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Musicians with absolute pitch ability show better spatial ability, but little is known about whether non-musicians’ pitch identification (PI) ability is associated with their spatial ability. In the present study, a PI test, two mental rotation (MR) tests (Three-Dimensional Mental Rotation [3DMR] and Spatial Relationship [SR]), and eight executive function (EF) tests were administered to a large sample ( N = 525) of Chinese college students who were non-music majors. A subsample with superior PI ability ( n = 42) was identified and compared with a sample with average PI ability matched in age and IQ ( n = 42). Two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (PI ability x musical training, with gender as a covariate due to a minor difference in matching by gender) revealed that superior PI ability was associated with better performance on MR and various EF tests. Musical training was associated with performance on select visual and EF tests (i.e., visual perception, working memory, and executive attention control), but not with MR performance. Additional ANCOVA showed that PI ability was significantly associated with 3DMR, but not SR, even after scores on EF tests were included as covariates. These results indicate a unique association between PI ability and 3DMR, which helps shed light on the cognitive mechanisms related to PI ability.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs), for instance, HPV 16 and HPV 18, are concerned associated with cervical cancer. Thus, it is essential to suppress HPVs-in HPV-positive cervical cancer for treating cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore the proposed molecular mechanisms, which that underlies the antintumor potential of juglone to treat of HPV-positive on cervical cancer cells. The results showed that juglone suppressed HPV-positive cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent way. In addition, cell invasion and metastasis were also inhibited by juglone. Nevertheless, when pin 1 was knocked down in HPV-positive cells, cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis were reduced. This study was designed to acquire an understanding of the mechanism of invasion and metastasis in HPV-positive cells suppressed by juglone. It provides evidence of the advantageous use of juglone in the future. Keywords: Juglone, HPV-positive, Cervical cancer cells, Invasion, Metastasis

Previous studies have found neural alterations in regions involved in cognitive and affective functions among Crohn’s disease (CD) patients. The present work recruited 18 CD patients and 18 age-gender matched healthy controls (HC) and specifically compared differences in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) within the executive control network (ECN) which has been implicated in cognitive function and default mode network (DMN), which has been implicated in affective function. Additionally, we examined the correlations between RSFC in ECN and verbal fluency (VF) in both groups as well as RSFC in DMN and anxiety level in the CD group. Results showed significantly increased RSFC between the right middle frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule in ECN, as well as increased RSFC between the right precuneus and right posterior cingulate cortex in DMN, among CD patients compared to HC. However, the correlations between ECN/DMN and behavioral scores in each group were not significant, which was possibility due to the limited sample size. These findings suggest that CD patients may experience changes in the connectivity patterns in ECN and DMN. Increased connectivity observed on these networks could be a potential biomarker of a neuropsychiatric manifestation of CD.

Congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure results in a spectrum of disease ranging from severe birth defects to delayed onset neurodevelopmental deficits. ZIKV-related neuropathogenesis, predictors of birth defects, and neurodevelopmental deficits are not well defined in people. Here we assess the methodological and statistical feasibility of a congenital ZIKV exposure macaque model for identifying infant neurobehavior and brain abnormalities that may underlie neurodevelopmental deficits. We inoculated five pregnant macaques with ZIKV and mock-inoculated one macaque in the first trimester. Following birth, growth, ocular structure/function, brain structure, hearing, histopathology, and neurobehavior were quantitatively assessed during the first week of life. We identified the typical pregnancy outcomes of congenital ZIKV infection, with fetal demise and placental abnormalities. We estimated sample sizes needed to define differences between groups and demonstrated that future studies quantifying brain region volumes, retinal structure, hearing, and visual pathway function require a sample size of 14 animals per group (14 ZIKV, 14 control) to detect statistically significant differences in at least half of the infant exam parameters. Establishing the parameters for future studies of neurodevelopmental outcomes following congenital ZIKV exposure in macaques is essential for robust and rigorous experimental design.

The current study used diffusion tensor imaging to examine patterns/degree of brain connectivity in 12 college-aged binge drinking (BD) and 12 moderate drinking individuals. Voxel-level and region-of-interest analyses revealed increased connectivity of the BD brain in the right corona radiata, right external capsule, and both the right and left cingulum. Also, fractional anisotropy and axial diffusivity values of these regions correlated with a number of drinking behaviors of the BD as well as both groups combined. It is hypothesized that increased connectivity in the BD may produce difficulties with regulatory control, contributing to their propensity to binge.

Mirror neurons (MNs) activate when performing an action and when an observer witnesses the same action performed by another individual. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and presentation of motion captured piano performances were used to identify differences in MN activation for musicians/non-musicians when viewing piano pieces played in a "Correct" mode (i.e., emphasis on technical correctness) or an "Enjoyment" mode (i.e., simply told to "enjoy" playing the piece). Results showed greater MN activation in a variety of brain regions for musicians, with these differences more pronounced in the "Enjoyment" mode. Our findings suggest that activation of MNs is not only initiated by the imagined action of an observed movement, but such activation is modulated by the level of musical expertise and knowledge of associated motor movements that the observer brings to the viewing situation. Enhanced MN activation in musicians may stem from imagining themselves actually playing the observed piece.

