Influence of brain-derived neurotrophic factor val66met human polymorphism on declarative memory consolidation

Poster (2010, November 15)

The Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin which in the adult brain regulates long-term potentiation. In humans, valine (val) to methionine (met) substitution in the 5’ pro-region of ... [more ▼]

The Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin which in the adult brain regulates long-term potentiation. In humans, valine (val) to methionine (met) substitution in the 5’ pro-region of the BDNF protein is associated with poorer episodic memory. Neurons transfected with met-BDNF-Green Fluorescence Protein showed lower depolarization-induced secretion, while constitutive secretion is unchanged. Here, we hypothesized that the differences in BDNF release determined by this polymorphism would influence memory consolidation and that in comparison with the val/met (=val/met or met/met), val/val individuals would show higher memory performance and different brain responses during a 16h-delayed rather than immediate retrieval session. Participants encoded a series of neutral faces in the afternoon. Retrieval sessions took place one hour after the encoding session, and in the following morning, during the acquisition of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) time series with a 3 Tesla Allegra scanner. During retrieval, studied faces and new ones were presented in random order. For each stimulus, the subjects indicated whether they could retrieve the encoding episode with (“Remember”), or without details (“Know”), or if they thought the item had not been presented during encoding (“New”). A repeated-measure ANOVA on discrimination index (d’) showed significant effects of group (F(1, 27)=8.65, p=0.007, n(val/val)=14, n(val/met)=15) and session (F(1, 27)=24.64, p=0.000), although the group by session interaction was not significant (F(1, 27)=1.29, p=0.267). fMRI results showed a significant genotype (val/val > val/met) by session (delayed > immediate retrieval) by memory type (Remember > Know) interaction in the right inferior occipital gyrus (x=42, y=-78, z=0, p=0.004, Z=3.77), the left inferior parietal lobule (x=-56, y=-40, z=48, p=0.013, Z=3.43), the posterior cingulate cortex (x=14, y=-42, z=42, p=0.019, Z=3.29) and the right hippocampus (x=28, y=-22, z=-22, p=0.03, Z=3.11). Val/val individuals demonstrate higher memory performance than met-carriers but the change in memory performance between immediate and delayed retests is similar in both allelic groups. In contrast, neural correlates of recollection change between sessions differently according to genotype: responses increase significantly more in val/val than in val/met individuals in brain areas involved in the retrieval, accumulation and binding of perceptual memory details during delayed, relative to immediate retest. These data suggest that activity-dependent BDNF release promotes memory consolidation during the first post-training hours. [less ▲]

Neural correlates of cognitive control at the item specific level in the Stroop task

Poster (2010, May 04)

Working memory load modulates time-of-day and chronotype effects on task-related BOLD activity

in NeuroImage (2010), 51(Suppl. 1),

Breakdown of within- and between-network resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity during propofol-induced loss of consciousness.

in Anesthesiology (2010), 113(5), 1038-53

BACKGROUND: Mechanisms of anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness remain poorly understood. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging allows investigating whole-brain connectivity changes ... [more ▼]

BACKGROUND: Mechanisms of anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness remain poorly understood. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging allows investigating whole-brain connectivity changes during pharmacological modulation of the level of consciousness. METHODS: Low-frequency spontaneous blood oxygen level-dependent fluctuations were measured in 19 healthy volunteers during wakefulness, mild sedation, deep sedation with clinical unconsciousness, and subsequent recovery of consciousness. RESULTS: Propofol-induced decrease in consciousness linearly correlates with decreased corticocortical and thalamocortical connectivity in frontoparietal networks (i.e., default- and executive-control networks). Furthermore, during propofol-induced unconsciousness, a negative correlation was identified between thalamic and cortical activity in these networks. Finally, negative correlations between default network and lateral frontoparietal cortices activity, present during wakefulness, decreased proportionally to propofol-induced loss of consciousness. In contrast, connectivity was globally preserved in low-level sensory cortices, (i.e., in auditory and visual networks across sedation stages). This was paired with preserved thalamocortical connectivity in these networks. Rather, waning of consciousness was associated with a loss of cross-modal interactions between visual and auditory networks. CONCLUSIONS: Our results shed light on the functional significance of spontaneous brain activity fluctuations observed in functional magnetic resonance imaging. They suggest that propofol-induced unconsciousness could be linked to a breakdown of cerebral temporal architecture that modifies both within- and between-network connectivity and thus prevents communication between low-level sensory and higher-order frontoparietal cortices, thought to be necessary for perception of external stimuli. They emphasize the importance of thalamocortical connectivity in higher-order cognitive brain networks in the genesis of conscious perception. [less ▲]

Modulation of fMRI assessed brain responses to blue and green light by sleep homeostasis, circadian phase and PER3 polymorphism

Conference (2009, June)

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Assessed Brain Responses during an Executive Task Depend on Interaction of Sleep Homeostasis, Circadian Phase, and PER3 Genotype

in Journal of Neuroscience (2009), 29

Cognition is regulated across the 24 h sleep-wake cycle by circadian rhythmicity and sleep homeostasis through unknown brain mechanisms. We investigated these mechanisms in a functional magnetic resonance ... [more ▼]

