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Neuroscience
Kinds of Neuroscience Terms modified by Neuroscience Selected AbstractsNeuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and DependenceADDICTION, Issue 10 2004KARL MANN No abstract is available for this article. [source] Confabulation Views from Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Psychology and PhilosophyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 1 2010K. A. Jellinger No abstract is available for this article. [source] Consciousness Reconnected: Missing Links Between Self, Neuroscience, Psychology and the ArtsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 9 2007K. A. Jellinger No abstract is available for this article. [source] Selective prefrontal serotonin depletion impairs acquisition of a detour-reaching taskEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 11 2006S.C. Walker Abstract We have recently shown that serotonin in the primate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) contributes to the flexible control of behaviour. 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine-induced 5-HT depletions of OFC impair performance on a serial reversal discrimination task [Clarke et al. (2004)Science, 304, 878,880]. The deficit is characterized by perseverative responding to the previously rewarded stimulus, a deficit similar to that seen following lesions of the intrinsic neurones of the OFC [Dias et al. (1996)Nature, 380, 69,72]. The effect is neurochemically selective as dopaminergic lesions of the OFC, induced by 6-hydroxydopamine, have no effect [Clarke et al. (2006)Cerebral Cortex]. In order to test for the generality of the effect of serotonin on orbitofrontal processing and, in particular, its effects on flexible behaviour, the present study investigated the effects of serotonin depletions of OFC on performance of another task dependent upon an intact OFC, the detour-reaching task [Wallis et al. (2001)European Journal of Neuroscience, 13, 1797,1808]. Successful performance of this task requires inhibition of the animal's prepotent response tendency to reach directly along its line of sight to the reward. Compared with sham-operated controls, we found that lesioned monkeys made significantly more barrier reaches directly along their line of sight to the visible reward during task acquisition. This finding provides further support for the role of prefrontal serotonin in inhibitory control processes specifically in tasks sensitive to OFC dysfunction. [source] The medullary dorsal reticular nucleus enhances the responsiveness of spinal nociceptive neurons to peripheral stimulation in the ratEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2003Christophe Dugast Abstract Single-unit spinal recordings combined with application of glutamate into the medullary dorsal reticular nucleus were used to assess the action of this nucleus upon deep dorsal horn neurons in rats. Injection of high glutamate concentrations (10 and 100 mm) induced a dramatic and long-lasting increase of the responses of wide-dynamic range neurons to electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve in the noxious range, without affecting ongoing discharges. Post-stimulus time histograms revealed that this increase concerned the post-discharge, but not A- or C-fibre-mediated responses, which remained unchanged independently of the stimulation frequency applied. The onset of the glutamate-induced response enhancement occurred with a concentration-dependent time delay and developed slowly until its maximum. These data indicate that the medullary dorsal reticular nucleus exerts a facilitating action upon deep dorsal horn wide-dynamic range neurons by enhancing their capacity to respond to peripheral stimulation through prolongation of their discharge. This action is accompanied by the strengthening of wind-up of deep dorsal horn wide-dynamic range neurons, hence providing a plausible substrate for chronic pain states. These results are in agreement with previous behavioural studies suggesting a pronociceptive role for the dorsal reticular nucleus [Almeida et al. (1996) Brain Res. Bull., 39, 7,15; Almeida et al. (1999) Eur. J. Neurosci., 11, 110,122], and support the involvement of a reverberating circuit, previously described in morphological studies [Almeida et al. (1993) Neuroscience, 55, 1093,1106; Almeida et al. (2000) Eur. J. Pain, 4, 373,387], which probably operates only at a certain threshold of activation. [source] Differential c-fos expression in the rhinencephalon and striatum after enhanced sleep,wake states in the catEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 4 2000J. P. Sastre Abstract In order to delimit the supra-brainstem structures that are activated during the sleep,waking cycle, we have examined c-fos immunoreactivity in four groups of polygraphically recorded cats killed after 3 h of prolonged waking (W), slow-wave sleep (SWS), or paradoxical sleep (PS), following microinjection of muscimol (a ,-aminobutyric acid, GABA agonist) into the periaqueductal grey matter and adjacent areas [Sastre et al. (1996) , Neuroscience, 74, 415,426]. Our results demonstrate that