Article
Clinical Neurology
Michael Eyre, Sean P. Fitzgibbon, Judit Ciarrusta, Lucilio Cordero-Grande, Anthony N. Price, Tanya Poppe, Andreas Schuh, Emer Hughes, Camilla O'Keeffe, Jakki Brandon, Daniel Cromb, Katy Vecchiato, Jesper Andersson, Eugene P. Duff, Serena J. Counsell, Stephen M. Smith, Daniel Rueckert, Joseph Hajnal, Tomoki Arichi, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Dafnis Batalle, A. David Edwards
Summary: The Developing Human Connectome Project provides a framework to study brain development in humans at term-equivalent age, showing maturation of resting state networks and alterations in functional connectivity in preterm infants. Female infants exhibit increased connectivity in certain brain regions, while preterm birth leads to extensive disruptions in functional connectivity.
Article
Neurosciences
Jacob A. Miller, Willa I. Voorhies, Daniel J. Lurie, Mark D'Esposito, Kevin S. Weiner
Summary: The study reveals overlooked tertiary sulci in LPFC play a crucial role in connecting functional and structural properties in individual participants, supporting the theory of a functional hierarchy within LPFC. Additionally, differences in myelin content across different components of the MFG suggest a deeper understanding of cortical microstructure.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Taylor Kuhn, Robin Blades, Lev Gottlieb, Kendra Knudsen, Christopher Ashdown, Laurel Martin-Harris, Dara Ghahremani, Bianca H. Dang, Robert M. Bilder, Susan Y. Bookheimer
Summary: This study used MRI to compare brain structural differences between typically developing children and intellectually gifted children. Results showed that intellectually gifted children had larger subcortical structures and stronger connectivity in regions associated with explicit memory, while typically developing children had more connected, larger subcortical structures in regions associated with implicit memory. These findings suggest different neurodevelopmental trajectories and learning strategies in children with exceptional intellectual abilities.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kanhao Zhao, Hua Xie, Gregory A. A. Fonzo, Xiaoyu Tong, Nancy Carlisle, Matthieu Chidharom, Amit Etkin, Yu Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the predictive signatures of individualized brain functional connectivity in antidepressant and placebo treatment for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The established prediction models using individualized FC successfully explained a significant amount of variance in predicting treatment outcome. The findings enhance our understanding of the neuropathology of antidepressant and placebo treatment.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Julio Martinez-Trujillo
Summary: A new study has revealed that in primates with specialized visual systems, the generation of motor commands for exploratory saccades occurs in the midbrain, then propagates to the thalamus, and finally reaches hippocampal circuits in the depths of the temporal lobe, influencing the formation of memories.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Jean-Christophe Cassel, Anne Pereira de Vasconcelos
Summary: The history of neuroanatomy dates back to antiquity with human dissections, and over the years, various methods such as tissue staining, ablative studies, radiomarkers, and viral tracers have been used to identify and understand the structure and connections of the thalamus. Technological breakthroughs have allowed for a deeper insight into the functions of the thalamus from ancient times to the present day.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jingwen Ding, Alex A. Pollen
Summary: The human cerebral cortex has tripled in size since divergence from chimpanzees, driven by the increased proliferative capacity of radial glia. Studies suggest that the increased proliferative capacity of human NPCs involves cell-intrinsic mechanisms and human-specific genetic changes. The human-specific gene ARHGAP11B has been shown to increase basal progenitor abundance.
