scholarly journals Brain Reconstruction Across the Fish-Tetrapod Transition; Insights From Modern Amphibians

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice M. Clement ◽  
Corinne L. Mensforth ◽  
T. J. Challands ◽  
Shaun P. Collin ◽  
John A. Long
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Similar Degree ◽  
Internal Mold ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Lower Vertebrates ◽  
Early Vertebrates ◽  
Tissue Systems ◽  
The Brain

The fish-tetrapod transition (which incorporates the related fin-limb and water-land transitions) is celebrated as one of the most important junctions in vertebrate evolution. Sarcopterygian fishes (the “lobe-fins”) are today represented by lungfishes and coelacanths, but during the Paleozoic they were much more diverse. It was some of these sarcopterygians, a lineage of the tetrapodomorph fishes, that gave rise to tetrapods (terrestrial vertebrates with limbs bearing digits). This spectacular leap took place during the Devonian Period. Due to the nature of preservation, it is the hard parts of an animal’s body that are most likely to fossilize, while soft tissues such as muscular and brain tissues, typically fail to do so. Thus, our understanding of the adaptations of the hard skeletal structures of vertebrates is considerably greater than that of the soft tissue systems. Fortunately, the braincases of early vertebrates are often ossified and thereby have the potential to provide detailed morphological information. However, the correspondence between brain and endocast (an internal mold of the cavity) has historically been considered poor in most “lower” vertebrates and consequently neglected in such studies of brain evolution. Despite this, recent work documenting the spatial relationship in extant basal sarcopterygians (coelacanth, lungfish, axolotl, and salamander) has highlighted that this is not uniformly the case. Herein, we quantify and illustrate the brain-endocast relationship in four additional extant basal tetrapod exemplars: neobatrachian anurans (frogs) Breviceps poweri and Ceratophrys ornata; and gymnophionans (caecilians) Gegeneophis ramaswamii and Rhinatrema bivittatum. We show that anurans and caecilians appear to have brains that fill their endocasts to a similar degree to that of lungfishes and salamanders, but not coelacanth. Ceratophrys has considerably lower correspondence between the brain and endocast in the olfactory tract and mesencephalic regions, while Breviceps has low correspondence along its ventral endocranial margin. The brains of caecilians reflect their endocasts most closely (vol. ∼70%). The telencephalon is tightly fitted within the endocast in all four taxa. Our findings highlight the need to adequately assess the brain-endocast relationship in a broad range of vertebrates, in order to inform neural reconstructions of fossil taxa using the Extant Phylogenetic Bracket approach and future studies of brain evolution.

A Survey on Detection and Classification of Brain Tumor Using Image Processing Techniques

2020 ◽  
pp. 967-973
Author(s):  
V. Deepika ◽  
T. Rajasenbagam
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Brain Tumor ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Tumor Detection ◽  
Tumor Classification ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Image Processing Techniques ◽  
Normal Brain Function ◽  
Processing Techniques ◽  
The Brain

A brain tumor is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal brain tissue that can interfere with normal brain function. Although various methods have been developed for brain tumor classification, tumor detection and multiclass classification remain challenging due to the complex characteristics of the brain tumor. Brain tumor detection and classification are one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks in the processing of medical images. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is a visual imaging technique, which provides a information about the soft tissues of the human body, which helps identify the brain tumor. Proper diagnosis can prevent a patient's health to some extent. This paper presents a review of various detection and classification methods for brain tumor classification using image processing techniques.

scholarly journals Aggregation-and-Attention Network for brain tumor segmentation

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Wei Lin ◽  
Yu Hong ◽  
Jinfu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Brain Tumor ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Tumor Segmentation ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Brain Tumor Segmentation ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Assisted Diagnosis ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background Glioma is a malignant brain tumor; its location is complex and is difficult to remove surgically. To diagnosis the brain tumor, doctors can precisely diagnose and localize the disease using medical images. However, the computer-assisted diagnosis for the brain tumor diagnosis is still the problem because the rough segmentation of the brain tumor makes the internal grade of the tumor incorrect. Methods In this paper, we proposed an Aggregation-and-Attention Network for brain tumor segmentation. The proposed network takes the U-Net as the backbone, aggregates multi-scale semantic information, and focuses on crucial information to perform brain tumor segmentation. To this end, we proposed an enhanced down-sampling module and Up-Sampling Layer to compensate for the information loss. The multi-scale connection module is to construct the multi-receptive semantic fusion between encoder and decoder. Furthermore, we designed a dual-attention fusion module that can extract and enhance the spatial relationship of magnetic resonance imaging and applied the strategy of deep supervision in different parts of the proposed network. Results Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed framework is the best on the BraTS2020 dataset, compared with the-state-of-art networks. The performance of the proposed framework surpasses all the comparison networks, and its average accuracies of the four indexes are 0.860, 0.885, 0.932, and 1.2325, respectively. Conclusions The framework and modules of the proposed framework are scientific and practical, which can extract and aggregate useful semantic information and enhance the ability of glioma segmentation.

scholarly journals Practical application of synthetic head models in real ballistic cases

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Riva ◽  
T. Fracasso ◽  
A. Guerra ◽  
P. Genet
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Spherical Model ◽  
Brain Parenchyma ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Shape Model ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Open Shape ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Synthetic Models ◽  
Representative Material

