An Integrated Neurorobotics Model of the Cerebellar-Basal Ganglia Circuitry.

This work presents a neurorobotics model of the brain that integrates the cerebellum and the basal ganglia regions to coordinate movements in a humanoid robot. This cerebellar-basal ganglia circuitry is well known for its relevance to the motor control used by most mammals. Other computational models have been designed for similar applications in the robotics field.

Neuro4PD: An Initial Neurorobotics Model of Parkinson's Disease.

In this work, we present the first steps toward the creation of a new neurorobotics model of Parkinson's Disease (PD) that embeds, for the first time in a real robot, a well-established computational model of PD. PD mostly affects the modulation of movement in humans. The number of people suffering from this neurodegenerative disease is set to double in the next 15 years and there is still no cure.

Astrocytic Response to Acutely- and Chronically-Implanted Microelectrode Arrays in the Marmoset () Brain.

Microelectrode implants are an important tool in neuroscience research and in developing brain⁻machine interfaces. Data from rodents have consistently shown that astrocytes are recruited to the area surrounding implants, forming a glial scar that increases electrode impedance and reduces chronic utility. However, studies in non-human primates are scarce, with none to date in marmosets.

OBAT: An open-source and low-cost operant box for auditory discriminative tasks.

Operant-conditioning boxes are widely used in animal training, allowing researchers to shape specific behaviors through reinforcements and/or punishments. Commercially available devices are expensive and run with proprietary software and hardware, hampering adaptations for the specific needs of an experiment. Therefore, many low-cost and open-source devices have recently been developed, but there are still few options for studying auditory behaviors.

An animal model of disengagement: Temporary inactivation of the superior colliculus impairs attention disengagement in rats.

The orienting attention network is responsible for prioritizing sensory input through overt or covert shifts of attention among targets. The ability to disengage attention is essential for the proper functioning of this network. In addition to its importance for proper orienting, deficits in disengagement have been recently implicated in autism disorders.

Neuronal activity of the anterior cingulate cortex during an observation-based decision making task in monkeys.

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) including the anterior cingulate sulcus is implicated in both decision-making and social cognition, suggesting that this area may play a central role in decision-making based on social context. In the present study, neural activity was recorded from the monkey anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) while the monkeys chose one of two identical figures based on the choice previously made by a robot arm. Monkeys observed that the robot touched one of the two figures in the left or right side of a touch screen.

Effects of direct cedrol inhalation into the lower airway on brain hemodynamics in totally laryngectomized subjects.

A previous study reported that when cedrol (odorant) is inhaled directly through the lower airway of the trachea, it decreases the sympathetic nervous activity and blood pressure in totally laryngectomized subjects (Umeno et al., 2008). In the present study, totally laryngectomized subjects were asked to inhale cedrol into the lower airway in the same manner and its effects on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were analyzed.

Neuronal responses in the nucleus accumbens shell during sexual behavior in male rats.

Previous behavioral studies have indicated that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell of a male rat is involved in its sexual behavior; however, no previous studies have investigated neuronal activities in the male rat NAc shell during sexual behavior. To investigate this issue, we recorded single unit activities in the NAc shell of male rats during sexual behavior. Of 123 NAc shell neurons studied, 53, 47, and 40 neurons exhibited significantly changed firing rates at various times during intromission, genital auto-grooming, and sniffing of females, respectively.

History, citoarchitecture and neurophysiology of human and non human primates' parietal lobe: A review.

This strict localizationism had and still has its importance for the development of Neurosciences, since the analysis of changes in mental processes resulting from brain damage became the basis for understanding the brain organization. The human parietal cortex is a highly differentiated structure, consisting of citoarchitectonically defined subareas that are connected to other cortical and subcortical areas. Patients with lesions in the parietal cortex develop various types of neuropsychological manifestations, depending on the specific location of the lesion and the corresponding hemisphere and these lesions in this lobe do not cause modal specific disturbances.

Modeling dichromatic and trichromatic sensitivity to the color properties of fruits eaten by squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus).

Most platyrrhines have a visual polymorphism that is characterized by the presence of multiple alleles of the M/LWS gene on the X chromosome. This polymorphism is probably maintained by selection. There are two possible mechanisms by which this can be explained: First, heterozygous females may have perceptual advantages over dichromats, such that trichromacy would be favored via the existence of different visual pigments.