Frontal Lobe Of Brain Research Articles

Naturalistic approach to investigate the neural correlates of a laundry cycle with and without fragrance.

Advancements in brain imaging technologies have facilitated the development of "real-world" experimental scenarios. In this study, participants engaged in a household chore - completing a laundry cycle - while their frontal lobe brain activity was monitored using fNIRS. Participants completed this twice using both fragranced and unfragranced detergent, to explore if fNIRS is able to identify any differences in brain activity in response to subtle changes in stimuli. Analysis was conducted using Automatic IDentification of functional Events (AIDE) software and fNIRS correlation-based signal improvement (CBSI). Results indicated that brain activity, particularly in the right frontopolar and occasionally the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, was more pronounced and frequent with the unfragranced detergent than the fragranced. This suggests that completing tasks in an environment where a pleasant and relaxing fragrance is present might be less effortful compared to an odourless environment.

The influence of cooling on biomechanical time since death estimations using ovine brain tissue

The significance of biomechanical analyses for forensic time since death estimations has recently been demonstrated. Previous biomechanical analyses successfully discriminated post-mortem brain tissue from tissue with a post-mortem interval of at least one day when held at 20 °C. However, the practical utility of such analyses beyond day one at 20 °C was limited. This study investigates the storage, loss, and complex shear modulus of various brain regions in sheep stored at 4 °C in 24-hour intervals over four days post-mortem using rheometry tests. The aim is to identify the critical biomechanical tissue property values to predict post-mortem time and assess the temperature sensitivity of the rheometry method by comparing results to recent findings at 20 °C. Thirty sheep brains were examined, including the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, anterior and posterior deep brain, superior colliculi, pons, medulla, and cerebellum. Rheometry tests were conducted, and receiver operator characteristic analyses were employed to establish cut-off values. At 4 °C storage, all investigated biomechanical properties of the examined brain regions remained stable for at least one day post-mortem. Using cerebellar samples stored at 4 °C, a post-mortem interval of at least two days could be determined with excellent diagnostic ability. Complex shear modulus values below 1435 Pa or storage modulus values below 1313 Pa allowed prediction of two or more days post-mortem. Comparisons between 4 °C and 20 °C revealed brain region-specific results. For instance, the complex shear moduli of the anterior deep brain at 4 °C were significantly higher on all individual testing days when compared to 20 °C. In contrast, the combined medulla and pons samples were similar on each day. Rheometry testing of brain tissue consistently stored at 4 °C since death proved valuable for forensic time since death estimations starting from two days after death.

An EEG study on artistic and engineering mindsets in students in creative processes

This study aims to take higher-education students as examples to understand and compare artistic and engineering mindsets in creative processes using EEG. Fifteen Master of Fine Arts (MFA) visual arts and fifteen Master of Engineering (MEng) design engineering students were recruited and asked to complete alternative uses tasks wearing an EEG headset. The results revealed that (1) the engineering-mindset students responded to creative ideas faster than artistic-mindset students. (2) Although in creative processes both artistic- and engineering-mindset students showed Theta, Alpha, and Beta wave activity, the active brain areas are slightly different. The active brain areas of artistic-mindset students in creative processes are mainly in the frontal and occipital lobes; while the whole brain (frontal, oriental, temporal, and occipital lobes) was active in creative processes of engineering-mindset students. (3) During the whole creative process, the brain active level of artistic-mindset students was higher than that of engineering-mindset students. The results of this study fills gaps in existing research where only active brain areas and band waves were compared between artistic- and engineering-mindset students in creative processes. For quick thinking in terms of fluency of generating creative ideas, engineering students have an advantage in comparison to those from the visual arts. Also, the study provided more evidence that mindset can affect the active levels of the brain areas. Finally, this study provides educators with more insights on how to stimulate students’ creative ability.

