The Simulation Framework, also known as the Embodied Cognition Framework, maintains that conceptual knowledge is grounded in sensorimotor systems. To test several predictions that this theory makes ...about the neural substrates of verb meanings, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan subjects’ brains while they made semantic judgments involving five classes of verbs—specifically, Running verbs (e.g.,
run,
jog,
walk), Speaking verbs (e.g.,
shout,
mumble,
whisper), Hitting verbs (e.g.,
hit,
poke,
jab), Cutting verbs (e.g.,
cut,
slice,
hack), and Change of State verbs (e.g.,
shatter,
smash,
crack). These classes were selected because they vary with respect to the presence or absence of five distinct semantic components—specifically, ACTION, MOTION, CONTACT, CHANGE OF STATE, and TOOL USE. Based on the Simulation Framework, we hypothesized that the ACTION component depends on the primary motor and premotor cortices, that the MOTION component depends on the posterolateral temporal cortex, that the CONTACT component depends on the intraparietal sulcus and inferior parietal lobule, that the CHANGE OF STATE component depends on the ventral temporal cortex, and that the TOOL USE component depends on a distributed network of temporal, parietal, and frontal regions. Virtually all of the predictions were confirmed. Taken together, these findings support the Simulation Framework and extend our understanding of the neuroanatomical distribution of different aspects of verb meaning.
The often-overlooked dorsal diencephalic conduction system (DDCS) is a highly conserved pathway linking the basal forebrain and the monoaminergic brainstem. It consists of three key structures; the ...stria medullaris, the habenula and the fasciculus retroflexus. The first component of the DDCS, the stria medullaris, is a discrete bilateral tract composed of fibers from the basal forebrain that terminate in the triangular eminence of the stalk of the pineal gland, known as the habenula. The habenula acts as a relay hub where incoming signals from the stria medullaris are processed and subsequently relayed to the midbrain and hindbrain monoaminergic nuclei through the fasciculus retroflexus. As a result of its wide-ranging connections, the DDCS has recently been implicated in a wide range of behaviors related to reward processing, aversion and motivation. As such, an understanding of the structure and connections of the DDCS may help illuminate the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, addiction and pain. This is the first review of all three components of the DDCS, the stria medullaris, the habenula and the fasciculus retroflexus, with particular focus on their anatomy, function and development.
There is a growing awareness that emotion, motivation, and reward values are important determinants of our behavior. The habenula is uniquely positioned both anatomically and functionally to ...participate in the circuit mediating some forms of emotive decision making. In the last few years there has been a surge of interest in this structure, especially the lateral habenula (LHb). The new studies suggest that the LHb plays a pivotal role in controlling motor and cognitive behaviors by influencing the activity of dopamine and serotonin neurons. Further, dysfunctions of the LHb have also been implicated in psychiatric disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, and drug-induced psychosis.
Photonic structures in biology Vukusic, Pete; Sambles, J. Roy
Nature (London),
08/2003, Letnik:
424, Številka:
6950
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Millions of years before we began to manipulate the flow of light using synthetic structures, biological systems were using nanometre-scale architectures to produce striking optical effects. An ...astonishing variety of natural photonic structures exists: a species of Brittlestar uses photonic elements composed of calcite to collect light, Morpho butterflies use multiple layers of cuticle and air to produce their striking blue colour and some insects use arrays of elements, known as nipple arrays, to reduce reflectivity in their compound eyes. Natural photonic structures are providing inspiration for technological applications.
The relation between brain function and behavior on the one hand and the relation between structural changes and behavior on the other as well as the link between the 2 aspects are core issues in ...cognitive neuroscience. It is an open question, however, whether brain function or brain structure is the better predictor for age-specific cognitive performance. Here, in a comprehensive set of analyses, we investigated the direct relation between hemodynamic activity in 2 pairs of frontal and temporal cortical areas, 2 long-distance white matter fiber tracts connecting each pair and sentence comprehension performance of 4 age groups, including 3 groups of children between 3 and 10 years as well as young adults. We show that the increasing accuracy of processing complex sentences throughout development is correlated with the blood-oxygen-level-dependent activation of 2 core language processing regions in Broca's area and the posterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus. Moreover, both accuracy and speed of processing are correlated with the maturational status of the arcuate fasciculus, that is, the dorsal white matter fiber bundle connecting these 2 regions. The present data provide compelling evidence for the view that brain function and white matter structure together best predict developing cognitive performance.
