Neurosciences Commons^™

An Invitation To The Study Of Brain Networks, With Some Statistical Analysis Of Thresholding Techniques, Mark Daley

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

We provide a brief introduction to the nascent application of network theory to mesoscale networks in the human brain. Following an overview of the typical data-gathering, processing, and analysis methods employed in this field, we describe the process for inferring a graph from neural time series. A crucial step in the construction of a graph from time series is the thresholding of graph edges to ensure that the graphs represent physiological relationships rather than artifactual noise. We discuss the most popular currently employed methodologies and then introduce one of our own, based on the theory of random matrices. Finally, we …

Observing Object Lifting Errors Modulates Cortico-Spinal Excitability And Improves Object Lifting Performance., Gavin Buckingham, Jeremy D Wong, Minnie Tang, Paul L Gribble, Melvyn A Goodale

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Observing the actions of others has been shown to modulate cortico-spinal excitability and affect behaviour. However, the sensorimotor consequences of observing errors are not well understood. Here, participants watched actors lift identically weighted large and small cubes which typically elicit expectation-based fingertip force errors. One group of participants observed the standard overestimation and underestimation-style errors that characterise early lifts with these cubes (Error video--EV). Another group watched the same actors performing the well-adapted error-free lifts that characterise later, well-practiced lifts with these cubes (No error video--NEV). We then examined actual object lifting performance in the subjects who watched the EV …

Sign Language Ability In Young Deaf Signers Predicts Comprehension Of Written Sentences In English., Kathy N Andrew, Jennifer Hoshooley, Marc F Joanisse

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

We investigated the robust correlation between American Sign Language (ASL) and English reading ability in 51 young deaf signers ages 7;3 to 19;0. Signers were divided into 'skilled' and 'less-skilled' signer groups based on their performance on three measures of ASL. We next assessed reading comprehension of four English sentence structures (actives, passives, pronouns, reflexive pronouns) using a sentence-to-picture-matching task. Of interest was the extent to which ASL proficiency provided a foundation for lexical and syntactic processes of English. Skilled signers outperformed less-skilled signers overall. Error analyses further indicated greater single-word recognition difficulties in less-skilled signers marked by a higher …

Links Between White Matter Microstructure And Cortisol Reactivity To Stress In Early Childhood: Evidence For Moderation By Parenting., Haroon I Sheikh, Marc F Joanisse, Sarah M Mackrell, Katie R Kryski, Heather J Smith, Shiva M Singh, Elizabeth P Hayden

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (measured via cortisol reactivity) may be a biological marker of risk for depression and anxiety, possibly even early in development. However, the structural neural correlates of early cortisol reactivity are not well known, although these would potentially inform broader models of mechanisms of risk, especially if the early environment further shapes these relationships. Therefore, we examined links between white matter architecture and young girls' cortisol reactivity and whether early caregiving moderated these links. We recruited 45 6-year-old girls based on whether they had previously shown high or low cortisol reactivity to a stress task at …

Sensitivity Of Human Auditory Cortex To Rapid Frequency Modulation Revealed By Multivariate Representational Similarity Analysis., Marc F Joanisse, Diedre D Desouza

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the extent, magnitude, and pattern of brain activity in response to rapid frequency-modulated sounds. We examined this by manipulating the direction (rise vs. fall) and the rate (fast vs. slow) of the apparent pitch of iterated rippled noise (IRN) bursts. Acoustic parameters were selected to capture features used in phoneme contrasts, however the stimuli themselves were not perceived as speech per se. Participants were scanned as they passively listened to sounds in an event-related paradigm. Univariate analyses revealed a greater level and extent of activation in bilateral auditory cortex in response …

Dopaminergic Medication Impairs Feedback-Based Stimulus-Response Learning But Not Response Selection In Parkinson's Disease., Andrew Vo, Nole M Hiebert, Ken N Seergobin, Stephanie Solcz, Allison Partridge, Penny A Macdonald

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Cognitive dysfunction is a feature of Parkinson's Disease (PD). Some cognitive functions are impaired by dopaminergic medications prescribed to address the movement symptoms that typify PD. Learning appears to be the cognitive function most frequently worsened by dopaminergic therapy. However, this result could reflect either impairments in learning (i.e., acquisition of associations among stimuli, responses, and outcomes) or deficits in performance based on learning (e.g., selecting responses). We sought to clarify the specific effects of dopaminergic medication on (a) stimulus-response association learning from outcome feedback and (b) response selection based on learning, in PD. We tested 28 PD patients on …