Effects of a One-Day Experiential Sheep-Rearing Experience on Motivation, Anxiety, and Frontal Lobe Brain Activity in Patients with Chronic Psychiatric Disorders: A Crossover Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a one-day sheep-rearing experience on motivation and anxiety levels in patients with chronic mental illness. The study assessed changes in oxytocin and cortisol levels and brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is known to be associated with emotion and motivation. The study employed a non-randomized controlled trial design, with participants receiving both an intervention day (sheep rearing) and a control day (usual psychiatric day care) in a crossover fashion. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The intervention day consisted of hands-on sheep rearing activities, while the control day consisted of general activities available at the psychiatric day care center. Results showed that the sheep-raising experience had an equal effect on motivation and increased mean oxytocin levels. In addition, significantly more activity was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) region of the brain compared to typical psychiatric daycare activities (p < 0.032, p < 0.043). Participants tended to have increased oxytocin levels after sheep rearing, and the activation of the DLPFC has not previously been observed in animal intervention studies. These are new findings in psychiatric occupational therapy that may have effects on social cognition and interpersonal relationships in patients with chronic mental illness.

Effect of 24-form simplified Tai Chi on executive inhibitory control of college students: a randomized controlled trial of EEG.

College students, undergoing crucial cognitive development, face challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic that impact their executive functions. While existing research indicates positive effects of Tai Chi (TC) on college students' cognitive abilities, there is a scarcity of studies investigating its impact on executive functions and frontal brain activity. This study aimed to compare the effects of 24-form simplified TC training on college students' executive functions and frontal brain electrical activity. The hypothesis posited that the TC group would exhibit superior performance compared to the control group during COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy college students were randomly assigned to either TC group or control group, engaging in 36 sessions (3 sessions per week, 45 min each) over 12 weeks. Executive inhibitory control was assessed using the Stroop Color and Word Test, and resting brain electrical activity in the frontal area was recorded through Electroencephalography. ACC was influenced by group, group-time interaction, and Stroop task-time interaction. RT was affected by time, task condition, task condition-time interaction, and task condition-group interaction. Notably, the TC group showed improved ACC (from 96.54 ± 3.27% to 98.90 ± 1.32%) and decreased RT (from 0.73 ± 0.12 to 0.66 ± 0.07 s), particularly in the inconsistent task. Regarding EEG band power, significant Group and Time interaction effects were found in F3-θ, F3-α, F3-β, F4-θ, and F4-α. Moreover, within the TC group, significant increases in F3-θ band power (from 4.66 ± 3.55 to 7.71 ± 8.44) and F4-θ band power (from 4.41 ± 2.82 to 8.61 ± 9.51) (10-3·μV·Hz) were noted pre-and post-tests. In the control group, significant decreases were observed in F3-α band power (from 5.18 ± 4.61 to 2.79 ± 2.11) and F4-α band power (from 5.57 ± 6.58 to 2.48 ± 1.95) (10-3·μV·Hz). The pandemic-induced panic may impact frontal lobe brain activity in college students. TC training not only improves executive inhibitory control but may also enhance localized brain activity, suggesting its potential as a holistic intervention for cognitive and neurological well-being during stressful periods.

Agent Orange Herbicidal Toxin-Initiation of Alzheimer-Type Neurodegeneration.

Agent Orange (AO) is a Vietnam War-era herbicide that contains a 1 : 1 ratio of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). Emerging evidence suggests that AO exposures cause toxic and degenerative pathologies that may increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigates the effects of the two main AO constituents on key molecular and biochemical indices of AD-type neurodegeneration. Long Evans rat frontal lobe slice cultures treated with 250μg/ml of 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, or both (D + T) were evaluated for cytotoxicity, oxidative injury, mitochondrial function, and AD biomarker expression. Treatment with the AO constituents caused histopathological changes corresponding to neuronal, white matter, and endothelial cell degeneration, and molecular/biochemical abnormalities indicative of cytotoxic injury, lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, and increased immunoreactivity to activated Caspase 3, glial fibrillary acidic protein, ubiquitin, tau, paired-helical filament phosphorylated tau, AβPP, Aβ, and choline acetyltransferase. Nearly all indices of cellular injury and degeneration were more pronounced in the D + T compared with 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T treated cultures. Exposures to AO herbicidal chemicals damage frontal lobe brain tissue with molecular and biochemical abnormalities that mimic pathologies associated with early-stage AD-type neurodegeneration. Additional research is needed to evaluate the long-term effects of AO exposures in relation to aging and progressive neurodegeneration in Vietnam War Veterans.