there was a direct relationship between a significant increase in c-fos labelling and the amount of PS in the laterodorsalis tegmenti in the pons, supramamillary nucleus, septum, hippocampus, gyrus cingulate, amygdala, stria terminalis and the accumbens nuclei. Moreover, in all these structures, the number of Fos-like immunoreactive neurons in the PS group was significantly higher (three to 30-fold) than in the SWS and W groups. We suggest that the dense expression of the immediate-early gene c-fos in the rhinencephalon and striatum may be considered as a tonic component of PS at the molecular level and that, during PS, the rhinencephalon and striatum are the main targets of an excitatory system originating in the pons. [source] Wired to Connect: Neuroscience, Relationships, and TherapyFAMILY PROCESS, Issue 3 2007MONA DEKOVEN FISHBANE PH.D. First page of article [source] A learning rule for place fields in a cortical model: Theta phase precession as a network effectHIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 7 2005Silvia Scarpetta Abstract We show that a model of the hippocampus introduced recently by Scarpetta et al. (2002, Neural Computation 14(10):2371,2396) explains the theta phase precession phenomena. In our model, the theta phase precession comes out as a consequence of the associative-memory-like network dynamics, i.e., the network's ability to imprint and recall oscillatory patterns, coded both by phases and amplitudes of oscillation. The learning rule used to imprint the oscillatory states is a natural generalization of that used for static patterns in the Hopfield model, and is based on the spike-time-dependent synaptic plasticity, experimentally observed. In agreement with experimental findings, the place cells' activity appears at consistently earlier phases of subsequent cycles of the ongoing theta rhythm during a pass through the place field, while the oscillation amplitude of the place cells' firing rate increases as the animal approaches the center of the place field and decreases as the animal leaves the center. The total phase precession of the place cell is lower than 360°, in agreement with experiments. As the animal enters a receptive field, the place cells' activity comes slightly less than 180° after the phase of maximal pyramidal cell population activity, in agreement with the findings of Skaggs et al. (1996, Hippocampus 6:149,172). Our model predicts that the theta phase is much better correlated with location than with time spent in the receptive field. Finally, in agreement with the recent experimental findings of Zugaro et al. (2005, Nature Neuroscience 9(1):67,71), our model predicts that theta phase precession persists after transient intrahippocampal perturbation. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Moral Psychology of Conflicts of Interest: Insights from Affective NeuroscienceJOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2007PAUL THAGARD abstract This paper is an investigation of the moral psychology of decisions that involve a conflict of interest. It draws on the burgeoning field of affective neuroscience, which is the study of the neurobiology of emotional systems in the brain. I show that a recent neurocomputational model of how the brain integrates cognitive and affective information in decision-making can help to answer some important descriptive and normative questions about the moral psychology of conflicts of interest. These questions include: Why are decisions that involve conflicts of interest so common? Why are people so often unaware that they are acting immorally as the result of conflicts of interest? What is the relation of conflicts of interest to other kinds of irrationality, especially self-deception and weakness of will? What psychological, social, and logical steps can be taken to reduce the occurrence of immoral decisions resulting from conflicts of interest? I discuss five strategies for dealing with conflicts of interest: avoidance, optimal reasoning patterns, disclosure, social oversight, and understanding of neuropsychological processes. [source] Cholinergic modulation of synaptic physiology in deep layer entorhinal cortex of the ratJOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 1 2001Mi Young Cheong Abstract We have recently shown that cholinergic effects on synaptic transmission and plasticity in the superficial (II/III) layers of the rat medial entorhinal cortex (EC) are similar, but not identical, to those in the hippocampus (Yun et al. [2000] Neuroscience 97:671,676). Because the superficial and deep layers of the EC preferentially convey afferent and efferent hippocampal projections, respectively, it is of interest to compare cholinergic effects between the two regions. We therefore investigated the physiological effects of cholinergic agents in the layer V of medial EC slices under experimental conditions identical to those in the previous study. Bath application of carbachol (0.5 ,M) induced transient depression of field potential responses in all cases tested (30 of 30; 18.5% ± 2.3%) and rarely induced long-lasting potentiation (only 3 of 30; 20.4% ± 3.2% in successful cases). At 5 ,M, carbachol induced transient depression only (20 of 20, 48.9% ± 2.8%), which was blocked by atropine (10 ,M). Paired-pulse facilitation was enhanced during carbachol-induced depression, suggesting presynaptic action of carbachol. Long-term potentiation (LTP) could be induced in the presence of 10 ,M atropine by theta burst stimulation, but its magnitude was significantly lower (9.1% ± 4.7%, n = 15) compared to LTP in control slices (22.4% ± 3.9%, n = 20). These results, combined with our previous findings, demonstrate remarkably similar cholinergic modulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity across the superficial and deep layers of EC. J. Neurosci. Res. 66:117,121, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Philosophical Challenges for Researchers at the Interface between Neuroscience and EducationJOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, Issue 3-4 2008PAUL HOWARD-JONES This article examines how discussions around the new interdisciplinary research area combining neuroscience and education have brought into sharp relief differences in the philosophies of learning in these two areas. It considers the difficulties faced by those working at the interface between these two areas and, in particular, it focuses on the challenge of avoiding ,non-sense' when attempting to include the brain in educational argument. The paper relates common transgressions in sense-making with dualist and monist notions of the mind-brain relationship. It then extends a brain-mind-behaviour model from cognitive neuroscience to include a greater emphasis on social interaction and construction. This creates a tool for examining the potentially complex interrelationships between the different learning philosophies in this emerging new field. [source] PAINFUL NEUROPATHY, MONOCLONAL GAMMOPATHY AND AMYLOID DEPOSITS: RESPONSE TO THERAPY IN 3 CASESJOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, Issue 1 2002Article first published online: 11 MAR 200 Siciliano G.1, D'Avino C.1, Panichi V.2, Azzarà A.3, Del Corona A.1, Pollina L.3, Murri L.1 1Department of Neuroscience, 2Department of Internal Medicine and 3Department of Oncology,University of Pisa-Italy Amyloidosis is a systemic disease with a wide organic involvement. Amyloidotic polyneuropathies may be genetic in their origin or present in association with a number of chronic inflammatory dysimmune disorders. We report on three patients affected by predominantly sensitive polyneuropathy, monoclonal gammopathy and amyloidosis. Patient 1. Woman, 72 years old, with a one year history of painful paraesthesias, ataxic gait and demyelinating predominantly sensitive polyneuropathy at 4 limbs also with involvement of sympathetic fibres. Blood protein electrophoresis showed a monoclonal gammopahty (IgG-k) with normal bone marrow biopsy and positivity for amyloid at fat biopsy. The patient has been treated with melphalan 0.2 mg/Kg/day+prednisone 100 mg/day for 7 days each month for 6 months with good efficacy and only a transient reduction in platelet and white blood cells count. Patient 2. Man, 60 years old, new diagnosis of diabetes with a 9 month history of painful paraesthesias and hyposthenia, a demyelinating sensory-motor polyneuropathy at 4 limbs. The patient presented an IgG-, monoclonal gammopathy with normal bone marrow biopsy, fat biopsy but not sural nerve biopsy positive for amyloid. The patient underwent melphalan+prednisone therapy, with insulinic control of glycemia. He presented a clear-cut improvement in sensitive-motor symptomatology. Patient 3. Man, 72 years old, with a 15 year history of ulcerous rectocolites. Since 1998 started complaining of paraesthesias and disaesthesias at four limbs associated with gait disturbances. The patient presented an IgG-, monoclonal gammopathy with normal bone marrow aspiration and elevated serum Interleukin-6 levels, fat biopsy positive for amyloid, and high anti-MAG antibodies titer (1:100000). Because of RCU, melphalan therapy was excluded and the patient is at the moment under fludarabine (25 mg/m2/day) ev for 5 days each 6 weeks for 6 bouts. [source] ANTI-SULFATIDE IgM ANTIBODIES DETECTED IN A PATIENT DIAGNOSIS OF MOTOR NEURON DISEASEJOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, Issue 1 2002Article first published online: 11 MAR 200 D'Avino C., Del Corona A., Bacci A., Calabrese R., Siciliano G. Department of Neuroscience-Clinical Neurology-University of Pisa-Italy Case report. The patient, a 66-year-old man with a 5-year diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, in Sep. 2000 started complaining of language disturbances as rhinolalia. In Jan. 2001, because of generalized fatigue and difficulties in walking, he was hospitalized in Internal Medicine and a diagnosis of diabetic angiopathy and neuropathy was made. Since discharge patient clinical conditions gradually deteriorated and a neurological evaluation showed tongue atrophy, dysarthria, dysphagia, fasciculations in the four limbs, increased deep tendon reflexes with bilateral foot clonus and paraparetic spastic deambulation. He underwent spinal MRI that showed mild arthrosic abnormalities in cervical spinal cord