Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience最新文献

{"title":"Biomarkers of post-stroke cognitive impairment-a systematic literature review.","authors":"Lars Schmidli, Ines Richter, Shilpa Thaliyath, Johannes Frenger, Annaelle Zietz, Johannes Teller, Ramona Schuppner, Johanna Ernst, Maria M Gabriel, Pol Camps-Renom, John McCabe, Steffen Tiedt, Michelle C Johansen, Mira Katan, Gerrit M Grosse","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1864277","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1864277","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) severely affects quality of life and prognosis in stroke survivors, yet reliable predictive, diagnostic and prognostic tools remain limited. Recent advances suggest that molecular, genetic, and imaging-based biomarkers may improve prediction and management of PSCI. The purpose of this systematic review was to provide a synthesis of the current evidence on biomarkers related to PSCI, aiming to highlight knowledge gaps and future research directions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a systematic review of observational cohort, cross-sectional, case-control and interventional studies investigating biomarkers associated with PSCI and post-stroke dementia. Eligible studies enrolled patients with acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke and reported cognitive outcomes with biomarker assessments in blood, or other body fluids, or neuroimaging. Screening followed PRISMA guidelines. Data extraction included study design, population characteristics, biomarkers, and cognitive outcomes. Biomarkers were clustered by type for evidence synthesis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 834 screened studies, 154 were included (99 cohorts, 19 case-control, 35 cross-sectional, 1 interventional; <i>n</i> = 114,474). The most frequently studied biomarkers were imaging biomarkers, such as infarct volume, brain atrophy, and white matter hyperintensities, which showed consistent associations with PSCI, whereas blood-based biomarkers, notably markers of inflammation (e.g., CRP, IL-6), metabolism (e.g., HbA1c, homocysteine), and neuronal damage (e.g., amyloid-β_1-42, plasma neurofilament light chain), yielded more variable results, thereby limiting their applicability in clinical practice. Genetic markers (e.g., related to APOE ε4, MMP-9, microRNAs) showed moderate evidence of association with PSCI. We found substantial heterogeneity in timing of sampling or acquisition, cognitive assessment tools and population characteristics.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Several body-fluid-based, genetic, and imaging biomarkers demonstrate potential for the prediction of PSCI. However, clinical utility remains constrained by study heterogeneity, lack of standardization and residual confounding. Standardized protocols for cognitive assessments and biomarker timing, as well as multi-center longitudinal studies, are essential to validate and translate these biomarkers into routine clinical care.</p><p><strong>Systematic review registration: </strong>https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025642710, identifier CRD42025642710.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1864277"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13333719/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148435434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neural-behavioral dissociation under acute high-altitude stress: an exploratory ERP study of non-specific neural recruitment and rTMS effects.","authors":"Peng Wu, Lizhi Liu, Huanhuan Li, Jiangheng Guan, Yang Lu, Xianglin Kong, Jian Song, Guozheng Xu","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1844235","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1844235","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Acute high-altitude hypobaric hypoxia impairs executive functions, yet the dynamic relationship between behavioral performance and neuroelectric activity remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the neural compensatory mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction induced by high-altitude stress and to conduct an exploratory investigation of the potential modulatory effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-one healthy adults completed a Flanker task while undergoing EEG recording at three time points in a repeated-measures design: at baseline (G1), immediately after 24 h of simulated high-altitude hypobaric hypoxia (3,600 m; G2), and after three consecutive days of active 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (G3). We analyzed behavioral (reaction time, accuracy) and event-related potential (N2, P3 amplitude) outcomes. Importantly, we calculated conflict effect difference scores (ΔN2, ΔP3) to isolate neural activity specific to conflict processing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Reaction times were significantly faster at G2 and G3 than at G1 (<i>p</i> < 0.001), with accuracy remaining stable. N2 and P3 amplitudes were significantly enhanced at G2 and G3 relative to G1 (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). ΔN2 did not differ across time points, whereas ΔP3 showed a transient increase from G1 to G2 (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and returned to baseline at G3. As an exploratory study without a sham control, causal interpretations are limited, but the findings reveal clear dissociation between overall neural activity and conflict-specific processing.