Bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder（UD） may be different in brain structure. In the present study,we performed voxel-based morphometry（VBM） to quantify the grey matter volumes in 23 patients with bip...Bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder（UD） may be different in brain structure. In the present study,we performed voxel-based morphometry（VBM） to quantify the grey matter volumes in 23 patients with bipolar I depressive disorder（BP1） and 23 patients with UD,and 23 age-,gender-,and educationmatched healthy controls（HCs） using magnetic resonance imaging. We found that compared with the HC and UD groups,the BP1 group showed reduced grey matter volumes in the right inferior frontal gyrus and middle cingulate gyrus,while the UD group showed reduced volume in the right inferior frontal gyrus compared to HCs. In addition,correlation analyses revealed that the grey matter volumes of these regions were negatively correlated with the Hamilton depression rating scores. Taken together,the results of our study suggest that decreased grey matter volume of the right inferior frontal gyrus is a common abnormality in BP1 and UD,and decreasedgrey matter volume in the right middle cingulate gyrus may be specifi c to BP1.展开更多
Orexins, produced in the lateral hypothalamus, are important neuropeptides that participate in the sleep/wake cycle, and their expres- sion coincides with the projection area of the vagus nerve in the brain. Vagus ner...Orexins, produced in the lateral hypothalamus, are important neuropeptides that participate in the sleep/wake cycle, and their expres- sion coincides with the projection area of the vagus nerve in the brain. Vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to decrease the amounts of daytime sleep and rapid eye movement in epilepsy patients with traumatic brain injury. In the present study, we investigated whether vagus nerve stimulation promotes wakefulness and affects orexin expression. A rat model of traumatic brain injury was established using the free fall drop method. In the stimulated group, rats with traumatic brain injury received vagus nerve stimulation （frequency, 30 Hz, current, 1.0 mA; pulse width, 0.5 ms; total stimulation time, 15 minutes）. In the antagonist group, rats with traumatic brain injury were intracerebroventricularly injected with the orexin receptor type 1 （OXIR） antagonist SB334867 and received vagus nerve stimulation. Changes in consciousness were observed after stimulation in each group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blot assay and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the levels of orexin-A and OX1R expression in the prefrontal cortex. In the stimulated group, consciousness was substantially improved, orexin-A protein expression gradually increased within 24 hours after injury and OX1R expres- sion reached a peak at 12 hours, compared with rats subjected to traumatic brain injury only. In the antagonist group, the wake-promoting effect of vagus nerve stimulation was diminished, and orexin-A and OX1R expression were decreased, compared with that of the stim- ulated group. Taken together, our findings suggest that vagus nerve stimulation promotes the recovery of consciousness in comatose rats after traumatic brain injury. The upregulation of orexin-A and OXIR expression in the prefrontal cortex might be involved in the wake-promoting effects of vagus nerve stimulation.展开更多
Schizophrenia is hypothesized to arise from disrupted brain connectivity. This ＂dysconnectivity hypothesis＂ has generated interest in discovering whether there is anatomical and functional dysconnectivity between th...Schizophrenia is hypothesized to arise from disrupted brain connectivity. This ＂dysconnectivity hypothesis＂ has generated interest in discovering whether there is anatomical and functional dysconnectivity between the prefrontal cortex （PFC） and other brain regions, and how this dysconnectivity is linked to the impaired cognitive functions and aberrant behaviors of schizophrenia. Critical advances in neuroimaging technologies, including diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, make it possible to explore these issues. DTI affords the possibility to explore anatomical connectivity in the human brain in vivo and fMRI can be used to make inferences about functional connections between brain regions. In this review, we present major advances in the understanding of PFC anatomical and functional dysconnectivity and their implications in schizophrenia. We then briefly discuss future prospects that need to be explored in order to move beyond simple mapping of connectivity changes to elucidate the neuronal mechanisms underlying schizophrenia.展开更多
The short allele of the serotonin-transporter gene is associated with higher risk for anxiety and depression in Caucasians, but this association is still unclear in Asians. Here, we addressed this issue using behavior...The short allele of the serotonin-transporter gene is associated with higher risk for anxiety and depression in Caucasians, but this association is still unclear in Asians. Here, we addressed this issue using behavioral and multi-modal MRI approaches in a large group of healthy Han Chinese participants （n = 233）. In contrast to findings in Caucasians, we found that long-allele （L） carriers had higher anxiety scores. In another group （n = 64） experiencing significant levels of depression or anxiety, the L-allele frequency was also significantly higher. In healthy participants, L-carriers had reduced functional and anatomical connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex （PFC）, which was correlated with anxiety or depression scores. Our findings demonstrated that in Chinese Han participants, in contrast to Caucasians, the L-allele confers vulnerability to anxiety or depression and weakens top-down emotional control between the PFC and amygdala. Therefore, ethnic background should be taken into account in gene-related studies and their potential clinical applications.展开更多
People with schizophrenia exhibit impaired social cognitive functions, particularly emotion regulation. Abnormal activations of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex （vMPFC） during emotional tasks have been demonstra...People with schizophrenia exhibit impaired social cognitive functions, particularly emotion regulation. Abnormal activations of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex （vMPFC） during emotional tasks have been demonstrated in schizophrenia, suggesting its important role in emotion processing in patients. We used the resting-state functional connectivity approach, setting a functionally relevant region, the vMPFC, as a seed region to examine the intrinsic functional interactions and communication between the vMPFC and other brain regions in schizophrenic patients. We found hypo-connectivity between the vMPFC and the medial frontal cortex, right middle temporal lobe （MTL）, right hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex （PHC） and amygdala. Further, there was a decreased strength of the negative connectivity （or anticorrelation） between the vMPFC and the bilateral dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex （DLPFC） and pre-supplementary motor areas. Among these connectivity alterations, reduced vMPFC-DLPFC connectivity was positively correlated with positive symptoms on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, while vMPFC-right MTL/PHC/amygdala functional connectivity was positively correlated with the performance of emotional regulation in patients. These findings imply that communication and coordination throughout the brain networks are disrupted in schizophrenia. The emotional correlates of vMPFC connectivity suggest a role of the hypo-connectivity between these regions in the neuropathology of abnormal social cognition in chronic schizophrenia.展开更多
