scholarly journals Fear Extinction Recall Modulates Human Frontomedial Theta and Amygdala Activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 701-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias F J Sperl ◽  
Christian Panitz ◽  
Isabelle M Rosso ◽  
Daniel G Dillon ◽  
Poornima Kumar ◽  
...  

Abstract Human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) studies, as well as animal studies, indicate that the amygdala and frontomedial brain regions are critically involved in conditioned fear and that frontomedial oscillations in the theta range (4–8 Hz) may support communication between these brain regions. However, few studies have used a multimodal approach to probe interactions among these key regions in humans. Here, our goal was to bridge the gap between prior human fMRI, EEG, and animal findings. Using simultaneous EEG–fMRI recordings 24 h after fear conditioning and extinction, conditioned stimuli presented (CS+E, CS−E) and not presented during extinction (CS+N, CS−N) were compared to identify effects specific to extinction versus fear recall. Differential (CS+ vs. CS−) electrodermal, frontomedial theta (EEG) and amygdala responses (fMRI) were reduced for extinguished versus nonextinguished stimuli. Importantly, effects on theta power covaried with effects on amygdala activation. Fear and extinction recall as indicated by theta explained 60% of the variance for the analogous effect in the right amygdala. Our findings show for the first time the interplay of amygdala and frontomedial theta activity during fear and extinction recall in humans and provide insight into neural circuits consistently linked with top-down amygdala modulation in rodents.

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Junru Zhang ◽  
Wanshan Wang ◽  
Jolanta Brożek ◽  
Wu Dai

Millipede assassin bugs are a diverse group of specialized millipede predators. However, the feeding behavior of Ectrichodiinae remains poorly known, especially how the mouthpart structures relate to various functions in feeding. In this study, fine morphology of the mouthparts and feeding performance of Haematoloecha nigrorufa (Stål, 1867) was observed and described in detail for the first time. The triangular labrum is divided by a conspicuous transverse membrane into a strongly sclerotized basilabrum and a less sclerotized distilabrum. Fifteen types of sensilla are distributed on the mouthparts. Each mandibular stylet has an expanded spatulate apex and about 150 approximately transverse ridges on the external middle side; these help in penetrating the ventral trunk area and the intersegmental membranes of millipede prey. The right maxilla is tapered. On the internal surface are a row dorsal short bristles near the apex and a row of ventral bristles preapically. A longitudinal row of long lamellate structures extend proximate for a considerable distance, lie entirely within the food canal, and bear several short spines and short bristles. There is no obvious difference between males and females in the distribution, number, and types of sensilla on mouthparts. The adult feeding process involves several steps, including searching and capturing prey, paralyzing prey, a resting phase, and a feeding phase. The evolution of the mouthpart morphology and the putative functional significance of their sensilla are discussed, providing insight into the structure and function of the mouthparts adapted for millipede feeding.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeevkumar Raveendran Nair ◽  
Stefan Blankvoort ◽  
Maria Jose Lagartos ◽  
Cliff Kentros

SummaryUnderstanding brain function requires understanding neural circuits at the level of specificity at which they operate. While recent years have seen the development of a variety of remarkable molecular tools for the study of neural circuits, their utility is currently limited by the inability to deploy them in specific elements of native neural circuits, i.e. particular neuronal subtypes. One can obtain a degree of specificity with neuron-specific promoters, but native promoters are almost never sufficiently specific restricting this approach to transgenic animals. We recently showed that one can obtain transgenic mice with augmented anatomical specificity in targeted brain regions by identifyingcis-regulatory elements (i.e. enhancers) uniquely active in those brain regions and combining them with a heterologous promoter, an approach we call EDGE (Enhancer-Driven Gene Expression). Here we extend this strategy to the generation of viral (rAAV) vectors, showing that when combined with the right minimal promoter they largely recapitulate the specificity seen in the corresponding transgenic lines in wildtype animals, even of another species. Because active enhancers can be identified in any tissue sample, this approach promises to enable the kind of circuit-specific manipulations in any species. This should not only greatly enhance our understanding of brain function, but may one day even provide novel therapeutic avenues to correct the imbalances in neural circuits underlying many disorders of the brain.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Xie ◽  
Amber Howell ◽  
Meredith Schreier ◽  
Kristen E. Sheau ◽  
Mai K. Manchanda ◽  
...  

