A. Saitovitch, Traian Popa, H. Lemaître, E. Rechtman, J. Lamy, D. Grevent, R. Calmon, S. Meunier, F. Brunelle, Y. Samson, N. Boddaert, M. Zilbovicius
Processing eye-gaze information is a key step to human social interaction. Neuroimaging studies have shown that superior temporal sulcus (STS) is highly implicated in eye-gaze perception. In autism, a lack of preference for the eyes, as well as anatomo-functional abnormalities within the STS, has been described. To date, there are no experimental data in humans showing whether it is possible to interfere with eye-gaze processing by modulating STS neural activity. Here, we measured eye-gaze perception before and after inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied over the posterior STS (pSTS) in young healthy volunteers. Eye-gaze processing, namely overt orienting toward the eyes, was measured using eye tracking during passive visualization of social movies. Inhibition of the right pSTS led participants to look less to the eyes of characters during visualization of social movies. Such effect was specific for the eyes and was not observed after inhibition of the left pSTS nor after placebo TMS. These results indicate for the first time that interfering with the right pSTS neural activity transitorily disrupts the behavior of orienting toward the eyes and thus indirectly gaze perception, a fundamental process for human social cognition. These results could open up new perspectives in therapeutic interventions in autism.
{"title":"Tuning Eye-Gaze Perception by Transitory STS Inhibition","authors":"A. Saitovitch, Traian Popa, H. Lemaître, E. Rechtman, J. Lamy, D. Grevent, R. Calmon, S. Meunier, F. Brunelle, Y. Samson, N. Boddaert, M. Zilbovicius","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw045","url":null,"abstract":"Processing eye-gaze information is a key step to human social interaction. Neuroimaging studies have shown that superior temporal sulcus (STS) is highly implicated in eye-gaze perception. In autism, a lack of preference for the eyes, as well as anatomo-functional abnormalities within the STS, has been described. To date, there are no experimental data in humans showing whether it is possible to interfere with eye-gaze processing by modulating STS neural activity. Here, we measured eye-gaze perception before and after inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied over the posterior STS (pSTS) in young healthy volunteers. Eye-gaze processing, namely overt orienting toward the eyes, was measured using eye tracking during passive visualization of social movies. Inhibition of the right pSTS led participants to look less to the eyes of characters during visualization of social movies. Such effect was specific for the eyes and was not observed after inhibition of the left pSTS nor after placebo TMS. These results indicate for the first time that interfering with the right pSTS neural activity transitorily disrupts the behavior of orienting toward the eyes and thus indirectly gaze perception, a fundamental process for human social cognition. These results could open up new perspectives in therapeutic interventions in autism.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"25 1","pages":"2823 - 2831"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76132173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gürsel Çalışkan, Iris Müller, M. Semtner, A. Winkelmann, Ahsan S. Raza, J. Hollnagel, Anton Rösler, U. Heinemann, O. Stork, J. Meier
Parvalbumin-positive (PV) basket cells provide perisomatic inhibition in the cortex and hippocampus and control generation of memory-related network activity patterns, such as sharp wave ripples (SPW-R). Deterioration of this class of fast-spiking interneurons has been observed in neuropsychiatric disorders and evidence from animal models suggests their involvement in the acquisition and extinction of fear memories. Here, we used mice with neuron type-targeted expression of the presynaptic gain-of-function glycine receptor RNA variant GlyR α3L185L to genetically enhance the network activity of PV interneurons. These mice showed reduced extinction of contextual fear memory but normal auditory cued fear memory. They furthermore displayed increase of SPW-R activity in area CA3 and CA1 and facilitated propagation of this particular network activity pattern, as determined in ventral hippocampal slice preparations. Individual freezing levels during extinction and SPW-R propagation were correlated across genotypes. The same was true for parvalbumin immunoreactivity in the ventral hippocampus, which was generally augmented in the GlyR mutant mice and correlated with individual freezing levels. Together, these results identify PV interneurons as critical cellular substrate of fear memory persistence and associated SPW-R activity in the hippocampus. Our findings may be relevant for the identification and characterization of physiological correlates for posttraumatic stress and anxiety disorders.
