Hasil untuk "Neurophysiology and neuropsychology"

Jun Zhuang, Lingxia Fei, Hua Li et al.

Within the spectrum of epileptic syndromes, insular epilepsy presents significant diagnostic complexity, making it a challenging entity in clinical practice. The insula, located deep within the lateral fissure, exhibits highly heterogeneous and non-specific ictal manifestations, frequently leading to misdiagnosis as other medical conditions. This study presents two cases of insular epilepsy with isolated facial pain as the sole clinical manifestation. Using stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG), we precisely localized the seizure onset zone (SOZ) to the posterior insular cortex in both patients. Based on SEEG data, we conducted comprehensive analysis of the ictal epileptogenic networks and performed relevant literature review. Our findings aim to enhance clinicians’ recognition of atypical presentations of insular epilepsy and provide novel clinical perspectives and diagnostic approaches for the differential diagnosis of refractory facial pain.

Wang H, Yang B, Zeng X et al.

HanYu Wang,1,&ast; BoWen Yang,2,&ast; XiaoYu Zeng,1,&ast; ShiPeng Zhang,1 Yanjie Jiang,3 Lu Wang,1 Chao Liao1,4 1Clinical Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Dongguan Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Dongguan, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurology, Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chao Liao, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 37 on the Street of Shi Er Bridge, City Chengdu, Province Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, Email lc_cdutcm@163.comBackground: Obesity is a significant risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The weight-adjusted-waist index (WWI) reflects weight-independent centripetal obesity. Our study aims to evaluate the relationship between WWI and OSA.Methods: The data used in the current cross-sectional investigation are from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which was carried out between 2017 and 2020. We utilized weighted multivariable-adjusted logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between WWI and the risk of OSA. In addition, we applied various analytical methods, including subgroup analysis, smoothing curve fitting, threshold effect analysis and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. To further explore the relationship, we conducted a MR study using genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics. We performed the main inverse variance weighting (IVW) method along with other supplementary MR methods. In addition, a meta-analysis was conducted to provide an overall evaluation.Results: WWI was positively related to OSA with the full adjustment [odds ratio (OR)=1.14, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.06– 1.23, P< 0.001]. After converting WWI to a categorical variable by quartiles (Q1-Q4), compared to Q1 the highest WWI quartile was linked to an obviously increased likelihood of OSA (OR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.06– 1.50. P=0.01). Subgroup analysis revealed the stability of the independent positive relationship between WWI and OSA. Smoothing curve fitting identified a saturation effect of WWI and OSA, with an inflection point of 11.62. In addition, WWI had the strongest prediction for OSA (AUC=0.745). Sensitivity analysis was performed to verify the significantly positive connection between WWI and stricter OSA (OR=1.18, 95% CI: 1.05– 1.32, P=0.005). MR meta-analysis further supported our results (OR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.94– 2.30, P< 0.001). Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness and reliability of these findings.Conclusion: WWI was significantly associated with the risk of OSA, suggesting that WWI could potentially serve as a predictor for OSA.Keywords: weight-adjusted waist circumference index, WWI, obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES, Mendelian randomization analysis, cross-sectional study

Mara De Rosa, Lorenzo Vignali, Anna D’Urso et al.

Johanna Heider, Aaron Stahl, Denise Sperlich et al.

