Increased Neural Activity in Hazardous Drinkers During High Workload in a Visual Working Memory Task: A Preliminary Assessment Through Event-Related Potentials.

Despite equated behavioral performance levels, hazardous drinkers generally exhibited increased neural activity while performing simple cognitive tasks compared to light drinkers. Here, 49 participants (25 hazardous and 24 light drinkers) participated in an event-related potentials (ERPs) study while performing an -back working memory task. In the control zero-back (N0) condition, the subjects were required to press a button when the number "2" or "6" was displayed.

Prdm12 Directs Nociceptive Sensory Neuron Development by Regulating the Expression of the NGF Receptor TrkA.

In humans, many cases of congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) are caused by mutations of components of the NGF/TrkA signaling pathway, which is required for survival and specification of nociceptors and plays a major role in pain processing. Mutations in PRDM12 have been identified in CIP patients that indicate a putative role for this transcriptional regulator in pain sensing. Here, we show that Prdm12 expression is restricted to developing and adult nociceptors and that its genetic ablation compromises their viability and maturation.

Waving goodbye to contrast: self-generated hand movements attenuate visual sensitivity.

It is well known that the human brain continuously predicts the sensory consequences of its own body movements, which typically results in sensory attenuation. Yet, the extent and exact mechanisms underlying sensory attenuation are still debated. To explore this issue, we asked participants to decide which of two visual stimuli was of higher contrast in a virtual reality situation where one of the stimuli could appear behind the participants' invisible moving hand or not.

MRI-compatible pneumatic stimulator for sensorimotor mapping.

Background: Two major concerns with respect to task-based motor functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are inadequate participants' performance as well as intra- and inter-subject variability in execution of the motor action.

New Method: This study validates the use of an MRI-compatible stimulator based on a pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) for block-design fMRI mapping of the primary sensorimotor (SM1) cortex in a series of fifteen right-handed healthy subjects. The PAM stimulator elicits computer-controlled timely and reproducible passive movements of fingers/toes.

Modulation of the Hoffmann reflex in soleus and medial gastrocnemius during stair ascent and descent in young and older adults.

Background: The Hoffmann (H) reflex can provide relevant information on spinal control of leg muscles during locomotor tasks in young and older adults.

Research Question: Is the H reflex in the leg muscles differently modulated during stair gait in young and older adults?

Method: The H reflex in soleus (SOL) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) (normalized to the maximal M-wave amplitude obtained during upright standing; M) was recorded in 19 young and 18 older adults during upright standing, and stair ascent and descent of a 3-step staircase.

Results: H-reflex amplitude during upright standing was greater in young than older adults for SOL (48% vs.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not influence the neural adjustments associated with fatiguing contractions in a hand muscle.

Purpose: The objective of the current study was to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the briefer time to failure of a submaximal contraction (C2) when performed 60 min after a similar contraction (C1), and the influence of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) applied over the motor cortex on these mechanisms.

Methods: In two sessions, ten adults sustained two isometric contractions (35% of maximum) to failure with the abductor pollicis brevis (APB). Before C2, either a-tDCS or sham stimulation was applied over the motor cortex.

Interpersonal brain synchronization associated with working alliance during psychological counseling.

The mechanisms underlying behavioral synchrony during psychological counseling are not clear. Recent research has provided evidence that pervasive synchrony is associated with interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) and possibly contributes to the positive working alliance-the degree to which the counseling dyads engage in collaborative and purposive work. Our study explored the IBS between the clients and the counselors using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning.

Only giving orders? An experimental study of the sense of agency when giving or receiving commands.

In human societies, agents are assumed to experience being the author of their own actions. These basic motoric experiences of action are influenced by social hierarchies, leading to surprising and morally significant results. Here we ask whether, under coercion, the sense of agency and responsibility pass from the person who receives orders to the person who gives them.

Interpersonal synchronization of inferior frontal cortices tracks social interactive learning of a song.

Much of human learning emerges as a result of interaction with others. Yet, this interpersonal process has been poorly characterized from a neurophysiological perspective. This study investigated (i) whether Interpersonal Brain Synchronization (IBS) can reliably mark social interactive learning, and specifically (ii) during what kind of interactive behavior.

Why cognitive event-related potentials (ERPs) should have a role in the management of alcohol disorders.

Alcohol dependence is currently one of the most serious public health problems. Indeed, 3-8% of all deaths worldwide are attributable to effects of alcohol consumption. Although the first step in alcohol dependence treatment is straightforward, the main problem for clinicians lies with the prevention of relapse, as 40-70% of patients who only undergo psychosocial therapy resume alcohol use within a year following treatment.

Human-Specific NOTCH2NL Genes Expand Cortical Neurogenesis through Delta/Notch Regulation.

The cerebral cortex underwent rapid expansion and increased complexity during recent hominid evolution. Gene duplications constitute a major evolutionary force, but their impact on human brain development remains unclear. Using tailored RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we profiled the spatial and temporal expression of hominid-specific duplicated (HS) genes in the human fetal cortex and identified a repertoire of 35 HS genes displaying robust and dynamic patterns during cortical neurogenesis.

