scholarly journals Expression of CRY2 Gene in the Brain Is Related to Human Navigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Xu ◽  
Xiangzhen Kong ◽  
Jia Liu
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Rhythm ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Clock Gene ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Human Navigation ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Sense Of Direction ◽  
Pattern Similarity ◽  
The Brain

Navigation is a complex cognitive process. CRY2 gene has been proposed to play an important role in navigation behaviors in various non-human animal species. Utilizing a recently developed neuroimaging-transcriptomics approach, the present study reported a tentative link between the CRY2 gene and human navigation. Specifically, we showed a significant pattern similarity between CRY2 gene expression in the human brain and navigation-related neural activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging. To further illuminate the functionality of CRY2 in human navigation, we examined the correlation between CRY2 expression and various cognitive processes underlying navigation, and found high correlation of CRY2 expression with neural activity of multiple cognitive domains, particularly object and shape perception and spatial memory. Further analyses on the relation between the neural activity of human navigation and the expression maps of genes of two CRY2-related pathways, i.e., the magnetoreceptive and circadian-related functions, found a trend of correlation for the CLOCK gene, a core circadian regulator gene, suggesting that CRY2 may modulate human navigation through its role in circadian rhythm. This observation was further confirmed by a behavioral study where individuals with better circadian regularity in daily life showed better sense of direction. Taken together, our study presents the first neural evidence that links CRY2 with human navigation, possibly through the modulation of circadian rhythm.

Imagined Temporal Groupings Tune Oscillatory Neural Activity for Processing Rhythmic Sounds

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 172-188
Author(s):  
Brandon T. Paul ◽  
Per B. Sederberg ◽  
Lawrence L. Feth
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Focus Attention ◽  
Complex Sound ◽  
Frequency Bands ◽  
Hierarchical Timing ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg ◽  
The Brain

Temporal patterns within complex sound signals, such as music, are not merely processed after they are heard. We also focus attention to upcoming points in time to aid perception, contingent upon regularities we perceive in the sounds’ inherent rhythms. Such organized predictions are endogenously maintained as meter — the patterning of sounds into hierarchical timing levels that manifest as strong and weak events. Models of neural oscillations provide potential means for how meter could arise in the brain, but little evidence of dynamic neural activity has been offered. To this end, we conducted a study instructing participants to imagine two-based or three-based metric patterns over identical, equally-spaced sounds while we recorded the electroencephalogram (EEG). In the three-based metric pattern, multivariate analysis of the EEG showed contrasting patterns of neural oscillations between strong and weak events in the delta (2–4 Hz) and alpha (9–14 Hz), frequency bands, while theta (4–9 Hz) and beta (16–24 Hz) bands contrasted two hierarchically weaker events. In two-based metric patterns, neural activity did not drastically differ between strong and weak events. We suggest the findings reflect patterns of neural activation and suppression responsible for shaping perception through time.

Infrared thermal imaging of rat somatosensory cortex with whisker stimulation

2012 ◽  
Vol 112 (7) ◽  
pp. 1215-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Suzuki ◽  
Yasuhiro Ooi ◽  
Junji Seki
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Temperature Increase ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Brain Temperature ◽  
Local Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Whisker Stimulation ◽  
The Brain

The present study aims to validate the applicability of infrared (IR) thermal imaging for the study of brain function through experiments on the rat barrel cortex. Regional changes in neural activity within the brain produce alterations in local thermal equilibrium via increases in metabolic activity and blood flow. We studied the relationship between temperature change and neural activity in anesthetized rats using IR imaging to visualize stimulus-induced changes in the somatosensory cortex of the brain. Sensory stimulation of the vibrissae (whiskers) was given for 10 s using an oscillating whisker vibrator (5-mm deflection at 10, 5, and 1 Hz). The brain temperature in the observational region continued to increase significantly with whisker stimulation. The mean peak recorded temperature changes were 0.048 ± 0.028, 0.054 ± 0.036, and 0.097 ± 0.015°C at 10, 5, and 1 Hz, respectively. We also observed that the temperature increase occurred in a focal spot, radiating to encompass a larger region within the contralateral barrel cortex region during single-whisker stimulation. Whisker stimulation also produced ipsilateral cortex temperature increases, which were localized in the same region as the pial arterioles. Temperature increase in the barrel cortex was also observed in rats treated with a calcium channel blocker (nimodipine), which acts to suppress the hemodynamic response to neural activity. Thus the location and area of temperature increase were found to change in accordance with the region of neural activation. These results indicate that IR thermal imaging is viable as a functional quantitative neuroimaging technique.

scholarly journals The evolution of hierarchical structure building capacity for language and music: a bottom-up perspective

