Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a major health risk factor and the leading global cause of premature death. Hypertension is also a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. However, when elevated blood pressure starts impacting cerebral health is less clear. We addressed this gap by estimating how a validated measure of brain health relates… Continue reading Optimal Blood #Pressure Keeps Our #Brains Younger
Tag: Brain
#Cerebral venous #thrombosis after vaccination against #COVID-19 in the UK: a multicentre cohort study
A new syndrome of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) has emerged as a rare side-effect of vaccination against COVID-19. Cerebral venous thrombosis is the most common manifestation of this syndrome but, to our knowledge, has not previously been described in detail. We aimed to document the features of post-vaccination cerebral venous thrombosis with and without… Continue reading #Cerebral venous #thrombosis after vaccination against #COVID-19 in the UK: a multicentre cohort study
Reinforcement learning links spontaneous cortical #dopamine impulses to reward
Extrasynaptic levels of dopamine in mouse cortex exhibit spontaneous impulses•Impulses are broadly distributed in amplitude and time, with a rate of about 0.01/s•Feedback was used to train mice to volitionally control their spontaneous impulses•Mice learned to reliably modulate dopamine impulses in order to receive a reward SummaryIn their pioneering study on dopamine release, Romo and… Continue reading Reinforcement learning links spontaneous cortical #dopamine impulses to reward
#Psilocybin induces rapid and persistent growth of dendritic spines in frontal cortex in vivo
Psilocybin ameliorates stress-related behavioral deficit in mice•Psilocybin increases spine density and spine size in frontal cortical pyramidal cells•Psilocybin-evoked structural remodeling is persistent for at least 1 month•The dendritic rewiring is accompanied by elevated excitatory neurotransmission SummaryPsilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic with untapped therapeutic potential. There are hints that the use of psychedelics can produce neural… Continue reading #Psilocybin induces rapid and persistent growth of dendritic spines in frontal cortex in vivo
Adaptive circuit dynamics across human #cortex during evidence accumulation in changing #environments
Many decisions under uncertainty entail the temporal accumulation of evidence that informs about the state of the environment. When environments are subject to hidden changes in their state, maximizing accuracy and reward requires non-linear accumulation of evidence. How this adaptive, non-linear computation is realized in the brain is unknown. We analyzed human behavior and cortical… Continue reading Adaptive circuit dynamics across human #cortex during evidence accumulation in changing #environments
Consolidation of human #skill linked to waking hippocampo-neocortical replay
The introduction of rest intervals interspersed with practice strengthens wakeful consolidation of skill. The mechanisms by which the brain binds discrete action representations into consolidated, highly temporally-resolved skill sequences during waking rest are not known. To address this question, we recorded magnetoencephalography (MEG) during acquisition and rapid consolidation of a sequential motor skill. We report… Continue reading Consolidation of human #skill linked to waking hippocampo-neocortical replay
Randomized Manipulation of Early #Cognitive Experience Impacts Adult Brain Structure
Does early exposure to cognitive and linguistic stimulation impact brain structure? Or do genetic predispositions account for the co-occurrence of certain neuroanatomical phenotypes and a tendency to engage children in cognitively stimulating activities? Low socioeconomic status infants were randomized to either 5 years of cognitively and linguistically stimulating center-based care or a comparison condition. The… Continue reading Randomized Manipulation of Early #Cognitive Experience Impacts Adult Brain Structure
The #overfitted brain: #Dreams evolved to assist generalization
Dreaming remains a mystery to neuroscience. While various hypotheses of why brains evolved nightly dreaming have been put forward, many of these are contradicted by the sparse, hallucinatory, and narrative nature of dreams, a nature that seems to lack any particular function. Recently, research on artificial neural networks has shown that during learning, such networks… Continue reading The #overfitted brain: #Dreams evolved to assist generalization
#Sarcopenia is independently associated with #parietal atrophy in older adults
Highlights•Sarcopenia was common in old adults living in a retirement community (46.1%). •Sarcopenia had moderate-severe global cortical, parietal and medial temporal atrophy. •Sarcopenia is significantly associated with parietal atrophy in older adults. •Age had a significant relationship with global cortical and medial temporal atrophy. AbstractIntroductionAs populations age, sarcopenia becomes a major health problem among adults… Continue reading #Sarcopenia is independently associated with #parietal atrophy in older adults
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