Article
Neurosciences
Eros Quarta, Alessandro Scaglione, Jessica Lucchesi, Leonardo Sacconi, Anna Letizia Allegra Mascaro, Francesco Saverio Pavone
Summary: This study used wide-field calcium imaging in mice to investigate the neocortical dynamics during reach-to-grasp movements. The researchers found that beyond motor regions, other areas such as the visual and retrosplenial cortices also increased their activity levels during successful reach-to-grasp movements. Functional connectivity among neocortical areas increased transiently around movement onset and decreased during movement. However, neural activity levels correlated with kinematics measures of successful reach-to-grasp movements only in sensorimotor areas.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Geoffrey N. Ngo, Yuki Hori, Stefan Everling, Ravi S. Menon
Summary: This study compared the functional architecture of the DMN between humans and marmosets and found similarities and differences between them. The marmoset's DMN exhibited differences along its anterolateral-posterior axis, with weak connections and inconsistent connection topographies in the anterolateral node compared to the posterior nodes. Additionally, the marmoset's medial prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe areas corresponded to other distributed functional systems, not part of the DMN.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Guofen Ma, Yanmei Liu, Lizhao Wang, Zhongyi Xiao, Kun Song, Yanjie Wang, Wanling Peng, Xiaotong Liu, Ziyue Wang, Sen Jin, Zi Tao, Chengyu T. Li, Tianle Xu, Fuqiang Xu, Min Xu, Siyu Zhang
Summary: Through rabies-virus tracing and optogenetics-assisted recording, this study revealed the selectivity of different neurons to long-range connections in various brain regions along the hierarchy of visual processing. The results showed that bottom-up and top-down inputs prefer PV+ and VIP+ neurons respectively, providing important clues for hierarchical information flow in the brain.
Review
Clinical Neurology
Masahiro Sonoo
Summary: The myotome of a muscle is important in diagnosing spinal and peripheral nerve disorders, but there are significant discrepancies and lack of clear bases in myotome charts presented in textbooks. Few studies provide raw data on myotome identification. Although limited, a classic 19th-century study on cadavers still influences existing charts. Other studies include root stimulation during surgery and clinical observations in patients with specific conditions. Recent studies propose new theories on myotomes of certain muscles. More accurate myotome charts will improve localization in neurology.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Ioana Genescu, Mar Anibal-Martinez, Vladimir Kouskoff, Nicolas Chenouard, Caroline Mailhes-Hamon, Hugues Cartonnet, Ludmilla Lokmane, Filippo M. Rijli, Guillermina Lopez-Bendito, Frederic Gambino, Sonia Garel
Summary: This study reveals the interaction between thalamic activity and Cajal-Retzius cells (CRc) in the construction of the cortical layer 1 (L1). Thalamic activity and NMDA receptors regulate the early density of CRc, which in turn affects the distribution of upper layer interneurons and excitatory synapses, resulting in a significant impact on the activity of output pyramidal neuron dendrites.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yvette E. Fisher, Michael Marquis, Isabel D'Alessandro, Rachel Wilson
Summary: In neural networks, there is a tradeoff between sensitivity and stability. Dopamine neurons in the fruit fly's head direction network are specifically active when the fly turns to change its head direction, and their activity scales with rotational speed. Pairing dopamine release with a visual cue strengthens the cue's influence on head direction cells, while inhibiting these neurons decreases the influence of the cue. This mechanism allows for accelerated learning when rich head direction information is available, while protecting stored information at other times.
Article
Neurosciences
Rachel Babij, Camilo Ferrer, Alexander Donatelle, Sam Wacks, Amanda M. Buch, James E. Niemeyer, Hongtao Ma, Zhe Ran S. Duan, Robert N. Fetcho, Alicia Che, Takumi Otsuka, Theodore H. Schwartz, Ben S. Huang, Conor Liston, Natalia V. De Marco Garcia
Summary: This study reveals that dysfunction of GABAergic circuits, which are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, is influenced by genetic predispositions. Using in vivo imaging in developing mice, the researchers found that the Gabrb3 gene, strongly associated with ASD and AS, plays a crucial role in the inhibitory function of contralaterally projecting pyramidal neurons. The deletion of Gabrb3 leads to a decrease in GABAergic synapses, increased network synchrony, and enhanced functional connectivity in contralateral-pyramidal neuron subtypes.
Review
Neurosciences
Siva Venkadesh, John Darrell Van Horn
Summary: This article explores the coupling between brain structure and dynamics, and the use of neuroimaging techniques to study this relationship. Neuroimaging modalities such as dMRI, EEG, MEG, and fMRI are utilized to investigate the structural and functional connectivity of neural networks. The study also discusses the applicability of topological features and neural synchronization of brain connectivity for different modalities, spatial, and temporal scales of analysis.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
