Neuroimage in Psychiatry - What Can we See?

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
M. Mateus ◽  
C. Silva ◽  
O. Nogueiro ◽  
J. Redondo

In the 20th century, scientists attempted to limitate the workings of the mind onto the brain by detailing its anatomy and physiology. The task of localizing function, however, has proven to be very difficult than initially presumed, with almoust all regions of the brain subserving a variety of processes and having only loose coupling of structure and function. As we know, the majority of neuropsychological tests and the brain capacities they tap lack brain regional specificity. This is a complex and sophisticated problem, that gets much worse in the brain that is compounded significantly by damage or disease. However, in the past two decades, neuroimaging has rekindled and renewed enthusiasm for unraveling brain function. Recent studies of cerebral image show “in vivo” what had already been proven in the laboratory: there are multiples neuroquimical changes in cortical and subcortical areas of the brain in psychiatric patients.Amongst the many techniques and technologies that have been developed, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has proven to be one of the most exciting and perhaps the most used. It has permitted unprecedented access to the living brain. The authors propose to do a brief review on the late descoverys and studys that have been done with neuroimage.

Author(s):  
Enrico Castroflorio ◽  
Joery den Hoed ◽  
Daria Svistunova ◽  
Mattéa J. Finelli ◽  
Alberto Cebrian-Serrano ◽  
...  

Abstract Members of the Tre2/Bub2/Cdc16 (TBC), lysin motif (LysM), domain catalytic (TLDc) protein family are associated with multiple neurodevelopmental disorders, although their exact roles in disease remain unclear. For example, nuclear receptor coactivator 7 (NCOA7) has been associated with autism, although almost nothing is known regarding the mode-of-action of this TLDc protein in the nervous system. Here we investigated the molecular function of NCOA7 in neurons and generated a novel mouse model to determine the consequences of deleting this locus in vivo. We show that NCOA7 interacts with the cytoplasmic domain of the vacuolar (V)-ATPase in the brain and demonstrate that this protein is required for normal assembly and activity of this critical proton pump. Neurons lacking Ncoa7 exhibit altered development alongside defective lysosomal formation and function; accordingly, Ncoa7 deletion animals exhibited abnormal neuronal patterning defects and a reduced expression of lysosomal markers. Furthermore, behavioural assessment revealed anxiety and social defects in mice lacking Ncoa7. In summary, we demonstrate that NCOA7 is an important V-ATPase regulatory protein in the brain, modulating lysosomal function, neuronal connectivity and behaviour; thus our study reveals a molecular mechanism controlling endolysosomal homeostasis that is essential for neurodevelopment. Graphic abstract


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinz Neumann ◽  
Bryan J. Wilkins

AbstractMultiple reports over the past 2 years have provided the first complete structural analyses for the essential yeast chromatin remodeler, RSC, providing elaborate molecular details for its engagement with the nucleosome. However, there still remain gaps in resolution, particularly within the many RSC subunits that harbor histone binding domains.Solving contacts at these interfaces is crucial because they are regulated by posttranslational modifications that control remodeler binding modes and function. Modifications are dynamic in nature often corresponding to transcriptional activation states and cell cycle stage, highlighting not only a need for enriched spatial resolution but also temporal understanding of remodeler engagement with the nucleosome. Our recent work sheds light on some of those gaps by exploring the binding interface between the RSC catalytic motor protein, Sth1, and the nucleosome, in the living nucleus. Using genetically encoded photo-activatable amino acids incorporated into histones of living yeast we are able to monitor the nucleosomal binding of RSC, emphasizing the regulatory roles of histone modifications in a spatiotemporal manner. We observe that RSC prefers to bind H2B SUMOylated nucleosomes in vivo and interacts with neighboring nucleosomes via H3K14ac. Additionally, we establish that RSC is constitutively bound to the nucleosome and is not ejected during mitotic chromatin compaction but alters its binding mode as it progresses through the cell cycle. Our data offer a renewed perspective on RSC mechanics under true physiological conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (50) ◽  
pp. 25322-25328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Liu ◽  
Xiaopin Ma ◽  
Hisashi Fujioka ◽  
Jun Liu ◽  
Shengdi Chen ◽  
...  