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Acute high-altitude stress increases neural activity related to conflict monitoring and attentional allocation. This enhancement reflects non-specific neural recruitment rather than improved specificity in conflict processing. Exploratory observations indicate that rTMS further elevates P3 amplitude without selectively modulating conflict-specific responses. Conflict effect scores (ΔN2, ΔP3) show promise as sensitive markers for evaluating neurocognitive states under hypoxic stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1844235"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13328090/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148390183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Behavioral phenotypes in aging: structured exploratory computational analysis of multi-assay behavioral data.","authors":"Gaurav Singhal, Bernhard T Baune","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1861841","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1861841","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Aging is associated with progressive alterations in behavioral function, yet majority of the studies interpret behavioral outcomes on an assay-by-assay basis, limiting understanding of how behavioral domains are organized. Our previously published study used a mouse cohort to report assay-specific behavioral effects. In this study, we examined whether aging-related behavioral signals remain localized to individual assays or can be summarized as coordinated domain-level patterns.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A structured rule-based workflow was implemented for feature engineering, direction harmonization, z-score standardization, and domain-level composite construction across locomotion/exploration, anxiety/avoidance, depression/passive coping, cognition/learning, memory, and sociability domains. Outcomes were analyzed using parametric or non-parametric models following assumption screening, with effect sizes reported.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Domain-level composite scores did not show significant age- or sex-related effects, indicating limited broad behavioral separation. In contrast, refined feature-level analysis identified modest locomotor differences (core locomotion distance; Kruskal-Wallis <i>p</i> = 0.048) and the clearest age-related signal in Barnes Maze performance, particularly the Barnes Maze efficiency index (<i>F</i> = 10.815, <i>p</i> < 0.001), with reduced performance in older animals. Repeated-measures analyses further confirmed training-related improvements in latency across days. Several additional measures showed a trend but did not reach statistical significance and hence are reported descriptively only.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Aging-related behavioral changes in this dataset were concentrated in specific assay-level measures rather than broadly distributed across domains. Domain-level aggregation reduced separation of effects, indicating that the present composites should be interpreted as heuristic summaries rather than validated behavioral dimensions. The main added value of this reanalysis is therefore interpretive, showing that the strongest signals remain most evident in selected measures, particularly Barnes Maze outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1861841"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13351101/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148420006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing circuit function in the developing <i>Xenopus</i> tadpole: a survey of the behavioral toolkit and underlying neural substrates.","authors":"Merritt Hayes, Andrew Liu, Nicholas Todorovic, Carlos D Aizenman, Hai-Yan He","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1806003","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1806003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Xenopus laevis</i> has long served as an important model for studies of embryonic development and is a cornerstone to our current understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment, including the formation and refinement of neural circuits. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to leverage the great accessibility and amenability of the <i>Xenopus</i> system to model neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders in humans for higher-throughput investigations of genetic and environmental risk factors. Behavioral paradigms are indispensable tools to assess functional output in whole animals. In this review, we summarize a range of behavioral paradigms established in <i>Xenopus laevis</i> and <i>Xenopus tropicalis</i> tadpoles to evaluate the functional development of the nervous system. We discuss the current understanding of neural substrates that give rise to specific behaviors, and how these paradigms have been used to evaluate the functional ramifications of cellular and molecular abnormalities in neural circuitry. We cover three categories of behavioral paradigms: innate and stable behaviors, experience-dependent and learned behaviors, and social behaviors. Each provides distinct functional readouts of the developing nervous system. We also include tips and suggestions for the implementation of these paradigms and discuss how insights from other aquatic animal models may inform the further development of behavioral paradigms in <i>Xenopus</i> tadpoles.