scholarly journals Attention attracts action in healthy participants: An insight into optic ataxia?

Cortex ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 137 ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
Anna Aguilar Ros ◽  
Alexandra G. Mitchell ◽  
Yu Wa Ng ◽  
Robert D. McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Optic Ataxia ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
Insight Into

scholarly journals Accumulation of Cerebrospinal Fluid Glycerophospholipids and Sphingolipids in Cognitively Healthy Participants With Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Precedes Lipolysis in the Dementia Stage

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred N. Fonteh ◽  
Abby J. Chiang ◽  
Xianghong Arakaki ◽  
Sarah P. Edminster ◽  
Michael G Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Membrane Lipids ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Significant Risk Factor ◽  
Dietary Lipids ◽  
Supernatant Fraction ◽  
Brain Membrane ◽  
Prodromal Ad ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
Insight Into

Insight into lipids’ roles in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathophysiology is limited because brain membrane lipids have not been characterized in cognitively healthy (CH) individuals. Since age is a significant risk factor of AD, we hypothesize that aging renders the amyloid precursor protein (APP) more susceptible to abnormal processing because of deteriorating membrane lipids. To reflect brain membranes, we studied their lipid components in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain-derived CSF nanoparticle membranes. Based on CSF Aβ42/Tau levels established biomarkers of AD, we define a subset of CH participants with normal Aβ42/Tau (CH-NAT) and another group with abnormal or pathological Aβ42/Tau (CH-PAT). We report that glycerophospholipids are differentially metabolized in the CSF supernatant fluid and nanoparticle membrane fractions from CH-NAT, CH-PAT, and AD participants. Phosphatidylcholine molecular species from the supernatant fraction of CH-PAT were higher than in the CH-NAT and AD participants. Sphingomyelin levels in the supernatant fraction were lower in the CH-PAT and AD than in the CH-NAT group. The decrease in sphingomyelin corresponded with an increase in ceramide and dihydroceramide and an increase in the ceramide to sphingomyelin ratio in AD. In contrast to the supernatant fraction, sphingomyelin is higher in the nanoparticle fraction from the CH-PAT group, accompanied by lower ceramide and dihydroceramide and a decrease in the ratio of ceramide to sphingomyelin in CH-PAT compared with CH-NAT. On investigating the mechanism for the lipid changes in AD, we observed that phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity was higher in the AD group than the CH groups. Paradoxically, acid and neutral sphingomyelinase (SMase) activities were lower in AD compared to the CH groups. Considering external influences on lipids, the clinical groups did not differ in their fasting blood lipids or dietary lipids, consistent with the CSF lipid changes originating from brain pathophysiology. The lipid accumulation in a prodromal AD biomarker positive stage identifies perturbation of lipid metabolism and disturbances in APP/Amyloid beta (Aβ) as early events in AD pathophysiology. Our results identify increased lipid turnover in CH participants with AD biomarkers, switching to a predominantly lipolytic state in dementia. This knowledge may be useful for targeting and testing new AD treatments.

scholarly journals Evidence for distinct brain networks in the control of rule-based motor behavior

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 1298-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua A. Granek ◽  
Lauren E. Sergio
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Hand Movement ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Strategic Control ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Optic Ataxia ◽  
Performance Deficits ◽  
Healthy Participants