{"title":"Identification of Parvalbumin Interneurons as Cellular Substrate of Fear Memory Persistence","authors":"Gürsel Çalışkan, Iris Müller, M. Semtner, A. Winkelmann, Ahsan S. Raza, J. Hollnagel, Anton Rösler, U. Heinemann, O. Stork, J. Meier","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw001","url":null,"abstract":"Parvalbumin-positive (PV) basket cells provide perisomatic inhibition in the cortex and hippocampus and control generation of memory-related network activity patterns, such as sharp wave ripples (SPW-R). Deterioration of this class of fast-spiking interneurons has been observed in neuropsychiatric disorders and evidence from animal models suggests their involvement in the acquisition and extinction of fear memories. Here, we used mice with neuron type-targeted expression of the presynaptic gain-of-function glycine receptor RNA variant GlyR α3L185L to genetically enhance the network activity of PV interneurons. These mice showed reduced extinction of contextual fear memory but normal auditory cued fear memory. They furthermore displayed increase of SPW-R activity in area CA3 and CA1 and facilitated propagation of this particular network activity pattern, as determined in ventral hippocampal slice preparations. Individual freezing levels during extinction and SPW-R propagation were correlated across genotypes. The same was true for parvalbumin immunoreactivity in the ventral hippocampus, which was generally augmented in the GlyR mutant mice and correlated with individual freezing levels. Together, these results identify PV interneurons as critical cellular substrate of fear memory persistence and associated SPW-R activity in the hippocampus. Our findings may be relevant for the identification and characterization of physiological correlates for posttraumatic stress and anxiety disorders.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"43 1","pages":"2325 - 2340"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74223656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The recognition of action-related sounds and words activates motor regions, reflecting the semantic grounding of these symbols in action information; in addition, motor cortex exerts causal influences on sound perception and language comprehension. However, proponents of classic symbolic theories still dispute the role of modality-preferential systems such as the motor cortex in the semantic processing of meaningful stimuli. To clarify whether the motor system carries semantic processes, we investigated neurophysiological indexes of semantic relationships between action-related sounds and words. Event-related potentials revealed that action-related words produced significantly larger stimulus-evoked (Mismatch Negativity-like) and predictive brain responses (Readiness Potentials) when presented in body-part-incongruent sound contexts (e.g., “kiss” in footstep sound context; “kick” in whistle context) than in body-part-congruent contexts, a pattern reminiscent of neurophysiological correlates of semantic priming. Cortical generators of the semantic relatedness effect were localized in areas traditionally associated with semantic memory, including left inferior frontal cortex and temporal pole, and, crucially, in motor areas, where body-part congruency of action sound–word relationships was indexed by a somatotopic pattern of activation. As our results show neurophysiological manifestations of action-semantic priming in the motor cortex, they prove semantic processing in the motor system and thus in a modality-preferential system of the human brain.
