Optical imaging and spectroscopy for the study of the human brain: status report

This report is the second part of a comprehensive two-part series aimed at reviewing an extensive and diverse toolkit of novel methods to explore brain health and function. While the first report focused on neurophotonic tools mostly applicable to animal studies, here, we highlight optical spectroscopy and imaging methods relevant to noninvasive human brain studies. We outline current state-of-the-art technologies and software advances, explore the most recent impact of these technologies on neuroscience and clinical applications, identify the areas where innovation is needed, and provide an outlook for the future directions

Optical imaging and spectroscopy for the study of the human brain: status report.

This report is the second part of a comprehensive two-part series aimed at reviewing an extensive and diverse toolkit of novel methods to explore brain health and function. While the first report focused on neurophotonic tools mostly applicable to animal studies, here, we highlight optical spectroscopy and imaging methods relevant to noninvasive human brain studies. We outline current state-of-the-art technologies and software advances, explore the most recent impact of these technologies on neuroscience and clinical applications, identify the areas where innovation is needed, and provide an outlook for the future directions

Brain oscillations and connectivity in autism spectrum disorders (ASD):new approaches to methodology, measurement and modelling

Although atypical social behaviour remains a key characterisation of ASD, the presence ofsensory and perceptual abnormalities has been given a more central role in recentclassification changes. An understanding of the origins of such aberrations could thus prove afruitful focus for ASD research. Early neurocognitive models of ASD suggested that thestudy of high frequency activity in the brain as a measure of cortical connectivity mightprovide the key to understanding the neural correlates of sensory and perceptual deviations inASD. As our review shows, the findings from subsequent research have been inconsistent,with a lack of agreement about the nature of any high frequency disturbances in ASD brains.Based on the application of new techniques using more sophisticated measures of brainsynchronisation, direction of information flow, and invoking the coupling between high andlow frequency bands, we propose a framework which could reconcile apparently conflictingfindings in this area and would be consistent both with emerging neurocognitive models ofautism and with the heterogeneity of the condition

The past, present, and future of the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS)

The Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) is a community-driven standard for the organization of data and metadata from a growing range of neuroscience modalities. This paper is meant as a history of how the standard has developed and grown over time. We outline the principles behind the project, the mechanisms by which it has been extended, and some of the challenges being addressed as it evolves. We also discuss the lessons learned through the project, with the aim of enabling researchers in other domains to learn from the success of BIDS

25th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting: CNS-2016

Abstracts of the 25th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting: CNS-2016 Seogwipo City, Jeju-do, South Korea. 2–7 July 201

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Insulin Like Growth Factor 2 Expression in the Rat Brain Both in Basal Condition and following Learning Predominantly Derives from the Maternal Allele

Insulin like growth factor 2 (Igf2) is known as a maternally imprinted gene involved in growth and development. Recently, Igf2 was found to also be regulated and required in the adult rat hippocampus for long-term memory formation, raising the question of its allelic regulation in adult brain regions following experience and in cognitive processes. We show that, in adult rats, Igf2 is abundantly expressed in brain regions involved in cognitive functions, like hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, compared to the peripheral tissues. In contrast to its maternal imprinting in peripheral tissues, Igf2 is mainly expressed from the maternal allele in these brain regions. The training-dependent increase in Igf2 expression derives proportionally from both parental alleles, and, hence, is mostly maternal. Thus, Igf2 parental expression in the adult rat brain does not follow the imprinting rules found in peripheral tissues, suggesting differential expression regulation and functions of imprinted genes in the brain

Design and performance of a wide-bandwidth and sensitive instrument for near-infrared spectroscopic measurements on human tissue

The article describes an instrument designed to perform in vivo near-infrared spectroscopic measurements on human tissues. The system integrates five continuous-wave laser diode sources emitting in the near-infrared spectral region and a low-noise detection system based on an avalanche photodiode. The optical probe is based on a compact, reliable, and low-cost fiber based system with four quantitative measuring points. The excellent sensitivity of the instrument allows one to perform quantitative assessments of the hemoglobin concentration exploiting precise absorption measurements close to the absorption peak of the water: 975 nm. Moreover, a good signal to noise ratio is obtained also at a high acquisition rate, allowing us to follow rapid changes in oxidative metabolism. The system bandwidth is selectable within the range 2.3-27 Hz, i.e., 20 channels (five chromatic and four spatial channels) can be acquired 27 times for each measuring second, whereas the system amplification can be set to measure optical density ranging from 3.5 to 8.5. A prototype version of the instrument has been realized and characterized