Rule-Based Category Learning In Children: The Role Of Age And Executive Functioning., Rahel Rabi, John Paul Minda

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Rule-based category learning was examined in 4-11 year-olds and adults. Participants were asked to learn a set of novel perceptual categories in a classification learning task. Categorization performance improved with age, with younger children showing the strongest rule-based deficit relative to older children and adults. Model-based analyses provided insight regarding the type of strategy being used to solve the categorization task, demonstrating that the use of the task appropriate strategy increased with age. When children and adults who identified the correct categorization rule were compared, the performance deficit was no longer evident. Executive functions were also measured. While both working …

Accumulation Of Subcortical Iron As A Modifier Of Volumetric And Cognitive Decline In Healthy Aging: Two Longitudinal Studies, Ana Marie Daugherty

Wayne State University Dissertations

Accumulation of non-heme iron in the brain has been theorized as a cellular mechanism underlying global neural and cognitive decline in normal aging and neurodegenerative disease. Relatively few studies of brain iron in normal aging exist and extant studies are almost exclusively cross-sectional. Here, I estimated iron content via T2* and measured volumes in several brain regions in two independent samples of healthy adults. The first sample (N = 89) was measured twice with a two-year delay; and the second sample (N = 32) was assessed four times over a span of 7 years. Latent models estimated change in iron …

Evaluation Of Presynaptic Dopamine Dynamics After: Toluene Inhalation Or Trkb Receptor Activation, Aaron Kwaku Apawu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Dopamine (DA) neurons in the striatum mediate several functions of the brain and have been linked to a host of neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease and addiction, both of which occur as a result of dysfunction in the DA system. In the present study, our first objective was to understand how the striatal DA system adapts to acute and repeated administration of inhalant toluene. The use of toluene as inhalant, like other drugs of abuse, is known to perturb DA neurotransmission in the brain reward pathway. However, the exact mechanism underling toluene's influence on striatal DA neurotransmission is unknown. The …

Identification Of A Treatment-Resistant, Ketamine-Sensitive Genetic Line In The Chick Anxiety-Depression Model, Stephen Walter White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 60% of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients do not respond to FDA-approved antidepressants. Introducing effective pharmacotherapies for this treatment-resistant population is hindered by the lack of pre-clinical screening assays that accurately model the clinical features of TRD. The purpose of this research was to screen representatives of different classes FDA-approved antidepressants and one novel antidepressant in two genetic lines of domestic fowl chicks that have previously been identified as stress-vulnerable and stress-resilient in the chick anxiety depression model. Separate groups of socially raised Black Australorp (stress-vulnerable) and Production Red (stress-resilient) chicks were administered the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine (0-20 mg/kg), …

Alterations In The Mouse Striatum Following Acute And Repeated Ethanol Exposure, Brooke D. Newman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important neuromodulator that has implicated in regard to several neurological disorders, including alcohol addiction. BDNF is also an important modulator of dopamine (DA), a neurotransmitter that is heavily implicated in addiction with one of the DA rich brain regions being referred to as the reward center of the brain. One of the focuses in alcohol dependence research includes determining risk factors that make an individual more susceptible to becoming dependent. BDNF has been of interest as a risk factor due to its involvement in ethanol consumption and addiction evidenced in a vast number of …

Longitudinal Change In Regional Cortices And Fluid Intelligence, Peng Yuan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystalized intelligence (Gc) are two factors of the general intelligence. They have distinct age-related trajectories of change. Jung and Haier proposed Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT, 2007) to account for the inter-person variance in reasoning intelligence. Some brain regions such as prefrontal, parietal, temporal and anterior cingulate cortices were included in the P-FIT model and were hypothesized to be involved in fluid reasoning task. Therefore, in the current study, we examined latent growth curves (LGC) of longitudinal change in Gf, Gc, prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, anterior cingulate, temporal cortex and primary visual cortex. Forty-six healthy middle-aged and …

Adolescent Crash Rates And School Start Times In Two Central Virginia Counties, 2009-2011: A Follow-Up Study To A Southeastern Virginia Study, 2007-2008, Robert Daniel Vorona, Mariana Szklo-Coxe, Rajan Lamichhane, J. Catesby Ware, Ann Mcnallen, David Leszczyszyn

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background and Objective: Early high school start times (EHSST) may lead to sleep loss in adolescents ("teens"), thus resulting in higher crash rates. (Vorona et al., 2011). In this study, we examined two other adjacent Virginia counties for the two years subsequent to the above-mentioned study. We again hypothesized that teens from jurisdictions with EHSST (versus later) experience higher crash rates.

