scholarly journals How context alters value: Price information recruits the brain’s valuation and affective regulation system for shaping experienced taste pleasantness

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liane Schmidt ◽  
Vasilisa Skvortsova ◽  
Claus Kullen ◽  
Bernd Weber ◽  
Hilke Plassmann
Keyword(s):  
Brain Regions ◽  
Taste Quality ◽  
Regulation System ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Placebo Analgesia ◽  
Multilevel Mediation ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Informational Cues ◽  
Anterior Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
The Brain

SUMMARYInformational cues such as the price of a wine can trigger expectations about its taste quality and thereby modulate the sensory experience on a reported and neural level. Yet it is unclear how the brain translates such expectations into sensory pleasantness. We used multilevel mediation analysis of neural and behavioral data obtained in participants who tasted identical wines cued with different prices. We found that the brain's valuation system (BVS) in concert with the anterior prefrontal cortex explained the effect of price cues on taste pleasantness ratings. The sensitivity of the BVS to rewards outside the taste domain moderated the strength of these effects. Moreover, brain mediators of price cue effects overlapped with brain regions previously found to be involved in placebo analgesia. These findings provide novel evidence for the fundamental role that neural pathways linked to motivation and affective regulation play for the effect of informational cues on sensory experiences.

scholarly journals Bilateral recruitment of prefrontal cortex in working memory is associated with task demand but not with age

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (5) ◽  
pp. E830-E839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie S. Höller-Wallscheid ◽  
Peter Thier ◽  
Jörn K. Pomper ◽  
Axel Lindner
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Capacity Limits ◽  
Anterior Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
General Coping ◽  
The Brain

Elderly adults may master challenging cognitive demands by additionally recruiting the cross-hemispheric counterparts of otherwise unilaterally engaged brain regions, a strategy that seems to be at odds with the notion of lateralized functions in cerebral cortex. We wondered whether bilateral activation might be a general coping strategy that is independent of age, task content and brain region. While using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we pushed young and old subjects to their working memory (WM) capacity limits in verbal, spatial, and object domains. Then, we compared the fMRI signal reflecting WM maintenance between hemispheric counterparts of various task-relevant cerebral regions that are known to exhibit lateralization. Whereas language-related areas kept their lateralized activation pattern independent of age in difficult tasks, we observed bilaterality in dorsolateral and anterior prefrontal cortex across WM domains and age groups. In summary, the additional recruitment of cross-hemispheric counterparts seems to be an age-independent domain-general strategy to master cognitive challenges. This phenomenon is largely confined to prefrontal cortex, which is arguably less specialized and more flexible than other parts of the brain.

scholarly journals 60 YEARS OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY: Redefining neuroendocrinology: stress, sex and cognitive and emotional regulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 226 (2) ◽  
pp. T67-T83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce S McEwen ◽  
Jason D Gray ◽  
Carla Nasca
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Hormone Receptors ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Steroid Hormone Receptors ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Central Organ ◽  
The Brain

The discovery of steroid hormone receptors in brain regions that mediate every aspect of brain function has broadened the definition of ‘neuroendocrinology’ to include the reciprocal communication between the brain and the body via hormonal and neural pathways. The brain is the central organ of stress and adaptation to stress because it perceives and determines what is threatening, as well as the behavioral and physiological responses to the stressor. The adult and developing brain possess remarkable structural and functional plasticity in response to stress, including neuronal replacement, dendritic remodeling, and synapse turnover. Stress causes an imbalance of neural circuitry subserving cognition, decision-making, anxiety and mood that can alter expression of those behaviors and behavioral states. This imbalance, in turn, affects systemic physiology via neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune and metabolic mediators. In the short term, as for increased fearful vigilance and anxiety in a threatening environment, these changes may be adaptive. But, if the danger passes and the behavioral state persists along with the changes in neural circuitry, such maladaptation may need intervention with a combination of pharmacological and behavioral therapies, as is the case for chronic anxiety and depression. There are important sex differences in the brain responses to stressors that are in urgent need of further exploration. Moreover, adverse early-life experience, interacting with alleles of certain genes, produce lasting effects on brain and body over the life-course via epigenetic mechanisms. While prevention is most important, the plasticity of the brain gives hope for therapies that take into consideration brain–body interactions.

scholarly journals Olfactory Learning in Drosophila

Physiology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 338-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Germain U. Busto ◽  
Isaac Cervantes-Sandoval ◽  
Ronald L. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Dopaminergic Neurons ◽  
Mushroom Body ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Olfactory Learning ◽  
Mushroom Bodies ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Olfactory Information ◽  
Appetitive Stimuli ◽  
The Brain

Studies of olfactory learning in Drosophila have provided key insights into the brain mechanisms underlying learning and memory. One type of olfactory learning, olfactory classical conditioning, consists of learning the contingency between an odor with an aversive or appetitive stimulus. This conditioning requires the activity of molecules that can integrate the two types of sensory information, the odorant as the conditioned stimulus and the aversive or appetitive stimulus as the unconditioned stimulus, in brain regions where the neural pathways for the two stimuli intersect. Compelling data indicate that a particular form of adenylyl cyclase functions as a molecular integrator of the sensory information in the mushroom body neurons. The neuronal pathway carrying the olfactory information from the antennal lobes to the mushroom body is well described. Accumulating data now show that some dopaminergic neurons provide information about aversive stimuli and octopaminergic neurons about appetitive stimuli to the mushroom body neurons. Inhibitory inputs from the GABAergic system appear to gate olfactory information to the mushroom bodies and thus control the ability to learn about odors. Emerging data obtained by functional imaging procedures indicate that distinct memory traces form in different brain regions and correlate with different phases of memory. The results from these and other experiments also indicate that cross talk between mushroom bodies and several other brain regions is critical for memory formation.

