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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Process And Domain Specificity In Regions Engaged For Face Processing: An Fmri Study Of Perceptual Differentiation, Heather R. Collins, Xun Zhu, Ramesh S. Bhatt, Jonathan D. Clark, Jane E. Joseph Dec 2012

Process And Domain Specificity In Regions Engaged For Face Processing: An Fmri Study Of Perceptual Differentiation, Heather R. Collins, Xun Zhu, Ramesh S. Bhatt, Jonathan D. Clark, Jane E. Joseph

Psychology Faculty Publications

The degree to which face-specific brain regions are specialized for different kinds of perceptual processing is debated. This study parametrically varied demands on featural, first-order configural, or second-order configural processing of faces and houses in a perceptual matching task to determine the extent to which the process of perceptual differentiation was selective for faces regardless of processing type (domain-specific account), specialized for specific types of perceptual processing regardless of category (process-specific account), engaged in category-optimized processing (i.e., configural face processing or featural house processing), or reflected generalized perceptual differentiation (i.e., differentiation that crosses category and processing type boundaries). ROIs were …


The Characterization Of The Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Substrate 3 And Its Role In Regulating Microtubule Dynamics And Molecular Transport In The Brain, Sarah J. Gamble Aug 2012

The Characterization Of The Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Substrate 3 And Its Role In Regulating Microtubule Dynamics And Molecular Transport In The Brain, Sarah J. Gamble

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The neuronal cytoskeleton is responsible for governing dynamics such as neurite extension and cortex development. In particular, microtubules (MTs) and their associated proteins, and molecular motors, have been shown to be critical in many neuronal processes such as intracellular molecular transport and neuron differentiation. The fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) act as powerful morphogens that have been shown to play a role in regulating cortical development. FGFs activate receptor tyrosine kinases, of which fibroblast growth factor receptor substrate 3(FRS3) has been shown to interact with, to mediate downstream signaling cascades (regulating cell proliferation and differentiation). In addition to FRS3’s role in …


Imaging Prior Information In The Brain, Scott Gorlin, Ming Meng, Jitendra Sharma, Hiroki Sugihara May 2012

Imaging Prior Information In The Brain, Scott Gorlin, Ming Meng, Jitendra Sharma, Hiroki Sugihara

Dartmouth Scholarship

In making sense of the visual world, the brain's processing is driven by two factors: the physical information provided by the eyes (“bottom-up” data) and the expectancies driven by past experience (“top-down” influences). We use degraded stimuli to tease apart the effects of bottom-up and top-down processes because they are easier to recognize with prior knowledge of undegraded images. Using machine learning algorithms, we quantify the amount of information that brain regions contain about stimuli as the subject learns the coherent images. Our results show that several distinct regions, including high-level visual areas and the retinotopic cortex, contain more information …


A Novel Taulacz Allele Reveals A Requirement For Pitx2 In Formation Of The Mammillothalamic Tract, Mindy Waite Dec 2011

A Novel Taulacz Allele Reveals A Requirement For Pitx2 In Formation Of The Mammillothalamic Tract, Mindy Waite

Mindy Waite

The hypothalamic mammillary region is critical for spatial memory and vestibular processing. Pitx2 encodes a paired-like transcription factor that is highly expressed in the developing mammillary region and is required for subthalamic nucleus formation. Here we analyzed a loss of function Pitx2-TaulacZ knock-in allele to study the effects of Pitx2 deficiency on neuronal projections in the embryonic mammillary region. Pitx2-expressing neurons contribute axons to principal mammillary, mammillotegmental and mammillotectal tracts. Embryos with Pitx2 deficiency exhibit axonal fibers in the principal mammillary tract that are improperly bundled and disorganized, yet project caudally toward the tectum and tegmentum. Embryos …


Distinct Populations Of Gabaergic Neurons In Mouse Rhombomere 1 Express But Do Not Require The Homeodomain Transcription Factor Pitx2, Mindy Waite Dec 2011

Distinct Populations Of Gabaergic Neurons In Mouse Rhombomere 1 Express But Do Not Require The Homeodomain Transcription Factor Pitx2, Mindy Waite

Mindy Waite

Hindbrain rhombomere 1 (r1) is located caudal to the isthmus, a critical organizer region, and rostral to rhombomere 2 in the developing mouse brain. Dorsal r1 gives rise to the cerebellum, locus coeruleus, and several brainstem nuclei, whereas cells from ventral r1 contribute to the trochlear and trigeminal nuclei as well as serotonergic and GABAergic neurons of the dorsal raphe. Recent studies have identified several molecular events controlling dorsal r1 development. In contrast, very little is known about ventral r1 gene expression and the genetic mechanisms regulating its formation. Neurons with distinct neurotransmitter phenotypes have been identified in ventral r1 …