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Key Regions (key + regions)
Selected AbstractsBrain abnormalities in antisocial individuals: implications for the lawBEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 1 2008Yaling Yang B.S. With the increasing popularity in the use of brain imaging on antisocial individuals, an increasing number of brain imaging studies have revealed structural and functional impairments in antisocial, psychopathic, and violent individuals. This review summarizes key findings from brain imaging studies on antisocial/aggressive behavior. Key regions commonly found to be impaired in antisocial populations include the prefrontal cortex (particularly orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), superior temporal gyrus, amygdala,hippocampal complex, and anterior cingulate cortex. Key functions of these regions are reviewed to provide a better understanding on how deficits in these regions may predispose to antisocial behavior. Objections to the use of imaging findings in a legal context are outlined, and alternative perspectives raised. It is argued that brain dysfunction is a risk factor for antisocial behavior and that it is likely that imaging will play an increasing (albeit limited) role in legal decision-making. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Metabolic fingerprinting allows discrimination between Ulmus pumila and U. minor, and between U. minor clones of different susceptibility to Dutch elm diseaseFOREST PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008J. A. Martin Summary Experiments were conducted to test whether Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, coupled with chemometric methods, can distinguish healthy xylem tissues collected from elms known to differ significantly in their susceptibility to Ophiostoma novo-ulmi Brasier. Twig samples from resistant Ulmus pumila L., susceptible U. minor Mill. and resistant U. minor clones were harvested on 1 May, 15 May, 1 June, 1 July and 1 September 2004, and subjected to FT-IR analysis. The application of principal component analysis to the spectral data, followed by discriminant function analysis, discriminated between the three groups of samples in all harvesting dates. The examination of the DF-loading plots allowed the identification of key regions within the spectra for the separation between clusters. The chemical assignments of these key regions allowed the following interpretations to be made: (i) U. pumila tissues contained enhanced levels of starch, cellulose and lignin with respect to U. minor tissues and (ii) resistant U. minor tissues contained enhanced levels of starch, cellulose and pectic polysaccharides with respect to susceptible U. minor tissues. The possible roles of the compositional differences in disease resistance, as well as the potential use of FT-IR spectroscopy and chemometrics as a tool for screening resistant elms are discussed. [source] The Limits of ,Securitization': Power, Politics and Process in US Foreign Economic PolicyGOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 2 2007Nicola Phillips The concept of ,securitization' has become particularly influential in the post-9/11 world. This paper aims to scrutinize and, ultimately, reject an emerging set of claims about political economy which draw upon this framework. The contention that US foreign economic policy is increasingly subject to a process of securitization misrepresents the substance of contemporary US foreign policy, the political environment in which it is articulated and the process by which it is made. Pursuing this argument, the paper sets out a framework within which to understand the evolution of contemporary US policy, paying attention to distinctive forms of the economic,security nexus; the form of ,ad hoc reactivism' that has consistently characterized US foreign economic policy; the set of commercial and wider economic goals to which policy responds; and the dynamics of competition for leadership in key regions. [source] Brain Microstructure Is Related to Math Ability in Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum DisorderALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2010Catherine Lebel Background:, Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) often demonstrate a variety of cognitive deficits, but mathematical ability seems to be particularly affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. Parietal brain regions have been implicated in both functional and structural studies of mathematical ability in healthy individuals, but little is known about the brain structure underlying mathematical deficits in children with FASD. The goal of this study was to use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the relationship between mathematical skill and brain white matter structure in children with FASD. Methods:, Twenty-one children aged 5 to 13 years diagnosed with FASD underwent DTI on a 1.5-T MRI scanner and cognitive assessments including the Woodcock-Johnson Quantitative Concepts test. Voxel-based analysis was conducted by normalizing subject images to a template and correlating fractional anisotropy (FA) values across the brain white matter with age-standardized math scores. Results:, Voxel-based analysis revealed 4 clusters with significant correlations between FA and math scores: 2 positively-correlated clusters in the left parietal region, 1 positively-correlated cluster in the left cerebellum, and 1 negatively-correlated cluster in the bilateral brainstem. Diffusion tractography identified the specific white matter tracts passing through these clusters, namely the left superior longitudinal fasciculus, left corticospinal tract and body of the corpus callosum, middle cerebellar peduncle, and bilateral projection fibers including the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule. Conclusions:, These results identify 4 key regions related to mathematical ability and provide a link between brain microstructure and cognitive skills in children with FASD. Given previous findings in typically developing children and those with other abnormal conditions, our results highlight the consistent importance of the left parietal area for mathematical tasks across various populations, and also demonstrate other regions that may be specific to mathematical processing in children with FASD. [source] CB1 Receptor Blockade Decreases Ethanol Intake and Associated Neurochemical Changes in Fawn-Hooded RatsALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2010Teresa Femenía Background:, This study was undertaken to identify the neurochemical changes underlying the attenuation of voluntary ethanol intake induced by the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist AM251 in fawn-hooded rats. Methods:, Rats were exposed to the 2-bottle-choice paradigm (ethanol 10% v/v or water) for 15 days. After this period, rats received AM251 (3 to 6 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle. Results:, Voluntary ethanol intake decreased (30%) with the administration of incremental dosages of AM251 (3 mg/kg, 5 days and 6 mg/kg, 5 days) in rats with acquired high preferring ethanol consumption (>3.5 g of ethanol/kg/d). Ethanol intake significantly decreased proopiomelanocortin expression in the arcuate nucleus (38.31%) and ,-opioid-DAMGO-stimulated [35S]-GTP, binding in the caudate-putamen (40%), nucleus accumbens core (AccC) (32.87%), and shell (AccS) (34.21%). Moreover, ethanol intake increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene expression in the substantia nigra (24%) and ventral tegmental area (23%) and corticotrophin-releasing gene expression in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (41.6%). The reduction of ethanol intake induced by AM251 was associated with blockade or significant reduction of the changes produced by ethanol in the expression of these genes in key regions related to drug dependence. Interestingly, treatment with AM251 reduced (20%) TH gene expression in rats drinking only water. In this respect, the action of AM251 in reducing TH gene expression may not be specific. Conclusion:, Taken together, these results revealed that blockade of cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1r) decreased voluntary ethanol intake in ethanol-habituated rats by normalizing the neurochemical alterations induced by ethanol. [source] The prevalence of suppression in amblyopic individualsOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 1 2008Brendan Barrett Purpose:, A popular view of visual functioning in individuals with amblyopia is that the weaker eye is suppressed in key regions of the binocular visual field. Indeed, some have argued that chronic interocular suppression may represent the cause of amblyopia. Here we evaluate the prevalence of amblyopic-eye suppression in a simple light detection task when the eyes are open, minimally dissociated and in their habitual motor position. Methods:, A custom program on the Humphrey Field Analyzer (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc., Dublin, CA, USA) was used to measure detection thresholds for a blue light on a yellow background along the horizontal meridian at two-degree intervals to an eccentricity of 25 degrees on either side of the fixation mark. The fellow eye was prevented from seeing the target using three different methods: (1) full-occlusion (i.e. no light entered the fellow eye), (2) a translucent occluder (3) a yellow filter in front of the fellow eye. In (3), the yellow filter only prevented the fellow eye from seeing the blue stimulus; the fixation mark and the background remained visible (minimal-dissociation condition). Fourteen amblyopes participated in the study, of whom 11 had strabismus. Results:, Three basic patterns of results were observed. (1) Only three of the fourteen participants (,21%) showed evidence of suppression, where amblyopic-eye sensitivity was lower with the fellow eye open. In these cases, the retinal locations that showed greatest suppression corresponded to the direction and angle of the strabismus. (2) Three participants (,21%) showed the opposite effect to the result in (1); i.e. amblyopic-eye sensitivity was greatest when the fellow was open with minimal dissociation between the eyes. One possible explanation is that the dominance of the fellow eye caused this reduction. (3) Seven participants (50%) exhibited patterns of amblyopic sensitivity that did not depend upon the occlusion status of the fellow eye. The results for one participant did not fit into any of the above patterns. Conclusions:, Suppression appears not to be a universal feature of central amblyopic vision. Our results for this simple detection task suggest that suppression may exist in as few as 20% of amblyopes. These results present a challenge to the view that suppression represents a root cause of amblyopia but they are consistent with the view that the amblyopic eye makes a useful contribution under habitual viewing conditions. [source] "Zuzu" strikes again,Morphological affinities of the early holocene human skeleton from Toca dos Coqueiros, Piaui, BrazilAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Mark Hubbe Abstract The Serra da Capivara National Park in northeastern Brazil is one of the richest archaeological regions in South America. Nonetheless, so far only two paleoindian skeletons have been exhumed from the local rockshelters. The oldest one (9870 ± 50 BP; CAL 11060 ± 50), uncovered in Toca dos Coqueiros and known as "Zuzu," represents a rare opportunity to explore the biological relationships of paleoindian groups living in northeastern Brazil. As previously demonstrated, South and Central America Paleoindians present skull morphology distinct from the one found nowadays in Amerindians and similar to Australo-Melanesians. Here we test the hypothesis that Zuzu shows higher morphological affinity with Paleoindians. However, Zuzu is a controversial skeleton since previous osteological assessments have disagreed on several aspects, especially regarding its sex. Thus, we compared Zuzu to males and females independently. Morphological affinities were assessed through clustering of principal components considering 18 worldwide populations and through principal components analysis of the individual dispersion of five key regions for America's settlement. The results obtained do not allow us to refute the hypothesis, expanding the known geographical dispersion of the Paleoindian morphology into northeast Brazil. To contribute to the discussion regarding Zuzu's sex, a new estimation is presented based on visual inspection of cranial and post-cranial markers, complemented by a discriminant analysis of its morphology in relation to the paleoindian sample. The results favor a male classification and are consistent with the mortuary offerings found in the burial, yet do not agree with a molecular determination. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||