{"title":"Somatotopic Semantic Priming and Prediction in the Motor System","authors":"Luigi Grisoni, F. Dreyer, F. Pulvermüller","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw026","url":null,"abstract":"The recognition of action-related sounds and words activates motor regions, reflecting the semantic grounding of these symbols in action information; in addition, motor cortex exerts causal influences on sound perception and language comprehension. However, proponents of classic symbolic theories still dispute the role of modality-preferential systems such as the motor cortex in the semantic processing of meaningful stimuli. To clarify whether the motor system carries semantic processes, we investigated neurophysiological indexes of semantic relationships between action-related sounds and words. Event-related potentials revealed that action-related words produced significantly larger stimulus-evoked (Mismatch Negativity-like) and predictive brain responses (Readiness Potentials) when presented in body-part-incongruent sound contexts (e.g., “kiss” in footstep sound context; “kick” in whistle context) than in body-part-congruent contexts, a pattern reminiscent of neurophysiological correlates of semantic priming. Cortical generators of the semantic relatedness effect were localized in areas traditionally associated with semantic memory, including left inferior frontal cortex and temporal pole, and, crucially, in motor areas, where body-part congruency of action sound–word relationships was indexed by a somatotopic pattern of activation. As our results show neurophysiological manifestations of action-semantic priming in the motor cortex, they prove semantic processing in the motor system and thus in a modality-preferential system of the human brain.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"39 1","pages":"2353 - 2366"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73866212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Q. Arshad, Y. Nigmatullina, R. Nigmatullin, P. Asavarut, U. Goga, Sarah Khan, Kaija Sander, S. Siddiqui, R. Roberts, R. Cohen Kadosh, A. Bronstein, P. Malhotra
Numerical cognition is critical for modern life; however, the precise neural mechanisms underpinning numerical magnitude allocation in humans remain obscure. Based upon previous reports demonstrating the close behavioral and neuro-anatomical relationship between number allocation and spatial attention, we hypothesized that these systems would be subject to similar control mechanisms, namely dynamic interhemispheric competition. We employed a physiological paradigm, combining visual and vestibular stimulation, to induce interhemispheric conflict and subsequent unihemispheric inhibition, as confirmed by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). This allowed us to demonstrate the first systematic bidirectional modulation of numerical magnitude toward either higher or lower numbers, independently of either eye movements or spatial attention mediated biases. We incorporated both our findings and those from the most widely accepted theoretical framework for numerical cognition to present a novel unifying computational model that describes how numerical magnitude allocation is subject to dynamic interhemispheric competition. That is, numerical allocation is continually updated in a contextual manner based upon relative magnitude, with the right hemisphere responsible for smaller magnitudes and the left hemisphere for larger magnitudes.
{"title":"Bidirectional Modulation of Numerical Magnitude","authors":"Q. Arshad, Y. Nigmatullina, R. Nigmatullin, P. Asavarut, U. Goga, Sarah Khan, Kaija Sander, S. Siddiqui, R. Roberts, R. Cohen Kadosh, A. Bronstein, P. Malhotra","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhv344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhv344","url":null,"abstract":"Numerical cognition is critical for modern life; however, the precise neural mechanisms underpinning numerical magnitude allocation in humans remain obscure. Based upon previous reports demonstrating the close behavioral and neuro-anatomical relationship between number allocation and spatial attention, we hypothesized that these systems would be subject to similar control mechanisms, namely dynamic interhemispheric competition. We employed a physiological paradigm, combining visual and vestibular stimulation, to induce interhemispheric conflict and subsequent unihemispheric inhibition, as confirmed by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). This allowed us to demonstrate the first systematic bidirectional modulation of numerical magnitude toward either higher or lower numbers, independently of either eye movements or spatial attention mediated biases. We incorporated both our findings and those from the most widely accepted theoretical framework for numerical cognition to present a novel unifying computational model that describes how numerical magnitude allocation is subject to dynamic interhemispheric competition. That is, numerical allocation is continually updated in a contextual manner based upon relative magnitude, with the right hemisphere responsible for smaller magnitudes and the left hemisphere for larger magnitudes.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"114 1","pages":"2311 - 2324"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91480316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Working memory (WM) declines as we age and, because of its fundamental role in higher order cognition, this can have highly deleterious effects in daily life. We investigated whether older individuals benefit from flexible orienting of attention within WM to mitigate cognitive decline. We measured magnetoencephalography (MEG) in older adults performing a WM precision task with cues during the maintenance period that retroactively predicted the location of the relevant items for performance (retro-cues). WM performance of older adults significantly benefitted from retro-cues. Whereas WM maintenance declined with age, retro-cues conferred strong attentional benefits. A model-based analysis revealed an increase in the probability of recalling the target, a lowered probability of retrieving incorrect items or guessing, and an improvement in memory precision. MEG recordings showed that retro-cues induced a transient lateralization of alpha (8–14 Hz) and beta (15–30 Hz) oscillatory power. Interestingly, shorter durations of alpha/beta lateralization following retro-cues predicted larger cueing benefits, reinforcing recent ideas about the dynamic nature of access to WM representations. Our results suggest that older adults retain flexible control over WM, but individual differences in control correspond to differences in neural dynamics, possibly reflecting the degree of preservation of control in healthy aging.
