Our ability to shift from one emotion to the next allows us to adapt our behaviors to a constantly changing and often uncertain environment. Although previous studies have identified cortical and subcortical regions involved in affective responding, none have shown how these regions track and represent transitions between different emotional states, nor how such responses are modulated based on the recent emotional context. To study this, we commissioned new musical pieces designed to systematically move participants ( N  = 39, 20 males and 19 females) through different emotional states during fMRI and to manipulate the emotional context in which different participants heard a musical motif. Using a combination of data-driven (hidden Markov modeling) and hypothesis-driven methods, we confirmed that spatiotemporal patterns of activation along the temporoparietal axis reflect transitions between music-evoked emotions. We found that the spatial and temporal signatures of these neural response patterns, as wel...

Read science policy and advocacy news from the week of April 7, 2017.

Why we sleep remains one of science’s greatest unsolved mysteries. However, researchers are beginning to unravel and understand the intricate neurobiological mechanisms involved in the process of sleep.

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Lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) is associated with abnormal brain function, as evidenced by functional MRI (fMRI) studies. This study investigates the stability of brain network architectures in resting-state conditions following perturbation by erotic tasks in individuals with LPE. We assessed the resting-state fMRI in the task-free and task-modulated dataset in the 28 right-hand LPE and 17 age-matched normal controls (NCs). The dynamic functional connectome based on the phase-locking algorithm and ROI-wise gradient mapping was compared. The stability of dynamic functional gradient mapping was measure by linear mixed effects across the two datasets in the LPE and NCs. In both groups, the brain functional gradient exhibited a clear transition from unimodal to transmodal in the principal gradient. Additionally, there was a segregation of primary networks observed in the secondary gradient, either before or after the task. In LPE patients, we observed increased stability in the bilateral dorsal prefront...

Our ability to shift from one emotion to the next allows us to adapt our behaviors to a constantly changing and often uncertain environment. Although previous studies have identified cortical and subcortical regions involved in affective responding, none have shown how these regions track and represent transitions between different emotional states nor how such responses are modulated based on the recent emotional context. To study this, we commissioned new musical pieces designed to systematically move participants (N = 39, 20 males and 19 females) through different emotional states during fMRI and to manipulate the emotional context in which different participants heard a musical motif. Using a combination of data-driven (Hidden Markov modeling) and hypothesis-driven methods, we confirmed that spatiotemporal patterns of activation along the temporal-parietal axis reflect transitions between music-evoked emotions. We found that the spatial and temporal signatures of these neural response patterns, as well...

Virtual reality (VR) has gained popularity in recent years, integrating with conventional music stimulation (MS), action observation (AO), and motor imagination (MI). It offers promising opportunities for developing innovative rehabilitation treatments, though the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. This study aims to compare brain activation and network mechanisms following the fusion of MS, AO, and MI with VR. Fifty healthy participants were recruited and underwent functional near-infrared spectroscopy synchronization with three VR tasks: MS (VRMS), AO (VRAO), and MI (VRMI). The results indicate that VRMS significantly enhances functional connectivity of the bilateral primary sensory cortex (S1), premotor cortex, and supplementary motor area (PM&SMA) compared with VRAO and VRMI. Furthermore, the interaction among the bilateral PM&SMA, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right primary motor cortex (M1) regions is notably stronger with VRMS than with the other VR tasks. These findings...

Intellectual disability often results from neurodevelopmental disorders that begin in childhood and are characterised by impaired cognitive functioning and an intelligence quotient below 70. Although intellectual disability is caused by both environment...

Read science policy and advocacy news from the week of February 17, 2017.

Hippocampal synaptic activity is tightly regulated to ensure appropriate synaptic function and plasticity, which are important for critical cognitive processes such as learning and memory. Altered hippocampal synaptic function can lead to cognitive and behavioral deficits observed in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), necessitating a deeper fundamental understanding of hippocampal synaptic control mechanisms. Glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase 2 (GDE2 or GDPD5) is a surface transmembrane enzyme that cleaves the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor that tethers some proteins to the membrane. Mice lacking GDE2 ( Gde2 KO) display behavioral deficits in learning and memory that are hippocampal-dependent. However, roles of GDE2 in mouse hippocampal function are not known. Here, we show that GDE2 is expressed in pre- and postsynaptic compartments along apical dendrites in hippocampal CA1 cells. Gde2 KO CA1 cells showed increased dendritic length and complexity and increased numbers ...