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At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

Functional involvement of cerebral cortex in human narcolepsy.

The pathophysiology of human narcolepsy is still poorly understood. The hypoactivity of some neurotransmitter systems has been hypothesised on the basis of the canine model. To determine whether narcolepsy is associated with changes in excitability of the cerebral cortex, we assessed the excitability of the motor cortex with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in 13 patients with narcolepsy and in 12 control subjects. We used several TMS paradigms that can provide information on the excitability of the motor cortex. Resting and active motor thresholds were higher in narcoleptic patients than in controls and intracortical inhibition was more pronounced in narcoleptic patients. No changes in the other evaluated measures were detected. These results are consistent with an impaired balance between excitatory and inhibitory intracortical circuits in narcolepsy that leads to cortical hypoexcitability. We hypothesise that the deficiency of the excitatory hypocretin/orexin-neurotransmitter-system in narcolepsy is reflected in changes of cortical excitability since circuits originating in the lateral hypothalamus and in the basal forebrain project widely to the neocortex, including motor cortex. This abnormal excitability of cortical networks could be the physiological correlate of excessive daytime sleepiness and it could be the substrate for allowing dissociated states of wakefulness and sleep to emerge suddenly while patients are awake, which constitute the symptoms of narcolepsy.

Adult↗

Scene segmentation by spike synchronization in reciprocally connected visual areas. I. Local effects of cortical feedback.

To investigate scene segmentation in the visual system we present a model of two reciprocally connected visual areas using spiking neurons. Area P corresponds to the orientation-selective subsystem of the primary visual cortex, while the central visual area C is modeled as associative memory representing stimulus objects according to Hebbian learning. Without feedback from area C, a single stimulus results in relatively slow and irregular activity, synchronized only for neighboring patches (slow state), while in the complete model activity is faster with an enlarged synchronization range (fast state). When presenting a superposition of several stimulus objects, scene segmentation happens on a time scale of hundreds of milliseconds by alternating epochs of the slow and fast states, where neurons representing the same object are simultaneously in the fast state. Correlation analysis reveals synchronization on different time scales as found in experiments (designated as tower, castle, and hill peaks). On the fast time scale (tower peaks, gamma frequency range), recordings from two sites coding either different or the same object lead to correlograms that are either flat or exhibit oscillatory modulations with a central peak. This is in agreement with experimental findings, whereas standard phase-coding models would predict shifted peaks in the case of different objects.

Animals↗

Hybrid process models for process optimisation, monitoring and control.

Hybrid models aim to describe different components of a process in different ways. This makes sense when the corresponding knowledge to be represented is different as well. In this way, the most efficient representations can be chosen and, thus, the model performance can be increased significantly. From the various possible variants of hybrid model, three are selected which were applied for important biotechnical processes, two of them from existing production processes. The examples show that hybrid models are powerful tools for process optimisation, monitoring and control.

Algorithms↗

ICASP: an intensive-care acquisition and signal processing integrated framework.

This paper presents an intensive-care acquisition and signal processing integrated framework in the area of intensive care units. The framework includes nearly all monitored biosignals in the intensive care, along with metadata and processing results. It is structured on two basic applications, i.e., the acquisition and the database one, running in two different PCs that are connected through a local area network, facilitating real-time data exchange between them. The analytical rundown shows that the proposed framework is a serious effort to give a complete clinical condition of a patient and a form of a diagnostic analysis implement in the intensive care by taking in real-time processing.

Hospital Information Systems↗

Electrophysiological properties of neurons in neonatal rat occipital cortex slices grown in a serum-free medium.

The electrophysiological properties of individual neurons within organotypic explants of neonatal rat cortex were examined via intracellular recordings. The explants were grown for two weeks in a serum-free medium. The electrophysiological properties of the neurons within these explants were similar to those reported for both adult cortex in vivo and short-term in vitro slice preparations. The results of the present study show that cortical explants grown under serum-free conditions can serve as a useful model for long-term developmental studies associated with the physiological basis of neural network formation.

Action Potentials↗

Transcriptomics reveals species-specific adaptive strategies to calorie restriction in two Argopecten scallops with distinct lifespans.

