Neural and Environmental Modulation of Motivation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Influence ◽  
Environmental Intervention ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Moral Difference ◽  
Do So

Interventions that modify a person’s motivations through chemically or physically influencing the brain seem morally objectionable, at least when they are performed nonconsensually. This chapter raises a puzzle for attempts to explain their objectionability. It first seeks to show that the objectionability of such interventions must be explained at least in part by reference to the sort of mental interference that they involve. It then argues that it is difficult to furnish an explanation of this sort. The difficulty is that these interventions seem no more objectionable, in terms of the kind of mental interference that they involve, than certain forms of environmental influence that many would regard as morally innocuous. The argument proceeds by comparing a particular neurointervention with a comparable environmental intervention. The author argues, first, that the two dominant explanations for the objectionability of the neurointervention apply equally to the environmental intervention, and second, that the descriptive difference between the environmental intervention and the neurointervention that most plausibly grounds the putative moral difference in fact fails to do so. The author concludes by presenting a trilemma that falls out of the argument.

scholarly journals Neural Circuitry of Information Seeking

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan Bromberg-Martin ◽  
Ilya E. Monosov
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Uncertain Environments ◽  
Information Preferences ◽  
Motivated Behavior ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Primary Reward ◽  
Do So

Humans and animals navigate uncertain environments by seeking information about the future. Remarkably, we often seek information even when it has no instrumental value for aiding our decisions – as if the information is a source of value in its own right. In recent years, there has been a flourishing of research into these non-instrumental information preferences and their implementation in the brain. Individuals value information about uncertain future rewards, and do so for multiple reasons, including valuing resolution of uncertainty and overweighting desirable information. The brain motivates this information seeking by tapping into some of the same circuitry as primary rewards like food and water. However, it also employs cortex and basal ganglia circuitry that predicts and values information as distinct from primary reward. Uncovering how these circuits cooperate will be fundamental to understanding information seeking and motivated behavior as a whole, in our increasingly complex and information-rich world.

scholarly journals Brain Perivascular Macrophages Do Not Mediate Interleukin-1-Induced Sickness Behavior in Rats

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1030
Author(s):  
Léa Chaskiel ◽  
Robert Dantzer ◽  
Jan Konsman
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Interleukin 1 ◽  
Sickness Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Activity ◽  
Activated Macrophages ◽  
Perivascular Macrophages ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Do So

Sickness behavior, characterized by on overall reduction in behavioral activity, is commonly observed after bacterial infection. Sickness behavior can also be induced by the peripheral administration of Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), a pro-inflammatory cytokine released by LPS-activated macrophages. In addition to the microglia, the brain contains perivascular macrophages, which express the IL-1 type 1 receptor (IL-1R1). In the present study, we assessed the role of brain perivascular macrophages in mediating IL-1β-induced sickness behavior in rats. To do so, we used intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of an IL-1β-saporin conjugate, known to eliminate IL-R1-expressing brain cells, prior to systemic or central IL-1β injection. Icv IL-1β-saporin administration resulted in a reduction in brain perivascular macrophages, without altering subsequent icv or ip IL-1β-induced reductions in food intake, locomotor activity, and social interactions. In conclusion, the present work shows that icv IL-1β-saporin administration is an efficient way to target brain perivascular macrophages, and to determine whether these cells are involved in IL-1β-induced sickness behavior.

Surviving a Self-inflicted Transorbital Pen Intrusion to the Cerebellum: Case Report

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Breuskin ◽  
Ralf Ketter ◽  
Joachim Oertel
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Ct Scan ◽  
Foreign Bodies ◽  
Routine Procedure ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Foreign Objects ◽  
Surgical Exposure ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Do So

Abstract Background Although intracranial traumas by penetrating foreign objects are not absolute rarities, the nature of trauma, the kind of object, and its trajectory make them a one of a kind case every time they occur. Whereas high-velocity traumas mostly result in fatalities, it is the low-velocity traumas that demand an individualized surgical strategy. Methods We present a case report of a 33-year-old patient who was admitted to our department with a self-inflicted transorbital pen injury to the brain. The authors recall the incident and the technique of the pen removal. Results Large surgical exposure of the pen trajectory was considered too traumatic. Therefore, we opted to remove the pen and have an immediate postoperative computed tomography (CT) scan. Due to its fragility, the pen case could only be removed with a screwdriver, inserted into the case. Post-op CT scan showed a small bleeding in the right peduncular region, which was treated conservatively. The patient was transferred back to intensive care unit and woken up the next day. She lost visual function on her right eye, but suffered from no further neurologic deficit. Conclusion Surgical management of removal of intracranial foreign bodies is no routine procedure. Although some would favor a large surgical exposure, we could not think of an approach to do so without maximum surgical efforts. We opted for a minimal surgical procedure with immediate CT scan and achieved an optimal result. We find this case to be worth considering when deciding on a strategy in the future.