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1806003"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13323496/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148375137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dawn of the dread: threatening cinematic virtual reality environments enhance general but not specific pavlovian-instrumental transfer.","authors":"Shaira Berg, Felippe Espinelli Amorim, Emily Breese, Anna Yew, Adam Shea, Thea Hardman, Zofia Zatyczyc, Srinidhi Krishnan, Trevor W Robbins, Sharon Morein-Zamir, Amy L Milton","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1803377","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1803377","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) exemplifies how Pavlovian-motivational influences modulate goal-directed behavior, yielding outcome-specific (specific PIT) and general (general PIT) transfer. General PIT is commonly interpreted as outcome-general invigoration and is sensitive to stress. However, human PIT research typically uses visual, appetitive procedures, whereas rodent PIT research often uses auditory cues, limiting translation. We tested whether cue modality, along with additional factors such as immersive threat contexts, modulates PIT, and whether virtual reality (VR) enhances general transfer.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Across three experiments (<i>N</i> = 196), participants completed a PIT task: (1) two-dimensional (2D) appetitive PIT with auditory vs. visual cues (Experiment 1; <i>n</i> = 60); (2) VR PIT comparing appetitive (positive reinforcement) vs. aversive (negative reinforcement; \"zombie\") contexts (Experiment 2; <i>n</i> = 40); and (3) aversive VR PIT preceded by immersive compound threat scenarios (neutral, spiders, contamination) in individuals stratified by contamination fear (CF) (Experiment 3; <i>n</i> = 96). Specific and general PIT were computed from baseline-corrected response rates. Stress induction (Experiment 3) was assessed using photoplethysmography-derived heart rate variability (HRV), salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), and self-report measures.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Robust specific (<i>η</i> _p ² > 0.45) and general PIT (<i>η</i> _p ² > 0.68) were observed across all experiments. In Experiment 1, PIT magnitude did not differ by cue modality; specific PIT exceeded general PIT across auditory and visual conditions. In Experiment 3, threat scenario type and contamination fear did not significantly alter transfer effects. Nevertheless, increased stress indices were observed, including phase-dependent HRV changes, elevated sAA from pre- to post-test, and higher self-reported anxiety (with stronger subjective fear/disgust in the contamination condition).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Across experiments, general PIT was larger in the VR studies than in the 2D study, whereas specific PIT remained stable; however, VR was not manipulated independently of reinforcement context and other procedural differences, precluding strong causal inference about its effect on general PIT. Despite this, human PIT appeared robust across cue modality and reinforcement context, and there was an indication that VR immersion may selectively amplify general invigoration while sparing specific PIT across all three experiments, albeit with a small effect (pseudo-<i>R</i> ² = 0.06).</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1803377"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13314635/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148360023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcranial alternating current stimulation improves cognitive functions in healthy subjects through modifying frontoparietal and dorsal attention networks based on personalized individual theta frequency analysis.","authors":"Burak Yulug, Ali Yalcinkaya, Ayse Karakuş, Shair Shah Safa, Dila Sayman, Alexandra Berekelia, Seyda Cankaya, Ceyhun Sayman, Sevilay Ayyildiz, Behçet Ayyildiz, Mehmet Ozansoy, Halil Aziz Velioglu, Lutfu Hanoglu, Adil Mardinoglu","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1821101","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1821101","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has emerged as a promising tool to modulate cognitive functions by entraining endogenous neural oscillations. This study investigated the behavioral and neurophysiological after-effects of theta-frequency tACS individualized to each participant's intrinsic theta frequency (ITF).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-two healthy participants were randomly assigned to either a real stimulation group (tACS group) or a sham group. Cognitive assessments and resting-state EEG/fMRI data were collected pre- and post-stimulation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants in the real tACS group showed significant post-stimulation improvements in short-term memory, verbal fluency and category fluency scores compared to the sham group. Functional connectivity analyses revealed increased activity in the dorsal attention and frontoparietal networks only in the stimulation group, suggesting network-specific modulation.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These effects align with the theta-gamma coupling theory and provide evidence for long-lasting neuroplastic changes following personalized tACS. This study contributes to our understanding of brain stimulation and supports the use of tACS for cognitive enhancement in healthy individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1821101"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13303487/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148344361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Functional loss of PKMζ in the dorsal hippocampus potentiates the time-dependent increase in false contextual fear memory and impairs spatial recognition memory in mice.","authors":"Haruna Takahashi, Yuna Kanemoto, Fuka Ohnuma, Yumi Tsuneura, Tohru Matsuki, Kenjiro Seki","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1837349","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1837349","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>False contextual fear memory has been attributed to a time-dependent loss of precision in contextual memory representations. In this study, we investigated the role of protein kinase M zeta (PKMζ), a key molecule in the maintenance of hippocampus-dependent long-term memory, in false contextual fear memory within the dorsal (dHPC) and ventral hippocampus (vHPC).