Cognition is regulated across the 24 h sleep-wake cycle by circadian rhythmicity and sleep homeostasis through unknown brain mechanisms. We investigated these mechanisms in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of executive function using a working memory 3-back task during a normal sleep-wake cycle and during sleep loss. The study population was stratified according to homozygosity for a variable-number (4 or 5) tandem-repeat polymorphism in the coding region of the clock gene PERIOD3. This polymorphism confers vulnerability to sleep loss and circadian misalignment through its effects on sleep homeostasis. In the less-vulnerable genotype, no changes were observed in brain responses during the normal-sleep wake cycle. During sleep loss, these individuals recruited supplemental anterior frontal, temporal and subcortical regions, while executive function was maintained. In contrast, in the vulnerable genotype, activation in a posterior prefrontal area was already reduced when comparing the evening to the morning during a normal sleep-wake cycle. Furthermore, in the morning after a night of sleep loss, widespread reductions in activation in prefrontal, temporal, parietal and occipital areas were observed in this genotype. These differences occurred in the absence of genotype-dependent differences in circadian phase. The data show that dynamic changes in brain responses to an executive task evolve across the sleep-wake and circadian cycles in a regionally specific manner that is determined by a polymorphism which affects sleep homeostasis. The findings support a model of individual differences in executive control, in which the allocation of prefrontal resources is constrained by sleep pressure and circadian phase. [less ▲]

Abnormal neural filtering of irrelevant visual information in depression

in NeuroImage (2009), 45(Suppl. 1),

The neural correlates of verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease: an fMRI study.

in Brain : A Journal of Neurology (2009), 132(7), 1833-1846

Although many studies have shown diminished performance in verbal short-term memory tasks in Alzheimer's disease, few studies have explored the neural correlates of impaired verbal short-term memory in ... [more ▼]

Although many studies have shown diminished performance in verbal short-term memory tasks in Alzheimer's disease, few studies have explored the neural correlates of impaired verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease patients. In this fMRI study, we examined alterations in brain activation patterns during a verbal short-term memory recognition task, by differentiating encoding and retrieval phases. Sixteen mild Alzheimer's disease patients and 16 elderly controls were presented with lists of four words followed, after a few seconds, by a probe word. Participants had to judge whether the probe matched one of the items of the memory list. In both groups, the short-term memory task elicited a distributed fronto-parieto-temporal activation that encompassed bilateral inferior frontal, insular, supplementary motor, precentral and postcentral areas, consistent with previous studies of verbal short-term memory in young subjects. Most notably, Alzheimer's disease patients showed reduced activation in several regions during the encoding phase, including the bilateral middle frontal and the left inferior frontal gyri (associated with executive control processes) as well as the transverse temporal gyri (associated with phonological processing). During the recognition phase, we found decreased activation in the left supramarginal gyrus and the right middle frontal gyrus in Alzheimer's disease patients compared with healthy seniors, possibly related to deficits in manipulation and decision processes for phonological information. At the same time, Alzheimer's disease patients showed increased activation in several brain areas, including the left parahippocampus and hippocampus, suggesting that Alzheimer's disease patients may recruit alternative recognition mechanisms when performing a short-term memory task. Overall, our results indicate that Alzheimer's disease patients show differences in the functional networks underlying memory over short delays, mostly in brain areas known to support phonological processing or executive functioning. [less ▲]

Pain and non-pain processing during hypnosis: a thulium-YAG event-related fMRI study.

in NeuroImage (2009), 47(3), 1047-54

The neural mechanisms underlying the antinociceptive effects of hypnosis still remain unclear. Using a parametric single-trial thulium-YAG laser fMRI paradigm, we assessed changes in brain activation and ... [more ▼]

The neural mechanisms underlying the antinociceptive effects of hypnosis still remain unclear. Using a parametric single-trial thulium-YAG laser fMRI paradigm, we assessed changes in brain activation and connectivity related to the hypnotic state as compared to normal wakefulness in 13 healthy volunteers. Behaviorally, a difference in subjective ratings was found between normal wakefulness and hypnotic state for both non-painful and painful intensity-matched stimuli applied to the left hand. In normal wakefulness, non-painful range stimuli activated brainstem, contralateral primary somatosensory (S1) and bilateral insular cortices. Painful stimuli activated additional areas encompassing thalamus, bilateral striatum, anterior cingulate (ACC), premotor and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. In hypnosis, intensity-matched stimuli in both the non-painful and painful range failed to elicit any cerebral activation. The interaction analysis identified that contralateral thalamus, bilateral striatum and ACC activated more in normal wakefulness compared to hypnosis during painful versus non-painful stimulation. Finally, we demonstrated hypnosis-related increases in functional connectivity between S1 and distant anterior insular and prefrontal cortices, possibly reflecting top-down modulation. [less ▲]

Homeostatic sleep pressure and responses to sustained attention in the suprachiasmatic area.

in Science (2009), 324(5926), 516-9

Throughout the day, cognitive performance is under the combined influence of circadian processes and homeostatic sleep pressure. Some people perform best in the morning, whereas others are more alert in ... [more ▼]

Throughout the day, cognitive performance is under the combined influence of circadian processes and homeostatic sleep pressure. Some people perform best in the morning, whereas others are more alert in the evening. These chronotypes provide a unique way to study the effects of sleep-wake regulation on the cerebral mechanisms supporting cognition. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in extreme chronotypes, we found that maintaining attention in the evening was associated with higher activity in evening than morning chronotypes in a region of the locus coeruleus and in a suprachiasmatic area (SCA) including the circadian master clock. Activity in the SCA decreased with increasing homeostatic sleep pressure. This result shows the direct influence of the homeostatic and circadian interaction on the neural activity underpinning human behavior. [less ▲]