Loss-of-function mutations in DJ-1 are associated with autosomal recessive early onset Parkinson’s disease (PD), yet the underlying pathogenic mechanism remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that DJ-1 localized to the mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM) both in vitro and in vivo. In fact, DJ-1 physically interacts with and is an essential component of the IP3R3-Grp75-VDAC1 complexes at MAM. Loss of DJ-1 disrupted the IP3R3-Grp75-VDAC1 complex and led to reduced endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mitochondria association and disturbed function of MAM and mitochondria in vitro. These deficits could be rescued by wild-type DJ-1 but not by the familial PD-associated L166P mutant which had demonstrated reduced interaction with IP3R3-Grp75. Furthermore, DJ-1 ablation disturbed calcium efflux-induced IP3R3 degradation after carbachol treatment and caused IP3R3 accumulation at the MAM in vitro. Importantly, similar deficits in IP3R3-Grp75-VDAC1 complexes and MAM were found in the brain of DJ-1 knockout mice in vivo. The DJ-1 level was reduced in the substantia nigra of sporadic PD patients, which was associated with reduced IP3R3-DJ-1 interaction and ER-mitochondria association. Together, these findings offer insights into the cellular mechanism in the involvement of DJ-1 in the regulation of the integrity and calcium cross-talk between ER and mitochondria and suggests that impaired ER-mitochondria association could contribute to the pathogenesis of PD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi24-vi25
Author(s):  
Lata Adnani ◽  
Brian Meehan ◽  
Jordan Kassouf ◽  
Cristiana Spinelli ◽  
Nadim Tawil ◽  
...  

Abstract Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents the most frequent and lethal form of brain tumors originating from glioma stem cells (GSCs). GBM remains lethal because the rate limiting patho-mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this regard, few limitations involve the diversity 'between' cellular states and the molecular/cellular complexity 'within' the tumour mass. Using cell based- and mouse- models, we explored extracellular vesicle (EV) mediated interactions between cancer and stromal cells impacting phenotypes of GSCs as a function of their molecular subtype. EVs are spherical membrane structures that cells release to expel different molecular cargo (lipids, proteins, RNA, DNA), which can be transported across a distance in the brain and taken up by various ‘recipient’ cells resulting in reprogramming of the recipient cell's content and function. In vivo, GSCs altered their pattern of NOTCH signalling and molecular phenotype as a function of proximity to non-transformed host cells in the brain. In vitro stromal EVs altered GSC sphere forming capacity, proteome and expression of mesenchymal markers. Thus, EV mediated tumour-stromal interactions could represent a biological switch and a novel targeting point in the biology of GBM.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-377
Author(s):  
Leonardo Niro Nascimento

This article first aims to demonstrate the different ways the work of the English neurologist John Hughlings Jackson influenced Freud. It argues that these can be summarized in six points. It is further argued that the framework proposed by Jackson continued to be pursued by twentieth-century neuroscientists such as Papez, MacLean and Panksepp in terms of tripartite hierarchical evolutionary models. Finally, the account presented here aims to shed light on the analogies encountered by psychodynamically oriented neuroscientists, between contemporary accounts of the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system on the one hand, and Freudian models of the mind on the other. These parallels, I will suggest, are not coincidental. They have a historical underpinning, as both accounts most likely originate from a common source: John Hughlings Jackson's tripartite evolutionary hierarchical view of the brain.


