Perception of sequences of visual temporal and auditory spatial stimuli by aphasic, right hemisphere damaged, and non-brain damaged subjects.
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To determine whether the echo time of magnetic resonance gradient-echo and spin-echo imaging sequences may be important for the occurrence of high signal strength from tendon with pathological alterations, imaging sequences with sufficient spatial resolution and very short echo times were developed for whole-body imagers with standard gradient system. The sequences were applied on the Achilles tendons of five healthy volunteers and seven patients with achillodynia. Some affected regions inside tendon, probably corresponding with tissue with subtle edema in the collagen bundles were only revealed in images recorded with very short echo times TE < 5 ms, whereas stronger affections and protons in liquids between the fiber bundles were also shown in images with longer echo times TE > 10 ms. Gradient-echo methods allow shorter echo times than spin-echo techniques for a given gradient system of the imager and given spatial resolution. So minimum echo time gradient-echo sequences should be used for sensitive imaging of tendon alterations, because no considerable signal dephasing due to susceptibility effects were found in tendon.
MOTIVATION: Comparative genomic hybridization array experiments that investigate gene copy number changes present new challenges for statistical analysis and call for methods that incorporate spatial dependence between sequences along the chromosome. For this purpose, we propose a novel method called CGHmix. It is based on a spatially structured mixture model with three states corresponding to genomic sequences that are either unmodified, deleted or amplified. Inference is performed in a Bayesian framework. From the output, posterior probabilities of belonging to each of the three states are estimated for each genomic sequence and used to classify them. RESULTS: Using simulated data, CGHmix is validated and compared with both a conventional unstructured mixture model and with a recently proposed data mining method. We demonstrate the good performance of CGHmix for classifying copy number changes. In addition, the method provides a good estimate of the false discovery rate. We also present the analysis of a cancer related dataset. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: http://www.bgx.org.uk/papers.html
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of navigator timing on image quality in navigator-gated and real-time motion-corrected, free-breathing, three-dimensional (3D) coronary MR angiography (MRA) with submillimeter spatial image resolution. Both phantom and in vivo investigations were performed. 3D coronary MRA with real-time navigator technology was applied using variable navigator time delays (time delay between the navigator and imaging sequences) and varying spatial resolutions. Quantitative objective and subjective image quality parameters were assessed. For high-resolution imaging, reduced image quality was found as a function of increasing navigator time delay. Lower spatial resolution coronary MRA showed only minor sensitivity to navigator timing. These findings were consistent among volunteers and phantom experiments. In conclusion, for submillimeter navigator-gated and real-time motion-corrected 3D coronary MRA, shortening the time delay between the navigator and the imaging portion of the sequence becomes increasingly important for improved spatial resolution.
A novel method is presented for the spatial reconstruction of marker trajectories, which describe the motion of articulating segments of the human or animal body or of a technical construction. In human motion analysis, such markers may be attached to landmark points defining the configuration of the subject. A high-speed video-recording system comprising two cameras is used for motion data acquisition. The particular images are composed of the synchronous recordings of both cameras; the resolution of one image is 239 x 192 pixels, which is comparatively low. To obtain high precision, a new centre estimation method has been developed to calculate the image coordinates of the centres of the recorded spherical markers to subpixel precision. Image coordinates of the centres in subsequent frames are obtained by first applying a tracing algorithm, which calculates the position of a marker to pixel precision, and then using the new centre estimation method. The reconstruction of the spatial coordinates from the image coordinates is based on a three-dimensional photogrammetric calibration and results in deviations of about 0.1%. The instantaneous acceleration of a falling ball has been calculated. The average deviation from the gravitational constant was comparatively small. From the accuracy of the results, it can be concluded that the novel method is applicable in connection with the high-speed video-recording system presently used. Moreover, the techniques are suitable for reconstructing three-dimensional marker trajectories from any low-resolution video image sequences recorded simultaneous with at least two cameras.
Baddeley and Lieberman (1980) have shown that processing within spatial working memory is disrupted by a spatial secondary task, but not significantly by a visual processing secondary task. In the present study their experiment was replicated under broadly similar circumstances. The spatial and verbal primary tasks involved remembering descriptions of spatially arranged or nonsense sequences of digits, respectively. The secondary visual and spatial tasks involved either judging the level of brightness or pressing an unseen matrix of buttons in a predetermined sequence. In contrast to the finding of Baddeley and Lieberman, both the visual and spatial secondary tasks significantly impaired spatial working memory. Neither of these secondary tasks significantly interfered with concurrent verbal processing. The present findings suggest that spatial working memory draws from resources from both visual and spatial quarters.
