Nervous System Commons^™

Involvement Of The Right Hemisphere In Reading Comprehension: A Dti Study, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Yingying Wang, Elena Plante, Scott K. Holland

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

The Simple View of reading emphasizes the critical role of two factors in normal reading skills: word recognition and reading comprehension. The current study aims to identify the anatomical support for aspects of reading performance that fall within these two components. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values were obtained from Diffusion Tensor images in twenty-one typical adolescents and young adults using the Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) method. We focused on the Arcuate Fasciculus (AF) and Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus (ILF) as fiber tracts that connect regions already implicated in the distributed cortical network for reading. Our results demonstrate dissociation between word-level and …

Role Of The Dna Sensor Sting In Protection From Lethal Infection Following Corneal And Intracerebral Challenge With Herpes Simplex Virus 1, Zachary M. Parker, Aisling A. Murphy, David. A. Leib

Dartmouth Scholarship

STING is a protein in the cytosolic DNA and cyclic dinucleotide sensor pathway that is critical for the initiation of innate responses to infection by various pathogens. Consistent with this, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes invariable and rapid lethality in STING-deficient (STING(-/-)) mice following intravenous (i.v.) infection. In this study, using real-time bioluminescence imaging and virological assays, as expected, we demonstrated that STING(-/-) mice support greater replication and spread in ocular tissues and the nervous system. In contrast, they did not succumb to challenge via the corneal route even with high titers of a virus that was routinely lethal …

Increased Resting-State Functional Connectivity Of Visual- And Cognitive-Control Brain Networks After Training In Children With Reading Difficulties, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Mark Difrancesco, Benjamin Kay, Yingying Wang, Scott K. Holland

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

The Reading Acceleration Program, a computerized reading-training program, increases activation in neural circuits related to reading.We examined the effect of the training on the functional connectivity between independent components related to visual processing, executive functions, attention, memory, and language during rest after the training. Children 8–12 years old with reading difficulties and typical readers participated in the study. Behavioral testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed before and after the training. Imaging data were analyzed using an independent component analysis approach. After training, both reading groups showed increased single-word contextual reading and reading comprehension scores. Greater positive correlations between …

Visual Feedback Dominates The Sense Of Agency For Brain-Machine Actions, Nathan Evans, Steven Gale, Aaron Schurger, Olaf Blanke

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Recent advances in neuroscience and engineering have led to the development of technologies that permit the control of external devices through real-time decoding of brain activity (brain-machine interfaces; BMI). Though the feeling of controlling bodily movements (sense of agency; SOA) has been well studied and a number of well-defined sensorimotor and cognitive mechanisms have been put forth, very little is known about the SOA for BMI-actions. Using an on-line BMI, and verifying that our subjects achieved a reasonable level of control, we sought to describe the SOA for BMI-mediated actions. Our results demonstrate that discrepancies between decoded neural activity and …

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, The Primary Motor Neuron Disease, Jacob P. Naumann

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a degenerative neurological disease that damages nerve cells in the brain, in particular the neurons that are involved in voluntary muscle movements. Internationally the disorder is also known as Charcot’s disease and motor neuron disease. In the United States, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, motor neuron disease, and more colloquially ALS. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is the most prominent of the five motor neuron diseases, distinguishing itself from the others through degeneration of both upper motor neurons (UMN) and lower motor neurons (LMN) respectively. The “Father of neurology” Jean-Marie Charcot founded …

Novel Advances In Alzheimer's Disease, Jacob P. Naumann

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia in adults, is a progressive degenerative neurological disease that affects memory, cognition, and behavior. Dr. Alois Alzheimer discovered and diagnosed the irreversible disease in 1906 after documenting the famous case of Auguste Deter.¹ Since the discovery of the disease, numerous advances have made it possible to not only better understand the causal factors, but also to improve the medical diagnosis and preventative measures that healthcare providers can implement. For the first time since 1984, the National Institute on Aging (NIAA) and the Alzheimer’s Association (AA) proposed and published new diagnostic guideline …