{"title":"Behavioral and Neural Markers of Flexible Attention over Working Memory in Aging","authors":"Robert M. Mok, N. Myers, George Wallis, A. Nobre","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw011","url":null,"abstract":"Working memory (WM) declines as we age and, because of its fundamental role in higher order cognition, this can have highly deleterious effects in daily life. We investigated whether older individuals benefit from flexible orienting of attention within WM to mitigate cognitive decline. We measured magnetoencephalography (MEG) in older adults performing a WM precision task with cues during the maintenance period that retroactively predicted the location of the relevant items for performance (retro-cues). WM performance of older adults significantly benefitted from retro-cues. Whereas WM maintenance declined with age, retro-cues conferred strong attentional benefits. A model-based analysis revealed an increase in the probability of recalling the target, a lowered probability of retrieving incorrect items or guessing, and an improvement in memory precision. MEG recordings showed that retro-cues induced a transient lateralization of alpha (8–14 Hz) and beta (15–30 Hz) oscillatory power. Interestingly, shorter durations of alpha/beta lateralization following retro-cues predicted larger cueing benefits, reinforcing recent ideas about the dynamic nature of access to WM representations. Our results suggest that older adults retain flexible control over WM, but individual differences in control correspond to differences in neural dynamics, possibly reflecting the degree of preservation of control in healthy aging.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"28 1","pages":"1831 - 1842"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76318594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Large-scale human interaction through, for example, financial markets causes ceaseless random changes in outcome variability, producing frequent and salient outliers that render the outcome distribution more peaked than the Gaussian distribution, and with longer tails. Here, we study how humans cope with this evolutionary novel leptokurtic noise, focusing on the neurobiological mechanisms that allow the brain, 1) to recognize the outliers as noise and 2) to regulate the control necessary for adaptive response. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging, while participants tracked a target whose movements were affected by leptokurtic noise. After initial overreaction and insufficient subsequent correction, participants improved performance significantly. Yet, persistently long reaction times pointed to continued need for vigilance and control. We ran a contrasting treatment where outliers reflected permanent moves of the target, as in traditional mean-shift paradigms. Importantly, outliers were equally frequent and salient. There, control was superior and reaction time was faster. We present a novel reinforcement learning model that fits observed choices better than the Bayes-optimal model. Only anterior insula discriminated between the 2 types of outliers. In both treatments, outliers initially activated an extensive bottom-up attention and belief network, followed by sustained engagement of the fronto-parietal control network.