The purpose of this study was the comparison of technically improved single-shot magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) sequences with standard single-shot rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) and half-Fourier acquired single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) sequences in evaluating the normal and abnormal biliary duct system. The bile duct system of 45 patients was prospectively investigated on a 1.5-T MRI system. The investigation was performed with RARE and HASTE MR cholangiography sequences with standard and high spatial resolutions, and with a delayed-echo half-Fourier RARE (HASTE) sequence. Findings of the improved MRCP sequences were compared with the standard MRCP sequences. The level of confidence in assessing the diagnosis was divided into five groups. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test at a level of p<0.05 was applied. In 15 patients no pathology was found. The MRCP showed stenoses of the bile duct system in 10 patients and choledocholithiasis and cholecystolithiasis in 16 patients. In 12 patients a dilatation of the bile duct system was found. Comparison of the low- and high spatial resolution sequences and the short and long TE times of the half-Fourier RARE (HASTE) sequence revealed no statistically significant differences regarding accuracy of the examination. The diagnostic confidence level in assessing normal or pathological findings for the high-resolution RARE and half-Fourier RARE (HASTE) was significantly better than for the standard sequences. For the delayed-echo half-Fourier RARE (HASTE) sequence no statistically significant difference was seen. The high-resolution RARE and half-Fourier RARE (HASTE) sequences had a higher confidence level, but there was no significant difference in diagnosis in terms of detection and assessment of pathological changes in the biliary duct system compared with standard sequences.
MOTIVATION: Emerging spatial omics technologies empower comprehensive exploration of biological systems from multi-omics perspectives in their native tissue location in 2D and 3D space. However, the limited sequencing depth, increasing spatial resolution, and growing spatial spots in spatial omics technologies present significant computational challenges in identifying biologically meaningful molecules with variable spatial distributions across various omics modalities. RESULTS: We introduce scBSP, an open-source, versatile, and user-friendly package for identifying spatially variable features in large-scale spatial omics data. scBSP demonstrates significantly enhanced computational efficiency, processing high-resolution spatial omics data within seconds, and exhibits robust cross-platform performance by consistently identifying spatially variable features with high reproducibility across various sequencing platforms. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: scBSP is available for download from R CRAN at https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/scBSP/index.html and PyPI at https://pypi.org/project/scbsp/.
Heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization is associated with the development of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Temporal heterogeneity of repolarization may be manifest in an individual beat (spatial heterogeneity) or in a sequence of beats (dynamic heterogeneity). Spatial inhomogeneity of repolarization throughout the myocardium may be expressed electrocardiographically as dispersion of repolarization durations computed in simultaneously recorded leads. The beat-to-beat changes in the repolarization pattern (duration and/or amplitude) may account for a dynamic (time-dependent) dimension of heterogeneity, occasionally seen as T-wave alternans. A visual detection of heterogeneous repolarization is a time-consuming, observer-dependent, and frequently inaccurate process. Therefore, we developed computer algorithms designed to detect automatically (1) dispersion of repolarization and (2) nonvisible T-wave alternans from digitally recorded (1,000 Hz) X, Y, and Z electrocardiogram leads. This automatic approach was subsequently tested in 10 patients with idiopathic long QT syndrome and in 10 age-matched normal subjects. Long QT syndrome patients presented with significantly higher indices of heterogeneity in comparison with the control subjects; the dispersion of repolarization was 44 +/- 11 and 13 +/- 6 ms, respectively (P < .01), and T-wave alternans index was 0.40 +/- 0.37 and 0.03 +/- 0.06, respectively (P < .01). Simultaneous evaluation of spatial (dispersion of repolarization) and dynamic (T-wave alternans) aspects of repolarization provides new insight into heterogeneity of electrical recovery after myocardial depolarization. The automatic detection of repolarization dispersion and T-wave alternans in digital electrocardiogram recordings provides a practical method to evaluate heterogeneity of repolarization and may be useful for stratifying patients at risk of ventricular arrhythmias.
RATIONALE: The mesotelencephalic dopamine system has been implicated in cognitive processes dependent on an intact prefrontal cortex. Most previous research in humans has focused on dopaminergic agonists and their effects on tasks of working memory. OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to investigate the cognitive and subjective effects of two doses (200 mg and 400 mg) of the dopaminergic D(2) receptor antagonist, sulpiride on a broad range of well-validated neuropsychological tasks in a group of 34 young healthy male volunteers. METHODS: Cognitive tasks were administered to subjects after ingestion of either drug or placebo within a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design. The cognitive tests included tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and were designed to assess visuospatial recognition memory, planning ability, working memory, strategy learning, sustained attention and attentional set-shifting. In addition, the National Adult Reading Test (NART) was used to assess verbal IQ, and visual analogue scales to assess subjective effects of the drug. RESULTS: Subjects on sulpiride were impaired on the tasks of spatial recognition, spatial working memory (sequence generation), planning (one-touch Tower of London) and attentional set-shifting. Only the spatial working memory task demonstrated a dose dependent effect. The impairments were not due to generalised sedative or motoric influences of sulpiride. CONCLUSIONS: All of the tasks impaired following sulpiride are known to be sensitive to frontal lobe damage and the precise pattern of deficits seen is consistent with the anatomical distribution of central dopamine receptors. The results are discussed with particular reference to their close simulation of the impairments seen in idiopathic Parkinson's disease.
