Intact finger representation within primary sensorimotor cortex of Musicians Dystonia

Musicians dystonia presents with a persistent deterioration of motor control during musical performance. A predominant hypothesis has been that this is underpinned by maladaptive neural changes to the somatotopic organisation of finger representations within primary somatosensory cortex. Here, we tested this hypothesis by investigating the finger-specific activity patterns in the primary somatosensory and motor cortex using functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) in nine musicians with dystonia and nine healthy musicians. A purpose-built keyboard device allowed fMRI characterisation of activity patterns elicited during passive extension and active finger presses of individual fingers. We analysed the data using both traditional spatial analysis and state-of-the art multivariate analyses. Our analysis reveals that digit representations in musicians were poorly captured by spatial measures. An optimised spatial metric found clear somatotopy but no difference in the spatial geometry between fingers. Representational similarity analysis was confirmed as a highly reliable technique and more consistent than all spatial metrics evaluated. Significantly, the dissimilarity architecture was equivalent for musicians with and without dystonia and no expansion or spatial shift of digit representation maps were found in the symptomatic group. Our results therefore suggest that the neural representation of generic finger maps in primary sensorimotor cortex is intact in Musicians dystonia. These results are against the idea that task-specific dystonia is associated with a distorted hand somatotopy and suggests that task-specific dystonia is due to a higher order disruption of skill encoding. Such a formulation can better explain the task-specific deficit and offers mechanistic insight for therapeutic interventions.

Effect of reward on electrophysiological signatures of grid cell population activity in human spatial navigation

The regular equilateral triangular periodic firing pattern of grid cells in the entorhinal cortex is considered a regular metric for the spatial world, and the grid-like representation correlates with hexadirectional modulation of theta (4–8 Hz) power in the entorhinal cortex relative to the moving direction. However, researchers have not clearly determined whether grid cells provide only simple spatial measures in human behavior-related navigation strategies or include other factors such as goal rewards to encode information in multiple patterns. By analysing the hexadirectional modulation of EEG signals in the theta band in the entorhinal cortex of patients with epilepsy performing spatial target navigation tasks, we found that this modulation presents a grid pattern that carries target-related reward information. This grid-like representation is influenced by explicit goals and is related to the local characteristics of the environment. This study provides evidence that human grid cell population activity is influenced by reward information at the level of neural oscillations.

The measure of spatial position within groups that best predicts predation risk depends on group movement

Both empirical and theoretical studies show that an individual's spatial position within a group can impact the risk of being targeted by predators. Spatial positions can be quantified in numerous ways, but there are no direct comparisons of different spatial measures in predicting the risk of being targeted by real predators. Here, we assess these spatial measures in groups of stationary and moving virtual prey being attacked by three-spined sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ). In stationary groups, the limited domain of danger best predicted the likelihood of attack. In moving groups, the number of near neighbours was the best predictor but only over a limited range of distances within which other prey were counted. Otherwise, measures of proximity to the group's edge outperformed measures of local crowding in moving groups. There was no evidence that predators preferentially attacked the front or back of the moving groups. Domains of danger without any limit, as originally used in the selfish herd model, were also a poor predictor of risk. These findings reveal that the collective properties of prey can influence how spatial position affects predation risk, via effects on predators' targeting. Selection may therefore act differently on prey positioning behaviour depending on group movement.

Insights from spatial measures of intolerance to identify pathogenic variants in developmental and epileptic encephalopathies

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) are a group of epilepsies with early onset and severe symptoms that sometimes lead to death. While a number of genes have been successfully implicated, it remains challenging to identify causative mutations within these genes from the background variation present in all individuals due to disease heterogeneity. Our ability to detect likely pathogenic variants has continued to improve as in silico predictors of deleteriousness have advanced. We investigate their use in prioritising likely pathogenic variants in epileptic encephalopathy patient whole exome sequences and show that the inclusion of structure-based predictors of intolerance improve upon previous attempts to demonstrate enrichment within epilepsy genes.