Analysis of Major Lobe Volume and Asymmetry of the Brain by Gender: A vol2Brain Study

Objective: In recent years, with the use of three-dimensional (3D) software tools, volumetric measurements of brain morphometry have gained importance. In this study, we aim to investigate the ratio of the volumes of the major structures of the brain (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes) to the volume of the intracranial cavity (ICC) and the change of asymmetry according to gender, using web-based vol2Brain, which is one of the current and automatic software tools. Materials and Methods: 3D-T1-weighted magnetic resonance images of 80 healthy individuals (43 females and 37 males) of both genders were included in our study. The volumes of major brain lobes were calculated with the vol2Brain pipeline software tool and their ratio to ICC was compared by gender. Results: Males ICC volume, frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobe total volume values were statistically higher than females (P < 0.05). Similarly, the right and left volume values of male were higher than those of female in all measurements. However, when the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobe volumes of male and female were proportion to the ICC volume, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the asymmetry results of these cortical structures examined in both genders (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Although the male brain is known to be large, no difference was found between the male and female brains as a result of the ratio. Considering the asymmetry values, frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobe volume asymmetry values did not differ statistically in both genders.

Diffusion kurtosis imaging reveals abnormal gray matter and white matter development in some brain regions of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

In this study, we explored the application of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) technology in the brains of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Seventy-two children with ADHD and 79 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in the study. All children were examined by means of 3D T1-weighted image, DKI, and conventional sequence scanning. The volume and DKI parameters of each brain region were obtained by software postprocessing (GE ADW 4.6 workstation) and compared between the two groups of children to determine the imaging characteristics of children with ADHD. The result showed the total brain volume was lower in children with ADHD than in healthy children (p < .05). The gray and white matter volumes in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, hippocampus, caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, and other brain regions were lower in children with ADHD than in healthy children (p < .05). The axial kurtosis (Ka), mean kurtosis (MK), fractional anisotropy (FA), and radial kurtosis(Kr) values in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, and caudate nucleus of children with ADHD were lower than those of healthy children, while the mean diffusivity(MD) and fractional anisotropy of kurtosis (FAK) values were higher than those of healthy children (p < .05). Additionally, the Ka, MK, FA, and Kr values in the frontal lobe, caudate nucleus, and temporal lobe could be used to distinguish children with ADHD (AUC > .05, p < .05). In conclusion, DKI showed abnormal gray matter and white matter development in some brain regions of children with ADHD.

Associations between glymphatic function and BBB water exchange rate and perfusion in a Latinx cohort

AbstractBackgroundThe glymphatic system is thought to clear waste products from the brain by facilitating the exchange of interstitial fluid (ISF) with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through aquaporin‐4 (AQP4) water channels present in astrocyte endfeet. A recent non‐invasive MRI method, diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI‐ALPS), has been proposed for evaluating brain clearance function and has shown reduced glymphatic function in various neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, the role of microvascular perfusion and blood‐brain barrier (BBB) permeability in the glymphatic system remains unclear. In this study, we used a novel diffusion‐prepared arterial spin labeling (DP‐ASL) MRI technique to measure BBB water exchange rate (kw) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) and studied their relationships with the DTI‐ALPS score.Method44 Latinx subjects (20 male; age = 65.6±5.6 years) were recruited from the USC MarkVCID study. Imaging parameters for DP‐ASL were: resolution = 3.5×3.5×8mm3, 10 slices, scan time 10 mins. kw was calculated from the ratio of intra‐ and extra‐vascular perfusion signals with total‐general‐variation (TGV) regularized single‐pass approximation (SPA) modeling and CBF was calculated from PLD = 1800ms data using one‐compartment Kety model. kw and CBF maps were normalized into the MNI space and regional analysis was performed in the frontal/temporal/parietal lobe, and subcortical regions. Association between ALPS score and CBF/kw values were studied by linear regressions. P&lt;0.05 was considered as significant.ResultFig.1 shows kw and CBF maps from three representative subjects with increasing ALPS scores (top to bottom). ALPS was significantly correlated with kw in MTL (β = 1.7e‐3,P = 0.04) and a positive trend was observed between ALPS and whole brain average kw (P = 0.11). While significant correlations were found between ALPS and CBF in multiple brain regions including frontal lobe (β = 7e‐3,P = 0.009), temporal lobe (β = 7e‐3,P = 0.002), parietal lobe (β = 4e‐3,P = 0.03), MTL (β = 8e‐3,P = 0.03), ACC (β = 6e‐3,P = 0.005), PCC (β = 4e‐3,P = 0.02), precuneus (β = 4e‐3,P = 0.04) and whole brain (β = 8e‐3,P = 0.01). Fig.2 shows scatter plots of ALPS versus kw (A) and CBF in MTL and whole brain, respectively.ConclusionThis is the first study in Latinx population demonstrating positive correlations between ALPS score and both CBF and kw, suggesting a possible involvement of blood flow and BBB water exchange rate in the glymphatic system.