Infarction is a rare cause of spinal cord dysfunction. Whereas diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI has been established as a highly sensitive technique for assessing acute cerebral ischemia, its role in spinal cord infarction remains to be determined. The purpose of this study is to present the signal characteristics of acute spinal cord ischemia using DWMRI within the first two days and after one week. MRI including DW imaging (DWI) was performed in three patients with acute spinal cord dysfunction 8, 12 and 30 hours after the onset of symptoms and repeated after one week in two patients. Two initial scans included EPI DW sequences in transverse and sagittal orientation. The remaining examinations were performed with an optimised high-spatial resolution DWI sequence in the transverse plane. The diagnosis of spinal cord ischemia was established by imaging, clinical history and CSF analysis. T2 signal abnormality and restricted diffusion was demonstrated in all initial examinations. Transverse DW sequences had the highest sensitivity. The spinal infarctions were mainly located in the centre of the spinal cord and the grey matter. Contrast enhancement was absent. After one week, the restricted diffusion had normalised (pseudo normalisation) whereas the T2 signal changes had become more prominent. Restricted diffusion in the course of spinal cord ischemic infarction can be demonstrated using DW-MRI. Whereas a diffusion abnormality can be found after few hours, it does not last for longer than one week. At this time, the establishment of the diagnosis has to rely mainly on T2-weighted images with additional post contrast T1-weighted images being useful.
The present paper examines the issue of the capacity of visuo-spatial working memory. A series of experiments test the hypothesis that two different components are critical in visuo-spatial working memory (passive store and active imagery operations), and, thereafter, attempt to specify the variables that affect the capacity of the passive store component. In the experiments, congenitally blind and sighted participants were asked to remember the spatial positions of target objects in two-dimensional matrices, with or without simultaneously performing a sequence of spatially-based imagery operations. We considered both the positions recall performance (the passive storage component) and the sequential imagery processing performance (the active processing component). We suggest that the two components of visuo-spatial working memory are independent. We also propose that both the number of relevant matrices and the number of target objects within each matrix affect the capacity of visuo-spatial working memory, with the latter factor possibly playing a greater role than the former one.
Evidence suggests that manipulating spatial information within working memory depends upon a circuitry organized around the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the activity of the catecholamine systems. Other evidence attests to the effects of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on short-term spatial memory function, most probably involving CB(1) receptor activity within hippocampal circuitries. At the current time, there have been no systematic studies of the effects of THC on spatial working memory in human subjects using tasks known to depend upon frontotemporal neural circuitries. We examined the effects of a single sublingual 5 mg dose of THC on a test of spatial working memory (requiring active manipulation of remembered spatial information for the management of future behavior) and a test of spatial span (requiring only the reproduction of sequences of previously presented spatial cues). In all, 19 healthy adults were administered 5 mg THC and placebo in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, crossover design. Male participants performed more accurately than female participants. THC significantly enhanced spatial working memory performance of female participants. By contrast, male and female participants produced more intrusion errors during performance of the Spatial Span task. These results suggest that THC has relatively complex effects on spatial memory in human subjects, perhaps reflecting altered CB(1) receptor activity within frontotemporal circuits or altered activity of mesocortical dopaminergic pathways in PFC areas associated with spatial memory.
The period (per) gene is an essential component of the circadian timekeeping mechanism in Drosophila. This gene is expressed in a circadian manner, giving rise to a protein that feeds-back to regulate its own transcription. A 69 bp clock regulatory sequence (CRS) has been identified previously upstream of the period gene. The CRS confers wild-type mRNA cycling when used to drive a lacZ reporter gene in transgenic flies. To determine whether the CRS also mediates proper developmental and spatial expression and behavioral rescue, we used the CRS to drive either lacZ or per in transgenic flies. The results show that the CRS is able to activate expression in pacemaker neuron precursors in larvae and essentially all tissues that normally express per in pupae and adults. The CRS is sufficient to rescue circadian feedback loop function and behavioral rhythms in per01 flies. However, the period of locomotor activity rhythms shortens if a stronger basal promoter is used. This study shows that regulatory elements sufficient for clock-dependent and tissue-specific per expression in larvae, pupae, and adults are present in the CRS and that the period of adult locomotor activity rhythms is dependent, in part, on the overall level of per transcripts.
