Single mechanism, divergent effects; multiple mechanisms, convergent effect

AbstractIt is commonplace for a single physiological mechanism to seed multiple phenomena, and for multiple mechanisms to contribute to a single phenomenon. We propose that the flash-lag effect should not be considered a phenomenon with a single cause. Instead, its various aspects arise from the convergence of a number of different mechanisms proposed in the literature. We further give an example of how a neuron's generic spatio-temporal response profile can form a physiological basis not only of “prediction,” but also of many of the other proposed flash-lag mechanisms, thus recapitulating a spectrum of flash-lag phenomena. Finally, in agreeing that such basic predictive mechanisms are present throughout the brain, we argue that motor prediction contributes more to biological fitness than visual prediction.

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What Has Direct Cortical and Subcortical Electrostimulation Taught Us about Neurolinguistics?

The Oxford Handbook of Neurolinguistics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190672027.013.8 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 185-211

Author(s):

Hugues Duffau

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Large Scale ◽

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Great Accuracy ◽

Subcortical White Matter ◽

Cerebral Lesions ◽

Physiological Basis ◽

Postoperative Mri ◽

The Brain

Investigating the neural and physiological basis of language is one of the most important challenges in neurosciences. Direct electrical stimulation (DES), usually performed in awake patients during surgery for cerebral lesions, is a reliable tool for detecting both cortical and subcortical (white matter and deep grey nuclei) regions crucial for cognitive functions, especially language. DES transiently interacts locally with a small cortical or axonal site, but also nonlocally, as the focal perturbation will disrupt the entire subnetwork sustaining a given function. Thus, in contrast to functional neuroimaging, DES represents a unique opportunity to identify with great accuracy and reproducibility, in vivo in humans, the structures that are actually indispensable to the function, by inducing a transient virtual lesion based on the inhibition of a subcircuit lasting a few seconds. Currently, this is the sole technique that is able to directly investigate the functional role of white matter tracts in humans. Thus, combining transient disturbances elicited by DES with the anatomical data provided by pre- and postoperative MRI enables to achieve reliable anatomo-functional correlations, supporting a network organization of the brain, and leading to the reappraisal of models of language representation. Finally, combining serial peri-operative functional neuroimaging and online intraoperative DES allows the study of mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity. This chapter critically reviews the basic principles of DES, its advantages and limitations, and what DES can reveal about the neural foundations of language, that is, the large-scale distribution of language areas in the brain, their connectivity, and their ability to reorganize.

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Spatio-temporal response of forest-dwelling chamois to red deer presence

Mammalian Biology ◽

10.1007/s42991-021-00147-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Krešimir Kavčić ◽

Tena Radočaj ◽

Luca Corlatti ◽

Toni Safner ◽

Ana Gračanin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Red Deer ◽

Temporal Response ◽

Spatio Temporal

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Ecstasy from a physiological point of view

Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis ◽

10.30674/scripta.67131 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 74-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Kaj Björkqvist

Keyword(s):

Religious Tradition ◽

Mental States ◽

Human Mind ◽

Point Of View ◽

The Body ◽

Biological Study ◽

Physiological Basis ◽

Slowing Down ◽

Psychosomatic Diseases ◽

The Brain

The biological study of man is one of today's most rapidly advancing sciences. There is no reason for not utilizing these methodologies of research and the knowledge already gained when studying ecstasy and other similar religious phenomena. Drugs have been used in all parts of the world as an ecstasy technique. Since mental states and physiological correlates always accompany each other, it is obvious that the human mind can be affected by external means, for instance by drugs. But the opposite is also true; mental changes affect the body, as they do in the case of psychosomatic diseases. Ecstasy is often described as an extremely joyful experience; this pleasure must necessarily also have a physiological basis. It is of course too early to say anything for certain, but the discovery of pleasure centres in the brain might offer an explanation. It is not far-fetched to suggest that when a person experiences euphoric ecstasy, it might, in some way or other, be connected with a cerebral pleasure center. Can it be, for example, that religious ecstasy is attained only by some mechanism triggering off changes in the balance of the transmitter substances? Or is it reached only via a change in the hormonal balance, or only by a slowing down of the brain waves, or is a pleasure centre activated? When a person is using an ecstasy technique, he usually does so within a religious tradition. When he reaches an experience, a traditional interpretation of it already exists.

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Cloning, Characterization, and Expression Features of Chicken CDS2 Splicing Variants

10.21203/rs.3.rs-80587/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yuanyuan Xu ◽