The neural reuse hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Raja ◽  
Marcie Penner ◽  
Lucina Q. Uddin ◽  
Michael L. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Brain Dynamics ◽  
Developmental Study ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Neural Reuse ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Do So ◽  
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

In this chapter, the authors propose neural reuse as a promising unifying framework for the advance of developmental cognitive neuroscience. In order to do so, first, the authors describe the hypothesis of neural reuse and some of the evidence for its importance to and impact on the development of the brain. Then, the authors compare neural reuse with the three prominent frameworks in contemporary developmental cognitive neuroscience—maturational viewpoint, interactive specialization, and skill learning—and show how neural reuse can accommodate their virtues while avoiding their shortcomings. After that, the authors explore some of the implications of neural reuse for the developmental study of math cognition, brain dynamics, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Finally, the authors sketch some future directions of research and some specific research suggestions.

scholarly journals Warning Signals Influence Motor Processing

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 1600-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian H. Fecteau ◽  
Douglas P. Munoz
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Warning Signal ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Target Task ◽  
Motor Processing ◽  
Fixation Marker ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Do So

When observers initiate responses to visual targets, they do so sooner when a preceding stimulus indicates that the target will appear shortly. This consequence of a warning signal may change neural activity in one of four ways. On the sensory side, the warning signal may speed up the rate at which the target is registered by the brain or enhance the magnitude of its signal. On the motor end, the warning signal may lower the threshold required to initiate a response or speed up the rate at which activity accumulates to reach threshold. Here, we describe which explanation is better supported. To accomplish this end, monkeys performed different versions of a cue-target task while we monitored the activity of visuomotor and motor neurons in the superior colliculus. Although the cue target task was designed to measure the properties of reflexive spatial attention, there are two events in this task that produce nonspecific warning effects: a central reorienting event (brightening of central fixation marker) that is used to direct attention away from the cue, and the presentation of the cue itself. Monopolizing on these tendencies, we show that warning effects are associated with several changes in neural activity: the target-related response is enhanced, the threshold for initiating a saccade is lowered, and the rate at which activity accumulates toward threshold rises faster. Ultimately, the accumulation of activity toward threshold predicted behavior most closely. In the discussion, we describe the implications and limitations of these data for theories of warning effects and potential avenues for future research.

scholarly journals The effects of humoral, cellular and non-specific immunity on intracerebralBordetella pertussisinfections in mice

1975 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean M. Dolby ◽  
D. E. Dolby ◽  
Caroline J. Bronne-Shanbury
Keyword(s):  
Bordetella Pertussis ◽  
Cell Mass ◽  
Bactericidal Effect ◽  
Suppressive Effect ◽  
Repeated Doses ◽  
Intracerebral Infection ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Infecting Organisms ◽  
Do So

When mice were injected intracerebrally with doses ofBordetella pertussisvaccine greater than 5 ImD50 and challenged intracerebrally 14 days later with virulentB. pertussisthere was an immediate reduction in the numbers of organisms. An analysis of thisin vivobactericidal effect has shown that large doses of an unrelated vaccine,Salmonella typhosa, equivalent in cell mass to about 50 ImD 50 ofB. pertussisvaccine can achieve this effect, so for such doses the effect must be partly non-specific. This action is not maintained and so is not ultimately protective. Local immunoglobulin was also demonstrable 14 days after 300 ImD 50 ofB. pertussisvaccine but following smaller doses of 10–20 ImD 50 it could not be found until after the mice had been infected and the blood–brain barrier impaired.A similar immediate reduction in the numbers of infecting organisms inoculated 1 day after vaccination has been shown to follow very small, non-protective doses of vaccines unrelated toB. pertussisand to be achieved with lipopolysaccharide and endotoxin isolated fromB. pertussis.Brains were not sterilized and only in mice receiving protectiveB. pertussisvaccine was the lowering of infection maintained beyond 2 days and the brains eventually sterilized.The antibody passively protecting mice against intracerebral infection was found in the 19 S and 11 S globulin fractions of the serum of once-vaccinated mice and in the 11 S and 7 S fractions of the serum of rabbits and ascitic fluid of mice receiving repeated doses of vaccine. The IgM probably eliminated infections by immediate sterilization but had to be present locally to do so since it was unable to pass from the circulation into the brain, and was therefore inactive when injected intraperitoneally. The IgA and IgG were not so restricted and both the 11 S and 7 S globulins were capable of exerting an immediate suppressive effect on infecting organisms. The 7 S globulin was also capable of a maintained or delayed suppressive effect.Lymphocytes from fully protected once-vaccinated mice, transferred 2–3 weeks after intraperitoneal vaccination, were able to confer some protection when injected intraperitoneally or intracerebrally into recipient mice infected 2 weeks after transfer. Homologous, non-concentrated antiserum from once-vaccinated mice, injected intraperitoneally 1 hr. before infection sometimes augmented the transferred immunity, whereas alone it was inactive.

