To measure synchrony between FEF and V4, we used multitaper spect

To measure synchrony between FEF and V4, we used multitaper spectral methods to compute coherence between spikes from well isolated single units in the FEF and local field potentials (LFPs) in V4. First taking all types of FEF cells together, we found that spike-field coherence

in the gamma frequency range was significantly enhanced between FEF and V4 when attention was directed inside the joint RF (Figure 5A; coherence averaged between 35 and 60 Hz; paired t test p < 0.001). At the population level gamma band coherence increased by 13%. This result confirms and extends findings from our recent study based on multi-unit activity that demonstrated enhanced neural synchrony between FEF and V4 with attention (Gregoriou et al., 2009a). After subdividing the coherence spectra in FEF by cell class, the PCI 32765 results showed that visual, visuomovement, and movement neurons display distinct FEF-V4 coherence selleck chemical profiles. Coherence between the spikes of purely visual FEF neurons and LFPs in V4 showed a 16% enhancement with attention in the gamma range and this increase was statistically significant (Figure 5B; 35–60 Hz, paired t test, p < 0.001).

In agreement with our previous results we found that the distribution of the average (between 35 and 60 Hz) relative phase between FEF spikes and V4 LFPs had a median close to half a gamma Sermorelin (Geref) cycle (attend-in condition; median = 176°, Rayleigh test, p < 0.001). This phase shift corresponds to a time delay of ∼10 ms between spikes in the FEF and the phase of maximum depolarization in the V4 LFP, and we have previously suggested that a 10 ms time delay is needed to account for conduction and synaptic delays between the two areas (Gregoriou et al., 2009a). Spike-field coherence between FEF neurons with saccade-related activity (visuomovement and movement neurons) and V4 LFPs did not display any significant gamma band modulation with attention (Figures 5C and 5D; paired t test, visuomovement cells: p = 0.22, 7% increase; movement cells, p = 0.87; 1%

decrease with attention). For a distribution of attentional effects in gamma coherence see Figure S3. The attentional enhancement of gamma coherence was significantly different across the three FEF cell classes (Kruskal-Wallis, p < 0.001). Coherence between visual FEF cells and V4 LFPs was significantly enhanced relative to that between visuomovement or movement FEF cells and V4 (Tukey-Kramer, p < 0.001 for both pair comparisons), whereas attentional effects on FEF-V4 coherence were not significantly different for visuomovement and movement FEF cells (Tukey-Kramer, p = 0.69). We also confirmed that the absence of gamma coherence modulation with attention between FEF movement neurons and V4 cannot be attributed to low firing rate (see Supplemental Information).

Gephyrin cluster sizes were measured in reconstructed 2D images t

Gephyrin cluster sizes were measured in reconstructed 2D images through cluster segmentation and by counting the pixels above the segmentation threshold forming a single cluster (Figures 1B and 5C). Alternatively, cluster areas were measured directly from superresolution localizations based on relative localization densities (ViSP software, El Beheiry and Dahan, 2013; Figure 5F). 3D PALM/STORM imaging was performed using adaptive optics (AO) to induce 2D astigmatism to the PSF of single molecules (Izeddin et al., 2012). With PSF shaping, the

axial symmetry of the signal was broken, giving access CP-673451 research buy to the z position of individual fluorophores in addition to the x/y coordinates. The experimental set-up was as described earlier, with the addition of a MicAO system (Imagine Optic) in the emission pathway. The AO system was used to correct aberrations of the PSF and to induce

a controlled degree of astigmatism (amplitude, 0.06 μm). For z axis check details calibration, 100 nm TetraSpeck beads were imaged with the help of a nanopositioning piezo stage (Nano-Z500, Mad City Labs) over a range of 1 μm, with a step size of 6 nm. Calibration curves were taken for the 593/40 nm and 684/24 emission wavelengths for each experiment. We then proceeded with the STORM and PALM acquisitions. Astigmatic PSFs were analyzed using an asymmetric 2D Gaussian fit. The center position of the fit represented the x/y coordinates of the fluorophores, whereas the difference of the length and width of the fitted PSFs (Δw = wx − wy) was mapped against the calibration curves in order to

