Classification images reveal the information sensitivity of brain voxels in fMRI

Reverse correlation methods have been widely used in neuroscience for many years and have recently been applied to study the sensitivity of human brain signals (EEG, MEG) to complex visual stimuli. Here we employ one such method, Bubbles (Gosselin, F., Schyns, P.G., 2001. Bubbles: A technique to reveal the use of information in recognition tasks. Vis. Res. 41, 2261-2271), in conjunction with fMRI in the context of a 3AFC facial expression categorization task. We highlight the regions of the brain showing significant sensitivity with respect to the critical visual information required to perform the categorization judgments. Moreover, we reveal the actual subset of visual information which modulates BOLD sensitivity within each such brain region. Finally, we show the potential which lies within analyzing brain function in terms of the information states of different brain regions. Thus, we can now analyse human brain function in terms of the specific visual information different brain regions

Socioeconomic deprivation and cortical morphology: psychological, social, and biological determinants of ill health study

Objective Neighborhood-level socioeconomic deprivation has been associated with poor cognitive function pertaining to language and the executive control. Few studies have explored the cortical morphology of regions most commonly associated with these functions. The aim of this study was to examine the association between neighborhood-level deprivation and the morphology of cortical regions associated with language and executive control in adults.<p></p> Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, we compared the cortical morphology of 42 neurologically healthy adult men from the least deprived and most deprived neighborhoods of Glasgow. We performed surface-based morphometry on 3-T structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images to extract the cortical morphology—volume, thickness (CT), and surface area (SA) of regions commonly associated with language and executive control. Cortical morphology was compared between the two groups. We used mediation analysis to examine whether cardiometabolic risk factors mediated the relationship between deprivation status and cortical morphology.<p></p> Results Intracranial volume and mean total CT did not differ between groups. The deprived group had significantly smaller left posterior parietal cortex SA (Cohen d = 0.89) and fusiform cortex SA (Cohen d = 1.05). They also had thinner left Wernicke’s area (Cohen d =0.93) and its right homologue (Cohen d = 1.12). Among the cardiometabolic markers, a composite factor comprising inflammatory markers mediated the relationship between deprivation status and Wernicke’s area CT.<p></p> Conclusions A group of neurologically healthy men from deprived neighborhoods showed significantly smaller cortical morphology—both SA and CT—in regions of the brain pertaining to language and executive function. We provide additional evidence of a relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and cortical morphology.<p></p&gt

Socioeconomic status and the cerebellar grey matter volume. Data from a well-characterised population sample

The cerebellum is highly sensitive to adverse environmental factors throughout the life span. Socioeconomic deprivation has been associated with greater inflammatory and cardiometabolic risk, and poor neurocognitive function. Given the increasing awareness of the association between early-life adversities on cerebellar structure, we aimed to explore the relationship between early life (ESES) and current socioeconomic status (CSES) and cerebellar volume. T1-weighted MRI was used to create models of cerebellar grey matter volumes in 42 adult neurologically healthy males selected from the Psychological, Social and Biological Determinants of Ill Health study. The relationship between potential risk factors, including ESES, CSES and cerebellar grey matter volumes were examined using multiple regression techniques. We also examined if greater multisystem physiological risk index—derived from inflammatory and cardiometabolic risk markers—mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and cerebellar grey matter volume. Both ESES and CSES explained the greatest variance in cerebellar grey matter volume, with age and alcohol use as a covariate in the model. Low CSES explained additional significant variance to low ESES on grey matter decrease. The multisystem physiological risk index mediated the relationship between both early life and current SES and grey matter volume in cerebellum. In a randomly selected sample of neurologically healthy males, poorer socioeconomic status was associated with a smaller cerebellar volume. Early and current socioeconomic status and the multisystem physiological risk index also apparently influence cerebellar volume. These findings provide data on the relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and a brain region highly sensitive to environmental factors

Socio-economic status is associated with epigenetic differences in the pSoBid cohort

Background: Epigenetic programming and epigenetic mechanisms driven by environmental factors are thought to play an important role in human health and ageing. Global DNA methylation has been postulated as an epigenetic marker for epidemiological studies as it is reflective of changes in gene expression linked to disease. How epigenetic mechanisms are affected by psychological, sociological and biological determinants of health still remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between socio-economic and lifestyle factors and epigenetic status, as measured by global DNA methylation content, in the pSoBid cohort, which is characterized by an extreme socio-economic and health gradient. Methods:DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes using the Maxwell ® 16 System and Maxwell ®16 Blood DNA Purification kit (Promega, UK). Global DNA methylation was assessed using Methylamp ™ Global DNA Methylation Quantification Ultra kit (Epigentek, USA). Associations between global DNA methylation and socio-economic and lifestyle factors were investigated in linear regression models. Results: Global DNA hypomethylation was observed in the most socio-economically deprived subjects. Job status demonstrated a similar relationship, with manual workers having 24% lower DNA methylation content than non-manual. Additionally, associations were found between global DNA methylation content and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and inflammation, including fibrinogen and interleukin-6 (IL-6), after adjustment for socio-economic factors. Conclusions: This study has indicated an association between epigenetic status and socio-economic status (SES). This relationship has direct implications for population health and is reflected in further associations between global DNA methylation content and emerging biomarkers of CVD

Spatial and Temporal Operation of the Scotia Sea Ecosystem

Analysis of the operation of ocean ecosystems requires an understanding of how the structure of the ecosystem is determined by interactions between physical, chemical and biological processes. Such analysis needs to consider the interactions across a wide range of spatial (approx. 10 m–10,000 km) and temporal (minutes to centuries) scales and trophic levels (primary producers to top predators) (Angel, 1994; Murphy et al., 1988;Werner et al., 2003). There are, however, few areas of the global ocean where there is sufficient knowledge to achieve such an integrated analysis (deYoung et al., 2004). Circulation patterns of the major ocean gyres, such as the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, involve movement of water masses through very different climatic regimes which favour distinctly different groups of organisms (Longhurst, 1998). Generating comprehensive views of the operation of oceanic ecosystems is complicated as a result of such heterogeneity in species distribution and ecosystem structure (Levin, 1990; Longhurst, 1998; Murphy et al., 1988). In contrast to othe