scholarly journals Comparison of Multiscale Imaging Methods for Brain Research

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1377
Author(s):  
Jessica Tröger ◽  
Christian Hoischen ◽  
Birgit Perner ◽  
Shamci Monajembashi ◽  
Aurélien Barbotin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Optics ◽  
Brain Research ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Synaptic Proteins ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Basic Set ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Quantitative Manner ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

A major challenge in neuroscience is how to study structural alterations in the brain. Even small changes in synaptic composition could have severe outcomes for body functions. Many neuropathological diseases are attributable to disorganization of particular synaptic proteins. Yet, to detect and comprehensively describe and evaluate such often rather subtle deviations from the normal physiological status in a detailed and quantitative manner is very challenging. Here, we have compared side-by-side several commercially available light microscopes for their suitability in visualizing synaptic components in larger parts of the brain at low resolution, at extended resolution as well as at super-resolution. Microscopic technologies included stereo, widefield, deconvolution, confocal, and super-resolution set-ups. We also analyzed the impact of adaptive optics, a motorized objective correction collar and CUDA graphics card technology on imaging quality and acquisition speed. Our observations evaluate a basic set of techniques, which allow for multi-color brain imaging from centimeter to nanometer scales. The comparative multi-modal strategy we established can be used as a guide for researchers to select the most appropriate light microscopy method in addressing specific questions in brain research, and we also give insights into recent developments such as optical aberration corrections.

Investigation of Stress Wave Propagation in Brain Tissues Through the Use of Finite Element Method

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biaobiao Zhang ◽  
W. Steve Shepard ◽  
Candace L. Floyd
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Wave Propagation ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Stress Wave ◽  
Brain Research ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Stress Wave Propagation ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Because axons serve as the conduit for signal transmission within the brain, research related to axon damage during brain injury has received much attention in recent years. Although myelinated axons appear as a uniform white matter, the complex structure of axons has not been thoroughly considered in the study of fundamental structural injury mechanisms. Most axons are surrounded by an insulating sheath of myelin. Furthermore, hollow tube-like microtubules provide a form of structural support as well as a means for transport within the axon. In this work, the effects of microtubule and its surrounding protein mediums inside the axon structure are considered in order to obtain a better understanding of wave propagation within the axon in an attempt to make progress in this area of brain injury modeling. By examining axial wave propagation using a simplified finite element model to represent microtubule and its surrounding proteins assembly, the impact caused by stress wave loads within the brain axon structure can be better understood. Through conducting a transient analysis as the wave propagates, some important characteristics relative to brain tissue injuries are studied.

scholarly journals Advances in Fibre Microendoscopy for Neuronal Imaging

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Peter Mekhail ◽  
Gordon Arbuthnott ◽  
Síle Nic Chormaic
Keyword(s):  
Free Path ◽  
Brain Research ◽  
Mean Free Path ◽  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Neuronal Imaging ◽  
Functional Dyes ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Functional Areas ◽  
The Brain

AbstractTraditionally, models for neural dynamics in the brain have been formed through research conducted on slices, with electrodes, or by lesions to functional areas. Recent developments in functional dyes and optogenetics has made brain research more accessible through the use of light. However, this improved accessibility does not necessarily apply to deep regions of the brain which are surrounded by scattering tissue. In this article we give an overview of some of the latest methods in development for neural measurement and imaging.We specifically address methods designed to overcome the problem of imaging invivo for regions far beyond the mean free path of photons in brain tissue. These methodswould permit previously restricted neural research.

scholarly journals Adaptive optics imaging of inherited retinal diseases

2017 ◽  
Vol 102 (8) ◽  
pp. 1028-1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michalis Georgiou ◽  
Angelos Kalitzeos ◽  
Emily J Patterson ◽  
Alfredo Dubra ◽  
Joseph Carroll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Optics ◽  
Clinical Trial Design ◽  
Retinal Diseases ◽  
Participant Selection ◽  
Natural History Studies ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Treatment Safety ◽  
Monitoring Treatment ◽  
The Impact

Adaptive optics (AO) ophthalmoscopy allows for non-invasive retinal phenotyping on a microscopic scale, thereby helping to improve our understanding of retinal diseases. An increasing number of natural history studies and ongoing/planned interventional clinical trials exploit AO ophthalmoscopy both for participant selection, stratification and monitoring treatment safety and efficacy. In this review, we briefly discuss the evolution of AO ophthalmoscopy, recent developments and its application to a broad range of inherited retinal diseases, including Stargardt disease, retinitis pigmentosa and achromatopsia. Finally, we describe the impact of this in vivo microscopic imaging on our understanding of disease pathogenesis, clinical trial design and outcome metrics, while recognising the limitation of the small cohorts reported to date.