Physical Feature Encoding And Word Recognition Abilities Are Altered In Children With Intractable Epilepsy: Preliminary Neuromagnetic Evidence, Maria Pardos, Milena Korostenskaja, Jing Xiang, Hisako Fujiwara, Ki H. Lee, Paul S. Horn, Anna Byars, Jennifer Vannest, Yingying Wang, Nat Hemasilpin, Douglas F. Rose

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Objective evaluation of language function is critical for children with intractable epilepsy under consideration for epilepsy surgery. The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate word recognition in children with intractable epilepsy by using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Ten children with intractable epilepsy (M/F 6/4, mean ± SD 13.4 ± 2.2 years) were matched on age and sex to healthy controls. Common nouns were presented simultaneously from visual and auditory sensory inputs in “match” and “mismatch” conditions. Neuromagnetic responses M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 with latencies of ∼100ms, ∼150ms, ∼250ms, ∼350ms, and ∼450ms, respectively, elicited during the “match” condition were …

Pathological Effects Of Repeated Concussive Tbi In Mouse Models: Periventricular Damage And Ventriculomegaly, Richard H. Wolferz Jr.

Honors Scholar Theses

Repeated concussive traumatic brain injury (rcTBI) is the most prominent form of head injury affecting the brain, with an estimated 1.7 million Americans affected each year (Kuhn 2012). Neurologists have been concerned about the danger of repeated head impacts since the 1920’s, but researchers have only begun to understand the long-term effects of rcTBI (McKee 2009). Although symptoms can be as mild as dizziness, current research suggests that multiple concussions can lead to a progressive degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) (Luo 2008, McKee 2009, Kane 2013). Research on the brain is just beginning to scratch the …

Live Imaging Of The Ependymal Cilia In The Lateral Ventricles Of The Mouse Brain, Alzahra J. Al Omran, Hannah C. Saternos, Tongyu Liu, Surya M. Nauli, Wissam A. Aboualaiwi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Multiciliated ependymal cells line the ventricles in the adult brain. Abnormal function or structure of ependymal cilia is associated with various neurological deficits. The current ex vivo live imaging of motile ependymal cilia technique allows for a detailed study of ciliary dynamics following several steps. These steps include: mice euthanasia with carbon dioxide according to protocols of The University of Toledo’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC); craniectomy followed by brain removal and sagittal brain dissection with a vibratome or sharp blade to obtain very thin sections through the brain lateral ventricles, where the ependymal cilia can be visualized. …

Different Neural Mechanisms For Causal Processing In Language And Perception: An Fmri Study, Brett B. Bankson, Dirk B. Den Ouden

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Information that is used to establish and evaluate causal relationships between objects and events can be gleaned from many sources, especially those that rely on language and perception. For example, sentences with a verb structure using change of state verbs such as “to break” or “to freeze” imply sequential events that express understood causal relationships. At this time, little research has examined the neural correlates of causal verb processing or has compared them to the more well researched brain activity involved in perceptual causal processing. This study investigated the extent to which the evaluation of causal verbs and causal image …

Neuroanatomy Resources, Zachary Sharrow

All Faculty Articles

This column will highlight several freely available online resources in neuroanatomy.The featured websites use images,video, animation, and more to create interactive aids for teaching and learning. Because neuroanatomy is a challenging component of all programs of study in medicine and in many allied fields,these resources will be useful for supplementation and self-study in a variety of settings.

Brain Blast 2015 Speakers Poster, Annie Leslie

Brain Blast

Poster from UNE's Brain Blast 2015 listing the expected presenters at this event.*

Clinical Assessment Of The Infant And Child Following Perinatal Brachial Plexus Injury, Susan V. Duff, Carol Dematteo

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction

After perinatal brachial plexus injury (PBPI), clinicians play an important role in injury classification as well as the assessment of recovery and secondary conditions. Early assessment guides the initial plan of care and influences follow-up and long-term outcome.