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Two weeks prior to behavioral testing, male C57BL/6J mice (7-10 weeks old) received bilateral injections of adeno-associated virus (AAV PHP.eB) into the dHPC or vHPC to induce PKMζ knockdown (PKMζ KD), overexpression of wild-type PKMζ (PKMζ WT), or kinase-inactive PKMζ (PKMζ K281R). False contextual fear memory was assessed by measuring freezing behavior in Context B at 3 and 24 h following exposure to Context A with or without unconditioned stimulus presentation [US(+) and US(-), respectively]. Spatial recognition memory was evaluated using the two-trial novel arm recognition test in the Y-maze.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>As shown in our previous work, mice exhibited freezing in Context B after receiving a US in Context A, whereas mice that did not receive such a stimulus showed minimal freezing. These data confirmed that freezing in Context B reflects false contextual fear memory. False fear responses were evident at 3 h and were further increased at 24 h. Freezing at 24 h was markedly enhanced in dHPC PKMζ knockdown mice compared with that in AAV control-injected mice. PKMζ WT overexpression prevented the increase in freezing at 24 h, whereas PKMζ K281R overexpression mimicked the effects of PKMζ KD. Furthermore, PKMζ knockdown in the dHPC impaired spatial recognition memory, indicating that hippocampus-dependent spatial processing was disrupted. In contrast, PKMζ manipulation in the vHPC did not affect false contextual fear memory but did impair spatial recognition memory.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These findings are consistent with the possibility that functional loss of PKMζ in the dHPC affects contextual memory processes in a manner that may contribute to the time-dependent increase in false contextual fear and impaired spatial recognition memory.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1837349"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13294305/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148344373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interactive impacts of social deprivation and intranasal oxytocin administration on oxytocin receptor density in prairie vole brains.","authors":"Susanna Zheng, George S Prounis, Alexander G Ophir","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1772423","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1772423","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Early-life social experiences have a profound impact on the development of the brain and behavior. Previous work has shown that prairie voles (<i>Microtus ochrogaster</i>) raised in a socially limited environment (raised by a single mother and isolated after weaning) engaged in more social behaviors compared to those raised in a socially enriched environment (raised biparentally and group-housed after weaning). Furthermore, intranasal oxytocin has been therapeutically used in children, yet little is known about how this might affect brain development. Oxytocin is a crucial neuropeptide involved in social behavior and cognition, and variation in parental care and early social experiences has the potential to alter oxytocin receptors (OTR) throughout the brain. However, few studies have asked how different social experiences interact to alter brain phenotype.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this study, male prairie voles were raised in either a socially limited condition (raised by a single mother and isolated after weaning) or raised in a socially enriched condition (raised biparentally and group housed after weaning). Subjects in each condition were also administered either intranasal oxytocin or saline (PND 21-42). Finally, brains were collected, and we used autoradiography to quantify OTR throughout the brain of these animals.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>It showed that much of the forebrain did not show differences in OTR density as a result of either manipulation, reinforcing the idea that OTR phenotype is generally resistant to external forces. However, we found two important exceptions to this theme in the prefrontal cortex and the lateral septum - two areas of the brain that are critical to social behavior in general and prairie vole pair bonding in particular. Specifically, socially limited animals had significantly more OTR in the prefrontal cortex compared to socially enriched animals, and subjects administered intranasal oxytocin during adolescent development expressed more OTR in the lateral septum compared those treated with saline.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Although the impacts of external sources on OTR density appear to be restricted to only a few locations in the brain, these brain regions are central to social functioning, indicating limited but potentially significant impacts on social behaviors are plausible.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1772423"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13290860/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148327919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distinct orbitofrontal circuits with dorsal and ventral CA1 differentially regulate spatial memory and emotional behaviors.","authors":"Yanling Liang, Shiran Yu, Zizhuo Wang, Haibing Xu","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1853168","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1853168","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus are critically involved in cognitive and affective functions. However, the circuit architecture and functional organization linking the OFC with distinct hippocampal subregions, particularly dorsal CA1 (dCA1) and ventral CA1 (vCA1), remain poorly understood.