scholarly journals A whole-brain connectivity map of mouse insular cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Gehrlach ◽  
Thomas N. Gaitanos ◽  
Alexandra S. Klein ◽  
Caroline Weiand ◽  
Alexandru A. Hennrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Complex Functions ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe insular cortex (IC) plays key roles in emotional and regulatory brain functions and is affected across psychiatric diseases. However, the brain-wide connections of the mouse IC have not been comprehensively mapped. Here we traced the whole-brain inputs and outputs of the mouse IC across its rostro-caudal extent. We employed cell-type specific monosynaptic rabies virus tracings to characterize afferent connections onto either excitatory or inhibitory IC neurons, and adeno-associated viral tracings to label excitatory efferent axons. While the connectivity between the IC and other cortical regions was highly reciprocal, the IC connectivity with subcortical structures was often unidirectional, revealing prominent top-down and bottom-up pathways. The posterior and medial IC exhibited resembling connectivity patterns, while the anterior IC connectivity was distinct, suggesting two major functional compartments. Our results provide insights into the anatomical architecture of the mouse IC and thus a structural basis to guide investigations into its complex functions.

scholarly journals A whole-brain connectivity map of mouse insular cortex

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A Gehrlach ◽  
Caroline Weiand ◽  
Thomas N Gaitanos ◽  
Eunjae Cho ◽  
Alexandra S Klein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Complex Functions ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Brain

The insular cortex (IC) plays key roles in emotional and regulatory brain functions and is affected across psychiatric diseases. However, the brain-wide connections of the mouse IC have not been comprehensively mapped. Here, we traced the whole-brain inputs and outputs of the mouse IC across its rostro-caudal extent. We employed cell-type-specific monosynaptic rabies virus tracings to characterize afferent connections onto either excitatory or inhibitory IC neurons, and adeno-associated viral tracings to label excitatory efferent axons. While the connectivity between the IC and other cortical regions was highly bidirectional, the IC connectivity with subcortical structures was often unidirectional, revealing prominent cortical-to-subcortical or subcortical-to-cortical pathways. The posterior and medial IC exhibited resembling connectivity patterns, while the anterior IC connectivity was distinct, suggesting two major functional compartments. Our results provide insights into the anatomical architecture of the mouse IC and thus a structural basis to guide investigations into its complex functions.

scholarly journals Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression in Physiological and Pathological Brain Processes

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 603-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Gräff ◽  
Dohoon Kim ◽  
Matthew M. Dobbin ◽  
Li-Huei Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Epigenetic Modifications ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Epigenetic Machinery ◽  
Complex Functions ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Neuronal Functions ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Unique Potential

Over the past decade, it has become increasingly obvious that epigenetic mechanisms are an integral part of a multitude of brain functions that range from the development of the nervous system over basic neuronal functions to higher order cognitive processes. At the same time, a substantial body of evidence has surfaced indicating that several neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric disorders are in part caused by aberrant epigenetic modifications. Because of their inherent plasticity, such pathological epigenetic modifications are readily amenable to pharmacological interventions and have thus raised justified hopes that the epigenetic machinery provides a powerful new platform for therapeutic approaches against these diseases. In this review, we give a detailed overview of the implication of epigenetic mechanisms in both physiological and pathological brain processes and summarize the state-of-the-art of “epigenetic medicine” where applicable. Despite, or because of, these new and exciting findings, it is becoming apparent that the epigenetic machinery in the brain is highly complex and intertwined, which underscores the need for more refined studies to disentangle brain-region and cell-type specific epigenetic codes in a given environmental condition. Clearly, the brain contains an epigenetic “hotspot” with a unique potential to not only better understand its most complex functions, but also to treat its most vicious diseases.

scholarly journals A Whole-Brain Connectivity Map of VTA and SNc Glutamatergic and GABAergic Neurons in Mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sile An ◽  
Xiangning Li ◽  
Lei Deng ◽  
Peilin Zhao ◽  
Zhangheng Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Dorsal Striatum ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Gabaergic Neurons ◽  
Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta ◽  
Hypothalamic Area ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Glutamatergic Neurons ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Cell Type Specific

The glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) mediated diverse brain functions. However, their whole-brain neural connectivity has not been comprehensively mapped. Here we used the virus tracers to characterize the whole-brain inputs and outputs of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in VTA and SNc. We found that these neurons received similar inputs from upstream brain regions, but some quantitative differences were also observed. Neocortex and dorsal striatum provided a greater share of input to VTA glutamatergic neurons. Periaqueductal gray and lateral hypothalamic area preferentially innervated VTA GABAergic neurons. Specifically, superior colliculus provided the largest input to SNc glutamatergic neurons. Compared to input patterns, the output patterns of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the VTA and SNc showed significant preference to different brain regions. Our results laid the anatomical foundation for understanding the functions of cell-type-specific neurons in VTA and SNc.

scholarly journals Evolutionary modifications in human brain connectivity associated with schizophrenia

Brain ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (12) ◽  
pp. 3991-4002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn P van den Heuvel ◽  
Lianne H Scholtens ◽  
Siemon C de Lange ◽  
Rory Pijnenburg ◽  
Wiepke Cahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Human Brain Evolution ◽  
The Brain

See Vértes and Seidlitz (doi:10.1093/brain/awz353) for a scientific commentary on this article. Is schizophrenia a by-product of human brain evolution? By comparing the human and chimpanzee connectomes, van den Heuvel et al. demonstrate that connections unique to the human brain show greater involvement in schizophrenia pathology. Modifications in service of higher-order brain functions may have rendered the brain more vulnerable to dysfunction.

Effective brain connectivity estimation between active brain regions in autism using the dual Kalman-based method

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Mehdi Rajabioun ◽  
Ali Motie Nasrabadi ◽  
Mohammad Bagher Shamsollahi ◽  
Robert Coben
Keyword(s):  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Estimation Error ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Estimation Errors ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
The Brain

AbstractBrain connectivity estimation is a useful method to study brain functions and diagnose neuroscience disorders. Effective connectivity is a subdivision of brain connectivity which discusses the causal relationship between different parts of the brain. In this study, a dual Kalman-based method is used for effective connectivity estimation. Because of connectivity changes in autism, the method is applied to autistic signals for effective connectivity estimation. For method validation, the dual Kalman based method is compared with other connectivity estimation methods by estimation error and the dual Kalman-based method gives acceptable results with less estimation errors. Then, connectivities between active brain regions of autistic and normal children in the resting state are estimated and compared. In this simulation, the brain is divided into eight regions and the connectivity between regions and within them is calculated. It can be concluded from the results that in the resting state condition the effective connectivity of active regions is decreased between regions and is increased within each region in autistic children. In another result, by averaging the connectivity between the extracted active sources of each region, the connectivity between the left and right of the central part is more than that in other regions and the connectivity in the occipital part is less than that in others.

scholarly journals The Metabolic Centroid Method for PET Brain Image Analysis

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Levy ◽  
J. D. Brodie ◽  
JJ. A. G. Russell ◽  
N. D. Volkow ◽  
E. Laska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Noise ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Centroid Method ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Brain Image Analysis ◽  
The Brain

The method of centroids is an approach to the analysis of three-dimensional whole-brain positron emission tomography (PET) metabolic images. It utilizes the brain's geometric centroid and metabolic centroid so as to objectively characterize the central tendency of the distribution of metabolic activity in the brain. The method characterizes the three-dimensional PET metabolic image in terms of four parameters: the coordinates of the metabolic centroid and the mean metabolic rate of the whole brain. These parameters are not sensitive to spatially uniform random noise or to the position of the subject's head within a uniform PET camera field of view. The method has been applied to 40 normal subjects, 22 schizophrenics who were treated with neuroleptics, and 20 schizophrenics who were neuroleptic-free. The mean metabolic centroid of the normal subjects was found to be superior to the mean geometric centroid of the brain. The mean metabolic centroid of chronic schizophrenics is lower and more posterior to the mean geometric centroid than is that of normals. This difference is greater in medicated than in unmedicated schizophrenics. The posterior and downward displacement of the mean metabolic centroid is consistent with the concepts of hypofrontality, hyperactivity of subcortical structures, and neuroleptic effect in schizophrenics.