Methods: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles supplied de-identified aggregate data on weekday crashes and time-of- day for 16-18 year old (teen) and adult drivers for school years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 in Henrico and Chesterfield Counties (HC and CC, respectively). …

The Effect Of Gaba A Antagonism On Locomotor Activity And Dopamine Release In The Mouse Caudate Putamen Following Acute Toluene Inhalation: An In-Vivo Microdialysis Study, Sean Callan

Wayne State University Theses

Toluene is ubiquitous solvent commonly inhaled recreationally. Despite its frequency of misuse, there is little understanding of how toluene acts within the brain. To examine this, this master's thesis examined the impact of acutely inhaled toluene on dopamine (DA) release in the mouse CPu in vivo using microdialysis techniques. Toluene inhalation produced dose-dependent increases in DA levels as well as changes in locomotor activity. These effects were potentiated by pre-treatment with the GABAA antagonist bicuculline via reverse microdialysis delivery. These results suggest that the DA dynamics of toluene abuse are related to toluene's previously explored effects on the GABA system. …

Inattention And Hyperactivity Among Preschool Age Children Born Prematurely, Andrew Heitzer

Wayne State University Theses

A large body of literature shows that compared to children born at term, preterm- children are at increased risk for difficulties with inattention and hyperactivity. Less consistency exists, however, in the limited body of research exploring the contribution of early biological risk to behavioral disinhibition within the population of children born prematurely. Therefore, our goal was to examine perinatal variables that may influence activity level and hyperactivity among preterm preschoolers. Ninety-eight preterm (23.4 - 33.9 weeks gestation) preschoolers (3-4 years) participated in the study. Direct measures of inattention and hyperactivity as well as parental ratings were used to evaluate behavior. …

Effects Of Hyperbaric Oxygen On Eye Tracking Abnormalities In Males After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Joanna R. Wares, David X. Cifu, Kathy W. Hoke, Paul A. Wetzel, George Gitchel, William Carne

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

The effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) on eye movement abnormalities in 60 military servicemembers with at least one mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) from combat were examined in a single-center, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, prospective study at the Naval Medicine Operational Training Center. During the 10 wk of the study, each subject was delivered a series of 40, once a day, hyperbaric chamber compressions at a pressure of 2.0 atmospheres absolute (ATA). At each session, subjects breathed one of three preassigned oxygen fractions (10.5%, 75%, or 100%) for 1 h, resulting in an oxygen exposure equivalent to breathing either surface air, …

Empirical Models Of Scalp-Eeg Responses Using Non-Concurrent Intracranial Responses, Komalpreet Kaur, Jerry J. Shih, Dean J. Krusienski

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Objective- This study presents inter-subject models of scalp-recorded electroencephalographic (sEEG) event-related potentials (ERPs) using intracranially recorded ERPs from electrocorticography and stereotactic depth electrodes in the hippocampus, generally termed as intracranial EEG (iEEG).

Approach- The participants were six patients with medically-intractable epilepsy that underwent temporary placement of intracranial electrode arrays to localize seizure foci. Participants performed one experimental session using a brain-computer interface matrix spelling paradigm controlled by sEEG prior to the iEEG electrode implantation, and one or more identical sessions controlled by iEEG after implantation. All participants were able to achieve excellent spelling accuracy using sEEG, four of the participants …

Neuronal Reorganization In Adult Rats Neonatally Exposed To (±)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, Michael T. Williams, Matthew R. Skelton, Ian D. Longacre, Kimberly N. Huggins, Amanda M. Maple, Charles V. Vorhees, Russell W. Brown

ETSU Faculty Works

The abuse of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) during pregnancy is of concern. MDMA treatment of rats during a period of brain growth analogous to late human gestation leads to neurochemical and behavioral changes. MDMA from postnatal day (P)11–20 in rats produces reductions in serotonin and deficits in spatial and route-based navigation. In this experiment we examined the impact of MDMA from P11 to P20 (20 mg/kg twice daily, 8 h apart) on neuronal architecture. Golgi impregnated sections showed significant changes. In the nucleus accumbens, the dendrites were shorter with fewer spines, whereas in the dentate gyrus the dendritic length was decreased but …

Blast-Induced Tinnitus: A Combined Behavioral, Memri, And Electrophysiology Study, Jessica Pengyun Ouyang