and limb EMG that showed denervation spontaneous activity with neurogenic MUAP modifications, with normal sensory and motor conduction velocity. MEP showed bilateral pyramidal track involvement. A significantly increased anti-sulphatide IgM antibodies titer (1:32,000) in the serum was detected. The diagnosis at discharge was "probable motor neuron disease" and the patient is under riluzole therapy at the moment. Discussion. Anti-sulfatide IgM antibodies are currently associated with several subtypes of peripheral neuropathy. In most cases it is a chronic dysimmune sensory or sensorimotor neuropathy in which electrophysiological and morphological studies are usually con- sistent with a predominant demyelination frequently associated with prominent axonal loss. Although rare, an association between motor neuron disease and IgM anti-sulfatide has been described in a recent paper by Latov and coworkers that reviewed electrophysiologic, morphologic and laboratory data of 25 patients with elevated antisulfatide antibodies. It seems interesting to follow-up the clinical course of the patient, the response to therapy and its correlation to antibodies titer, while the opportunity of high dose IVIg therapy is under discussion at the moment. [source] Gesture Gives a Hand to Language and Learning: Perspectives from Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology and EducationLINGUISTICS & LANGUAGE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2008Spencer D. Kelly People of all ages, cultures and backgrounds gesture when they speak. These hand movements are so natural and pervasive that researchers across many fields , from linguistics to psychology to neuroscience , have claimed that the two modalities form an integrated system of meaning during language production and comprehension. This special relationship has implications for a variety of research and applied domains. Gestures may provide unique insights into language and cognitive development, and also help clinicians identify, understand and even treat developmental disorders in childhood. In addition, research in education suggests that teachers can use gesture to become even more effective in several fundamental aspects of their profession, including communication, assessment of student knowledge, and the ability to instill a profound understanding of abstract concepts in traditionally difficult domains such as language and mathematics. This work converging from multiple perspectives will push researchers and practitioners alike to view hand gestures in a new and constructive way. [source] Mind, Brain, and Education: Building a Scientific Groundwork for Learning and Teaching1MIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 1 2009Kurt W. Fischer ABSTRACT, The primary goal of the emerging field of Mind, Brain, and Education is to join biology, cognitive science, development, and education in order to create a sound grounding of education in research. The growing, worldwide movement needs to avoid the myths and distortions of popular conceptions of brain and genetics and build on the best integration of research with practice, creating a strong infrastructure that joins scientists with educators to study effective learning and teaching in educational settings. Science and practice together provide many potentially powerful tools to improve education. Neuroscience and genetics make possible analysis of the "black box" of biological processes that underpin learning. Understanding the biology of abilities and disabilities helps educators and parents to facilitate individual students' learning and development. Cognitive science provides analyses of the mental models/metaphors that pervade meaning making in human cultures, creating tools for avoiding unconscious distortions and crafting effective educational tools. Developmental and learning science produce tools to analyze learning pathways, including both shared patterns and learning differences. To reach the potential of grounding education effectively in research requires improving the infrastructure by creating (a) research schools where practice and science jointly shape educational research, (b) shared databases on learning and development, and (c) a new profession of educational engineers or translators to facilitate connecting research with practice and policy. [source] Metacognition, Theory of Mind, and Self-Control: The Relevance of High-Level Cognitive Processes in Development, Neuroscience, and EducationMIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 3 2008Beate Sodian ABSTRACT, The cognitive control of behavior is critical for success in school. The emergence of self-control in development has been linked to the ability to represent one's own and others' mental states (theory of mind and metacognition). Despite rapid progress in exploring the neural correlates of both mind reading and executive function in recent years, to date, the implications of these high-level cognitive processes for issues relevant to education have hardly been addressed. The present special issue brings together developmental perspectives on the relation of self-control, theory of mind, and