Reach guidance when the spatial location of the viewed target and hand movement are incongruent (i.e., decoupled) necessitates use of explicit cognitive rules (strategic control) or implicit recalibration of gaze and limb position (sensorimotor recalibration). In a patient with optic ataxia (OA) and bilateral superior parietal lobule damage, we recently demonstrated an increased reliance on strategic control when the patient performed a decoupled reach (Granek JA, Pisella L, Stemberger J, Vighetto A, Rossetti Y, Sergio LE. PLoS One 8: e86138, 2013). To more generally understand the fundamental mechanisms of decoupled visuomotor control and to more specifically test whether we could distinguish these two modes of movement control, we tested healthy participants in a cognitively demanding dual task. Participants continuously counted backward while simultaneously reaching toward horizontal (left or right) or diagonal (equivalent to top-left or top-right) targets with either veridical or rotated (90°) cursor feedback. By increasing the overall neural load and selectively compromising potentially overlapping neural circuits responsible for strategic control, the complex dual task served as a noninvasive means to disrupt the integration of a cognitive rule into a motor action. Complementary to our previous results observed in patients with optic ataxia, here our dual task led to greater performance deficits during movements that required an explicit rule, implying a selective disruption of strategic control in decoupled reaching. Our results suggest that distinct neural processing is required to control these different types of reaching because in considering the current results and previous patient results together, the two classes of movement could be differentiated depending on the type of interference.

scholarly journals OLDER ADULT PET OWNERSHIP HISTORY, MARITAL STATUS, AND HEALTH OUTCOMES: THE WISCONSIN LONGITUDINAL STUDY (WLS)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S200-S201
Author(s):  
Alisha Hackney ◽  
Erika Friedmann
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Marital Status ◽  
Mixed Models ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Pet Ownership ◽  
Dog Ownership ◽  
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract We explore the association of PO and marital status to changes in health during aging. This secondary analysis uses 1992, 2004, and 2011 data from healthy participants (N=2,319) in the WLS. Health outcomes (symptoms, illnesses, days in bed due to illness, depression, and cognition) and demographic/ health variables (age, marital status, sex, smoking, BMI, engagement with friends/relatives). PO (ever owned a pet/dog/cat) was assessed in 2011. In linear mixed models, PO, dog ownership, and cat ownership (CO) independently predicted changes in health outcomes. Marital status moderated the association of CO to changes in cognition[F(1,012.85)=4.09,p=0.043]. Both marriage and CO were associated with increased cognition from ages 53 to 64; being unmarried without CO was associated with reduced cognition during aging with the lowest cognition by age 70. Results provide insight into how PO and social support influence healthy aging. Longitudinal PO and health/social data are necessary to better understand these relationships.

scholarly journals High-resolution 7T fMRI of Human Hippocampal Subfields during Associative Learning

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1194-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanthia A. Suthana ◽  
Markus Donix ◽  
David R. Wozny ◽  
Adam Bazih ◽  
Michael Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Hippocampal Subfields ◽  
Cornu Ammonis ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
Novel Associations ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
7T Fmri ◽  
Individual Human

Examining the function of individual human hippocampal subfields remains challenging because of their small sizes and convoluted structures. Previous human fMRI studies at 3 T have successfully detected differences in activation between hippocampal cornu ammonis (CA) field CA1, combined CA2, CA3, and dentate gyrus (DG) region (CA23DG), and the subiculum during associative memory tasks. In this study, we investigated hippocampal subfield activity in healthy participants using an associative memory paradigm during high-resolution fMRI scanning at 7 T. We were able to localize fMRI activity to anterior CA2 and CA3 during learning and to the posterior CA2 field, the CA1, and the posterior subiculum during retrieval of novel associations. These results provide insight into more specific human hippocampal subfield functions underlying learning and memory and a unique opportunity for future investigations of hippocampal subfield function in healthy individuals as well as those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.

Calibration problems in hydrogen luminosities

1966 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 322-330
Author(s):  
A. Beer
Keyword(s):  
Galactic Structure ◽  
B Stars ◽  
Insight Into

The investigations which I should like to summarize in this paper concern recent photo-electric luminosity determinations of O and B stars. Their final aim has been the derivation of new stellar distances, and some insight into certain patterns of galactic structure.

Stochasting modeling of planetary ring systems

1984 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 461-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Hart
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Entropy ◽  
Ring System ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Ultimate State ◽  
Interparticle Interactions ◽  
Ring Systems ◽  
First Order ◽  
Planetary Ring ◽  
Insight Into

ABSTRACTThis paper models maximum entropy configurations of idealized gravitational ring systems. Such configurations are of interest because systems generally evolve toward an ultimate state of maximum randomness. For simplicity, attention is confined to ultimate states for which interparticle interactions are no longer of first order importance. The planets, in their orbits about the sun, are one example of such a ring system. The extent to which the present approximation yields insight into ring systems such as Saturn's is explored briefly.