Primates ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rie Asano
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Hierarchical Control ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Building Capacity ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Structure Building ◽  
Language And Music ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
Brain Architecture ◽  
The Brain

AbstractA central property of human language is its hierarchical structure. Humans can flexibly combine elements to build a hierarchical structure expressing rich semantics. A hierarchical structure is also considered as playing a key role in many other human cognitive domains. In music, auditory-motor events are combined into hierarchical pitch and/or rhythm structure expressing affect. How did such a hierarchical structure building capacity evolve? This paper investigates this question from a bottom-up perspective based on a set of action-related components as a shared basis underlying cognitive capacities of nonhuman primates and humans. Especially, I argue that the evolution of hierarchical structure building capacity for language and music is tractable for comparative evolutionary study once we focus on the gradual elaboration of shared brain architecture: the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits for hierarchical control of goal-directed action and the dorsal pathways for hierarchical internal models. I suggest that this gradual elaboration of the action-related brain architecture in the context of vocal control and tool-making went hand in hand with amplification of working memory, and made the brain ready for hierarchical structure building in language and music.

Associations between mental wellbeing and fMRI neural bases underlying responses to positive emotion in a twin sample

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Haeme R.P. Park ◽  
Miranda R. Chilver ◽  
Arthur Montalto ◽  
Javad Jamshidi ◽  
Peter R. Schofield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Right

Abstract Background Although mental wellbeing has been linked with positive health outcomes, including longevity and improved emotional and cognitive functioning, studies examining the underlying neural mechanisms of both subjective and psychological wellbeing have been sparse. We assessed whether both forms of wellbeing are associated with neural activity engaged during positive and negative emotion processing and the extent to which this association is driven by genetics or environment. Methods We assessed mental wellbeing in 230 healthy adult monozygotic and dizygotic twins using a previously validated questionnaire (COMPAS-W) and undertook functional magnetic resonance imaging during a facial emotion viewing task. We used linear mixed models to analyse the association between COMPAS-W scores and emotion-elicited neural activation. Univariate twin modelling was used to evaluate heritability of each brain region. Multivariate twin modelling was used to compare twin pairs to assess the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to this association. Results Higher levels of wellbeing were associated with greater neural activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, localised in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), in response to positive emotional expressions of happiness. Univariate twin modelling showed activity in the IFG to have 20% heritability. Multivariate twin modelling suggested that the association between wellbeing and positive emotion-elicited neural activity was driven by common variance from unique environment (r = 0.208) rather than shared genetics. Conclusions Higher mental wellbeing may have a basis in greater engagement of prefrontal neural regions in response to positive emotion, and this association may be modifiable by unique life experiences.

scholarly journals Ibudilast, a neuroimmune modulator, reduces heavy drinking and alcohol cue-elicited neural activation: a randomized trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica N. Grodin ◽  
Spencer Bujarski ◽  
Brandon Towns ◽  
Elizabeth Burnette ◽  
Steven Nieto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
Cue Reactivity ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Daily Diary Study ◽  
Alcohol Cues ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The Brain

AbstractIbudilast, a neuroimmune modulator which selectively inhibits phosphodiesterases (PDE)-3, -4, -10, and -11, and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), shows promise as a novel pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, the mechanisms of action underlying ibudilast’s effects on the human brain remain largely unknown. Thus, the current study examined the efficacy of ibudilast to improve negative mood, reduce heavy drinking, and attenuate neural reward signals in individuals with AUD. Fifty-two nontreatment-seeking individuals with AUD were randomized to receive ibudilast (n = 24) or placebo (n = 28). Participants completed a 2-week daily diary study during which they filled out daily reports of their past day drinking, mood, and craving. Participants completed an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) alcohol cue-reactivity paradigm half-way through the study. Ibudilast did not have a significant effect on negative mood (β = −0.34, p = 0.62). However, ibudilast, relative to placebo, reduced the odds of heavy drinking across time by 45% (OR = 0.55, (95% CI: 0.30, 0.98)). Ibudilast also attenuated alcohol cue-elicited activation in the ventral striatum (VS) compared to placebo (F(1,44) = 7.36, p = 0.01). Alcohol cue-elicited activation in the VS predicted subsequent drinking in the ibudilast group (F(1,44) = 6.39, p = 0.02), such that individuals who had attenuated ventral striatal activation and took ibudilast had the fewest number of drinks per drinking day in the week following the scan. These findings extend preclinical and human laboratory studies of the utility of ibudilast to treat AUD and suggest a biobehavioral mechanism through which ibudilast acts, namely, by reducing the rewarding response to alcohol cues in the brain leading to a reduction in heavy drinking.