{"title":"Neural Mechanisms Behind Identification of Leptokurtic Noise and Adaptive Behavioral Response","authors":"M. d'Acremont, P. Bossaerts","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw013","url":null,"abstract":"Large-scale human interaction through, for example, financial markets causes ceaseless random changes in outcome variability, producing frequent and salient outliers that render the outcome distribution more peaked than the Gaussian distribution, and with longer tails. Here, we study how humans cope with this evolutionary novel leptokurtic noise, focusing on the neurobiological mechanisms that allow the brain, 1) to recognize the outliers as noise and 2) to regulate the control necessary for adaptive response. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging, while participants tracked a target whose movements were affected by leptokurtic noise. After initial overreaction and insufficient subsequent correction, participants improved performance significantly. Yet, persistently long reaction times pointed to continued need for vigilance and control. We ran a contrasting treatment where outliers reflected permanent moves of the target, as in traditional mean-shift paradigms. Importantly, outliers were equally frequent and salient. There, control was superior and reaction time was faster. We present a novel reinforcement learning model that fits observed choices better than the Bayes-optimal model. Only anterior insula discriminated between the 2 types of outliers. In both treatments, outliers initially activated an extensive bottom-up attention and belief network, followed by sustained engagement of the fronto-parietal control network.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"15 1","pages":"1818 - 1830"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83575442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tobias E Karlsson, Gabriella Smedfors, Alvin T S Brodin, E. Åberg, A. Mattsson, Isabelle Högbeck, K. Wellfelt, A. Josephson, S. Brené, L. Olson
Nogo receptor 1 (NgR1) is expressed in forebrain neurons and mediates nerve growth inhibition in response to Nogo and other ligands. Neuronal activity downregulates NgR1 and the inability to downregulate NgR1 impairs long-term memory. We investigated behavior in a serial behavioral paradigm in mice that overexpress or lack NgR1, finding impaired locomotor behavior and recognition memory in mice lacking NgR1 and impaired sequential spatial learning in NgR1 overexpressing mice. We also investigated a role for NgR1 in drug-mediated sensitization and found that repeated cocaine exposure caused stronger locomotor responses but limited development of stereotypies in NgR1 overexpressing mice. This suggests that NgR1-regulated synaptic plasticity is needed to develop stereotypies. Ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging analyses of NgR1 overexpressing brains did not reveal any major alterations. NgR1 overexpression resulted in significantly reduced density of mature spines and dendritic complexity. NgR1 overexpression also altered cocaine-induced effects on spine plasticity. Our results show that NgR1 is a negative regulator of both structural synaptic plasticity and dendritic complexity in a brain region-specific manner, and highlight anterior cingulate cortex as a key area for memory-related plasticity.
{"title":"NgR1: A Tunable Sensor Regulating Memory Formation, Synaptic, and Dendritic Plasticity","authors":"Tobias E Karlsson, Gabriella Smedfors, Alvin T S Brodin, E. Åberg, A. Mattsson, Isabelle Högbeck, K. Wellfelt, A. Josephson, S. Brené, L. Olson","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw007","url":null,"abstract":"Nogo receptor 1 (NgR1) is expressed in forebrain neurons and mediates nerve growth inhibition in response to Nogo and other ligands. Neuronal activity downregulates NgR1 and the inability to downregulate NgR1 impairs long-term memory. We investigated behavior in a serial behavioral paradigm in mice that overexpress or lack NgR1, finding impaired locomotor behavior and recognition memory in mice lacking NgR1 and impaired sequential spatial learning in NgR1 overexpressing mice. We also investigated a role for NgR1 in drug-mediated sensitization and found that repeated cocaine exposure caused stronger locomotor responses but limited development of stereotypies in NgR1 overexpressing mice. This suggests that NgR1-regulated synaptic plasticity is needed to develop stereotypies. Ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging analyses of NgR1 overexpressing brains did not reveal any major alterations. NgR1 overexpression resulted in significantly reduced density of mature spines and dendritic complexity. NgR1 overexpression also altered cocaine-induced effects on spine plasticity. Our results show that NgR1 is a negative regulator of both structural synaptic plasticity and dendritic complexity in a brain region-specific manner, and highlight anterior cingulate cortex as a key area for memory-related plasticity.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"9 1","pages":"1804 - 1817"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75356855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Teruo Hashimoto, K. Fukui, H. Takeuchi, Susumu Yokota, Yoshie Kikuchi, H. Tomita, Y. Taki, R. Kawashima
The Val66Met polymorphism of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with psychiatric disorders and regional gray matter volume (rGMV) in adults. However, the relationship between BDNF and rGMV in children has not been clarified. In this 3-year cross-sectional/longitudinal (2 time points) study, we investigated the effects of BDNF genotypes on rGMV in 185 healthy Japanese children aged 5.7–18.4 using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses. We found that the volume of the right cuneus in Met homozygotes (Met/Met) was greater than in Val homozygotes (Val/Val) in both exams, and the left insula and left ventromedial prefrontal cortex volumes were greater in Val homozygotes versus Met homozygotes in Exam l. In addition, Met homozygous subjects exhibited higher processing speed in intelligence indices than Val homozygotes and Val/Met heterozygotes at both time points. Longitudinal analysis showed that the left temporoparietal junction volume of Val/Met heterozygotes increased more substantially over the 3-year study period than in Val homozygotes, and age-related changes were observed for the Val/Met genotype. Our findings suggest that the presence of 2 Met alleles may have a positive effect on rGMV at the developmental stages analyzed in this study.