Purpose

To review methods used to assess, classify and monitor the extent and influence of PBPI with an emphasis on guidelines for clinicians.

Methods

We use The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) model to provide a guide to assessment after PBPI for rehabilitation clinicians.

Discussion

With information gained from targeted assessments, clinicians can design interventions to increase the …

Spatial And Temporal Characteristics Of Error-Related Activity In The Human Brain, Maital Neta, Francis M. Miezin, Steven M. Nelson, Joseph W. Dubis, Nico U.F. Dosenbach, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Steven E. Petersen

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

A number of studies have focused on the role of specific brain regions, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex during trials on which participants make errors, whereas others have implicated a host of more widely distributed regions in the human brain. Previous work has proposed that there are multiple cognitive control networks, raising the question of whether error-related activity can be found in each of these networks. Thus, to examine error-related activity broadly, we conducted a meta-analysis consisting of 12 tasks that included both error and correct trials. These tasks varied by stimulus input (visual, auditory), response output (button …

The Need For Theory To Guide Concussion Research, Dennis Molfese

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

While the focus on concussion research has expanded greatly over the past decade, progress in identifying the mechanisms and consequences of head injury, the recovery path and the development of potential interventions to facilitate recovery have been largely absent. Instead, the field has largely progressed through an accumulation of data without the guidance of any systematic theory to guide the formulation of research questions or generate testable hypotheses. As part of this special issue on sports concussion, we advance a theory to describe the evolution of a neural network during the development of a cognitive process as well as the …

Resting-State Brain Connectivity After Surgical And Behavioral Weight Loss, Rebecca J. Lepping, Amanda S. Bruce, Alex Francisco, Hung-Wen Yeh, Laura E. Martin, Joshua N. Powell, Laura Hancock, Trisha M. Patrician, Florence J. Breslin, Niazy Selim, Joseph E. Donnelly, William M. Brooks, Cary R. Savage, W. Kyle Simmons, Jared M. Bruce

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Objective: Changes in food-cue neural reactivity associated with behavioral and surgical weight loss interventions have been reported. Resting functional connectivity represents tonic neural activity that may contribute to weight loss success. This study explores whether intervention type is associated with differences in functional connectivity after weight loss. Methods: Fifteen participants with obesity were recruited prior to adjustable gastric banding surgery. Thirteen demographically matched participants with obesity were selected from a separate behavioral diet intervention. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was collected 3 months after surgery/ behavioral intervention. ANOVA was used to examine post-weight loss differences between the two groups in …

Differences In Prefrontal Cortex Activation And Deactivation During Strategic Episodic Verbal Memory Encoding In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Joana B. Balardin, Marcelo C. Batistuzzo, Maria Da Graca Moraes Martin, Joao R. Sato, Jerusa Smid, Claudia Porto, Cary R. Savage, Ricardo Nitrini, Edson Amaro Jr., Eliane C. Miotto

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

In this study we examined differences in fMRI activation and deactivation patterns during episodic verbal memory encoding between individuals with MCI (n = 18) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 17). Participants were scanned in two different sessions during the application of self-initiated or directed instructions to apply semantic strategies at encoding of word lists. MCI participants showed reduced free recall scores when using self-initiated encoding strategies that were increased to baseline controls' level after directed instructions were provided. During directed strategic encoding, greater recruitment of frontoparietal regions was observed in both MCI and control groups; group differences …

Neural Function, Injury, And Stroke Subtype Predict Treatment Gains After Stroke, Erin Burke Quinlan, Lucy Dodakian, Jill See, Alison Mackenzie, Vu Le, Mike Wojnowicz, Babak Shahbaba, Steven C. Cramer

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Objective

This study was undertaken to better understand the high variability in response seen when treating human subjects with restorative therapies poststroke. Preclinical studies suggest that neural function, neural injury, and clinical status each influence treatment gains; therefore, the current study hypothesized that a multivariate approach incorporating these 3 measures would have the greatest predictive value.

