal gyrus, lingual gyrus, and postcentral gyrus was detected in the PTSD patients. Seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis was performed using an area in the right middle temporal gyrus as region of interest. Compared with the non-PTSD group, the PTSD subjects demonstrated increased functional connectivity between the right middle temporal gyrus and the right superior temporal gyrus, the left middle temporal gyrus. Meanwhile, decreased functional connectivity between the right middle temporal gyrus and the right postcentral gyrus, the right superior parietal lobule was also found in the PTSD patients. This is the first study which investigated resting-state functional connectivity in PTSD using ASL images. The results may provide new insight into the neural substrates of PTSD.

Positron emission tomography studies of neuronal activity patterns during sensory and cognitive stimulations in Alzheimer's disease. A study of cortical attention sites in man

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johannsen, Peter

1997-01-01

This Ph.D.-thesis describes different subtypes of attention, models for the organization of attention, and the attention deficits in Alzheimer's disease. The experimental part of the study is based on studies of sustained and divided attention to two different sensory modalities; a visual checkerboard stimulation reversing at 7 Hz, and a 110 Hz vibrotactile stimulation of the right hand in a group of healthy elderly subjects (n = 16) age-matched with a group of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (n = 16). The cortical activations during the attention tasks have been mapped using O-15-water and positron emission tomography (PET) measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during rest and during performance of an attention task. After anatomical standardization and averaging over subjects, activation foci were assessed by a t-statistical evaluation of the differences of rCBF maps acquired before and during the execution of the attention tasks. The rCBF deficits in the Alzheimer patients were compared to rCBF pattern in the healthy elderly and assessed statistically on a voxel-by-voxel basis, revealing a distinct and localized pattern of rCBF deficits extending from the hippocampal area along the longitudinal fascicle to the temporo-parietal cortices with further deficits in the frontal regions. The resting rCBF deficits are distributed with the same pattern as described in neuropathological studies of lesions in Alzheimer's disease. In the healthy elderly, both sustained and divided attention elicited activation of the right inferior parietal lobule (Brodmann Area 19/40) and the right middle frontal gyrus (Brodmann Area 46). Divided attention favored activation of the right middle frontal gyrus and sustained attention activation of the right inferior parietal lobule. Both the frontal and the parietal attention sites were active during attention to both the visual and the vibrotactile stimuli. These results support a network hypothesis of

Positron emission tomography studies of neuronal activity patterns during sensory and cognitive stimulations in Alzheimer`s disease. A study of cortical attention sites in man

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johannsen, Peter

1997-12-31

This Ph.D.-thesis describes different subtypes of attention, models for the organization of attention, and the attention deficits in Alzheimer`s disease. The experimental part of the study is based on studies of sustained and divided attention to two different sensory modalities; a visual checkerboard stimulation reversing at 7 Hz, and a 110 Hz vibrotactile stimulation of the right hand in a group of healthy elderly subjects (n = 16) age-matched with a group of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer`s disease (n = 16). The cortical activations during the attention tasks have been mapped using O-15-water and positron emission tomography (PET) measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during rest and during performance of an attention task. After anatomical standardization and averaging over subjects, activation foci were assessed by a t-statistical evaluation of the differences of rCBF maps acquired before and during the execution of the attention tasks. The rCBF deficits in the Alzheimer patients were compared to rCBF pattern in the healthy elderly and assessed statistically on a voxel-by-voxel basis, revealing a distinct and localized pattern of rCBF deficits extending from the hippocampal area along the longitudinal fascicle to the temporo-parietal cortices with further deficits in the frontal regions. The resting rCBF deficits are distributed with the same pattern as described in neuropathological studies of lesions in Alzheimer`s disease. In the healthy elderly, both sustained and divided attention elicited activation of the right inferior parietal lobule (Brodmann Area 19/40) and the right middle frontal gyrus (Brodmann Area 46). Divided attention favored activation of the right middle frontal gyrus and sustained attention activation of the right inferior parietal lobule. Both the frontal and the parietal attention sites were active during attention to both the visual and the vibrotactile stimuli. These results support a network hypothesis of

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

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…

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.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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

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

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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.

