Three-Dimensional Image Fusion of SPECT and CT Scans for Locating Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Malignant Melanomas

Image fusion software can derive a fusion image from single photon emission computed tomography and computed tomography scans. We applied a three-dimensional fusion image to detect sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in 3 patients with malignant melanomas of the lumbar, vulvar and head region, respectively. During each operation, we detected SLNs at the expected site, as indicated by the fusion images. The three-dimensional image fusion could thus be confirmed as a simple and helpful method for precisely localizing SLNs in these patients

Emotional arousal amplifies competitions across goal-relevant representation: a neurocomputational framework

Emotional arousal often facilitates memory for some aspects of an event while impairing memory for other aspects of the same event. Across three experiments, we found that emotional arousal amplifies competition among goal-relevant representations, such that arousal impairs memory for multiple goal-relevant representations while enhancing memory for solo goal-relevant information. We also present a computational model to explain the mechanisms by which emotional arousal can modulate memory in opposite ways via the local/synaptic-level noradrenergic system. The model is based on neurophysiological observations that norepinephrine (NE) released under emotional arousal is locally controlled by glutamate levels, resulting in different NE effects across regions, gating either long-term potentiation or long-term depression by activating different adrenergic receptors depending on NE concentration levels. This model successfully replicated behavioral findings from the three experiments. These findings suggest that the NE’s local effects, rather than broad effects, are key in determining the effects of emotion on memory