Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Jiao Liu, Jing Tao, Rui Xia, Moyi Li, Maomao Huang, Shuzhen Li, Xiangli Chen, Georgia Wilson, Joe Park, Guohua Zheng, Lidian Chen, Jian Kong
Summary: The study compared the effects of Baduanjin and physical exercise on cognitive function and brain systems in MCI patients, finding that Baduanjin significantly increased MoCA scores and had positive impacts on brain functional connectivity and systems.
FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Yiting Huang, Siyi Yu, Georgia Wilson, Joel Park, Ming Cheng, Xuejun Kong, Tao Lu, Jian Kong
Summary: The study revealed reduced connectivity of LC and VTA with the postcentral gyrus in boys with ASD, indicating potential roles of NE and DA in modulating somatosensory cortex function. Increased connectivity of VTA with bilateral thalamus in ASD was correlated with repetitive and restrictive features. Altered functional connectivity of both LC and VTA with brain regions such as the angular gyrus, middle temporal gyrus visual area, and occipital face area in the ASD group was also observed.
NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISEASE AND TREATMENT
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Wojciech B. Solecki, Michal Kielbinski, Michal Wilczkowski, Katarzyna Zajda, Karolina Karwowska, Bernacka Joanna, Zenon Rajfur, Ryszard Przewlocki
Summary: This study reveals the impact of locus coeruleus cells on the ventral tegmental area dopamine reward system and their crucial role in cocaine-seeking behavior. Non-contingent inhibition of noradrenergic terminals in the locus coeruleus reduces cocaine seeking, while contingent inhibition increases it.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Claudia Sagheddu, Paola Devoto, Sonia Aroni, Pierluigi Saba, Marco Pistis, Gian Luigi Gessa
Summary: Experimental and clinical evidence suggests that a deficit of dopamine release and function in schizophrenia can be improved by the blockade of (2)-adrenoceptor and D-2-receptors. In rats, the activation of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus and dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area was studied when a(2)- and D-2-receptors were blocked. Additionally, the levels of noradrenaline, dopamine, and DOPAC in the medial prefrontal cortex were examined. The results indicate the importance of targeting LC noradrenergic neurons to improve dopamine deficit in neuropsychiatric pathologies.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Thomas Liebe, Milos Dordevic, Jorn Kaufmann, Araks Avetisyan, Martin Skalej, Notger Mueller
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between the brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus (LC) and functional disturbances in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients. It found that functional connectivity (fc) between LC and anterior cingulate cortex and left anterior insula was elevated in MCI patients, while the fc between LC and right temporoparietal junction and posterior cingulate cortex was decreased. Additionally, the study found a positive correlation between LC to right temporoparietal junction connectivity and MMSE scores in MCI patients, as well as hyperactivation of the left-insula salience network.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Runbo Gao, Amelia M. Schneider, Sarah M. Mulloy, Anna M. Lee
Summary: Acetylcholine acts as an endogenous agonist for the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) system, which is involved in various brain functions. Different nAChR subunits can form distinct receptor subtypes and are expressed in different cell types, leading to complex cholinergic signaling. This study investigated the expression of α4, α5, α6, β2, and β3 nAChR subunit transcripts in specific brain regions and cell types in mice. The findings revealed diverse patterns of nAChR subunit expression across brain regions and cell types.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Theodoros Tsetsenis, John I. I. Broussard, John A. A. Dani
Summary: This review article focuses on the role of dopaminergic neuromodulation in hippocampus-dependent memory. The authors present evidence from anatomical tracing studies and discuss the controversy surrounding the source of dopamine innervation. They also highlight the influence of dopamine on synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, examining plasticity mechanisms in brain slices and in vivo recordings. Finally, they review research showing the importance of dopamine release for learning and memory tasks and differentiate anatomically distinct populations of direct dopaminergic inputs.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Theodoros Tsetsenis, Julia K. Badyna, Julianne A. Wilson, Xiaowen Zhang, Elizabeth N. Krizman, Manivannan Subramaniyan, Kechun Yang, Steven A. Thomas, John A. Dani
Summary: This study identifies a cluster of midbrain dopamine neurons near the hippocampus that send direct projections and play a crucial role in aversive memory formation. The neuromodulation of midbrain dopamine in the hippocampus is sufficient to maintain aversive memory formation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Zhaoyi Chen, Tongfei Jiang, Xuejiao Yin, Bin Li, Zhongjian Tan, Jing Guo
Summary: This study aimed to explore the modulation effect acupuncture has on the resting state functional connectivity (FC) of the locus coeruleus (LC) in insomnia disorder (ID) patients. The results showed that acupuncture treatment improved sleep quality and reduced hyperarousal in ID patients. After treatment, the FC between the LC and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) decreased, while the FC between the LC and left insula and supramarginal gyrus (SMG) increased. The change in FC values between the LC and SMG was negatively correlated with the change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, indicating a potential mechanism of acupuncture treatment for insomnia.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Michal Rafal Zareba, Wiktoria Furman, Marek Binder
Summary: Aging is associated with changes in brain structure and function, leading to a decline in cognitive function. Dopamine and noradrenaline are likely to play a key role in mediating these effects, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood.