Some Principles of Brain Research for Challenging Gifted Learners

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Clark
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Brain Research ◽  
Early Experience ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Gifted Learners ◽  
Genetic Potential ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Stimulation Of

Evidence from the neurosciences indicates that the potential of brain development is essentially unlimited for most individuals. Children are not born gifted, but with a limitless potential based on the existence of over a hundred billion brain cells. They become gifted only with appropriate stimulation of their vast, unique genetic potential. Intelligence and the growth of the brain have been found to be dynamic with high levels of intelligence actualized only when appropriate challenge is provided. Stimulation, actions, sensations, and memories are constantly shaping both the function and the anatomy of the brain. The static, genetically inherited, immutable view of intelligence can no longer be justified. Also, because of this research the definition of intelligence and its nurture can no longer be restricted to the linear, rational cognitive function, but must include the integration of all of the functions of the brain; the cognitive (both linear and spatial), the emotional-social, the physical, and the intuitive. Parents and educators can now become better informed regarding how the brain develops, the impact of early experience on the brain, and how they might make learning and teaching more effective and efficient. Understanding the implications from brain research allows a clearer understanding of giftedness and its development. The challenge now becomes to provide experiences that can optimize learning and maximize each child's potential. In this article principles of teaching and learning supported by the brain research are discussed so that this potential may be actualized and the challenge of gifted development can be met.

Theory and Method and the Stakes of a Fragmented Discipline: Or, What Economics Taught Me About the Study of Religion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Religious Studies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Study

Abstract As a discipline, the academic study of religion is strikingly fragmented, with little engagement or shared criteria of excellence across subfields. Although important recent developments have expanded the traditions and peoples studied as well as the methods used, the current extent of fragmentation limits the impact of this diversification and pluralization. At a moment when the global pandemic is catalyzing profound pressures on our universities and disciplines, this fragmentation makes it difficult to articulate to the public, to non-religious studies colleagues, and to students why the study of religion matters. We therefore too often fall back on platitudes. I argue for a revitalized methods and theories conversation that connects us even as it bears our arguments and disagreements about what we do and how. Courses in methods and theories in the study of religion represent the most viable basis we have for bringing the academic study of religion into the common conversation or argument that constitutes a discipline without sacrificing our pluralism.

scholarly journals Miniaturization and Automation of a Human In Vitro Blood–Brain Barrier Model for the High-Throughput Screening of Compounds in the Early Stage of Drug Discovery

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 892
Author(s):  
Elisa L. J. Moya ◽  
Elodie Vandenhaute ◽  
Eleonora Rizzi ◽  
Marie-Christine Boucau ◽  
Johan Hachani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Blood Brain Barrier ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Molecular Transport ◽  
Brain Barrier ◽  
Blood Brain ◽  
Cns Drugs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Central nervous system (CNS) diseases are one of the top causes of death worldwide. As there is a difficulty of drug penetration into the brain due to the blood–brain barrier (BBB), many CNS drugs treatments fail in clinical trials. Hence, there is a need to develop effective CNS drugs following strategies for delivery to the brain by better selecting them as early as possible during the drug discovery process. The use of in vitro BBB models has proved useful to evaluate the impact of drugs/compounds toxicity, BBB permeation rates and molecular transport mechanisms within the brain cells in academic research and early-stage drug discovery. However, these studies that require biological material (animal brain or human cells) are time-consuming and involve costly amounts of materials and plastic wastes due to the format of the models. Hence, to adapt to the high yields needed in early-stage drug discoveries for compound screenings, a patented well-established human in vitro BBB model was miniaturized and automated into a 96-well format. This replicate met all the BBB model reliability criteria to get predictive results, allowing a significant reduction in biological materials, waste and a higher screening capacity for being extensively used during early-stage drug discovery studies.