retrieve the z positions of single fluorophores. Localized molecules were rendered as a point cloud in a 3D scatterplot for both color channels (ViSP software, El Beheiry and Dahan, 2013). Point cloud densities were calculated to illustrate the relative molecular concentrations of gephyrin and GlyRs, whereas surface rendering served to further depict the morphology and orientation of the synaptic clusters. To quantify the number of photoconverted fluorophores (Dendra2-gephyrin), 100 ms many pulses of 405 nm laser were applied every 30 s, during continuous imaging with the 561 nm laser (≤4 × 104 frames at 50 ms). Dendra2 bleaching steps were identified in the decay traces of the conversion pulses of individual gephyrin clusters to measure the mean intensity of single fluorophores above the background offset. The sum of the pulse peak intensities, ni, was then used to calculate the total number of molecules in the same cluster: N = Σni. Gephyrin clusters were photobleached with laser illumination (mRFP-gephyrin with 561 nm and the nonconverted form of Dendra2 with 491 nm; ≤104 frames at 20–50 ms).

, 2002) Bats and coworkers showed, using single-particle quantum

, 2002). Bats and coworkers showed, using single-particle quantum dot and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) imaging in cultured hippocampal neurons, that TARPs regulate the lateral diffusion of AMPARs between extrasynaptic and synaptic sites. They demonstrated that the disruption of stargazin-PSD-95 interactions prevents clustering of freely diffusible AMPAR-stargazin complexes at PSDs ( Bats et al., 2007). Furthermore, a recent chemical-genetic approach demonstrated that the introduction of biomimetic ligands, which compete for both stargazin CTDs and PSD-95 binding sites, can acutely disrupt stargazin-PSD-95

interactions in cultured hippocampal Ribociclib cost neurons and enhance the surface mobility of AMPARs ( Sainlos et al., 2011). The modulatory influence of TARPs

on AMPAR trafficking is itself subject to modulation through posttranslational modification. In particular, check details the CTDs of type I TARPs are studded with serine, threonine, and tyrosine residues that are substrates for phosphorylation. The threonine within the PDZ binding motif of stargazin can be phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent PKA, which disrupts its ability to bind to PSD-95. Furthermore, expression of a stargazin construct with a phosphomimic residue at this site greatly reduces AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission in hippocampal neurons (Choi et al., 2002 and Chetkovich et al., 2002). Interestingly, activation of PKA with forskolin fails to alter the synaptic localization of transfected stargazin (Chetkovich et al., 2002), and forskolin actually increases synaptic AMPAR currents (Carroll et al., 1998).

The same threonine residue is also phosphorylated through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Paradoxically, phosphorylation of this site is associated with diametrically opposing effects on synaptic AMPAR clustering first and plasticity, depending on the kinase that phosphorylates it (Stein and Chetkovich, 2010). Clearly, the physiological role of this phosphorylation site remains to be determined. The CTD of stargazin also has a series of nine conserved serines common to all type I TARPs that, under basal conditions, are the only detectable phosphorylated residues in cultured cortical neurons (Tomita et al., 2005a). These serines, found within a highly basic region of the CTD, are substrates for phosphorylation by CaMKII and/or PKC (Tomita et al., 2005a and Tsui and Malenka, 2006). The physiological significance of this poly-serine region of the CTD is suggested by evidence that induction of NMDAR-dependent long-term depression (LTD) in the hippocampal CA1 region is dependent on dephosphorylation of stargazin through a protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and PP2B-mediated pathway. Expression of a phosphomimic stargazin construct, in which all nine serines are phosphorylated, enhances synaptic delivery of AMPARs (Tomita et al., 2005a and Kessels et al., 2009) and prevents LTD.

