大鼠扣带回——丘脑腹侧基底核投射的HRP研究

用ＨＲＰ逆行示踪法证实了大鼠扣带回前部－－丘脑腹侧基底核投射通路。当ＨＲＰ注入丘脑腹侧基底核时,在同侧扣带回前部观察到标记的细胞,标记细胞密度背侧区比腹侧区高。上述结果表明扣带回前部神经元直接投射到同侧丘脑腹侧基底核,且背侧区的投射密度较大。     

Can the memory of an object be enhanced by imagining its loss?

Previous investigations examining salient memories have demonstrated that personal memories that are important to individuals and contain emotional information are better remembered than neutral events.Using behavioral and brain-imaging experiments,the present studies explored whether the previous finding was applicable imagined loss.In a behavioral experiment,a free recall paradigm was used to compare the memory performance of individuals who imagined loss with that of individuals who imagined importance.The superior memory performance conferred by imagining loss was constrained to ordinary items of low to medium importance and did not generalize to vital items.Moreover,brain imaging evidence revealed that the activation in certain brain regions was stronger when participants were imagining the loss of ordinary items of low to medium importance compared to vital items.These brain regions included cognitive effort-related areas(such as the parietal cortex and middle prefrontal cortex) and areas related to emotional experiences and emotion-related memories(such as the amygdala,parahippocampal gyrus,and posterior cingulate gyrus).Our study provides a new way of exploring the superior memory performance when imagining loss and enriches the literature on memory enhancement by contributing to a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms related to the imagining of vital losses.     

A functional role for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in anterior cingulate cortex

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) is present in high concentrations in the cerebral cortex, where it is the putative neurotransmitter of a major intracortical neuronal system. Homogenates of cortical tissue contain high-affinity, specific binding sites for VIP as well as an adenylate cyclase system which is sensitive to this peptide. As with many of the other peptidergic systems which have been identified in the central nervous system (CNS), it has proved extremely difficult to elucidate the nature and extent of the functional role of VIP in specific brain areas. Here, using the quantitative autoradiographic 14C-deoxyglucose technique in rats to provide insight into functional processes, we describe the increases in glucose utilization which occur locally in anterior cingulate cortex following the unilateral injection of VIP (20 pmol) into this key brain area and, additionally, the focal alterations in glucose use in CNS regions having known neuronal connections with the injected region (for example, ipsilateral mediodorsal thalamus, ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus and contralateral cingulate cortex). These data provide evidence that VIP may modify the processing of afferent and efferent information within the anterior cingulate cortex in the conscious rat.     

Localization of a human system for sustained attention by positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomographic (PET) studies of human attention have begun to dissect isolable components of this complex higher brain function, including a midline attentional system in a region of the anterior cingulate cortex. The right hemisphere may play a special part in human attention; neglect, an important phenomenon associated with damage to attentional systems, is more severe, extensive and long-lasting after lesions to the right hemisphere. Here we use PET measurements of brain blood flow in healthy subjects to identify changes in regional brain activity during simple visual and somatosensory tasks of sustained attention or vigilance. We find localized increases in blood flow in the prefrontal and superior parietal cortex primarily in the right hemisphere, regardless of the modality or laterality of sensory input. The anterior cingulate was not activated during either task. These data localize the vigilance aspects of normal human attention to sensory stimuli, thereby clarifying the biology underlying asymmetries of attention to such stimuli that have been reported in clinical lesions.     

Deactivations during the numerical processing

Deactivation has been encountered frequently in functional brain imaging researches. However, the deactivations during the numerical processing have not been reported yet. In this study, the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to investigate the pattern of the deactivation in the brain of 15 healthy subjects during the numerical addition task. Analyses revealed significant deactivations in several brain regions, including the posterior cingulate, precuneus, anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex. Especially, we found notable deactivation in bilateral insula. Accounting for the cognitive functions of these regions participating in a combinated way, we discuss their contributions in sustaining the brain activity during conscious resting state, and indicate that the insula is an important area of gathering auditory information from the external world.     

