Lithium increases slow wave sleep: possible mediation by brain 5-HT2 receptors?

The effect of lithium on slow wave sleep (SWS) was studied in ten normal male volunteers using home based cassette sleep recording and automatic sleep stage analysis. Lithium increased SWS, an effect consisten with a reduction in brain 5-HT₂ receptor function.     

Regional cerebral activity associated with the incidental processing of pseudo-words

In order to study brain activity associated with “incidental” cognitive processing, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in six volunteers while they monitored a sequence of pseudo-words (e.g., FLOPE) for the rare occasions when the letters were displayed in blue rather than white. In the control condition, the same pseudo-word was presented repeatedly. In one experimental condition all 60 pseudo-words were different, while in the other there were 18 repetitions. Although it was not necessary to “read” the pseudo-words to perform the monitoring task, subsequent forced choice recognition memory for these stimuli was significantly greater than chance. Furthermore, there were significant differences in blood flow between the three conditions. When different pseudo-words were presented there was significantly greater activity in brain areas concerned with shape and object identity (extrastriate cortex bilaterally), with visual word form (left inferior temporal gyrus), and with articulatory word form (Broca's area) even though none of this information about the pseudo-words was needed for performance of the monitoring task. In the condition in which some of the words were repeated, there was significantly reduced activity in the right lingual gyrus. This area may therefore be a possible anatomical locus for repetition priming with verbal stimuli. These results indicate the importance of taking into account incidental processing when designing tasks for functional imaging experiments. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Tumor vascular signals in renal masses: detection with Doppler US

The vascularity of 49 renal masses (26 malignant and 23 benign lesions) was investigated with duplex Doppler ultrasound. Doppler signals obtained at the margins of renal masses were defined as "tumor signals" when the Doppler-shifted frequency of the lesion exceeded the frequency shift in the ipsilateral main renal artery. These exceeded 2.5 kHz with a 3-MHz insonating frequency. Among the 26 renal masses that subsequently proved to be malignant, tumor signals were obtained in 15 of 18 (83%) untreated renal cell carcinomas, in three of four Wilms tumors, and in two patients with metastases to the kidney, but not in the one patient with lymphoma. None of the 23 benign renal masses demonstrated tumor signals. Tumor vascularity in malignant lesions gives rise to abnormal, high-velocity, Doppler-shifted signals that can help in the differential diagnosis of renal masses.     

Detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis in human fragmented embryos

In human in-vitro fertilization (IVF)-embryo transfer, the in-vitro culture environment differs from in-vivo conditions in that the oxygen concentration is higher, and in such conditions the mouse embryos show a higher concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in simple culture media. ROS are believed to cause damage to cell membranes and DNA fragmentation in somatic cells. This study was conducted to ascertain the level of H2O2 concentration within embryos and the morphological features of cell damage induced by H2O2. A total of 62 human oocytes and embryos (31 fragmented, 15 non-fragmented embryos, 16 unfertilized oocytes) was obtained from the IVF-embryo transfer programme. The relative intensity of H2O2 concentrations within embryos was measured using 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate by Quanti cell 500 fluorescence imaging and DNA fragmentation was observed with transmission electron microscopy and an in-situ apoptosis detection kit. The H2O2 concentrations were significantly higher in fragmented embryos (72.21 +/- 9.62, mean +/- SEM) compared to non-fragmented embryos (31.30 +/- 3.50, P < 0.05) and unfertilized oocytes (30.75 +/- 2.67, P < 0.05). Apoptosis was observed only in fragmented embryos, and was absent in non-fragmented embryos. Electron microscopic findings confirmed apoptotic bodies and cytoplasmic condensation in the fragmented blastomeres. We conclude that there is a direct relationship between increased H2O2 concentration and apoptosis, and that further studies should be undertaken to confirm these findings.      

The anatomy of melancholia--focal abnormalities of cerebral blood flow in major depression.

Using positron emission tomography (PET) and 15Oxygen, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 33 patients with primary depression, 10 of whom had an associated severe cognitive impairment, and 23 age-matched controls. PET scans from these groups were analysed on a pixel-by-pixel basis and significant differences between the groups were identified on Statistical Parametric Maps (SPMs). In the depressed group as a whole rCBF was decreased in the left anterior cingulate and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (P less than 0.05 Bonferroni-corrected for multiple comparisons). Comparing patients with and without depression-related cognitive impairment, in the impaired group there were significant decreases in rCBF in the left medial frontal gyrus and increased rCBF in the cerebellar vermis (P less than 0.05 Bonferroni-corrected). Therefore an anatomical dissociation has been described between the rCBF profiles associated with depressed mood and depression-related cognitive impairment. The pre-frontal and limbic areas identified in this study constitute a distributed anatomical network that may be functionally abnormal in major depressive disorder.     

Opponent appetitive-aversive neural processes underlie predictive learning of pain relief

Termination of a painful or unpleasant event can be rewarding. However, whether the brain treats relief in a similar way as it treats natural reward is unclear, and the neural processes that underlie its representation as a motivational goal remain poorly understood. We used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to investigate how humans learn to generate expectations of pain relief. Using a pavlovian conditioning procedure, we show that subjects experiencing prolonged experimentally induced pain can be conditioned to predict pain relief. This proceeds in a manner consistent with contemporary reward-learning theory (average reward/loss reinforcement learning), reflected by neural activity in the amygdala and midbrain. Furthermore, these reward-like learning signals are mirrored by opposite aversion-like signals in lateral orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. This dual coding has parallels to 'opponent process' theories in psychology and promotes a formal account of prediction and expectation during pain.     

The effect of the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine on regional cerebral blood flow during the performance of a memory task

Scopolamine, a muscarinic antagonist, impairs memory performance in both humans and animals. In this study, repeated measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were made in normal volunteers whilst performing auditory verbal memory tasks, before and after the administration of scopolamine (0.4 mg s.c.) or placebo. Compared to placebo, scopolamine increased blood flow in the lateral occipital cortex bilaterally and the left orbitofrontal region. Scopolamine decreased rCBF in the region of the right thalamus, the precuneus and the right and left lateral premotor areas. Scopolamine attenuated memory-task-induced increases of rCBF in the left and right prefrontal cortex and the right anterior cingulate region. These data suggest that acute blockade of cholinergic neurotransmission affects diverse brain areas, including components of the visual and motor systems, and, in addition, modulates memory task activations at distinct points in a distributed network for memory function.