scholarly journals Wide-Field Calcium Imaging of Dynamic Cortical Networks During Locomotion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. West ◽  
Justin Aronson ◽  
Laurentiu S. Popa ◽  
Russell E. Carter ◽  
Aditya Shekhar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Dorsal Cortex ◽  
Eigenvector Centrality ◽  
Functional Interactions ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Premotor Areas

ABSTRACTBehavior results in widespread activation of the cerebral cortex. To fully understanding the cerebral cortex’s role in behavior therefore requires a mesoscopic level description of the cortical regions engaged and their functional interactions. Mesoscopic imaging of Ca2+ fluorescence through transparent polymer skulls implanted on transgenic Thy1-GCaMP6f mice reveals widespread activation of the cerebral cortex during locomotion, including not just primary motor and somatosensory regions but also premotor, auditory, retrosplenial, and visual cortices. To understand these patterns of activation, we used spatial Independent Component Analysis (sICA) that segmented the dorsal cortex of individual mice into 20-22 Independent Components (ICs). The resulting ICs are highly consistent across imaging sessions and animals. Using the time series of Ca2+ fluorescence in each IC, we examined the changes in functional connectivity from rest to locomotion. Compared to rest, functional connectivity increases prior to and at the onset of locomotion. During continued walking, a global decrease in functional connectivity develops compared to rest that uncovers a distinct, sparser network in which ICs in secondary motor areas increase their correlations with more posterior ICs in somatosensory, motor, visual, and retrosplenial cortices. Eigenvector centrality analysis demonstrates that ICs located in premotor areas increase their influence on the network during locomotion while ICs in other regions, including somatosensory and primary motor, decrease in importance. We observed sequential changes in functional connectivity across transitions between rest and locomotion, with premotor areas playing an important role in coordination of computations across cortical brain regions.SIGNIFICANCEBehavior such as locomotion requires the coordination of multiple cerebral cortical regions to accurately navigate the external environment. However, it is unclear how computations from various regions are integrated to produce a single, coherent behavioral output. Here, wide-field, epifluorescence Ca2+ imaging across the dorsal cerebral cortex reveals the changing functional interactions among cortical regions during the transition from rest to locomotion. While functional connectivity among most cortical nodes primarily decreases from rest to locomotion, a well-defined network of increased correlations emerges between premotor and other cortical regions with an increase in the importance of the premotor cortex to the network. The results suggest that the role of the premotor areas in locomotion involves coordinating interactions among different cortical regions.

scholarly journals Influence of anterior midcingulate cortex on drinking behavior during thirst and following satiation

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 786-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Saker ◽  
Michael J. Farrell ◽  
Gary F. Egan ◽  
Michael J. McKinley ◽  
Derek A. Denton
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Midcingulate Cortex ◽  
Swallowing Reflex ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Increased Activity ◽  
Premotor Areas

In humans, activity in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) is associated with both subjective thirst and swallowing. This region is therefore likely to play a prominent role in the regulation of drinking in response to dehydration. Using functional MRI, we investigated this possibility during a period of “drinking behavior” represented by a conjunction of preswallow and swallowing events. These events were examined in the context of a thirsty condition and an “oversated” condition, the latter induced by compliant ingestion of excess fluid. Brain regions associated with swallowing showed increased activity for drinking behavior in the thirsty condition relative to the oversated condition. These regions included the cingulate cortex, premotor areas, primary sensorimotor cortices, the parietal operculum, and the supplementary motor area. Psychophysical interaction analyses revealed increased functional connectivity between the same regions and the aMCC during drinking behavior in the thirsty condition. Functional connectivity during drinking behavior was also greater for the thirsty condition relative to the oversated condition between the aMCC and two subcortical regions, the cerebellum and the rostroventral medulla, the latter containing nuclei responsible for the swallowing reflex. Finally, during drinking behavior in the oversated condition, ratings of swallowing effort showed a negative association with functional connectivity between the aMCC and two cortical regions, the sensorimotor cortex and the supramarginal gyrus. The results of this study provide evidence that the aMCC helps facilitate swallowing during a state of thirst and is therefore likely to contribute to the regulation of drinking after dehydration.

scholarly journals Effects of amnesia on processing in the hippocampus and default mode network during a naturalistic memory task: a case study

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Oedekoven ◽  
James L. Keidel ◽  
Stuart Anderson ◽  
Angus Nisbet ◽  
Chris Bird
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Structural Mri ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Left Hippocampus ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Encoding And Retrieval

