Uniform inhibition of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area by aversive stimuli

Dopamine neurons play a key role in reward-related behaviors. Reward coding theories predict that dopamine neurons will be inhibited by or will not respond to aversive stimuli. Paradoxically, between 3 and 49% of presumed dopamine neurons are excited by aversive stimuli. We found that, in the ventral tegmental area of anesthetized rats, the population of presumed dopamine neurons that are excited by aversive stimuli is actually not dopaminergic. The identified dopamine neurons were inhibited by the aversive stimulus. These findings suggest that dopamine neurons are specifically excited by reward and that a population of nondopamine neurons is excited by aversive stimuli.     

Rapid synthesis and synaptic insertion of GluR2 for mGluR-LTD in the ventral tegmental area

The activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) leads to long-term depression (mGluR-LTD) at many synapses of the brain. The induction of mGluR-LTD is well characterized, whereas the mechanisms underlying its expression remain largely elusive. mGluR-LTD in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) efficiently reverses cocaine-induced strengthening of excitatory inputs onto dopamine neurons. We show that mGluR-LTD is expressed by an exchange of GluR2-lacking AMPA receptors for GluR2-containing receptors with a lower single-channel conductance. The synaptic insertion of GluR2 depends on de novo protein synthesis via rapid messenger RNA translation of GluR2. Regulated synthesis of GluR2 in the VTA is therefore required to reverse cocaine-induced synaptic plasticity.     

An identified neuron (CPR) evokes neuronal responses reflecting food arousal in Aplysia

Feeding behavior of Aplysia is associated with an arousal state characterized by a constellation of maintained behaviors and by a potentiation or depression of responses to specific stimuli. A neuron (the cerebral-pedal regulator or CPR) that has widespread actions on various systems connected with feeding has been identified. CPR excites neurons that modulate or drive (i) body posture, (ii) biting, and (iii) cardiovascular behaviors. CPR also inhibits neurons concerned with defensive responses. Food stimuli, which elicit food arousal in the animal, produce prolonged excitation of the CPR. The results suggest that the CPR may evoke a central motive state representing the neuronal correlate of feeding motivation.     

Social comparison affects reward-related brain activity in the human ventral striatum

Whether social comparison affects individual well-being is of central importance for understanding behavior in any social environment. Traditional economic theories focus on the role of absolute rewards, whereas behavioral evidence suggests that social comparisons influence well-being and decisions. We investigated the impact of social comparisons on reward-related brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). While being scanned in two adjacent MRI scanners, pairs of subjects had to simultaneously perform a simple estimation task that entailed monetary rewards for correct answers. We show that a variation in the comparison subject's payment affects blood oxygenation level-dependent responses in the ventral striatum. Our results provide neurophysiological evidence for the importance of social comparison on reward processing in the human brain.     

Attention but not awareness modulates the BOLD signal in the human V1 during binocular suppression

Although recent psychophysical studies indicate that visual awareness and top-down attention are two distinct processes, it is not clear how they are neurally dissociated in the visual system. Using a two-by-two factorial functional magnetic resonance imaging design with binocular suppression, we found that the visibility or invisibility of a visual target led to only nonsignificant blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) effects in the human primary visual cortex (V1). Directing attention toward and away from the target had much larger and robust effects across all study participants. The difference in the lower-level limit of BOLD activation between attention and awareness illustrates dissociated neural correlates of the two processes. Our results agree with previously reported V1 BOLD effects on attention, while they invite a reconsideration of the functional role of V1 in visual awareness.     

Tuned responses of astrocytes and their influence on hemodynamic signals in the visual cortex

Astrocytes have long been thought to act as a support network for neurons, with little role in information representation or processing. We used two-photon imaging of calcium signals in the ferret visual cortex in vivo to discover that astrocytes, like neurons, respond to visual stimuli, with distinct spatial receptive fields and sharp tuning to visual stimulus features including orientation and spatial frequency. The stimulus-feature preferences of astrocytes were exquisitely mapped across the cortical surface, in close register with neuronal maps. The spatially restricted stimulus-specific component of the intrinsic hemodynamic mapping signal was highly sensitive to astrocyte activation, indicating that astrocytes have a key role in coupling neuronal organization to mapping signals critical for noninvasive brain imaging. Furthermore, blocking astrocyte glutamate transporters influenced the magnitude and duration of adjacent visually driven neuronal responses.     

Cardiac responses on the visual cliff in prelocomotor human infants

Human infants younger than crawling age yielded reliable cardiac decelerations when placed directly atop the deep side of a visual cliff and generally nonsignificant changes when atop the shallow side. Distress was elicited less frequently on the deep side than on the shallow at these ages, in contrast to the behavior of older infants and other species. Prelocomotor infants thus can discriminate the two sides of the cliff, but not by means of distress at loss of optical support.     

湖南农村人力资源开发与管理

农村人力资源的开发与管理是社会经济发展的一个重要课题。湖南是一个农业大省,农村劳动力过剩,但文化素质却不高。应因地制宜发展农村职业教育,调整产业结构,有序转移剩余劳动力。     

Contextually evoked object-specific responses in human visual cortex

Human visual recognition processes are remarkably robust and can function effectively even under highly degraded viewing conditions. Contextual information may play a critical role in such circumstances. Here, we provide neurophysiological evidence that contextual cues can elicit object-specific neural responses, which have hitherto been believed to be based on intrinsic cues alone. Specifically, we find that the "fusiform face area" (FFA) maintains its selectivity for faces without regard to whether the faces are defined intrinsically or contextually. This finding further elucidates the role of the FFA and reveals neural correlates of contextual processing in the service of robust object recognition.     

