scholarly journals The ascending arousal system shapes neural dynamics to mediate awareness of cognitive states

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon R. Munn ◽  
Eli J. Müller ◽  
Gabriel Wainstein ◽  
James M. Shine
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Travelling Waves ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Arousal System ◽  
Low Dimensional

AbstractModels of cognitive function typically focus on the cerebral cortex and hence overlook functional links to subcortical structures. This view does not consider the role of the highly-conserved ascending arousal system’s role and the computational capacities it provides the brain. We test the hypothesis that the ascending arousal system modulates cortical neural gain to alter the low-dimensional energy landscape of cortical dynamics. Here we use spontaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging data to study phasic bursts in both locus coeruleus and basal forebrain, demonstrating precise time-locked relationships between brainstem activity, low-dimensional energy landscapes, network topology, and spatiotemporal travelling waves. We extend our analysis to a cohort of experienced meditators and demonstrate locus coeruleus-mediated network dynamics were associated with internal shifts in conscious awareness. Together, these results present a view of brain organization that highlights the ascending arousal system’s role in shaping both the dynamics of the cerebral cortex and conscious awareness.

scholarly journals The ascending arousal system shapes low-dimensional brain dynamics to mediate awareness of changes in intrinsic cognitive states

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Munn ◽  
Eli J. Müller ◽  
Gabriel Wainstein ◽  
James M. Shine
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Travelling Waves ◽  
Brain Dynamics ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Arousal System ◽  
Low Dimensional

AbstractModels of cognitive function typically focus on the cerebral cortex, ignoring functional links to subcortical structures. This view neglects the highly-conserved ascending arousal system’s role and the computational capacities it provides the brain. In this study, we test the hypothesis that the ascending arousal system modulates cortical neural gain to alter brain dynamics’ low-dimensional attractor landscape. Our analyses of spontaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging data and phasic bursts in both locus coeruleus and basal forebrain demonstrate precise time-locked relationships between brainstem activity, low-dimensional energy landscapes, network topology, and spatiotemporal travelling waves. We extend our analysis to a cohort of experienced meditators and demonstrate locus coeruleus-mediated network dynamics were associated with internal shifts in conscious awareness. Together, these results present a novel view of brain organization that highlights the ascending arousal system’s role in shaping both the dynamics of the cerebral cortex and conscious awareness.One Sentence SummaryFluctuations in brainstem arousal structures coincide with whole-brain topological network fluctuations and low-dimensional state space dynamics that facilitate alterations in attentional awareness.

scholarly journals The Locus Coeruleus- Norepinephrine System in Stress and Arousal: Unraveling Historical, Current, and Future Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Ross ◽  
Elisabeth J. Van Bockstaele
Keyword(s):  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
Excessive Sleepiness ◽  
Arousal System ◽  
Norepinephrine System ◽  
Contemporary Perspective

Arousal may be understood on a spectrum, with excessive sleepiness, cognitive dysfunction, and inattention on one side, a wakeful state in the middle, and hypervigilance, panic, and psychosis on the other side. However, historically, the concepts of arousal and stress have been challenging to define as measurable experimental variables. Divergent efforts to study these subjects have given rise to several disciplines, including neurobiology, neuroendocrinology, and cognitive neuroscience. We discuss technological advancements that chronologically led to our current understanding of the arousal system, focusing on the multifaceted nucleus locus coeruleus. We share our contemporary perspective and the hypotheses of others in the context of our current technological capabilities and future developments that will be required to move forward in this area of research.

Locus coeruleus stimulation decreases deoxyglucose uptake in ipsilateral mouse cerebral cortex

1979 ◽  
Vol 172 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wickliffe C. Abraham ◽  
Richard L. Delanoy ◽  
Adrian J. Dunn ◽  
Steven F. Zornetzer
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Mouse Cerebral Cortex

Disorders of movement

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cris S. Constantinescu ◽  
Fahd Baig
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Movement Disorders ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Clinical Presentations

The neural pathways that control movement involve several structures, from the cerebral cortex through to the muscle. This allows for the maintenance of tone, posture, and volitional movement. Disruption of subcortical structures which modulate these pathways (such as the basal ganglia) can cause a variety of clinical presentations collectively termed movement disorders. They can be simply divided into hypokinetic disorders (e.g. parkinsonism) and hyperkinetic disorders.

scholarly journals Correlations Histopathologiques et Neurochimiques en Fonction de Lesions de la Regiondu Locus Coeruleus chez le Chat (Part I)

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Marchand ◽  
M. Fantino ◽  
J. Dankova ◽  
L.J. Poirier
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Marked Decrease ◽  
Important Change ◽  
Contralateral Cortex ◽  
Parabrachial Nuclei ◽  
Bilateral Lesions