New advances in the neural correlates of insight: A decade in review of the insightful brain

The first neuroimaging study of real-time brain activity during insight problem solving was conducted almost ten years ago. Many subsequent studies have used high-resolution event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the temporal dynamics and neural correlates of insight. Recent results on the neural underpinnings of insight have led researchers to propose a neural framework referred to as the "insightful brain". This putative framework represents the neural basis of the cognitive and affective processes that are involved in insight. The insightful brain may involve numerous brain regions, including the lateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, hippocampus, superior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, precuneus, cuneus, insula and cerebellum. Functional studies have demonstrated that the lateral prefrontal cortex is responsible for mental set shifting and breaking during insight problem solving. The cingulate cortex is involved in the cognitive conflict between new and old ideas and progress monitoring. The hippocampus, superior temporal gyrus and fusiform gyrus form an integrated functional network that specializes in the formation of novel and effective associations. The effective transformation of problem representations depends on a non-verbal visuospatial information-processing network that comprises the precuneus and cuneus. The insula reflects cognitive flexibility and the emotional experience that is associated with insight. The cortical control of finger movements relies on the cerebellum.     

The task dependent interaction of the deactivation regions

Although deactivation has been found frequently in former functional brain imaging researches, only recently has it become a focus of systematic study because of its not well understood physiological mechanism. However, most of the researches concentrated on the brain areas that would present deactivation, and, to our knowledge, the deactivation connectivity between these brain areas during the cognitive tasks has rarely been reported in literature. In this work, using the functional connectivity method WlCA （within-condition interregional covariance analysis）, we analyzed the deactivations in two different cognitive tasks symbol orientation and number comparison. The results revealed deactivations in the posterior cingulate, precuneus, anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex in both tasks. However, the interaction between the deactivated regions shows many differences. Our result further indicates that the potential implication of special deactivation connectivity may be related to the different task or attention resource. Further research is needed to clarify the exact reason.     

大脑前额叶扣带回皮层调制丘脑触觉信息的途径研究

大脑前额叶扣带回皮层是一个与感觉功能密切相关的脑区,它能够对丘脑触觉反应进行调制.实验在10只戊巴比妥钠（1%）麻醉的SD雄性大鼠上进行,采用辣根过氧化物酶（horseradish peroxidase,HRP）逆行标记的方法,对扣带皮层前部调制丘脑腹侧基底核（ventrobasal,VB）感觉信息的途径进行了研究.实验结果显示,VB核可以接受扣带皮层后部的投射,而且扣带皮层前部有纤维投射到扣带皮层后部.由此提示了前扣带皮层对丘脑腹侧基底核神经元触觉信息调制的可能神经环路是：扣带皮层前部-扣带皮层后部-丘脑腹侧基底核.     

“冷-热”与“热-冷”共情鸿沟效应的均衡性

采用经典范式考察了2种共情鸿沟效应在价值属性和知觉属性上的均衡性,结果发现:(1)生理饥饿状态下预测饱餐时的食物价值会显著高于生理饱餐时对相同食物的价值,而生理饱餐状态下预测饥饿时的食物价值会显著低于生理饥饿时对相同食物的价值,但2种共情鸿沟效应大小没有显著差异;(2)2种共情鸿沟效应的知觉属性具有部分均衡性:在认知属性上,2种共情鸿沟效应表现出均衡性;在情绪属性上,"热-冷"共情鸿沟效应的显著大于"冷-热"共情鸿沟效应.     

静息态脑区的活动特征研究

静息态脑区的活动处于一种相对稳定的状态。但是,静息态机能性磁共振成像(functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,fMRI)实验中,被试者可能会受到各种噪声的影响,因此,统计分析所得到的静息态脑区的活动强度和体素数都可能受此影响。为了更进一步研究静息态脑区的活动特点,分别对16名被试采集了8′14″的静息态fMRI数据,将这些数据按照时间等分为5个部分,对每个部分分别采用低频振幅方法进行分析。实验结果显示:楔前叶和后扣带皮层包含活动体素的个数随时间变化较小,处于一种相对稳定的状态;额内侧皮层和顶下小叶中活动体素个数随时间变化差异较大,处于不是很稳定的状态。实验结果表明,静息态脑区中,楔前叶和后扣带皮层对于外界噪声的干扰不敏感,额内侧皮层和顶下小叶对于外界噪声比较敏感。     

