Frontal midline theta reflects anxiety and cognitive control: Meta-analytic evidence
Publication date: Available online 29 April 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): James F. Cavanagh , Alexander J. Shackman Evidence from imaging and anatomical studies suggests that the midcingulate cortex (MCC) is a dynamic hub lying at the interface of affect and cognition. In particular, this neural system appears to integrate information about conflict and punishment in order to optimize behavior in the face of action-outcome uncertainty. In a series of meta-analyses, we show how recent human electrophysiological research provides compelling evidence that frontal-midline theta signals reflecting MCC...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Sex-specific role of a glutamate receptor subtype in a pacemaker nucleus controlling electric behavior
In this study, we have been successful in identifying cellular mechanisms of sexual dimorphic communication signals. The involvement of AMPA receptors in PN activity is part of the tightly regulated changes that account for the increase in signal diversity during breeding in this species, necessary for a successful reproduction. (Source: Journal of Physiology Paris)
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Neuropharmacology of memory consolidation and reconsolidation: Insights on central cholinergic mechanisms
Publication date: Available online 10 May 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): M.G. Blake , M.C. Krawczyk , C.M. Baratti , M.M. Boccia Central cholinergic system is critically involved in all known memory processes. Endogenous acetylcholine release by cholinergic neurons is necessary for modulation of acquisition, encoding, consolidation, reconsolidation, extinction, retrieval and expression. Experiments from our laboratory are mainly focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which acetylcholine modulates memory processes. Blockade of hippocampal alpha-7-nicotinic receptors (α7-nAChRs) with the antago...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Postnatal brain development of the pulse type, weakly electric gymnotid fish Gymnotus omarorum
Publication date: Available online 15 May 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Leticia Iribarne , María E. Castelló Teleosts are a numerous and diverse group of fish showing great variation in body shape, ecological niches and behaviors, and a correspondent diversity in brain morphology, usually associated with their functional specialization. Weakly electric fish are a paradigmatic example of functional specialization, as these teleosts use self-generated electric fields to sense the nearby environment and communicate with conspecifics, enabling fish to better exploit particular ecological niches. We...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Morphology and physiology of the olfactory system of blood-feeding insects
Publication date: Available online 15 May 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): F. Guidobaldi , I.J. May-Concha , P.G. Guerenstein Several blood-feeding (hematophagous) insects are vectors of a number of diseases including dengue, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis which persistently affect public health throughout Latin America. The vectors of those diseases include mosquitoes, triatomine bugs and sandflies. As vector control is an efficient way to prevent these illnesses it is important to understand the sensory biology of those harmful insects. We study the physiology of the olfactory system of those i...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Synaptic NF-kappa B pathway in neuronal plasticity and memory
Publication date: Available online 20 May 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Angeles Salles , Arturo Romano , Ramiro Freudenthal Several transcription factors are present at the synapse, and among these are the Rel-NF-kappa B pathway components. NF-kappa B is a constitutive transcription factor, with a strong presence in the brain of which a considerable part is located in the neuropiles. This localization of the transcription factor, plus evidence pointing to different functions, is what gave place to two general hypotheses for synaptic NF-kappa B: (a) The transcription factor plays a role in the sy...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Understanding intellectual disability through RASopathies
Publication date: Available online 21 May 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Alvaro San Martín , Mario Rafael Pagani Intellectual disability, commonly known as mental retardation in the International Classification of Disease from World Health Organization, is the term that describes an intellectual and adaptive cognitive disability that begins in early life during the developmental period. Currently the term intellectual disability is the preferred one. Although our understanding of the physiological basis of learning and learning disability is poor, a general idea is that such condition is quite pe...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Recurrent inhibition in motor systems, a comparative analysis
Publication date: Available online 24 May 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Lidia Szczupak The review proposes a comparison between recurrent inhibition in motor systems of vertebrates and the leech nervous system, where a detailed cellular and functional analysis has been accomplished. A comparative study shows that recurrent inhibition is a conserved property in motor systems of phylogenetically distant species. Recurrent inhibition has been extensively characterized in the spinal cord of mammals, where Renshaw cells receive excitatory synaptic inputs from motoneurons (MNs) and, in turn, exert an in...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Learning in an exotic social wasp while relocating a food source