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.

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

Imaging derived cortical thickness reduction in high-functioning autism: key regions and temporal slope.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheel, Christian; Rotarska-Jagiela, Anna; Schilbach, Leonhard; Lehnhardt, Fritz G; Krug, Barbara; Vogeley, Kai; Tepest, Ralf

2011-09-15

Cortical thickness (CT) changes possibly contribute to the complex symptomatology of autism. The aberrant developmental trajectories underlying such differences in certain brain regions and their continuation in adulthood are a matter of intense debate. We studied 28 adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) and 28 control subjects matched for age, gender, IQ and handedness. A surface-based whole brain analysis utilizing FreeSurfer was employed to detect CT differences between the two diagnostic groups and to investigate the time course of age-related changes. Direct comparison with control subjects revealed thinner cortex in HFA in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) of the left hemisphere. Considering the time course of CT development we found clusters around the pSTS and cuneus in the left and the paracentral lobule in the right hemisphere to be thinner in HFA with comparable age-related slopes in patients and controls. Conversely, we found clusters around the supramarginal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in the left and the precentral and postcentral gyrus in the right hemisphere to be thinner in HFA, but with different age-related slopes in patients and controls. In the latter regions CT showed a steady decrease in controls but no analogous thinning in HFA. CT analyses contribute in characterizing neuroanatomical correlates of HFA. Reduced CT is present in brain regions involved in social cognition. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that aberrant brain development leading to such differences is proceeding throughout adulthood. Discrepancies in prior morphometric studies may be induced by the complex time course of cortical changes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Speech networks at rest and in action: interactions between functional brain networks controlling speech production.

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Simonyan, Kristina; Fuertinger, Stefan

2015-04-01

Speech production is one of the most complex human behaviors. Although brain activation during speaking has been well investigated, our understanding of interactions between the brain regions and neural networks remains scarce. We combined seed-based interregional correlation analysis with graph theoretical analysis of functional MRI data during the resting state and sentence production in healthy subjects to investigate the interface and topology of functional networks originating from the key brain regions controlling speech, i.e., the laryngeal/orofacial motor cortex, inferior frontal and superior temporal gyri, supplementary motor area, cingulate cortex, putamen, and thalamus. During both resting and speaking, the interactions between these networks were bilaterally distributed and centered on the sensorimotor brain regions. However, speech production preferentially recruited the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and cerebellum into the large-scale network, suggesting the importance of these regions in facilitation of the transition from the resting state to speaking. Furthermore, the cerebellum (lobule VI) was the most prominent region showing functional influences on speech-network integration and segregation. Although networks were bilaterally distributed, interregional connectivity during speaking was stronger in the left vs. right hemisphere, which may have underlined a more homogeneous overlap between the examined networks in the left hemisphere. Among these, the laryngeal motor cortex (LMC) established a core network that fully overlapped with all other speech-related networks, determining the extent of network interactions. Our data demonstrate complex interactions of large-scale brain networks controlling speech production and point to the critical role of the LMC, IPL, and cerebellum in the formation of speech production network. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Attention in spina bifida myelomeningocele: Relations with brain volume and integrity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina A. Kulesz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the relations of tectal volume and superior parietal cortex, as well as alterations in tectocortical white matter connectivity, with the orienting and executive control attention networks in individuals with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM. Probabilistic diffusion tractography and quantification of tectal and superior parietal cortical volume were performed on 74 individuals aged 8–29 with SBM and a history of hydrocephalus. Behavioral assessments measured posterior (covert orienting and anterior (conflict resolution, attentional control attention network functions. Reduced tectal volume was associated with slower covert orienting; reduced superior parietal cortical volume was associated with slower conflict resolution; and increased axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity along both frontal and parietal tectocortical pathways were associated with reduced attentional control. Results suggest that components of both the orienting and executive control attention networks are impaired in SBM. Neuroanatomical disruption to the orienting network appears more robust and a direct consequence of characteristic midbrain dysmorphology; whereas, executive control difficulties may emerge from parietal cortical anomalies and reduced frontal and parietal cortical–subcortical white matter pathways susceptible to the pathophysiological effects of congenital hydrocephalus.