The measure of spatial position within groups that best predicts predation risk depends on group movement

Both empirical and theoretical studies show that an individual's spatial position within a group can impact the risk of being targeted by predators. Spatial positions can be quantified in numerous ways, but there are no direct comparisons of different spatial measures in predicting the risk of being targeted by real predators. Here we assess these spatial measures in groups of stationary and moving virtual prey being attacked by three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). In stationary groups, the limited domain of danger best predicted the likelihood of attack. In moving groups, the number of near neighbours was the best predictor but only over a limited range of distances within which other prey were counted. Otherwise, measures of proximity to the group's edge outperformed measures of local crowding in moving groups. There was no evidence that predators preferentially attacked the front or back of the moving groups. Domains of danger without any limit, as originally used in the selfish herd model, were also a poor predictor of risk. These findings reveal that the collective properties of prey can influence how spatial position affects predation risk, via effects on predators' targeting, hence selection may act differently on prey positioning behaviour depending on group movement.

Role OF Structural Indices and Other Spatial Measures in the Improvement Of Crown Variables Prediction For Lannea fructicosa

Theoretically, the stem of the tree must be strong enough to withstand the forces that act on it. These forces include the weight of the crown and the drag exerted on it by the wind. This mean that for a well-established root system, there should be some kind of balance between crown and stem sizes, otherwise the stem be break. The sizes, shapes and relative locations of crowns both determine and respond to the shading and constriction effects that characterize aboveground interactions between trees. Due to this kind of balance, tree crown parameters have been used as predictor variables in diameter and height growth equations. Although the correlation between tree variables and crown dimensions has well documented in the literature, other stand composition and conditions such as competition, elevation and aspect are believed to be among the unexplained forces that exert strong influences on the accuracy of the allometric models used for that relationship. This study attempted to quantify the effect of structural indices and other spatial measures to improve the prediction of crown radius and crown length for trees in natural woodlands. Field data were recorded for Lannea fruticosa tree species that naturally grown in Elgarri forest reserve in Blue Nile State, Sudan. The data was used to test the performance of estimating crown dimensions on the basis of allometric relationships with tree diameter and height. A total of thirteen spatial and non-spatial indices were incorporated into modified crown dimension models. Coefficient of multiple determination (R2) and relative bias were used to test the performance of these indices in improving the accuracy of estimates. According to the results all predictions of crown length and radius were found to be better after the incorporation of the spatial and non-spatial, with positive R2 gain and acceptable negative bias values for crown radius and positive ones for crown length. For all cases, the spatial indices were found to be better than the non-spatial ones.

Challenges for Landscape Architecture: Designed Urban Ecosystems and Social Acceptance

Creation of new ecosystems within urban contexts has undeniable benefits for city dwellers in terms of increased urban biodiversity and related provisioning of ecosystem services. However, designing new ecosystems in areas with a high population density or subject to intensive use may generate also negative impacts on the anthropic dimension and cause social conflicts that, in turn, can undermine the project’s effectiveness. This article focuses on the quite unexplored issue of anthropic “costs” that new urban ecosystems can generate, and on design and management challenges that they open up in terms of social acceptance. Landscape architecture, as a synthesis of ecological, aesthetic and ethical aspects, seems to be the most appropriate framework for adopting a holistic approach to the design of new urban ecosystems. The article analyses three Italian landscape architecture projects. All projects adopted spatial measures oriented at fostering perception, understanding and acceptance of the recreated ecosystems, while preserving them from anthropic impacts. However, these efforts are sometimes jeopardized by a lack of concomitant operational measures, such as stakeholder involvement and sites’ maintenance. Co-existence of delicate habitats and urban functions is thus not utopic, but asks that projects effectively integrate ecological sciences, landscape design and management, as well as social-oriented practices.

New indices to characterize drawing behavior in humans (Homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Techniques used in cave art suggest that drawing skills emerged long before the oldest known representative human productions (44,000 years bc). This study seeks to improve our knowledge of the evolutionary origins and the ontogenetic development of drawing behavior by studying drawings of humans (N = 178, 3- to 10-year-old children and adults) and chimpanzees (N = 5). Drawings were characterized with an innovative index based on spatial measures which provides the degree of efficiency for the lines that are drawn. Results showed that this index was lowest in chimpanzees, increased and reached its maximum between 5-year-old and 10-year-old children and decreased in adults, whose drawing efficiency was reduced by the addition of details. Drawings of chimpanzees are not random suggesting that their movements are constrained by cognitive or locomotor aspect and we cannot conclude to the absence of representativeness. We also used indices based on colors and time and asked children about what they drew. These indices can be considered relevant tools to improve our understanding of drawing development and evolution in hominids.