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

BLAST-INDUCED TINNITUS: A COMBINED BEHAVIORAL, MEMRE, AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY STUDY

by

JESSICA OUYANG

May 2014 Advisor: Drs. Steve Cala & Jinsheng Zhang

Major: Physiology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Tinnitus and hearing loss are the frequent auditory-related co-morbidities of blast trauma. The etiology of blast-induced tinnitus is also muddled by brain mechanisms associated with emotional and cognitive problems such as anxiety, memory loss, and depression. We set out to develop a realistic and ecologically valid model to address changes of cognitive status and psychological state that are associated with blast- induced tinnitus. In this study, 19 adult rats were randomly divided …

Linking Molecular, Electrical And Anatomical Properties Of Human Epileptic Brain, Shruti Bagla

Wayne State University Dissertations

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder of recurrent unprovoked seizures. It affects almost 1% of the world population. Although there is a wide range of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) available, they only treat the seizure symptoms and do not cure the disease itself. The poor role of AEDs can be attributed to the lack of knowledge of exact mechanisms and networks that produce epileptic activities in the neocortex. At present, the best cure for epilepsy is surgical removal of electrically localized epileptic brain tissue. Surgically removed brain tissue presents an excellent opportunity to discover the molecular and cellular basis of human …

Endocannabinoid Involvement In Impulsivity And Decision-Making, Christopher P. Norris

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Problem gambling is a widespread phenomenon with a prevalence estimate of 2.3% globally (Williams, Volberg, & Stevens, 2012). Although little is known about the neurochemistry underlying this pathological behaviour, evidence suggests that dysregulation of the brain’s endocannabinoid (eCB) system may be implicated in impulsivity and decision-making. For example, chronic cannabis users exhibit impulsive behaviour and impaired decision-making on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The present study sought to further examine the role of the eCB system in problem gambling-related decision-making in laboratory rats using the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), and a recently-developed rodent analogue of the IGT called …

The Hidden Daubert Factor: How Judges Use Error Rates In Assessing Scientific Evidence, John B. Meixner Jr., Shari Seidman Diamond

Scholarly Works

In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, the United States Supreme Court provided a framework under which trial judges must assess the evidentiary reliability of scientific evidence whose admissibility is challenged. One factor of the Daubert test, the “known or potential rate of error” of the expert’s method, has received considerably less scholarly attention than the other factors, and past empirical study has indicated that judges have a difficult time understanding the factor and use it less frequently in their analyses as compared to other factors. In this paper, we examine one possible interpretation of the “known or potential rate of …

Detecting Knowledge Of Incidentally Acquired, Real-World Memories Using A P300-Based Concealed-Information Test, John B. Meixner Jr., J. Peter Rosenfeld

Scholarly Works

Autobiographical memory for events experienced during normal daily life has been studied at the group level, but no studies have yet examined the ability to detect recognition of incidentally acquired memories among individual subjects. We present the first such study here, which employed a concealed-information test in which subjects were shown words associated with activities they had experienced the previous day. Subjects wore a video-recording device for 4 hr on Day 1 and then returned to the laboratory on Day 2, where they were shown words relating to events recorded with the camera (probe items) and words of the same …

Three‐Dimensional Brain Mri For Dbs Patients Within Ultra‐Low Radiofrequency Power Limits, Subhendra N. Sarkar, Efstathios Papavassiliou, David Hackney, David Alsop, Ananth Madhuranthakam, Ludy Shih, Reed Busse, Susan Laruche, Rafeeque Bhadelia

Publications and Research

Background: For patients with deep brain stimulators (DBS), local absorbed radiofrequency (RF) power is unknown and is much higher than what the system estimates. We developed a comprehensive, highquality brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol for DBS patients utilizing three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance sequences at very low RF power. Methods: Six patients with DBS were imaged (10 sessions) using a transmit/receive head coil at 1.5 Tesla with modified 3D sequences within ultra-low specific absorption rate (SAR) limits (0.1 W/kg) using T2, fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and T1- weighted image contrast. Tissue signal and tissue contrast from the low-SAR images …

The Quetiapine Active Metabolite N-Desalkylquetiapine And The Neurotensin Nts1 Receptor Agonist Pd149163 Exhibit Antidepressant-Like Effects On Operant Responding In Male Rats, Todd M. Hillhouse, Zachary Shankland, Katelin S. Matazel, Ashley Keiser, Adam J. Prus