2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Dolan

✓Anatomical and physiological understandings of the structure and function of the brain have worked to establish it as the “seat of the soul.” As an organ of reflection, meditation, and memory, the brain becomes synonymous with what defines the “self” through the existence of consciousness—of mind. Thus, the brain has been associated with a range of transcendent concepts—the soul, spirit, mind, and consciousness—that all relate in fundamental ways to each other both in terms of their perceived location within the brain and because of the way each works ultimately to define the person to whom the brain belongs. In this article, the author provides a brief exploration of how interrelated these categories have been when seen in the context of ancient, Renaissance, early modern, and modern philosophical and medical concerns; how the brain has variously been perceived as home to these intimate states of being; and how practitioners from the neurosciences have reflected on these questions. The author provides novel insights into the interrelationships of philosophy, theology, and medicine by examining these issues through the lens of the history of neuroscience.


Author(s):  
Francois P. Retief ◽  
Louise Cilliers

In Ancient Egypt mummification was associated with extensive organ resection, but the brain was removed through a hole cut in the ethnocide bone. It was thus not observed as an organ. Greek writers of the 6th and 5th centuries BC originally said the brain was the seat of intelligence, the organ of sensory perception and partially the origin of sperm. The substance pneuma, originating from fresh air, played an essential role in brain function. Hippocrates initially described the brain as a double organ, covered by meninges and responsible for perception. Contemporaries like Plato, Aristotle and Diocles confirmed the findings though the latter two considered the heart to be the centre of intelligence. During the late 4th century BC, with the onset of the Hellenistic era of medicine, dissection of the human body was temporarily allowed at the medical school of Alexandria, and this led to a remarkable advance in the understanding of human anatomy and physiology under Herophilus and Erasistratus. Their excellent descriptions of the structure and function of the brain was only matched and surpassed by Galen in the 2nd century AD.


1994 ◽  
Vol 193 (1) ◽  
pp. 307-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Chung ◽  
G Goldsworthy ◽  
G Coast

Achetakinin-like immunoreactive material in tissues and haemolymph of adult male crickets was quantified by radioimmunoassay. Achetakinin-like material was found in the brain, suboesophageal ganglia and the thoracic and abdominal ganglia, but the largest amount was within the retrocerebral complex. A Ca2+-dependent release of achetakinin-like immunoreactive material was demonstrated from retrocerebral complexes incubated in vitro in saline containing a high concentration of K+. The concentration of achetakinin-like material in haemolymph from fed crickets was estimated to be 2.8 nmol l-1 and increased more than 10-fold in insects starved for 48 h without access to water. The presence of achetakinin-like material in haemolymph suggests that these peptides are released in vivo and function as circulating neurohormones.


2020 ◽  
Vol 06 (03) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Colin Armstrong ◽  

Progress in technologies, notably in vivo and in situ methods, has equipped scientists with the necessary skills to explore the living human body in increasingly minute detail. This has led to a better understanding of the dynamic interplay between the various elements that make up the living human body. To further understand the interplay, this research focuses on the insights and observations of the founders of osteopathy, who placed great importance on the role of fascia in the body. Modern anatomical investigation still relies heavily on dissection to describe the structural organization of living organisms. Therefore, at present, a major challenge faced by modern anatomists is to move towards a more holistic and integrative understanding of the unity, continuity, and dynamic interplay between the various elements that come together to create the living human form.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poppy Schoenberg ◽  
David R Vago

Exploration of human consciousness remains a final frontier within basic neuroscience; that is, how the finite biological structure and function of the brain gives rise to the seemingly infinite expanse that encompasses the terrain of the mind. Contemporary mindfulness and other contemplative practices across historical and post-modern traditions involve systematic forms of mental training that allow the practitioner to develop the mind in very specific and quantifiable ways. Some fundamental questions pertain to this scientific enquiry; (1) how to concisely classify discrete and developmentally-specific “mind states” of consciousness that are in line with the subtle complex phenomenology of experience so to yield ontological quantifications? (2) what measures best represent such classification/quantification systems? (3) can the present electrophysiological purview map developmentally-specified mind states and stages to neurobiological substrates, based on extant contention (i.e. discrete EEG band functionality, phenomenological significance, and underlying mechanisms) regarding the interpretation of EEG physiology?


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