The ability to recall and recognize facts we experienced in the past is based on a complex mechanism in which several cerebral regions are implicated. Neuroimaging and lesion studies agree in identifying the frontal l...The ability to recall and recognize facts we experienced in the past is based on a complex mechanism in which several cerebral regions are implicated. Neuroimaging and lesion studies agree in identifying the frontal lobe as a crucial structure for memory processes, and in particular for working memory and episodic memory and their relationships. Furthermore, with the introduction of transcranial magnetic stimulation （TMS） a new way was proposed to investigate the relationships between brain correlates, memory functions and behavior. The aim of this review is to present the main findings that have emerged from experiments which used the TMS technique for memory analysis. They mainly focused on the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in memory process. Furthermore, we present state-of-the-art evidence supporting a possible use of TMS in the clinic. Specifically we focus on the treatment of memory deficits in depression and anxiety disorders.展开更多
Cultural influences on the concept of self is a very important topic for social cognitive neuroscientific exploration, as yet, little if anything is known about this topic at the neural level. The present study invest...Cultural influences on the concept of self is a very important topic for social cognitive neuroscientific exploration, as yet, little if anything is known about this topic at the neural level. The present study investigates this problem by looking at the Chinese culture’s influence on the concept of self, in which the self includes mother. In Western cultures, self-referential processing leads to a memory performance advantage over other forms of semantic processing including mother-referential, other-referential and general semantic processing, and an advantage that is potentially localizable to the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). In Chinese culture, however, the behavioral study showed that mother-referential processing was comparable with self-referential processing in both memory per-formance and autonoetic awareness. The present study attempts to address whether similar neural correlates (e.g. MPFC) are acting to facilitate both types of referencing. Participants judged trait ad-jectives under three reference conditions of self, other and semantic processing in Experiment I, and a mother-reference condition replaced the other-reference condition in Experiment II. The results showed that when compared to other, self-referential processing yielded activations of MPFC and cingulate areas. However, when compared to mother, the activation of MPFC disappeared in self-referential processing, which suggests that mother and self may have a common brain region in the MPFC and that the Chinese idea of self includes mother.展开更多
The single prefrontal configuration has historically been used as an important diagnostic character for many natricine taxa. For example, the genus Trimerodytes Cope, 1895 was long been regarded as a junior synonym of...The single prefrontal configuration has historically been used as an important diagnostic character for many natricine taxa. For example, the genus Trimerodytes Cope, 1895 was long been regarded as a junior synonym of Opisthotropis Günther, 1872 for their similar prefrontal configurations and the type species, T. balteatus Cope, 1895, has been assigned to the genus Opisthotropis. However, as the number and arrangement of prefrontal vary frequently both at species and generic level, it is questionable whether the synonymization of Trimerodytes reflects their evolutionary relationships. On the basis of recently collected specimens of O. balteata, the generic status of the species was assessed using both molecular and morphological data. Opisthotropis was recovered as polyphyletic with reference to O. balteata, because O. balteata is nested within the genus Sinonatrix Rossman and Eberle, 1977 and is the sister species of the type species of Sinonatrix. Consequently, we herein resurrect the long-overlooked synonym Trimerodytes from Opisthotropis and synonymize the junior generic nomen Sinonatrix with Trimerodytes. In addition, based on morphological similarities between the monotypic genus Paratapinophis Angel, 1929 and Trimerodytes, we doubt about the validity of Paratapinophis. Following taxonomic changes in this work, the taxonomic account of the genus Trimerodytes, updated descriptions of its type species, and diagnostic key to Trimerodytes species are provided.展开更多
Background： Damage of the medial prefrontal cortex （mPFC） results in similar characteristics to the cognitive deficiency seen with the progress of Parkinson＇s disease （PD）. Since the course of mPFC damage is sti...Background： Damage of the medial prefrontal cortex （mPFC） results in similar characteristics to the cognitive deficiency seen with the progress of Parkinson＇s disease （PD）. Since the course of mPFC damage is still unclear, our study aimed to investigate the effects of melatonin （MT） on neurotoxicity in the mPFC of a rat model of PD. Methods： One hundred and fifty-four normal, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the following five groups： normal ＋ normal saline （NS）, normal ＋ 6-hydroxydopamine （6-OHDA）, sham pinealectomy （PX） ＋ 6-OHDA, PX ＋ 6-OHDA, and MT ＋ 6-OHDA. 6-OHDA was injected into the right substantia nigra pars compacta （SNc） and ventral tegmental area （VTA） of each group, except normal ＋ NS, 60 days after the PX. In the MT treatment group, MT was administered immediately after the intraperitoneal injection at 4 p.m. every day, for 14 days. Neuronal apoptosis in the mPFC was exalnined using the TUNEL method, while the expression oftyrosine hydroxylase （TH）, Bax, and Bcl-2 in this region was measured using immunohistochemistry. The concentration of malondialdehyde （MDA） in the mPFC was examined using the thioharbituric acid method. Results： Rats in the normal ＋ 6-OHDA and sham PX ＋ 6-OHDA groups were combined into one group （Group N ＋ 6-OHDA） since there was no significant discrepancy between the groups for all the detected parameters. Apoptosis of cells in the NS, MT ＋ 6-OHDA, N ＋ 6-OH DA, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA groups was successively significantly increased （Hc = 256.25, P 〈 0.001 ）. The gray value of TH （＋） fibers in the NS, MT ＋ 6-OHDA, N ＋ 6-OHDA, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA groups was also successively significantly increased （F= 99.33, P 〈 0.001 ）. The staining intensities of Bax and Bcl-2 were as follows： Group NS ＋/＋, Group MT ＋ 6-OHDA ＋＋/＋, Group N ＋ 6-OHDA ＋＋/＋, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA ＋＋＋/＋. The concentrations of MDA in the NS, MT ＋ 6-OHDA, N ＋ 6-OHDA, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA group展开更多