Article
Neurosciences
Veronica Maki-Marttunen, Thomas Espeseth
Summary: Functional neuroimaging studies comparing four different methods for estimating locus coeruleus (LC) localization in a large sample found that sample-specific masks were more suitable for LC localization, masks based on structural and functional methods may capture different portions of LC, and creating a consensus mask using multiple approaches may provide a better estimate of LC localization at the group level.
Article
Neurosciences
Xianxin Qiu, Xu Han, Yao Wang, Weina Ding, Yawen Sun, Hao Lei, Yan Zhou, Fuchun Lin
Summary: The study found that the rsFC of smokers or IGD individuals increases under the influence of another type of addiction, but only to the normal state. This may explain the comorbidity and interaction between smoking and IGD.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Inuk Song, Joshua Neal, Tae-Ho Lee
Summary: The locus coeruleus plays a critical role in modulating the brain's connectivity configuration for selective information processing. This study examined the intrinsic network connectivity of the locus coeruleus across different age groups, revealing age-related variations in connectivity patterns. The findings suggest that age-related distractibility may be linked to impaired sensory gating by the locus coeruleus and insufficient top-down controls by frontal regions.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ning Zheng, Zhu Gui, Xiaodong Liu, Yang Wu, Huadong Wang, Aoling Cai, Jinfeng Wu, Xihai Li, Challika Kaewborisuth, Zhijian Zhang, Qitian Wang, Anne Manyande, Fuqiang Xu, Jie Wang
Summary: This study compared the brain-wide functional and structural networks between dopaminergic neurons and CamKII & alpha; -positive neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) using DREADD and fMRI. The results showed that DREADD stimulation of dopaminergic neurons induced BOLD signal changes in VTA and several related regions, while selective activation of CamKII & alpha; -positive neurons resulted in more regions with increased BOLD signals. Furthermore, neuronal tracing identified multiple cortical and subcortical brain regions that are connected by both types of neurons in VTA.
JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jia-Hou Poh, Mai-Anh T. Vu, Jessica K. Stanek, Abigail Hsiung, Tobias Egner, R. Alison Adcock
Summary: Motivational states, especially curiosity, can engage reward circuitry to promote hippocampal memory formation. This study demonstrates that the typicality of anticipatory hippocampal patterns increases during high curiosity, and this increase is associated with midbrain activation and subsequent recall. The findings suggest that hippocampal convergence states may be a key factor in memory enhancement and a general predictor of memory formation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Michael Kahl, Gerd Wagner, Feliberto de la Cruz, Stefanie Koehler, C. Christoph Schultz
EUROPEAN ARCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Gerd Wagner, Stefanie Koehler, Gregor Peikert, Feliberto de la Cruz, Tim Jonas Reess, Oana Georgiana Rus, C. Christoph Schultz, Kathrin Koch, Karl-Juergen Baer
Article
Neurosciences
Feliberto de la Cruz, Andy Schumann, Stefanie Koehler, Juergen R. Reichenbach, Gerd Wagner, Karl-Juergen Baer
Article
Neurosciences
Ana Alves-Pinto, Oana Georgiana Rus, Tim Jonas Reess, Afra Wohlschlaeger, Gerd Wagner, Goetz Berberich, Kathrin Koch
JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY & NEUROSCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Neurosciences
Karl-Juergen Baer, Stefanie Koehler, Feliberto de la Cruz, Andy Schumann, Florian D. Zepf, Gerd Wagner
Article
Clinical Neurology
Anders M. Fjell, Oystein Sorensen, Inge K. Amlien, David Bartres-Faz, Didac Macia Bros, Nikolaus Buchmann, Ilja Demuth, Christian A. Drevon, Sandra Duezel, Klaus P. Ebmeier, Ane-Victoria Idland, Tim C. Kietzmann, Rogier Kievit, Simone Kuehn, Ulman Lindenberger, Athanasia M. Mowinckel, Lars Nyberg, Darren Price, Claire E. Sexton, Cristina Sole-Padulles, Sara Pudas, Donatas Sederevicius, Sana Suri, Gerd Wagner, Leiv Otto Watne, Rene Westerhausen, Eniko Zsoldos, Kristine B. Walhovd
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gerd Wagner, Feliberto de la Cruz, Stefanie Koehler, Fabricio Pereira, Stephane Richard-Devantoy, Gustavo Turecki, Karl-Juergen Baer, Fabrice Jollant
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Article
Neurosciences
Thomas Liebe, Joern Kaufmann, Meng Li, Martin Skalej, Gerd Wagner, Martin Walter
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Tara Chand, Meng Li, Hamidreza Jamalabadi, Gerd Wagner, Anton Lord, Sarah Alizadeh, Lena Danyeli, Luisa Herrmann, Martin Walter, Zumrut D. Sen
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2020)
Review
Immunology
Zumrut Duygu Sen, Lena Vera Danyeli, Marie Woelfer, Femke Lamers, Gerd Wagner, Thomas Sobanski, Martin Walter
Summary: Psychological stress and overeating can induce chronic low-grade inflammation that interferes with glutamate metabolism in MDD and insulin signaling, particularly in the atypical subtype.