Methods

Patients 3 to 6 months poststroke underwent a battery of assessments before receiving 3 weeks of standardized upper extremity robotic therapy. Candidate predictors included measures of brain injury (including to gray and white matter), neural function (cortical function and cortical connectivity), and clinical …

High Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Als Mogelijke Hulp Bij Afasie-Herstel, Dirk B. Den Ouden

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Samenvatting

Nieuwe kennis over het plastische vermogen van het volwassen brein, ook na hersenschade, heeft geleid tot hernieuwde interesse in technieken om deze plasticiteit fysiek te sturen. Een van die technieken is transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), waarmee de exciteerbaarheid van hersencellen beïnvloed wordt door een zwakke gelijkstroom door de hersenschors te leiden. Als met deze methode hersenplasticiteit bevorderd en gestuurd kan worden, is het wellicht mogelijk om de uitkomsten van afasietherapie te verbeteren, door het aanpakken van de fysieke bron van de stoornis. Dit artikel behandelt kort de geschiedenis en de werking van tDCS, alvorens een overzicht te geven …

Muscular And Neural Contributions To Postactivation Potentiation, Brian Joseph Wallace

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Muscle performance is partially a consequence of its recent contractile history. Postactivation potentiation (PAP) can occur after muscle contractions and leads to enhanced neuromuscular performance. The purpose of this dissertation was to explain the relationship between muscle factors (twitch potentiation, TP) and neural factors (reflex potentiation, RP) contributing to overall PAP following a non-fatiguing volitional muscle contraction. The tibial nerves of fifteen resistance trained volunteers (eleven men, four women) were stimulated intermittently at supramaximal (Mmax) and submaximal (Hmax) intensities for 20 minutes on separate days under three conditions: rest (Control); after a after a 10 second maximum voluntary isometric contraction …

Target-Directed Biosynthetic Evolution: Redirecting Plant Evolution To Genomically Optimize A Plant’S Pharmacological Profile, Dustin Paul Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

The dissertation describes a novel method for plant drug discovery based on mutation and selection of plant cells. Despite the industry focus on chemical synthesis, plants remain a source of potent and complex bioactive metabolites. Many of these have evolved as defensive compounds targeted on key proteins in the CNS of herbivorous insects, for example the insect dopamine transporter (DAT). Because of homology with the human DAT protein some of these metabolites have high abuse potential, but others may be valuable in treating drug dependence. This dissertation redirects the evolution of a native Lobelia species toward metabolites with greater activity …

High-Definition Tdcs Of Noun And Verb Retrieval In Naming And Lexical Decision, Svetlana Malyutina, Dirk B. Den Ouden

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) is a novel brain stimulation method that has high potential for use in language therapy for speakers with aphasia, due to its safety and focality. This study aimed to obtain foundational data on using HD-tDCS to modulate language processing in healthy speakers. Participants received stimulation either of left Broca’s area or of angular gyrus (20 minutes of anodal, cathodal and sham stimulation on separate days), followed by naming and lexical decision tasks with single-word verb and noun stimuli. We found that cathodal stimulation over both Broca’s area and left angular gyrus increased naming speed …

Boundary Contour Based Surface Representation., Yong Su

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We receive most information about our surrounding space and objects through the eyes. To reconstruct the 3D space and objects in the visual system from the 2D retinal images, surface representation must be a critical intermediate stage in the visual processing stream. It is hypothesized in the dissertation that the visual system represents textured surface by a border-to-interior strategy: boundary contours would be encoded first and then border-ownership assignments would be resolved. This process would solve the related problems such as figure-ground segregation, surface depth relationship, occlusion, transparency, etc. As a result, the boundary contours of the surfaces would be …

