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Robust Activation (robust + activation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

fMRI evidence for multisensory recruitment associated with rapid eye movements during sleep

HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 5 2009
Charles Chong-Hwa Hong
Abstract We studied the neural correlates of rapid eye movement during sleep (REM) by timing REMs from video recording and using rapid event-related functional MRI. Consistent with the hypothesis that REMs share the brain systems and mechanisms with waking eye movements and are visually-targeted saccades, we found REM-locked activation in the primary visual cortex, thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), ,visual claustrum', retrosplenial cortex (RSC, only on the right hemisphere), fusiform gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, and the oculomotor circuit that controls awake saccadic eye movements (and subserves awake visuospatial attention). Unexpectedly, robust activation also occurred in non-visual sensory cortices, motor cortex, language areas, and the ascending reticular activating system, including basal forebrain, the major source of cholinergic input to the entire cortex. REM-associated activation of these areas, especially non-visual primary sensory cortices, TRN and claustrum, parallels findings from waking studies on the interactions between multiple sensory data, and their ,binding' into a unified percept, suggesting that these mechanisms are also shared in waking and dreaming and that the sharing goes beyond the expected visual scanning mechanisms. Surprisingly, REMs were associated with a decrease in signal in specific periventricular subregions, matching the distribution of the serotonergic supraependymal plexus. REMs might serve as a useful task-free probe into major brain systems for functional brain imaging. Hum Brain Mapp 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Alcohol intoxication effects on visual perception: An fMRI study

HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 1 2004
Vince D. Calhoun
Abstract We examined the effects of two doses of alcohol (EtOH) on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation during a visual perception task. The Motor-Free Visual Perception Test,Revised (MVPT-R) provides measures of overall visual perceptual processing ability. It incorporates different cognitive elements including visual discrimination, spatial relationships, and mental rotation. We used the MVPT-R to study brain activation patterns in healthy controls (1) sober, and (2) at two doses of alcohol intoxication with event-related fMRI. The fMRI data were analyzed using a general linear model approach based upon a model of the time course and a hemodynamic response estimate. Additionally, a correlation analysis was performed to examine dose-dependent amplitude changes. With regard to alcohol-free task-related brain activation, we replicate our previous finding in which SPM group analysis revealed robust activation in visual and visual association areas, frontal eye field (FEF)/dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the supplemental motor area (SMA). Consistent with a previous study of EtOH and visual stimulation, EtOH resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in activation amplitude over much of the visual perception network and in a decrease in the maximum contrast-to-noise ratio (in the lingual gyrus). Despite only modest behavior changes (in the expected direction), significant dose-dependent activation increases were observed in insula, DLPFC, and precentral regions, whereas dose-dependent activation decreases were observed in anterior and posterior cingulate, precuneus, and middle frontal areas. Some areas (FEF/DLPFC/SMA) became more diffusely activated (i.e., increased in spatial extent) at the higher dose. Alcohol, thus, appears to have both global and local effects upon the neural correlates of the MVPT-R task, some of which are dose dependent. Hum. Brain Mapping 21:15,26, 2004. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Anatomical and functional brain imaging using high-resolution echo-planar spectroscopic imaging at 1.5 Tesla

NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 4 2005
Weiliang Du
Abstract High-resolution echo-planar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI) of water resonance (i.e. without water suppression) is proposed for anatomic and functional imaging of the human brain at 1.5,T. Water spectra with a resolution of 2.6,Hz and a bandwidth of 333,Hz were obtained in small voxels (1.7,×,1.7,×,3,mm3) across a single slice. Although water spectra appeared Lorentzian in most of the voxels in the brain, non-Lorentzian broadening of the water resonance was observed in voxels containing blood vessels. In functional experiments with a motor task, robust activation in motor cortices was observed in high-resolution T maps generated from the EPSI data. Shift of the water resonance frequency occurred during neuronal activation in motor cortices. The activation areas appeared to be more localized after excluding the voxels in which the lineshape of the water resonance had elevated T and became more non-Lorentzian during the motor task. These preliminary results suggest that high-resolution EPSI is a promising tool to study susceptibility-related effects, such as BOLD contrast, for improved anatomical and functional imaging of the brain. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

HLA,B27 up-regulation causes accumulation of misfolded heavy chains and correlates with the magnitude of the unfolded protein response in transgenic rats: Implications for the pathogenesis of spondylarthritis-like disease

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 1 2007
Matthew J. Turner
Objective HLA,B27 is implicated in the pathogenesis of spondylarthritis (SpA), yet the molecular mechanisms are incompletely defined. HLA,B27 misfolding has been associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress and activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in macrophages from HLA,B27/human ,2 -microglobulin,transgenic (B27-transgenic) rats. This study was performed to assess the mechanisms that drive activation of the HLA,B27,induced UPR and to determine whether splenocytes respond in a similar manner. Methods Splenocytes were isolated and bone marrow macrophages were derived from B27-transgenic and wild-type rats. Cells were treated for up to 24 hours with cytokines that induce class I major histocompatibility complex expression. HLA,B27 expression and misfolding were assessed by real-time reverse transcription,polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry, and immunoblotting. Activation of the UPR was measured by quantifying UPR target gene expression and X-box binding protein 1 messenger RNA (mRNA) splicing. Results HLA,B27 mRNA up-regulation was accompanied by a dramatic increase in the accumulation of misfolded heavy chains and preceded robust activation of the UPR in macrophages. When macrophages were treated with various cytokines, the magnitude of the UPR correlated strongly with the degree of HLA,B27 up-regulation. In contrast, B27-transgenic splenocytes exhibited only low-level differences in the expression of UPR target genes after exposure to interferon-, or concanavalin A, which resulted in minimal HLA,B27 up-regulation. Conclusion These results suggest that HLA,B27,associated activation of the UPR in macrophages is attributable to the accumulation of misfolded heavy chains, and that certain cell types may be more susceptible to the effects of HLA,B27 misfolding. Strategies that eliminate HLA,B27 up-regulation and/or the accumulation of misfolded heavy chains may be useful in evaluating the role of these events in the pathogenesis of SpA. [source]