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Anders M. Fjell, Oystein Sorensen, Inge K. Amlien, David Bartres-Faz, Andreas M. Brandmaier, Nikolaus Buchmann, Ilja Demuth, Christian A. Drevon, Sandra Duezel, Klaus P. Ebmeier, Paolo Ghisletta, Ane-Victoria Idland, Tim C. Kietzmann, Rogier A. Kievit, Simone Kuehn, Ulman Lindenberger, Fredrik Magnussen, Didac Macia, Athanasia M. Mowinckel, Lars Nyberg, Claire E. Sexton, Cristina Sole-Padulles, Sara Pudas, James M. Roe, Donatas Sederevicius, Sana Suri, Didac Vidal-Pineiro, Gerd Wagner, Leiv Otto Watne, Rene Westerhausen, Eniko Zsoldos, Kristine B. Walhovd
Summary: The study found that self-reported sleep quality and sleep disturbances were associated with thinning of the right lateral temporal cortex, with this association becoming more pronounced with age. Sleep disturbances were particularly evident after 60 years, especially in regions with high expression of genes related to oligodendrocytes and S1 pyramidal neurons.
Article
Psychiatry
Gerd Wagner, Meng Li, Matthew D. Sacchet, Stephane Richard-Devantoy, Gustavo Turecki, Karl-Jurgen Bar, Ian H. Gotlib, Martin Walter, Fabrice Jollant
Summary: This study investigates the neural correlates of suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior, suggesting that suicide attempters exhibit distinct brain alterations compared to suicide ideators, patient controls, and healthy controls. The findings indirectly support the relevance of the transition model at the neurobiological level and highlight the need for further research on the brain bases of suicidal ideas in depressed individuals.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Stefan Schmidt, Gerd Wagner, Martin Walter, Max-Philipp Stenner
Summary: Integrating cognitive models with sensorimotor theories is necessary to understand the subjective experience of compulsive action. The use of intentional binding paradigm allows for concrete hypotheses to be developed and tested under different sensorimotor theories of compulsion. This approach also provides insight into predictive coding accounts of obsessive-compulsive disorder and its implications for human action experience.
Article
Psychiatry
Nooshin Javaheripour, Meng Li, Tara Chand, Axel Krug, Tilo Kircher, Udo Dannlowski, Igor Nenadic, J. Paul Hamilton, Matthew D. Sacchet, Ian H. Gotlib, Henrik Walter, Thomas Frodl, Simone Grimm, Ben J. Harrison, Christian Robert Wolf, Sebastian Olbrich, Guido van Wingen, Lukas Pezawas, Gordon Parker, Matthew P. Hyett, Philipp G. Saemann, Tim Hahn, Olaf Steinstraeter, Andreas Jansen, Dilara Yuksel, Robin Kaempe, Christopher G. Davey, Bernhard Meyer, Lucie Bartova, Ilona Croy, Martin Walter, Gerd Wagner
Summary: This study investigated functional alterations in MDD patients, finding significant hypoconnectivity within SMN and SN networks, as well as between various networks. Differences in network organization were observed, with MDD patients showing lower network segregation in SMN. Although medicated patients had lower FC within certain networks, network organization differences were not significant between medicated and unmedicated groups, suggesting that network organization of cortical networks may be a more stable neuroimaging marker for MDD.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Feliberto de la Cruz, Gerd Wagner, Andy Schumann, Stefanie Suttkus, Daniel Gullmar, Jurgen R. Reichenbach, Karl-Juergen Baer
Summary: Recent fMRI studies revealed a close functional connection between the default mode network and monoaminergic nuclei, suggesting a top-down information flow in the resting-state condition where activity in DMN areas influences the production of DA/5-HT. The findings indicate a high variability in latencies, likely due to the resting condition.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2021)