GABA quantitation using MEGA-PRESS: Regional and hemispheric differences.

Purpose: To measure in vivo brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations, and assess regional and hemispheric differences, using MR spectroscopy ( H-MRS).

Materials And Methods: GABA concentrations were measured bilaterally in the frontal cortex (FC), parietal cortex (PC), and occipital cortex (OC) of 21 healthy young subjects (age range 20-29 years) using 3 Tesla Philips scanner. A univariate general linear model analysis was carried out to assess the effect of region and hemisphere as well as their interaction on GABA concentrations while controlling for sex and gray matter differences.

Stimulus-dependent modulation of working memory for identity monitoring: A functional MRI study.

While the neural correlates of identity monitoring working memory (WM) have been well characterised in literature, the WM subsystems for different types of stimuli have not been established. The aim of our study was to examine the neural network subtending WM for identity monitoring of both verbal and visual stimuli. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with words, objects, and faces as stimuli in an n-back WM task to delineate the similarities and differences in brain activation during presentation of verbal and visual stimuli.

Anesthesia Issues in Central Nervous System Disorders.

Every year, millions of people affected by disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) undergo various diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical procedures requiring administration of anesthetic agents. Anesthetics exert their anesthetic, amnesic and analgesic effects by acting on multiple neuronal membrane proteins in the CNS. While some of the causal anesthetic targets have been identified, a large number of anesthetic targets remain unknown.

Brain glutathione levels--a novel biomarker for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Extant data from in vivo animal models and postmortem studies indicate that Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology is associated with reduction of the brain antioxidant glutathione (GSH), yet direct clinical evidence has been lacking. In this study, we investigated GSH modulation in the brain with AD and assessed the diagnostic potential of GSH estimation in hippocampi (HP) and frontal cortices (FC) as a biomarker for AD and its prodromal stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: Brain GSH levels were measured in HP of 21 AD, 22 MCI, and 21 healthy old controls (HC) and FC of 19 AD, 19 MCI, and 28 HC with in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The emerging role of glutathione in Alzheimer's disease.

With millions of older individuals presently suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) worldwide, AD is an unduly common form of dementia that exacts a heavy toll on affected individuals and their families. One of the emerging causative factors associated with AD pathology is oxidative stress. This AD-related increase in oxidative stress has been attributed to decreased levels of the brain antioxidant, glutathione (GSH).

BOLDSync: a MATLAB-based toolbox for synchronized stimulus presentation in functional MRI.

Background: Precise and synchronized presentation of paradigm stimuli in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is central to obtaining accurate information about brain regions involved in a specific task.

New Method: In this manuscript, we present a new MATLAB-based toolbox, BOLDSync, for synchronized stimulus presentation in fMRI.

Results: BOLDSync provides a user friendly platform for design and presentation of visual, audio, as well as multimodal audio-visual (AV) stimuli in functional imaging experiments.

SIRT1 regulates the neurogenic potential of neural precursors in the adult subventricular zone and hippocampus.

Within the two neurogenic niches of the adult mammalian brain, i.e., the subventricular zone lining the lateral ventricle and the subgranular zone of the hippocampus, there exist distinct populations of proliferating neural precursor cells that differentiate to generate new neurons.

Visuospatial perception: an emerging biomarker for Alzheimer's disease.

In recent years, the focus of research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) has shifted toward finding reliable diagnostic biomarkers that enable accurate detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as well as AD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has the potential to identify functional changes in the preclinical stages of AD. In addition to the cardinal deficits in memory, deficits in visuospatial cognition are pervasive in AD.

Positioning sensory terminals in the olfactory lobe of Drosophila by Robo signaling.

Olfactory receptor neurons and the interneurons of the olfactory lobe are organized in distinct units called glomeruli. We have used expression patterns and genetic analysis to demonstrate that a combinatorial code of Roundabout (Robo) receptors act to position sensory terminals within the olfactory lobe. Groups of sensory neurons possess distinct blends of Robo and Robo3 and disruption of levels by loss-of-function or ectopic expression results in aberrant targeting.