Longstanding smoking associated with frontal brain lobe atrophy: a 32-year follow-up study in women

ObjectiveTo examine the association between midlife tobacco smoking and late-life brain atrophy and white matter lesions.MethodsThe study includes 369 women from the Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, Sweden....

The use of brain tissue mechanics for time since death estimations

Time since death estimation is a vital part of forensic pathology. Despite the known tissue degradation after death, the efficacy of using biomechanical tissue properties to estimate time since death remains unexplored. Here, eight brain tissue localizations were sampled from the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, anterior and posterior deep brain, superior colliculi, pons, medulla, and cerebellum of 30 sheep; were then stored at 20 °C; and subsequently subjected to rheometry tests on days zero to four after death. Overall, the measured tissue storage modulus, loss modulus, and complex shear modulus decreased after death for all of the tested regions in a site-specific manner. Day zero to day one changes were the only 24-h interval, for which statistically significant differences in tissue mechanical moduli were observed for some of the tested brain regions. Based on receiver operator characteristic analyses between day zero and the pooled data of days one to four, a post mortem interval of at least 1 day can be determined with a sensitivity of 90%, a specificity of 92%, and a positive likelihood ratio of 10.8 using a complex shear modulus cut-off value of 1461 Pa for cerebellar samples. In summary, biomechanical properties of brain tissue can discriminate between fresh and at least 1-day-old samples stored at 20 °C with high diagnostic accuracy. This supports the possible value of biomechanical analyses for forensic time since death estimations. A striking advantage over established methods to estimate the time since death is its usability in cases of disintegrated bodies, e.g. when just the head is found.

Anatomical and radiological evaluation of frontal lobe morphometry in healthy and dementia people and machine learning-based prediction of dementia

Purpose: This paper aimed to determine the morphometry of the frontal lobe and central brain region using magnetic resonance imaging in patients having dementia and healthy subjects. &#x0D; Materials and Methods: 243 subjects (121 subjects having dementia; 122 subjects healthy group) aged 60-90 years over for 2 years between January 2018 and 2020 were included in this study. Also, the supervised Machine learning based (ML based) detection of dementia has been studied on this obtained real world data.&#x0D; Results: The gender-related changes of frontal region measurements in dementia and healthy subjects were analyzed and, there were differences of measurements’ mean values in gender. In healthy subjects, significance differences were found in all measurements (except the distance from anterior commissure to posterior commissure and outermost of corpus callosum genu to innermost of corpus callosum genu). The means of the measurements were found higher in males than in females.&#x0D; Conclusions: We believe that the knowledge of our study will provide valuable reference data for our population and will help for a surgeon in planning an operation by considering measurements related to the frontal lobe. In addition, ML based supervised methods that were trained on the collected data for detection of dementia showed that it is required to provide as many attributes and instances as possible to train an accurate estimator. However, if this is not possible, by creating new features based on the hidden patterns between attributes and instances we could increase the success of the estimators up to 96.3% f-score value.