, 2012) and reductions in the cortical up-state down-state transi

, 2012) and reductions in the cortical up-state down-state transitions that underlie sleep slow oscillations (Moore et al., 2006). Here, we use the MAM-E17 model to demonstrate the inter-dependence between sleep architecture, neocortical slow-wave propagation, and ripple-spindle coordination during NREM sleep, showing that neurodevelopmental disruption can lead to impaired hippocampal-prefrontal cortical

network consolidation mechanisms. Data from 14 SHAM and 13 MAM animals implanted with intracranial EEG electrodes over anterior motor cortex and posterior visual cortex (see Figure S1 available online) are presented here. Following a recovery period of 3 weeks, EEG, body temperature, locomotor activity, and food and water intake were recorded continuously for a period of 144 hr; results are taken from the Docetaxel cell line final 48 hr of recording. MAM-E17 rats exhibited robust circadian rhythms in all parameters measured, none of which differed significantly from controls (Figure S1). However, MAM-E17 animals did show a reduction in total NREM sleep (see Table S1 and Figure S1); this reduction was largest during the first 6 hr of the light phase (CT0–CT5) when controls slept the

most (53.4% ± 1.4% NREM per hr), but remained significant during the second 6 hr period of the light phase (CT6–CT11) and the second 6 hr Selleckchem AZD2281 period of the dark phase (CT18–CT23). In contrast, there was no significant reduction in REM sleep. Time spent in each vigilance state

and two-way-ANOVA results are presented in Table S1. Sleep efficiency (time asleep/time spent in bed) in schizophrenia patients tends to decrease due to increased awakenings during the night (sleep fragmentation; see meta-analysis in Chouinard et al., 2004). Since rats have a polyphasic sleep cycle, we used sleep bout length as a measure of this sleep fragmentation (Figure 1). In controls, the first 1–2 hr science of the light phase (CT0–CT1) were associated with the longest sleep bouts (10.4 ± 1.8 min); MAM animals had a marked 48% reduction in NREM sleep bout length, particularly between CT0–CT1 (Figures 1A and 1B). The average length of the longest REM bout was similar in both SHAM and MAM animals (Figures 1C and 1D). Since sleep abnormalities in MAM-E17 rats were consistently restricted to NREM stages, we analyzed the neurophysiological features of NREM sleep in greater detail. Individual delta waves (0.3–3Hz) were detected in EEG at both anterior (motor cortex) and posterior (visual cortex) recording sites across the entire light phase (n = 8; Figures 2A, 2B, and S2). MAM and SHAM EEG showed similar delta wave densities and amplitudes over motor cortex. In contrast, we found a small change in the amplitude (MAM = 156.2 ± 21.8, SHAM = 172.6 ± 23.8μV) and a 50% reduction in the density of NREM delta waves over the visual cortex in MAM animals (MAM = 4.7 ± 1.2, SHAM = 9.4 ± 1.1 waves/min; p < 0.05; Figure 2B).


“The corpus callosum


“The corpus callosum Dinaciclib clinical trial coordinates interhemispheric functions critical for cognition by providing axonal connectivity across the midline between cortical areas that are required for a variety of sensory, motor, and emotional processing. In addition, callosal agenesis is associated with a wide variety of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases (Paul et al., 2007). The corpus

callosum develops late in gestation and is evolutionarily young, having developed in importance as neocortical size and function increased (Mihrshahi, 2006). In mice, medially projecting callosal axons reach the midline at embryonic day 15 (E15), and the first cingulate pioneer axons cross the midline at E16 (Koester and O’Leary, 1994, Ozaki and Wahlsten, 1998 and Rash and Richards, 2001). If cortical axons approach the midline but the pathfinding

cells do not cross the midline, the callosum fails to form and Probst bundles form, which consist of cortical axons projecting anterior-posterior instead of crossing the midline (Paul et al., 2007). The paired cerebral hemispheres develop by producing excitatory projection neurons in the neurogenic niche adjacent to the ventricles. These cells migrate radially away from the ventricles to generate laminae in the more superficial cortex. Maturation of the cortical neurons occurs near the meningeal Amine dehydrogenase surface, and many neurons send dendrites toward the pial surface, whereas axons generally project in the opposite direction toward the ventricle, eventually turning C59 wnt molecular weight laterally to project caudally out of the cortex or medially to project across the callosum. The midline meninges, across which the callosum forms, is the only site in the cortex where axons reach and project across the pial surface. The three cortical meningeal layers are derived from the cranial neural crest,

which generates a variety of cellular derivatives important for face and head development and evolution (Serbedzija et al., 1992). Recently, we reported that the meninges are a key regulator of embryonic cortical neurogenesis by secreting an instructive cue (retinoic acid) that regulates the onset of neuron production (Siegenthaler et al., 2009). These data, along with previous work from our laboratory and others (Borrell and Marín, 2006, Li et al., 2008, Li et al., 2009, López-Bendito et al., 2008 and Paredes et al., 2006), indicate that the meninges are an instructive signaling source during cortical development. This led us to consider the idea that the meninges may also play a role in axon guidance during callosum formation, because these axons appear to directly interact with the meninges (Alcolado et al., 1988). There are still major unanswered questions about how the corpus callosum forms.