metacognition; theoretical and empirical contributions on the implications of theory of mind and self-control for teaching and learning; and brief reviews of the state of the art in cognitive neuroscience on these high-level cognitive processes in adolescents and adults. [source] Genetics and Neuroscience in Dyslexia: Perspectives for Education and RemediationMIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007Gerd Schulte-Körne ABSTRACT , Our understanding of the causes of a developmental disorder like dyslexia has received recent input from both neuroscience and genetics. The discovery of 4 candidate genes for dyslexia and the identification of neuronal networks engaged when children read and spell are the basis for introducing this knowledge into education. However, the input from educational practitioners as well as empirical knowledge from research on learning also contribute significantly to our understanding of how children acquire the basic skills for learning to read and spell. It is imperative to merge the knowledge acquired from research in the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and empirical education, as well as to understand how the learning brain and instruction interact. Doing so can be seen as a major step in attaining an optimal approach for teaching, reading, and spelling and for finding the best suited and most effective treatment concepts for dyslexic children and adolescents. [source] Educational Neuroscience: Defining a New Discipline for the Study of Mental RepresentationsMIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 3 2007Dénes Sz ABSTRACT, Is educational neuroscience a "bridge too far"? Here, we argue against this negative assessment. We suggest that one major reason for skepticism within the educational community has been the inadequate definition of the potential role and use of neuroscience research in education. Here, we offer a provisional definition for the emerging discipline of educational neuroscience as the study of the development of mental representations. We define mental representations in terms of neural activity in the brain. We argue that there is a fundamental difference between doing educational neuroscience and using neuroscience research results to inform education. While current neuroscience research results do not translate into direct classroom applications, educational neuroscience can expand our knowledge about learning, for example, by tracking the normative development of mental representations. We illustrate this briefly via mathematical educational neuroscience. Current capabilities and limitations of neuroscience research methods are also considered. [source] We Feel, Therefore We Learn: The Relevance of Affective and Social Neuroscience to EducationMIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 1 2007Mary Helen Immordino-Yang ABSTRACT, Recent advances in neuroscience are highlighting connections between emotion, social functioning, and decision making that have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the role of affect in education. In particular, the neurobiological evidence suggests that the aspects of cognition that we recruit most heavily in schools, namely learning, attention, memory, decision making, and social functioning, are both profoundly affected by and subsumed within the processes of emotion; we call these aspects emotional thought. Moreover, the evidence from brain-damaged patients suggests the hypothesis that emotion-related processes are required for skills and knowledge to be transferred from the structured school environment to real-world decision making because they provide an emotional rudder to guide judgment and action. Taken together, the evidence we present sketches an account of the neurobiological underpinnings of morality, creativity, and culture, all topics of critical importance to education. Our hope is that a better understanding of the neurobiological relationships between these constructs will provide a new basis for innovation in the design of learning environments. [source] Gender Differences in the Affective Processing of Pain: Brain Neuroscience and Training in "Biopsychosocial" Pain MedicinePAIN MEDICINE, Issue 9 2010Rollin M. Gallagher MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] Book review: A Hole in the Head: More Tales in the History of NeuroscienceAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2010David A. Steinberg No abstract is available for this article. [source] Political Psychology and Social Neuroscience: Strange Bedfellows or Comrades in Arms?POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2003John T. Cacioppo First page of article [source] Information and discovery in NeurosciencePROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2003Carole L. Palmer No abstract is available for this article. [source] Psychogeriatric Research: A Conceptual Introduction to Aging and Geriatric NeurosciencePSYCHOGERIATRICS, Issue 3 2001Ramón Cacabelos Abstract: Psychogeriatrics (PG) is a multidisciplinary specialty in clinical neuroscience dealing with brain disorders in the elderly population. As any other biomedical field PG has to