scholarly journals Molecular dynamics of neuronal information transfer

Neuroforum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. A73-A84
Author(s):  
Martin Heine ◽  
Arthur Bikbaev
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Postsynaptic Membrane ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
Optical Methods ◽  
Stochastic Motion ◽  
Lateral Dynamics ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Brain

Abstract A detailed analysis of synapses as connecting elements between neurons is of central importance to understand the brain’s cognitive performance and its constraints. Nowadays, state-of-the-art optical methods make possible to localize individual molecules in a living cell. In particular, the dynamics of molecular composition can be evaluated in smallest neuronal compartments, such as pre- and postsynaptic membrane. The monitoring of the distribution of receptors, ion channels, and adhesion molecules over time revealed their continuous stochastic motion. This is surprising, since the synapses are considered as accumulation sites anchoring these molecules. The direct manipulation of the lateral dynamics of glutamate receptors, in combination with classical electrophysiological approaches, demonstrated that such molecular dynamics is necessary for the induction of synaptic plasticity and, in turn, is influenced by synaptic activity. Therefore, the molecular dynamics requires further studies in the context of the brain function in health and disease.

scholarly journals The restless brain: how intrinsic activity organizes brain function

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1668) ◽  
pp. 20140172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus E. Raichle
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Intrinsic Activity ◽  
Systems Neuroscience ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Molecular Neuroscience ◽  
Constant State ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Brain

Traditionally studies of brain function have focused on task-evoked responses. By their very nature such experiments tacitly encourage a reflexive view of brain function. While such an approach has been remarkably productive at all levels of neuroscience, it ignores the alternative possibility that brain functions are mainly intrinsic and ongoing, involving information processing for interpreting, responding to and predicting environmental demands. I suggest that the latter view best captures the essence of brain function, a position that accords well with the allocation of the brain's energy resources, its limited access to sensory information and a dynamic, intrinsic functional organization. The nature of this intrinsic activity, which exhibits a surprising level of organization with dimensions of both space and time, is revealed in the ongoing activity of the brain and its metabolism. As we look to the future, understanding the nature of this intrinsic activity will require integrating knowledge from cognitive and systems neuroscience with cellular and molecular neuroscience where ion channels, receptors, components of signal transduction and metabolic pathways are all in a constant state of flux. The reward for doing so will be a much better understanding of human behaviour in health and disease.

scholarly journals Simultaneous EEG and fMRI: towards the characterization of structure and dynamics of brain networks

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-386 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Indirect Measurement ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Neural Mass ◽  
The Brain

Progress in the understanding of normal and disturbed brain function is critically dependent on the methodological approach that is applied. Both electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are extremely efficient methods for the assessment of human brain function. The specific appeal of the combination is related to the fact that both methods are complementary in terms of basic aspects: EEG is a direct measurement of neural mass activity and provides high temporal resolution. FMRI is an indirect measurement of neural activity and based on hemodynamic changes, and offers high spatial resolution. Both methods are very sensitive to changes of synaptic activity, suggesting that with simultaneous EEG and fMRI the same neural events can be characterized with both high temporal and spatial resolution. Since neural oscillations that can be assessed with EEG are a key mechanism for multi-site communication in the brain, EEG-fMRI can offer new insights into the connectivity mechanisms of brain networks.

Neuroscience at the Intersection of Mind and Brain

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack M. Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
The Face ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Mind And Brain ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain Connections

This book makes complicated concepts and findings in modern neuroscience accessible to anyone with an interest in how the brain works. It explains in detail how every experience we have from the moment we are conceived changes our brains. Finally, it advances the idea that psychotherapy is a type of life experience that alters brain function and corrects aberrant brain connections. The chapters explore what makes our brains different from our nearest genetic neighbors; how life’s experiences affect the way genes in the brain are expressed and neurons connect with each other; why connections between different parts of the brain are important in both health and disease; what happens in the brains of animals and humans in the face of sudden fear, in depression, or when falling in love; and how medications and psychotherapies work. The book is based on cutting-edge research in neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychology and includes references to the scientific literature. Written by an author who studied human behavior and brain function for three decades, it is presented in a highly accessible manner, full of personal anecdotes and observations, and it touches on many of the controversies in contemporary mental health practice.