If ADAM10/sup-17

has other relevant cellular targets besi

If ADAM10/sup-17

has other relevant cellular targets besides Notch/lin-12, the double mutant should have higher regeneration Tofacitinib cell line than either single mutant. Because both single mutants already have regeneration that approaches 100%, we conducted this analysis by examining growth cone initiation at the 6 hr time point. We found that ADAM10/sup-17 mutants, like Notch/lin-12 mutants, have increased growth cone initiation at 6 hr relative to wild-type ( Figure 3D). Animals that lacked both Notch/lin-12 and ADAM10/sup-17 did not display any additional increase in growth cone formation. Together, these data suggest that Notch/lin-12 is the major target of ADAM10/sup-17 in axon regeneration. Next, we examined the converse question: whether Notch/lin-12 can use alternate activation mechanisms that are independent of ADAM10/sup-17. We tested

whether ADAM10/sup-17 is required for all the inhibitory effects http://www.selleckchem.com/products/z-vad-fmk.html of gain-of-function Notch/lin-12(n137n460) on regeneration. We found that the gain-of-function Notch/lin-12 allele failed to inhibit regeneration in double mutants that also lacked ADAM10/sup-17 ( Figure 3B). Thus, the inhibition of regeneration by Notch/lin-12 requires metalloprotease processing by ADAM10/sup-17. Together, these data demonstrate that Notch/lin-12 and ADAM10/sup-17 function together to inhibit regeneration. To investigate the function of the gamma-secretase complex during axon regeneration, we tested regeneration in mutant animals that lack presenilin, the catalytic component of the gamma-secretase complex. Presenilin in C. elegans is encoded by two genes, sel-12 and hop-1 ( Levitan and Greenwald, 1995 and Li and Greenwald, 1997). We found that double-mutant sel-12(ok2078); hop-1(ar179) animals, which lack functional gamma secretase, were similar to Notch/lin-12 mutants: they displayed significantly increased regeneration compared to wild-type animals ( Figure 3E).

Thus, elimination of functional gamma secretase has an effect similar to elimination of Notch/lin-12: increased regeneration. Together, these data suggest that Notch/lin-12, ADAM10/sup-17, and gamma-secretase/sel-12 and hop-1 comprise a linear pathway that inhibits regeneration. Further, because the function of ADAM10 and gamma secretase is to liberate the NICD, they suggest that inhibition Linifanib (ABT-869) of axon regeneration is specifically mediated by this domain of Notch. The NICD is required for all known Notch functions (Jarriault et al., 1995, Lieber et al., 1993 and Struhl et al., 1993). To test whether NICD is sufficient to inhibit regeneration, we constructed a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged version of the Notch/lin-12 intracellular domain (NICD-GFP; Figure 3F). When this construct was expressed in wild-type animals, the NICD-GFP signal was concentrated in a subcellular distribution consistent with nuclear localization ( Figure 3G).

In short, the new study by Saalmann et al (2012) assigns a new r

In short, the new study by Saalmann et al. (2012) assigns a new role to alpha rhythms and refocuses attention from a cortico-centric view back to a more integral consideration of thalamocortical interactions. “
“Hans Thoenen passed away

on June 23, 2012, a few months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He left us grateful for what he had been able to accomplish in his life as scientist, but he was neither exuberant nor proud. Hans remained extraordinarily modest about his achievements—he felt far more comfortable by understating his contributions and never liked receiving compliments from colleagues he did not know well. Given the choice, he preferred to have critics than adulators around him. “At least the former are honest,” he would say. Loyalty was probably the quality Hans valued most in his interactions with others. He also selleck inhibitor was a realist, and when we both talked about his approaching death, his only regret was click here to leave his dear wife Sonja alone as he felt she may still need him. Hans knew well that without Sonja’s

support, life as a scientist and group leader would have been much more difficult for him. Hans Thoenen: 1928–2012 Hans was born in Zweisimmen, a beautiful village located in the so-called Berner Oberland, just north of the French linguistic border. This was one of very few borders that Hans seemed to have had some respect for, and even

