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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Spontaneous Low-Frequency Fluctuations In The Bold Signal In Schizophrenic Patients: Anomalies In The Default Network, Robyn L Bluhm, Jodi Miller, Ruth A Lanius, Elizabeth A Osuch, Kristine Boksman, R W J Neufeld, Jean Theberge, Betsy Schaefer, Peter Williamson Jul 2007

Spontaneous Low-Frequency Fluctuations In The Bold Signal In Schizophrenic Patients: Anomalies In The Default Network, Robyn L Bluhm, Jodi Miller, Ruth A Lanius, Elizabeth A Osuch, Kristine Boksman, R W J Neufeld, Jean Theberge, Betsy Schaefer, Peter Williamson

Department of Medicine Publications

Spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations in the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal have been shown to reflect neural synchrony between brain regions. A "default network" of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations has been described in healthy volunteers during stimulus-independent thought. Negatively correlated with this network are regions activated during attention-demanding tasks. Both these networks involve brain regions and functions that have been linked with schizophrenia in previous research. The present study examined spontaneous slow fluctuations in the BOLD signal at rest, as measured by correlation with low-frequency oscillations in the posterior cingulate, in 17 schizophrenic patients, and 17 comparable …


Alcohol Slows Interhemispheric Transmission, Increases The Flash-Lag Effect, And Prolongs Masking: Evidence For A Slowing Of Neural Processing And Transmission., Sarah A Khan, Brian Timney Jun 2007

Alcohol Slows Interhemispheric Transmission, Increases The Flash-Lag Effect, And Prolongs Masking: Evidence For A Slowing Of Neural Processing And Transmission., Sarah A Khan, Brian Timney

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

While the alcohol literature is extensive, relatively little addresses the relationship between physiological effects and behavioural changes. Using the visual system as a model, we examined alcohol's influence on neural temporal processing as a potential means for alcohol's effects. We did this by using tasks that provided a measure of processing speed: Poffenberger paradigm, flash-lag, and backward masking. After moderate alcohol, participants showed longer interhemispheric transmission times, larger flash-lags, and prolonged masking. Our data are consistent with the view that alcohol slows neural processing, and provide support for a reduction in processing efficiency underlying alcohol-induced changes in temporal visual processing.