The role of acetylcholine in hallucinatory perception

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 773-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Raymond Smythies
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Hallucinatory Experience ◽  
Digital Compression ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Brain

This commentary reviews and extends the target article's treatment of the topic of the role of acetylcholine in hallucinatory experience in health and disease. Particular attention is paid to differentiating muscarinic and nicotinic effects in modulating the use of virtual reality mechanisms by the brain. Then, attention is drawn to the similarities between these aspects of brain function and certain aspects of television digital compression technology.

scholarly journals Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain: a review of physical principles and technical methods

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 609-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Buonocore ◽  
Richard J. Maddock
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Pulse Sequences ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Neurobiological Substrates ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Physical Principles

AbstractMagnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides unique information about the neurobiological substrates of brain function in health and disease. However, many of the physical principles underlying MRS are distinct from those underlying magnetic resonance imaging, and they may not be widely understood by neuroscientists new to this methodology. This review describes these physical principles and many of the technical methods in current use for MRS experiments. A better understanding these principles and methods may help investigators select pulse sequences and quantification methods best suited to the aims of their research program and avoid pitfalls that can hamper new investigators in this field.

scholarly journals Interoceptive perception of optogenetic brain stimulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Luis-Islas ◽  
Monica Luna ◽  
Benjamin Floran ◽  
Ranier Gutierrez
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Dopaminergic Cell ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Control Brain ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Stimulation Of

AbstractHow do animals experience brain manipulations? Optogenetics has allowed us to manipulate selectively and interrogate neural circuits underlying brain function in health and disease. However, in addition to their evoked physiological functions, it is currently unknown whether mice could perceive arbitrary optogenetic stimulations. To address this issue, mice were trained to report optogenetic stimulations to obtain rewards and avoid punishments. It was found that mice could perceive optogenetic manipulations regardless of the brain area modulated, their rewarding effects, or the stimulation of glutamatergic, GABAergic, and dopaminergic cell types. We named this phenomenon optoception. Our findings reveal that mice’s brains are capable of “monitoring” their self-activity via interoception, opening a new way to introduce information to the brain and control brain-computer interfaces.One Sentence SummaryBrain manipulations are perceived

The neurobiology of gut feelings

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qasim Aziz ◽  
James K. Ruffle
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Gastrointestinal Function ◽  
Afferent Neurons ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Gut Feelings ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Brain

“It’s a gut feeling.” Indeed, how and why do we get “gut feelings?” After the brain, the gut is the second most innervated bodily organ, diffusely interconnected with gastrointestinal afferent neurons. Whilst sensory neurons from the gut ascend by means of the spinal cord and vagal nerve to subcortical and higher cortical areas of the brain, caudally descending motor efferents from brain to gut seek to modulate gastrointestinal function. Such is the construct of the “brain–gut axis,” a bi-directional body nexus permitting constant information transfer between both brain and gut so as to provide us with visceral interoception. This chapter reviews the neurobiology of gut feelings and discuss their role in both physical and mental health and disease.

scholarly journals Neuronal activity triggers uptake of hematopoietic extracellular vesicles in vivo

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan-Maximiliano Kur ◽  
Pierre-Hugues Prouvot ◽  
Ting Fu ◽  
Wei Fan ◽  
Felicia Müller-Braun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Vesicles ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Neural Transmission ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Vital Component ◽  
Peripheral Immune Cells ◽  
The Brain

AbstractCommunication with the hematopoietic system is a vital component of regulating brain function in health and disease. Traditionally, the major routes considered for this neuroimmune communication are either by individual molecules such as cytokines carried by blood, by neural transmission, or in more severe pathologies, by entry of peripheral immune cells into the brain. In addition, functional mRNA from peripheral blood can be directly transferred to neurons via extracellular vesicles (EVs) but the parameters that determine their uptake are unknown. We show that transfer of EVs from blood is triggered by neuronal activity in vivo. Importantly, this transfer occurs not only in pathological stimulation but also by neuronal activation caused by the physiological stimulus of novel object recognition. This discovery suggests a continuous role of EVs under pathological conditions as well as during routine cognitive tasks in the healthy brain.

Exosomes as a novel way of interneuronal communication

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Chivet ◽  
Charlotte Javalet ◽  
Fiona Hemming ◽  
Karin Pernet-Gallay ◽  
Karine Laulagnier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
Phosphorylated Tau ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Protein Fragments ◽  
Synaptic Physiology ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Disease Specific

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles which stem from endosomes fusing with the plasma membrane; they contain lipids, proteins and RNAs that are able to modify receiving cells. Functioning of the brain relies on synapses, and certain patterns of synaptic activity can change the strength of responses at sparse groups of synapses, to modulate circuits underlying associations and memory. These local changes of the synaptic physiology in one neuron driven by another have, so far, been explained by classical signal transduction modulating transcription, translation and post-translational modifications. We have accumulated in vitro evidence that exosomes released by neurons in a way depending on synaptic activity can be recaptured by other neurons. Some lipids, proteins and RNAs contained in exosomes secreted by emitting neurons could directly modify signal transduction and protein expression in receiving cells. Exosomes may be an ideal mechanism for anterograde and retrograde information transfer across synapses underlying local changes in synaptic plasticity. Exosomes might also participate in the spreading across the nervous system of pathological proteins such as PrPSc (abnormal disease-specific conformation of prion protein), APP (amyloid precursor protein) fragments, phosphorylated tau or α-synuclein.

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