scholarly journals High-Throughput Strategy for Profiling Sequential Section With Multiplex Staining of Mouse Brain

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siqi Chen ◽  
Zhixiang Liu ◽  
Anan Li ◽  
Hui Gong ◽  
Ben Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Brain ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Serial Sections ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Multiple Samples ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Serial Brain

The brain modulates specific functions in its various regions. Understanding the organization of different cells in the whole brain is crucial for investigating brain functions. Previous studies have focused on several regions and have had difficulty analyzing serial tissue samples. In this study, we introduced a pipeline to acquire anatomical and histological information quickly and efficiently from serial sections. First, we developed a serial brain-slice-staining method to stain serial sections and obtained more than 98.5% of slices with high integrity. Subsequently, using the self-developed analysis software, we registered and quantified the signals of imaged sections to the Allen Mouse Brain Common Coordinate Framework, which is compatible with multimodal images and slant section planes. Finally, we validated the pipeline with immunostaining by analyzing the activity variance in the whole brain during acute stress in aging and young mice. By removing the problems resulting from repeated manual operations, this pipeline is widely applicable to serial brain slices from multiple samples in a rapid and convenient manner, which benefits to facilitate research in life sciences.

scholarly journals Refinements in the Organism as a Whole Rationale for Brain Death

2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Bernat
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Theoretical Biology ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Control Of Respiration ◽  
Biological Models ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain

Death can be defined as the permanent cessation of the organism as a whole. Although the organism as a whole is a century-old concept, it remains better intuited than analyzed. Recent concepts in theoretical biology including hierarchies of organization, emergent functions, and mereology have informed the idea that the organism as a whole is the organism’s critical emergent functions. Because the brain conducts the critical emergent functions including conscious awareness and control of respiration and circulation, the cessation of brain functions is death of the organism. A newer concept, the brain as a whole, may offer a superior criterion of death to the whole-brain criterion, because it more closely matches accepted clinical brain death tests and confirms the cessation of the organism’s emergent functions. Although the concepts of organism as a whole and brain as a whole remain vague and in need of rigorous biophilosophical analysis, their future precision will be restricted by the categorical limitations intrinsic to theoretical biological models.

Stimulation: History of Brain Mapping

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry A. Buchtel ◽  
Giovanni Berlucchi
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Brain Mapping ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Electrical Discharges ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Stimulation Of

The history of brain mapping using stimulation is long and nonlinear. It started with very imprecise stimulation of the brain using electrical discharges in the early 1800s. With better control of the electrical sources and more precise application of the stimuli, the real mapping of brain functions began in the 1870s, starting with the easily observed effects of activation of neurons in the motor cortex. Work since then has shown that the cerebral mantle is highly specialized and, more interesting, that experience and practice can cause significant alterations of the organization of neurons in the cortex and subcortical structures. New techniques to alter neuronal activity are being developed each year and will certainly increase our understanding of how the brain is organized and how it can be modified.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in Functional Brain Networks for Language

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 1528-1537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Xu ◽  
Xiuling Liang ◽  
Jian Ou ◽  
Hong Li ◽  
Yue-jia Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Functional Brain ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Men and women process language differently, but how the brain functions to support this difference is poorly understood. A few studies reported sex influences on brain activation for language, whereas others failed to detect the difference at the functional level. Recent advances of brain network analysis have shown great promise in picking up brain connectivity differences between sexes, leading us to hypothesize that the functional connections among distinct brain regions for language may differ in males and females. To test this hypothesis, we scanned 58 participants’ brain activities (28 males and 30 females) in a semantic decision task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found marked sex differences in dynamic interactions among language regions, as well as in functional segregation and integration of brain networks during language processing. The brain network differences were further supported by a machine learning analysis that accurately discriminated males from females using the multivariate patterns of functional connectivity. The sex-specific functional brain connectivity may constitute an essential neural basis for the long-held notion that men and women process language in different ways. Our finding also provides important implications for sex differences in the prevalence of language disorders, such as dyslexia and stuttering.

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