scholarly journals Interfaces, syntactic movement, and neural activation: A new perspective on the implementation of language in the brain

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Ramshøj Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activation ◽  
Syntactic Movement ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Ibudilast, a neuroimmune modulator, reduces heavy drinking and alcohol cue-elicited neural activation: a randomized trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica N. Grodin ◽  
Spencer Bujarski ◽  
Brandon Towns ◽  
Elizabeth Burnette ◽  
Steven Nieto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
Cue Reactivity ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Daily Diary Study ◽  
Alcohol Cues ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The Brain

AbstractIbudilast, a neuroimmune modulator which selectively inhibits phosphodiesterases (PDE)-3, -4, -10, and -11, and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), shows promise as a novel pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, the mechanisms of action underlying ibudilast’s effects on the human brain remain largely unknown. Thus, the current study examined the efficacy of ibudilast to improve negative mood, reduce heavy drinking, and attenuate neural reward signals in individuals with AUD. Fifty-two nontreatment-seeking individuals with AUD were randomized to receive ibudilast (n = 24) or placebo (n = 28). Participants completed a 2-week daily diary study during which they filled out daily reports of their past day drinking, mood, and craving. Participants completed an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) alcohol cue-reactivity paradigm half-way through the study. Ibudilast did not have a significant effect on negative mood (β = −0.34, p = 0.62). However, ibudilast, relative to placebo, reduced the odds of heavy drinking across time by 45% (OR = 0.55, (95% CI: 0.30, 0.98)). Ibudilast also attenuated alcohol cue-elicited activation in the ventral striatum (VS) compared to placebo (F(1,44) = 7.36, p = 0.01). Alcohol cue-elicited activation in the VS predicted subsequent drinking in the ibudilast group (F(1,44) = 6.39, p = 0.02), such that individuals who had attenuated ventral striatal activation and took ibudilast had the fewest number of drinks per drinking day in the week following the scan. These findings extend preclinical and human laboratory studies of the utility of ibudilast to treat AUD and suggest a biobehavioral mechanism through which ibudilast acts, namely, by reducing the rewarding response to alcohol cues in the brain leading to a reduction in heavy drinking.

scholarly journals Unraveling the neurotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles: focusing on molecular mechanisms

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 645-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Song ◽  
Yanli Zhang ◽  
Jia Liu ◽  
Xiaoli Feng ◽  
Ting Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Titanium Dioxide ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Brain Dysfunction ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Cell Components ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Brain

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) possess unique characteristics and are widely used in many fields. Numerous in vivo studies, exposing experimental animals to these NPs through systematic administration, have suggested that TiO2 NPs can accumulate in the brain and induce brain dysfunction. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms underlying the neurotoxicity of TiO2 NPs remain unclear. However, we have concluded from previous studies that these mechanisms mainly consist of oxidative stress (OS), apoptosis, inflammatory response, genotoxicity, and direct impairment of cell components. Meanwhile, other factors such as disturbed distributions of trace elements, disrupted signaling pathways, dysregulated neurotransmitters and synaptic plasticity have also been shown to contribute to neurotoxicity of TiO2 NPs. Recently, studies on autophagy and DNA methylation have shed some light on possible mechanisms of nanotoxicity. Therefore, we offer a new perspective that autophagy and DNA methylation could contribute to neurotoxicity of TiO2 NPs. Undoubtedly, more studies are needed to test this idea in the future. In short, to fully understand the health threats posed by TiO2 NPs and to improve the bio-safety of TiO2 NPs-based products, the neurotoxicity of TiO2 NPs must be investigated comprehensively through studying every possible molecular mechanism.

Recasting the Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement System

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 591-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Krauzlis
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Extrastriate Cortex ◽  
High Acuity ◽  
Voluntary Eye Movements ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Brain

Primates use a combination of smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements to stabilize the retinal image of selected objects within the high-acuity region near the fovea. Pursuit has traditionally been viewed as a relatively automatic behavior, driven by visual motion signals and mediated by pathways that connect visual areas in the cerebral cortex to motor regions in the cerebellum. However, recent findings indicate that this view needs to be reconsidered. Rather than being controlled primarily by areas in extrastriate cortex specialized for processing visual motion, pursuit involves an extended network of cortical areas, and, of these, the pursuit-related region in the frontal eye fields appears to exert the most direct influence. The traditional pathways through the cerebellum are important, but there are also newly identified routes involving structures previously associated with the control of saccades, including the basal ganglia, the superior colliculus, and nuclei in the brain stem reticular formation. These recent findings suggest that the pursuit system has a functional architecture very similar to that of the saccadic system. This viewpoint provides a new perspective on the processing steps that occur as descending control signals interact with circuits in the brain stem and cerebellum responsible for gating and executing voluntary eye movements. Although the traditional view describes pursuit and saccades as two distinct neural systems, it may be more accurate to consider the two movements as different outcomes from a shared cascade of sensory–motor functions.