Signaling Mechanisms In Regenerative Myogenesis., Sajedah M. Hindi 1986-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Skeletal muscle constitutes a highly plastic and malleable tissue that rapidly and profoundly adapts to various environmental and physiological stimuli. This response takes place by means of regulated signaling transduction which elicits changes in gene expression, biochemical, and metabolic properties. Adult muscle is composed by alignment of multinucleated, post mitotic muscle fibers formed during embryonic and neonatal development. Residing in the niche of mature muscle fibers is a small population of undifferentiated muscle progenitors termed satellite cells. Satellite cells are muscle stem cells that carry out regenerative response in adult myofibers. Coordinated signaling emitting from terminally differentiated muscle fibers and …

Targeting The Small- And Intermediate Conductance Ca2+- Activated Potassium Channels: The Drug Binding Pocket At The Channel/Calmodulin Interface, Meng Cui, Guangrong Qin, Kunqian Yu, M. Scott Bowers, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The small- and intermediate-conductance Ca 2+ -activated potassium (SK/IK) channels play important roles in the regulation of excitable cells in both the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Evidence from animal models has implicated SK/IK channels in neurological conditions such as ataxia and alcohol use disorders. Further, genome-wide association studies have suggested that cardiovascular abnormalities such as arrhythmias and hypertension are associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms that occur within the genes encoding the SK/IK channels. The Ca 2+ sensitivity of the SK/IK channels stems from a constitutively bound Ca 2+ -binding protein: calmodulin. Small-molecule positive modulators of SK/IK channels have been …

Dreams And Learning, Cody Mebane Gibbons

Symposium

Project Summary: This study is being done to test one aspect of how paying attention to one’s dreams may influence our waking lives. The idea was inspired by research linking the brain processes involved in long-term memory storage to qualities of dreaming, as well as the potential for learning in lucid dreams. It is hypothesized that the more conscious one is of one’s dreams and dream world, the better one will be at learning. In order to test this, the dreaming ability of 300 Cal Poly students will be analyzed via dream questionnaires with the purpose of seeing if any …

Interaction Among Gustation, Olfaction, And Vision In Flavor Identification, Michael J. Lauth

Symposium

Even though the senses of taste, smell, and sight are distinct, there is a significant overlap among them in our perceptions of objects that helps us understand and differentiate the world. Everyone has experienced, when his or her nose gets congested, that his or her sense of taste changes as well. Many individuals do not equally understand the top-down processing with taste when someone sees objects they are about to eat. In the replicated study by our principle investigator, a random convenience sample of young adults (n=162) were recruited and tested to determine if they could taste four Jelly Belly …

Structural Alterations To The Axon Initial Segment Following Diffuse Axonal Injury As A Consequence Of Age, William Behl

Theses and Dissertations

An epidemiological shift towards the elderly population has occurred in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Age is believed to be one of the strongest prognostic indicators following TBI. Diffuse axonal injury (DAI), a prevalent feature of TBI, is believed to be the primary cause for much of the morbidity and mortality associated with TBI. The pathobiology associated with DAI is believed to occur in response to the primary injury in a progressive, secondary fashion. Though the injury mechanisms behind DAI have been shown to occur at numerous sites along the axon, recent work suggests that the axon initial segment (AIS) may …

Brain Science And Stem Learning, Dennis L. Molfese

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Brain Science is an interdisciplinary science and as such touches on a host of domains that among others include Behavioral & Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Computer & Information Science, Economics, Engineering (multiple domains from Electrical to Mechanical to Structural), Education, Human Resources, Engineering, Environmental, Education, Geosciences, Engineering, Mathematical, Physical Sciences, Psychology, and Zoology. The approach provides a means to study matter from an assortment of elements to the integration of complex domains that stretch from the interactions of neuropeptides to conscious thought that cover the lifespan of single cell organisms to humans. We will touch on a few of these …

Brain Blast 2014 Poster, Annie Leslie

Brain Blast

Announcement poster for UNE's Brain Blast 2014, a pechakucha-style brain health and safety awareness and learning event.