咸阳地区墨胸胡蜂的生活习性及其触角电位生理反应初探

【目的】对陕西咸阳地区墨胸胡蜂的生活习性及触角电位反应进行初步研究,旨在为陕西省及其他地区、其他种类胡蜂的研究提供参考。【方法】采用野外跟踪及定点观察等方法,对其筑巢环境、取食、日活动情况及其活动与气温的关系等习性进行了研究;选取桂花、檀香、玫瑰、绿茶等10种不同气味的挥发油,对墨胸胡蜂进行了触角电位测定。【结果】墨胸胡蜂主要筑巢于树干、废弃窑洞等,属杂食性昆虫,喜食各种水果及软体昆虫等;其日活动高峰时间是10:00~16:00;墨胸胡蜂的活动与气温密切相关,随气温的变化,活动次数发生明显变化。触角电位反应表明,墨胸胡蜂对各种气味均有不同程度的触角电位反应,其中对桂花的触角电位反应值最高,对檀香的触角电位反应值最低。【结论】墨胸胡蜂筑巢位置大都比较高,属杂食性昆虫,取食范围较广,活动的高峰时间相对集中,桂花对墨胸胡蜂可能具有吸引或驱避作用。     

Early signals in the mitogenic response

Polypeptide growth factors, regulatory peptides, and a variety of pharmacological agents acting alone or synergistically induce mitogenesis in cultured fibroblasts. The early signals in the membrane, cytosol, and nucleus promoted by these extracellular factors, together with their mitogenic effectiveness, are integrated in a unified hypothesis for the regulation of fibroblast growth.     

The ground state of the ventral appendage in Drosophila

In Drosophila melanogaster, the antennae, legs, genitalia, and analia make up a serially homologous set of ventral appendages that depend on different selector genes for their unique identities. The diversity among these structures implies that there is a common ground state that selector genes modify to generate these different appendage morphologies. Here we show that the ventral appendage that forms in the absence of selector gene activity is leglike but consists of only two segments along its proximo-distal axis: a proximal segment and a distal tarsus. These results raise the possibility that, during evolution, leglike appendages could have developed without selector gene activity.     

Retinal tapetum lucidum: a novel reflecting system in the eye of teleosts

A new type of tapetum lucidum has been found in eyes of bony fishes (teleosts). It is retinal, lying in the processes of the pigment epithelial cells; it has a white appearance and reflects light diffusely. The cell processes are loaded with highly refractile lipid particles; as examined by electron microscopy these are about 400 nanometers in diameter, spherical, and homogeneous. This tapetum lucidum has been found in seven families of teleost fishes occurring in inshore waters and rivers of South Texas, all of which have high turbidity; the correlation indicates a role in dim-light vision.     

A cortical area selective for visual processing of the human body

Despite extensive evidence for regions of human visual cortex that respond selectively to faces, few studies have considered the cortical representation of the appearance of the rest of the human body. We present a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies revealing substantial evidence for a distinct cortical region in humans that responds selectively to images of the human body, as compared with a wide range of control stimuli. This region was found in the lateral occipitotemporal cortex in all subjects tested and apparently reflects a specialized neural system for the visual perception of the human body.     

Insecticide inhibition of 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone binding in the rat ventral prostate

The chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides dieldrin and o,p'-DDT inhibit binding of 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone to specific receptor proteins in rat prostate cytosol. Dieldrin is less inhibitory than o,p'-DDT.     

苏州城区河道浮游植物功能群演替特征及其对环境因子的响应

苏州作为长江三角洲地区重要的城市之一,近年来其城区河道富营养化问题日趋严重。为探讨苏州城区河道浮游植物功能群的结构组成、周年演替以及其对环境因子的响应,于2018年对苏州城区河道进行每两月一次的调查分析。结果表明,全年共鉴定出浮游植物7门85属209种(包括变种和变型),可划分为29个功能群,其中19个(B、C、D、G、H1、J、Lo、M、MP、P、S1、S2、T、TC、W1、X1、X2、Y、Z)为该区的优势功能群。浮游植物功能群呈现出B+C+D+H1→W1+H1→P+G+H1→M+S1+H1的周年演替特征,功能群H1在全年占据绝对优势。RDA分析表明,水温、总氮、总磷和电导率是影响该水域浮游植物功能群变化的主要环境因子。     

洞庭湖流域径流量对气候变化和人类活动的响应研究

为了定量化研究气候变化和人类活动对洞庭湖流域径流量变化的影响,采用累积距平分析和Mann-Kendall趋势检验对流域内4个水文站和16个气象站1985—2010年的水文及气象数据进行统计分析,并利用径流量变化定量分析方法,计算了气候变化和人类活动对径流的改变量及其贡献率。研究结果表明:降水量的下降和潜在蒸散发量的上升导致整个洞庭湖流域及湘江、资水、沅江、澧水4个子流域突变后相对于突变前径流量分别减少了28、15、130、112 mm和102 mm;洞庭湖流域径流量的减少主要受气候变化的影响,其贡献率为64%,人类活动虽然能增加径流,但是两者的叠加影响整体上仍使径流量减少。因此,洞庭湖流域的水文干旱是自然环境演化的结果,与全球气候变化的大格局息息相关。