Effects of multiple congruent cues on concurrent sound segregation during passive and active listening: An event-related potential (ERP) study

In two experiments, we assessed the effects of combining different cues of concurrent sound segregation on the object-related negativity (ORN) and the P400 event-related potential components. Participants were presented with sequences of complex tones, half of which contained some manipulation: One or two harmonic partials were mistuned, delayed, or presented from a different location than the rest. In separate conditions, one, two, or three of these manipulations were combined. Participants watched a silent movie (passive listening) or reported after each tone whether they perceived one or two concurrent sounds (active listening). ORN was found in almost all conditions except for location difference alone during passive listening. Combining several cues or manipulating more than one partial consistently led to sub-additive effects on the ORN amplitude. These results support the view that ORN reflects an integrated, feature-unspecific assessment of the auditory system regarding the contribution of two sources to the incoming sound

Brown adipose tissue in obesity: Fractalkine-receptor dependent immune cell recruitment affects metabolic-related gene expression.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays essential role in metabolic- and thermoregulation and displays morphological and functional plasticity in response to environmental and metabolic challenges. BAT is a heterogeneous tissue containing adipocytes and various immune-related cells, however, their interaction in regulation of BAT function is not fully elucidated. Fractalkine is a chemokine synthesized by adipocytes, which recruits fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1)-expressing leukocytes into the adipose tissue. Using transgenic mice, in which the fractalkine receptor, Cx3cr1 gene was replaced by Gfp, we evaluated whether deficiency in fractalkine signaling affects BAT remodeling and function in high-fat-diet - induced obesity. Homo- and heterozygote male CX3CR1-GFP mice were fed with normal or fat enriched (FatED) diet for 10weeks. Interscapular BAT was collected for molecular biological analysis. Heterozygous animals in which fractalkine signaling remains intact, gain more weight during FatED than CX3CR1 deficient gfp/gfp homozygotes. FatED in controls resulted in macrophage recruitment to the BAT with increased expression of proinflammatory mediators (Il1a, b, Tnfa and Ccl2). Local BAT inflammation was accompanied by increased expression of lipogenic enzymes and resulted in BAT "whitening". By contrast, fractalkine receptor deficiency prevented accumulation of tissue macrophages, selectively attenuated the expression of Tnfa, Il1a and Ccl2, increased BAT expression of lipolytic enzymes (Atgl, Hsl and Mgtl) and upregulated genes involved thermo-metabolism (Ucp1, Pparg Pgc1a) in response to FatED. These results highlight the importance of fractalkine-CX3CR1 interaction in recruitment of macrophages into the BAT of obese mice which might contribute to local tissue inflammation, adipose tissue remodeling and regulation of metabolic-related genes

Xenoestrogens Ethinyl Estradiol and Zearalenone Cause Precocious Puberty in Female Rats via Central Kisspeptin Signaling

Xenoestrogens from synthetic or natural origin represent an increasing risk of disrupted endocrine functions including the physiological activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonad axis. Ethinyl estradiol (EE2) is a synthetic estrogen used in contraceptive pills, whereas zearalenone (ZEA) is a natural mycoestrogen found with increasing prevalence in various cereal crops. Both EE2 and ZEA are agonists of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and accelerate puberty. However, the neuroendocrine mechanisms that are responsible for this effect remain unknown. Immature female Wistar rats were treated with EE2 (10 mu g/kg), ZEA (10 mg/kg) or vehicle for 10 days starting from postnatal day 18. As a marker of puberty, vaginal opening was recorded and neuropeptide- and related transcription factor mRNA levels were measured by quantitative real time PCR and in situ hybridization histochemistry. Both ZEA and EE2 accelerated vaginal opening, increased uterine weight and the number of antral follicles in the ovary and resulted in increased central expression of gnrh. These changes occurred in parallel with an earlier increase of kiss1 mRNA in the anteroventral and rostral periventricular (AVPV/PeV) hypothalamus, and increased kisspeptin (KP) fiber density and KP-GnRH appositions in the preoptic area. These changes are compatible with a mechanism in which xenoestrogens overstimulate the developmentally unprepared reproductive system, which results in advanced vaginal opening and enlargement of the uterus at the periphery. Within the hypothalamus, ZEA and EE2 directly activate AVPV KP neurons to stimulate GnRH mRNA. However, GnRH and gonadotropin release and ovulation are disrupted due to xenoestrogen-mediated inhibitory KP signaling in the arcuate nucleus

The fractalkine/Cx3CR1 system is implicated in the development of metabolic visceral adipose tissue inflammation in obesity.