An important and unresolved question is how human brain regions process information and interact with each other in intertemporal choice related to gains and losses. Using psychophysiological interaction and dynamic c...An important and unresolved question is how human brain regions process information and interact with each other in intertemporal choice related to gains and losses. Using psychophysiological interaction and dynamic causal modeling analyses, we investigated the functional interactions between regions involved in the decision- making process while participants performed temporal discounting tasks in both the gains and losses domains. We found two distinct intrinsic valuation systems underlying temporal discounting in the gains and losses domains： gains were specifically evaluated in the medial regions, including the medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, and losses were evaluated in the lateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition, immediate reward or pun- ishment was found to modulate the functional interactions between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and distinct regions in both the gains and losses domains： in the gains domain, the mesolimbic regions; in the losses domain, the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. These findings suggest that intertemporal choice of gains and losses might involve distinct valuation systems, and more importantly, separate neural interactions may implement the intertemporal choices of gains and losses. These findings may provide a new biological perspective for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying intertemporal choice of gains and losses.展开更多
Objective Working memory is a key cognitive function in which the prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role. This study aimed to show the firing patterns of a neuronal population in the prefrontal cortex of the rat in a ...Objective Working memory is a key cognitive function in which the prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role. This study aimed to show the firing patterns of a neuronal population in the prefrontal cortex of the rat in a working memory task and to explore how a neuronal ensemble encodes a working memory event. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in a Y-maze until they reached an 80% correct rate in a working memory task. Then a 16-channel microelectrode array was implanted in the prefrontal cortex. After recovery, neuronal population activity was recorded during the task, using the Cerebus data-acquisition system. Spatio-temporal trains of action potentials were obtained from the original neuronal population signals. Results During the Y-maze working memory task, some neurons showed significantly in- creased firing rates and evident neuronal ensemble activity. Moreover, the anticipatory activity was associated with the delayed alternate choice of the upcoming movement. In correct trials, the averaged pre-event firing rate （10.86 ± 1.82 spikes/ bin） was higher than the post-event rate （8.17 ± 1.15 spikes/bin） （P 〈0.05）. However, in incorrect trials, the rates did not differ. Conclusion The results indicate that the anticipatory activity of a neuronal ensemble in the prefrontal cortex may play a role in encoding working memory events.展开更多
Background: Working memory is an executive function that plays an important role in many aspects of daily life, and its impairment in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects quality of li...Background: Working memory is an executive function that plays an important role in many aspects of daily life, and its impairment in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects quality of life. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been a good target site for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) due to its intense involvement in working memory. In our 2018 study, tDCS improved visual-verbal working memory in healthy subjects. Objective: This study examines the effects of tDCS on ADHD patients, particularly on verbal working memory. Methods: We conducted an experiment involving verbal working memory of two modalities, visual and auditory, and a sustained attention task that could affect working memory in 9 ADHD patients. Active or sham tDCS was applied to the left DLPFC in a single-blind crossover design. Results: tDCS significantly improved the accuracy of visual-verbal working memory. In contrast, tDCS did not affect auditory-verbal working memory and sustained attention. Conclusion: tDCS to the left DLPFC improved visual-verbal working memory in ADHD patients, with important implications for potential ADHD treatments.展开更多
Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders involving more than 1100 genes,including Ctnnd2 as a candidate gene.Ctnnd2knockout mice,serving as an animal model of autis m,have been demonstrate...Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders involving more than 1100 genes,including Ctnnd2 as a candidate gene.Ctnnd2knockout mice,serving as an animal model of autis m,have been demonstrated to exhibit decreased density of dendritic spines.The role of melatonin,as a neuro hormone capable of effectively alleviating social interaction deficits and regulating the development of dendritic spines,in Ctnnd2 deletion-induced nerve injury remains unclea r.In the present study,we discove red that the deletion of exon 2 of the Ctnnd2 gene was linked to social interaction deficits,spine loss,impaired inhibitory neurons,and suppressed phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt) signal pathway in the prefrontal cortex.Our findings demonstrated that the long-term oral administration of melatonin for 28 days effectively alleviated the aforementioned abnormalities in Ctnnd2 gene-knockout mice.Furthermore,the administration of melatonin in the prefro ntal cortex was found to improve synaptic function and activate the PI3K/Akt signal pathway in this region.The pharmacological blockade of the PI3K/Akt signal pathway with a PI3K/Akt inhibitor,wo rtmannin,and melatonin receptor antagonists,luzindole and 4-phenyl-2-propionamidotetralin,prevented the melatonin-induced enhancement of GABAergic synaptic function.These findings suggest that melatonin treatment can ameliorate GABAe rgic synaptic function by activating the PI3K/Akt signal pathway,which may contribute to the improvement of dendritic spine abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders.展开更多