Skeletal elements of crinoid echinoderms: High-resolution structural and microanalytical results

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 194-195
Author(s):  
D. F. Blake ◽  
L. F. Allard ◽  
D. R. Peacor
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Sea Stars ◽  
High Resolution Tem ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

Echinodermata is a phylum of marine invertebrates which has been extant since Cambrian time (c.a. 500 m.y. before the present). Modern examples of echinoderms include sea urchins, sea stars, and sea lilies (crinoids). The endoskeletons of echinoderms are composed of plates or ossicles (Fig. 1) which are with few exceptions, porous, single crystals of high-magnesian calcite. Despite their single crystal nature, fracture surfaces do not exhibit the near-perfect {10.4} cleavage characteristic of inorganic calcite. This paradoxical mix of biogenic and inorganic features has prompted much recent work on echinoderm skeletal crystallography. Furthermore, fossil echinoderm hard parts comprise a volumetrically significant portion of some marine limestones sequences. The ultrastructural and microchemical characterization of modern skeletal material should lend insight into: 1). The nature of the biogenic processes involved, for example, the relationship of Mg heterogeneity to morphological and structural features in modern echinoderm material, and 2). The nature of the diagenetic changes undergone by their ancient, fossilized counterparts. In this study, high resolution TEM (HRTEM), high voltage TEM (HVTEM), and STEM microanalysis are used to characterize tha ultrastructural and microchemical composition of skeletal elements of the modern crinoid Neocrinus blakei.

Structure and function of neural networks in the retina

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 26-27
Author(s):  
Peter Sterling
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Synaptic Connections ◽  
Visual Axis ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Cat Retina ◽  
Ultrathin Sections ◽  
And Function ◽  
Insight Into

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.

Radiation Damage Studies with the HVEM

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 680-681
Author(s):  
J. J. Laidler ◽  
B. Mastel
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Stainless Steels ◽  
Volume Expansion ◽  
Austenitic Stainless Steels ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Fast Breeder Reactors ◽  
Breeder Reactors ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
Development Laboratory ◽  
Insight Into

One of the major materials problems encountered in the development of fast breeder reactors for commercial power generation is the phenomenon of swelling in core structural components and fuel cladding. This volume expansion, which is due to the retention of lattice vacancies by agglomeration into large polyhedral clusters (voids), may amount to ten percent or greater at goal fluences in some austenitic stainless steels. From a design standpoint, this is an undesirable situation, and it is necessary to obtain experimental confirmation that such excessive volume expansion will not occur in materials selected for core applications in the Fast Flux Test Facility, the prototypic LMFBR now under construction at the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL). The HEDL JEM-1000 1 MeV electron microscope is being used to provide an insight into trends of radiation damage accumulation in stainless steels, since it is possible to produce atom displacements at an accelerated rate with 1 MeV electrons, while the specimen is under continuous observation.

Failure Analysis With the Scanning Electron Microscope

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 482-483
Author(s):  
John R. Devaney
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscope ◽  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Failure Analysis ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Military Applications ◽  
Small Structure ◽  
Useful Life ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Scanning Electron

Occasionally in history, an event may occur which has a profound influence on a technology. Such an event occurred when the scanning electron microscope became commercially available to industry in the mid 60's. Semiconductors were being increasingly used in high-reliability space and military applications both because of their small volume but, also, because of their inherent reliability. However, they did fail, both early in life and sometimes in middle or old age. Why they failed and how to prevent failure or prolong “useful life” was a worry which resulted in a blossoming of sophisticated failure analysis laboratories across the country. By 1966, the ability to build small structure integrated circuits was forging well ahead of techniques available to dissect and analyze these same failures. The arrival of the scanning electron microscope gave these analysts a new insight into failure mechanisms.

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