Choline dehydrogenase this was surprising with Hans, as Swiss Germans are typically remarkable polyglots. The Swiss Alps made a great and lasting impression on him: strong feelings for freedom and independence characterize alpine dwellers, which may explain Hans’s lack of readiness to compromise on anything, including in his interactions with colleagues or journal editors. During the early part of his life, he was a passionate mountain climber. His expeditions were not limited to the Alps; his tours also took him to far off places, such as the Peruvian Andes. This attraction for adventurous undertakings explains his later passion for research and the riskier a project was, the more Hans liked it. One of his most striking traits was that he was fearless, especially with regard to the use new technologies, a key to his scientific endeavors, which he summarized in a recent autobiography (http://www.sfn.org/skins/main/pdf/history_of_neuroscience/hon_vol_6/c14.pdf). Incidentally, I found it surprising—but very fortunate—that Hans accepted to write this piece after an invitation from Larry Squire. He was apparently given unrestricted space to detail the many steps of his scientific trajectory and, remarkably, this piece seems not to have been edited much at all, so that posterity will still be able to enjoy Hans’s voice “à l’authentique.


“Social life depends on developing an understanding of oth


“Social life depends on developing an understanding of other people’s behavior: why they do the things they do, and what they are likely to do next. Critically, though, the externally observable actions are just observable consequences of an unobservable, internal causal structure: the person’s goals and intentions, beliefs and desires, preferences PCI-32765 cost and personality traits. Thus, a cornerstone of the human capacity for social cognition

is the ability to reason about these invisible causes. If a person checks her watch, is she uncertain about the time or bored with the conversation? And is she chronically rude or just unusually frazzled? The ability to reason about these questions is sometimes called having a “theory of mind. Remarkably, theory of mind seems to depend on a distinct and reliable group of brain regions, sometimes called the “mentalizing network” (e.g., Aichhorn et al., 2009 and Saxe and Kanwisher, 2003), which includes regions

in human superior temporal sulcus (STS), temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), medial precuneus (PC), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Indeed, the identity of these regions FDA-approved Drug Library has been known since the very first neuroimaging studies were conducted. By 2000, based on four empirical studies, Frith and Frith concluded that “Studies in which volunteers have to make inferences about the mental states of others activate a number of brain areas, most notable the medial [pre]frontal cortex [(MPFC)] and temporo-parietal junction [(TPJ)]” (Frith and Frith, 2000). Since then, more than 400 studies of these regions have been published. However, although there is widespread agreement on where to look for neural correlates of theory of mind, much less is known about the neural representations and computations that are implemented in these regions. The problem is exacerbated because these brain regions, and functions, may be uniquely human (Saxe, 2006 and Santos et al., 2006). Recent evidence suggests that there is no unique homolog of the TPJ

or MPFC (Rushworth et al., 2013 and Mars et al., 2013), making it even harder to directly investigate the neural Asenapine responses in these regions. In the current review, we import a theoretical framework, predictive coding, from other areas of cognitive neuroscience and explore its application to theory of mind. There has recently been increasing interest in the idea of predictive coding as a unifying framework for understanding neural computations across many domains (e.g., Clark, 2013). In this review, we adapt a version of the predictive coding framework that has been developed for mid- and high-level vision. Like vision, theory of mind can be understood as an inverse problem (Baker et al., 2011 and Baker et al.