Diet-induced obesity and related peripheral and central inflammation are major risk factors for metabolic, neurological and psychiatric diseases. The chemokine fractalkine (Cx3CL1) and its receptor Cx3CR1 play a pivotal role in recruitment, infiltration and proinflammatory polarization of leukocytes and micoglial cells, however, the role of fractalkine signaling in the development of metabolic inflammation is not fully resolved. To address this issue, fractalkine receptor deficient (Cx3CR1 gfp/gfp) mice were exposed to normal or fat-enriched diet (FatED) for 10weeks and physiological-, metabolic- and immune parameters were compared to those animals in which the fractalkine signaling is maintained by the presence of one functioning allele (Cx3CR1 +/gfp). Mice with intact fractalkine signaling develop obesity characterized by increased epididymal white fat depots and mild glucose intolerance, recruit leukocytes into the visceral adipose tissue and display increased expression of subset of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines when exposed to fat-enriched diet. By contrast, Cx3CR1-deficient (gfp/gfp) mice gain significantly less weight on fat-enriched diet and have smaller amount of white adipose tissue (WAT) in the visceral compartment than heterozygote controls. Furthermore, Cx3CR1 gfp/gfp mice fed a fat-enriched diet do not develop glucose intolerance, recruit proportionally less number of gfp-positive cells and express significantly less MCP-1, IL-1alpha and TNFalpha in the WAT than control animals with fat-enriched diet induced obesity. Furthermore, heterozygote obese, but not fractalkine receptor deficient mice express high levels of anti-inflammatory IL-10 and arginase1 markers in the visceral fat. The effect of fat-enriched diet on cytokine expression pattern was specific for the WAT, as we did not detect significant elevation of interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and monocyte chemotacting protein (MCP-1) expression in the liver or in the hypothalamus in either genotype. These results highlight the importance of fractalkine signaling in recruitment and polarization of adipose tissue immune cells and identify fractalkine as a target to fight obesity-induced inflammatory complications

LADA type diabetes, celiac diasease, cerebellar ataxia and stiff person syndrome. A rare association of autoimmune disorders.

Celiac disease--in its typical form--is a chronic immune-mediated enteropathy with typical clinical symptoms that develops against gliadin content of cereal grains, and is often associated with other autoimmune diseases. In cases of atypical manifestation classic symptoms may be absent or mild, and extra-intestinal symptoms or associated syndromes dominate clinical picture. The authors present a longitudinal follow-up of such a case. A 63-years old woman was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 19, and with progressive limb ataxia at the age of 36, which was initially thought to be caused by cerebellar atrophy, later probably by stiff person syndrome. At the age 59, her diabetes mellitus manifested with type 2 diabetic phenotype, but based on GAD positivity later was reclassified as type 1 diabetes. Only the last check-up discovered the celiac disease, retrospectively explaining the entire disease course and neurological symptoms. By presenting this case, the authors would like to draw attention to the fact that one should think of the possibility of celiac disease when cerebellar ataxia, progressive neurological symptoms and diabetes are present at the same time. An early diagnosis may help to delay the progression of disease and help better treatment

Similar but separate systems underlie perceptual bistability in vision and audition

The dynamics of perceptual bistability, the phenomenon in which perception switches between different interpretations of an unchanging stimulus, are characterised by very similar properties across a wide range of qualitatively different paradigms. This suggests that perceptual switching may be triggered by some common source. However, it is also possible that perceptual switching may arise from a distributed system, whose components vary according to the specifics of the perceptual experiences involved. Here we used a visual and an auditory task to determine whether individuals show cross-modal commonalities in perceptual switching. We found that individual perceptual switching rates were significantly correlated across modalities. We then asked whether perceptual switching arises from some central (modality-) task-independent process or from a more distributed task-specific system. We found that a log-normal distribution best explained the distribution of perceptual phases in both modalities, suggestive of a combined set of independent processes causing perceptual switching. Modality- and/or task-dependent differences in these distributions, and lack of correlation with the modality-independent central factors tested (ego-resiliency, creativity, and executive function), also point towards perceptual switching arising from a distributed system of similar but independent processes