Despite their severely impaired episodic memory, individuals with amnesia are able to comprehend ongoing events. Online representations of a current event are thought to be supported by a network of regions centred on the posterior midline cortex (PMC). By contrast, episodic memory is widely believed to be supported by interactions between the hippocampus and these cortical regions. In this MRI study, we investigated the encoding and retrieval of lifelike events (video clips) in a patient with severe amnesia likely resulting from a stroke to the right thalamus, and a group of 20 age-matched controls. Structural MRI revealed grey matter reductions in left hippocampus and left thalamus in comparison to controls. We first characterised the regions activated in the controls while they watched and retrieved the videos. There were no differences in activation between the patient and controls in any of the regions. We then identified a widespread network of brain regions, including the hippocampus, that were functionally connected with the PMC in controls. However, in the patient there was a specific reduction in functional connectivity between the PMC and a region of left hippocampus when both watching and attempting to retrieve the videos. A follow up analysis revealed that in controls the functional connectivity between these regions when watching the videos was correlated with memory performance. Taken together, these findings support the view that the interactions between the PMC and the hippocampus enable the encoding and retrieval of multimodal representations of the contents of an event.

scholarly journals The Human Intraparietal Sulcus Modulates Task-Evoked Functional Connectivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-887
Author(s):  
Kai Hwang ◽  
James M Shine ◽  
Dillan Cellier ◽  
Mark D’Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Adaptive Communication ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Functional Connectivity Strength ◽  
Ventral Temporal Cortex ◽  
Cortical Regions

Abstract Past studies have demonstrated that flexible interactions between brain regions support a wide range of goal-directed behaviors. However, the neural mechanisms that underlie adaptive communication between brain regions are not well understood. In this study, we combined theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the sources of top-down biasing signals that influence task-evoked functional connectivity. Subjects viewed sequences of images of faces and buildings and were required to detect repetitions (2-back vs. 1-back) of the attended stimuli category (faces or buildings). We found that functional connectivity between ventral temporal cortex and the primary visual cortex (VC) increased during processing of task-relevant stimuli, especially during higher memory loads. Furthermore, the strength of functional connectivity was greater for correct trials. Increases in task-evoked functional connectivity strength were correlated with increases in activity in multiple frontal, parietal, and subcortical (caudate and thalamus) regions. Finally, we found that TMS to superior intraparietal sulcus (IPS), but not to primary somatosensory cortex, decreased task-specific modulation in connectivity patterns between the primary VC and the parahippocampal place area. These findings demonstrate that the human IPS is a source of top-down biasing signals that modulate task-evoked functional connectivity among task-relevant cortical regions.

scholarly journals Largely shared neural codes for biological and nonbiological observed movements but not for executed actions in monkey premotor areas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Albertini ◽  
Marco Lanzilotto ◽  
Monica Maranesi ◽  
Luca Bonini
Keyword(s):  
Mirror Neurons ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Large Network ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Neural Codes ◽  
Action Observation Network ◽  
Observation Network ◽  
Premotor Areas

The neural processing of others' observed actions recruits a large network of brain regions (the action observation network, AON), in which frontal motor areas are thought to play a crucial role. Since the discovery of mirror neurons (MNs) in the ventral premotor cortex, it has been assumed that their activation was conditional upon the presentation of biological rather than nonbiological motion stimuli, supporting a form of direct visuomotor matching. Nonetheless, nonbiological observed movements have rarely been used as control stimuli to evaluate visual specificity, thereby leaving the issue of similarity among neural codes for executed actions and biological or nonbiological observed movements unresolved. Here, we addressed this issue by recording from two nodes of the AON that are attracting increasing interest, namely the ventro-rostral part of the dorsal premotor area F2 and the mesial pre-supplementary motor area F6 of macaques while they 1) executed a reaching-grasping task, 2) observed an experimenter performing the task, and 3) observed a nonbiological effector moving in the same context. Our findings revealed stronger neuronal responses to the observation of biological than nonbiological movement, but biological and nonbiological visual stimuli produced highly similar neural dynamics and relied on largely shared neural codes, which in turn remarkably differed from those associated with executed actions. These results indicate that, in highly familiar contexts, visuo-motor remapping processes in premotor areas hosting MNs are more complex and flexible than predicted by a direct visuomotor matching hypothesis.