Conflict monitoring versus selection-for-action in anterior cingulate cortex

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), on the medial surface of the frontal lobes of the brain, is widely believed to be involved in the regulation of attention. Beyond this, however, its specific contribution to cognition remains uncertain. One influential theory has interpreted activation within the ACC as reflecting 'selection-for-action', a set of processes that guide the selection of environmental objects as triggers of or targets for action. We have proposed an alternative hypothesis, in which the ACC serves not to exert top-down attentional control but instead to detect and signal the occurrence of conflicts in information processing. Here, to test this theory against the selection-for-action theory, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activation during performance of a task where, for a particular subset of trials, the strength of selection-for-action is inversely related to the degree of response conflict. Activity within the ACC was greater during trials featuring high levels of conflict (and weak selection-for-action) than during trials with low levels of conflict (and strong selection-for-action), providing evidence in favour of the conflict-monitoring account of ACC function.     

Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others

The neural processes underlying empathy are a subject of intense interest within the social neurosciences. However, very little is known about how brain empathic responses are modulated by the affective link between individuals. We show here that empathic responses are modulated by learned preferences, a result consistent with economic models of social preferences. We engaged male and female volunteers in an economic game, in which two confederates played fairly or unfairly, and then measured brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while these same volunteers observed the confederates receiving pain. Both sexes exhibited empathy-related activation in pain-related brain areas (fronto-insular and anterior cingulate cortices) towards fair players. However, these empathy-related responses were significantly reduced in males when observing an unfair person receiving pain. This effect was accompanied by increased activation in reward-related areas, correlated with an expressed desire for revenge. We conclude that in men (at least) empathic responses are shaped by valuation of other people's social behaviour, such that they empathize with fair opponents while favouring the physical punishment of unfair opponents, a finding that echoes recent evidence for altruistic punishment.     

Developmental study on the immunocytochemical localization of NOV protein-containing neurons in the rat brain

The localization and development of nephroblastoma overexpressed gene (nov) protein-immunoreactive neurons in the brain of E8-P300 rats have been studied using immunocytochemistry and image analysis. Results are as follows: No NOV protein-immunoreactive cells were detected in the rat brain during prenatal development. A few of positive cells were detected at the early postnatal stage. However, the number and the immunoreactivity of these cells increased gradually at later stages. NOV-immunoreactive cells were widely distributed in the rat brain during P30–P60. The number of immunoreactive cells and their intensity also peaked within this stage. The number and staining intensity of NOV-positive cells decreased gradually with age. The positive cells were mainly located in cingulate cortex, striatum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum and brain stem. The present results indicate thatnov may play an important role in the development and differentiation of brain as well as maintaining the function of brain.     

乐观与冒险中的性别差异分析

采用独立设计两类变量的思路,对个体的乐观性特征进行问卷测量;研究发现性别差异普遍存在于个体乐观与冒险倾向中。但这种差异的表现形式在两类变量中有所不同。在乐观变量中性别差异表现得较为隐蔽和复杂,主要表现为在乐观变量的两个主要维度,即“积极预期”和“消极预期”上的交互作用。另一方面,性别差异在冒险倾向上完全符合传统意识对性别的预期,即男性比女性具有更强的冒险倾向。性别与乐观变量都可以一定程度地预测个体在冒险倾向上的反应。     

Nested expression domains of four homeobox genes in developing rostral brain.

Insight into the genetic control of the identity of specific regions along the body axis of vertebrates has resulted primarily from the study of vertebrate homologues of regulatory genes operating in the Drosophila trunk, but little is known about the development of most anterior regions of the body either in flies or vertebrates. Three Drosophila genes have been identified that are important in controlling the development of the head, two of which, empty spiracles and orthodenticle, have been cloned and shown to contain a homeobox. We previously cloned and characterized Emx1 and Emx2, two mouse genes related to empty spiracles that are expressed in restricted regions of the developing forebrain, including the presumptive cerebral cortex and olfactory bulbs. Here we report the identification of Otx1 and Otx2, which are related to orthodenticle. We have compared the expression domains of the four genes in the developing rostral brain of mouse embryos at a developmental stage, day 10 post coitum, when they are all expressed. Otx2 is expressed in every dorsal and most ventral regions of telencephalon, diencephalon and mesencephalon. The Otx1 expression domain is similar to that of Otx2, but contained within it. The Emx2 expression domain is comprised of dorsal telencephalon and small diencephalic regions, both dorsally and ventrally. Finally, Emx1 expression is exclusively confined to the dorsal telencephalon. Thus at the time when regional specification of major brain regions takes place, the expression domains of the four genes seem to be continuous regions contained within each other in the sequence Emx1 less than Emx2 less than Otx1 less than Otx2.     