{"title":"Effects of the BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism on Gray Matter Volume in Typically Developing Children and Adolescents","authors":"Teruo Hashimoto, K. Fukui, H. Takeuchi, Susumu Yokota, Yoshie Kikuchi, H. Tomita, Y. Taki, R. Kawashima","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw020","url":null,"abstract":"The Val66Met polymorphism of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with psychiatric disorders and regional gray matter volume (rGMV) in adults. However, the relationship between BDNF and rGMV in children has not been clarified. In this 3-year cross-sectional/longitudinal (2 time points) study, we investigated the effects of BDNF genotypes on rGMV in 185 healthy Japanese children aged 5.7–18.4 using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses. We found that the volume of the right cuneus in Met homozygotes (Met/Met) was greater than in Val homozygotes (Val/Val) in both exams, and the left insula and left ventromedial prefrontal cortex volumes were greater in Val homozygotes versus Met homozygotes in Exam l. In addition, Met homozygous subjects exhibited higher processing speed in intelligence indices than Val homozygotes and Val/Met heterozygotes at both time points. Longitudinal analysis showed that the left temporoparietal junction volume of Val/Met heterozygotes increased more substantially over the 3-year study period than in Val homozygotes, and age-related changes were observed for the Val/Met genotype. Our findings suggest that the presence of 2 Met alleles may have a positive effect on rGMV at the developmental stages analyzed in this study.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"1 1","pages":"1795 - 1803"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79895585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. M. De Stasi, P. Farisello, Iacopo Marcon, Stefano Cavallari, Angelo Forli, Dania Vecchia, G. Losi, M. Mantegazza, S. Panzeri, G. Carmignoto, A. Bacci, Tommaso Fellin
Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI) is associated with loss of function of the SCN1A gene encoding the NaV1.1 sodium channel isoform. Previous studies in Scn1a−/+ mice during the pre-epileptic period reported selective reduction in interneuron excitability and proposed this as the main pathological mechanism underlying SMEI. Yet, the functional consequences of this interneuronal dysfunction at the circuit level in vivo are unknown. Here, we investigated whether Scn1a−/+ mice showed alterations in cortical network function. We found that various forms of spontaneous network activity were similar in Scn1a−/+ during the pre-epileptic period compared with wild-type (WT) in vivo. Importantly, in brain slices from Scn1a−/+ mice, the excitability of parvalbumin (PV) and somatostatin (SST) interneurons was reduced, epileptiform activity propagated more rapidly, and complex synaptic changes were observed. However, in vivo, optogenetic reduction of firing in PV or SST cells in WT mice modified ongoing network activities, and juxtasomal recordings from identified PV and SST interneurons showed unaffected interneuronal firing during spontaneous cortical dynamics in Scn1a−/+ compared with WT. These results demonstrate that interneuronal hypoexcitability is not observed in Scn1a−/+ mice during spontaneous activities in vivo and suggest that additional mechanisms may contribute to homeostatic rearrangements and the pathogenesis of SMEI.