scholarly journals The relationship between spatial configuration and functional connectivity of brain regions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine D. Bijsterbosch ◽  
Mark W. Woolrich ◽  
Matthew F. Glasser ◽  
Emma C. Robinson ◽  
Christian F. Beckmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Functional Regions ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractBrain connectivity is often considered in terms of the communication between functionally distinct brain regions. Many studies have investigated the extent to which patterns of coupling strength between multiple neural populations relates to behavior. For example, studies have used "functional connectivity fingerprints" to characterise individuals' brain activity. Here, we investigate the extent to which the exact spatial arrangement of cortical regions interacts with measures of brain connectivity. We find that the shape and exact location of brain regions interact strongly with the modelling of brain connectivity, and present evidence that the spatial arrangement of functional regions is strongly predictive of non-imaging measures of behaviour and lifestyle. We believe that, in many cases, cross-subject variations in the spatial configuration of functional brain regions are being interpreted as changes in functional connectivity. Therefore, a better understanding of these effects is important when interpreting the relationship between functional imaging data and cognitive traits.

scholarly journals Brain functional connectivity modulates social bonding in monogamous voles

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Fernanda López-Gutiérrez ◽  
Zeus Gracia-Tabuenca ◽  
Juan J. Ortiz ◽  
Francisco J. Camacho ◽  
Larry J. Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Lateral Septum ◽  
Pair Bonding ◽  
Affiliative Behavior ◽  
Longitudinal Changes ◽  
Related Pair ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Cortical Regions

AbstractPrevious studies have related pair bonding in Microtus ochrogaster, the prairie vole, with plastic changes in several brain regions. However, their socially-relevant interactions have yet to be described. In this study, we used resting state magnetic resonance imaging to explore longitudinal changes in functional connectivity of brain regions associated with pair bonding. Male and female prairie voles were scanned at baseline, after 24 hours and two weeks of cohabitation with mating. Network based statistics revealed a common network with significant longitudinal changes including prefrontal and cortical regions, the hippocampus, the anterior olfactory nucleus, the lateral septum, the paraventricular nucleus, and the ventral tegmental area.Furthermore, baseline functional connectivity of three sub-networks predicted the onset of affiliative behavior, and a relationship was found between partner preference with long-term changes in the functional connectivity between the medial amygdala and ventral pallidum. Overall, our findings revealed the association between network-level changes and social bonding.

scholarly journals The relationship between spatial configuration and functional connectivity of brain regions

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Diane Bijsterbosch ◽  
Mark W Woolrich ◽  
Matthew F Glasser ◽  
Emma C Robinson ◽  
Christian F Beckmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Functional Regions ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Relationship

Brain connectivity is often considered in terms of the communication between functionally distinct brain regions. Many studies have investigated the extent to which patterns of coupling strength between multiple neural populations relates to behaviour. For example, studies have used ‘functional connectivity fingerprints’ to characterise individuals' brain activity. Here, we investigate the extent to which the exact spatial arrangement of cortical regions interacts with measures of brain connectivity. We find that the shape and exact location of brain regions interact strongly with the modelling of brain connectivity, and present evidence that the spatial arrangement of functional regions is strongly predictive of non-imaging measures of behaviour and lifestyle. We believe that, in many cases, cross-subject variations in the spatial configuration of functional brain regions are being interpreted as changes in functional connectivity. Therefore, a better understanding of these effects is important when interpreting the relationship between functional imaging data and cognitive traits.

scholarly journals Propofol-induced Changes in α-β Sensorimotor Cortical Connectivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahsa Malekmohammadi ◽  
Nicholas AuYong ◽  
Collin M. Price ◽  
Evangelia Tsolaki ◽  
Andrew E. Hudson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Spectral Power ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Loss Of Consciousness ◽  
Sensorimotor Network ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Cortical Regions

Abstract Background Anesthetics are believed to alter functional connectivity across brain regions. However, network-level analyses of anesthesia, particularly in humans, are sparse. The authors hypothesized that propofol-induced loss of consciousness results in functional disconnection of human sensorimotor cortices underlying the loss of volitional motor responses. Methods The authors recorded local field potentials from sensorimotor cortices in patients with Parkinson disease (N = 12) and essential tremor (N = 7) undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery, before and after propofol-induced loss of consciousness. Local spectral power and interregional connectivity (coherence and imaginary coherence) were evaluated separately across conditions for the two populations. Results Propofol anesthesia caused power increases for frequencies between 2 and 100 Hz across the sensorimotor cortices and a shift of the dominant spectral peak in α and β frequencies toward lower frequencies (median ± SD peak frequency: 24.5 ± 2.6 Hz to 12.8 ± 2.3 Hz in Parkinson disease; 13.8 ± 2.1 Hz to 12.1 ± 1.0 Hz in essential tremor). Despite local increases in power, sensorimotor cortical coherence was suppressed with propofol in both cohorts, specifically in β frequencies (18 to 29 Hz) for Parkinson disease and α and β (10 to 48 Hz) in essential tremor. Conclusions The decrease in functional connectivity between sensory and motor cortices, despite an increase in local spectral power, suggests that propofol causes a functional disconnection of cortices with increases in autonomous activity within cortical regions. This pattern occurs across diseases evaluated, suggesting that these may be generalizable effects of propofol in patients with movement disorders and beyond. Sensorimotor network disruption may underlie anesthetic-induced loss of volitional control.