The gene encoding 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP) is one of the earliest myelin genes to be expressed in the brain. It is expressed at basal levels in some non-neural tissues but at much higher levels in the nervous system, and its relevance and mechanism are unknown. Using transgenic mice, we examined the expression pattern conferred by a 4-kilobase (-kb) 5'-flanking sequence of the mouse CNP gene coupled to the bacterial lacZ reporter gene. Here we report that this 4-kb fragment contains sufficient information to direct expression of the transgene to the tissue and/or cell type, in which CNP is normally expressed. In the central nervous system (CNS), CNP-lacZ expression was regulated in a temporal manner, consistent with endogenous CNP expression. Transgene expression was detected in embryonic brain and spinal cord in immature oligodendrocytes, and it significantly increased with age. In adult mice, beta-galactosidase activity (which appeared to be oligodendrocyte specific) was found essentially in white matter areas of the CNS. Moreover, the transgene was expressed in peripheral nervous system, testis, and thymus-tissues that normally express CNP. Taken together, our results provide strong evidence that cis-acting regulatory elements, necessary to direct spatial and temporal expression of the transgene in oligodendrocytes, are located within the 4-kb 5'-flanking sequence of the mouse CNP gene. This promoter could be a valuable tool to target specific expression of other transgenes to oligodendrocytes, and may provide important new insights into myelination or dysmyelination.
A substantial amount of evidence has been collected to propose an exclusive role for the dorsal visual pathway in the control of guided visual search mechanisms, specifically in the preattentive direction of spatial selection [Vidyasagar, T. R. (1999). A neuronal model of attentional spotlight: Parietal guiding the temporal. Brain Research and Reviews, 30, 66-76; Vidyasagar, T. R. (2001). From attentional gating in macaque primary visual cortex to dyslexia in humans. Progress in Brain Research, 134, 297-312]. Moreover, it has been suggested recently that the dorsal visual pathway is specifically involved in the spatial selection and sequencing required for orthographic processing in visual word recognition. In this experiment we manipulate the demands for spatial processing in a word recognition, lexical decision task by presenting target words in a normal spatial configuration, or where the constituent letters of each word are spatially shifted relative to each other. Accurate word recognition in the Shifted-words condition should demand higher spatial encoding requirements, thereby making greater demands on the dorsal visual stream. Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) neuroimaging revealed a high frequency (35-40Hz) right posterior parietal activation consistent with dorsal stream involvement occurring between 100 and 300ms post-stimulus onset, and then again at 200-400ms. Moreover, this signal was stronger in the shifted word condition, compared to the normal word condition. This result provides neurophysiological evidence that the dorsal visual stream may play an important role in visual word recognition and reading. These results further provide a plausible link between early stage theories of reading, and the magnocellular-deficit theory of dyslexia, which characterises many types of reading difficulty.
Neurons in the cochlear nuclei of duck embryos become responsive to tonal stimuli in an orderly spatial and temporal sequence. Cells responding to lower frequencies are recorded before those responding to higher frequencies. Auditory neurons are spatially arranged according to their characteristic frequencies, indicating a point-by-point projection of the basilar membrane. Areas of the nuclei where the apical segment of the basilar membrane projects become responsive to sound before regions representing more basal segments. These progressive changes with age are accompanied by a gradual rise both in neuronal sensitivity and in frequency range of maximum sensitivity. The development of auditory neural responses is timed to prepare the embryo for the onset of prenatal mother-young communication.
PURPOSE: To assess whether the detection of colorectal lesions can be improved using high spatial resolution VIBE imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 48 patients underwent same-day dark lumen MR colonography (MRC) and conventional colonoscopy (CC) as the standard for the detection of colorectal masses. MRC was performed using contrast-enhanced standard and high spatial resolution T1-weighted 3D VIBE sequences. The findings and the image quality of the standard and high spatial resolution VIBE sequences were compared qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings of both sequences regarding colorectal lesions were compared to those of a subsequently performed colonoscopy. RESULTS: The high spatial resolution VIBE sequence significantly improved the quantitative image quality (CNR 54.0 vs. 36.8). However, high spatial resolution VIBE imaging did not detect more colorectal lesions than the standard VIBE sequence. In addition, none of the sequences employed was able to detect lesions with a diameter of less than 5 mm (CC 40 lesions). However, 13 colorectal lesions with a diameter of greater than 5 mm were detected by both sequences (CC 15). CONCLUSION: High spatial resolution VIBE imaging did not improve the detection of colorectal masses and MRC fails to detect colorectal lesions with a diameter of less than 5 mm.