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

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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

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

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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...

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

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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.

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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.

Gas1 expression in parietal cells of Bowman's capsule in experimental diabetic nephropathy.

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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.

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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.

Expert athletes activate somatosensory and motor planning regions of the brain when passively listening to familiar sports sounds.

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Woods, Elizabeth A; Hernandez, Arturo E; Wagner, Victoria E; Beilock, Sian L

2014-06-01

The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined the neural response to familiar and unfamiliar, sport and non-sport environmental sounds in expert and novice athletes. Results revealed differential neural responses dependent on sports expertise. Experts had greater neural activation than novices in focal sensorimotor areas such as the supplementary motor area, and pre- and postcentral gyri. Novices showed greater activation than experts in widespread areas involved in perception (i.e. supramarginal, middle occipital, and calcarine gyri; precuneus; inferior and superior parietal lobules), and motor planning and processing (i.e. inferior frontal, middle frontal, and middle temporal gyri). These between-group neural differences also appeared as an expertise effect within specific conditions. Experts showed greater activation than novices during the sport familiar condition in regions responsible for auditory and motor planning, including the inferior frontal gyrus and the parietal operculum. Novices only showed greater activation than experts in the supramarginal gyrus and pons during the non-sport unfamiliar condition, and in the middle frontal gyrus during the sport unfamiliar condition. These results are consistent with the view that expert athletes are attuned to only the most familiar, highly relevant sounds and tune out unfamiliar, irrelevant sounds. Furthermore, these findings that athletes show activation in areas known to be involved in action planning when passively listening to sounds suggests that auditory perception of action can lead to the re-instantiation of neural areas involved in producing these actions, especially if someone has expertise performing the actions. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Positron emission tomography assessment of cerebral glucose metabolic rates in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.

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Mitelman, Serge A; Bralet, Marie-Cecile; Mehmet Haznedar, M; Hollander, Eric; Shihabuddin, Lina; Hazlett, Erin A; Buchsbaum, Monte S

2018-04-01

Several models have been proposed to account for observed overlaps in clinical features and genetic predisposition between schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. This study assessed similarities and differences in topological patterns and vectors of glucose metabolism in both disorders in reference to these models. Co-registered 18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET and MRI scans were obtained in 41 schizophrenia, 25 ASD, and 55 healthy control subjects. AFNI was used to map cortical and subcortical regions of interest. Metabolic rates were compared between three diagnostic groups using univariate and multivariate repeated-measures ANOVA. Compared to controls, metabolic rates in schizophrenia subjects were decreased in the frontal lobe, anterior cingulate, superior temporal gyrus, amygdala and medial thalamic nuclei; rates were increased in the occipital cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia and lateral thalamic nuclei. In ASD subjects metabolic rates were decreased in the parietal lobe, frontal premotor and eye-fields areas, and amygdala; rates were increased in the posterior cingulate, occipital cortex, hippocampus and basal ganglia. In relation to controls, subjects with ASD and schizophrenia showed opposite changes in metabolic rates in the primary motor and somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate and hypothalamus; similar changes were found in prefrontal and occipital cortices, inferior parietal lobule, amygdala, hippocampus, and basal ganglia. Schizophrenia and ASD appear to be associated with a similar pattern of metabolic abnormalities in the social brain. Divergent maladaptive trade-offs, as postulated by the diametrical hypothesis of their evolutionary relationship, may involve a more circumscribed set of anterior cingulate, motor and somatosensory regions and the specific cognitive functions they subserve.