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We combined viral circuit tracing with a bilateral disconnection strategy to investigate the anatomical and functional organization of OFC-CA1 connectivity in mice. Dual viral tracing was used to map direct and polysynaptic pathways, and taCasp3-mediated targeted neuronal ablation was employed to assess circuit-specific functional contributions. Behavioral effects were evaluated using spatial memory assays (Y-maze and object location recognition) and emotion-related tests (open field, elevated plus maze, tail suspension, and forced swim tests).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified a unidirectional indirect pathway linking OFC to dCA1 via the claustrum (OFC → claustrum→dCA1), with no evidence of reciprocal dCA1 → OFC connectivity. In contrast, vCA1 exhibited a distinct connectivity profile, including a direct monosynaptic projection to OFC and multiple indirect pathways through the anterior thalamic nuclei, basolateral amygdala, and entorhinal cortex, while no OFC → vCA1 projection was detected. Functionally, disconnection of OFC-dCA1 connectivity selectively impaired spatial memory without affecting anxiety- or depression-like behaviors. Conversely, disconnection of vCA1-OFC connectivity induced anxiety- and depression-like phenotypes while preserving spatial memory.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings demonstrate that the OFC interacts with dorsal and ventral CA1 subregions through anatomically distinct circuits with dissociable behavioral functions. This study provides circuit-level insight into how OFC-CA1 interactions differentially regulate spatial memory and affect-related behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1853168"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13290759/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148327895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards a neurophysiological model of kundalini: a theoretical framework informed by preliminary clinical observations.","authors":"Swapan Samanta, Nirmal Sultania, Mukul Roychoudhury, Surendra Sharma, Paritosh Mitra","doi":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1828520","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1828520","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The purpose of the present paper is not to validate the metaphysical claims of yogic traditions, but to examine whether their phenomenological descriptions correspond to measurable physiological processes. The proposal advanced here is explicitly theoretical: a hypothesis-generating model informed by preliminary retrospective clinical observations, not a claim of established proof. All interpretations of iconographic material are advanced as phenomenological correspondences - possible mappings onto identifiable neurophysiological states - rather than assertions of historical or archaeological fact.</p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Kundalini has been described in yogic literature as a transformative psychophysiological process, with systematic iconographic representations that date back across millennia. Its physiological basis remains undefined within contemporary neuroscience. This article proposes that the phenomenological descriptions embedded in classical Indian iconography may correspond in structure and sequence to identifiable neurophysiological states of autonomic integration.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This article proposes a neurophysiological theoretical framework for interpreting kundalini phenomena, drawing on preliminary, retrospective clinical observations, published neuroscience, and cross-tradition phenomenological analysis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective analysis of a 14-year single-practitioner observational dataset comprising 404 consecutive patients treated for autonomic dysregulation, sleep disturbance, and attentional dysfunction using non-invasive, non-pharmacological interventions. No randomisation or control arm was employed. The dataset is presented as exploratory and hypothesis-generating clinical evidence rather than experimental proof.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Observed patterns-including improvements in heart rate variability (HRV), cortisol diurnal rhythm restoration, and attentional stability-are associated with a progressive nervous system integration trajectory consistent with the classical bottom-up kundalini model. The neural dispersion index (NDI), proposed in this study as an exploratory heuristic synthesis metric requiring independent validation, is used to track these changes across a seven-domain profile. The natural clinical progression follows a four-stage sequence: fragmentation (NDI > 60) → dormant baseline (NDI 40-60) → progressive integration (NDI 25-40) → threshold coherence (NDI < 25).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Preliminary observations support a testable neurophysiological model of kundalini as a process of progressive autonomic and cortical integration. The model generates four specific falsifiable predictions. Formal prospective investigation is required before any clinical conclusions can be drawn.</p>","PeriodicalId":12368,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience","volume":"20 ","pages":"1828520"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13291124/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148327883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}