Szintaktikai sértések és a sértés nyelvtani elemei közötti távolság hatásának vizsgálata a magyar nyelvben = Effects of syntactic violations and the distance between the violated grammatical units in Hungarian

Háttér és célok A szövegek megértéséhez elengedhetetlen a nyelvtani szerkezet feldolgozása. Kísérletünkben a helytelen nyelvtani szerkezet (szintaktika) feldolgozása során megjelenő eseményhez kötött agyi potenciálokat (EAP) vizsgáltuk, mely általában két komponensben jelenik meg: a bal anterior negativitás (LAN) és a P600. A LAN-t a morfoszintaktikai szabálysértés váltja ki. A P600-at a nyelvtani szerkezeti újrafeldolgozásához kötik, azaz nyelvtanilag helytelen, bonyolult vagy többértelmű információ feldolgozásakor jelenik meg. A többet vizsgált nyelvekkel ellentétben a magyar nyelvben az alany-állítmány egyeztetés sértése mellett a tárgy-állítmány egyeztetés sértése is megvalósítható. Az alany-állítmány egyeztetési sértés mellett két olyan sértést hoztunk létre, melyek az alany és a tárgy reorganizációját vonják maguk után: a „-t” tárgyrag elhagyásával a tárgyról, illetve annak az alanyhoz toldásával. Kutatásunkban arra kerestük a választ, hogy az alany-tárgy reorganizációs sértések eseteiben is megjelennek-e a tipikus EAP-komponensek, illetve az alany-állítmány sértéshez hasonló mintázatot mutatnak-e. Emellett arra is választ szerettünk volna kapni, hogy az egyeztetést meghatározó szavak közötti távolság befolyásolja-e ezeket komponenseket. Módszer 20 egészséges felnőtt elektroenkefalográfiás vizsgálata során egy képernyőn szavanként jelentek meg a mondatok, melyeknek fele nyelvtanilag helyes, fele pedig helytelen volt. Háromféle sértést alkalmaztunk, és sértéseket meghatározó szavak közötti távolság 1–11 szó lehetett. Eredmények A három típusú sértés eltérő LAN-P600 mintázatot eredményezett, emellett a kétféle reorganizációs sértés sem mutatott egyforma EAP-mintázatot. Továbbá a nyelvtani elemzőrendszer érzékeny a sértést meghatározó két szó közötti távolságra. | Background and aims Syntax needs to be processed in order to understand a sentence. Here we studied the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited by syntactic violations: the left anterior negativity (LAN) and the P600. LAN signals the morphosyntactic violations. P600 is assumed to reflect structural reanalysis when encountering grammatically incorrect, complex, or ambiguous information. In contrast to more often studied languages, in Hungarian, in addition to subject-verb agreement it is also possible to violate objectverb agreement. We created two other types of violation that resulted in the reorganization of the subject and the object while reading the sentence: by either adding the „-t” suffix to the subject or by omitting it from the object. The experiment aimed at studying whether subject-verb and object-verb agreement violations elicit the LAN and P600 potentials, and the ERP patterns are similar in all three cases. We also studied whether the distance between the words that define the violation affect the ERP components. Methods The electroencephalogram was recorded from 20 healthy adults while they read sentences word-byword on a computer screen. Half of the sentences were grammatically correct, the other half incorrect. Three types of violations were used and the distance between the violation defining words spanned 1-11 words. Results and conclusions The different types of violations elicited different LAN-P600 pattern of responses, and the two types of reorganization violations elicited different patterns as well. Further, the grammar analysis system was sensitive to the distance variable

Oligomannan Prebiotic Attenuates Immunological, Clinical and Behavioral Symptoms in Mouse Model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

L