Abstract Background Mutations in the gene DISC1 are associated with increased risk for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. The study of mutated DISC1 represents a well-known and comprehensively characterized approach to understand neuropsychiatric disease mechanisms. However, previous studies have mainly used animal models or rather heterogeneous populations of iPSC-derived neurons, generated by undirected differentiation, to study the effects of DISC1 disruption. Since major hypotheses to explain neurodevelopmental, psychiatric disorders rely on altered neuronal connectivity observed in patients, an ideal iPSC-based model requires accurate representation of the structure and complexity of neuronal circuitries. In this study, we made use of an isogenic cell line with a mutation in DISC1 to study neuronal synaptic phenotypes in a culture system comprising a defined ratio of NGN2 and ASCL1/DLX2 (AD2)-transduced neurons, enriched for glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons, respectively, to mimic properties of the cortical microcircuitry. Results In heterozygous DISC1 mutant neurons, we replicated the expected phenotypes including altered neural progenitor proliferation as well as neurite outgrowth, deregulated DISC1-associated signaling pathways, and reduced synaptic densities in cultures composed of glutamatergic neurons. Cultures comprising a defined ratio of NGN2 and AD2 neurons then revealed considerably increased GABAergic synapse densities, which have not been observed in any iPSC-derived model so far. Increased inhibitory synapse densities could be associated with an increased efficiency of GABAergic differentiation, which we observed in AD2-transduced cultures of mutant neurons. Additionally, we found increased neuronal activity in GABAergic neurons through calcium imaging while the activity pattern of glutamatergic neurons remained unchanged. Conclusions In conclusion, our results demonstrate phenotypic differences in a co-culture comprising a defined ratio of DISC1 mutant NGN2 and AD2 neurons, as compared to culture models comprising only one neuronal cell type. Altered synapse numbers and neuronal activity imply that DISC1 impacts the excitatory/inhibitory balance in NGN2/AD2 co-cultures, mainly through increased GABAergic input.

Richard Antonello, Alexander Huth

Karl van der Schyff, Karen Renaud, Juliet Puchert- Townes et al.

Social media platforms can deliver benefits for their users. They help people to stay in touch with each other and to have control over how they present themselves to their contacts on these platforms. In some cases, these benefits lead to excessive usage, which can diminish individual wellbeing, and compromise relationships with significant others. We surveyed 275 respondents to investigate the influence of and interactions between (1) self-presentation (specifically false self-presentation), (2) FoMO (fear of missing out), and (3) phubbing (ignoring someone by diverting attention to a mobile phone) in the context of excessive Instagram use. We found that phubbing mediates the relationship between false self-presentation and excessive Instagram use but did not find evidence that phubbing mediates the relationship between FoMO and excessive Instagram use. We also found a positive relationship between excessive Instagram use and educational level. We conclude with a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of the results.

Shawn Kile, William Au, Carol Parise et al.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to assess the five-year treatment effects of a short course of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods Fifty subjects 50 to 84 years of age with MCI due to AD were administered 0.4 g/kg 10% IVIG or 0.9% saline every two weeks x five doses in a randomized double-blinded design as part of a two-year study. Twenty-seven subjects completed an additional three-year extension study. MRI brain imaging, cognitive testing, and conversion to dementia were assessed annually. Participants were stratified into early MCI (E-MCI) and late MCI (L-MCI). The primary endpoint was brain atrophy measured as annualized percent change in ventricular volume (APCV) annually for five years. ANOVA was used to compare annualized percent change in ventricular volume from baseline between the groups adjusting for MCI status (E-MCI, L-MCI). Results Differences in brain atrophy between the groups, which were statistically significant after one year, were no longer significant after five years. IVIG-treated L-MCI subjects did demonstrate a delay in conversion to dementia of 21.4 weeks. Conclusion An eight-week course of IVIG totaling 2 g/kg in MCI is safe but is not sufficient to sustain an initial reduction in brain atrophy or a temporary delay in conversion to dementia at five years. Other dosing strategies of IVIG in the early stages of AD should be investigated to assess more sustainable disease-modifying effects. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01300728. Registered 23 February 2011.

Elham sadat Binandeh, Naser Seraj Khorami, Parviz Asgari et al.