Although much has been known about how humans psychologically perform data-driven scientific discovery,less has been known about its brain mechanism.The number series completion is a typical data-driven scientific dis...Although much has been known about how humans psychologically perform data-driven scientific discovery,less has been known about its brain mechanism.The number series completion is a typical data-driven scientific discovery task,and has been demonstrated to possess the priming effect,which is attributed to the regularity identification and its subsequent extrapolation.In order to reduce the heterogeneities and make the experimental task proper for a brain imaging study,the number magnitude and arithmetic operation involved in number series completion tasks are further restricted.Behavioral performance in Experiment 1 shows the reliable priming effect for targets as expected.Then,a factorial design (the priming effect:prime vs.target;the period length:simple vs.complex) of event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used in Experiment 2 to examine the neural basis of data-driven scientific discovery.The fMRI results reveal a double dissociation of the left DLPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and the left APFC (anterior prefrontal cortex) between the simple (period length=1) and the complex (period length=2) number series completion task.The priming effect in the left DLPFC is more significant for the simple task than for the complex task,while the priming effect in the left APFC is more significant for the complex task than for the simple task.The reliable double dissociation may suggest the different roles of the left DLPFC and left APFC in data-driven scientific discovery.The left DLPFC (BA 46) may play a crucial role in rule identification,while the left APFC (BA 10) may be related to mental set maintenance needed during rule identification and extrapolation.展开更多
The activity in sensory cortices and the prefrontal cortex （PFC） throughout the delay interval of working memory （WM） tasks reflect two aspects of WM-quality and quantity, respectively. The delay activity in senso...The activity in sensory cortices and the prefrontal cortex （PFC） throughout the delay interval of working memory （WM） tasks reflect two aspects of WM-quality and quantity, respectively. The delay activity in sensory cortices is fine-tuned to sensory information and forms the neural basis of the precision of WM storage, while the delay activity in the PFC appears to represent behavioral goals and filters out irrelevant distractions, forming the neural basis of the quantity of task-relevant information in WM. The PFC and sensory cortices interact through different frequency bands of neuronal oscillation （theta, alpha, and gamma） to fulfill goal-directed behaviors.展开更多
General anesthesia is widely applied in clinical practice.However,the precise mechanism of loss of consciousness induced by general anesthetics remains unknown.Here,we measured the dynamics of five neurotransmitters,i...General anesthesia is widely applied in clinical practice.However,the precise mechanism of loss of consciousness induced by general anesthetics remains unknown.Here,we measured the dynamics of five neurotransmitters,includingγ-aminobutyric acid,glutamate,norepinephrine,acetylcholine,and dopamine,in the medial prefrontal cortex and primary visual cortex of C57BL/6 mice through in vivo fiber photometry and genetically encoded neurotransmitter sensors under anesthesia to reveal the mechanism of general anesthesia from a neurotransmitter perspective.Results revealed that the concentrations of γ-aminobutyric acid,glutamate,norepinephrine,and acetylcholine increased in the cortex during propofol-induced loss of consciousness.Dopamine levels did not change following the hypnotic dose of propofol but increased significantly following surgical doses of propofol anesthesia.Notably,the concentrations of the five neurotransmitters generally decreased during sevoflurane-induced loss of consciousness.Furthermore,the neurotransmitter dynamic networks were not synchronized in the non-anesthesia groups but were highly synchronized in the anesthetic groups.These findings suggest that neurotransmitter dynamic network synchronization may cause anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness.展开更多
The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus may support sequential working memory beyond episodic memory and spatial navigation.This stereoelectroencephalography(SEEG)study investigated how the dorsolateral prefrontal corte...The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus may support sequential working memory beyond episodic memory and spatial navigation.This stereoelectroencephalography(SEEG)study investigated how the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(DLPFC)interacts with the hippocampus in the online processing of sequential information.Twenty patients with epilepsy(eight women,age 27.6±8.2 years)completed a line ordering task with SEEG recordings over the DLPFC and the hippocampus.Participants showed longer thinking times and more recall errors when asked to arrange random lines clockwise(random trials)than to maintain ordered lines(ordered trials)before recalling the orientation of a particular line.First,the ordering-related increase in thinking time and recall error was associated with a transient theta power increase in the hippocampus and a sustained theta power increase in the DLPFC(3–10 Hz).In particular,the hippocampal theta power increase correlated with the memory precision of line orientation.Second,theta phase coherences between the DLPFC and hippocampus were enhanced for ordering,especially for more precisely memorized lines.Third,the theta band DLPFC→hippocampus influence was selectively enhanced for ordering,especially for more precisely memorized lines.This study suggests that theta oscillations may support DLPFC-hippocampal interactions in the online processing of sequential information.展开更多
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81171286 and 91232714)National Basic Research Development Program (973 program) of China (2013CB835100 and 2009CB918303)
文摘Bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder（UD） may be different in brain structure. In the present study,we performed voxel-based morphometry（VBM） to quantify the grey matter volumes in 23 patients with bipolar I depressive disorder（BP1） and 23 patients with UD,and 23 age-,gender-,and educationmatched healthy controls（HCs） using magnetic resonance imaging. We found that compared with the HC and UD groups,the BP1 group showed reduced grey matter volumes in the right inferior frontal gyrus and middle cingulate gyrus,while the UD group showed reduced volume in the right inferior frontal gyrus compared to HCs. In addition,correlation analyses revealed that the grey matter volumes of these regions were negatively correlated with the Hamilton depression rating scores. Taken together,the results of our study suggest that decreased grey matter volume of the right inferior frontal gyrus is a common abnormality in BP1 and UD,and decreasedgrey matter volume in the right middle cingulate gyrus may be specifi c to BP1.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81260295the Graduate Student Innovation Fund of Jiangxi Province of China,No.YC2015-S090
