Joanne Jingwen Li , Ayoub Daliri , Kwang S. Kim , Ludo Max
{"title":"Does pre-speech auditory modulation reflect processes related to feedback monitoring or speech movement planning?","authors":"Joanne Jingwen Li , Ayoub Daliri , Kwang S. Kim , Ludo Max","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138025","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous studies have revealed that auditory processing is modulated during the planning phase immediately prior to speech onset. To date, the functional relevance of this pre-speech auditory modulation (PSAM) remains unknown. Here, we investigated whether PSAM reflects neuronal processes that are associated with preparing auditory cortex for optimized feedback monitoring as reflected in online speech corrections. Combining electroencephalographic PSAM data from a previous data set with new acoustic measures of the same participants’ speech, we asked whether individual speakers’ extent of PSAM is correlated with the implementation of within-vowel articulatory adjustments during /b/-vowel-/d/ word productions. Online articulatory adjustments were quantified as the extent of change in inter-trial formant variability from vowel onset to vowel midpoint (a phenomenon known as <em>centering</em>). This approach allowed us to also consider inter-trial variability in formant production, and its possible relation to PSAM, at vowel onset and midpoint separately. Results showed that inter-trial formant variability was significantly smaller at vowel midpoint than at vowel onset. PSAM was not significantly correlated with this amount of change in variability as an index of within-vowel adjustments. Surprisingly, PSAM was negatively correlated with inter-trial formant variability not only in the middle but also at the very onset of the vowels. Thus, speakers with more PSAM produced formants that were already less variable at vowel onset. Findings suggest that PSAM may reflect processes that influence speech acoustics as early as vowel onset and, thus, that are directly involved in motor command preparation (feedforward control) rather than output monitoring (feedback control).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138025"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142504936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Joint administration of sub-threshold doses of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil with those of the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine improved rats’ recognition memory abilities","authors":"Angeliki Metaxia Styla, Nikolaos Pitsikas","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a serious progressive neurodegenerative illness conducting to the decay of cognitive functions. A few drugs have been approved for the therapy of AD, including the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) like donepezil. Their efficiency, however, is modest and their application is associated with toxicity. Recently, the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine, a rapidly acting antidepressant, has been proposed as a potential agent for the treatment of AD. The present study was designed to investigate the effects exerted by the combination of sub-threshold doses of donepezil with those of ketamine on rats’ recognition memory abilities. For these experiments, the object recognition task (ORT) and the object location task (OLT), two procedures assessing non-spatial and spatial recognition memory respectively in rodents were used. Post-training acute administration of inactive doses of donepezil (0.3 mg/kg) and ketamine (1 mg/kg) counteracted non-spatial and spatial recognition memory impairments. The present findings, although preliminary, propose that the combined administration of ketamine and donepezil could represent a new strategy for the therapy of memory disorders, a common feature of AD patients.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138026"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142504937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bernard A.J. Jap , Yu-Yin Hsu , Stephen Politzer-Ahles
{"title":"Are cleft sentence structures more difficult to process?","authors":"Bernard A.J. Jap , Yu-Yin Hsu , Stephen Politzer-Ahles","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138029","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138029","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study compares the processing of cleft structures against that of monoclausal sentences using event-related potential (ERP). We aim to understand how syntactic complexity is processed by comparing the neural response to cleft and single-clause sentences with identical verb phrases, controlling for verb bias frequency effects. Sixty participants were tested, and we presented 100 cleft and 100 monoclausal sentences, balanced for active and passive verb usage. We examined the P600 component, an ERP associated with syntactic complexity, to assess the processing of cleft structures. Results showed that cleft structures incur a greater processing load, as indicated by a larger P600, compared to monoclausal sentences. The P600 response indicates that processing cleft sentences requires additional syntactic operations, consistent with behavioral studies showing that clinical populations have difficulty comprehending complex sentences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138029"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142504935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fos expression in A1/C1 neurons of rats exposed to hypoxia, hypercapnia, or hypercapnic hypoxia","authors":"Kouki Kato , Risa Serizawa , Takuya Yokoyama , Nobuaki Nakamuta , Yoshio Yamamoto","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The distribution of Fos expression in catecholaminergic neurons with immunoreactivity for dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) of the ventrolateral medulla was compared between rats exposed to hypoxia (10 % O<sub>2</sub>), hypercapnia (8 % CO<sub>2</sub>), and hypercapnic hypoxia (8 % CO<sub>2</sub> and 10 % O<sub>2</sub>) for 2 h. Among the experimental groups, hypoxia-exposed rats had more Fos/DBH double-immunoreactive neurons than the control group (20 % O<sub>2</sub>) in the rostral area of the ventrolateral medulla, specifically in the range of + 150 μm to + 2,400 μm from the caudal end of the facial nerve nucleus. On the other hand, Fos/DBH double-immunoreactive neurons were scarcely observed in the ventrolateral medullary region of hypercapnia-exposed rats. The number of double-immunoreactive neurons in hypercapnic hypoxia-exposed rats was comparable to that in the control group. The present results suggest that adrenergic C1 neurons are specifically activated by hypoxia and are involved in the regulation of respiratory and circulatory functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138024"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142504939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yihao Sun , Bin Tian , Jiali Liang , Meiru Bu , Xi Deng , Kemei Deng , Muliang Jiang , Bihong T. Chen