scholarly journals Bottom-up Retinotopic Organization Supports Top-down Mental Imagery

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruey-Song Huang ◽  
Martin I. Sereno
Keyword(s):  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Retrosplenial Cortex ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Retinotopic Maps ◽  
Upper Visual Field ◽  
Retinotopic Organization ◽  
High Level

Finding a path between locations is a routine task in daily life. Mental navigation is often used to plan a route to a destination that is not visible from the current location. We first used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and surface-based averaging methods to find high-level brain regions involved in imagined navigation between locations in a building very familiar to each participant. This revealed a mental navigation network that includes the precuneus, retrosplenial cortex (RSC), parahippocampal place area (PPA), occipital place area (OPA), supplementary motor area (SMA), premotor cortex, and areas along the medial and anterior intraparietal sulcus. We then visualized retinotopic maps in the entire cortex using wide-field, natural scene stimuli in a separate set of fMRI experiments. This revealed five distinct visual streams or ‘fingers’ that extend anteriorly into middle temporal, superior parietal, medial parietal, retrosplenial and ventral occipitotemporal cortex. By using spherical morphing to overlap these two data sets, we showed that the mental navigation network primarily occupies areas that also contain retinotopic maps. Specifically, scene-selective regions RSC, PPA and OPA have a common emphasis on the far periphery of the upper visual field. These results suggest that bottom-up retinotopic organization may help to efficiently encode scene and location information in an eye-centered reference frame for top-down, internally generated mental navigation. This study pushes the border of visual cortex further anterior than was initially expected.

scholarly journals Anatomical development of the cerebellothalamic tract in embryonic mice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniël B. Dumas ◽  
Simona V. Gornati ◽  
Youri Adolfs ◽  
Tomomi Shimogori ◽  
R. Jeroen Pasterkamp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Light Sheet ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Cortical Regions

AbstractCerebellar projections to the thalamus are a pivotal connection in cerebello-cerebral interactions. Apart from its role in coordinating sensorimotor integration in the adult brain, the cerebello-thalamic projection has also been implemented in developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders. Although the development of the cerebellum, thalamus and cerebral cortex have been studied in many species, a detailed description of the ontogeny of the mammalian cerebello-thalamic tract (CbT) is currently missing. Here we investigated the development of the CbT at embryonic stages using transgenic Ntsr1-Cre/Ai14 mice and in utero electroporation (IUE) of wild type mice. Wide-field, confocal and 3D light-sheet imaging of immunohistochemical stainings showed that CbT fibers arrive in the prethalamus between E14.5 and E15.5, but only invade the thalamus after E16.5. We quantified the spread of CbT fibers throughout the various thalamic nuclei and found that at E17.5 and E18.5 the ventrolateral, ventromedial and parafascicular nuclei, but also the mediodorsal and posterior complex become increasingly innervated. Several CbT fiber varicosities colocalize with vGluT2, indicating that already from E18.5 the CbT synapse in various thalamic nuclei. Our results contribute to the construction of a frame of reference on the anatomical development of the CbT, which will help to guide future experiments investigating neurodevelopmental disorders.Significance statementUsing various microscopic approaches, we investigated the anatomical development of the fiber tract between the cerebellum and thalamus, one of the major mammalian brain connections. Our results show that in mice cerebellar axons wait outside of the thalamus from embryonic day (E)15.5 until E17.5 before invading the thalamic complex. Cerebellar axons establish vGluT2-positive synapses at E18.5 throughout various thalamic nuclei, each of which subsequently develops its connections with dedicated cerebral cortical regions. Our data thereby advocate the cerebellar influence on the maturation of the thalamus and connected cerebral cortex. This knowledge can help to guide future experiments into neurodevelopmental disorders affecting cerebello-thalamo-cortical networks.

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