scholarly journals Correspondence between resting state activity and brain gene expression

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guang-Zhong Wang ◽  
T. Grant Belgard ◽  
Deng Mao ◽  
Leslie Chen ◽  
Stefano Berto ◽  
...  

The relationship between functional brain activity and gene expression has not been fully explored in the human brain. Here, we identify significant correlations between gene expression in the brain and functional activity by comparing fractional Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuations (fALFF) from two independent human fMRI resting state datasets to regional cortical gene expression from a newly generated RNA-seq dataset and two additional gene expression datasets to obtain robust and reproducible correlations. We find significantly more genes correlated with fALFF than expected by chance, and identify specific genes correlated with the imaging signals in multiple expression datasets in the default mode network. Together, these data support a population-level relationship between regional steady state brain gene expression and resting state brain activity.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  

Correlations of genetic variation in DNA with functional brain activity have already provided a starting point for delving into human cognitive mechanisms. However, these analyses do not provide the specific genes driving the associations, which are complicated by intergenic localization as well as tissue-specific epigenetics and expression. The use of brain-derived expression datasets could build upon the foundation of these initial genetic insights and yield genes and molecular pathways for testing new hypotheses regarding the molecular bases of human brain development, cognition, and disease. Thus, coupling these human brain gene expression data with measurements of brain activity may provide genes with critical roles in brain function. However, these brain gene expression datasets have their own set of caveats, most notably a reliance on postmortem tissue. In this perspective, I summarize and examine the progress that has been made in this realm to date, and discuss the various frontiers remaining, such as the inclusion of cell-type-specific information, additional physiological measurements, and genomic data from patient cohorts.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lv Han ◽  
Liu Zhaohui ◽  
Yan Fei ◽  
Li Ting ◽  
Zhao Pengfei ◽  
...  

Numerous investigations studying the brain functional activity of the tinnitus patients have indicated that neurological changes are important findings of this kind of disease. However, the pulsatile tinnitus (PT) patients were excluded in previous studies because of the totally different mechanisms of the two subtype tinnitus. The aim of this study is to investigate whether altered baseline brain activity presents in patients with PT using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) technique. The present study used unilateral PT patients (n=42) and age-, sex-, and education-matched normal control subjects (n=42) to investigate the changes in structural and amplitude of low-frequency (ALFF) of the brain. Also, we analyzed the relationships between these changes with clinical data of the PT patients. Compared with normal controls, PT patients did not show any structural changes. PT patients showed significant increased ALFF in the bilateral precuneus, and bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and decreased ALFF in multiple occipital areas. Moreover, the increased THI score and PT duration was correlated with increased ALFF in precuneus and bilateral IFG. The abnormalities of spontaneous brain activity reflected by ALFF measurements in the absence of structural changes may provide insights into the neural reorganization in PT patients.


Functional MRI with BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent) imaging is one of the commonly used modalities for studying brain function in neuroscience. The underlying source of the BOLD fMRI signal is the variation in oxyhemoglobin to deoxyhemoglobin ratio at the site of neuronal activity in the brain. fMRI is mostly used to map out the location and intensity of brain activity that correlate with mental activities. In recent years, a new approach to fMRI was developed that is called resting-state fMRI. The fMRI signal from this method does not require the brain to perform any goal-directed task; it is acquired with the subject at rest. It was discovered that there are low-frequency fluctuations in the fMRI signal in the brain at rest. The signals originate from spatially distinct functionally related brain regions but exhibit coherent time-synchronous fluctuations. Several of the networks have been identified and are called resting-state networks. These networks represent the strength of the functional connectivity between distinct functionally related brain regions and have been used as imaging markers of various neurological and psychiatric diseases. Resting-state fMRI is also ideally suited for functional brain imaging in disorders of consciousness and in subjects under anesthesia. This book provides a review of the basic principles of fMRI (signal sources, acquisition methods, and data analysis) and its potential clinical applications.


2018 ◽  
pp. 20-29
Author(s):  
Cheuk Ying Tang

Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) MRI, also called functional MRI (fMRI), is one of the most widely used modalities for studying brain function. The underlying source of the fMRI signal is blood flow and the oxygenation state of hemoglobin. fMRI is mostly used to map out the location and intensity of brain activity that correlate with mental activities. In recent years, a new approach to fMRI has been developed that is called resting-state fMRI. The fMRI signal from this method does not require the brain to perform a goal-directed task; it is acquired with the subject at rest. It was discovered that there are low-frequency fluctuations in the fMRI signal in the brain at rest. These signals come from spatially distinct brain regions but exhibit coherent, time-synchronous fluctuations. Several of the networks have been identified and are called resting-state networks. The networks represent the strength of the functional connectivity between distinct brain regions and have been used as imaging biomarkers for various neurological and psychiatric diseases. Resting-state fMRI is also ideally suited for functional brain imaging in disorders of consciousness and in subjects under anesthesia. In this chapter, we provide an introductory review of the basic principles of fMRI: signal sources, acquisition methods, and data analysis.


Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 286
Author(s):  
Soheil Keshmiri

Recent decades have witnessed a substantial progress in the utilization of brain activity for the identification of stress digital markers. In particular, the success of entropic measures for this purpose is very appealing, considering (1) their suitability for capturing both linear and non-linear characteristics of brain activity recordings and (2) their direct association with the brain signal variability. These findings rely on external stimuli to induce the brain stress response. On the other hand, research suggests that the use of different types of experimentally induced psychological and physical stressors could potentially yield differential impacts on the brain response to stress and therefore should be dissociated from more general patterns. The present study takes a step toward addressing this issue by introducing conditional entropy (CE) as a potential electroencephalography (EEG)-based resting-state digital marker of stress. For this purpose, we use the resting-state multi-channel EEG recordings of 20 individuals whose responses to stress-related questionnaires show significantly higher and lower level of stress. Through the application of representational similarity analysis (RSA) and K-nearest-neighbor (KNN) classification, we verify the potential that the use of CE can offer to the solution concept of finding an effective digital marker for stress.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danya Glaser

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline brain structure and development, the relationship between environment and brain development and implications for practice. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a selected review of the literature and clinical experience. Findings – While genetics determine the sequence of brain maturation, the nature of brain development and functioning is determined by the young child's caregiving environment, to which the developing brain constantly adapts. The absence of input during sensitive periods may lead to later reduced functioning. There is an undoubted immediate equivalence between every mind function – emotion, cognition, behaviour and brain activity, although the precise location of this in the brain is only very partially determinable, since brain connections and function are extremely complex. Originality/value – This paper provides an overview of key issues in neurodevelopment relating to the development of young children, and implications for policy and practice.


Author(s):  
Toshiki Kusano ◽  
Hiroki Kurashige ◽  
Isao Nambu ◽  
Yoshiya Moriguchi ◽  
Takashi Hanakawa ◽  
...  

AbstractSeveral functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have demonstrated that resting-state brain activity consists of multiple components, each corresponding to the spatial pattern of brain activity induced by performing a task. Especially in a movement task, such components have been shown to correspond to the brain activity pattern of the relevant anatomical region, meaning that the voxels of pattern that are cooperatively activated while using a body part (e.g., foot, hand, and tongue) also behave cooperatively in the resting state. However, it is unclear whether the components involved in resting-state brain activity correspond to those induced by the movement of discrete body parts. To address this issue, in the present study, we focused on wrist and finger movements in the hand, and a cross-decoding technique trained to discriminate between the multi-voxel patterns induced by wrist and finger movement was applied to the resting-state fMRI. We found that the multi-voxel pattern in resting-state brain activity corresponds to either wrist or finger movements in the motor-related areas of each hemisphere of the cerebrum and cerebellum. These results suggest that resting-state brain activity in the motor-related areas consists of the components corresponding to the elementary movements of individual body parts. Therefore, the resting-state brain activity possibly has a finer structure than considered previously.


2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-26
Author(s):  
Hans Goller

Neuroscientists keep telling us that the brain produces consciousness and consciousness does not survive brain death because it ceases when brain activity ceases. Research findings on near-death-experiences during cardiac arrest contradict this widely held conviction. They raise perplexing questions with regard to our current understanding of the relationship between consciousness and brain functions. Reports on veridical perceptions during out-of-body experiences suggest that consciousness may be experienced independently of a functioning brain and that self-consciousness may continue even after the termination of brain activity. Data on studies of near-death-experiences could be an incentive to develop alternative theories of the body-mind relation as seen in contemporary neuroscience.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Fafrowicz ◽  
Bartosz Bohaterewicz ◽  
Anna Ceglarek ◽  
Monika Cichocka ◽  
Koryna Lewandowska ◽  
...  

Human performance, alertness, and most biological functions express rhythmic fluctuations across a 24-hour-period. This phenomenon is believed to originate from differences in both circadian and homeostatic sleep-wake regulatory processes. Interactions between these processes result in time-of-day modulations of behavioral performance as well as brain activity patterns. Although the basic mechanism of the 24-hour clock is conserved across evolution, there are interindividual differences in the timing of sleep-wake cycles, subjective alertness and functioning throughout the day. The study of circadian typology differences has increased during the last few years, especially research on extreme chronotypes, which provide a unique way to investigate the effects of sleep-wake regulation on cerebral mechanisms. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we assessed the influence of chronotype and time-of-day on resting-state functional connectivity. 29 extreme morning- and 34 evening-type participants underwent two fMRI sessions: about one hour after wake-up time (morning) and about ten hours after wake-up time (evening), scheduled according to their declared habitual sleep-wake pattern on a regular working day. Analysis of obtained neuroimaging data disclosed only an effect of time of day on resting-state functional connectivity; there were different patterns of functional connectivity between morning and evening sessions. The results of our study showed no differences between extreme morning-type and evening-type individuals. We demonstrate that circadian and homeostatic influences on the resting-state functional connectivity have a universal character, unaffected by circadian typology.


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