BrainBlog

The February edition of Neuropod presented by Kerri Smith is up and is a great listen today. Listen to or download the edition and enjoy features about the connectome , thoughts on just how many neurons are present in the average human brain, and "The Good, the Bad, and the Monkey." Just where did that number of 100 billion come from? One number is sure: it is the 50th episode of this popular podcast. Congrats! Enjoy! Homepage and link to podcast

Visualizing long-term memory formation in two neurons of the Drosophila brain Science. 2012 Feb 10;335(6069):678-85 Chen CC, Wu JK, Lin HW, Pai TP, Fu TF, Wu CL, Tully T, Chiang AS Abstract Long-term memory (LTM) depends on the synthesis of new proteins. Using a temperature-sensitive ribosome-inactivating toxin to acutely inhibit protein synthesis, we screened individual neurons making new proteins after olfactory associative conditioning in Drosophila. Surprisingly, LTM was impaired after inhibiting protein synthesis in two dorsal-anterior-lateral (DAL) neurons but not in the mushroom body (MB), which is considered the adult learning and memory center. Using a photoconvertible fluorescent protein KAEDE to report de novo protein synthesis, we have directly visualized cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element-binding protein (CREB)-dependent transcriptional activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and period genes in the DAL neurons after spaced but not...

A curious website task: eyewire.org

Balkanizing the primate orbitofrontal cortex: distinct subregions for comparing and contrasting values Annals of the New York Academy of Science. 2011 Dec; 1239(1): 1-13 Rudebeck PH, Murray EA Abstract The primate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is often treated as a single entity, but architectonic and connectional neuroanatomy indicate that it has distinguishable parts. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to dissociate the functions of its subregions. Here we review findings from recent neuropsychological and neurophysiological studies that do so. The lateral OFC seems to be important for learning, representing, and updating specific object-reward associations. The medial OFC seems to be important for value comparisons and choosing among objects on that basis. Rather than viewing this dissociation of function in terms of learning versus choosing, however, we suggest that it reflects the distinction between contrasts and comparisons: differences versus similarities. Making use of high...

Increasing the diagnostic accuracy of medial temporal lobe atrophy in Alzheimer's disease Journal of Alzheimer's Disease . 2011;25(3):477-90 Jacobs HI, Van Boxtel MP, van der Elst W, Burgmans S, Smeets F, Gronenschild EH, Verhey FR, Uylings HB, Jolles J Abstract Medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy is considered to be one of the most important predictors of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigates whether atrophy in parietal and prefrontal areas increases the predictive value of MTL atrophy in three groups of different cognitive status. Seventy-five older adults were classified as cognitively stable (n = 38) or cognitively declining (n = 37) after three years follow-up. At follow-up, the grey matter of the MTL, inferior prefrontal cortex (IPC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was delineated on MRI scans. Six years later, a dementia assessment resulted in distinguishing and separating a third group (n = 9) who can be considered as preclinical AD cases at scan time....

Perinatal cortical growth and childhood neurocognitive abilities Neurology . 2011 Oct 12; Rathbone R, Counsell SJ, Kapellou O, Dyet L, Kennea N, Hajnal J, Allsop JM, Cowan F, Edwards AD Abstract OBJECTIVE:This observational cohort study addressed the hypothesis that after preterm delivery brain growth between 24 and 44 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) is related to global neurocognitive ability in later childhood. METHODS:Growth rates for cerebral volume and cortical surface area were estimated in 82 infants without focal brain lesions born before 30 weeks PMA by using 217 magnetic resonance images obtained between 24 and 44 weeks PMA. Abilities were assessed at 2 years using the Griffiths Mental Development Scale and at 6 years using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R), the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment (NEPSY), and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Analysis was by generalized least-squares regression. RESULTS:Mean t...

Brain regions with mirror properties: A meta-analysis of 125 human fMRI studies Neuroscience Biobehavioral Rev . 2011 Jul 18. [Epub ahead of print] Molenberghs P, Cunnington R, Mattingley JB. Abstract Mirror neurons in macaque area F5 fire when an animal performs an action, such as a mouth or limb movement, and also when the animal passively observes an identical or similar action performed by another individual. Brain-imaging studies in humans conducted over the last 20 years have repeatedly attempted to reveal analogous brain regions with mirror properties in humans, with broad and often speculative claims about their functional significance across a range of cognitive domains, from language to social cognition. Despite such concerted efforts, the likely neural substrates of these mirror regions have remained controversial, and indeed the very existence of a distinct subcategory of human neurons with mirroring properties has been questioned. Here we used activation likelihood estimat...

Revealing the Functional Neuroanatomy of Intrinsic Alertness Using fMRI: Methodological Peculiarities PLoS One. 2011; 6(9): e25453 Clemens B, Zvyagintsev M, Sack A, Heinecke A, Willmes K, Sturm W Abstract Clinical observations and neuroimaging data revealed a right-hemisphere fronto-parietal-thalamic-brainstem network for intrinsic alertness, and additional left fronto-parietal activity during phasic alertness. The primary objective of this fMRI study was to map the functional neuroanatomy of intrinsic alertness as precisely as possible in healthy participants, using a novel assessment paradigm already employed in clinical settings. Both the paradigm and the experimental design were optimized to specifically assess intrinsic alertness, while at the same time controlling for sensory-motor processing. The present results suggest that the processing of intrinsic alertness is accompanied by increased activity within the brainstem, thalamus, anterior cingulate gyrus, right insula, and right...