Calorie restriction (CR) is a well-established non-genetic intervention for lifespan extension in multiple model organisms. Seasonal food shortage in cold and temperate seas may mimic CR, inducing in bivalves a response similar to that in vertebrates and thereby prolonging life expectancy. However, the relationship and the mechanism underlying the food availability and lifespan in bivalves remain largely unexplored. Two closely related scallop species the short-lived warm-water Argopecten irradians (lifespan <2&#xa0;years) and the longer-lived cold-water Argopecten purpuratus (7-10&#xa0;years) provide an ideal comparative system to investigate species-specific adaptive strategies. In this study, we subjected both species to CR for 30 and 56&#xa0;days and performed comparative transcriptomic profiling, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and physiological assays to elucidate their distinct molecular responses. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that A. purpuratus exhibited substantially more DEGs than A. irradians at both time points under CR, with both species showing downregulation of metabolic pathways but to different extents. A. irradians mounted an early nutrient-sensing response at 30&#xa0;days (IGF1R, PIK3R3, INSR suppression), indicating acute sensitivity to limitation; by contrast, A. purpuratus displayed delayed FoxO activation at 56&#xa0;days, along with its downstream effectors NFKBIA, CREB3L4, and SMAD4, suggesting a gradual adaptive program may link to its extended lifespan. WGCNA identified three negatively correlated modules in each species, with coral2 being the most prominent in A. irradians and darkolivegreen in A. purpuratus. The former was dominated by ciliary motility genes, whereas the latter featured coordinated repression of oxidative phosphorylation. Additionally, both species exhibited conserved suppression of mTOR/S6K growth signaling and activation of cellular maintenance programs. Collectively, these findings expand the understanding of CR-mediated longevity regulation in bivalves and provide candidate gene resources for future functional studies and breeding programs.

Pectinidae↗

Theoretical aspects of 13C metabolic flux analysis with sole quantification of carbon dioxide labeling.

The potential of using sole respirometric CO2 labeling measurement for 13C metabolic flux analysis was investigated by metabolic simulations. For this purpose a model was created, considering all CO2 forming and consuming reactions in the central catabolic and anabolic pathways. To facilitate the interpretation of the simulation results, the underlying metabolic network was parameterized by physiologically meaningful flux parameters such as flux partitioning ratios at metabolic branch points and reaction reversibilities. For real case flux scenarios of the industrial amino acid producer Corynebacterium glutamicum and different commercially available (13)C-labeled tracer substrates, observability and output sensitivity towards key flux parameters was investigated. Metabolic net fluxes in the central metabolism, involving, e.g. glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle, anaplerotic carboxylation, and glyoxylate pathway were found to be determinable by the respirometric approach using a combination of [1-13C] and [6-13C] glucose in two parallel studies. The reversibilities of bidirectional reactions influence the isotopic labeling of CO2 only to a negligible degree. On one hand, they therefore cannot be determined. On the other hand, their precise values are not required for the quantification of net fluxes. Computer-aided optimal experimental design was carried out to predict the quality of the information from the respirometric tracer experiments and identify suitable tracer substrates. A combination of [1-13C] and [6-13C] glucose in two parallel studies was found to yield a similar quality of information as compared to an approach with mass spectrometric labeling analysis of secreted products. The quality of information can be further increased by additional studies with [1,2-13C2] or [1,6-13C2] glucose. Respirometric tracer studies with sole labeling analysis of CO2 are therefore promising for 13C metabolic flux analysis.

Carbon Dioxide↗

A neuro-fuzzy inference system for modeling and prediction of heart rate variability in the neuro-intensive care unit.

In the neurological intensive care unit (NICU), prediction of impending changes in patient condition would be highly beneficial. In this paper, we employ a neuro-fuzzy inference system (NFIS) for short-term prediction of heart rate variability in the NICU. An NFIS was selected because it allows for a "gray-box" approach through which a system identification procedure is used in conjunction with fuzzy modeling. The NFIS is described in detail and is compared to an auto-regressive moving average (ARMA) model for its ability to model both simulated and measured data from NICU patients. We found that the NFIS is capable of predicting changes in heart rate to a reasonable extent, and that the NFIS has both advantages and limitations over the ARMA model. The NFIS may therefore be a reasonable technique to consider for more extensive prediction purposes in ICU settings.

Blood Pressure↗

An integrated approach for inference and mechanistic modeling for advancing drug development.

An important challenge facing researchers in drug development is how to translate multi-omic measurements into biological insights that will help advance drugs through the clinic. Computational biology strategies are a promising approach for systematically capturing the effect of a given drug on complex molecular networks and on human physiology. This article discusses a two-pronged strategy for inferring biological interactions from large-scale multi-omic measurements and accounting for known biology via mechanistic dynamical simulations of pathways, cells, and organ- and tissue level models. These approaches are already playing a role in driving drug development by providing a rational and systematic computational framework.