Pooled analysis of frontal lobe transcriptomic data identifies key mitophagy gene changes in Alzheimer's disease brain.

The growing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is becoming a global health challenge without effective treatments. Defective mitochondrial function and mitophagy have recently been suggested as etiological factors in AD, in association with abnormalities in components of the autophagic machinery like lysosomes and phagosomes. Several large transcriptomic studies have been performed on different brain regions from AD and healthy patients, and their data represent a vast source of important information that can be utilized to understand this condition. However, large integration analyses of these publicly available data, such as AD RNA-Seq data, are still missing. In addition, large-scale focused analysis on mitophagy, which seems to be relevant for the aetiology of the disease, has not yet been performed. In this study, publicly available raw RNA-Seq data generated from healthy control and sporadic AD post-mortem human samples of the brain frontal lobe were collected and integrated. Sex-specific differential expression analysis was performed on the combined data set after batch effect correction. From the resulting set of differentially expressed genes, candidate mitophagy-related genes were identified based on their known functional roles in mitophagy, the lysosome, or the phagosome, followed by Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) and microRNA-mRNA network analysis. The expression changes of candidate genes were further validated in human skin fibroblast and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-derived cortical neurons from AD patients and matching healthy controls. From a large dataset (AD: 589; control: 246) based on three different datasets (i.e., ROSMAP, MSBB, & GSE110731), we identified 299 candidate mitophagy-related differentially expressed genes (DEG) in sporadic AD patients (male: 195, female: 188). Among these, the AAA ATPase VCP, the GTPase ARF1, the autophagic vesicle forming protein GABARAPL1 and the cytoskeleton protein actin beta ACTB were selected based on network degrees and existing literature. Changes in their expression were further validated in AD-relevant human in vitro models, which confirmed their down-regulation in AD conditions. Through the joint analysis of multiple publicly available data sets, we identify four differentially expressed key mitophagy-related genes potentially relevant for the pathogenesis of sporadic AD. Changes in expression of these four genes were validated using two AD-relevant human in vitro models, primary human fibroblasts and iPSC-derived neurons. Our results provide foundation for further investigation of these genes as potential biomarkers or disease-modifying pharmacological targets.

Neural quantification of timbre and emotions from Indian Classical Music: A multifractal exploration

Music is believed to be one of the strongest mediums to affect both psychological and neural responses in humans. In case of Indian Classical Music (ICM), raga rendition has the power of evoking emotions of certain colors due to its characteristic note structures, tempo and method of unfoldment. The aim of this work is to study and understand the neural origin of different timbres (Sitar and Sarod), emotions (happy and sad) and audience category (musician and non-musician), using certain Alaap (without any accompaniment) portions from renditions of several maestros as input signals. Using robust non linear parameters like multifractal width (MW) and asymmetry, we have tried to characterize and compare the EEG responses originating from the temporal, occipital and frontal lobes of brain. From MW and asymmetry tools, significant classification has been obtained for timbre, emotions as well as audience classification. To compute the statistical significance of the results, tools like one-way ANOVA and Mahalanobis Distance (M.D.) were used to compare the two classes under comparison (emotion/timbre/audience category). While ANOVA revealed significant timbre classification for happy clips and significant emotion classification for Sitar clips, M.D. showed prominently higher values for sad clips of both timbres in occipital lobe, significant separation in different lobes were obtained characterizing musicians and non-musicians. The paper presents new and interesting results regarding the neural processing and characterization of timbral and emotional parameters in musicians and non-musicians using Indian Classical Music as the input stimuli.