文摘Orexins, produced in the lateral hypothalamus, are important neuropeptides that participate in the sleep/wake cycle, and their expres- sion coincides with the projection area of the vagus nerve in the brain. Vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to decrease the amounts of daytime sleep and rapid eye movement in epilepsy patients with traumatic brain injury. In the present study, we investigated whether vagus nerve stimulation promotes wakefulness and affects orexin expression. A rat model of traumatic brain injury was established using the free fall drop method. In the stimulated group, rats with traumatic brain injury received vagus nerve stimulation （frequency, 30 Hz, current, 1.0 mA; pulse width, 0.5 ms; total stimulation time, 15 minutes）. In the antagonist group, rats with traumatic brain injury were intracerebroventricularly injected with the orexin receptor type 1 （OXIR） antagonist SB334867 and received vagus nerve stimulation. Changes in consciousness were observed after stimulation in each group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blot assay and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the levels of orexin-A and OX1R expression in the prefrontal cortex. In the stimulated group, consciousness was substantially improved, orexin-A protein expression gradually increased within 24 hours after injury and OX1R expres- sion reached a peak at 12 hours, compared with rats subjected to traumatic brain injury only. In the antagonist group, the wake-promoting effect of vagus nerve stimulation was diminished, and orexin-A and OX1R expression were decreased, compared with that of the stim- ulated group. Taken together, our findings suggest that vagus nerve stimulation promotes the recovery of consciousness in comatose rats after traumatic brain injury. The upregulation of orexin-A and OXIR expression in the prefrontal cortex might be involved in the wake-promoting effects of vagus nerve stimulation.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Development Program (973 Program) of China (2011CB707800)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB02030300)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91132301 and 81371476)
文摘Schizophrenia is hypothesized to arise from disrupted brain connectivity. This ＂dysconnectivity hypothesis＂ has generated interest in discovering whether there is anatomical and functional dysconnectivity between the prefrontal cortex （PFC） and other brain regions, and how this dysconnectivity is linked to the impaired cognitive functions and aberrant behaviors of schizophrenia. Critical advances in neuroimaging technologies, including diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, make it possible to explore these issues. DTI affords the possibility to explore anatomical connectivity in the human brain in vivo and fMRI can be used to make inferences about functional connections between brain regions. In this review, we present major advances in the understanding of PFC anatomical and functional dysconnectivity and their implications in schizophrenia. We then briefly discuss future prospects that need to be explored in order to move beyond simple mapping of connectivity changes to elucidate the neuronal mechanisms underlying schizophrenia.
基金supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program(973)(2011CB707800)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB02030300)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of China(91132301and81000582)the Beijing Nova Program(2010B06)
文摘The short allele of the serotonin-transporter gene is associated with higher risk for anxiety and depression in Caucasians, but this association is still unclear in Asians. Here, we addressed this issue using behavioral and multi-modal MRI approaches in a large group of healthy Han Chinese participants （n = 233）. In contrast to findings in Caucasians, we found that long-allele （L） carriers had higher anxiety scores. In another group （n = 64） experiencing significant levels of depression or anxiety, the L-allele frequency was also significantly higher. In healthy participants, L-carriers had reduced functional and anatomical connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex （PFC）, which was correlated with anxiety or depression scores. Our findings demonstrated that in Chinese Han participants, in contrast to Caucasians, the L-allele confers vulnerability to anxiety or depression and weakens top-down emotional control between the PFC and amygdala. Therefore, ethnic background should be taken into account in gene-related studies and their potential clinical applications.
基金supported by grants from the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission(D0906001040191,D101107047810005,D101100050010051)the Beijing Natural Science Foundation(7102086)+3 种基金the Fund for Capital Medical Development and Research(2007-3059)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81171409)Startup Foundation for Distinguished Research Professors of the Institute for Psychology(Y0CX492S03)Fund for Outstanding Talents in Beijing(2012D003034000003)
文摘People with schizophrenia exhibit impaired social cognitive functions, particularly emotion regulation. Abnormal activations of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex （vMPFC） during emotional tasks have been demonstrated in schizophrenia, suggesting its important role in emotion processing in patients. We used the resting-state functional connectivity approach, setting a functionally relevant region, the vMPFC, as a seed region to examine the intrinsic functional interactions and communication between the vMPFC and other brain regions in schizophrenic patients. We found hypo-connectivity between the vMPFC and the medial frontal cortex, right middle temporal lobe （MTL）, right hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex （PHC） and amygdala. Further, there was a decreased strength of the negative connectivity （or anticorrelation） between the vMPFC and the bilateral dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex （DLPFC） and pre-supplementary motor areas. Among these connectivity alterations, reduced vMPFC-DLPFC connectivity was positively correlated with positive symptoms on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, while vMPFC-right MTL/PHC/amygdala functional connectivity was positively correlated with the performance of emotional regulation in patients. These findings imply that communication and coordination throughout the brain networks are disrupted in schizophrenia. The emotional correlates of vMPFC connectivity suggest a role of the hypo-connectivity between these regions in the neuropathology of abnormal social cognition in chronic schizophrenia.
