Search results for " Broca."

Basal Forebrain Mediates Motivational Recruitment of Attention by Reward-Associated Cues.

2018

The basal forebrain, composed of distributed nuclei, including substantia innominata (SI), nucleus basalis and nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca plays a crucial neuromodulatory role in the brain. In particular, its projections to the prefrontal cortex have been shown to be important in a wide variety of brain processes and functions, including attention, learning and memory, arousal, and decision-making. In the present study, we asked whether the basal forebrain is involved in recruitment of cognitive effort in response to reward-related cues. This interaction between motivation and cognition is critically impacted in psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. Using the Designer Rece…

Encoding of human action in Broca's area.

2009

International audience; Broca's area has been considered, for over a century, as the brain centre responsible for speech production. Modern neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence have suggested a wider functional role is played by this area. In addition to the evidence that it is involved in syntactical analysis, mathematical calculation and music processing, it has recently been shown that Broca's area may play some role in language comprehension and, more generally, in understanding actions of other individuals. As shown by functional magnetic resonance imaging, Broca's area is one of the cortical areas activated by hand/mouth action observation and it has been proposed that it may …

Language and motor control.

2000

We investigated the possible influence of automatic word reading on processes of visuo-motor transformation. Subjects reached and grasped an object on which the following Italian words were printed: 'VICINO' (near) or 'LONTAN' (far) on an object either near or far from the agent (experiments 1, 2); PICCOLO (small) or 'GRANDE' (large) on either a small or a large object (experiment 4); and 'ALTO' (high) or 'BASSO' (low) on either a high or a low object (experiment 5). The kinematics of the initial phase of reaching-grasping was affected by the meaning of the printed words. Namely, subjects automatically associated the meaning of the word with the corresponding property of the object and acti…

Syntax and conversation in aphasia. A strategic restrictive use of Spanish and Catalan connector QUE by aphasic speakers.

2009

Oral conversational data are deemed to be a relevant empirical source when it comes to formulating and supporting hypotheses about cognitive processes involved in aphasic linguistic production. With this assumption in mind, free conversational uses of the Spanish and Catalan connector QUE by fluent and non-fluent aphasic speakers are examined by contrasting them with normal speakers' (i.e. conversational partners') productions. Strictly ungrammatical uses in aphasic speakers are practically non-existent in free conversation. Nevertheless, this data permits one to characterize the aphasic production of the morpheme QUE as restrictive--to different degrees--with respect to normal production. …

Mono-stereo-autostereo: the evolution of 3-dimensional neurosurgical planning.

2012

BACKGROUND: In the past decade, surgery planning has changed significantly. The main reason is the improvements in computer graphical rendering power and display technology, which turned the plain graphics of the mid-1990s into interactive stereoscopic objects. OBJECTIVE: To report our experiences with 2 virtual reality systems used for planning neurosurgical operations. METHODS: A series of 208 operations were planned with the Dextroscope (Bracco AMT, Singapore) requiring the use of liquid crystal display shutter glasses. The participating neurosurgeons answered a questionnaire after the planning procedure and postoperatively. In a second prospective series of 33 patients, we used an autos…

Grasp with hand and mouth: a kinematic study on healthy subjects

2001

Neurons involved in grasp preparation with hand and mouth were previously recorded in the premotor cortex of monkey. The aim of the present kinematic study was to determine whether a unique planning underlies the act of grasping with hand and mouth in humans as well. In a set of four experiments, healthy subjects reached and grasped with the hand an object of different size while opening the mouth ( experiments 1 and 3), or extending the other forearm ( experiment 4), or the fingers of the other hand ( experiment 5). In a subsequent set of three experiments, subjects grasped an object of different size with the mouth, while opening the fingers of the right hand ( experiments 6–8). The init…

Glutamatergic projection from the nucleus incertus to the septohippocampal system

2012

Abstract Recent findings support a relevant role of the nucleus incertus in the control of the hippocampal activity through the modulation of theta rhythm. Previous studies from our group have shown that this nucleus is a critical relay between reticularis pontis oralis and the medial septum/diagonal band, regarded as the main activator and the pacemaker of the hippocampal oscillations, respectively. Besides, the nucleus incertus is highly linked to activated states related to the arousal response. The neurotransmission of the nucleus incertus, however, remains uncertain. Only GABA and the neuromodulator relaxin 3 are usually considered to be involved in its contribution to the septohippoca…

IL LINGUAGGIO UMANO. ASPETTI EVOLUTIVI, FISIOLOGICI E PATOLOGICI.

2009

Nucleus incertus contribution to hippocampal theta rhythm generation.

2006

The hippocampal theta rhythm is generated by the pacemaker activity of the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca (MS/DBB) neurons. These nuclei are influenced by brainstem structures that modulate the theta rhythm. The aim of the present work is to determine whether the nucleus incertus (NI), which has important anatomical connections with the MS/DBB, contributes to the hippocampal theta rhythm generation in rats. Hippocampal field activity was recorded in urethane-anaesthetized rats. Electrical stimulation of the NI not only evoked theta rhythm in the hippocampus, but also decreased the amplitude of delta waves. Unit recordings in the NI revealed either a non-rhythm discharge pattern in mos…

Anatomical evidence for a ponto-septal pathway via the nucleus incertus in the rat.

2008

Abstract Hippocampal theta activity is involved in sensory–motor integration and constitutes a functional basis for mnemonic functions. The medial septum–diagonal band of Broca (MS/DBv) is a key structure as pacemaker of the oscillation. In addition, some brainstem reticular structures are crucial for the activation of MS/DBv. Specifically, the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis (RPO) is considered the most effective pontine site for eliciting theta rhythm. Nevertheless, its connection with the MS/DBv is not direct. A previous study by our group pointed out that the nucleus incertus (NI) could be considered as a relay in this multisynaptic pathway. From this study, the stimulation of RPO inc…