Aim and Background: Dental anxiety is one of the important reasons for people to avoid dental care. The exacerbation of symptoms can be due to difficulty in cognitive emotion regulation; therefore, treatment is needed to improve cognitive emotion regulation and to reduce symptoms; Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based therapy on cognitive emotion regulation and severity of symptoms in Dental Anxiety Patients. Methods and Materials: A clinical trial study was performed on patients with dental anxiety. Thirty-two patients were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in 10 weekly sessions of 90 minutes for two and a half months under acceptance and commitment based on the Hayes model presented. The control group was on the waiting list. Dental Anxiety Questionnaire (DAI) and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire were used to evaluate the dependent variables and the questionnaire (SCL-90-R) and pulse oximeter were used as screening tools. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA using SPSS software. Findings: According to the results, the mean and standard deviation of dental anxiety in the pretest of the experimental group was 121.3 ± 10.5 which were upgraded to post-test and follow-up respectively 89.1 ± 7.8 and 87.9 ± 8.1 which was statistically significant (P<0.0001). Also the mean and standard deviation of positive cognitive adjustment in the pretest of the experimental group was 41.12 ± 5.40 which were upgraded to post-test and follow-up respectively 46.81 ± 5.75 and 47.37 ± 5.80 which was statistically significant (P<0.0001). Mean and standard deviation of negative cognitive adjustment in pretest of experimental group was 30.37 ± 3.51 which were upgraded to post-test and follow-up respectively 34.37 ± 4.22 and 35.31 ± 3.87 which was statistically significant (P<0.0001). In addition, the difference between dental anxiety scores, positive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and negative cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the three stages of pre-test, post-test and follow-up in the whole study sample and the difference scores of these variables in the three stages of the study were significant in the two groups (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Acceptance and commitment therapy is a promising intervention to improve cognitive emotion regulation and reduce the severity of symptoms of dental anxiety patients.

Shanshan Wang, Boyu Chen, Yalian Yu et al.

Due to heightened level of neuroplasticity, there is a sensitive period (2–4 years after birth) that exists for optimal central auditory development. Using diffusion tensor imaging combined with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analysis, this study directly investigates the structural connectivity alterations of the whole brain white matter (WM) and the functional reorganization of the auditory network in infants with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) during the early sensitive period. 46 bilateral profound SNHL infants prior to cochlear implantation (mean age, 17.59 months) and 33 healthy controls (mean age, 18.55 months) were included in the analysis. Compared with controls, SNHL infants showed widespread WM alterations, including bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, right corticospinal tract, posterior thalamic radiation and left uncinate fasciculus. Moreover, SNHL infants demonstrated increased rsFC between left/right primary auditory cortex seeds and right insula and superior temporal gyrus. In conclusion, this study suggests that SNHL in the early sensitive period is associated with diffuse WM alterations that mainly affect the auditory and language pathways. Furthermore, increased rsFC in areas mainly associated with auditory and language networks may potentially reflect reorganization and compensatory activation in response to auditory deprivation during the early sensitive period. Keywords: Sensorineural hearing loss, Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, Functional connectivity, Sensitive period, Diffusion tensor imaging

Ayatollah Fathi, Hosein Rostami, Samad Pishro et al.

- Aim and Background: Given the dangerous consequences that addiction to the internet has for adolescent individuals, the issue of internet addiction and its implications for the individual, family and social life of a teenager is important. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the role of internet addiction in social health of adolescents. Methods and Materials: This is a descriptive and survey-based study. For this purpose, among all secondary school students in Ahar city (3767), based on the Morgan table, a sample of 348 students in two boys (177) and girl (171) were randomly selected using random sampling method The relative class was chosen. Participants completed Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Social Health Questionnaire (SHQ). The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and standard regression. Findings: The mean (SD) of age participants was 16.3 (0.47), and the rate of social network use among the participants with a mean (SD) 3.38 (3.76). The mean (SD) of social flourishing 18.74(1.03) (r = -0.545), social correlation 13.74(0.78), (r = -0.129), social solidarity13.30 (1.52) (r = -0.417), social acceptance 22.47(1.95) (r = -0.378) and social participation 22.41(1.76) (r = -0.396) were internet addiction 41.16(7.92) was (p<0.05) and social health components could significantly predict addiction to the internet. Conclusion: The study showed that higher levels of internet addiction could be effective in reducing social health. Therefore, in order to reduce the problems and prevent the emergence of new birth defects, such as internet addiction, health promotion and other prevention methods should be prioritized.

Samuel N. Meisel, Whitney D. Fosco, Larry W. Hawk et al.

