Tag: Brain

Neurology

Lifetime perspective on #alcohol and #brain health

Harm prevention policies must take the long view The maintenance of brain health is central to health and wellbeing across the lifespan.1 Evidence suggests three periods of dynamic brain changes that may be particularly sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol: gestation (from conception to birth), later adolescence (15-19 years), and older adulthood (over 65 years). Highly prevalent patterns of alcohol use may cause harm … Continue reading Lifetime perspective on #alcohol and #brain health

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Environment, Neurology

#Language comprehension in the social #brain: Electrophysiological brain signals of social presence effects during syntactic and semantic sentence processing

Although, evolutionarily, language emerged predominantly for social purposes, much has yet to be uncovered regarding how language processing is affected by social context. Social presence research studies the ways in which the presence of a conspecific affects processing, but has yet to be thoroughly applied to language processes. The principal aim of this study was to see how syntactic and semantic language processing might be … Continue reading #Language comprehension in the social #brain: Electrophysiological brain signals of social presence effects during syntactic and semantic sentence processing

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Neurology

The human #cerebellum has almost 80% of the surface area of the #neocortex

The surface of the human cerebellar cortex is much more tightly folded than the cerebral cortex. It was computationally reconstructed for the first time to the level of all individual folia from multicontrast high-resolution postmortem MRI scans. Its total shrinkage-corrected surface area (1,590 cm2) was larger than expected or previously reported, equal to 78% of the total surface area of the human neocortex. The unfolded … Continue reading The human #cerebellum has almost 80% of the surface area of the #neocortex

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Neurology

Conservation of #brain connectivity and wiring across the mammalian class

Over 100 years ago, Ramon y Cajal hypothesized that two forces played a role in the evolution of mammalian brain connectivity: minimizing wiring costs and maximizing conductivity speed. Using diffusion MRI, we reconstructed the brain connectomes of 123 mammalian species. Network analysis revealed that both connectivity and the wiring cost are conserved across mammals. We describe a conservation principle that maintains the overall connectivity: species … Continue reading Conservation of #brain connectivity and wiring across the mammalian class

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Neurology

Dynamic functional connectivity between nucleus accumbens and the central executive network relates to chronic cannabis use

The neural mechanisms of drug cue‐reactivity regarding the temporal fluctuations of functional connectivity, namely the dynamic connectivity, are sparsely studied. Quantifying the task‐modulated variability in dynamic functional connectivity at cue exposure can aid the understanding. We analyzed changes in dynamic connectivity in 54 adult cannabis users and 90 controls during a cannabis cue exposure task. The variability was measured as standard deviation in the (a) … Continue reading Dynamic functional connectivity between nucleus accumbens and the central executive network relates to chronic cannabis use

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Gastroenterology, Neurology

Permissive microbiome characterizes human subjects with a neurovascular disease cavernous angioma

Cavernous angiomas (CA) are common vascular anomalies causing brain hemorrhage. Based on mouse studies, roles of gram-negative bacteria and altered intestinal homeostasis have been implicated in CA pathogenesis, and pilot study had suggested potential microbiome differences between non-CA and CA individuals based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We here assess microbiome differences in a larger cohort of human subjects with and without CA, and among … Continue reading Permissive microbiome characterizes human subjects with a neurovascular disease cavernous angioma

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Neurology

Physical presence of spouse enhances brain-to-brain synchrony in co-parenting couples

Co-parenting spouses who live together remain in close physical proximity to each other and regularly engage in reciprocal social interactions in joint endeavors to coordinate their caregiving. Although bi-parental rearing is a common occurrence in humans, the influence of the physical presence of a co-parenting spouse on parental brain responses remains largely unknown. Synchrony is conceptualized as the matching of behavioral and physiological signals between … Continue reading Physical presence of spouse enhances brain-to-brain synchrony in co-parenting couples

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Neurology, Psychiatry

Emotional #Stress Induces Structural Plasticity in Bergmann Glial Cells via an AC5–CPEB3–GluA1 Pathway

..SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Astrocytes play important roles in synaptic transmission by extending fine processes around synapses. In this study, we showed that a single exposure to an acute stress triggered a retraction of lateral/fine processes in mouse cerebellar astrocytes. These astrocytes express GluA1, a glutamate receptor subunit known to lengthen astrocyte processes. We showed that astrocytic structural changes are associated with a reduction of GluA1 protein … Continue reading Emotional #Stress Induces Structural Plasticity in Bergmann Glial Cells via an AC5–CPEB3–GluA1 Pathway

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Neurology, Psychiatry

Emotional #stress induces structural #plasticity in Bergmann glial cells via an AC5-CPEB3-GluA1 pathway

Stress alters brain function by modifying the structure and function of neurons and astrocytes. The fine processes of astrocytes are critical for the clearance of neurotransmitters during synaptic transmission. Thus, experience-dependent remodeling of glial processes is anticipated to alter the output of neural circuits.. ..Significance statement Astrocytes play important roles in synaptic transmission by extending fine processes around synapses. In this study, we showed that … Continue reading Emotional #stress induces structural #plasticity in Bergmann glial cells via an AC5-CPEB3-GluA1 pathway

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Gastroenterology, Neurology

Central sensory-motor crosstalk in the neural gut-brain axis

The neural gut-brain axis consists of viscerosensory and autonomic motor neurons innervating the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Sensory neurons transmit nutrient-related and non-nutrient-related information to the brain, while motor neurons regulate GI motility and secretion. Previous research provides an incomplete picture of the brain nuclei that are directly connected with the neural gut-brain axis, and no studies have thoroughly assessed sensory-motor overlap in those nuclei. Our … Continue reading Central sensory-motor crosstalk in the neural gut-brain axis

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Gerontology, Neurology

BrainAGE and regional volumetric analysis of a Buddhist monk: a longitudinal MRI case study

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (YMR) is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and renowned meditation practitioner and teacher who has spent an extraordinary number of hours of his life meditating. The brain-aging profile of this expert meditator in comparison to a control population was examined using a machine learning framework, which estimates “brain-age” from brain imaging. YMR’s brain-aging rate appeared slower than that of controls suggesting early maturation … Continue reading BrainAGE and regional volumetric analysis of a Buddhist monk: a longitudinal MRI case study

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Diet, Gerontology, Neurology

#Diet modulates brain network stability, a biomarker for brain #aging, in young adults

..One cohort was scanned under standard diet, overnight fasting, and ketogenic diet conditions. To isolate the impact of fuel type, an independent overnight fasted cohort was scanned before and after administration of a calorie-matched glucose and exogenous ketone ester (D-β-hydroxybutyrate) bolus. Across the life span, brain network destabilization correlated with decreased brain activity and cognitive acuity. Effects emerged at 47 y, with the most rapid … Continue reading #Diet modulates brain network stability, a biomarker for brain #aging, in young adults

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