establish an educational and practical framework in epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and social, ethical, and legal issues associated with brain aging and age-related central nervous system disorders. Understanding the molecular basis of aging will help to characterize and differentiate the fundamentals of pathological aging and psychogeriatric ailments. Modern epidemiology of age-related brain disorders have to incorporate novel diagnostic criteria, biological markers, and genetic epidemiology to its methodological armamentarium to avoid bias. Molecular genetics will help to conceptually redefine many psychogeriatric disorders depending upon its genetic component and those interacting environmental factors leading to the phenotypic expression of given diseases. Genetic testing for monogenic and complex/polygenic/multifactorials disorders has to be included in diagnostic protocols since approximately 60 to 80% of major psychogeriatric disorders are genetically driven. It is also important to distinguish mutational genetics from susceptibility genetics in order to establish novel therapeutic strategies and preventive programmes. Genomics, proteomics, and pharmacogenomics are novel fields from which PG can benefit in the areas of etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. Drug development in PG requires updated regulations in developed countries. New pharmacological treatments for aging brain disorders are needed. Pharmacogenomics will become an optimal strategy for drug development, contributing to design a molecular psychopharmacology for the elderly, individualizing drug therapy, optimizing efficacy and safety, and reducing unnecessary costs. [source] Neuroeconomics: Using Neuroscience to Make Economic Predictions,THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 519 2007Colin F. Camerer Neuroeconomics seeks to ground economic theory in detailed neural mechanisms which are expressed mathematically and make behavioural predictions. One finding is that simple kinds of economising for life-and-death decisions (food, sex and danger) do occur in the brain as rational theories assume. Another set of findings appears to support the neural basis of constructs posited in behavioural economics, such as a preference for immediacy and nonlinear weighting of small and large probabilities. A third direction shows how understanding neural circuitry permits predictions and causal experiments which show state-dependence of revealed preference , except that states are biological and neural variables. [source] Mind to Mind: Infant Research, Neuroscience, and PsychoanalysisTHE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS, Issue 6 2009E. Virginia Demos First page of article [source] The predicting brain: Unconscious repetition, conscious reflection and therapeutic changeTHE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS, Issue 4 2007Regina Pally Neuroscience indicates that ,repetition' is fundamental to brain function. The brain non-consciously predicts what is most likely to happen and sets in motion perceptions, emotions, behaviors and interpersonal responses best adapted to what is expected-before events occur. Predictions enable individuals to be ready ,ahead of time' so reactions occur rapidly and smoothly when events occur. The brain uses past learning as the guide for what to expect in the future. Because of prediction, present experience and responses are shaped by the past. Predictions from early life can be deeply encoded and enduring. Predictions based on the past allow for more efficient brain function in the present, but can lead to mistakes. When what is predicted does not occur, consciousness can be engaged to monitor and correct the situation. But if a perception or emotion seems reasonable for the situation, a person might not notice an error, and a maladaptive ,repetition' may remain unchanged. The author discusses how predictions contribute to psychological defenses and transference repetition, and how conscious self-reflection facilitates therapeutic change. The neuroscience of prediction indicates why, in certain cases, active engagement by the analyst may be necessary. The author makes the argument for use of a ,neuroscience interpretation'. [source] Expression pattern of calcitonin gene-related peptide in the superior colliculus during postnatal development: Demonstration of its intrinsic nature and possible rolesTHE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, Issue 5 2006Inmaculada Gerrikagoitia Abstract Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a widespread neuropeptide with multiple central and peripheral targets. In an analysis on the expression of this peptide throughout the rat brain during postnatal development, we observed a discrepancy between results obtained by immunohistochemistry and by in situ hybridization. In the superior colliculus (SC), only the immunohistochemical signal could be detected (Terrado et al. [1997] Neuroscience 80:951,970). Here we focus our attention on this structure because the temporal pattern of CGRP immunoreactivity observed in the SC suggested the participation of this peptide in the