{"title":"Hippocampal iron overload and spatial reference memory impairment: Insights from a rat model","authors":"Yihao Sun , Bin Tian , Jiali Liang , Meiru Bu , Xi Deng , Kemei Deng , Muliang Jiang , Bihong T. Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Brain iron overload may induce neuronal death and lead to cognitive impairment. The hippocampus is a critical limbic structure involved in memory. This study aimed to investigate iron overload and its role in hippocampal damage and memory impairment using a rat model.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Young rats (2 weeks old) received intraperitoneal injections of high-dose iron solution (Group H, n = 10), low-dose iron solution (Group L, n = 10) and normal saline as control (Group D, n = 5). The Morris water maze (MWM) test was performed on all rats to evaluate their spatial reference memory by assessing their escape latency time and number of platform crossing. The iron content and neuronal damage in hippocampal tissue sections of the rats were assessed semi-quantitatively using diaminobenzidine (DAB)-enhanced Perl’s Prussian blue (PPB) staining, and their correlation with spatial reference memory performance was evaluated.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The escape latency in Group H was significantly longer compared to Groups L and D (<em>P</em> < 0.05). The number of platform crossings was significantly lower in Group H than in Group L or D (<em>P</em> < 0.001). The neuronal cells in Group H had more brown iron deposits than those of Groups L and D. There were significant correlations between the severity of structural damage in the hippocampal tissue and the number of platform crossings (<em>P<sub>1</sub></em> = 0.001 for Group H; <em>P<sub>2</sub></em> = 0.043 for Group L).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study showed an association between hippocampal iron-induced structural damage and spatial reference memory impairment in a rat model. This work should advance our understanding of hippocampal iron overload on cognitive functioning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138014"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142504940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marco Anzalone , Sarmad A. Karam , Sanne R.R. Briting , Sussanne Petersen , Majken B. Thomsen , Alicia A. Babcock , Anne M. Landau , Bente Finsen , Athanasios Metaxas
{"title":"Serotonin-2B receptor (5-HT2BR) expression and binding in the brain of APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice and in Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue","authors":"Marco Anzalone , Sarmad A. Karam , Sanne R.R. Briting , Sussanne Petersen , Majken B. Thomsen , Alicia A. Babcock , Anne M. Landau , Bente Finsen , Athanasios Metaxas","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite well-documented dysregulation in central serotonergic signaling in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), knowledge about the potential involvement of the serotonin-2B receptor (5-HT<sub>2B</sub>R) subtype remains sparse. Here, we assessed the levels of 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>Rs in brain tissue from <em>APP<sub>swe</sub>/PS1<sub>dE9</sub></em> transgenic (TG) mice, AD patients, and adult microglial cells. 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>R mRNA was measured by RT-qPCR in ageing TG and wild-type (WT) mice, in samples from the middle frontal gyrus of female, AD and control subjects, and in microglia from the cerebral cortex of WT mice. The density of 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>Rs was measured by autoradiography using [<sup>3</sup>H]RS 127445. Both mouse and human brains had low levels of 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>R mRNA. In whole-brain mouse samples, mRNA expression was significantly lower in TG mice compared to WT at > 18 months of age. In the Aβ-plaque-burdened neocortex and hippocampus of old TG mice, however, levels of 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>R mRNA were two-fold higher over control, with similar elevations observed in the Aβ-plaque-burdened frontal cortex of human AD patients. 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>R mRNA expression varied widely in adult microglia and was higher compared to other cortical cell subtypes. In mice, specific [<sup>3</sup>H]RS-127445 binding in the cortex was first detected after 3 months of age. The density of 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>Rs was low and overall reduced in TG, compared to WT mice. Binding was detectable but too low to be reliably quantified in the human cortex. Our results document Aβ-associated increases in 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>R mRNA expression and suggest reduced receptor binding in the context of AD. Studies investigating the functional involvement of microglial 5-HT<sub>2B</sub>Rs in AD are considered relevant.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"844 ","pages":"Article 138013"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142471065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Association of plasma neurofilament light chain and Lipoprotein-related phospholipase A2 with motor subtypes of Parkinson’s disease","authors":"Jinghui Zhang , Mengmeng Dong , Zhen Li, Zhuo Li, Rui Zhang, Meili Deng, Yanlin Wang, Tingyu Cao, Qingqing Shi, Pengcheng Huang, Tinglan Huang, Huiran Wang, Wei Liu, Wei Zhang, Qi Li, Tao Yan , Xiaodong Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels were reliable biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Lipoprotein-related Phospholipase A2(Lp-PLA2) levels have also been increasingly studied in PD. We aimed to explore the association of plasma NfL and Lp-PLA2 with the diagnosis, motor subtypes and disease severity of PD. Plasma NfL and Lp-PLA2 were assayed separately in 106 participants (74 PD and 32 healthy controls, HC). The motor subtypes of PD were classified according to the MDS-UPDRS components, and motor and non-motor manifestations of patients were also evaluated. Subsequently, correlation analyses were performed. The plasma NfL levels were higher in the PD than HC, and were positively correlated with age, UPDRS II, UPDRS III and the modified Hoehn and Yahr staging scale (H&Y stage) in the PD. Moreover, plasma Lp-PLA2 levels were lower in the PD than HC, and were positively correlated with Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (PDQ-39) in the PD. For further distinguishing tremor-dominant (TD) from postural instability and gait difficulty-dominant (PIGD), plasma Lp-PLA2 levels were higher in the TD than PIGD, but there was no significant difference in NfL. plasma Lp-PLA2 levels were positively correlated with UPDRS I, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) and PDQ-39 in the TD. These results<!