High-dimensional encoding of movement by single neurons in basal ganglia output.

The substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr), an output structure of the basal ganglia, is hypothesized to gate movement execution. Previous studies in the eye movement system focusing mostly on saccades have reported that SNpr neurons are tonically active and either pause or increase their firing during movements, consistent with the gating role. We recorded activity in the SNpr of two monkeys during smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements.

Organization of reward and movement signals in the basal ganglia and cerebellum.

The basal ganglia and the cerebellum are major subcortical structures in the motor system. The basal ganglia have been cast as the reward center of the motor system, whereas the cerebellum is thought to be involved in adjusting sensorimotor parameters. Recent findings of reward signals in the cerebellum have challenged this dichotomous view.

Sensorimotor-linked reward modulates smooth pursuit eye movements in monkeys.

Reward is essential for shaping behavior. Using sensory cues to imply forthcoming rewards, previous studies have demonstrated powerful effects of rewards on behavior. Nevertheless, the impact of reward on the sensorimotor transformation, particularly when reward is linked to behavior remains uncertain.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELECTED TRADITIONAL & NOVEL ANTHROPOMETRIC PARAMETERS AND BLOOD PRESSURE AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE.

Background: Many anthropometric measures have been developed in the last two decades to evaluate cardiovascular health and disease. However, the relationship between these measures and blood pressure is not commonly explored among young population.

Objective: This study sought to explore the relationship between selected traditional and novel anthropometric metrics and blood pressure among young people as part of ThE profile of anthRopometRy And psyChosocial issuEs on campus (TERRACE) study.

Attenuation of noise correlations in the transformation from the frontal eye field to movement.

Correlated activity between neurons can cause variability in behavior across trials, as trial-by-trial cofluctuations can propagate downstream through the motor system. The extent to which correlated activity affects behavior depends on the properties of the translation of the population activity into movement. A major hurdle in studying the effects of noise correlations on behavior is that in many cases this translation is unknown.

Rate versus synchrony codes for cerebellar control of motor behavior.

Unlabelled: Control of movement requires the coordination of multiple brain areas, each containing populations of neurons that receive inputs, process these inputs via recurrent dynamics, and then relay the processed information to downstream populations. Information transmission between neural populations could occur through either coordinated changes in firing rates or the precise transmission of spike timing. We investigate the nature of the code for transmission of signals to downstream areas from a part of the cerebellar cortex that is crucial for the accurate execution of a quantifiable motor behavior.

Fixational drift is driven by diffusive dynamics in central neural circuitry.

During fixation and between saccades, our eyes undergo diffusive random motion called fixational drift. The role of fixational drift in visual coding and inference has been debated in the past few decades, but the mechanisms that underlie this motion remained unknown. In particular, it has been unclear whether fixational drift arises from peripheral sources, or from central sources within the brain.

Decentralising diabetes care from hospitals to primary health care centres in Malawi.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and hypertension have become a prominent public health concern in Malawi, where health care services for NCDs are generally restricted to urban centres and district hospitals, while the vast majority of Malawians live in rural settings. Whether similar quality of diabetes care can be delivered at health centres compared to hospitals is not known.

Methods: We implemented a pilot project of decentralized diabetes care at eight health centres in four districts in Malawi.

Increased γ-Aminobutyric Acid Content of Germinated Brown Rice Produced in Membrane Reactor.

Research Background: Rice germination is a natural approach to enhance the physical and functional properties of brown rice. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of different germination methods on functional properties of germinated brown rice and evaluate the process feasibility.

Experimental Approach: Brown rice of IPB 3S variety was germinated with three different methods: () complete soaking without water replacement, () complete soaking with water replacement every six hours, and () complete soaking with continuous washing in the developed membrane-facilitated soaking reactor.

Passive Motor Learning: Oculomotor Adaptation in the Absence of Behavioral Errors.

Motor adaptation is commonly thought to be a trial-and-error process in which the accuracy of movement improves with repetition of behavior. We challenged this view by testing whether erroneous movements are necessary for motor adaptation. In the eye movement system, the association between movements and errors can be disentangled, since errors in the predicted stimulus trajectory can be perceived even without movements.

Area-specific thalamocortical synchronization underlies the transition from motor planning to execution.

We studied correlated firing between motor thalamic and cortical cells in monkeys performing a delayed-response reaching task. Simultaneous recording of thalamocortical activity revealed that around movement onset, thalamic cells were positively correlated with cell activity in the primary motor cortex but negatively correlated with the activity of the premotor cortex. The differences in the correlation contrasted with the average neural responses, which were similar in all three areas.

Spontaneous Cholecystocutaneous Fistula: A rare clinical Entity.

Introduction: Spontaneous Cholecystocutaneous Fistula occurs as a result of complication from untreated gall bladder stone disease infrequently seen in surgical practice due to early diagnosis of gall stone disease with imaging and appropriate and prompt antibiotic and surgical treatment.

Case Report: We report our experience with a 40-year-old woman who presented with a yellowish discharge from the umbilicus. Abdominal examination revealed a sinus opening at the umbilicus with the yellowish discharge and a vague mass in the right hypochondrium.

Encoding of eye movements explains reward-related activity in cerebellar simple spikes.

The cerebellum exhibits both motor and reward-related signals. However, it remains unclear whether reward is processed independently from the motor command or might reflect the motor consequences of the reward drive. To test how reward-related signals interact with sensorimotor processing in the cerebellum, we recorded Purkinje cell simple spike activity in the cerebellar floccular complex while monkeys were engaged in smooth pursuit eye movement tasks.

Using extracellular low frequency signals to improve the spike sorting of cerebellar complex spikes.

Background: The challenge of spike sorting has been addressed by numerous electrophysiological studies. These methods tend to focus on the information conveyed by the high frequencies, but ignore the potentially informative signals at lower frequencies. Activation of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum by input from the climbing fibers results in a large amplitude dendritic spike concurrent with a high-frequency burst known as a complex spike.

Exploring the association between sick child healthcare utilisation and health facility quality in Malawi: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Increasing the availability of basic healthcare services in low-and middle-income countries is not sufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target for child survival in high-mortality settings, where healthcare utilisation is often inconsistent and quality of care can be poor. We assessed whether poor quality of sick child healthcare in Malawi is associated with low utilisation of sick child healthcare.

Design: We measured two elements of quality of sick child healthcare: facility structural readiness and process of care using data from the 2013 Malawi Service Provision Assessment.

Encoding of Reward and Decoding Movement from the Frontal Eye Field during Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements.

Expectation of reward potentiates sensorimotor transformations to drive vigorous movements. One of the main challenges in studying reward is to determine how representations of reward interact with the computations that drive behavior. We recorded activity in smooth pursuit neurons in the frontal eye field (FEF) of two male rhesus monkeys while controlling the eye speed by manipulating either reward size or target speed.

Coordinated cerebellar climbing fiber activity signals learned sensorimotor predictions.

The prevailing model of cerebellar learning states that climbing fibers (CFs) are both driven by, and serve to correct, erroneous motor output. However, this model is grounded largely in studies of behaviors that utilize hardwired neural pathways to link sensory input to motor output. To test whether this model applies to more flexible learning regimes that require arbitrary sensorimotor associations, we developed a cerebellar-dependent motor learning task that is compatible with both mesoscale and single-dendrite-resolution calcium imaging in mice.