According to Dual Systems models (Casey et al., 2008; Luna and Wright, 2016; Steinberg, 2008), a rapidly-developing socioemotional system and gradually-developing cognitive control system characterize adolescent brain development. The imbalance hypothesis forwarded by Dual Systems models posits that the magnitude of the imbalance between these two developing systems should predict the propensity for engaging in a variety of risk behaviors. The current integrative review argues that the excitement generated by the imbalance hypothesis and its implications for explaining adolescent risk behaviors has not been meet with equal efforts to rigorously test this hypothesis. The goal of the current review is to help guide the field to consider appropriate and rigorous methods of testing the imbalance hypothesis. First, we review the analytic approaches that have been used to test the imbalance hypothesis and outline statistical and conceptual limitations of these approaches. Next, we discuss the utility of two longitudinal analytic approaches (Latent Difference Scores and Growth Mixture Modeling) for testing the imbalance hypothesis. We utilize data from a large community adolescent sample to illustrate each approach and argue that Latent Difference Scores and Growth Mixture Modeling approaches enhance the specificity and precision with which the imbalance hypothesis is evaluated. Keywords: Dual systems models, Imbalance hypothesis, Sensation seeking, Self-Regulation, Latent difference scores, Growth mixture modeling

Priscilla N. Gitimu, Molly M. Jameson, Tacibaht Turel et al.

The purpose of this study was to examine how various appearance issues and depression may relate to disordered eating among female college students. The appearance issues analyzed in this study were: level of body dissatisfaction, body mass index (BMI), social appearance anxiety (SAA), and social-cultural attitudes toward appearance. The questionnaire was distributed to volunteer students during regularly scheduled classes. Students, both study participants and non-participants, were furnished with information on where to get help if they had concerns about disordered eating behavior, appearance-related anxiety, or depression. Participants were 370 female undergraduate students enrolled at one Midwestern University in the United States. This study provided statistical evidence that college females at risk of acquiring an eating disorder had significantly larger differences between their current body shape and their ideal body shape, scored significantly higher in the sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, had more SAA, and depress ion compared to those less at risk of acquiring an eating disorder. However, the BMI of college females at risk of acquiring an eating disorder did not differ significantly from the BMI of college female students less at risk. This study contributes to a better understanding of disordered eating and how it relates to appearance issues, and depression.

Robert Heirene, Gareth Roderique-Davies, Pamela Roberts et al.

Neuropsychological assessment forms an essential part of the screening, diagnosis and general assessment of Alcohol-Related Brain Damage (ARBD). A number of studies have evaluated the applicability of various neuropsychological tests within the context of ARBD assessment, yet little attempt has been made to collate this evidence and discuss its clinical application. The aim of this protocol is to outline the methodology for a systematic review that aims to identify the neuropsychological tools being used to assess cognitive impairments in individuals with ARBD and evaluate their efficacy within this context. We will search a number of online databases and other sources to identify studies using a neuropsychological tool in the screening, diagnosis or neuropsychological assessment of individuals with ARBD. Primary outcome measures of interest will be construct validity, convergent validity, reliability (retest and inter-rater), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and practical considerations. Results from the review will assist clinicians and researchers involved in the assessment and diagnosis of ARBD by providing a synthesis and critical analysis of the evidence base for each tool, allowing them to make efficient and well-informed test selections. Review findings could also be used to inform the development of guidelines for ARBD diagnosis and assessment.

Johanna M. Jarcho, Adrienne L. Romer, Tomer Shechner et al.

Social anxiety disorder typically begins in adolescence, a sensitive period for brain development, when increased complexity and salience of peer relationships requires novel forms of social learning. Disordered social learning in adolescence may explain how brain dysfunction promotes social anxiety. Socially anxious adolescents (n = 15) and adults (n = 19) and non-anxious adolescents (n = 24) and adults (n = 32) predicted, then received, social feedback from high and low-value peers while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). A surprise recall task assessed memory biases for feedback. Neural correlates of social evaluation prediction errors (PEs) were assessed by comparing engagement to expected and unexpected positive and negative feedback. For socially anxious adolescents, but not adults or healthy participants of either age group, PEs elicited heightened striatal activity and negative fronto-striatal functional connectivity. This occurred selectively to unexpected positive feedback from high-value peers and corresponded with impaired memory for social feedback. While impaired memory also occurred in socially-anxious adults, this impairment was unrelated to brain-based PE activity. Thus, social anxiety in adolescence may relate to altered neural correlates of PEs that contribute to impaired learning about social feedback. Small samples necessitate replication. Nevertheless, results suggest that the relationship between learning and fronto-striatal function may attenuate as development progresses.

