Neuroscience
-
Interpretation of the neural findings of deception without considering the ecological validity of the experimental tasks could lead to biased conclusions. In this study we classified the experimental tasks according to their inclusion of three essential components required for ecological validity: intention to lie, social interaction and motivation. First, we carried out a systematic review to categorize fMRI deception tasks and to weigh the degree of ecological validity of each one. ⋯ Additionally, the right IFG appears to participate in the social aspect of lying including simulated and real interactions. We found no effect of monetary reward in our analysis. Finally, tasks with high ecological validity recruited fewer brain areas (right insular cortex and bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)) compared to less ecological tasks, perhaps because they are more natural and realistic, and engage a wide network of brain mechanisms, as opposed to specific tasks that demand more centralized processes.
-
Precision and accuracy are two fundamental properties of any system, including the nervous system. Reduced precision (i.e., imprecision) results from the presence of neural noise at each level of sensory, motor, and perceptual processing. This review has three objectives: (1) to show the importance of studying vestibular precision, and specifically that studying accuracy without studying precision ignores fundamental aspects of the vestibular system; (2) to synthesize key hypotheses about precision in vestibular perception, the vestibulo-ocular reflex, posture, and neurons; and (3) to show that groups of studies that are thoughts to be distinct (e.g., perceptual thresholds, subjective visual vertical variability, neuronal variability) are actually "two sides of the same coin" - because the methods used allow results to be related to the standard deviation of a Gaussian distribution describing the underlying neural noise. ⋯ Since a common concern with precision metrics is time required for testing, we describe approaches to optimize data collection and provide evidence that fatigue and session effects are minimal. Finally, we summarize how precision is an individual trait that is correlated with clinical outcomes in patients as well as with performance in functional tasks like balance. These findings highlight the importance of studying vestibular precision and accuracy, and that knowledge gaps remain.
-
Face recognition is one of the most important cognitive functions for humans in social activities. The ability will be negatively affected when the face images deteriorate. However, the neural process of extracting facial information under challenging conditions is still poorly understood. ⋯ For each subject, the behavioral performance and magnitudes of the HGP for the face-specific sites significantly both fit a sigmoid function and showed similar changes. Additionally, the curve profile of the average HGP magnitude across the face-specific sites was almost equal to the average behavior curve; the former could precisely track the behavioral performance. In general, these results suggest that the HGP in the FG is closely related to the performance of face image recognition.
-
Synucleinopathy disorders are characterized by aggregates of α-synuclein (α-syn), which engage microglia to elicit a neuroinflammatory response. Here, we determined the gene expression and DNA methylation changes in microglia induced by aggregate α-syn. Transgenic murine Thy-1 promoter (mThy1)-Asyn mice overexpressing human α-syn are a model of synucleinopathy. ⋯ Network analysis also showed increased cell mobility and inflammatory functions at 3 months, shifting to cell cycle, immune response, and metabolism changes at 13 months. We observed significant α-syn-induced methylation and gene expression changes in microglia. Our data suggest that α-syn overexpression initiates microglial activation leading to neuroinflammation and cellular metabolic stresses, which is associated with disease progression.
-
Inflammation plays a key role in the progression and maintenance of chronic pain, which impacts the lives of millions of Americans. Despite growing evidence that chronic pain can be improved by treating underlying inflammation, successful treatments are lacking and pharmaceutical interventions are limited due to drug side effects. Here we are testing whether a 'healthy human' diet (HHD), with or without anti-inflammatory components (HHAID), improves pain-like behaviors in a preclinical model of chronic widespread hypersensitivity induced by neonatal maternal separation (NMS). ⋯ In female mice, HHAID specifically increased measures of metabolic syndrome and inflammation compared to the HHD and control diet groups. Male mice were susceptible to worsening metabolic measures on both the HHAID and HHD. This work highlights important sexual dimorphic outcomes related to early life stress exposure and dietary interventions, as well as a potential disconnect between improvements in pain-like behaviors and metabolic measures.