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Parietal Lobule (parietal + lobule)
Kinds of Parietal Lobule Selected AbstractsEffects of attention and arousal on early responses in striate cortexEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 1 2005Vahe Poghosyan Abstract Humans employ attention to facilitate perception of relevant stimuli. Visual attention can bias the selection of a location in the visual field, a whole visual object or any visual feature of an object. Attention draws on both current behavioral goals and/or the saliency of physical attributes of a stimulus, and it influences activity of different brain regions at different latencies. Attentional effect in the striate and extrastriate cortices has been the subject of intense research interest in many recent studies. The consensus emerging from them places the first attentional effects in extrastriate areas, which in turn modulate activity of V1 at later latencies. In this view attention influences activity in striate cortex some 150 ms after stimulus onset. Here we use magnetoencephalography to compare brain responses to foveally presented identical stimuli under the conditions of passive viewing, when the stimuli are irrelevant to the subject and under an active GO/NOGO task, when the stimuli are cues instructing the subject to make or inhibit movement of his/her left or right index finger. The earliest striate activity was identified 40,45 ms after stimulus onset, and it was identical in passive and active conditions. Later striate response starting at about 70 ms and reaching a peak at about 100 ms showed a strong attentional modulation. Even before the striate cortex, activity of the right inferior parietal lobule was modulated by attention, suggesting this region as a candidate for mediating attentional signals to the striate cortex. [source] Direction of cross-modal information transfer affects human brain activation: a PET studyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 1 2002Ryuta Kawashima Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the functional organization of the human brain involved in cross-modal discrimination between tactile and visual information. Regional cerebral blood flow was measured by positron emission tomography in nine right-handed volunteers during four discrimination tasks; tactile,tactile (TT), tactile,visual (TV), visual,tactile (VT), and visual,visual (VV). The subjects were asked either to look at digital cylinders of different diameters or to grasp the digital cylinders with the thumb and index finger of the right hand using haptic interfaces. Compared with the motor control task in which the subjects looked at and grasped cylinders of the same diameter, the right lateral prefrontal cortex and the right inferior parietal lobule were activated in all the four discrimination tasks. In addition, the dorsal premotor cortex, the ventral premotor cortex, and the inferior temporal cortex of the right hemisphere were activated during VT but not during TV. Our results suggest that the human brain mechanisms underlying cross-modal discrimination have two different pathways depending on the temporal order in which stimuli are presented. [source] The role of the superior temporal sulcus and the mirror neuron system in imitationHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 9 2010Pascal Molenberghs Abstract It has been suggested that in humans the mirror neuron system provides a neural substrate for imitation behaviour, but the relative contributions of different brain regions to the imitation of manual actions is still a matter of debate. To investigate the role of the mirror neuron system in imitation we used fMRI to examine patterns of neural activity under four different conditions: passive observation of a pantomimed action (e.g., hammering a nail); (2) imitation of an observed action; (3) execution of an action in response to a word cue; and (4) self-selected execution of an action. A network of cortical areas, including the left supramarginal gyrus, left superior parietal lobule, left dorsal premotor area and bilateral superior temporal sulcus (STS), was significantly active across all four conditions. Crucially, within this network the STS bilaterally was the only region in which activity was significantly greater for action imitation than for the passive observation and execution conditions. We suggest that the role of the STS in imitation is not merely to passively register observed biological motion, but rather to actively represent visuomotor correspondences between one's own actions and the actions of others. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Brain network dynamics during error commissionHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 1 2009Michael C. Stevens Abstract Previous studies suggest that the anterior cingulate and other prefrontal brain regions might form a functionally-integrated error detection network in the human brain. This study examined whole brain functional connectivity to both correct and incorrect button presses using independent component analysis (ICA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected from 25 adolescent and 25 adult healthy participants (ages 11,37) performing a visual Go/No-Go task. Correct responses engaged a network comprising left lateral prefrontal cortex, left postcentral gyrus/inferior parietal lobule, striatum, and left cerebellum. In contrast, a similar network was uniquely engaged during errors, but this network was not integrated with activity in regions believed to be engaged for higher-order cognitive control over behavior. A medial/dorsolateral prefrontal-parietal neural network responded to all No-Go stimuli, but with significantly greater activity to errors. ICA analyses also identified a third error-related circuit comprised of anterior temporal lobe, limbic, and pregenual cingulate cortices, possibly representing an affective response to errors. There were developmental differences in error-processing activity within many of these neural circuits, typically reflecting greater hemodynamic activation in adults. These findings characterize the spatial structure of neural networks underlying error commission and identify neurobiological differences between adolescents and adults. Hum Brain Mapp 2009. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Using fMRI to dissociate sensory encoding from cognitive evaluation of heat pain intensityHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 9 2006Jian Kong Abstract Neuroimaging studies of painful stimuli in humans have identified a network of brain regions that is more extensive than identified previously in electrophysiological and anatomical studies of nociceptive pathways. This extensive network has been described as a pain matrix of brain regions that mediate the many interrelated aspects of conscious processing of nociceptive input such as perception, evaluation, affective response, and emotional memory. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging in healthy human subjects to distinguish brain regions required for pain sensory encoding from those required for cognitive evaluation of pain intensity. The results suggest that conscious cognitive evaluation of pain intensity in the absence of any sensory stimulation activates a network that includes bilateral anterior insular cortex/frontal operculum, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, bilateral medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex, right superior parietal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, orbital prefrontal cortex, and left occipital cortex. Increased activity common to both encoding and evaluation was observed in bilateral anterior insula/frontal operculum and medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex. We hypothesize that these two regions play a crucial role in bridging the encoding of pain sensation and the cognitive processing of sensory input. Hum Brain Mapp, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Brain,behavior correlation in children depends on the neurocognitive networkHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 2 2004James R. Booth We examined brain,behavior correlations in 12 children (age range 9.3 to 11.7 years) during a selective attention task that required the visual search of a conjunction of features and during a response inhibition task that required the inhibition of a pre-potent response during "no-go" blocks. We found that the association between performance in these tasks and brain activation as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) depended on the neurocognitive network. Specifically, better performance during the no-go task was associated with greater activation in the response inhibition network including the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. In contrast, better performance during the visual search task was associated with less activation in the selective attention network including superior parietal lobule and lateral premotor cortex. These results show that the relation of performance to the magnitude of neural activation is complex and may display differential relationships based on the cognitive domain, anatomical region, and perhaps also developmental stage. Hum Brain Mapping 23:99,108, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Human cortical processing of colour and patternHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 4 2001Nicholas A. Barrett Abstract The present study investigates human visual processing of simple two-colour patterns using a delayed match to sample paradigm with positron emission tomography (PET). This study is unique in that we specifically designed the visual stimuli to be the same for both pattern and colour recognition with all patterns being abstract shapes not easily verbally coded composed of two-colour combinations. We did this to explore those brain regions required for both colour and pattern processing and to separate those areas of activation required for one or the other. We found that both tasks activated similar occipital regions, the major difference being more extensive activation in pattern recognition. A right-sided network that involved the inferior parietal lobule, the head of the caudate nucleus, and the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus was common to both paradigms. Pattern recognition also activated the left temporal pole and right lateral orbital gyrus, whereas colour recognition activated the left fusiform gyrus and several right frontal regions. Hum. Brain Mapping 13:213,225, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The functional neuroanatomy of geriatric depressionINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 8 2009Gwenn S. Smith Abstract Objective Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies of cerebral glucose metabolism have demonstrated sensitivity in evaluating the functional neuroanatomy of treatment response variability in depression, as well as in the early detection of functional changes associated with incipient cognitive decline. The evaluation of cerebral glucose metabolism in late life depression may have implications for understanding treatment response variability, as well as evaluating the neurobiological basis of depression in late life as a risk factor for dementia. Methods Sixteen patients with geriatric depression and 13 comparison subjects underwent resting PET studies of cerebral glucose metabolism, as well as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging scans to evaluate brain structure. Results Cerebral glucose metabolism was elevated in geriatric depressed patients relative to comparison subjects in anterior (right and left superior frontal gyrus) and posterior (precuneus, inferior parietal lobule) cortical regions. Cerebral atrophy (increased cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] and decreased grey and white matter volumes) were observed in some of these regions, as well. Regional cerebral metabolism was positively correlated with severity of depression and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions In contrast to decreased metabolism observed in normal aging and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, cortical glucose metabolism was increased in geriatric depressed patients relative to demographically matched controls, particularly in brain regions in which cerebral atrophy was observed, which may represent a compensatory response. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] REVIEW: The functional organization of the intraparietal sulcus in humans and monkeysJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 1 2005Christian Grefkes Abstract In macaque monkeys, the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is concerned with the integration of multimodal information for constructing a spatial representation of the external world (in relation to the macaque's body or parts thereof), and planning and executing object-centred movements. The areas within the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), in particular, serve as interfaces between the perceptive and motor systems for controlling arm and eye movements in space. We review here the latest evidence for the existence of the IPS areas AIP (anterior intraparietal area), VIP (ventral intraparietal area), MIP (medial intraparietal area), LIP (lateral intraparietal area) and CIP (caudal intraparietal area) in macaques, and discuss putative human equivalents as assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The data suggest that anterior parts of the IPS comprising areas AIP and VIP are relatively well preserved across species. By contrast, posterior areas such as area LIP and CIP have been found more medially in humans, possibly reflecting differences in the evolution of the dorsal visual stream and the inferior parietal lobule. Despite interspecies differences in the precise functional anatomy of the IPS areas, the functional relevance of this sulcus for visuomotor tasks comprising target selections for arm and eye movements, object manipulation and visuospatial attention is similar in humans and macaques, as is also suggested by studies of neurological deficits (apraxia, neglect, Bálint's syndrome) resulting from lesions to this region. [source] Proteomic identification of nitrated brain proteins in early Alzheimer's disease inferior parietal lobuleJOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 8b 2009Tanea T. Reed Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive decline in multiple cognitive domains. Its pathological hallmarks include senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the earliest detectable stage of AD with limited symptomology and no dementia. The yearly conversion rate of patients from MCI to AD is 10,15%, although conversion back to normal is possible in a small percentage. Early diagnosis of AD is important in an attempt to intervene or slow the advancement of the disease. Early AD (EAD) is a stage following MCI and characterized by full-blown dementia; however, information involving EAD is limited. Oxidative stress is well-established in MCI and AD, including protein oxidation. Protein nitration also is an important oxidative modification observed in MCI and AD, and proteomic analysis from our laboratory identified nitrated proteins in both MCI and AD. Therefore, in the current study, a proteomics approach was used to identify nitrated brain proteins in the inferior parietal lobule from four subjects with EAD. Eight proteins were found to be significantly nitrated in EAD: peroxiredoxin 2, triose phosphate isomerase, glutamate dehydrogenase, neuropolypeptide h3, phosphoglycerate mutase1, H+, transporting ATPase, ,-enolase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. Many of these proteins are also nitrated in MCI and late-stage AD, making this study the first to our knowledge to link nitrated proteins in all stages of AD. These results are discussed in terms of potential involvement in the progression of this dementing disorder. [source] Recruitment of Additional Brain Regions to Accomplish Simple Motor Tasks in Chronic Alcohol-Dependent PatientsALCOHOLISM, Issue 6 2010Mitchell H. Parks Background:, Chronic alcohol-dependent patients (ALC) exhibit neurocognitive impairments attributed to alcohol-induced fronto-cerebellar damage. Deficits are typically found in complex task performance, whereas simple tasks may not be significantly compromised, perhaps because of little understood compensatory changes. Methods:, We compared finger tapping with either hand at externally paced (EP) or maximal self-paced (SP) rates and concomitant brain activation in ten pairs of right-hand dominant, age-, and gender-matched, severe, uncomplicated ALC and normal controls (NC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results:, Mean tapping rates were not significantly different in ALC and NC for either task, but SP tapping variances were greater in ALC for both hands. SP tapping was more rapid with dominant hand (DH) than non-dominant hand (NDH) for both groups. EP and SP tapping with the non-dominant hand demonstrated significantly more activation in ALC than NC in the pre and postcentral gyri, inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and the middle temporal gyrus. Areas activated only by ALC (not at all by NC) during NDH tapping included the inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and postcentral gyrus. There were no significant group activation differences with DH tapping. No brain regions activated more in NC than ALC. SP tapping in contrast to EP activated fronto-cerebellar networks in NC, including postcentral gyrus, anterior cingulate, and the anterior lobe and vermis of the cerebellum, but only parietal precuneus in ALC. Conclusions:, These findings with NDH finger tapping support previous reports of neurocognitive inefficiencies in ALC. Inferior frontal activation with EP in ALC, but not in NC, suggests engagement of regions needed for planning, organization, and impulse regulation; greater contralateral parietal lobe activation with SP in ALC may reflect right hemispheric impairments in visuospatial performance. Contrasting brain activation during SP and EP suggests that ALC may not have enlisted a fronto-cerebellar network as did NC but rather employed a higher order planning mode by recruiting parietal lobe functions to attain normal mean finger tapping rates. Elucidation of the compensatory neural mechanisms that allow near normal performance by ALC on simple tasks can inform functional rehabilitation of patients in recovery. [source] Amnestic mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: A brain perfusion SPECT study,,MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 3 2009Flavio Nobili MD Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate cortical dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with amnestic deficit (PD-MCI). Perfusion single photon emission computed tomography was performed in 15 PD-MCI patients and compared (statistical parametric mapping [SPM2]) with three groups, i.e., healthy subjects (CTR), cognitively intact PD patients (PD), and common amnestic MCI patients (aMCI). Age, depression, and UPDRS-III scores were considered as confounding variables. PD-MCI group (P < 0.05, false discovery rate,corrected for multiple comparisons) showed relative hypoperfusion in bilateral posterior parietal lobe and in right occipital lobe in comparison to CTR. As compared to aMCI, MCI-PD demonstrated hypoperfusion in bilateral posterior parietal and occipital areas, mainly right cuneus and angular gyrus, and left precuneus and middle occipital gyrus. With a less conservative threshold (uncorrected P < 0.01), MCI-PD showed hypoperfusion in a left parietal region, mainly including precuneus and inferior parietal lobule, and in a right temporal-parietal-occipital region, including middle occipital and superior temporal gyri, and cuneus-precuneus, as compared to PD. aMCI versus PD-MCI showed hypoperfusion in bilateral medial temporal lobe, anterior cingulate, and left orbitofrontal cortex. PD-MCI patients with amnestic deficit showed cortical dysfunction in bilateral posterior parietal and occipital lobes, a pattern that can be especially recognized versus both controls and common aMCI patients, and to a lesser extent versus cognitively intact PD. The relevance of this pattern in predicting dementia should be evaluated in longitudinal studies. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society [source] Redox proteomics identification of 4-hydroxynonenal-modified brain proteins in Alzheimer's disease: Role of lipid peroxidation in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesisPROTEOMICS - CLINICAL APPLICATIONS, Issue 6 2009Marzia Perluigi Abstract Numerous studies have shown that neuronal lipids are highly susceptible to oxidative stress including in those brain areas directly involved in the neurodegenerative process of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lipid peroxidation directly damages membranes and also generates a number of secondary biologically active products (toxic aldehydes)that are capable of easily attacking lipids, proteins, and DNA. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated regionally increased brain lipid peroxidation in patients with AD; however, extensive studies on specific targets of lipid peroxidation-induced damage are still missing. The present study represents a further step in understanding the relationship between oxidative modification of protein and neuronal death associated with AD. We used a proteomics approach to determine specific targets of lipid peroxidation in AD brain, both in hippocampus and inferior parietal lobule, by coupling immunochemical detection of 4-hydroxynonenal-bound proteins with 2-D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and MS analysis. We identified 4-hydroxynonenal-bound proteins in the hippocampus and inferior parietal lobule brain regions of subjects with AD. The identified proteins play different biological functions including energy metabolism, antioxidant system, and structural proteins, thus impairing multiple molecular pathways. Our results provide further evidence for the role of lipid peroxidation in the pathogenesis of AD. [source] Abnormal grey matter in victims of rape with PTSD in Mainland China: a voxel-based morphometry studyACTA NEUROPSYCHIATRICA, Issue 3 2010Shuang Ge Sui Sui SG, Wu MX, King ME, Zhang Y, Ling L, Xu JM, Weng XC, Duan L, Shan BC, Li LJ. Abnormal grey matter in victims of rape with PTSD in Mainland China: a voxel-based morphometry study. Objective: This study examined changes in brain grey matter in victims of rape (VoR) with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous research has focused on PTSD caused by various traumatic events, such as war and disaster, among others. Although considerable research has focused on rape-related PTSD, limited studies have been carried out in the context of Mainland China. Methods: The study included 11 VoR with PTSD, 8 VoR without PTSD and 12 healthy comparison (HC) subjects. We used voxel-based morphometry to explore changes in brain grey-matter density (GMD) by applying statistical parametric mapping to high-resolution magnetic resonance images. Results: Compared with HC, VoR with PTSD showed significant GMD reductions in the bilateral medial frontal cortex, left middle frontal cortex, middle temporal gyrus and fusiform cortex and significant GMD increases in the right posterior cingulate cortex, postcentral cortex, bilateral precentral cortex and inferior parietal lobule. Compared to VoR without PTSD, VoR with PTSD showed significant GMD reductions in the right uncus, left middle temporal gyrus, and the fusiform cortex, and increases in the left precentral cortex, inferior parietal lobule and right post-central cortex. Conclusion: The findings of abnormal GMD in VoR with PTSD support the hypothesis that PTSD is associated with widespread anatomical changes in the brain. The medial frontal cortex, precentral cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, post-central cortex and inferior parietal lobule may play important roles in the neuropathology of PTSD. [source] Neuroanatomical substrate of visuospatial and visuoperceptual impairment in Parkinson's disease,MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 8 2009Joana B. Pereira MSc Abstract To determine magnetic resonance imaging patterns of gray matter (GM) atrophy underlying visuospatial and visuoperceptual impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD), we applied voxel-based morphometry to 36 nondemented PD patients and correlated their whole brain GM density with performance on three visuospatial and visuoperceptual tests. In addition, group comparisons between patients and 20 healthy controls were also performed. Correlations between visuospatial performance and GM density were found in the superior parietal lobules and the superior occipital gyrus of PD patients. Poor performance on visuoperceptual tests was also found to be significantly associated with GM decreases in the fusiform, the parahippocampus, and the middle occipital gyrus. Finally, group comparisons between controls and patients showed widespread GM cortical reductions in PD, involving posterior temporal and parietal regions. Taken together, these findings suggest that visuospatial and visuoperceptual dysfunctions reflect structural GM changes in temporo-parietal cortical regions of PD patients. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society [source] |