scholarly journals A Reference Framework to Combine Model-Based Design and AR to Improve Social Sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2031
Author(s):  
Fabio Grandi ◽  
Riccardo Karim Khamaisi ◽  
Margherita Peruzzini ◽  
Roberto Raffaeli ◽  
Marcello Pellicciari
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Digital Models ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Digital Contents ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Virtual Simulations ◽  
Product And Process ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Time Information

Product and process digitalization is pervading numerous areas in the industry to improve quality and reduce costs. In particular, digital models enable virtual simulations to predict product and process performances, as well as to generate digital contents to improve the general workflow. Digital models can also contain additional contents (e.g., model-based design (MBD)) to provide online and on-time information about process operations and management, as well as to support operator activities. The recent developments in augmented reality (AR) offer new specific interfaces to promote the great diffusion of digital contents into industrial processes, thanks to flexible and robust applications, as well as cost-effective devices. However, the impact of AR applications on sustainability is still poorly explored in research. In this direction, this paper proposed an innovative approach to exploit MBD and introduce AR interfaces in the industry to support human intensive processes. Indeed, in those processes, the human contribution is still crucial to guaranteeing the expected product quality (e.g., quality inspection). The paper also analyzed how this new concept can benefit sustainability and define a set of metrics to assess the positive impact on sustainability, focusing on social aspects.

scholarly journals The Impact of Bone on the Biology of Aging

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 740-740
Author(s):  
Gerard Karsenty
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Function ◽  
Male Fertility ◽  
Leydig Cells ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Systematic Exploration ◽  
Biology Of Aging ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Regulate Energy Metabolism

Abstract We hypothesized that bone may secrete hormones that regulate energy metabolism and reproduction. Testing this hypothesis revealed that the osteoblast-specific secreted protein osteocalcin is a hormone regulating glucose homeostasis and male fertility by signaling through a GPCR, Gprc6a, expressed in pancreatic β bells and Leydig cells of the testes. The systematic exploration of osteocalcin biology, revealed that it regulates an unexpectedly large spectrum of physiological functions in the brain and peripheral organs and that it has most features of an antigeromic molecule. As will be presented at the meeting, this body of work suggests that harnessing osteocalcin for therapeutic purposes may be beneficial in the treatment of age-related diseases such as depression, age-related memory loss and the decline in muscle function seen in sarcopenia.

scholarly journals Crosstalk between Existential Phenomenological Psychotherapy and Neurological Sciences in Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
Lehel Balogh ◽  
Masaru Tanaka ◽  
Nóra Török ◽  
László Vécsei ◽  
Shigeru Taguchi
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Biological Treatment ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Neurological Damage ◽  
Mood And Anxiety Disorders ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Psychotherapy is a comprehensive biological treatment modifying complex underlying cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and regulatory responses in the brain, leading patients with mental illness to a new interpretation of the sense of self and others. Psychotherapy is an art of science integrated with psychology and/or philosophy. Neurological sciences study the neurological basis of cognition, memory, and behavior as well as the impact of neurological damage and disease on these functions, and their treatment. Both psychotherapy and neurological sciences deal with the brain; nevertheless, they continue to stay polarized. Existential phenomenological psychotherapy (EPP) has been in the forefront of meaning-centered counseling for almost a century. The phenomenological approach in psychotherapy originated in the works of Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss, and Viktor Frankl, and it has been committed to accounting for the existential possibilities and limitations of one’s life. EPP provides philosophically rich interpretations and empowers counseling techniques to assist mentally suffering individuals by finding meaning and purpose to life. The approach has proven to be effective in treating mood and anxiety disorders. This narrative review article demonstrates the development of EPP, the therapeutic methodology, evidence-based accounts of its curative techniques, current understanding of mood and anxiety disorders in neurological sciences, and a possible converging path to translate and integrate meaning-centered psychotherapy and neuroscience, concluding that the EPP may potentially play a synergistic role with the currently prevailing medication-based approaches for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.

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