文摘The ability to recall and recognize facts we experienced in the past is based on a complex mechanism in which several cerebral regions are implicated. Neuroimaging and lesion studies agree in identifying the frontal lobe as a crucial structure for memory processes, and in particular for working memory and episodic memory and their relationships. Furthermore, with the introduction of transcranial magnetic stimulation （TMS） a new way was proposed to investigate the relationships between brain correlates, memory functions and behavior. The aim of this review is to present the main findings that have emerged from experiments which used the TMS technique for memory analysis. They mainly focused on the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in memory process. Furthermore, we present state-of-the-art evidence supporting a possible use of TMS in the clinic. Specifically we focus on the treatment of memory deficits in depression and anxiety disorders.
基金supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.30270461&697900800)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(Grant No.1998030503).
文摘Cultural influences on the concept of self is a very important topic for social cognitive neuroscientific exploration, as yet, little if anything is known about this topic at the neural level. The present study investigates this problem by looking at the Chinese culture’s influence on the concept of self, in which the self includes mother. In Western cultures, self-referential processing leads to a memory performance advantage over other forms of semantic processing including mother-referential, other-referential and general semantic processing, and an advantage that is potentially localizable to the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). In Chinese culture, however, the behavioral study showed that mother-referential processing was comparable with self-referential processing in both memory per-formance and autonoetic awareness. The present study attempts to address whether similar neural correlates (e.g. MPFC) are acting to facilitate both types of referencing. Participants judged trait ad-jectives under three reference conditions of self, other and semantic processing in Experiment I, and a mother-reference condition replaced the other-reference condition in Experiment II. The results showed that when compared to other, self-referential processing yielded activations of MPFC and cingulate areas. However, when compared to mother, the activation of MPFC disappeared in self-referential processing, which suggests that mother and self may have a common brain region in the MPFC and that the Chinese idea of self includes mother.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0505202)Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB31000000)+6 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31722049, 31772434)Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, CAS (QYZDB-SSW-SMC058)the Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science (Y4ZK111B01)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CASthe CAS “Light of West China” Program (2018XBZG_JCTD_001)Talent Program from Organization Department of Sichuan Provincial Committeepartially supported by project BSTMV.08/16-19 to NTT
文摘The single prefrontal configuration has historically been used as an important diagnostic character for many natricine taxa. For example, the genus Trimerodytes Cope, 1895 was long been regarded as a junior synonym of Opisthotropis Günther, 1872 for their similar prefrontal configurations and the type species, T. balteatus Cope, 1895, has been assigned to the genus Opisthotropis. However, as the number and arrangement of prefrontal vary frequently both at species and generic level, it is questionable whether the synonymization of Trimerodytes reflects their evolutionary relationships. On the basis of recently collected specimens of O. balteata, the generic status of the species was assessed using both molecular and morphological data. Opisthotropis was recovered as polyphyletic with reference to O. balteata, because O. balteata is nested within the genus Sinonatrix Rossman and Eberle, 1977 and is the sister species of the type species of Sinonatrix. Consequently, we herein resurrect the long-overlooked synonym Trimerodytes from Opisthotropis and synonymize the junior generic nomen Sinonatrix with Trimerodytes. In addition, based on morphological similarities between the monotypic genus Paratapinophis Angel, 1929 and Trimerodytes, we doubt about the validity of Paratapinophis. Following taxonomic changes in this work, the taxonomic account of the genus Trimerodytes, updated descriptions of its type species, and diagnostic key to Trimerodytes species are provided.