Algorithms↗

Low-power hybrid wireless network for monitoring infant incubators.

We have created a pilot wireless network for the convenient monitoring of temperature and humidity of infant incubators. This system combines infrared and radio frequency (RF) communication in order to minimize the power consumption of slave devices, and we therefore call it a hybrid wireless network. The slave module installed in the infant incubator receives the calling signal from the host with an infrared receiver, and sends temperature and humidity data to the host with an RF transmitter. The power consumption of the host system is not critical, and hence it uses the maximum power of infrared transmission and continuously operating RF receiver. In our test implementation, we included four slave devices. The PC calls each slave device every second and then waits for 6 s, resulting in a total scan period of 10 s. Slave devices receive the calling signals and transmit three data values (temperature, moisture, and skin temperature); their power demand is 1 mW, and can run for about 1000 h on four AA-size nickel-hydride batteries.

Electric Power Supplies↗

Cooperative anaerobic catabolism of chlorinated organic compounds: implications for sustainable bioremediation.

Biodegradation research historically followed a reductionist approach focused on axenic (pure) cultures capable of catabolizing the specific contaminant(s) of interest. While this approach has substantially advanced our understanding of the microbiology, physiology, biochemistry, and genetics of contaminant degradation under laboratory conditions, it does not capture the complexity of natural and engineered environments. During in situ bioremediation, microbiomes are exposed to mixtures of contaminants, and microbial interactions profoundly influence contaminant transformation and fate. In anoxic environments, degradation of chlorinated compounds is often sustained by metabolic cooperation among taxonomically and physiologically distinct microorganisms. Through the exchange of metabolites such as hydrogen, formate, acetate, and other nutrients, microbial populations establish interdependent networks that overcome thermodynamic and physiological constraints, enabling self-sustaining systems of contaminant transformations that would be inefficient or impossible with individual organisms. We highlight examples of microbial interactions that underpin anaerobic catabolism of chlorinated contaminants, including systems resulting in self-sustained anaerobic bioremediation.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

Platelet activating factor and its metabolite promote sleep in rabbits.

Platelet activating factor (PAF) is a key inflammatory mediator. PAF and its receptor are found in brain and PAF affects or is affected by the production of sleep promoting cytokines such as interleukin-1. PAF also interacts with several other sleep-regulatory substances such as nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3, nitric oxide, prostaglandins, and prolactin. We thus hypothesized that PAF would increase sleep. In these experiments, each rabbit received an injection of 25 microl of 2% DMSO to obtain control values, and on a separate day received PAF or lyso-PAF, a metabolite of PAF. Ten, 100 and 500 nmol for each substance was injected intracerebroventricularly. Both PAF and lyso-PAF enhanced non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep but not REM sleep. Lyso-PAF, but not PAF, induced hyperthermia. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that the brain cytokine network is involved in physiological sleep regulation.

Animals↗

Regulation of water flow by actin-binding protein-induced actin gelatin.

Actin filaments inhibit osmotically driven water flow (Ito, T., K.S. Zaner, and T.P. Stossel. 1987. Biophys. J. 51: 745-753). Here we show that the actin gelation protein, actin-binding protein (ABP), impedes both osmotic shrinkage and swelling of an actin filament solution and reduces markedly the concentration of actin filaments required for this inhibition. These effects depend on actin filament immobilization, because the ABP concentration that causes initial impairment of water flow by actin filaments corresponds to the gel point measured viscometrically and because gelsolin, which noncovalently severs actin filaments, solates actin gels and restores water flow in a solution of actin cross-linked by ABP. Since ABP gels actin filaments in the periphery of many eukaryotic cells, such actin networks may contribute to physiological cell volume regulation.

Actins↗

Contribution of feedforward, lateral and feedback connections to the classical receptive field center and extra-classical receptive field surround of primate V1 neurons.

