Brain-wide dynamics linking sensation to action during decision-making.

Perceptual decisions rely on learned associations between sensory evidence and appropriate actions, involving the filtering and integration of relevant inputs to prepare and execute timely responses. Despite the distributed nature of task-relevant representations, it remains unclear how transformations between sensory input, evidence integration, motor planning and execution are orchestrated across brain areas and dimensions of neural activity. Here we addressed this question by recording brain-wide neural activity in mice learning to report changes in ambiguous visual input.

Mesoscale cortical dynamics reflect the interaction of sensory evidence and temporal expectation during perceptual decision-making.

How sensory evidence is transformed across multiple brain regions to influence behavior remains poorly understood. We trained mice in a visual change detection task designed to separate the covert antecedents of choices from activity associated with their execution. Wide-field calcium imaging across the dorsal cortex revealed fundamentally different dynamics of activity underlying these processes.

Locomotion-dependent remapping of distributed cortical networks.

The interactions between neocortical areas are fluid and state-dependent, but how individual neurons couple to cortex-wide network dynamics remains poorly understood. We correlated the spiking of neurons in primary visual (V1) and retrosplenial (RSP) cortex to activity across dorsal cortex, recorded simultaneously by widefield calcium imaging. Neurons were correlated with distinct and reproducible patterns of activity across the cortical surface; while some fired predominantly with their local area, others coupled to activity in distal areas.

Plasma Content of Glucose, C-reactive Protein, Uric Acid and Cholesterol in Male, Female and Ovariectomized Rats upon Acute and Chronic Stress--a Path for Development of Cardiovascular Diseases.

To explore sex differences in cardiovascular function under stress, we analyzed plasma levels of glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP), uric acid and cholesterol in male, female and ovariectomized rats under acute and chronic stress. Glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed in all rats before any stress was performed, as well as later in the chronic stress experiment. GTT in control animals showed the same trend as in chronically stressed.

Learning Enhances Sensory and Multiple Non-sensory Representations in Primary Visual Cortex.

We determined how learning modifies neural representations in primary visual cortex (V1) during acquisition of a visually guided behavioral task. We imaged the activity of the same layer 2/3 neuronal populations as mice learned to discriminate two visual patterns while running through a virtual corridor, where one pattern was rewarded. Improvements in behavioral performance were closely associated with increasingly distinguishable population-level representations of task-relevant stimuli, as a result of stabilization of existing and recruitment of new neurons selective for these stimuli.

Impact of ovariectomy, high fat diet, and lifestyle modifications on oxidative/antioxidative status in the rat liver.

Aim: To estimate the impact of high fat diet and estrogen deficiency on the oxidative and antioxidative status in the liver of the ovariectomized rats, as well as the ameliorating effect of physical activity or consumption of functional food containing bioactive compounds with antioxidative properties on oxidative damage in the rat liver.

Methods: The study was conducted from November 2012 to April 2013. Liver oxidative damage was determined by lipid peroxidation levels expressed in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), while liver antioxidative status was determined by catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR) activities, and glutathione (GSH) content.