scholarly journals Substantively Lowered Levels of Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) in Several Regions of the Human Brain in Parkinson’s Disease Dementia

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 569
Author(s):  
Melissa Scholefield ◽  
Stephanie J. Church ◽  
Jingshu Xu ◽  
Stefano Patassini ◽  
Nigel M. Hooper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Entorhinal Cortex ◽  
Pantothenic Acid ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Cingulate Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Vitamin B5

Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is an essential trace nutrient required for the synthesis of coenzyme A (CoA). It has previously been shown that pantothenic acid is significantly decreased in multiple brain regions in both Alzheimer’s disease (ADD) and Huntington’s disease (HD). The current investigation aimed to determine whether similar changes are also present in cases of Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), another age-related neurodegenerative condition, and whether such perturbations might occur in similar regions in these apparently different diseases. Brain tissue was obtained from nine confirmed cases of PDD and nine controls with a post-mortem delay of 26 h or less. Tissues were acquired from nine regions that show high, moderate, or low levels of neurodegeneration in PDD: the cerebellum, motor cortex, primary visual cortex, hippocampus, substantia nigra, middle temporal gyrus, medulla oblongata, cingulate gyrus, and pons. A targeted ultra–high performance liquid chromatography—tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) approach was used to quantify pantothenic acid in these tissues. Pantothenic acid was significantly decreased in the cerebellum (p = 0.008), substantia nigra (p = 0.02), and medulla (p = 0.008) of PDD cases. These findings mirror the significant decreases in the cerebellum of both ADD and HD cases, as well as the substantia nigra, putamen, middle frontal gyrus, and entorhinal cortex of HD cases, and motor cortex, primary visual cortex, hippocampus, middle temporal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, and entorhinal cortex of ADD cases. Taken together, these observations indicate a common but regionally selective disruption of pantothenic acid levels across PDD, ADD, and HD.

scholarly journals Individual differences in reading comprehension and off-task thought relate to perceptually-coupled and decoupled cognition

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meichao Zhang ◽  
Nicola Savill ◽  
Daniel S. Margulies ◽  
Jonathan Smallwood ◽  
Elizabeth Jefferies
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Default Mode Network ◽  
Expository Text ◽  
External Input ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Intrinsic Connectivity

AbstractAlthough the default mode network (DMN) is associated with off-task states, recent evidence shows it can support tasks. This raises the question of how DMN activity can be both beneficial and detrimental to task performance. The decoupling hypothesis proposes that these opposing states occur because DMN supports modes of cognition driven by external input, as well as retrieval states unrelated to input. To test this account, we capitalised on the fact that during reading, regions in DMN are thought to represent the meaning of words through their coupling with visual cortex; the absence of visual coupling should occur when the attention drifts off from the text. We examined individual differences in reading comprehension and off-task thought while participants read an expository text in the laboratory, and related variation in these measures to (i) the neural response during reading in the scanner (Experiment 1), and (ii) patterns of intrinsic connectivity measured in the absence of a task (Experiment 2). The responsiveness of a region of DMN in middle temporal gyrus (MTG) to orthographic inputs during reading predicted good comprehension, while intrinsic decoupling of the same site from visual cortex at rest predicted more frequent off-task thought. In addition, good comprehension was associated with greater intrinsic connectivity between MTG and medial prefrontal regions also within DMN, demonstrating that DMN coupling can support task performance, not only off-task states. These findings indicate that the opposing roles of DMN in cognition reflect its capacity to support both perceptually-coupled and decoupled cognition.

scholarly journals Intersectional, anterograde transsynaptic targeting of the neurons receiving monosynaptic inputs from two upstream regions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuma Kitanishi ◽  
Mariko Tashiro ◽  
Naomi Kitanishi ◽  
Kenji Mizuseki
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Dorsal Striatum ◽  
Systemic Delivery ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
Virus Serotype ◽  
Serotype 1 ◽  
The Brain

A brain region typically receives inputs from multiple upstream areas. However, currently, no method is available to selectively access neurons that receive monosynaptic inputs from two upstream regions. Here, we devised a method to genetically label such neurons in mice by combining the anterograde transsynaptic spread of adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (AAV1) with intersectional gene expression. Injections of AAV1s expressing either Cre or Flpo recombinases and the Cre/Flpo double-dependent AAV into two upstream regions and the downstream region, respectively, were used to label the postsynaptic neurons receiving inputs from the two upstream regions. We demonstrated this labelling in two distinct circuits: the retina/primary visual cortex to the superior colliculus and the bilateral motor cortex to the dorsal striatum. Systemic delivery of the intersectional AAV allowed for unbiased detection of the labelled neurons throughout the brain. This strategy may help analyse the interregional integration of information in the brain.