A central question in visual neuroscience is what circuits generate the responses of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1). V1 neurons respond best to oriented stimuli of optimal size within their receptive field (RF) center. This size tuning is contrast dependent, i.e. a neuron's optimal stimulus size measured at high contrast (the high-contrast summation RF, or hsRF) is smaller than when measured using low-contrast stimuli (the low-contrast summation RF, or lsRF). Responses to stimuli in the RF center are usually suppressed by iso-oriented stimuli in the extra-classical RF surround. Iso-orientation surround suppression is fast and long range, extending well beyond the size of V1 cells' lsRF. Geniculocortical feedforward (FF), V1 lateral and extrastriate feedback (FB) connections to V1 could all contribute to generating the RF center and surround of V1 neurons. Studies on the spatio-temporal properties and functional organization of these connections can help disclose their specific contributions to the responses of V1 cells. These studies, reviewed in this chapter, have shown that FF afferents to V1 integrate signals within the hsRF of V1 cells; V1 lateral connections are commensurate with the size of the lsRF and may, thus, underlie contrast-dependent changes in spatial summation, and modulatory effects arising from the surround region closer to the RF center (the "near" surround). The spatial and temporal properties of lateral connections cannot account for the dimensions and onset latency of modulation arising from more distant regions of the surround (the "far" surround). Inter-areal FB connections to V1, instead, are commensurate with the full spatial range of center and surround responses, and show fast conduction velocity consistent with the short onset latency of modulation arising from the "far" surround. We review data showing that a subset of FB connections terminate in a patchy fashion in V1, and show modular and orientation specificity, consistent with their proposed role in orientation-specific center-surround interactions. We propose specific mechanisms by which each connection type contributes to the RF center and surround of V1 neurons, and implement these hypotheses into a recurrent network model. We show physiological data in support of the model's predictions, revealing that modulation from the "far" surround is not always suppressive, but can be facilitatory under specific stimulus conditions.

Animals↗

The impact of corticothalamic feedback on the output dynamics of a thalamocortical neurone model: the role of synapse location and metabotropic glutamate receptors.

The spatio-temporal integration of cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials was investigated in a multi-compartment model of a thalamocortical neurone. Consistent with experimental data, cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials contained a metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated component and were generated by synapses located on distal dendrites. Within this framework, three synaptic distributions (each with equal maximal synaptic conductances) were compared: symmetric, with synapses distributed equally between all dendritic trees, single-dendrite, where synapses were allocated on all distal segments of one dendrite, and single-segment, which comprised one synapse on a single dendritic compartment. We addressed three main issues: (1) the propagation of cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials to the soma, (2) the interaction of cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials with proximally generated retinal excitatory postsynaptic potentials, and (3) the effectiveness of cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials in entraining and perturbing the delta oscillation. The somatic and dendritic amplitudes of the cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials depended on the distribution of the synapses, being largest and smallest, respectively, for the symmetric distribution, and smallest and largest, respectively, for the single-segment distribution. When a retinal excitatory postsynaptic potential followed a subthreshold cortical excitatory postsynaptic potential with a short (2-200 ms) delay, its ability to evoke action potentials was increased, with single-segment cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials having the longest-lasting facilitatory effect. When a retinal excitatory postsynaptic potential arrived with a longer delay (210-400 ms), the effect of the cortical excitatory postsynaptic potential was to decrease the number of retinally evoked action potentials. These facilitatory and depressant effects of the cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials were dependent on the presence of their metabotropic glutamate receptor, and were enhanced by increasing the strength of this glutamate receptor component. Axial resistivity and distal dendritic A-type current had little qualitative effect on these modulatory actions of the cortical excitatory postsynaptic potential. Cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials were more effective than retinal excitatory postsynaptic potentials in perturbing the phase of the delta oscillation, indicating that they are ideally suited to entraining this form of rhythmic activity. Again, this effect was closely dependent on the presence of metabotropic glutamate receptor but was largely independent of synapse distribution. These results indicate that the distribution of activated synapses and the presence of metabotropic glutamate receptor are crucial factors in determining the effect of cortical feedback excitation on thalamocortical neurons. Moreover, the distinct postsynaptic receptor composition of cortical inputs renders them ideally suited to synchronising low-frequency oscillatory activity in thalamocortical neurons.

Cerebral Cortex↗

Adaptive coincidence detection and dynamic gain control in visual cortical neurons in vivo.

Several theories have proposed a functional role for response synchronization in sensory perception. Critics of these theories have argued that selective synchronization is physiologically implausible when cortical networks operate at high levels of activity. Using intracellular recordings from visual cortex in vivo, in combination with numerical simulations, we find dynamic changes in spike threshold that reduce cellular sensitivity to slow depolarizations and concurrently increase the relative sensitivity to rapid depolarizations. Consistent with this, we find that spike activity and high-frequency fluctuations in membrane potential are closely correlated and that both are more tightly tuned for stimulus orientation than the mean membrane potential. These findings suggest that under high-input conditions the spike-generating mechanism adaptively enhances the sensitivity to synchronous inputs while simultaneously decreasing the sensitivity to temporally uncorrelated inputs.

Action Potentials↗