scholarly journals STIMULUS: Noninvasive Dynamic Patterns of Neurostimulation using Spatio-Temporal Interference

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaming Cao ◽  
Pulkit Grover
Keyword(s):  
Computational Model ◽  
Electrode Pair ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Spatial Interference ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Do So

AbstractUsing a systematic computational and modeling framework, we provide a novel Spatio-Temporal Interference-based stiMULation focUsing Strategy (STIMULUS) for high spatial precision noninvasive neurostimulation deep inside the brain. To do so, we first replicate the results of the recently proposed temporal interference (TI) stimulation (which was only tested in-vivo) in a computational model based on a Hodgkin-Huxley model for neurons and a model of current dispersion in the head. Using this computational model, we obtain a nontrivial extension of the 2-electrode-pair TI proposed originally to multielectrode TI (> 2 electrode pairs) that yields significantly higher spatial precision. To further improve precision, we develop STIMULUS techniques for generating spatial interference patterns in conjunction with temporal interference, and demonstrate strict and significant improvements over multielectrode TI. Finally, we utilize the adaptivity that is inherent in STIMULUS to create multisite neurostimulation patterns that can be dynamically steered over time.

scholarly journals The Bayesian-Laplacian Brain

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Semir Zeki ◽  
Oliver Y. Chén
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Do So

AbstractWe outline what we believe could be an improvement in future discussions of the brain acting as a Bayesian-Laplacian system. We do so by distinguishing between two broad classes of priors on which the brain’s inferential systems operate: in one category are biological priors (β priors) and in the other artifactual ones (α priors). We argue thatβ priors, of which colour categories and faces are good examples, are inherited or acquired very rapidly after birth, are highly or relatively resistant to change through experience, and are common to all humans. The consequence is that the probability of posteriors generated fromβ priorshaving universal assent and agreement is high. By contrast, αpriors, of which man-made objects are examples, are acquired post-natally and modified at various stages throughout post-natal life; they are much more accommodating of, and hospitable to, new experiences. Consequently, posteriors generated from them are less likely to find universal assent. Taken together, in addition to the more limited capacity of experiment and experience to alter theβ priorscompared toα priors, another cardinal distinction between the two is that the probability of posteriors generated fromβ priorshaving universal agreement is greater than that forα priors. The two categories are not, however, always totally distinct and can merge into one another to varying extents, resulting in posteriors that draw upon both categories.

scholarly journals Optogenetics

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-27
Author(s):  
Phillip Williams ◽  
Steven Wong
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
Therapeutic Application ◽  
Novel Technology ◽  
Neuron Populations ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
The World ◽  
Freely Moving ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Do So

The nature of the brain presents many challenges to its study, from the intricacy of its structure to the minute timescale at which it functions. Traditional research techniques, such as electrophysiological manipulation and pharmacologic intervention, are limited by their inability to operate with both high temporal and spatial resolution. Optogenetics is a novel technology that provides unparalleled specificity in this regard. It allows for control of neural activity with high temporospatial resolution in a manner that does not disrupt the normal physiology of the system. It is an elegant research tool that uses light to control the electrical activity of genetically defined neuron populations with millisecond precision in systems as complex as freely moving live animals. First demonstrated in 2005, it was identified by Nature as the Scientific Method of the Year in 2010 and is currently used by thousands of labs across the world. It has already yielded new discoveries in a variety of neuroscience subfields and will undoubtedly continue to do so. The technology currently exists in a basic science capacity, but has potential for therapeutic application. It is not without its own limitations, but has advantages over more crude alternatives and has proven to be a powerful tool in the hand of the neuroscientist.

CRF

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Schulkin
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Catecholaminergic Neurons ◽  
Chronic Anxiety ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Do So

Chapter 5 explains how excessive fear is tied to anxiety disorders, and vulnerability to the breakdown of mental and physical health. CRF in the brain is tied to these events. CRF, for instance, may be constrained by the neurotransmitter GABA in key regions of the forebrain and is mobilized by brainstem catecholaminergic neurons that are critical in coping with and adapting to everyday life; and of course, one is less able to do so when these information molecules are compromised by genetic predispositions and social duress. One hypothesis about CRF and the brain is that at least two forebrain sites are differentially involved in regulating both adaptive fear and deleterious chronic anxiety. There are great varieties of events that can cause fear in individuals: anything from downsizing at work to acts of terrorism and crime.

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