Shuping Zhang ◽

Yujun Guo ◽

Wen Chen ◽

Yanqun Huang

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Real Time ◽

Real Time Pcr ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Mrna Levels ◽

Exogenous Insulin ◽

Quantitative Real Time Pcr ◽

Temporal Expression ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

The Brain

Abstract Background: The CDS gene encodes the CDP-diacylglycerol synthase enzyme that catalyzes the formation of CDP-diacylglycerol (CDP-DAG) from phosphatidic acid. At present, there are no reports of CDS2 in birds. Here, we identified chicken CDS2 transcripts by combining conventional RT- PCR amplification, 5' RACE (Fig. 1A), and 3' RACE, explored the spatio-temporal expression profiles of total CDS2 and the longest transcript variant CDS2-4, and investigated the effect of exogenous insulin on total the mRNA level of CDS2 by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Four transcripts of chicken CDS2 (CDS2-1, -2, -3, and -4) were identified, which were alternatively spliced at the 3′-untranslated region (UTR). CDS2 was widely expressed in all tissues examined and the longest variant CDS2-4 was the major transcript. Both total CDS2 and CDS2-4 were prominently expressed in adipose tissue and the heart, and exhibited low expression in the liver and pectoralis of 49 day-old chickens. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that total CDS2 and CDS2-4 had different spatio-temporal expression patterns in chicken. Total CDS2 exhibited a similar temporal expression tendency with a high level in the later period of incubation (embryonic day 19 [E19] or 1-day-old) in the brain, liver, and pectoralis. While CDS2-4 presented a distinct temporal expression pattern in these tissues, CDS2-4 levels peaked at 21 days in the brain and pectoralis, while liver CDS2-4 mRNA levels were highest at the early stage of hatching (E10). Total CDS2 (P < 0.001) and CDS2-4 (P = 0.0090) mRNA levels in the liver were differentially regulated throughout development of the chicken. Exogenous insulin significantly downregulated the level of total CDS2 at 240 min in the pectoralis of Silky chickens (P < 0.01). Total CDS2 levels in the liver of Silky chickens were higher than that of the broiler in the basal state and after insulin stimulation. Conclusion: Chicken CDS2 has multiple transcripts with variation at the 3′-UTR, which was prominently expressed in adipose tissue. Total CDS2 and CDS2-4 presented distinct spatio-temporal expression patterns, and they were differentially regulated with age in liver. Insulin could regulate chicken CDS2 levels in a breed- and tissue-specific manner.

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Neuroethics

Psychiatric Ethics ◽

10.1093/med/9780198839262.003.0017 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 405-420

Author(s):

Georg Northoff

Keyword(s):

Deep Brain Stimulation ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Brain Stimulation ◽

Empirical Data ◽

Moral Agency ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

The Brain ◽

Deep Brain

Neuroethics, located at the interface of conceptual and empirical dimensions, carries major implications for psychiatry, such as the neuroscientific basis of ethical concepts as moral agency. Drawing on data in neuroscience, this chapter highlights issues central to psychiatric ethics. First, it addresses a reductionistic model of the brain, often conceived as purely neuronal, and then it discusses empirical data suggesting that the brain’s activity is strongly aligned to its respective social (e.g., relation to others) and ecological (e.g., relation to the environment and nature) contexts; this implies a relational rather than reductionist model. Second, it suggests that self (e.g., the experience or sense of a self) and personhood (e.g., the person as existent independent of experience) must also be understood in such a social and ecological and, therefore, relational and spatio-temporal sense. Ethical concepts like agency, therefore, cannot be limited solely to the person and brain, but must rather be understood in a relational and neuro-ecological/social way. Third, it discusses deep brain stimulation as a treatment that promotes enhancement. In sum, this chapter presents findings in neuroscience that carry major implications for our view of brain, mental features, psychiatric disorders, and ethical issues like agency, responsibility, and enhancement.

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Capillary-associated microglia regulate vascular structure and function through PANX1-P2RY12 coupling in mice

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-25590-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kanchan Bisht ◽

Kenneth A. Okojie ◽

Kaushik Sharma ◽

Dennis H. Lentferink ◽

Yu-Yo Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myeloid Cell ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Pannexin 1 ◽

Vascular Physiology ◽

Blood Flow Increase ◽

Bona Fide ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

And Function ◽

The Brain

AbstractMicroglia are brain-resident immune cells with a repertoire of functions in the brain. However, the extent of their interactions with the vasculature and potential regulation of vascular physiology has been insufficiently explored. Here, we document interactions between ramified CX3CR1 + myeloid cell somata and brain capillaries. We confirm that these cells are bona fide microglia by molecular, morphological and ultrastructural approaches. Then, we give a detailed spatio-temporal characterization of these capillary-associated microglia (CAMs) comparing them with parenchymal microglia (PCMs) in their morphological activities including during microglial depletion and repopulation. Molecularly, we identify P2RY12 receptors as a regulator of CAM interactions under the control of released purines from pannexin 1 (PANX1) channels. Furthermore, microglial elimination triggered capillary dilation, blood flow increase, and impaired vasodilation that were recapitulated in P2RY12−/− and PANX1−/− mice suggesting purines released through PANX1 channels play important roles in activating microglial P2RY12 receptors to regulate neurovascular structure and function.

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STAB: a spatio-temporal cell atlas of the human brain

Nucleic Acids Research ◽

10.1093/nar/gkaa762 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 49 (D1) ◽

pp. D1029-D1037

Author(s):

Liting Song ◽

Shaojun Pan ◽

Zichao Zhang ◽

Longhao Jia ◽

Wei-Hua Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Single Cell ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Cell Types ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Molecular Characteristics ◽

Great Effort ◽

Brain Functions ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

The Brain

Abstract The human brain is the most complex organ consisting of billions of neuronal and non-neuronal cells that are organized into distinct anatomical and functional regions. Elucidating the cellular and transcriptome architecture underlying the brain is crucial for understanding brain functions and brain disorders. Thanks to the single-cell RNA sequencing technologies, it is becoming possible to dissect the cellular compositions of the brain. Although great effort has been made to explore the transcriptome architecture of the human brain, a comprehensive database with dynamic cellular compositions and molecular characteristics of the human brain during the lifespan is still not available. Here, we present STAB (a Spatio-Temporal cell Atlas of the human Brain), a database consists of single-cell transcriptomes across multiple brain regions and developmental periods. Right now, STAB contains single-cell gene expression profiling of 42 cell subtypes across 20 brain regions and 11 developmental periods. With STAB, the landscape of cell types and their regional heterogeneity and temporal dynamics across the human brain can be clearly seen, which can help to understand both the development of the normal human brain and the etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. STAB is available at http://stab.comp-sysbio.org.

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