Identifying individuals with antisocial personality disorder using resting-state FMRI.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Tang

Full Text Available Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD is closely connected to criminal behavior. A better understanding of functional connectivity in the brains of ASPD patients will help to explain abnormal behavioral syndromes and to perform objective diagnoses of ASPD. In this study we designed an exploratory data-driven classifier based on machine learning to investigate changes in functional connectivity in the brains of patients with ASPD using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI data in 32 subjects with ASPD and 35 controls. The results showed that the classifier achieved satisfactory performance (86.57% accuracy, 77.14% sensitivity and 96.88% specificity and could extract stabile information regarding functional connectivity that could be used to discriminate ASPD individuals from normal controls. More importantly, we found that the greatest change in the ASPD subjects was uncoupling between the default mode network and the attention network. Moreover, the precuneus, superior parietal gyrus and cerebellum exhibited high discriminative power in classification. A voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed and showed that the gray matter volumes in the parietal lobule and white matter volumes in the precuneus were abnormal in ASPD compared to controls. To our knowledge, this study was the first to use resting-state fMRI to identify abnormal functional connectivity in ASPD patients. These results not only demonstrated good performance of the proposed classifier, which can be used to improve the diagnosis of ASPD, but also elucidate the pathological mechanism of ASPD from a resting-state functional integration viewpoint.

Inferior frontal gyrus links visual and motor cortices during a visuomotor precision grip force task.

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Papadelis, Christos; Arfeller, Carola; Erla, Silvia; Nollo, Giandomenico; Cattaneo, Luigi; Braun, Christoph

2016-11-01

Coordination between vision and action relies on a fronto-parietal network that receives visual and proprioceptive sensory input in order to compute motor control signals. Here, we investigated with magnetoencephalography (MEG) which cortical areas are functionally coupled on the basis of synchronization during visuomotor integration. MEG signals were recorded from twelve healthy adults while performing a unimanual visuomotor (VM) task and control conditions. The VM task required the integration of pinch motor commands with visual sensory feedback. By using a beamformer, we localized the neural activity in the frequency range of 1-30Hz during the VM compared to rest. Virtual sensors were estimated at the active locations. A multivariate autoregressive model was used to estimate the power and coherence of estimated activity at the virtual sensors. Event-related desynchronisation (ERD) during VM was observed in early visual areas, the rostral part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the right IFG, the superior parietal lobules, and the left hand motor cortex (M1). Functional coupling in the alpha frequency band bridged the regional activities observed in motor and visual cortices (the start and the end points in the visuomotor loop) through the left or right IFG. Coherence between the left IFG and left M1 correlated inversely with the task performance. Our results indicate that an occipital-prefrontal-motor functional network facilitates the modulation of instructed motor responses to visual cues. This network may supplement the mechanism for guiding actions that is fully incorporated into the dorsal visual stream. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The roles of superficial amygdala and auditory cortex in music-evoked fear and joy.

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Koelsch, Stefan; Skouras, Stavros; Fritz, Thomas; Herrera, Perfecto; Bonhage, Corinna; Küssner, Mats B; Jacobs, Arthur M

2013-11-01

This study investigates neural correlates of music-evoked fear and joy with fMRI. Studies on neural correlates of music-evoked fear are scant, and there are only a few studies on neural correlates of joy in general. Eighteen individuals listened to excerpts of fear-evoking, joy-evoking, as well as neutral music and rated their own emotional state in terms of valence, arousal, fear, and joy. Results show that BOLD signal intensity increased during joy, and decreased during fear (compared to the neutral condition) in bilateral auditory cortex (AC) and bilateral superficial amygdala (SF). In the right primary somatosensory cortex (area 3b) BOLD signals increased during exposure to fear-evoking music. While emotion-specific activity in AC increased with increasing duration of each trial, SF responded phasically in the beginning of the stimulus, and then SF activity declined. Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) analysis revealed extensive emotion-specific functional connectivity of AC with insula, cingulate cortex, as well as with visual, and parietal attentional structures. These findings show that the auditory cortex functions as a central hub of an affective-attentional network that is more extensive than previously believed. PPI analyses also showed functional connectivity of SF with AC during the joy condition, taken to reflect that SF is sensitive to social signals with positive valence. During fear music, SF showed functional connectivity with visual cortex and area 7 of the superior parietal lobule, taken to reflect increased visual alertness and an involuntary shift of attention during the perception of auditory signals of danger. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