SummaryUnilateral lesions in the area of the loci coeruleus and subcoeruleus in the cat are associated with a significant and sustained decrease of noradrenaline (NA) in the ipsilateral cerebral cortex without any important change in the concentrations of NA in the contralateral cortex and in the spinal cord of both sides. The serotonin (5-HT) concentrations of the spinal cord and cerebral cortex of both sides remained unchanged in the same groups of animals. Bilateral lesions in the same area result also in a marked decrease of NA in the cerebral cortex of both sides. The latter lesions also result in slight decreases of NA in the hypothalamus and of NA and 5-HT in the spinal cord but the NA and 5-HT concentrations of the stria-turn and thalamus and the 5-H T concentrations of the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus are unmodified by such lesions. Unilateral lesions of the area immediately rostral to the locus coeruleus (praelocus lesions) result in a very significant decrease of NA in the ipsilateral cerebral cortex without any change of NA in the contralateral cerebral cortex and spinal cord of both sides. Similar lesions produced bilaterally in another group of cats resulted in marked decreases of NA in the cerebral cortex of both sides and a slight decrease of NA in the thalamus without any change of NA in the striatum, hypothalamus and spinal cord and of 5-HT in the cerebral cortex. In the same group of animals with lesions which, however, extended more closely to the midline than in cats with locus coeruleus lesions, 5-HT is markedly decreased in the striatum and thalamus and slightly decreased in the hypothalamus and spinal cord.These results support the view that the noradrenergie coeruleo-cortical pathway is made up of fibers which originate in the loci coeruleus and subcoeruleus and pre-dominently end ipsilaterally to their origin in the cerebral cortex. Ascending NA fibers ending in the thalamus appear to originate from NA neurons located more laterally in the upper pons and more specifically at the level of the parabrachial nuclei.

scholarly journals THC Exposure is Reflected in the Microstructure of the Cerebral Cortex and Amygdala of Young Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 4949-4963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan P Cabeen ◽  
John M Allman ◽  
Arthur W Toga
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cannabinoid Receptor ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Human Connectome Project

Abstract The endocannabinoid system serves a critical role in homeostatic regulation through its influence on processes underlying appetite, pain, reward, and stress, and cannabis has long been used for the related modulatory effects it provides through tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). We investigated how THC exposure relates to tissue microstructure of the cerebral cortex and subcortical nuclei using computational modeling of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data in a large cohort of young adults from the Human Connectome Project. We report strong associations between biospecimen-defined THC exposure and microstructure parameters in discrete gray matter brain areas, including frontoinsular cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the lateral amygdala subfields, with independent effects in behavioral measures of memory performance, negative intrusive thinking, and paternal substance abuse. These results shed new light on the relationship between THC exposure and microstructure variation in brain areas related to salience processing, emotion regulation, and decision making. The absence of effects in some other cannabinoid-receptor-rich brain areas prompts the consideration of cellular and molecular mechanisms that we discuss. Further studies are needed to characterize the nature of these effects across the lifespan and to investigate the mechanistic neurobiological factors connecting THC exposure and microstructural parameters.

scholarly journals The Functional Foundations of Episodic Memory Remain Stable Throughout the Lifespan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didac Vidal-Piñeiro ◽  
Markus H Sneve ◽  
Inge K Amlien ◽  
Håkon Grydeland ◽  
Athanasia M Mowinckel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Life Phenomenon

Abstract It has been suggested that specific forms of cognition in older age rely largely on late-life specific mechanisms. Here instead, we tested using task-fMRI (n = 540, age 6–82 years) whether the functional foundations of successful episodic memory encoding adhere to a principle of lifespan continuity, shaped by developmental, structural, and evolutionary influences. We clustered regions of the cerebral cortex according to the shape of the lifespan trajectory of memory activity in each region so that regions showing the same pattern were clustered together. The results revealed that lifespan trajectories of memory encoding function showed a continuity through life but no evidence of age-specific mechanisms such as compensatory patterns. Encoding activity was related to general cognitive abilities and variations of grey matter as captured by a multi-modal independent component analysis, variables reflecting core aspects of cognitive and structural change throughout the lifespan. Furthermore, memory encoding activity aligned to fundamental aspects of brain organization, such as large-scale connectivity and evolutionary cortical expansion gradients. Altogether, we provide novel support for a perspective on memory aging in which maintenance and decay of episodic memory in older age needs to be understood from a comprehensive life-long perspective rather than as a late-life phenomenon only.

scholarly journals The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (6484) ◽  
pp. eaay6690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina L. Grasby ◽  
Neda Jahanshad ◽  
Jodie N. Painter ◽  
Lucía Colodro-Conde ◽  
Janita Bralten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Total Surface Area ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Cortical Structure ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Significant Enrichment

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson’s disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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