Gray matter volume differences between transgender men and cisgender women: A voxel-based morphometry study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742199880
Author(s):  
Taku Fukao ◽  
Kazutaka Ohi ◽  
Toshiki Shioiri
Keyword(s):  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Cingulate Gyrus ◽  
Voxel Based Morphometry ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Gyrus ◽  
Occipital Pole ◽  
Transgender Men

Objective: Gender dysphoria (GD) is characterized by distress due to inconsistency between gender identity and biological sex. Individuals with GD often desire to be the other gender, which is called transgender. Although altered brain volumes in transgender people, particularly transgender women, have been reported, the particular brain regions have been inconsistent among studies. This study aimed to investigate neuroanatomical differences in transgender men without physical interventions. Method: T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRIs) were acquired in 21 transgender men and 21 cisgender women matched for biological sex and age. Whole-brain comparisons using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) were performed to identify gray matter volume (GMV) differences between transgender men and cisgender women. Results: Transgender men showed greater GMV in the right posterior cingulate gyrus ( PFWE-corr = 3.06×10-6) and the left occipital pole ( PFWE-corr = 0.017) and lower GMV in the left middle temporal gyrus ( PFWE-corr = 0.017) than cisgender women. Even after including serum sex hormone levels as covariates, the posterior cingulate gyrus was still significant ( PFWE-corr < 0.05). In contrast, the occipital pole and the middle temporal gyrus were not significant after controlling for the sex hormone levels ( PFWE-corr > 0.05), especially affected by testosterone but not estradiol. Conclusion: These findings suggest that transgender men have altered brain structure. We suggest that larger posterior midline structures may contribute to sensitivity to self-referential processing through altered visual perception in transgender people.

scholarly journals Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation to the Primary Motor Cortex Reduces Cortical Inhibition: A TMS-EEG Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1114
Author(s):  
Zhongfei Bai ◽  
Jiaqi Zhang ◽  
Kenneth N. K. Fong
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Supplementary Motor Area ◽  
Motor Area ◽  
Cortical Inhibition ◽  
Theta Burst Stimulation ◽  
Burst Stimulation ◽  
Theta Burst

Introduction: The aim of this study was to reveal the effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) in modulating cortical networks using transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) recording. Methods: Eighteen young adults participated in our study and received iTBS to the primary motor cortex (M1), supplementary motor area, and the primary visual cortex in three separate sessions. A finger tapping task and ipsilateral single-pulse TMS-EEG recording for the M1 were administrated before and after iTBS in each session. The effects of iTBS in motor performance and TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs) were investigated. Results: The results showed that iTBS to the M1, but not supplementary motor area or the primary visual cortex, significantly reduced the N100 amplitude of M1 TEPs in bilateral hemispheres (p = 0.019), with a more prominent effect in the contralateral hemisphere than in the stimulated hemisphere. Moreover, only iTBS to the M1 decreased global mean field power (corrected ps < 0.05), interhemispheric signal propagation (t = 2.53, p = 0.030), and TMS-induced early α-band synchronization (p = 0.020). Conclusion: Our study confirmed the local and remote after-effects of iTBS in reducing cortical inhibition in the M1. TMS-induced oscillations after iTBS for changed cortical excitability in patients with various neurological and psychiatric conditions are worth further exploration.

scholarly journals Shared and distinct transcriptomic cell types across neocortical areas

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bosiljka Tasic ◽  
Zizhen Yao ◽  
Kimberly A. Smith ◽  
Lucas Graybuck ◽  
Thuc Nghi Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Cortical Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Mouse Cortex ◽  
Single Cell Rna Sequencing ◽  
Cortical Regions

ABSTRACTNeocortex contains a multitude of cell types segregated into layers and functionally distinct regions. To investigate the diversity of cell types across the mouse neocortex, we analyzed 12,714 cells from the primary visual cortex (VISp), and 9,035 cells from the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) by deep single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), identifying 116 transcriptomic cell types. These two regions represent distant poles of the neocortex and perform distinct functions. We define 50 inhibitory transcriptomic cell types, all of which are shared across both cortical regions. In contrast, 49 of 52 excitatory transcriptomic types were found in either VISp or ALM, with only three present in both. By combining single cell RNA-seq and retrograde labeling, we demonstrate correspondence between excitatory transcriptomic types and their region-specific long-range target specificity. This study establishes a combined transcriptomic and projectional taxonomy of cortical cell types from functionally distinct regions of the mouse cortex.

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