postnatal maturation of the SC. In the present study, we describe in detail the postnatal development of collicular CGRP-immunoreactive structures and their spatiotemporal relationship with cholinergic modules and definitively demonstrate the local expression of CGRP in the SC. CGRP-immunopositive axons and neurons were distributed within the most ventral part of superficial strata and in the intermediate strata of the SC, showing a peak in staining intensity and density at the end of the first postnatal week. At P14, CGRPergic terminal fibers are arranged in small, clearly defined patches in a complementary manner with respect to the cholinergic modules, which start forming at this stage. By using Western blot and RT-PCR analyses, and by means of injections of antisense oligonucleotides, both the presence of CGRP peptide in the SC and the local expression of ,-CGRP transcripts in collicular neurons were demonstrated. A possible role of CGRP is discussed in the context of postnatal modular compartmentalization of collicular afferents. J. Comp. Neurol. 494:721,737, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] JC virus persistence following progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in multiple sclerosis patients treated with natalizumab,ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 3 2010Caroline F. Ryschkewitsch MT JC virus (JCV) DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) provides the laboratory confirmatory diagnosis of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in patients whose clinical symptoms and magnetic resonance imaging findings are consistent with PML. The Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience (LMMN), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), made the confirmatory laboratory diagnosis in 35 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with natalizumab. Thirteen patients had 3 or more CSF samples taken from weeks to months following PML diagnosis. Seven of the 13 patients demonstrated persistence of JCV DNA in the CSF even though all patients experienced immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), 11 patients had plasma exchange, and 2 had immunoabsorption. Specific anti-JCV antibody was measured in plasma/sera samples from 25 of the 35 patients. Most of the samples showed moderate to high or rising antibody levels from the time of PML diagnosis. However, plasma from 1 patient at or near the time of PML diagnosis had a titer considered seronegative and 2 other plasma samples from patients had titers considered at baseline for seropositivity. In several PML cases, viral persistence and neurological deficits have continued for several years, indicating that once initiated, JCV infection may not entirely clear, even with IRIS. Ann Neurol 2010;68:384,391 [source] Von Neuronen zu Netzwerken.BIOLOGIE IN UNSERER ZEIT (BIUZ), Issue 6 2009Mathematische Gehirnmodelle Abstract Obwohl unser Verständnis des Nervensystems große Fortschritte macht, stellen Netzwerke aus Milliarden von Neuronen die Neurobiologie vor eine praktisch unlösbare Aufgabe: Die Aktivität eines Gehirns möglichst vollständig zu erfassen und das Beobachtete detailliert zu verstehen. Die "Computational Neuroscience" versucht Brücken zwischen den Konzepten der Teildisziplinen zu schlagen. Die mathematische Beschreibung von Nervenzellen und neuronalen Netzwerken, sowie die Simulation dieser Systeme in Form von Computermodellen, erlaubt Phänomene zu ergründen, die in biologischen Gehirnen nur unter größten Schwierigkeiten messbar sind. Jüngste Studien konnten unter anderem zeigen, dass erregungsabhängige Veränderungen der elektrischen Leitfähigkeit in Neuronen ein Netzwerk davor bewahren, dass räumlich begrenzte Erregung sich aufschaukelt und als Folge die Aktivität im gesamten Netzwerk zum Erliegen bringt. Dieselbe Eigenschaft führt außerdem dazu, dass ein Netzwerk auch ohne äußere Anregung aktiv bleiben kann , eine wichtige Grundeigenschaft von Gehirnen, deren neuronale Funktionsmechanismen bis heute weitgehend unverstanden sind. Our understanding of the nervous system has made great leaps forward. Yet still, the study of networks of billions of neurons poses an almost insolvable challenge to empirical neurobiology: to capture the activity of a brain as a whole, and to make sense of the observations in detail. Here, "Computational Neuroscience" attempts to build bridges between the concepts of the involved disciplines. The mathematical description of neurons and neuronal networks, as well as the simulation of these systems as computer models, allows fathoming phenomena that could be measured in biological brains only under severe difficulties. In particular, recent studies showed that activity dependent changes of neuronal input resistance can prevent a network from local "explosions" of activity, which otherwise could lead to a complete breakdown of network operation. The same property of neurons also causes a network to remain active when external excitation is switched off. This is an important property of brains, the neuronal mechanisms of which are still widely unknown. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||