Neurophysiological assessment of animal welfare

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 2370 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Tilbrook ◽  
C. R. Ralph
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Pork Industry ◽  
Conscious Animal ◽  
Neurophysiological Assessment ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Brain

Livestock industries such as the pork industry are striving to continuously improve the welfare of animals. Inherent to the success of this is the ability to rigorously assess the welfare of animals in the field. While much progress has been made towards the development of methodology to assess the welfare of animals, there have been major challenges to establishing practical and definitive procedures to assess the welfare of animals. These include, but are not limited to, establishing a universally accepted definition of animal welfare and the choice of measures that are taken from the animal to assess its welfare. Measures of biological functioning and affective (emotional) state of the animal have been common, but there have been many limitations in terms of practical application. Some of the reasons for this include the choice of physiological measures, which are often restrictive in providing information about welfare, affective measures being restricted to specific behavioural measures and the biological-functioning and affective-states approaches being undertaken in isolation. Biological and affective functioning are integrated and controlled by the brain. Many of the regions of the brain involved in the regulation of biological and emotional functioning have been identified. Furthermore, there is considerable knowledge about the roles and interactions among the neurophysiological systems in these brain regions. We propose a strategy to use this knowledge to develop procedures to assess animal welfare. The initial phase is to identify the neural pathways that regulate the physiological and emotional processes that allow animals to adapt and cope. The next phase is to determine the activity of these pathways in conscious animals in the field. This requires the identification of biomarkers of specific neuronal activity that can be measured in the conscious animal in the field. Emerging technologies are offering promise in the identification of such biomarkers and some of these are already applicable to the pig. There is now the opportunity to apply this strategy within the pork industry to assess the welfare of pigs throughout the value chain.

scholarly journals Nasal oxytocin for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and pain: achieving meaningful brain concentrations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Yeomans ◽  
Leah R. Hanson ◽  
Dean S. Carson ◽  
Brendan J. Tunstall ◽  
Mary R. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Intranasal Delivery ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Gamma Counting ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThere is evidence of the therapeutic potential of intranasal oxytocin for the treatment of pain and various psychiatric disorders, however, there is scant evidence that oxytocin reaches the brain. We quantified the concentration and distribution pattern of [125I]-radiolabeled oxytocin in the brains and peripheral tissues of rats after intranasal delivery using gamma counting and autoradiography, respectively. Radiolabel was detected in high concentrations in the trigeminal and olfactory nerves as well as in brain regions along their trajectories. Considerable concentrations were observed in the blood, however, relatively low levels of radiolabel were measured in peripheral tissues. The addition of a mucoadhesive did not enhance brain concentrations. These results provide support for intranasal OT reaching the brain via the olfactory and trigeminal neural pathways. These findings will inform the design and interpretation of clinical studies with intranasal oxytocin.

Management of Glioblastoma Multiforme by Phytochemicals: Applications of Nanoparticle Based Targeted Drug Delivery System

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayed Md Mumtaz ◽  
Gautam Bhardwaj ◽  
Shikha Goswami ◽  
Rajiv Kumar Tonk ◽  
Ramesh K. Goyal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Delivery ◽  
Glioblastoma Multiforme ◽  
Drug Delivery System ◽  
Delivery System ◽  
Genetic Disorder ◽  
Drug Regimen ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Radio Therapy ◽  
Novel Drug ◽  
The Brain

: The Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM; grade IV astrocytoma) exhort tumor of star-shaped glial cell in the brain. It is a fast-growing tumor that spreads to nearby brain regions specifically to cerebral hemispheres in frontal and temporal lobes. The etiology of GBM is unknown, but major risk factors are genetic disorder like neurofibromatosis and schwanomatosis which develop the tumor in the nervous system. The management of GBM with chemo-radio therapy leads to resistance and current drug regimen like Temozolomide (TMZ) is less efficacious. The reasons behind failure of drugs are due to DNA alkylation in cell cycle by enzyme DNA guanidase and mitochondrial dysfunction. Naturally occurring bio-active compounds from plants known as phytochemicals, serve as vital sources for anti-cancer drugs. Some typical examples include taxol analogs, vinca alkaloids such as vincristine, vinblastine, podophyllotoxin analogs, camptothecin, curcumin, aloe emodin, quercetin, berberine e.t.c. These phytochemicals often act via regulating molecular pathways which are implicated in growth and progression of cancers. However the challenges posed by the presence of BBB/BBTB to restrict passage of these phytochemicals, culminates in their low bioavailability and relative toxicity. In this review we integrated nanotech as novel drug delivery system to deliver phytochemicals from traditional medicine to the specific site within the brain for the management of GBM.