Computed tomography (CT) imaging and sound experimental measurements were used to reconstruct the acoustic properties (density, velocity, and impedance) of the forehead tissues of a deceased pygmy ...sperm whale (Kogia breviceps). The forehead was segmented along the body axis and sectioned into cross section slices, which were further cut into sample pieces for measurements. Hounsfield units (HUs) of the corresponding measured pieces were obtained from CT scans, and regression analyses were conducted to investigate the linear relationships between the tissues' HUs and velocity, and HUs and density. The distributions of the acoustic properties of the head at axial, coronal, and sagittal cross sections were reconstructed, revealing that the nasal passage system was asymmetric and the cornucopia-shaped spermaceti organ was in the right nasal passage, surrounded by tissues and airsacs. A distinct dense theca was discovered in the posterior-dorsal area of the melon, which was characterized by low velocity in the inner core and high velocity in the outer region. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in density, velocity, and acoustic impedance between all four structures, melon, spermaceti organ, muscle, and connective tissue (p < 0.001). The obtained acoustic properties of the forehead tissues provide important information for understanding the species' bioacoustic characteristics.
Shoot branching is a complex mechanism in which secondary shoots grow from buds that are initiated from meristems established in leaf axils. The model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) has a ...rosette leaf growth pattern in the vegetative stage. After flowering initiation, the main stem elongates with the top leaf primordia developing into cauline leaves. Meristems in Arabidopsis initiate in the axils of rosette or cauline leaves, giving rise to rosette or cauline buds, respectively. Plasticity in the process of shoot branching is regulated by resource and nutrient availability as well as by plant hormones. However, few studies have attempted to test whether cauline and rosette branching are subject to the same plasticity. Here, we addressed this question by phenotyping cauline and rosette branching in three Arabidopsis ecotypes and several Arabidopsis mutants with varied shoot architectures. Our results showed no negative correlation between cauline and rosette branch numbers in Arabidopsis, demonstrating that there is no tradeoff between cauline and rosette bud outgrowth. Through investigation of the altered branching pattern of flowering pathway mutants and Arabidopsis ecotypes grown in various photoperiods and light regimes, we further elucidated that the number of cauline branches is closely related to flowering time. The number of rosette branches has an enormous plasticity compared with cauline branches and is influenced by genetic background, flowering time, light intensity, and temperature. Our data reveal different levels of plasticity in the regulation of branching at rosette and cauline nodes, and promote a framework for future branching analyses.
• Background Molecular phylogeny has resolved the liverworts as the earliest-divergent clade of land plants and mosses as the sister group to hornworts plus tracheophytes, with alternative topologies ...resolving the hornworts as sister to mosses plus tracheophytes less well supported. The tracheophytes plus fossil plants putatively lacking lignified vascular tissue form the polysporangiophyte clade. • Scope This paper reviews phylogenetic, developmental, anatomical, genetic and paleontological data with the aim of reconstructing the succession of events that shaped major land plant lineages. • Conclusions Fundamental land plant characters primarily evolved in the bryophyte grade, and hence the key to a better understanding of the early evolution of land plants is in bryophytes. The last common ancestor of land plants was probably a leafless axial gametophyte bearing simple unisporangiate sporophytes. Water-conducting tissue, if present, was restricted to the gametophyte and presumably consisted of perforate cells similar to those in the early-divergent bryophytes Haplomitrium and Takakia. Stomata were a sporophyte innovation with the possible ancestral functions of producing a transpiration-driven flow of water and solutes from the parental gametophyte and facilitating spore separation before release. Stomata in mosses, hornworts and polysporangiophytes are viewed as homologous, and hence these three lineages are collectively referred to as the ' stomatophytes'. An indeterminate sporophyte body (the sporophyte shoot) developing from an apical meristem was the key innovation in polysporangiophytes. Poikilohydry is the ancestral condition in land plants; homoiohydry evolved in the sporophyte of polysporangiophytes. Fungal symbiotic associations ancestral to modern arbuscular mycorrhizas evolved in the gametophytic generation before the separation of major present-living lineages. Hydroids are imperforate water-conducting cells specific to advanced mosses. Xylem vascular cells in polysporangiophytes arose either from perforate cells or de novo. Food-conducting cells were a very early innovation in land plant evolution. The inferences presented here await testing by molecular genetics.
The cytoarchitectonic similarities of different neocortical regions have given rise to the idea of 'canonical' connectivity between excitatory neurons of different layers within a column. It is ...unclear whether similarly general organizational principles also exist for inhibitory neocortical circuits. Here we delineate and compare local inhibitory-to-excitatory wiring patterns in all principal layers of primary motor (M1), somatosensory (S1) and visual (V1) cortex, using genetically targeted photostimulation in a mouse knock-in line that conditionally expresses channelrhodopsin-2 in GABAergic neurons. Inhibitory inputs to excitatory neurons derived largely from the same cortical layer within a three-column diameter. However, subsets of pyramidal cells in layers 2/3 and 5B received extensive translaminar inhibition. These neurons were prominent in V1, where they might correspond to complex cells, less numerous in barrel cortex and absent in M1. Although inhibitory connection patterns were stereotypical, the abundance of individual motifs varied between regions and cells, potentially reflecting functional specializations.
PDF