Publication date: Available online 11 June 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Mariana Lozada , Paola D’Adamo In this paper we review several studies on Vespula germanica behavioral plasticity while relocating a food source in natural environments. This exotic social wasp, which has become established in many parts of the world, displays diverse cognitive abilities when foraging. Given its successful invasiveness worldwide, our initial hypothesis was that this species has great behavioral plasticity, which enables it to face environmental uncertainty. In our work we have analyzed foraging behavior as...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Organization of columnar inputs in the third optic ganglion of a highly visual crab
Publication date: Available online 12 June 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Mercedes Bengochea , Martín Berón de Astrada Motion information provides essential cues for a wide variety of animal behaviors such as mate, prey, or predator detection. In decapod crustaceans and pterygote insects, visual codification of object motion is associated with visual processing in the third optic neuropile, the lobula. In this neuropile, tangential neurons collect motion information from small field columnar neurons and relay it to the midbrain where behavioral responses would be finally shaped. In highly ordere...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Economic risk coding by single neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex
Publication date: Available online 19 June 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Martin O’Neill , Wolfram Schultz Risk is a ubiquitous feature of the environment for all organisms. Very few things in life are achieved with absolute certainty. Therefore, it is essential that organisms process risky information efficiently to promote adaptive behaviour and enhance survival. Here we outline a clear definition of economic risk derived from economic theory and focus on two experiments in which we have shown subpopulations of single neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex of rhesus macaques that code either econ...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Experimental predictions drawn from a computational model of sign-trackers and goal-trackers
Publication date: Available online 20 June 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Florian Lesaint , Olivier Sigaud , Jeremy J. Clark , Shelly B. Flagel , Mehdi Khamassi Gaining a better understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying the individual variation observed in response to rewards and reward cues could help to identify and treat individuals more prone to disorders of impulsive control, such as addiction. Variation in response to reward cues is captured in rats undergoing autoshaping experiments where the appearance of a lever precedes food delivery. Although no response is required for f...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Epigenetic mechanisms and memory strength: A comparative study
Publication date: Available online 28 June 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Noel Federman , Gisela Zalcman , Verónica de la Fuente , Maria Sol Fustiñana , Arturo Romano Memory consolidation requires de novo mRNA and protein synthesis. Transcriptional activation is controlled by transcription factors, their cofactors and repressors. Cofactors and repressors regulate gene expression by interacting with basal transcription machinery, remodeling chromatin structure and/or chemically modifying histones. Acetylation is the most studied epigenetic mechanism of histones modifications related to gene ex...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
Cognitive control and the anterior cingulate cortex: How conflicting stimuli affect attentional control in the rat
Publication date: Available online 19 July 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Lori A. Newman , David J. Creer , Jill A. McGaughy Converging evidence supports the hypothesis that the prefrontal cortex is critical for cognitive control. One prefrontal subregion, the anterior cingulate cortex, is hypothesized to be necessary to resolve response conflicts, disregard salient distractors and alter behavior in response to the generation of an error. These situations all involve goal-oriented monitoring of performance in order to effectively adjust cognitive processes. Several neuropsychological disorders, e...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
The insect mushroom body, an experience-dependent recoding device
Publication date: Available online 1 August 2014 Source:Journal of Physiology-Paris Author(s): Randolf Menzel The insect mushroom body is a higher order integration center involved in cross-sensory integration and memory formation. The relatively large mushroom bodies of social Hymenoptera (e.g. bees) have been related to the demands of a social system and the neural processes required to allow the animal to navigate in an ever-changing environment. Here I review studies aiming to elucidate the neural processes that take place at the input and the output sites of the mushroom bodies and that underlie cross-sensory int...
Source: Journal of Physiology Paris - October 12, 2014 Category: Physiology Source Type: research