Acupuncture Reduces Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome and c-Fos Expression in Rat Brain

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (06) ◽  
pp. 887-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Hyun Kim ◽  
Jin Yong Chung ◽  
Young Kyu Kwon ◽  
Kwang Joong Kim ◽  
Chae Ha Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Withdrawal ◽  
Withdrawal Syndrome ◽  
Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome ◽  
Chronic Administration ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Functional Disorders ◽  
Withdrawal Period ◽  
Ethanol Injection ◽  
Fos Expression ◽  
The Brain

Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the treatment of many functional disorders including alcohol abuse. In the present study, the effects of acupuncture on alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) in the striatum and the nucleus accumbens (NAC) of rats were investigated. During 3 days of cessation following chronic administration of ethanol (3 g/kg, i.p. for 3 weeks), rats showed a significant increase in AWS, such as hypermotility, tail rigidity, grooming and tremor, and an increase in FLI in the dopamine terminal areas of the brain. Treatment with acupuncture at zusanli (ST36) or sanyinjiao (SP6) during the withdrawal period inhibited both AWS and FLI of rats undergoing ethanol injection. These results suggest that acupuncture may be useful in the treatment of alcoholism by modulating post-synaptic neural activation in the striatum and NAC.

Love, the Brain, and Becoming Human

2019 ◽  
pp. 44-71
Author(s):  
Riane Eisler
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Brain ◽  
The Continuum

This chapter introduces a new perspective on the role of love in human evolution and human development. The bonds of love, whether between parent and child, lovers, or close friends, may all have a common biological root, activating neurochemicals that make us feel good. Like other human capacities, such as consciousness, learning, and creativity, love has a long and fascinating evolutionary history. Indeed, the evolution of love appears to be integral to the development of our human brain and hence to much that distinguishes us from other species. Moreover, love plays a vital, though still largely unrecognized, role in human development, with evidence accumulating about the negative effects of love deprivation as well as the benefits of love. But whether or not our needs for meaning and love are met, and whether or not our capacities for creativity and love are expressed, are largely determined by the interaction of biology and culture—specifically, the degree to which a culture or subculture orients to the partnership or domination end of the continuum.

scholarly journals Identification and characterization of microglia/macrophages in the granuloma microenvironment of encephalic schistosomiasis japonicum

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhoubin Tan ◽  
Zhuowei Lei ◽  
Zhuo Zhang ◽  
Huaqiu Zhang ◽  
Kai Shu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Neurological Symptoms ◽  
Granuloma Formation ◽  
Post Injection ◽  
Mice Model ◽  
M2 Polarization ◽  
New Findings ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Weight Decrease ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background Egg-induced immune response and granuloma formation are thought to be the basis of central nervous system (CNS)-related clinical symptoms of Schistosoma japonicum. Microglia/macrophages are the major immune cells involved in detection and subsequent elimination of pathogens and injured tissue in the brain. However, little is known about their role in the pathogenesis of neuroschistosomiasis. The main purpose of the study is to clarify the pathological involvement of microglia/macrophages in the pathogenesis of neuroschistosomiasis (NS). Methods Staining techniques were applied to the granuloma tissues excised from 4 patients, as well as mice model which was established by microinjecting viable S. japonicum eggs into the brain. Clinical features of the patients and neurological symptoms in mice were also collected and analyzed in terms of their correlation with microglia/macrophages. Results Microglia/macrophages constituted the major portions of the granulomas surrounding the eggs in both all human cases and S. japonicum egg-injected mice. Granuloma persisted in all patients accompanied by unremitted neurological symptoms, while in mice granuloma formation initiated on day 3, peaked on day 7 and subsided on day 30 post injection with S. japonicum eggs. No neurological abnormalities were observed in egg-injected mice except for significant weight decrease on day 3 compared with saline-injected control. M1 polarization of microglia/macrophages was confirmed in egg-injected mice 3 days post injection and in all human cases. M2 polarization was absent in human patients despite the duration of complaints but dominated in the whole progression of egg-induced pathology in mice until the elimination of eggs and subsidence of neuroinflammation on day 30 post injection. Conclusions Microglia/macrophages participated actively in the granuloma microenvironment of encephalic schistosomiasis japonicum in both human and mice. The polarization pattern of microglia/macrophages coincided with the symptomatic features in human cases and S. japonicum egg-injected mice, indicating M2 instead of M1 activation as a probably more important mediator in the battle against egg-induced pathology and concomitant manifestations. These new findings will shed light on the pathogenesis of NS from a brand-new perspective, and may contribute to the immunotherapy development for such disease, favoring perhaps M2 polarization of microglia/macrophages as a feasible strategy.