Nicholas W. Simon, Bita Moghaddam

Immaturities in adolescent reward processing are thought to contribute to poor decision making and increased susceptibility to develop addictive and psychiatric disorders. Very little is known; however, about how the adolescent brain processes reward. The current mechanistic theories of reward processing are derived from adult models. Here we review recent research focused on understanding of how the adolescent brain responds to rewards and reward-associated events. A critical aspect of this work is that age-related differences are evident in neuronal processing of reward-related events across multiple brain regions even when adolescent rats demonstrate behavior similar to adults. These include differences in reward processing between adolescent and adult rats in orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal striatum. Surprisingly, minimal age related differences are observed in ventral striatum, which has been a focal point of developmental studies. We go on to discuss the implications of these differences for behavioral traits affected in adolescence, such as impulsivity, risk-taking, and behavioral flexibility. Collectively, this work suggests that reward-evoked neural activity differs as a function of age and that regions such as the dorsal striatum that are not traditionally associated with affective processing in adults may be critical for reward processing and psychiatric vulnerability in adolescents.

Mishima K, DiBonaventura MD, Gross H

Kazuo Mishima,1 Marco daCosta DiBonaventura,2 Hillary Gross2 1Department of Psychophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan; 2Kantar Health, New York, NY, USA Objectives: Several studies have suggested that patients who experience insomnia report a number of significant impairments. However, despite this literature, fewer studies have focused on the burden of insomnia among patients in Japan. The objective of the current study is to extend this work in Japan to further understand the effect of insomnia on health-related quality of life (hrQOL). Further, another objective is to understand general predictors of hrQOL among patients with insomnia. Methods: Data from the 2012 Japan National Health and Wellness Survey, an annual, cross-sectional study of adults aged 18 years or older, were used (N=30,000). All National Health and Wellness Survey respondents were categorized based on the incidence of self-reported insomnia diagnosis and prescription medication usage (clinical insomniacs under treatment versus [vs] good sleepers without insomnia or insomnia symptoms). Comparisons among different groups were made using multiple regression models controlling for demographics and health history. Results: Clinical insomniacs (n=1,018; 3.4%) reported significantly worse hrQOL compared with good sleepers (n=20,542) (mental component summary: 34.2 vs 48.0; physical component summary: 48.0 vs 52.8; health utilities: 0.61 vs 0.76; all P&lt;0.05). Health behaviors (smoking, exercise, alcohol use) and comorbidities were the strongest predictors of health utilities for clinical insomniacs. For all three clinical insomniac subgroups of interest, those with a physical comorbidity but not a psychiatric one, those with a psychiatric comorbidity but not a physical one, and those without either a physical or psychiatric comorbidity, large decrements in health utilities were observed for respondents who did not engage in any positive health behaviors (0.61, 0.57, 0.64, respectively) relative to good sleepers (0.78). However, the gap in health utility scores between these subgroups and good sleepers diminishes with an increasing number of positive health behaviors (eg, clinical insomniacs with a physical comorbidity but not a psychiatric comorbidity performing all three positive health behaviors =0.67 vs good sleepers =0.78). Discussion: A significant burden remains for those with insomnia who are treated. Given the particularly low levels of hrQOL among treated insomnia patients who have poor health behavior profiles and have psychiatric comorbidities, physicians should place particular emphasis on these patients who are most in need of intervention. Improved treatments may help to address the unmet needs of these patient populations. Keywords: insomnia, quality of life, health behaviors