Association of Sex With Neurobehavioral Markers of Executive Function in 2-Year-Olds at High and Low Likelihood of Autism

Children with autism and their siblings exhibit executive function (EF) deficits early in development, but associations between EF and biological sex or early brain alterations in this population are largely unexplored. To investigate the interaction of sex, autism likelihood group, and structural magnetic resonance imaging alterations on EF in 2-year-old children at high familial likelihood (HL) and low familial likelihood (LL) of autism, based on having an older sibling with autism or no family history of autism in first-degree relatives. This prospective cohort study assessed 165 toddlers at HL (n = 110) and LL (n = 55) of autism at 4 university-based research centers. Data were collected from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2013, and analyzed between August 2021 and June 2022 as part of the Infant Brain Imaging Study. Direct assessments of EF and acquired structural magnetic resonance imaging were performed to determine frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and total cerebral brain volume. A total of 165 toddlers (mean [SD] age, 24.61 [0.95] months; 90 [54%] male, 137 [83%] White) at HL for autism (n = 110; 17 diagnosed with ASD) and LL for autism (n = 55) were studied. The toddlers at HL for autism scored lower than the toddlers at LL for autism on EF tests regardless of sex (mean [SE] B = -8.77 [4.21]; 95% CI, -17.09 to -0.45; η2p = 0.03). With the exclusion of toddlers with autism, no group (HL vs LL) difference in EF was found in boys (mean [SE] difference, -7.18 [4.26]; 95% CI, 1.24-15.59), but EF was lower in HL girls than LL girls (mean [SE] difference, -9.75 [4.34]; 95% CI, -18.32 to -1.18). Brain-behavior associations were examined, controlling for overall cerebral volume and developmental level. Sex differences in EF-frontal (B [SE] = 16.51 [7.43]; 95% CI, 1.36-31.67; η2p = 0.14) and EF-parietal (B [SE] = 17.68 [6.99]; 95% CI, 3.43-31.94; η2p = 0.17) associations were found in the LL group but not the HL group (EF-frontal: B [SE] = -1.36 [3.87]; 95% CI, -9.07 to 6.35; η2p = 0.00; EF-parietal: B [SE] = -2.81 [4.09]; 95% CI, -10.96 to 5.34; η2p = 0.01). Autism likelihood group differences in EF-frontal (B [SE] = -9.93 [4.88]; 95% CI, -19.73 to -0.12; η2p = 0.08) and EF-parietal (B [SE] = -15.44 [5.18]; 95% CI, -25.86 to -5.02; η2p = 0.16) associations were found in girls not boys (EF-frontal: B [SE] = 6.51 [5.88]; 95% CI, -5.26 to 18.27; η2p = 0.02; EF-parietal: B [SE] = 4.18 [5.48]; 95% CI, -6.78 to 15.15; η2p = 0.01). This cohort study of toddlers at HL and LL of autism suggests that there is an association between sex and EF and that brain-behavior associations in EF may be altered in children at HL of autism. Furthermore, EF deficits may aggregate in families, particularly in girls.

Human–machine interaction for motorized wheelchair based on single-channel electroencephalogram headband

Human machine interaction (HMI) allows persons to control and interact with devices. Starting from elementary apparatus which acquires input bio-signals to controlling various applications. Medical applications are amongst the very important applications of HMI. One of these medical applications is assisting fully/partially paralyzed patients to restore movements or freely move using exoskeletons or motorized wheelchairs. Helping patients with spinal cord injury or serious neurological diseases to restore their movements is a key role objective for most researchers in this field. In this paper, an EEG-based HMI system is proposed to assist patients with tetraplegia/quadriplegia to mentally control a motorized wheelchair so they can move freely and independently. EEG power spectrum (α, β, δ, θ, and γ) from the frontal lobe of brain is recorded, filtered and wirelessly sent to the wheelchair to control directions and engine status. Four different experiments were conducted using the proposed system in order to validate the performance. Two different GUIs scenarios (cross-shaped and horizontal bar) were used with the experiments. Results showed that the horizontal bar scenario considered more user friendly while the cross-shaped is the more suitable for navigation. The implemented system can be equipped with modules and sensors such as GPS, ultrasound and accelerometer that improve the system performance and reliability.

