Aberrant Brain Activity in Individuals With Psychopathy Links to Receptor Distribution, Gene Expression, and Behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juergen Dukart ◽  
Ross D. Markello ◽  
Adrian Raine ◽  
Simon B. Eickhoff ◽  
Timm B. Poeppl
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Receptor Distribution

scholarly journals Correlated gene expression and anatomical communication support synchronized brain activity in the mouse functional connectome

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Mills ◽  
David S. Grayson ◽  
Anandakumar Shunmugavel ◽  
Oscar Miranda-Dominguez ◽  
Eric Feczko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Research ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Anatomical Connectivity ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Intrinsic Brain Activity ◽  
Functional Connectivity Mri ◽  
The Brain

AbstractCognition and behavior depend on synchronized intrinsic brain activity which is organized into functional networks across the brain. Research has investigated how anatomical connectivity both shapes and is shaped by these networks, but not how anatomical connectivity interacts with intra-areal molecular properties to drive functional connectivity. Here, we present a novel linear model to explain functional connectivity in the mouse brain by integrating systematically obtained measurements of axonal connectivity, gene expression, and resting state functional connectivity MRI. The model suggests that functional connectivity arises from synergies between anatomical links and inter-areal similarities in gene expression. By estimating these interactions, we identify anatomical modules in which correlated gene expression and anatomical connectivity cooperatively, versus distinctly, support functional connectivity. Along with providing evidence that not all genes equally contribute to functional connectivity, this research establishes new insights regarding the biological underpinnings of coordinated brain activity measured by BOLD fMRI.

scholarly journals Evolutionary Patterns of Sex-Biased Genes in Three Species of Haplodiploid Insects

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 326
Author(s):  
Yu-Jun Wang ◽  
Hua-Ling Wang ◽  
Xiao-Wei Wang ◽  
Shu-Sheng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Slow Rate ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Coding Sequences ◽  
Species Comparisons ◽  
Differential Gene ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
And Behavior

Females and males often differ obviously in morphology and behavior, and the differences between sexes are the result of natural selection and/or sexual selection. To a great extent, the differences between the two sexes are the result of differential gene expression. In haplodiploid insects, this phenomenon is obvious, since males develop from unfertilized zygotes and females develop from fertilized zygotes. Whiteflies of the Bemisia tabaci species complex are typical haplodiploid insects, and some species of this complex are important pests of many crops worldwide. Here, we report the transcriptome profiles of males and females in three species of this whitefly complex. Between-species comparisons revealed that non-sex-biased genes display higher variation than male-biased or female-biased genes. Sex-biased genes evolve at a slow rate in protein coding sequences and gene expression and have a pattern of evolution that differs from those of social haplodiploid insects and diploid animals. Genes with high evolutionary rates are more related to non-sex-biased traits—such as nutrition, immune system, and detoxification—than to sex-biased traits, indicating that the evolution of protein coding sequences and gene expression has been mainly driven by non-sex-biased traits.

scholarly journals Effects of the domestic thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) variant on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and behavior in chicken

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Fallahshahroudi ◽  
Martin Johnsson ◽  
Enrico Sorato ◽  
S J Kumari A Ubhayasekera ◽  
Jonas Bergquist ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Hormone Receptor ◽  
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Red Junglefowl ◽  
Pituitary Thyroid Axis ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Stimulating Hormone

Abstract Domestic chickens are less fearful, have a faster sexual development, grow bigger, and lay more eggs than their primary ancestor, the red junglefowl. Several candidate genetic variants selected during domestication have been identified, but only a few studies have directly linked them with distinct phenotypic traits. Notably, a variant of the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) gene has been under strong positive selection over the past millennium, but it’s function and mechanisms of action are still largely unresolved. We therefore assessed the abundance of the domestic TSHR variant and possible genomic selection signatures in an extensive data set comprising multiple commercial and village chicken populations as well as wild-living extant members of the genus Gallus. Furthermore, by mean of extensive backcrossing we introgressed the wild-type TSHR variant from red junglefowl into domestic White Leghorn chickens and investigated gene expression, hormone levels, cold adaptation, and behavior in chickens possessing either the wild-type or domestic TSHR variant. While the domestic TSHR was the most common variant in all studied domestic populations and in one of two red junglefowl population, it was not detected in the other Gallus species. Functionally, the individuals with the domestic TSHR variant had a lower expression of the TSHR in the hypothalamus and marginally higher in the thyroid gland than wild-type TSHR individuals. Expression of TSHB and DIO2, two regulators of sexual maturity and reproduction in birds, was higher in the pituitary gland of the domestic-variant chickens. Furthermore, the domestic variant was associated with higher activity in the open field test. Our findings confirm that the spread of the domestic TSHR variant is limited to domesticated chickens, and to a lesser extent, their wild counterpart, the red junglefowl. Furthermore, we showed that effects of genetic variability in TSHR mirror key differences in gene expression and behavior previously described between the red junglefowl and domestic chicken.

scholarly journals Learning in brain-computer interface control evidenced by joint decomposition of brain and behavior