A sniff cue (red cross-hair) was then displayed for 667 ms, and r

A sniff cue (red cross-hair) was then displayed for 667 ms, and recurred with a stimulus-onset asynchrony of 2 s to prompt additional sniffs, as necessary. On the open-sniff trials, subjects made a binary choice with the left or right keyboard arrow once they had accumulated sufficient evidence that clove or lemon was dominating the mixture. Subjects were instructed to emphasize accuracy, ensuring that a decision would be made only when sufficient evidence had been accumulated to the

criterion threshold. This was the primary instruction Crizotinib clinical trial given to the subjects. They were incidentally reminded that upon reaching their decision, they should respond by button press as quickly as possible, so that recorded decision times closely reflected the time that they reached their decision. At the end of each trial, subjects also made a perceptual rating on a visual analog scale ranging from pure clove to pure lemon, by moving a cursor from the midpoint of this continuum (representing

equal proportions of the two odors). For the fixed-sniff trials, this estimate yielded binary choice measures according to which side of the midpoint the rating fell on. The next odor was presented 18 s after the end of the previous odor presentation, to minimize olfactory habituation. Binary decisions, analog ratings, and odor presentation times were recorded for each trial. Olfactory and visual stimuli presentations were controlled using Cogent2000 (http://www.vislab.ucl.ac.uk/cogent.php). This was the same as Experiment 1, except that all trials were of the open-sniff Venetoclax supplier type. Because this experiment FAD took place in an MRI scanner, subjects responded using one of two button boxes held in either hand, one representing clove, the other lemon (hand side counter-balanced across runs). These buttons were also used to make the perceptual rating along a visual analog scale. Subjects were not told the outcomes of their decision, to prevent cognitive feedback or reward processing from confounding the neuroimaging findings. Sniffs were visually cued, as before, but were back-projected from a computer monitor

onto a tilted mirror that was affixed to the MRI headbox in front of the subject’s eyes. The letters “L” and “C” (lemon and clove) were presented on opposite sides of the screen to indicate which side represented which odor, and this was counterbalanced across subjects and sessions. Sniff rate was again set at two seconds in order to time-lock this to the data-acquisition rate of the MRI scanner (2,000 ms; see below). Subjects completed two runs of 36 trials on 2 consecutive days (four runs total) to minimize subject fatigue and odor habituation. Each of the nine mixtures was presented eight times each day (144 trials in total over 2 days), and trials were arranged in pseudorandom order such that every mixture preceded every other mixture one time to minimize effects of mixture sequence.

39 and 40 This wrist injury is more common in older gymnast becau

39 and 40 This wrist injury is more common in older gymnast because of the higher frequency of positive UV and increased ulnar side transmission of force from the repetitive weight-bearing over time.10 Gymnasts with pain in the right wrist have shown more handgrip strength when compared with asymptomatic ones (p = 0.02). Contrary to the expected, the wrist pain and possible muscle-skeletally modifications did not reduce handgrip strength as claimed by some authors. 33 selleckchem One possible explanation may be related to their

biological characteristics or training programs because gymnasts more exposed to heavy training loads may be also more prone to joint overuse risk injuries and higher pain experience. Although we have categorized objectively the gymnasts in different categories according to the dysfunction caused by wrist pain, we need to consider that the reporting of pain by gymnasts is subjective and thus can be influenced by age, sensitivity threshold, personality, and motivation. Although our results may contribute to the generalized knowledge about the UV in gymnasts and its association with certain biological and training characteristics, the etiology of UV remains unclear. To evaluate the impact of gymnastics’ training Temsirolimus mouse in UV and its contributing factors to wrist pain, longitudinal studies using control groups should be performed. Despite the limitation related

to the sample size, which restricts the statistical analysis and the generalization of the results, it is still representative of the Portuguese skeletally immature male gymnasts and therefore might be useful for future comparisons in similar studies involving other gymnasts groups. The importance of studying UV lies in its statistical association with several injuries or pathologies of the wrists.54 The information about this phenomenon could be essential to prevent and/or reduce the occurrence, FGD2 recurrence, and severity of injuries in gymnasts’ wrists.37 Portuguese skeletally immature male gymnasts present a discrepancy between chronological and skeletal ages

which become more pronounced with increasing age. All average values of UV were negative and did not present significant differences between groups or compared with the reference population’s values. Although some significant results obtained in this research, such as the correlations between UV and some variables (stature, fat%, handgrip strength, and years of training), the main results do not directly support the thesis that gymnastics’ training or biological characteristics present an evident association with UV. Also the association between UV values and the occurrence of wrist pain could not be demonstrated. “
“Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the leading childhood psychiatric disorders in America and is a costly major public health problem.