Journal Articles

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common mood disorder in the United States and European Union; however, the limitations of clinically available antidepressant drugs have led researchers to pursue novel pharmacological treatments. Clinical studies have reported that monotherapy with the atypical antipsychotic drug quetiapine produces a rapid reduction in depressive symptoms that are apparent following one week of quetiapine treatment, and it is possible that the active metabolite N-Desalkylquetiapine, which structurally resembles an antidepressant drug, produces antidepressant effects. Neuropharmacological evaluations of the neurotensin NTS₁ receptor agonist PD149163 are suggestive of antidepressant efficacy, but the effects of a NTS …

Peripubertal Binge Ethanol, Age And Sex Modulate Microrna Expression In The Ventral And Dorsal Hippocampus Of The Adolescent Rat, Sarah Arianne Prins

Dissertations

Adolescent binge ethanol (EtOH) abuse induces long-term changes in gene expression, resulting in an increased risk for the development of adult mood disorders. microRNAs (microRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by translational repression. microRNA altered in response to EtOH and puberty in the developing brain. The biogenesis of mature 22-24 nucleotide (nt), single-stranded microRNAs involves Drosha and Dicer enzymatic processing of microRNA precursors. A mature microRNA imperfectly base pairs with messenger RNA (mRNA) target genes,which leads to mRNA cleavage or translational repression. Our lab has found that repeated binge EtOH exposure alters gene expression in the hypothalamus …

Differential Effects Of Fatigue On Movement Variability, N. Cortes, J. Onate, S. Morrison

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

When individuals perform purposeful actions to fatigue, there is typically a general decline in their movement performance. This study was designed to investigate the effects exercise-induced fatigue has on lower limb kinetics and kinematics during a side-step cutting task. In particular, it was of interest to determine what changes could be seen in mean amplitude and all metrics of signal variability with fatigue. The results of the study revealed that post-fatigue there was an overall decrease in absolute force production as reflected by a decline in mean amplitude and variability (SD) of the ground reaction forces (GRF_V and GRF …

An Anemia Of Alzheimer's Disease, N G. Faux, A Rembach, J Wiley, K A. Ellis, D Ames, C J. Fowler, Ralph N. Martins, K K. Pertile, R L. Rumble, B Trounson, C L. Masters, A I. Bush

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Lower hemoglobin is associated with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since brain iron homeostasis is perturbed in AD, we investigated whether this is peripherally reflected in the hematological and related blood chemistry values from the Australian Imaging Biomarker and Lifestyle (AIBL) study (a community-based, cross-sectional cohort comprising 768 healthy controls (HC), 133 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 211 participants with AD). We found that individuals with AD had significantly lower hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentrations, packed cell volume and higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates (adjusted for age, gender, APOE-ε4 and site). In AD, plasma iron, transferrin, transferrin saturation …

Anxiety Symptoms, Cerebral Amyloid Burden And Memory Decline In Healthy Older Adults Without Dementia: 3-Year Prospective Cohort Study, Robert H. Pietrzak, J C. Scott, Alexander Neumeister, Yen Ying Lim, David Ames, Kathyrn A. Ellis, Kara Harrington, Nicola T. Lautenschlager, Cassandra Szoeke, Ralph Martins, Colin L. Masters, Victor L. Villemagne, Christopher C. Rowe, Paul Maruff

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Although beta-amyloid, anxiety and depression have been linked cross-sectionally to reduced memory function in healthy older adults without dementia, prospective data evaluating these associations are lacking. Using data from an observational cohort study of 178 healthy older adults without dementia followed for 3 years, we found that anxiety symptoms significantly moderated the relationship between beta-amyloid level and decline in verbal (Cohen's d = 0.65) and episodic (Cohen's d = 0.38) memory. Anxiety symptoms were additionally linked to greater decline in executive function, irrespective of beta-amyloid and other risk factors. These findings suggest that interventions to mitigate anxiety symptoms may help …

Factors That Contribute To Balance And Mobility Impairments In Individuals With Huntington's Disease, Travis Cruickshank, Alvaro Reyes, Luis Peñailillo, Jennifer Thompson, Mel Ziman

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Mobility and balance problems are common and often debilitating features of Huntington's disease (HD). In this exploratory study we aimed to investigate the influence of disease severity, severity of motor deficits, lower limb muscle strength, cognition, executive function, lean muscle mass and reactivity on mobility and balance.Twenty-two individuals with HD were recruited from the North Metropolitan Area Mental Health Service, Perth, Australia. Pertinent demographic, genetic and disease progression information was recorded prior to testing. Balance was assessed using dynamic and static balance tasks. Mobility was assessed using self-paced and fast-paced mobility measures. Cognitive and executive measures were used to assess …