文摘Background： Damage of the medial prefrontal cortex （mPFC） results in similar characteristics to the cognitive deficiency seen with the progress of Parkinson＇s disease （PD）. Since the course of mPFC damage is still unclear, our study aimed to investigate the effects of melatonin （MT） on neurotoxicity in the mPFC of a rat model of PD. Methods： One hundred and fifty-four normal, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the following five groups： normal ＋ normal saline （NS）, normal ＋ 6-hydroxydopamine （6-OHDA）, sham pinealectomy （PX） ＋ 6-OHDA, PX ＋ 6-OHDA, and MT ＋ 6-OHDA. 6-OHDA was injected into the right substantia nigra pars compacta （SNc） and ventral tegmental area （VTA） of each group, except normal ＋ NS, 60 days after the PX. In the MT treatment group, MT was administered immediately after the intraperitoneal injection at 4 p.m. every day, for 14 days. Neuronal apoptosis in the mPFC was exalnined using the TUNEL method, while the expression oftyrosine hydroxylase （TH）, Bax, and Bcl-2 in this region was measured using immunohistochemistry. The concentration of malondialdehyde （MDA） in the mPFC was examined using the thioharbituric acid method. Results： Rats in the normal ＋ 6-OHDA and sham PX ＋ 6-OHDA groups were combined into one group （Group N ＋ 6-OHDA） since there was no significant discrepancy between the groups for all the detected parameters. Apoptosis of cells in the NS, MT ＋ 6-OHDA, N ＋ 6-OH DA, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA groups was successively significantly increased （Hc = 256.25, P 〈 0.001 ）. The gray value of TH （＋） fibers in the NS, MT ＋ 6-OHDA, N ＋ 6-OHDA, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA groups was also successively significantly increased （F= 99.33, P 〈 0.001 ）. The staining intensities of Bax and Bcl-2 were as follows： Group NS ＋/＋, Group MT ＋ 6-OHDA ＋＋/＋, Group N ＋ 6-OHDA ＋＋/＋, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA ＋＋＋/＋. The concentrations of MDA in the NS, MT ＋ 6-OHDA, N ＋ 6-OHDA, and PX ＋ 6-OHDA group
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(71471171,71071150,91432302,31620103905,31471005,and 71761167001)the Science Frontier Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(QYZDJSSW-SMC019)+2 种基金the Shenzhen Peacock Plan(KQTD2015033016104926)the Guangdong Pearl River Talents Plan Innovative and Entrepreneurial Team(2016ZT06S220)the CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science,Institute of Psychology(Y5CX052003)
文摘An important and unresolved question is how human brain regions process information and interact with each other in intertemporal choice related to gains and losses. Using psychophysiological interaction and dynamic causal modeling analyses, we investigated the functional interactions between regions involved in the decision- making process while participants performed temporal discounting tasks in both the gains and losses domains. We found two distinct intrinsic valuation systems underlying temporal discounting in the gains and losses domains： gains were specifically evaluated in the medial regions, including the medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, and losses were evaluated in the lateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition, immediate reward or pun- ishment was found to modulate the functional interactions between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and distinct regions in both the gains and losses domains： in the gains domain, the mesolimbic regions; in the losses domain, the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. These findings suggest that intertemporal choice of gains and losses might involve distinct valuation systems, and more importantly, separate neural interactions may implement the intertemporal choices of gains and losses. These findings may provide a new biological perspective for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying intertemporal choice of gains and losses.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61074131,91132722)the Doctoral Fund of the Ministry of Education of China(20101202110007)
文摘Objective Working memory is a key cognitive function in which the prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role. This study aimed to show the firing patterns of a neuronal population in the prefrontal cortex of the rat in a working memory task and to explore how a neuronal ensemble encodes a working memory event. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in a Y-maze until they reached an 80% correct rate in a working memory task. Then a 16-channel microelectrode array was implanted in the prefrontal cortex. After recovery, neuronal population activity was recorded during the task, using the Cerebus data-acquisition system. Spatio-temporal trains of action potentials were obtained from the original neuronal population signals. Results During the Y-maze working memory task, some neurons showed significantly in- creased firing rates and evident neuronal ensemble activity. Moreover, the anticipatory activity was associated with the delayed alternate choice of the upcoming movement. In correct trials, the averaged pre-event firing rate （10.86 ± 1.82 spikes/ bin） was higher than the post-event rate （8.17 ± 1.15 spikes/bin） （P 〈0.05）. However, in incorrect trials, the rates did not differ. Conclusion The results indicate that the anticipatory activity of a neuronal ensemble in the prefrontal cortex may play a role in encoding working memory events.
文摘Background: Working memory is an executive function that plays an important role in many aspects of daily life, and its impairment in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects quality of life. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been a good target site for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) due to its intense involvement in working memory. In our 2018 study, tDCS improved visual-verbal working memory in healthy subjects. Objective: This study examines the effects of tDCS on ADHD patients, particularly on verbal working memory. Methods: We conducted an experiment involving verbal working memory of two modalities, visual and auditory, and a sustained attention task that could affect working memory in 9 ADHD patients. Active or sham tDCS was applied to the left DLPFC in a single-blind crossover design. Results: tDCS significantly improved the accuracy of visual-verbal working memory. In contrast, tDCS did not affect auditory-verbal working memory and sustained attention. Conclusion: tDCS to the left DLPFC improved visual-verbal working memory in ADHD patients, with important implications for potential ADHD treatments.