A genetic CLOCK variant associated with cluster headache causing increased mRNA levels

Cephalalgia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Fourier ◽  
Caroline Ran ◽  
Margret Zinnegger ◽  
Anne-Sofie Johansson ◽  
Christina Sjöstrand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Circadian Rhythm ◽  
Cluster Headache ◽  
Clock Gene ◽  
Control Sample ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Primary Fibroblast ◽  
Clock Gene Expression ◽  
Diurnal Preference

Background Cluster headache is characterized by recurrent unilateral headache attacks of severe intensity. One of the main features in a majority of patients is a striking rhythmicity of attacks. The CLOCK ( Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput) gene encodes a transcription factor that serves as a basic driving force for circadian rhythm in humans and is therefore particularly interesting as a candidate gene for cluster headache. Methods We performed an association study on a large Swedish cluster headache case-control sample (449 patients and 677 controls) screening for three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CLOCK gene implicated in diurnal preference (rs1801260) or sleep duration (rs11932595 and rs12649507), respectively. We further wanted to investigate the effect of identified associated SNPs on CLOCK gene expression. Results We found a significant association with rs12649507 and cluster headache ( p = 0.0069) and this data was strengthened when stratifying for reported diurnal rhythmicity of attacks ( p = 0.0009). We investigated the effect of rs12649507 on CLOCK gene expression in human primary fibroblast cultures and identified a significant increase in CLOCK mRNA expression ( p = 0.0232). Conclusions Our results strengthen the hypothesis of the involvement of circadian rhythm in cluster headache.

scholarly journals Harmonic Brain Modes: A Unifying Framework for Linking Space and Time in Brain Dynamics

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selen Atasoy ◽  
Gustavo Deco ◽  
Morten L. Kringelbach ◽  
Joel Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Dynamics ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Brain

A fundamental characteristic of spontaneous brain activity is coherent oscillations covering a wide range of frequencies. Interestingly, these temporal oscillations are highly correlated among spatially distributed cortical areas forming structured correlation patterns known as the resting state networks, although the brain is never truly at “rest.” Here, we introduce the concept of harmonic brain modes—fundamental building blocks of complex spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity. We define these elementary harmonic brain modes as harmonic modes of structural connectivity; that is, connectome harmonics, yielding fully synchronous neural activity patterns with different frequency oscillations emerging on and constrained by the particular structure of the brain. Hence, this particular definition implicitly links the hitherto poorly understood dimensions of space and time in brain dynamics and its underlying anatomy. Further we show how harmonic brain modes can explain the relationship between neurophysiological, temporal, and network-level changes in the brain across different mental states ( wakefulness, sleep, anesthesia, psychedelic). Notably, when decoded as activation of connectome harmonics, spatial and temporal characteristics of neural activity naturally emerge from the interplay between excitation and inhibition and this critical relation fits the spatial, temporal, and neurophysiological changes associated with different mental states. Thus, the introduced framework of harmonic brain modes not only establishes a relation between the spatial structure of correlation patterns and temporal oscillations (linking space and time in brain dynamics), but also enables a new dimension of tools for understanding fundamental principles underlying brain dynamics in different states of consciousness.

Shape Memory Alloy Actuatable Woven Neural Probes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella Shull ◽  
Jay Jia Hu ◽  
Justin Buschnyj ◽  
Henry Koon ◽  
Julianna Abel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shape Memory Alloy ◽  
Shape Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Neural Probes ◽  
Thermally Induced ◽  
Tissue Phantom ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Ordered Array ◽  
The Brain

The ability to sense neural activity using electrodes has allowed scientists to use this information to temporarily restore movement in paralyzed individuals using brain-computer interfaces (BCI). However, current electrodes do not provide chronic recording of the brain due to the inflammatory response of the immune system caused by the large (∼ 20–80 μm) size of the shanks, and the mechanical mismatch of the shanks relative to the brain. Electrode designs are evolving to use small (< 15 μm) flexible neural probes to minimize inflammatory responses and enable chronic use. However, their flexibility limits the scalability — it is challenging to assemble 3D arrays of such electrodes, to insert the arrays of flexible neural probes into the brain without buckling, and to uniformly distribute them into large areas of the brain. Thus, we created Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuated Woven Neural Probes (WNPs). A linear array of 32 flexible insulated microwires were interwoven with SMA wires resulting in an ordered array of parallel electrodes. SMA WNPs were shaped to an initial constricted profile for reliable insertion into a tissue phantom. Following insertion, the SMA wires were used as actuators to unravel the constricted WNP to distribute electrodes across large volumes. We demonstrated that the WNPs could be inserted into the brain without buckling and record neural activity. In separate experiments, we showed that the SMA could mechanically distribute the WNPs via thermally induced actuation. This work thus highlights the potential of actuatable WNPs to be used as a platform for neural recording.

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