scholarly journals Diabetes Mellitus-Related Dysfunction of the Motor System

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 7485
Author(s):  
Ken Muramatsu
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Motor System ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Brain

Although motor deficits in humans with diabetic neuropathy have been extensively researched, its effect on the motor system is thought to be lesser than that on the sensory system. Therefore, motor deficits are considered to be only due to sensory and muscle impairment. However, recent clinical and experimental studies have revealed that the brain and spinal cord, which are involved in the motor control of voluntary movement, are also affected by diabetes. This review focuses on the most important systems for voluntary motor control, mainly the cortico-muscular pathways, such as corticospinal tract and spinal motor neuron abnormalities. Specifically, axonal damage characterized by the proximodistal phenotype occurs in the corticospinal tract and motor neurons with long axons, and the transmission of motor commands from the brain to the muscles is impaired. These findings provide a new perspective to explain motor deficits in humans with diabetes. Finally, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment strategies for these disorders are presented.

scholarly journals Neural Activation of the Brain with Hemodynamic Insufficiency

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 960-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suguru Inao ◽  
Masanori Tadokoro ◽  
Masanari Nishino ◽  
Nobuhiko Mizutani ◽  
Koichi Terada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Metabolism ◽  
Contralateral Side ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Regional Cerebral Blood ◽  
Motor Activation ◽  
Flow Response ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Lesion Side ◽  
Primary Sensorimotor Cortex ◽  
The Brain

Little is known about how ischemia affects hemodynamic responses to neural activation in the brain. We compare the effects of a motor activation task and a cerebral vasodilating agent, acetazolamide (ACZ), on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in primary sensorimotor cortex (PSM) in six patients with major cerebral artery steno-occlusive lesions without paresis of the upper extremities. Quantitative rCBF was measured in all patients using H215 O autoradiographic method and positron emission tomography. The CBF was determined at rest, during a bimanual motor activation task, and 10 minutes after ACZ administration. With bimanual motor activation, rCBF increased significantly in both PSM compared with at rest ( P < 0.01 on lesion side, and P < 0.02 on contralateral side). However, rCBF did not increase after ACZ injection in the PSM on the lesion side, whereas rCBF increased significantly in the contralateral PSM after ACZ injection compared with the level at rest. This result suggests that despite a decreased hemodynamic reserve, there is a nearly normal flow response to neural activation, indicating that the mechanism of vasodilation responsible for perfusion change is different for acetazolamide and neural activation. The relations among neural activation, hemodynamic status, and cerebral metabolism in the ischemic stroke patients are discussed.

scholarly journals Distributed affective space represents multiple emotion categories across the brain

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heini Saarimäki ◽  
Lara Farzaneh Ejtehadian ◽  
Enrico Glerean ◽  
liro P. Jääskeläinen ◽  
Patrik Vuilleumier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Organization ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Subjective Feeling ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Discrete Emotion ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
The Brain

The functional organization of human emotion systems as well as their neuroanatomical basis and segregation in the brain remains unresolved. Here we used pattern classification and hierarchical clustering to reveal and characterize the organization of discrete emotion categories in the human brain. We induced 14 emotions (6 “basic”, such as fear and anger; and 8 “non-basic”, such as shame and gratitude) and a neutral state in participants using guided mental imagery while their brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twelve out of 14 emotions could be reliably classified from the fMRI signals. All emotions engaged a multitude of brain areas, primarily in midline cortices including anterior and posterior cingulate and precuneus, in subcortical regions, and in motor regions including cerebellum and premotor cortex. Similarity of subjective emotional experiences was associated with similarity of the corresponding neural activation patterns. We conclude that the emotions included in the study have discrete neural bases characterized by specific, distributed activation patterns in widespread cortical and subcortical circuits, and highlight both overlaps and differences in the locations of these for each emotion. Locally differentiated engagement of these globally shared circuits defines the unique neural fingerprint activity pattern and the corresponding subjective feeling associated with each emotion.

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