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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.

Brain-Heart Pathways to Blood Pressure-Related Hypoalgesia.

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Ottaviani, Cristina; Fagioli, Sabrina; Mattei, Eugenio; Censi, Federica; Edwards, Louisa; Macaluso, Emiliano; Bozzali, Marco; Critchley, Hugo; Calcagnini, Giovanni

2018-03-28

High blood pressure (BP) is associated with reduced pain sensitivity, known as BP-related hypoalgesia. The underlying neural mechanisms remain uncertain, yet arterial baroreceptor signaling, occurring at cardiac systole, is implicated. We examined normotensives using functional neuroimaging (fMRI) and pain stimulation during distinct phases of the cardiac cycle to test the hypothesized neural mediation of baroreceptor-induced attenuation of pain. Eighteen participants (10 women; 32.7 ± 6.5 years) underwent BP monitoring over one week at home, and individual pain thresholds were determined in the lab. Subsequently, participants were administered unpredictable painful and non-painful electrocutaneous shocks (stimulus type), timed to occur either at systole or diastole (cardiac phase) in an event-related design. After each trial, participants evaluated their subjective experience. Subjective pain was lower for painful stimuli administered at systole compared to diastole, F1, 2283 = 4.82; p = 0.03. Individuals with higher baseline BP demonstrated overall lower pain perception, F1, 2164 = 10.47; p < 0.0001. Within the brain, painful stimulation activated somatosensory areas, prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, posterior insula, amygdala, and the thalamus. Stimuli delivered during systole (concurrent with baroreceptor discharge) activated areas associated with heightened parasympathetic drive. No stimulus type x cardiac phase interaction emerged except for a small cluster located in the right parietal cortex. We confirm the negative associations between BP and pain, highlighting the antinociceptive impact of baroreceptor discharge. Neural substrates associated with baroreceptor/BP-related hypoalgesia include superior parietal lobule, precentral and lingual gyrus, regions typically involved in the cognitive aspects of pain experience.

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

Activity in the fronto-parietal network indicates numerical inductive reasoning beyond calculation: An fMRI study combined with a cognitive model.

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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.

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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.

Persistent left superior vena cava with absent right superior vena cava: image findings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo Junior, Cyrillo Rodrigues de; Carvalho, Tarcisio Nunes; Fraguas Filho, Sergio Roberto; Costa, Marlos Augusto Bitencourt; Jacob, Beatriz Mahmud; Machado, Marcio Martins; Teixeira, Kim-Ir-Sen Santos; Ximenes, Carlos Alberto

2003-01-01

Persistent left superior vena cava absent right superior vena cava is a rare anomaly, with less than 150 cases reported in the literature. Congenitally persistent left superior vena cava is the most common variant of systemic venous return to the heart, resulting embryologically from failure of the left anterior cardinal vein to become obliterated. Its incidence varies from 0.3% in patients with otherwise normal heart to 4.3% in patients with congenital heart disease. In the majority of the patients, a right superior vena cava is present as well, but rarely the right anterior cardinal vein degenerates resulting in the absence of the normal right superior vena cava. The blood from the right side is carried by the persistent left superior vena cava to the right atrium through the coronary sinus. We report the case of a patient with a persistent left superior vena cava and absence of right superior vena cava identified by chance during a chest radiograph and computed tomography examination for investigation of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease. The patient had no congenital heart disease and the blood from the right side was drained by the persistent left superior vena cava into the right atrium through the coronary sinus. (author)

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.