Personality and neurochemicals in the human brain： A preliminary study using ^1H MRS

To investigate the neuro-biological bases of introversion-extraversion personality traits, the concentration of four neuroehemieals （Cho, mI, α-Glx and NAA） in anterior eigulate gyrus between normal extroverts and introverts were examined using non-invasive ^1H MRS technique. Our study revealed that introverts have significantly higher level of α-Glx, Cho and mI in the anterior eingulate gyrus than extroverts. This result provides new evidence that the anterior eingulate gyrus is related to personality traits partly in support of Eysenek＇s supposition that introverts have higher arousal level than extroverts. Moreover, this result offers neuroehemieal data for psychobiological theories of personality.     

Attentional negativity bias moderated by positive mood arousal

Automatically allocation of more attention to negative stimuli is called emotional negativity bias. An event-related potentials (ERPs) experiment investigated whether or not this bias was altered by positive mood arousal. The results suggested that the attention bias towards negative stimuli was attenuated when positive information was accessible.     

Specific distribution of metabolic alterations in cerebral cortex following apomorphine administration

The topographic distribution of dopaminergic receptors in the cerebral cortex closely parallels that of the dopaminergic innervation. In the rat, dopaminergic axons which originate in the mesencephalon are confined to a few discrete regions of the neocortex--anterior cingulate cortex, entorhinal cortex, frontal cortex (particularly anteromedial and supragenual areas) and the transitional zone between the neocortex and the pyriform cortex. Moreover, biochemical examinations of processes generally considered to be indicative of dopaminergic neuro-transmission--neuronal uptake of labelled dopamine or dopamine-activation of adenylate cyclase activity--have confirmed a highly restricted locus of action of dopaminergic systems in the cerebral cortex. We describe here data obtained using the 2-deoxyglucose technique in conjunction with conventional neuropharmacological techniques, suggesting that the influence of dopaminergic systems on cortical function extends beyond the known confines of the mesocortical dopaminergic system.     

建筑工人情感安全文化、心理资本和安全行为的关系研究

建筑工地的安全事故频繁发生,建筑工人的情感安全文化和心理资本水平会对其安全行为产生影响.为了探讨建筑工人情感安全文化、心理资本和安全行为的影响关系,建立了描述建筑工人情感安全文化、心理资本和安全行为关系的假设模型,然后对600名建筑工人进行了问卷调查,并采用结构方程对此假设模型进行了验证.研究结果显示:情感安全文化会正向影响安全行为,表明它对安全参与行为的影响大于安全遵守行为;情感安全文化正向影响心理资本,表明它对自我效能、乐观的的影响大于希望、韧性;心理资本在情感安全文化对安全行为的影响中起部分中介作用,中介效应占比59.6％,且情感安全文化通过心理资本的自我效能和希望正向影响安全遵守行为,通过自我效能、希望和乐观正向影响安全参与行为.因此,有效提升建筑工人的情感安全文化和心理资本水平,能促进其安全行为,减少事故发生.     

ERP comparison of emotional activity between emotion-facilitation and emotion-interference children

A subliminal emotional Stroop experiment was carried out on 24 5-year-old children with event-related potential (ERP) recording. The children were separated into emotion-facilitation (EF) and emotion-interference (EI) groups based on their behavioral reaction times in emotional and neutral conditions. ERP result of these two groups showed different brain mechanisms of emotional related processing. When processing the emotional stimuli (negative or positive emotional facial pictures), the EI group activated more at the early stage of cognitive processing which was shown as an increase of P2 amplitude, while the lack of resources at the late stage of processing caused less activation which was shown as a decrease of N4 amplitude. The EF group had a reversed processing pattern as the EI group. For all groups of children, the left hemisphere was more sensitive to emotional processing. Furthermore, the positive and negative emotional information showed a similar pattern in the emotional and cognitive processing.