基金supported by the Chongqing Science and Technology CommitteeNatural Science Foundation of Chongqing,No.cstc2021jcyj-msxmX0065 (to YL)。
文摘Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders involving more than 1100 genes,including Ctnnd2 as a candidate gene.Ctnnd2knockout mice,serving as an animal model of autis m,have been demonstrated to exhibit decreased density of dendritic spines.The role of melatonin,as a neuro hormone capable of effectively alleviating social interaction deficits and regulating the development of dendritic spines,in Ctnnd2 deletion-induced nerve injury remains unclea r.In the present study,we discove red that the deletion of exon 2 of the Ctnnd2 gene was linked to social interaction deficits,spine loss,impaired inhibitory neurons,and suppressed phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt) signal pathway in the prefrontal cortex.Our findings demonstrated that the long-term oral administration of melatonin for 28 days effectively alleviated the aforementioned abnormalities in Ctnnd2 gene-knockout mice.Furthermore,the administration of melatonin in the prefro ntal cortex was found to improve synaptic function and activate the PI3K/Akt signal pathway in this region.The pharmacological blockade of the PI3K/Akt signal pathway with a PI3K/Akt inhibitor,wo rtmannin,and melatonin receptor antagonists,luzindole and 4-phenyl-2-propionamidotetralin,prevented the melatonin-induced enhancement of GABAergic synaptic function.These findings suggest that melatonin treatment can ameliorate GABAe rgic synaptic function by activating the PI3K/Akt signal pathway,which may contribute to the improvement of dendritic spine abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.60775039 and 60875075)supported by the Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research (Grant No.18300053) from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science+2 种基金Support Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology Research,Foundationthe Open Foundation of Key Laboratory of Multimedia and Intelligent Software Technology (Beijing University of Technology) Beijingthe Doctoral Research Fund of Beijing University of Technology (Grant No.00243)
文摘Although much has been known about how humans psychologically perform data-driven scientific discovery,less has been known about its brain mechanism.The number series completion is a typical data-driven scientific discovery task,and has been demonstrated to possess the priming effect,which is attributed to the regularity identification and its subsequent extrapolation.In order to reduce the heterogeneities and make the experimental task proper for a brain imaging study,the number magnitude and arithmetic operation involved in number series completion tasks are further restricted.Behavioral performance in Experiment 1 shows the reliable priming effect for targets as expected.Then,a factorial design (the priming effect:prime vs.target;the period length:simple vs.complex) of event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used in Experiment 2 to examine the neural basis of data-driven scientific discovery.The fMRI results reveal a double dissociation of the left DLPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and the left APFC (anterior prefrontal cortex) between the simple (period length=1) and the complex (period length=2) number series completion task.The priming effect in the left DLPFC is more significant for the simple task than for the complex task,while the priming effect in the left APFC is more significant for the complex task than for the simple task.The reliable double dissociation may suggest the different roles of the left DLPFC and left APFC in data-driven scientific discovery.The left DLPFC (BA 46) may play a crucial role in rule identification,while the left APFC (BA 10) may be related to mental set maintenance needed during rule identification and extrapolation.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Development Program (973 Program) of China (2013CB329501)a Scientific Project of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, China (11140900600)+2 种基金the Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology (15ZR1410600)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31100742)funds from the MIND Research Institute, Irvine, CA, USA
文摘The activity in sensory cortices and the prefrontal cortex （PFC） throughout the delay interval of working memory （WM） tasks reflect two aspects of WM-quality and quantity, respectively. The delay activity in sensory cortices is fine-tuned to sensory information and forms the neural basis of the precision of WM storage, while the delay activity in the PFC appears to represent behavioral goals and filters out irrelevant distractions, forming the neural basis of the quantity of task-relevant information in WM. The PFC and sensory cortices interact through different frequency bands of neuronal oscillation （theta, alpha, and gamma） to fulfill goal-directed behaviors.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81870841 and 82171192 to X.S.L.,82101349 to G.L.Q.)。
文摘General anesthesia is widely applied in clinical practice.However,the precise mechanism of loss of consciousness induced by general anesthetics remains unknown.Here,we measured the dynamics of five neurotransmitters,includingγ-aminobutyric acid,glutamate,norepinephrine,acetylcholine,and dopamine,in the medial prefrontal cortex and primary visual cortex of C57BL/6 mice through in vivo fiber photometry and genetically encoded neurotransmitter sensors under anesthesia to reveal the mechanism of general anesthesia from a neurotransmitter perspective.Results revealed that the concentrations of γ-aminobutyric acid,glutamate,norepinephrine,and acetylcholine increased in the cortex during propofol-induced loss of consciousness.Dopamine levels did not change following the hypnotic dose of propofol but increased significantly following surgical doses of propofol anesthesia.Notably,the concentrations of the five neurotransmitters generally decreased during sevoflurane-induced loss of consciousness.Furthermore,the neurotransmitter dynamic networks were not synchronized in the non-anesthesia groups but were highly synchronized in the anesthetic groups.These findings suggest that neurotransmitter dynamic network synchronization may cause anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness.
基金supported by the STI2030-Major Project(2021ZD0203600)with additional support from the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission(2018SHZDZX05 and 2018ZR1406500)+3 种基金the Shanghai Pujiang Program(19PJ1407500)the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical and Engineering Cross Research Fund(YG2019QNA31)the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Clinical Study Special Fund(20194Y0067)the Ruijin Hospital Guangci Excellence Youth Training Program(GCQN-2019-B10).
文摘The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus may support sequential working memory beyond episodic memory and spatial navigation.This stereoelectroencephalography(SEEG)study investigated how the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(DLPFC)interacts with the hippocampus in the online processing of sequential information.Twenty patients with epilepsy(eight women,age 27.6±8.2 years)completed a line ordering task with SEEG recordings over the DLPFC and the hippocampus.Participants showed longer thinking times and more recall errors when asked to arrange random lines clockwise(random trials)than to maintain ordered lines(ordered trials)before recalling the orientation of a particular line.First,the ordering-related increase in thinking time and recall error was associated with a transient theta power increase in the hippocampus and a sustained theta power increase in the DLPFC(3–10 Hz).In particular,the hippocampal theta power increase correlated with the memory precision of line orientation.Second,theta phase coherences between the DLPFC and hippocampus were enhanced for ordering,especially for more precisely memorized lines.Third,the theta band DLPFC→hippocampus influence was selectively enhanced for ordering,especially for more precisely memorized lines.This study suggests that theta oscillations may support DLPFC-hippocampal interactions in the online processing of sequential information.