--> <!-->suggest that NfL and Lp-PLA2 may be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of PD. We first demonstrated the potential utility of plasma Lp-PLA2 in differentiating motor subtypes. These findings deserve further evidence in larger PD cohorts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138011"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142471063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Alcohol exposure induces cortical activity change during quiescent state","authors":"Chang Che , Tong Zhou , Shi-Yu Peng , Yan-Min Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a significant global mental health issue that impacts both the central and peripheral systems, leading to widespread cognitive and motor dysfunctions. The primary motor cortex (M1) plays a critical role in motor planning, control, and execution, yet the effects of chronic alcohol exposure on M1 remain underexplored, particularly during quiescent states. This study investigates the functional changes in M1 due to chronic alcohol exposure using high-resolution Neuropixels electrode recordings in a mouse model. Our findings reveal alterations in neuronal firing mode, particularly in layer V, highlighting disruptions in the excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance. Despite similar overall firing rates, changes in firing interval distributions suggest altered temporal dynamics of neuronal activity due to alcohol exposure. These results align with existing literature on cortical disruptions caused by alcohol and provide new insights into the specific neuronal dynamics within M1, especially in quiescent states.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138012"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142471062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Glycyrrhizic acid promote remyelination after peripheral nerve injury by reducing NF-κB activation","authors":"Yuan Yue , Jing Wang , Jun Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) causes motor and sensory defects, has strong impact on life quality and still has no effective therapy. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is one of the most widely used in traditional Chinese prescriptions and as a flavoring additive in the food industry; the aims of the study were to investigate the effects of GA during sciatic nerve regeneration in a mouse model of sciatic nerve crush injury.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We established peripheral nerve crush model and investigated the effects of GA. We further studied the potential mechanism of action of GA by Western blotting, fluorescence immunohistochemistry, and PCR analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>GA improves the sensory and motor functions of crushed nerve by preventing Schwann cell loss, axonal loss and promoting remyelination of sciatic nerve. Affected by GA, the inflammatory response in the distal part of the sciatic nerve was reduced. Finally, the neuroprotective properties of GA may be regulated by the nuclear factor (NF)‐κB pathway.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our data suggest that GA can effectively alleviate PNI, and the mechanism involves mediating inflammatory response by suppressing NF-κB pathway activation. Thus, GA may represent a potential therapeutic intervention for nerve crush injury.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138009"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142471064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Song Hao, Qiaoran Wang, Yuhan Zhang, Yibei Miao, Yuxin Shan
{"title":"The effect of different visual feedback interfaces of music training games on speech rehabilitation in hearing-impaired children: An fNIRS study","authors":"Song Hao, Qiaoran Wang, Yuhan Zhang, Yibei Miao, Yuxin Shan","doi":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neulet.2024.138010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Singing plays a critical role in enhancing musicality, sound discrimination, and attention, and proves advantageous for speech rehabilitation in children with hearing impairments. Computer-based training games are well-suited to the learning behaviors of children, with substantial evidence suggesting that music training augments speech training capabilities in this demographic. Despite this, there is a lack of detailed exploration into the design of interactive online music training interfaces tailored for these needs. This study investigates brain activation changes using two visual feedback singing games, analyzed through functional near-infrared spectroscopy: a serious game (SG) and an entertainment game (EG) with visually enhanced feedback. It also assesses the efficacy of home-based music training software for speech rehabilitation.</div><div>Methods involved recording oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (Delta [HbO]) signals from the prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe in 21 children (average age: 9.3 ± 1.9 years) during two singing interface experiments. Subjects also completed the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire post-experiment.</div><div>Main results showed that brain regions, particularly the temporal lobe, exhibited stronger and more pronounced activation signals with the SG interface compared to the EG, suggesting that SG is more effective for speech system rehabilitation. The Intrinsic Motivation Scale results revealed higher acceptability for SG than for EG. This study provides insights into designing online speech rehabilitation products for children with hearing impairment, advocating for better interactive training methods from a neuroscience perspective.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19290,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience Letters","volume":"843 ","pages":"Article 138010"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142471066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}