scholarly journals Dopaminergic organization of striatum is linked to cortical activity and brain expression of genes associated with psychiatric illness

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (24) ◽  
pp. eabg1512
Author(s):  
Robert A. McCutcheon ◽  
Kirsten Brown ◽  
Matthew M. Nour ◽  
Stephen M. Smith ◽  
Mattia Veronese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Striatal Dopamine ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Striatal Dopamine Receptor ◽  
Dopamine Signaling

Dopamine signaling is constrained to discrete tracts yet has brain-wide effects on neural activity. The nature of this relationship between local dopamine signaling and brain-wide neuronal activity is not clearly defined and has relevance for neuropsychiatric illnesses where abnormalities of cortical activity and dopamine signaling coexist. Using simultaneous PET-MRI in healthy volunteers, we find strong evidence that patterns of striatal dopamine signaling and cortical blood flow (an index of local neural activity) contain shared information. This shared information links amphetamine-induced changes in gradients of striatal dopamine receptor availability to changes in brain-wide blood flow and is informed by spatial patterns of gene expression enriched for genes implicated in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. These results advance our knowledge of the relationship between cortical function and striatal dopamine, with relevance for understanding pathophysiology and treatment of diseases in which simultaneous aberrations of these systems exist.

D2 receptor genotype and striatal dopamine signaling predict motor cortical activity and behavior in humans

NeuroImage ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 2915-2921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Fazio ◽  
Giuseppe Blasi ◽  
Paolo Taurisano ◽  
Apostolos Papazacharias ◽  
Raffaella Romano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
D2 Receptor ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Striatal Dopamine ◽  
Motor Cortical ◽  
Dopamine Signaling ◽  
And Behavior

scholarly journals Patterns of EEG Activity in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
M.A. Zhukova
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Semantic Integration ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Eeg Activity ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Cortical Regions

The article reviews most recent findings on neural activity in children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Most of the studies demonstrate decreased connectivity in cortical regions, excitatory/inhibitory imbalance and atypical processing of language in people with ASD. It is argued that difficulties in semantic integration are connected to selective insensitivity to language, which is manifested in atypical N400 ERP component. In the article we analyze the data suggesting a strong relationship between ASD and epilepsy and argue that the comorbidity is more prevalent among individuals who have cognitive dysfunction. The EEG profile of people with ASD suggests U-shaped alterations with excess in high- and low-frequency EEG bands. We critically analyze the “broken mirror” hypothesis of ASD and demonstrate findings which challenge this theory.

scholarly journals Cross-modal orienting of exogenous attention results in visual-cortical facilitation, not suppression

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Keefe ◽  
Emilia Pokta ◽  
Viola S. Störmer
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Visual Target ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Exogenous Attention ◽  
Peripheral Target ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Auditory Cue ◽  
Visual Cortical

AbstractAttention may be oriented exogenously (i.e., involuntarily) to the location of salient stimuli, resulting in improved perception. However, it is unknown whether exogenous attention improves perception by facilitating processing of attended information, suppressing processing of unattended information, or both. To test this question, we measured behavioral performance and cue-elicited neural changes in the electroencephalogram as participants (N = 19) performed a task in which a spatially non-predictive auditory cue preceded a visual target. Critically, this cue was either presented at a peripheral target location or from the center of the screen, allowing us to isolate spatially specific attentional activity. We find that both behavior and attention-mediated changes in visual-cortical activity are enhanced at the location of a cue prior to the onset of a target, but that behavior and neural activity at an unattended target location are equivalent to that following a central cue that does not direct attention (i.e., baseline). These results suggest that exogenous attention operates solely via facilitation of information at an attended location.

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