"Gold Cortex" - the image of the week from Scope, the Stanford School of Medicine blog: Image of the Week "Gold Cortex" was created by Greg Dunn. Here is is website: Greg Dunn Visual Art

ALLEN INSTITUTE FOR BRAIN SCIENCE 2011 Annual Symposium: Open Questions in Neuroscience October 4-5, 2011 Seattle, WA "The second annual symposium, Open Questions in Neuroscience , offers a thought-provoking program that addresses key areas of neuroscience and looks to the future of the field. Bringing together a diverse group of leading scientists, the meeting will feature a mixture of talks and discussion to inspire innovative thinking and engage participants in exploring compelling avenues for advancing brain research." - from the webpage Visit the conference webpage

Untangling the brain by Nature Video 09 March 2011 Watch the YouTube video

Building a Search Engine of the Brain, Slice by Slice By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times Published: December 22, 2009 "The dissection of the brain of H. M., an amnesiac, has opened the door to a much more ambitious project." Read the full article

The Man Who Couldn't Remember PBS NOVA February 2009 transcript

The web feed for the continued brain slicing of Patient H.M. suggests that, to the music of Stan Getz, "Primary visual cortex has surfaced. The end is in sight!" :-) If you have not yet watched some of the web stream, give it a look at this time! http://thebrainobservatory.ucsd.edu/hm_live.php Thank you Brain Observatory for providing this live feed of an historic couple of days in neuroscience and neuropsychology! Here is the transcript of an interview that NPR completed with the director of The Brain Observatory at this time last year, December 2008: transcript

From the Brain Observatory website at the end of last night's work: "We have reached the corpus callosum. The team is resting for the night. The brain will be safe surrounded by our chillers until tomorrow morning. The cutting will resume again at 8AM PST. "Tomorrow will be a big day - We will try to cover the medial temporal lobes and the area surrounding the hippocampus." The Brain Observatory Today at 0800 PST, 1100 EST, 1600 GMT. === Today's New York Times article by Benedict Carey about the brain sectioning: Dissection Begins on Famous Brain Read here

The sectioning of Patent H.M.'s brain begins today and will be streamed online live at the following location: http://thebrainobservatory.ucsd.edu/hm_live.php === H.M. recollected Famous amnesic launches a bold, new brain project at UCSD BY SCOTT LAFEE, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2009 AT 12:04 A.M. Read the article

Follow the link to the Dana Foundation Blog for a posting about a pretty-decent looking intro neuroanatomy app for your iPhone: Brain browser comes to iPhone (5th October, 2009).

Looking for reading material for a longish train trip I am about to take, I decided to hit to bookshelves of my Square's Barnes & Noble to see what popular neuroscience titles might be a good diversion (as well as potential supplementary 'lighter' references, should I re-teach an introductory course to neuroscience sometime over the next year). I chose three. The first is by Elkhonon Goldberg, a revision of an earlier work, which is titled "The New Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes in a Complex World" and is available in paperback by Oxford University Press. I first met the author when I was a graduate student, so I am looking forward to reading up on what he's been up to. The second is about glial cells and is entitled, "The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia" by Andrew Koob. Five years ago, if someone said there would be a popular offering about glia, I would have thought 'Yeah, right...' Though I do enjoy adding discussion about glia to my...

de Jong LW, van der Hiele K, Veer IM, Houwing JJ, Westendorp RG, Bollen EL, de Bruin PW, Middelkoop HA, van Buchem MA, & van der Grond J. Strongly reduced volumes of putamen and thalamus in Alzheimer's disease: An MRI study. Brain. 2008 Nov 20. Department of Radiology, Section Neuropsychology of the Department of Neurology, Department of Medical Statistics, Department of Geriatrics and Department of Neurology of the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. Atrophy is regarded a sensitive marker of neurodegenerative pathology. In addition to confirming the well-known presence of decreased global grey matter and hippocampal volumes in Alzheimer's disease, this study investigated whether deep grey matter structure also suffer degeneration in Alzheimer's disease, and whether such degeneration is associated with cognitive deterioration. In this cross-sectional correlation study, two groups were compared on volumes of seven subcortical regions: 70 memory...

From The BBC: Internet use 'good for the brain' Read the full article [snip] Lead researcher Professor Gary Small said: "The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults. "Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function." The latest study was based on 24 volunteers aged between 55 and 76. Half were experienced internet users, the rest were not. Each volunteer underwent a brain scan while performing web searches and book-reading tasks. Both types of task produced evidence of significant activity in regions of the brain controlling language, reading, memory and visual abilities. However, the web search task produced significant additional activity in separate areas of the brain which control decision-making and complex reasoning - but only in those who were experienced web users. The researchers ...