BMC Neuroscience - Latest articlesThe latest articles from BMC Neuroscience (ISSN 1471-2202) published by BioMed CentralNeural markers of a greater female responsiveness to social stimuli- June 30, 2008 Background: There is fMRI evidence that women are neurally predisposed to process infant laughter and crying. Other findings show that women might be more empathic and sensitive than men to emotional facial expressions. However, no gender difference in the brain responses to persons and unanimated scenes has hitherto been demonstrated. Results: Twenty-four men and women viewed 220 images portraying persons or landscapes and ERPs were recorded from 128 sites. In women, but not in men, the N2...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/56 Brain architecture in the terrestrial hermit crab Coenobita clypeatus (Anomura, Coenobitidae), a crustacean with a good aerial sense of smell- June 30, 2008 Background: During the evolutionary radiation of Crustacea, several lineages in this taxon convergently succeeded in meeting the physiological challenges connected to establishing a fully terrestrial life style. These physiological adaptations include the need for sensory organs of terrestrial species to function in air rather than in water. Previous behavioral and neuroethological studies have provided solid evidence that the land hermit crabs (Coenobitidae, Anomura) are a group of crustaceans.http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/58 Elevated intracellular chloride level in albino visual cortex neurons is mediated by Na-K-Cl co-transporter- June 30, 2008 Background: During development the switch from a depolarizing to a hyperpolarizing action of GABA is a consequence of a decrease of the Na+-K+-2Cl- co-transporter (NKCC1, Cl--uptake) and increase of the K+-Cl- co-transporter (KCC2, Cl--extrusion) expression. However albino visual cortex neurons don't show a corresponding decrease in intracellular chloride concentration during development of the visual system as compared to pigmented animals. Results: Our study revealed that more cells express...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/57 Differences in the processing of anaphoric reference between closely related languages: neurophysiological evidence- June 27, 2008 Background: The present study examines the involvement of syntactic and semanticconceptual processes in the comprehension of pronouns in Dutch using the technique of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) replicating and extending an earlier study in German. Dutch and German are closely related and share the same logic in referring to non-diminutive and diminutive NPs (i.e. adding an affix which changes the syntactic gender into neutral). Both languages separate male (hijer (he)) and female...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/55 Apoptosis of supraoptic AVP neurons is involved in the development of central diabetes insipidus after hypophysectomy in rats- June 25, 2008 Background: It has been reported that various types of axonal injury of hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal tract can result in degeneration of the magnocellular neurons (MCNs) in hypothalamus and development of central diabetes insipidus (CDI). However, the mechanism of the degeneration and death of MCNs after hypophysectomy in vivo is still unclear. This present study was aimed to disclose it and to figure out the dynamic change of central diabetes insipidus after hypophysectomy. Results: The...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/54 Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: an event-related potentials training study- June 23, 2008 Background: Tone languages such as Thai and Mandarin Chinese use differences in fundamental frequency (F0, pitch) to distinguish lexical meaning. Previous behavioral studies have shown that native speakers of a non-tone language have difficulty discriminating among tone contrasts and are sensitive to different F0 dimensions than speakers of a tone language. The aim of the present ERP study was to investigate the effect of language background and training on the non-attentive processing of...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/53 A naturally occurring omega current in a Kv3 family potassium channel from a platyhelminth- June 19, 2008 Background: Voltage-gated ion channels are membrane proteins containing a selective pore that allows permeable ions to transit the membrane in response to a change in the transmembrane voltage. The typical selectivity filter in potassium channels is formed by a tetrameric arrangement of the carbonyl groups of the conserved amino-acid sequence Gly-Tyr-Gly. This canonical pore is opened or closed by conformational changes that originate in the voltage sensor (S4), a transmembrane helix with a...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/52 Changes in corticospinal excitability and the direction of evoked movements during motor preparation: a TMS study- June 17, 2008 Background: Preparation of the direction of a forthcoming movement has a particularly strong influence on both reaction times and neuronal activity in the primate motor cortex. Here, we aimed to find direct neurophysiological evidence for the preparation of movement direction in humans. We used single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to evoke isolated thumb-movements, of which the direction can be modulated experimentally, for example by training or by motor tasks. Sixteen healthy..http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/51 Comparison of slow and fast neocortical neuron migration using a new in vitro model- June 5, 2008 Background: Mutations, toxic insults and radiation exposure are known to slow or arrest the migration of cortical neurons, in most cases by unknown mechanisms. The movement of migrating neurons is saltatory, reflecting the intermittent movement of the nucleus (nucleokinesis) within the confines of the plasma membrane. Each nucleokinetic movement is analogous to a step. Thus, average migration speed could be reduced by lowering step frequency andor step distance. Results: To assess the kinetic...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/50 |