{"title":"Unaltered Network Activity and Interneuronal Firing During Spontaneous Cortical Dynamics In Vivo in a Mouse Model of Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy","authors":"A. M. De Stasi, P. Farisello, Iacopo Marcon, Stefano Cavallari, Angelo Forli, Dania Vecchia, G. Losi, M. Mantegazza, S. Panzeri, G. Carmignoto, A. Bacci, Tommaso Fellin","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhw002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw002","url":null,"abstract":"Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI) is associated with loss of function of the SCN1A gene encoding the NaV1.1 sodium channel isoform. Previous studies in Scn1a−/+ mice during the pre-epileptic period reported selective reduction in interneuron excitability and proposed this as the main pathological mechanism underlying SMEI. Yet, the functional consequences of this interneuronal dysfunction at the circuit level in vivo are unknown. Here, we investigated whether Scn1a−/+ mice showed alterations in cortical network function. We found that various forms of spontaneous network activity were similar in Scn1a−/+ during the pre-epileptic period compared with wild-type (WT) in vivo. Importantly, in brain slices from Scn1a−/+ mice, the excitability of parvalbumin (PV) and somatostatin (SST) interneurons was reduced, epileptiform activity propagated more rapidly, and complex synaptic changes were observed. However, in vivo, optogenetic reduction of firing in PV or SST cells in WT mice modified ongoing network activities, and juxtasomal recordings from identified PV and SST interneurons showed unaffected interneuronal firing during spontaneous cortical dynamics in Scn1a−/+ compared with WT. These results demonstrate that interneuronal hypoexcitability is not observed in Scn1a−/+ mice during spontaneous activities in vivo and suggest that additional mechanisms may contribute to homeostatic rearrangements and the pathogenesis of SMEI.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"49 1","pages":"1778 - 1794"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90919513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Noradrenaline (NA) is a key neuromodulator for the regulation of behavioral state and cognition. It supports learning by increasing arousal and vigilance, whereby new experiences are “earmarked” for encoding. Within the hippocampus, experience-dependent information storage occurs by means of synaptic plasticity. Furthermore, novel spatial, contextual, or associative learning drives changes in synaptic strength, reflected by the strengthening of long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD). NA acting on β-adrenergic receptors (β-AR) is a key determinant as to whether new experiences result in persistent hippocampal synaptic plasticity. This can even dictate the direction of change of synaptic strength. The different hippocampal subfields play different roles in encoding components of a spatial representation through LTP and LTD. Strikingly, the sensitivity of synaptic plasticity in these subfields to β-adrenergic control is very distinct (dentate gyrus > CA3 > CA1). Moreover, NA released from the locus coeruleus that acts on β-AR leads to hippocampal LTD and an enhancement of LTD-related memory processing. We propose that NA acting on hippocampal β-AR, that is graded according to the novelty or saliency of the experience, determines the content and persistency of synaptic information storage in the hippocampal subfields and therefore of spatial memories.
{"title":"β-Adrenergic Control of Hippocampal Function: Subserving the Choreography of Synaptic Information Storage and Memory","authors":"Hardy Hagena, Niels Hansen, D. Manahan‐Vaughan","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhv330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhv330","url":null,"abstract":"Noradrenaline (NA) is a key neuromodulator for the regulation of behavioral state and cognition. It supports learning by increasing arousal and vigilance, whereby new experiences are “earmarked” for encoding. Within the hippocampus, experience-dependent information storage occurs by means of synaptic plasticity. Furthermore, novel spatial, contextual, or associative learning drives changes in synaptic strength, reflected by the strengthening of long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD). NA acting on β-adrenergic receptors (β-AR) is a key determinant as to whether new experiences result in persistent hippocampal synaptic plasticity. This can even dictate the direction of change of synaptic strength. The different hippocampal subfields play different roles in encoding components of a spatial representation through LTP and LTD. Strikingly, the sensitivity of synaptic plasticity in these subfields to β-adrenergic control is very distinct (dentate gyrus > CA3 > CA1). Moreover, NA released from the locus coeruleus that acts on β-AR leads to hippocampal LTD and an enhancement of LTD-related memory processing. We propose that NA acting on hippocampal β-AR, that is graded according to the novelty or saliency of the experience, determines the content and persistency of synaptic information storage in the hippocampal subfields and therefore of spatial memories.","PeriodicalId":9825,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY)","volume":"79 1","pages":"1349 - 1364"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79298819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}