Tag: Neuroanatomy and Structure

Color and Spatial Frequency Provide Functional Signatures of Retinotopic Visual Areas

Primate vision relies on retinotopically organized cortical parcels defined by representations of hemifield (upper vs lower visual field), eccentricity (fovea vs periphery), and area (V1, V2, V3, V4). Here we test for functional signatures of these organizing principles. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure responses to gratings varying in spatial frequency, color, and… Continue reading Color and Spatial Frequency Provide Functional Signatures of Retinotopic Visual Areas

Input/Output Relationships for the Primary Hippocampal Circuit

The hippocampus is the most studied brain region, but little is known about signal throughput—the simplest, yet most essential of circuit operations—across its multiple stages from perforant path input to CA1 output. Using hippocampal slices derived from male mice, we have found that single-pulse lateral perforant path (LPP) stimulation produces a two-part CA1 response generated… Continue reading Input/Output Relationships for the Primary Hippocampal Circuit

GPe Projections to the Retrorubral Field Give Rise to Diverging GABAergic and DAergic Circuits

The external segment of the globus pallidus (GPe) is involved in the modulation of the motor output and limbic components of behavior. The circuitry by which the GPe contributes to limbic components of behavior remains unknown. While many investigations have focused on the local circuitry within the basal ganglia, numerous GPe projections to target regions… Continue reading GPe Projections to the Retrorubral Field Give Rise to Diverging GABAergic and DAergic Circuits

Breathing Modulates Network Activity in Frontal Brain Regions during Anxiety

Anxiety elicits various physiological responses, including changes in the respiratory rate and neuronal activity within specific brain regions such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Previous research suggests that the olfactory bulb (OB) modulates the mPFC through respiration-coupled oscillations (RCOs), which have been linked to fear-related freezing behavior. Nevertheless, the impact of breathing on frontal… Continue reading Breathing Modulates Network Activity in Frontal Brain Regions during Anxiety

An Eccentricity Gradient Reversal across High-Level Visual Cortex

Human visual cortex contains regions selectively involved in perceiving and recognizing ecologically important visual stimuli such as people and places. Located in the ventral temporal lobe, these regions are organized consistently relative to cortical folding, a phenomenon thought to be inherited from how centrally or peripherally these stimuli are viewed with the retina. While this… Continue reading An Eccentricity Gradient Reversal across High-Level Visual Cortex

Dissecting the Causal Role of Early Inferior Frontal Activation in Reading

Cognitive models of reading assume that speech production occurs after visual and phonological processing of written words. This traditional view is at odds with more recent magnetoencephalography studies showing that the left posterior inferior frontal cortex (pIFC) classically associated with spoken production responds to print at 100–150 ms after word-onset, almost simultaneously with posterior brain regions… Continue reading Dissecting the Causal Role of Early Inferior Frontal Activation in Reading

Astrocytes in aging

In this review, Labarta-Bajo and Allen discuss how astrocytes, glial cells that regulate neural circuit function in development and adulthood, are altered in the aged brain. The nature of the alterations to astrocytes with aging, what triggers these changes, and how aged astrocytes impact brain function are presented.

Personal interests can influence how children’s brains respond to language

A recent study from the McGovern Institute for Brain Research shows how interests can modulate language processing in children’s brains and paves the way for personalized brain research. The paper, which appears in Imaging Neuroscience, was conducted in the lab of MIT professor and McGovern Institute investigator John Gabrieli, and led by senior author Anila… Continue reading Personal interests can influence how children’s brains respond to language

MIT affiliates awarded 2024 National Medals of Science, Technology

Four MIT faculty members are among 23 world-class researchers who have been awarded the nation’s highest honors for scientists and innovators, the White House announced today. Angela Belcher and Emery Brown were each presented with the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony this afternoon, and Paula Hammond ’84, PhD ’93, and Feng… Continue reading MIT affiliates awarded 2024 National Medals of Science, Technology