AbstractHumans have an extraordinary ability to interact and cooperate with others, which plays a pivotal role in societies at large. Despite its potential social and evolutionary significance, research on finding the neural correlates of collaboration has been limited partly due to restrictions on simultaneous neuroimaging of more than one participant (a.k.a. hyperscanning). A series of works now exists that used dyadic fMRI hyperscanning to examine the interaction between two participants. However, to our knowledge, no study to date has aimed at revealing the neural correlates of social interactions using a 3-person (or triadic) fMRI hyperscanning paradigm. Here, for the first time, we simultaneously measured the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal of triads (m=12 triads; n=36 participants), while they engaged in a joint drawing task based on the social game of Pictionary®. General linear model (GLM) analysis revealed increased activation in the brain regions previously linked with the theory of mind (ToM) during the collaborative phase compared to the independent phase of the task. Furthermore, using intersubject brain synchronization (IBS) analysis, we revealed increased synchrony of the right temporo-parietal junction (R TPJ) during the collaborative phase. The increased synchrony in the R TPJ was observed to be positively associated with the overall team performance on the task. In sum, our novel paradigm revealed a vital role of the R TPJ among other ToM regions during a triadic collaborative drawing task.


Author(s):  
В. Л. Мыц ◽  
С. Л. Соловьев ◽  
А. Ф. Покровская ◽  
Н. Ф. Соловьева

В 2018-2019 гг. основным объектом исследований Севастопольской экспедиции ИИМК РАН стали оборонительные сооружения, расположенные на Историческом бульваре г. Севастополя. Археологические раскопки Четвертого бастиона позволили проследить историю его строительства. Впервые были получены достоверные данные о местоположении, характере и конструкции основных элементов фортификации правого фланга 4-го бастиона: валганга, горжи, эскарпа и контрэскарпа. Открыты орудийные дворики, части бруствера с орудийными амбразурами, вспомогательные площадки для размещения боеприпасов, погреба для хранения пороха и бомб, блиндажи для личного состава. Во рву обнаружены вырубленные в скале навесы-убежища и 14 входов в контрминные галереи, потайной ход для скрытного перемещения войск. В ходе раскопок собрана представительная археологическая коллекция предметов войны и быта защитников бастиона и их противников, достойная пополнить экспозиции музеев Севастополя, посвященных его обороне в годы Крымской войны. В 2019 г. специалистами ИИМК РАН и Эрмитажа разработана и представлена в Министерство культуры РФ концепция музеефикации и приспособления для современного использования выявленных сооружений в районе правого фаса 4-го бастиона на Мемориальном комплексе памятников обороны города в 1854-1855 гг. «Исторический бульвар» (г. Севастополь). In 2018-2019 defensive fortifications located in the Istoricheskiy (Historical) Boulevard of Sevastopol (Fig. 1) became the main object of excavations carried out by the Sevastopol expedition of the Institute for the History of Material Culture (RAS). The archaeological excavations of the fourth bastion provide an insight into the history of its construction. Reliable data on location, characteristic features and technical design of the key fortification elements of the bastion right flank such as terreplein, neck line, escarp and counterscarp were obtained for the first time. The excavations revealed gun positions, parts of breastwork with gun ports, auxiliary areas for ammunition storage, a magazin for gun powder and bombs, dugout shelters for manpower. Shelter awnings cut out in rock and 14 entries into countermine galleries as well as a secret passage for surreptitious movements of troops (Fig. 3; 4) were identified. A representative archaeological assembly of war items and paraphernalia of bastion defenders and their enemy was collected during the excavations. It will replenish expositions of the Sevastopol museums dedicated to its defense in the Crimean war (Figs. 5-8). In 2019 specialists of the Institute for the History of Material Culture prepared a concept note for museification and adaptive use of constructions discovered in the right side of the fourth bastion at the 1854-1855 Memorial Ensemble of the City Defense Sites known as ‘the Historical Boulevard' (Sevastopol). The concept note was forwarded to the Russian Ministry of Culture.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Liang ◽  
Shengxiang Xia ◽  
Xianfu Zhang ◽  
Weiwei Zhang