External Frontal Sinostomy to Drain Frontal Lobe Abscess

A case of frontal sinusitis with osteomyelitis of its posterior wall producing frontal lobe brain abscess is presented, whereby the posterior wall dehiscence was exposed by external sinostomy by an ENT surgeon and then, through the dehiscence, the abscess was drained by a neurosurgeon. This is an uncommon technique of draining a frontal lobe brain abscess where no frontal bone craniotomy was required. This approach yields the least damage to the cerebral tissue as the frontal abscess was very close to posterior wall of frontal sinus and drain has to travel through minimal intracerebral distance.

Research progress in the brain area responsible for depression

Depression is one of the main types of affective disorders, which is extremely harmful to the physical and mental health of patients. The typical clinical symptoms of depression include decreased volitional activity, retardation of thinking, low spirits, and cognitive impairment. The pathogenesis of depression is very complex, including multiple factors such as biological, psychological and environmental factors. Researchers at home and abroad have carried out research on depression in many fields. In neuroscience, it has been concluded that the dysfunction of the frontal lobe, hippocampus, temporal lobe, striatum, amygdala and other brain of patients with depression can contribute to depression. Besides, the abnormal connections between these brain regions may also result in depression. Herein, we mainly introduced the current research of the above-mentioned responsible brain regions and related neural circuits for depression, and further summarized the current knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of depression. Finally, we briefly discussed the feasibility of using rodents as animal models to explore depression.

Analysis of changes in brain morphological structure of taekwondo athletes by diffusion tensor imaging

ObjectiveTaekwondo, which is the most preferred sport among the martial arts, is known to improve individuals physically, spiritually and mentally. The aim of this study is to reveal the effect of teakwondo sport on the brain and brain structures. Design;30 taekwondo athletes and 15 control groups were included in this study. Diffusion tensor MR images of each participant were taken. The information was obtained by the self-declaration of the athletes, whether they were sports years, amateur or elite. MethodTotal brain volume and volumes of white matter, gray matter, frontal lobe, precentral gyrus, corticospinal tract, basal nuclei, postcentral gyrus, hippocampus and amigdala and the ratio of these volumes to total brain volume were evaluated statistically between the groups using MriCloud software and ROIEditor program. ResultsAn increase in total brain volume, gray matter, frontal lobe and precentral gyrus volume in athletes was associated with taekwondo training. When the ratio of brain parts to total brain volume was examined, it was determined that there was a difference in the ratio of gray matter, white matter volumes in amateur athletes, right frontal lobe, left corticospinal tract, right postcentral gyrus volumes in elite athletes, and left postcentral gyrus volumes of both athletes compared to sedentary individuals. ConclusionsThe increase in the volume of gray matter, frontal lobe, postcentral gyrus and corticospinal tract together with the brain volume shows that taekwondo exercise contributes to physical, spiritual and mental development.

Brain DNA damaging effects of volatile anesthetics and 1 and 2 Gy gamma irradiation in vivo: Preliminary results

Although both can cause DNA damage, the combined impact of volatile anesthetics halothane/sevoflurane/isoflurane and radiotherapeutic exposure on sensitive brain cells in vivo has not been previously analyzed. Healthy Swiss albino male mice (240 in total, 48 groups) were exposed to either halothane/sevoflurane/isoflurane therapeutic doses alone (2h); 1 or 2gray of gamma radiation alone; or combined exposure. Frontal lobe brain samples from five animals were taken immediately and 2, 6, and 24h after exposure. DNA damage and cellular repair index were analyzed using the alkaline comet assay and the tail intensity parameter. Elevated tail intensity levels for sevoflurane/halothane were the highest at 6h and returned to baseline within 24h for sevoflurane, but not for halothane, while isoflurane treatment caused lower tail intensity than control values. Combined exposure demonstrated a slightly halothane/sevoflurane protective and isoflurane protective effect, which was stronger for 2 than for 1gray. Cellular repair indices and tail intensity histograms indicated different modes of action in DNA damage creation. Isoflurane/sevoflurane/halothane preconditioning demonstrated protective effects in sensitive brain cells in vivo. Owing to the constant increases in the combined use of radiotherapy and volatile anesthetics, further studies should explore the mechanisms behind these effects, including longer and multiple exposure treatments and in vivo brain tumor models.