Decreased long- and short-range functional connectivity at rest in drug-naive major depressive disorder.

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Guo, Wenbin; Liu, Feng; Chen, Jindong; Wu, Renrong; Zhang, Zhikun; Yu, Miaoyu; Xue, Zhimin; Zhao, Jingping

2016-08-01

Abnormal functional connectivity has been observed in major depressive disorder. Anatomical distance may affect functional connectivity in patients with major depressive disorder. However, whether and how anatomical distance affects functional connectivity at rest remains unclear in drug-naive patients with major depressive disorder. Forty-four patients with major depressive disorder, as well as 44 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls, underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Regional functional connectivity strength was calculated for each voxel in the whole brain, which was further divided into short- and long-range functional connectivity strength. The patients showed decreased long-range positive functional connectivity strength in the right inferior parietal lobule, as well as decreased short-range positive functional connectivity strength in the right insula and right superior temporal gyrus relative to those of the controls. No significant correlations existed between abnormal functional connectivity strength and the clinical variables of the patients. The findings revealed that anatomical distance decreases long- and short-range functional connectivity strength in patients with major depressive disorder, which may underlie the neurobiology of major depressive disorder. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Homayoun as a Persian Music Scale on Non-Musician’s Brain: an fMRI Study

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Farzaneh Pouladi

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The aim of this study was to get to a neurological evaluation of one of the Persian music scales, Homayoun, on brain activation of non-musician subjects. We selected this scale because Homayoun is one of the main scales in Persian classical music which is similar to minor mode in western scales. Methods: This study was performed on 19 right handed subjects, Aging 22-31. Here some pieces from Homayoun Dastgah are used in both rhythmic and non-rhythmic. Result: The results of this study revealed the brain activities for each of rhythmic and non-rhythmic versions of Homayoun Dastgah. The activated regions for non-rhythmic Homayoun contained: right and left Subcallosal Cortex, left Medial Frontal cortex, left anterior Cingulate Gyrus, left Frontal Pole and for rhythmic Homayoun contained: left Precentral Gyrus, left Precuneous Cortex, left anterior Supramarginal, left Superior Parietal Lobule, left Postcentral Gyrus. Also, we acquired amygdala area in both pieces of music. Discussion: Based on arousal effects of rhythm and Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis, non-rhythmic Homayoun activates regions related to emotion and thinking while activity of rhythmic Homayoun is related to areas of movement and motion.

Activations of human auditory cortex to phonemic and nonphonemic vowels during discrimination and memory tasks.

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Harinen, Kirsi; Rinne, Teemu

2013-08-15

We used fMRI to investigate activations within human auditory cortex (AC) to vowels during vowel discrimination, vowel (categorical n-back) memory, and visual tasks. Based on our previous studies, we hypothesized that the vowel discrimination task would be associated with increased activations in the anterior superior temporal gyrus (STG), while the vowel memory task would enhance activations in the posterior STG and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). In particular, we tested the hypothesis that activations in the IPL during vowel memory tasks are associated with categorical processing. Namely, activations due to categorical processing should be higher during tasks performed on nonphonemic (hard to categorize) than on phonemic (easy to categorize) vowels. As expected, we found distinct activation patterns during vowel discrimination and vowel memory tasks. Further, these task-dependent activations were different during tasks performed on phonemic or nonphonemic vowels. However, activations in the IPL associated with the vowel memory task were not stronger during nonphonemic than phonemic vowel blocks. Together these results demonstrate that activations in human AC to vowels depend on both the requirements of the behavioral task and the phonemic status of the vowels. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlation of regional cerebral blood flow and positive/negative symptoms in schizophrenic patients: covariate SPM analysis