AbstractIn shooting crimes, ballistics tests are often recommended in order to reproduce the wound characteristics of the involved persons. For this purpose, several “simulants” can be used. However, despite the efforts in the research of “surrogates” in the field of forensic ballistic, the development of synthetic models needs still to be improved through a validation process based on specific real caseworks. This study has been triggered by the findings observed during the autopsy performed on two victims killed in the same shooting incident, with similar wounding characteristics; namely two retained head shots with ricochet against the interior wall of the skull; both projectiles have been recovered during the autopsies after migration in the brain parenchyma. The thickness of the different tissues and structures along the bullets trajectories as well as the incident angles between the bullets paths and the skull walls have been measured and reproduced during the assemblage of the synthetic head models. Two different types of models (“open shape” and “spherical”) have been assembled using leather, polyurethane and gelatine to simulate respectively skin, bone and soft tissues. Six shots have been performed in total. The results of the models have been compared to the findings of post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) and the autopsy findings.Out of the six shots, two perforated the models and four were retained. When the projectile was retained, the use of both models allowed reproducing the wounds characteristics observed on both victims in terms of penetration and ricochet behaviour. However, the projectiles recovered from the models showed less deformation than the bullets collected during the autopsies. The “open shape” model allowed a better controlling on the shooting parameters than the “spherical” model. Finally, the difference in bullet deformation could be caused by the choice of the bone simulant, which might under-represent either the strength or the density of the human bone. In our opinion, it would be worth to develop a new, more representative material for ballistic which simulates the human bone.

scholarly journals Evolution in the Brain, Evolution in the Mind: The Hierarchical Brain and the Interface between Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-377
Author(s):  
Leonardo Niro Nascimento
Keyword(s):  
Brain Evolution ◽  
The Other ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Evolutionary Models ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Psychodynamically Oriented ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Shed Light

This article first aims to demonstrate the different ways the work of the English neurologist John Hughlings Jackson influenced Freud. It argues that these can be summarized in six points. It is further argued that the framework proposed by Jackson continued to be pursued by twentieth-century neuroscientists such as Papez, MacLean and Panksepp in terms of tripartite hierarchical evolutionary models. Finally, the account presented here aims to shed light on the analogies encountered by psychodynamically oriented neuroscientists, between contemporary accounts of the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system on the one hand, and Freudian models of the mind on the other. These parallels, I will suggest, are not coincidental. They have a historical underpinning, as both accounts most likely originate from a common source: John Hughlings Jackson's tripartite evolutionary hierarchical view of the brain.

scholarly journals Intrinsic spatial knowledge about terrestrial ecology favors the tall for judging distance

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
pp. e1501070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Zhou ◽  
Teng Leng Ooi ◽  
Zijiang J. He
Keyword(s):  
Target Location ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Spatial Knowledge ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Natural Scenes ◽  
Terrestrial Environment ◽  
Optical Images ◽  
Intermediate Distance ◽  
The Brain

Our sense of vision reliably directs and guides our everyday actions, such as reaching and walking. This ability is especially fascinating because the optical images of natural scenes that project into our eyes are insufficient to adequately form a perceptual space. It has been proposed that the brain makes up for this inadequacy by using its intrinsic spatial knowledge. However, it is unclear what constitutes intrinsic spatial knowledge and how it is acquired. We investigated this question and showed evidence of an ecological basis, which uses the statistical spatial relationship between the observer and the terrestrial environment, namely, the ground surface. We found that in dark and reduced-cue environments where intrinsic knowledge has a greater contribution, perceived target location is more accurate when referenced to the ground than to the ceiling. Furthermore, taller observers more accurately localized the target. Superior performance was also observed in the full-cue environment, even when we compensated for the observers’ heights by having the taller observer sit on a chair and the shorter observers stand on a box. Although fascinating, this finding dovetails with the prediction of the ecological hypothesis for intrinsic spatial knowledge. It suggests that an individual’s accumulated lifetime experiences of being tall and his or her constant interactions with ground-based objects not only determine intrinsic spatial knowledge but also endow him or her with an advantage in spatial ability in the intermediate distance range.

scholarly journals A Case of Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata in Newborn

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nalan Karabayır ◽  
Gonca Keskindemirci ◽  
Erdal Adal ◽  
Orhan Korkmaz
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Chondrodysplasia Punctata ◽  
Long Bones ◽  
Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata ◽  
Cervical Spinal Stenosis ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Severe Growth

Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctate (RCDP) is a rare autosomal recessive peroxisomal disease. The main features of the disease are shortening of the proximal long bones, punctate calcifications located in the epiphyses of long bones and in soft tissues around joints and vertebral column, vertebral clefting, dysmorphic face, and severe growth retardation, whereas cervical spinal stenosis may also rarely be present. Imaging of the brain and spinal cord in patients with this disorder may aid prognosis and guide management decisions. We report the newborn diagnosed as CDP with cervical stenosis. Our aim is to discuss current knowledge on etiopathogenesis as well as radiological and clinical symptoms of diseases associated with CDP.

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.

scholarly journals Situating allostasis and interoception at the core of human brain function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Katsumi ◽  
Karen Quigley ◽  
Lisa Feldman Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
The Core ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Basic Functions ◽  
Mental Events ◽  
Physical Phenomena ◽  
The Brain

It is now well known that brain evolution, development, and structure do not respect Western folk categories of mind – that is, the boundaries of those folk categories have never been identified in nature, despite decades of search. Categories for cognitions, emotions, perceptions, and so on, may be useful for describing the mental phenomena that constitute a human mind, but they make a poor starting point for understanding the interplay of mechanisms that create those mental events in the first place. In this paper, we integrate evolutionary, developmental, anatomical, and functional evidence and propose that predictive regulation of the body’s internal systems (allostasis) and modeling the sensory consequences of this regulation (interoception) may be basic functions of the brain that are embedded in coordinated structural and functional gradients. Our approach offers the basis for a coherent, neurobiologically-inspired research program that attempts to explain how a variety of psychological and physical phenomena may emerge from the same biological mechanisms, thus providing an opportunity to unify them under a common explanatory framework that can be used to develop shared vocabulary for theory building and knowledge accumulation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document