Value Encoding in Single Neurons in the Human Amygdala during Decision Making

A growing consensus suggests that the brain makes simple choices by assigning values to the stimuli under consideration and then comparing these values to make a decision. However, the network involved in computing the values has not yet been fully characterized. Here, we investigated whether the human amygdala plays a role in the computation of stimulus values at the time of decision making. We recorded single neuron activity from the amygdala of awake patients while they made simple purchase decisions over food items. We found 16 amygdala neurons, located primarily in the basolateral nucleus that responded linearly to the values assigned to individual items

HIGH RESOLUTION INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF CH3F-(ortho-H2)n CLUSTER IN SOLID para-H2

The absorption spectrum of the $nu$$_{3}$ (C-F stretching) mode of chem{CH_3F} in solid {sl para}-chem{H_2} by FTIR showed a series of equal interval peaksfootnote{K. Yoshioka and D. T. Anderson, J. Chem. Phys. 119 (2003) 4731-4742}. Their interpretation was that the {sl n}-th peak of this series was due to chem{CH_3F}-({sl ortho}-chem{H_2})$_{{sl n}}$ clusters which were formed chem{CH_3F} and {sl n}�s {sl ortho}-chem{H_2} in first nearest neighbor sites of the {sl para}-chem{H_2} crystal with {sl hcp} structure. In order to understand this system in more detail, we have studied these peaks, especially {sl n} = 0 � 3 corresponding to 1037 - 1041 wn, by using high-resolution and high-sensitive infrared quantum cascade (QC) laser spectroscopy. Before now, we found many peaks around each {sl n}-th peak of the cluster, which we didn�t know their originsfootnote{A. R. W. McKellar, A. Mizoguchi, and H. Kanamori, J. Chem. Phys. 135 (2011) 124511}. We observed photochromic phenomenon of these peaks by taking an advantage of the high brightness of the laserfootnote{A. R. W. McKellar, A. Mizoguchi, and H. Kanamori, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13 (2011) 11587-11589}. In this study, we focus on satellite series consisting of six peaks which locate at the lower energy side of each main peak. All the peaks showed a common red shouldered line profile, which corresponds to partly resolved transitions of {sl ortho}- and {sl para}- chem{CH_3F}. The spectral pattern and time behavior of the peaks may suggest that these satellite series originate from a family of chem{CH_3F} clusters involving {sl ortho}-chem{H_2} in second nearest neighbor sites. A model function assuming this idea is used to resolve the observed spectrum into each Lorentzian component, and then some common features of the satellite peaks are extracted and the physical meanings of them will be discussed

Electrophysiological Responses in the Human Amygdala Discriminate Emotion Categories of Complex Visual Stimuli

The human amygdala has been shown to participate in processing emotionally salient stimuli related to threat, danger, and aversion, data that have come primarily from functional imaging and lesion studies. Recording intracranial field potentials from five amygdalas in four patients with chronically implanted depth electrodes, we analyzed responses in the gamma frequency range, a region of the power spectrum thought to reflect especially the contribution of neuronal activity to cognitive processes. Significant changes in the power amplitude of responses were obtained selectively to visual images judged to look aversive but not to those judged to look pleasant or neutral. Several possible confounds were addressed: all four patients had been carefully selected so that the amygdalas from which recordings were obtained were distal to epileptogenic foci, making it likely that we recorded from healthy tissue, and the observed responses could not be attributed to luminance or color differences between the stimuli. A further analysis of differences in power between the high and low gamma bands revealed an additional structure that discriminated those stimuli related to bodily injury from those related to disgust. Despite the increased power amplitude in the gamma range, there was no stimulus-locked phase coherence. The observed responses in the gamma frequency range may reflect the role of the amygdala in binding perceptual representations of the stimuli with memory, emotional response, and modulation of ongoing cognition, on the basis of the emotional significance of the stimuli

Conservative Therapy for Nonspecific Granuloma of the Larynx Using a Beclomethasone Dipropionate Inhaler

Nonspecific granuloma of the larynx is a benign tumor that usually occurs on the posterior glottis. Conventional treatment for this laryngeal lesion has consisted of surgical resection. However, this lesion has a strong tendency to recur postoperatively and may require multiple repeated operative procedures. Conservative treatment, consisting mainly of beclomethasone dipropionate inhalation therapy, was instituted in 20 cases with good results. We discussed the effect of beclomethasone dipropionate on this lesion as well as the etiology of this disease

Treatment of Large Liver Cyst Evaluated with CA19-9 in the Cystic Fluid

A middle-aged woman was admitted with a diagnosis of liver cysts. The patient was symptomatic and was treated by injecting absolute ethanol into the largest cyst every week, but the secretion from the cyst persisted. The patient was then treated by absolute ethanol injection every day with good results. CA 19-9 was measured in the cystic fluid. The secretion was related to CA 19-9 activity