Human Pluripotent Stem-Cell-Derived Cortical Neurons Integrate Functionally into the Lesioned Adult Murine Visual Cortex in an Area-Specific Way.

The transplantation of pluripotent stem-cell-derived neurons constitutes a promising avenue for the treatment of several brain diseases. However, their potential for the repair of the cerebral cortex remains unclear, given its complexity and neuronal diversity. Here, we show that human visual cortical cells differentiated from embryonic stem cells can be transplanted and can integrate successfully into the lesioned mouse adult visual cortex.

From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells to Cortical Circuits.

Understanding the development of the human brain in relation with evolution is an important frontier field in developmental biology. In particular, investigating the mechanisms underlying the greatly increased relative size and complexity of the cerebral cortex, the seat of our enhanced cognitive abilities, remains a fascinating yet largely unsolved question. Though many advances in our understanding have been gained from the study of animal models, as well as human genetics and embryology, large gaps remain in our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that control human cortical development.

Short-Term Impact of tDCS Over the Right Inferior Frontal Cortex on Impulsive Responses in a Go/No-go Task.

Inhibitory control, a process deeply studied in laboratory settings, refers to the ability to inhibit an action once it has been initiated. A common way to process data in such tasks is to take the mean response time (RT) and error rate per participant. However, such an analysis ignores the strong dependency between spontaneous RT variations and error rate.

Influence of working memory and executive function on stair ascent and descent in young and older adults.

This study assessed the influence of attention division, working memory and executive function on stair ascent and descent in young and older adults. Twenty young (25.5 ± 2.

Inter-brain synchrony and cooperation context in interactive decision making.

People engaged in interactive decision making rely on prior decision behaviors by other persons to make new choices and they exhibit inter-brain synchrony between each other. The functional meanings of such inter-brain synchrony, however, remains obscure. In the present study, dyads (15 pairs, all female) played the Prisoner's Dilemma game while their brain activities were recorded simultaneously by electroencephalography (EEG)-based hyperscanning technique.

Continuous track paths reveal additive evidence integration in multistep decision making.

Multistep decision making pervades daily life, but its underlying mechanisms remain obscure. We distinguish four prominent models of multistep decision making, namely serial stage, hierarchical evidence integration, hierarchical leaky competing accumulation (HLCA), and probabilistic evidence integration (PEI). To empirically disentangle these models, we design a two-step reward-based decision paradigm and implement it in a reaching task experiment.

Prdm13 forms a feedback loop with Ptf1a and is required for glycinergic amacrine cell genesis in the Xenopus Retina.

Background: Amacrine interneurons that modulate synaptic plasticity between bipolar and ganglion cells constitute the most diverse cell type in the retina. Most are inhibitory neurons using either GABA or glycine as neurotransmitters. Although several transcription factors involved in amacrine cell fate determination have been identified, mechanisms underlying amacrine cell subtype specification remain to be further understood.

A smoking-related background helps moderate smokers to focus: An event-related potential study using a Go-NoGo task.

Objective: Cognitive impairment is a major component in addiction. However, research has been inconclusive as to whether this is also the case for smokers. The present study aims at providing electrophysiological clue for altered inhibitory control in smokers and at investigating whether reduced inhibition was more pronounced during exposure to a smoking cue.

Web addiction in the brain: Cortical oscillations, autonomic activity, and behavioral measures.

Background and aims Internet addiction (IA) was recently defined as a disorder tagging both the impulse control and the reward systems. Specifically, inhibitory deficits and reward bias were considered highly relevant in IA. This research aims to examine the electrophysiological correlates and autonomic activity [skin conductance response (SCR) and heart rate] in two groups of young subjects (N = 25), with high or low IA profile [tested by the Internet Addiction Test (IAT)], with specific reference to gambling behavior.

Spinal and corticospinal pathways are differently modulated when standing at the bottom and the top of a three-step staircase in young and older adults.

Purpose: This study investigated the modulation of spinal (group Ia afferents) and corticospinal pathways when young (22.7 ± 1.3 years) and older adults (72.

Hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease in Stem-Cell-Derived Human Neurons Transplanted into Mouse Brain.

Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) provide a unique entry to study species-specific aspects of human disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, in vitro culture of neurons deprives them of their natural environment. Here we transplanted human PSC-derived cortical neuronal precursors into the brain of a murine AD model.

What Do You Believe In? French Translation of the FAD-Plus to Assess Beliefs in Free Will and Determinism and Their Relationship with Religious Practices and Personality Traits.

The influence of (dis)belief in free will on prosocial behaviors and sense of control has attracted considerable interest over the last few years. The provision of relevant research tools to assess beliefs in free will and determinism for the community thus becomes a central endeavour. However, no relevant validated questionnaires are currently available to the French language community.