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Lim, Ki Chun; Kim, J. S.; Kim, C. Y.; Lee, H. K.; Moon, D. H. [Ulsan University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2002-07-01

We investigated the relations between rCBF and psychopathology in schizophrenic patients using a SPM99. Thirty-two patients(M/F:22/10, 25{+-}5,6yr) with active symptoms of schizophrenia and 15 age matched normal controls underwent Tc-99m ECD brain perfusion SPECT. Psychopathology of all patients were also assessed according to PANSS (positive and negative syndrome scale in schizophrenia). By covariate SPM analysis, specific areas where rCBF correlated with sum scores of positive/negative synptoms were identified. Regional CBF of schizophrenics was different in several cortical regions from normal controls. Sum scores of positive symptoms were positively correlated with rCBF of both rectal and inferior frontal gyri and right transverse temporal gyrus, and negatively correlated with rCBF of left lingual and right middle temporal gyri (p<0.01). Sum scores of negative symptoms were positively correlated with rCBF of both middle temporal gyri and negatively correlated with rCBF of right superior parietal lobule and medial frontal gyrus (p<0.01). Positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia were correlated with rCBF change in different regions of cerebral association cortex.

Correlation of regional cerebral blood flow and positive/negative symptoms in schizophrenic patients: covariate SPM analysis

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Lim, Ki Chun; Kim, J. S.; Kim, C. Y.; Lee, H. K.; Moon, D. H.

2002-01-01

We investigated the relations between rCBF and psychopathology in schizophrenic patients using a SPM99. Thirty-two patients(M/F:22/10, 25±5,6yr) with active symptoms of schizophrenia and 15 age matched normal controls underwent Tc-99m ECD brain perfusion SPECT. Psychopathology of all patients were also assessed according to PANSS (positive and negative syndrome scale in schizophrenia). By covariate SPM analysis, specific areas where rCBF correlated with sum scores of positive/negative synptoms were identified. Regional CBF of schizophrenics was different in several cortical regions from normal controls. Sum scores of positive symptoms were positively correlated with rCBF of both rectal and inferior frontal gyri and right transverse temporal gyrus, and negatively correlated with rCBF of left lingual and right middle temporal gyri (p<0.01). Sum scores of negative symptoms were positively correlated with rCBF of both middle temporal gyri and negatively correlated with rCBF of right superior parietal lobule and medial frontal gyrus (p<0.01). Positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia were correlated with rCBF change in different regions of cerebral association cortex

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.

Resting state brain dynamics and its transients: a combined TMS-EEG study.

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Bonnard, Mireille; Chen, Sophie; Gaychet, Jérôme; Carrere, Marcel; Woodman, Marmaduke; Giusiano, Bernard; Jirsa, Viktor

2016-08-04

The brain at rest exhibits a spatio-temporally rich dynamics which adheres to systematic behaviours that persist in task paradigms but appear altered in disease. Despite this hypothesis, many rest state paradigms do not act directly upon the rest state and therefore cannot confirm hypotheses about its mechanisms. To address this challenge, we combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG) to study brain's relaxation toward rest following a transient perturbation. Specifically, TMS targeted either the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), i.e. part of the Default Mode Network (DMN) or the superior parietal lobule (SPL), involved in the Dorsal Attention Network. TMS was triggered by a given brain state, namely an increase in occipital alpha rhythm power. Following the initial TMS-Evoked Potential, TMS at MPFC enhances the induced occipital alpha rhythm, called Event Related Synchronisation, with a longer transient lifetime than TMS at SPL, and a higher amplitude. Our findings show a strong coupling between MPFC and the occipital alpha power. Although the rest state is organized around a core of resting state networks, the DMN functionally takes a special role among these resting state networks.

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

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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.

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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.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress responses differ in meninges and associated vasculature, striatum, and parietal cortex after a neurotoxic amphetamine exposure.

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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.

Parietal and occipital encephalocele in same child: A rarest variety of double encephalocele.

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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.

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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.

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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