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with a complex and unknown etiology. Statistics demonstrate that the number of people diagnosed with ASD is increasing in countries around the world. Currently, although many neuroimaging studies indicate that ASD is characterized by abnormal functional connectivity (FC) patterns within brain networks rather than local functional or structural abnormalities, the FC characteristics of ASD are still poorly understood. In this study, a Vietoris-Rips (VR) complex filtration model of the brain functional network was established by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of children aged 6–13 years old [including 54 ASD patients and 52 typical development (TD) controls] from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) public database. VR complex filtration barcodes are calculated by using persistent homology to describe the changes in the FC neural circuits of brain networks. The number of FC neural circuits with different length ranges at different threshold values is calculated by using the barcodes, the different brain regions participating in FC neural circuits are discussed, and the connectivity characteristics of brain FC neural circuits in the two groups are compared and analyzed. Our results show that the number of FC neural circuits with lengths of 8–12 is significantly decreased in the ASD group compared with the TD control group at threshold values of 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9, and there is no significant difference in the number of FC neural circuits with lengths of 4–7 and 13–16 and lengths 16. When the thresholds are 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9, the number of FC neural circuits in some brain regions, such as the right orbital part of the superior frontal gyrus, the left supplementary motor area, the left hippocampus, and the right caudate nucleus, involved in the study is significantly decreased in the ASD group compared with the TD control group. The results of this study indicate that there are significant differences in the FC neural circuits of brain networks in the ASD group compared with the TD control group.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella R Sterne ◽  
Hideo Otsuna ◽  
Barry J Dickson ◽  
Kristin Scott

Neural circuits carry out complex computations that allow animals to evaluate food, select mates, move toward attractive stimuli, and move away from threats. In insects, the subesophageal zone (SEZ) is a brain region that receives gustatory, pheromonal, and mechanosensory inputs and contributes to the control of diverse behaviors, including feeding, grooming, and locomotion. Despite its importance in sensorimotor transformations, the study of SEZ circuits has been hindered by limited knowledge of the underlying diversity of SEZ neurons. Here, we generate a collection of split-GAL4 lines that provides precise genetic targeting of 138 different SEZ cell types in adult D. melanogaster, comprising approximately one third of all SEZ neurons. We characterize the single cell anatomy of these neurons and find that they cluster by morphology into six supergroups that organize the SEZ into discrete anatomical domains. We find that the majority of local SEZ interneurons are not classically polarized, suggesting rich local processing, whereas SEZ projection neurons tend to be classically polarized, conveying information to a limited number of higher brain regions. This study provides insight into the anatomical organization of the SEZ and generates resources that will facilitate further study of SEZ neurons and their contributions to sensory processing and behavior.


2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 1043-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Pourtois ◽  
Sophie Schwartz ◽  
Mohamed L. Seghier ◽  
François Lazeyras ◽  
Patrik Vuilleumier