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Stiso ◽  
Marie-Constance Corsi ◽  
Javier Omar Garcia ◽  
Jean M Vettel ◽  
Fabrizio De Vico Fallani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Computer Interface ◽  
Distributed Networks ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Computer Interface ◽  
Specific Method ◽  
Temporal Expression ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Brain Behavior

Motor imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) use an individual’s ability to volitionally modulate localized brain activity, often as a therapy for motor dysfunction or to probe causal relations between brain activity and behavior. However, many individuals cannot learn to successfully modulate their brain activity, greatly limiting the efficacy of BCI for therapy and for basic scientific inquiry. Formal experiments designed to probe the nature of BCI learning have offered initial evidence that coherent activity across diverse cognitive systems is a hallmark of individuals who can successfully learn to control the BCI. However, little is known about how these distributed networks interact through time to support learning. Here, we address this gap in knowledge by constructing and applying a multimodal network approach to decipher brain-behavior relations in motor imagery-based brain-computer interface learning using magnetoencephalography. Specifically, we employ a minimally constrained matrix decomposition method -- non-negative matrix factorization -- to simultaneously identify regularized, covarying subgraphs of functional connectivity and behavior, and to detect the time-varying expression of each subgraph. We find that learning is marked by distributed brain-behavior relations: swifter learners displayed many subgraphs whose temporal expression tracked performance. Learners also displayed marked variation in the spatial properties of subgraphs such as the connectivity between the frontal lobe and the rest of the brain, and in the temporal properties of subgraphs such as the stage of learning at which they reached maximum expression. From these observations, we posit a conceptual model in which certain subgraphs support learning by modulating brain activity in networks important for sustaining attention. After formalizing the model in the framework of network control theory, we test the model and find that good learners display a single subgraph whose temporal expression tracked performance and whose architecture supports easy modulation of brain regions important for attention. The nature of our contribution to the neuroscience of BCI learning is therefore both computational and theoretical; we first use a minimally-constrained, individual specific method of identifying mesoscale structure in dynamic brain activity to show how global connectivity and interactions between distributed networks supports BCI learning, and then we use a formal network model of control to lend theoretical support to the hypothesis that these identified subgraphs are well suited to modulate attention.

The Biology of Experience

2019 ◽  
pp. 72-97
Author(s):  
Riane Eisler
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Stress Hormone ◽  
Negative Behaviors ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Fight Or Flight

Biology and experience are not generally seen as connected, yet experience is integral to gene expression, both individually and collectively. Dramatically illustrating how experience can influence whether genetic capacities are expressed or inhibited in humans and other species, this chapter looks at studies showing that our brain circuits, and therefore our abilities and behavior, are strongly shaped by the environment, which for humans is primarily our surrounding culture as mediated by families, education, religion, politics, and economics. Our large-brained species is flexible: we are equipped for destructiveness and creativity, rote conformity and independence, and cruelty and caring. There are many examples of how cultural environments affect the expression of genetic potentials, including fascinating findings from the emerging field of epigenetics showing that these effects can be transmitted from generation to generation; research showing that the brains of people with a background of abuse and violence tend to have lower levels of serotonin, a calming neurotransmitter, and higher levels of cortisol, the major stress hormone; and studies on how chronic or intense stress brings into play hormones such as cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine associated with fight-or-flight responses, including aggressive and other negative behaviors. While highly stressful traditions of domination and violence are still deeply entrenched in many cultures worldwide, there are interventions that can help us build a more secure, just, sustainable, and peaceful world for individuals, families, and communities.

scholarly journals Acute social isolation alters neurogenomic state in songbird forebrain

2019 ◽  
Vol 117 (38) ◽  
pp. 23311-23316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia M. George ◽  
Zachary W. Bell ◽  
Daniel Condliffe ◽  
Kirstin Dohrer ◽  
Teresa Abaurrea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Axonal Guidance ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Auditory Forebrain ◽  
Gene Sets ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain

Prolonged social isolation has negative effects on brain and behavior in humans and other social organisms, but neural mechanisms leading to these effects are not understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that even brief periods of social isolation can alter gene expression and DNA methylation in higher cognitive centers of the brain, focusing on the auditory/associative forebrain of the highly social zebra finch. Using RNA sequencing, we first identified genes that individually increase or decrease expression after isolation and observed general repression of gene sets annotated for neurotrophin pathways and axonal guidance functions. We then pursued 4 genes of large effect size: EGR1 and BDNF (decreased by isolation) and FKBP5 and UTS2B (increased). By in situ hybridization, each gene responded in different cell subsets, arguing against a single cellular mechanism. To test whether effects were specific to the social component of the isolation experience, we compared gene expression in birds isolated either alone or with a single familiar partner. Partner inclusion ameliorated the effect of solo isolation on EGR1 and BDNF, but not on FKBP5 and UTS2B nor on circulating corticosterone. By bisulfite sequencing analysis of auditory forebrain DNA, isolation caused changes in methylation of a subset of differentially expressed genes, including BDNF. Thus, social isolation has rapid consequences on gene activity in a higher integrative center of the brain, triggering epigenetic mechanisms that may influence processing of ongoing experience.

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