Neuro-Clinical Signatures of Language Impairments: A Theoretical Framework for Function-to-structure Mapping in Clinics

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 800-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferath Kherif ◽  
Sandrine Muller
Keyword(s):  
Brain Mapping ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Language Impairments ◽  
Structure Mapping ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Language Recovery ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Bow Tie

In the past decades, neuroscientists and clinicians have collected a considerable amount of data and drastically increased our knowledge about the mapping of language in the brain. The emerging picture from the accumulated knowledge is that there are complex and combinatorial relationships between language functions and anatomical brain regions. Understanding the underlying principles of this complex mapping is of paramount importance for the identification of the brain signature of language and Neuro-Clinical signatures that explain language impairments and predict language recovery after stroke. We review recent attempts to addresses this question of language-brain mapping. We introduce the different concepts of mapping (from diffeomorphic one-to-one mapping to many-to-many mapping). We build those different forms of mapping to derive a theoretical framework where the current principles of brain architectures including redundancy, degeneracy, pluri-potentiality and bow-tie network are described.

Current Strategies and Novel Drug Approaches for Alzheimer Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 676-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roma Ghai ◽  
Kandasamy Nagarajan ◽  
Meenakshi Arora ◽  
Parul Grover ◽  
Nazakat Ali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cholinergic Neurons ◽  
Amyloid Plaque ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Personality Changes ◽  
Traditional Therapies ◽  
Novel Drug ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a chronic, devastating dysfunction of neurons in the brain leading to dementia. It mainly arises due to neuronal injury in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus area of the brain and is clinically manifested as a progressive mental failure, disordered cognitive functions, personality changes, reduced verbal fluency and impairment of speech. The pathology behind AD is the formation of intraneuronal fibrillary tangles, deposition of amyloid plaque and decline in choline acetyltransferase and loss of cholinergic neurons. Tragically, the disease cannot be cured, but its progression can be halted. Various cholinesterase inhibitors available in the market like Tacrine, Donepezil, Galantamine, Rivastigmine, etc. are being used to manage the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The paper’s objective is to throw light not only on the cellular/genetic basis of the disease, but also on the current trends and various strategies of treatment including the use of phytopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Enormous literature survey was conducted and published articles of PubMed, Scifinder, Google Scholar, Clinical Trials.org and Alzheimer Association reports were studied intensively to consolidate the information on the strategies available to combat Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, several strategies are being investigated for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Immunotherapies targeting amyloid-beta plaques, tau protein and neural pathways are undergoing clinical trials. Moreover, antisense oligonucleotide methodologies are being approached as therapies for its management. Phytopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals are also gaining attention in overcoming the symptoms related to AD. The present review article concludes that novel and traditional therapies simultaneously promise future hope for AD treatment.

scholarly journals Neuroinflammation and protein pathology in Parkinson’s disease dementia

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonina Kouli ◽  
Marta Camacho ◽  
Kieren Allinson ◽  
Caroline H. Williams-Gray
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
T Lymphocytes ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease Dementia ◽  
Activated Microglia ◽  
Cell Counts ◽  
The Brain

AbstractParkinson’s disease dementia is neuropathologically characterized by aggregates of α-synuclein (Lewy bodies) in limbic and neocortical areas of the brain with additional involvement of Alzheimer’s disease-type pathology. Whilst immune activation is well-described in Parkinson’s disease (PD), how it links to protein aggregation and its role in PD dementia has not been explored. We hypothesized that neuroinflammatory processes are a critical contributor to the pathology of PDD. To address this hypothesis, we examined 7 brain regions at postmortem from 17 PD patients with no dementia (PDND), 11 patients with PD dementia (PDD), and 14 age and sex-matched neurologically healthy controls. Digital quantification after immunohistochemical staining showed a significant increase in the severity of α-synuclein pathology in the hippocampus, entorhinal and occipitotemporal cortex of PDD compared to PDND cases. In contrast, there was no difference in either tau or amyloid-β pathology between the groups in any of the examined regions. Importantly, we found an increase in activated microglia in the amygdala of demented PD brains compared to controls which correlated significantly with the extent of α-synuclein pathology in this region. Significant infiltration of CD4+ T lymphocytes into the brain parenchyma was commonly observed in PDND and PDD cases compared to controls, in both the substantia nigra and the amygdala. Amongst PDND/PDD cases, CD4+ T cell counts in the amygdala correlated with activated microglia, α-synuclein and tau pathology. Upregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1β was also evident in the substantia nigra as well as the frontal cortex in PDND/PDD versus controls with a concomitant upregulation in Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in these regions, as well as the amygdala. The evidence presented in this study show an increased immune response in limbic and cortical brain regions, including increased microglial activation, infiltration of T lymphocytes, upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and TLR gene expression, which has not been previously reported in the postmortem PDD brain.

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