Humans can identify individual faces under different viewpoints, even after a single encounter. We determined brain regions responsible for processing face identity across view changes after variable delays with several intervening stimuli, using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging during a long-term repetition priming paradigm. Unfamiliar faces were presented sequentially either in a frontal or three-quarter view. Each face identity was repeated once after an unpredictable lag, with either the same or another viewpoint. Behavioral data showed significant priming in response time, irrespective of view changes. Brain imaging results revealed a reduced response in the lateral occipital and fusiform cortex with face repetition. Bilateral face-selective fusiform areas showed view-sensitive repetition effects, generalizing only from three-quarter to front-views. More medial regions in the left (but not in the right) fusiform showed repetition effects across all types of viewpoint changes. These results reveal that distinct regions within the fusiform cortex hold view-sensitive or view-invariant traces of novel faces, and that face identity is represented in a view-sensitive manner in the functionally defined face-selective areas of both hemispheres. In addition, our finding of a better generalization after exposure to a 3/4-view than to a front-view demonstrates for the first time a neural substrate in the fusiform cortex for the common recognition advantage of three-quarter faces. This pattern provides new insights into the nature of face representation in the human visual system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-69
Author(s):  
Aishath Muneeza ◽  
Zakariya Mustapha

Limitations of action designate extent of time after an event, as set by statutes of limitations, within which legal action can be initiated by a party to a transaction. No event is actionable outside the designated time as same is rendered statute-barred. This study aims to provide an insight into application and significance of Limitations Act 1950 and Limitation Ordinance 1952 to Islamic banking matters in Malaysia as well as Shariah viewpoint on the issue of limitation of action. In conducting the study, a qualitative research methodology is employed where reported Islamic banking cases from 1983 to 2018 in Malaysia were reviewed and analysed to ascertain the application of those statutes of limitations to Islamic banking. Likewise, relevant provisions of the statutes as invoked in the cases were examined to determine possible legislative conflicts between the provisions and the rule of Islamic law in governing the right and limitation of action in Islamic banking cases under the law. The reviewed cases show the extent to which statutes of limitations were invoked in Malaysian courts in determining validity of Islamic banking matters. The limitation provisions so referred to are largely sections 6(1)(a) and 21(1) Limitations Act 1953 and section 19 Limitation Ordinance 1953, which do not conflict with Shariah viewpoint on the matter. This study will prove invaluable to financial institutions and their customers alike in promoting knowledge and creating awareness over actionable event in the course of their transactions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Hawes ◽  
H Moriah Sokolowski ◽  
Chuka Bosah Ononye ◽  
Daniel Ansari

Where and under what conditions do spatial and numerical skills converge and diverge in the brain? To address this question, we conducted a meta-analysis of brain regions associated with basic symbolic number processing, arithmetic, and mental rotation. We used Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) to construct quantitative meta-analytic maps synthesizing results from 86 neuroimaging papers (~ 30 studies/cognitive process). All three cognitive processes were found to activate bilateral parietal regions in and around the intraparietal sulcus (IPS); a finding consistent with shared processing accounts. Numerical and arithmetic processing were associated with overlap in the left angular gyrus, whereas mental rotation and arithmetic both showed activity in the middle frontal gyri. These patterns suggest regions of cortex potentially more specialized for symbolic number representation and domain-general mental manipulation, respectively. Additionally, arithmetic was associated with unique activity throughout the fronto-parietal network and mental rotation was associated with unique activity in the right superior parietal lobe. Overall, these results provide new insights into the intersection of numerical and spatial thought in the human brain.


2020 ◽  
pp. 128-138
Author(s):  
A. S. Bik-Bulatov

The article uses little known letters of M. Gorky, many of which were published for the first time in 1997, as well as findings of Samara-based experts in local history to shed light on the writer’s work as editor-in-chief of the Samarskaya Gazeta newspaper in 1895. The researcher introduces hitherto unstudied reminiscences of the journalist D. Linyov (Dalin) about this period, which reference a letter by Gorky, now lost. The paper details a newly discovered episode of Gorky’s professional biography as a journalist: it concerns his campaign against a Samara ‘she-wolf,’ the madam of a local brothel A. Neucheva. Linyov’s reminiscences turn out to be an important and interesting source, offering an insight into the daily grind of the young editor Gorky, providing new evidence of his excellent organizational skills, and describing his moral and social stance. The author presents his work in the context of a recently initiated broader discussion about the need to map out all Russian periodicals for the period until 1917, as well as all research devoted to individual publications.


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