Bonnie J. Nagel

Tarnutzer Alexander A, Schuler Jeanine R, Bockisch Christopher J et al.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The subjective haptic vertical (SHV) task requires subjects to adjust the roll orientation of an object, mostly in the roll plane, in such a way that it is parallel to perceived direction of gravity. Previously we found a tendency for clockwise rod rotations to deviate counter-clockwise and vice versa, indicating hysteresis. However, the contributing factors remained unclear. To clarify this we characterized the SHV in terms of handedness, hand used, direction of hand rotation, type of grasping (wrap vs. precision grip) and gender, and compared findings with perceived straight-ahead (PSA). Healthy subjects repetitively performed adjustments along SHV (n = 21) and PSA (n = 10) in complete darkness.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For both SHV and PSA significant effects of the hand used and the direction of rod/plate rotation were found. The latter effect was similar for SHV and PSA, leading to significantly larger counter-clockwise shifts (relative to true earth-vertical and objective straight-ahead) for clockwise rotations compared to counter-clockwise rotations irrespective of the handedness and the type of grip. The effect of hand used, however, was opposite in the two tasks: while the SHV showed a counter-clockwise bias when the right hand was used and no bias for the left hand, in the PSA a counter-clockwise bias was obtained for the left hand without a bias for the right hand. No effects of grip and handedness (studied for SHV only) on accuracy were observed, however, SHV precision was significantly (p < 0.005) better in right-handed subjects compared to left-handed subjects and in male subjects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Unimanual haptic tasks require control for the hand used and the type of grip as these factors significantly affect task performance. Furthermore, aligning objects with the SHV and PSA resulted in systematic direction-dependent deviations that could not be attributed to handedness, the hand used, or the type of grip. These deviations are consistent with hysteresis and are likely not related to gravitational pull, as they were observed in both planes tested, i.e. parallel and perpendicular to gravity. Short-term adaptation that shifts attention towards previous adjustment positions may provide an explanation for such biases of spatial orientation in both the horizontal and frontal plane.</p>

Wen Yeong-Ray, Lin Shih-Chang, Chien Chih-Cheng et al.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuroplasticity induced by neonatal inflammation is the consequence of a combination of activity-dependent changes in neurons. We investigated neuronal sensitivity to a noxious stimulus in a rat model of neonatal hind-paw peripheral inflammation and assessed changes in pain behaviour at the physiological and molecular levels after peripheral reinflammation in adulthood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A decrease in paw withdrawal latency (PWL) after a heat stimulus was documented in rats that received inflammatory injections in their left hind paws on postnatal day one (P1) and a reinflammation stimulus at postnatal 6-8 weeks of age, compared with normal rats. An increase in the expression of the prodynorphin (<it>proDYN</it>) gene was noted after reinflammation in the spinal cord ipsilateral to the afferents of the neonatally treated hind paw. The involvement of the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) in peripheral inflammatory pain hypersensitivity was evidenced evident by the increase in phospho-ERK (pERK) activity after reinflammation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that peripheral inflammation in neonates can permanently alter the pain processing pathway during the subsequent sensory stimulation of the region. Elucidation of the mechanism underlying the developing pain circuitry will provide new insights into the understanding of the early pain behaviours and the subsequent adaptation to pain.</p>

Bles Mart, Jansma Bernadette M

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuroimaging studies of attention often focus on interactions between stimulus representations and top-down selection mechanisms in visual cortex. Less is known about the neural representation of distractor stimuli beyond visual areas, and the interactions between stimuli in linguistic processing areas. In the present study, participants viewed simultaneously presented line drawings at peripheral locations, while in the MRI scanner. The names of the objects depicted in these pictures were either phonologically related (i.e. shared the same consonant-vowel onset construction), or unrelated. Attention was directed either at the linguistic properties of one of these pictures, or at the fixation point (i.e. away from the pictures).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Phonological representations of unattended pictures could be detected in the posterior superior temporal gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the insula.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Under some circumstances, the name of ignored distractor pictures is retrieved by linguistic areas. This implies that selective attention to a specific location does not completely filter out the representations of distractor stimuli at early perceptual stages.</p>