College-age binge drinking is considered a developmental disturbance that may give rise to unique treatment challenges. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the completion of a spatial Stroop task to compare brain activation of 24 college-aged participants: 12 moderate drinkers (MoD) and 12 binge drinkers (BD). Overall, the BD showed a significant reduction in reaction time and accuracy in performing this task, while concurrently displaying less overall brain activation than moderate-drinking controls. In general, the BD showed decreased activity in regions related to rule discovery but hyperactivation in areas thought to mediate attention and response inhibition. Implications for treatment are discussed.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have been shown to have abnormal brain morphometry or function, which are associated with psychological symptoms such as stress, depression or anxiety. The present work recruited 20 Crohn’s disease patients in remission (CDs) and 20 age-gender-handedness-education matched healthy controls (HCs) and compared their brain white matter microstructural properties using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). Additionally, we examined the correlations between the microstructural properties and cognition (verbal fluency language task, VF) and affect (anxiety) in both groups as well as disease duration in CDs. Results showed that CDs exhibited significant alterations in microstructural properties compared to HCs in various white matter tracts relevant to language function despite no significant difference in VF scores. Furthermore, CDs’ microstructural changes exhibited correlations with anxiety level and disease duration. These findings suggest that CD patients may experience changes in white matter microstructural properties which may be a biomarker of neuropsychiatric comorbidities of CD.

Aims Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) exhibits potential anticancer activity. However, the biological functions of DHA in prostate cancer remain largely unexplored. In this study, we aim to investigate the anti-proliferative effect and glycolysis regulation of DHA on prostate cancer cell LNCaP. Main methods Cell proliferative activity and apoptosis inducing were detected. The gene expression was detected by mRNA microarray and results were analyzed by GO and KEGG pathway database. Expressions of glycolysis key enzymes and PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α were detected by Western blot. Key findings Results indicated that DHA could inhibit the LNCaP cell proliferation considerably and induce cell apoptosis. mRNA microarray showed 1293 genes were upregulated and 2322 genes were downregulated. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that glycolysis pathway was correlated with DHA inhibited the proliferation on the LNCaP cell. Western blot results showed that DHA can decrease GLUT1 and regulatory enzymes of glycolytic pathway expression probably by suppressing the activity of the intracellular Akt/mTOR and HIF-1 α. Significance Experimental validation results indicate that DHA treatment can inhibit the LNCaP cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, which may be related to glycolysis inhibition.

Emerging evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain activation studies associated with dietary behavior reveals significant interaction of biological and behavioral mechanisms in response to visualized food stimuli. Because food intake is influenced by neurosensory stimulation and memory cues, personalized food images may be useful in prompting appropriate affective responses to food intake, which may subsequently lead to healthier eating behaviors. The current study used a cross-sectional mixed methods approach to explore neural responses and self-perceptions of eating behavior during review of personalized food images. A sample of college students (N = 16; 9 females; M age = 21.44) used cell-phone cameras and an online dietary tracking website to collect and report three days of diet. Within 2–3 weeks of completing dietary tracking activity, participants underwent an fMRI scan while reviewing recorded personal images and text descriptions of their diet. They also responded to three questions related to memory for the food items and future eating intentions. Post-scan interviews explored how participants felt after reviewing personal food images and the possible impact that such review might have on future food choices. Whole brain analyses suggested, compared to a written dietary record, that the visualization of personal images of diet evoked greater brain activation in memory regions (e.g., superior frontal gyrus) along with mediating emotion (e.g., thalamus, putamen, anterior cingulate cortex), imagery and executive functions (e.g., inferior orbitofrontal gyrus, fusiform, and parietal lobe). This study offers preliminary support for the use of personal food images to strengthen dietary monitoring.

Decision making is a complex process that involves weighing the probabilities of alternative options that can be desirable, undesirable, or neutral. Such a process necessarily involves both emotional responses and cognitive processes (Damasio, Everitt, & Bishop, 1996; Li, Lu, D'Argembeau, Ng, & Bechara, 2010). Indeed, previous studies have found that decision-making performance is associated with both emotion (Bajaj, Lamichhane, Adhikari, & Dhamala, 2013; Choi, de Melo, Woo, & Gratch, 2012; Furl, Gallagher, & Averbeck, 2012; Mussel, Goritz, & Hewig, 2013) and cognition (e.g., working memory [WM]; Dretsch & Tipples, 2008; Kerr & Zelazo, 2004; Remijnse, Nielen, Uylings, & Veltman, 2005). Previous research has further distinguished two types of decision making based on the degree of uncertainty about the outcome: decisions under ambiguity are those without knowing the precise probability distribution of the possible outcomes, and decisions under risk are those with known outcome probabilities (Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994, Bechara, Damasio, & Damasio, 2000; He et al., 2010; Stoltenberg & Vandever, 2010). The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has been widely used to assess decision making under both ambiguity and risk (Bechara et al., 1994, 2000; He et al., 2010). At the early stage of the IGT, players have little explicit knowledge about IGT alternatives, so they are making decisions under ambiguity. As the task progresses, players develop explicit knowledge of the risk profile across IGT alternatives, so they make decision knowing the risks (Brand, Recknor, Grabenhorst, & Bechara, 2007; Upton, Bishara, Ahn, & Stout, 2011).Musical training has been found to improve emotional processes such as emotion perception (Alluri et al., 2015) and understanding (Schellenberg & Mankarious, 2012), as well as cognitive processes such as WM (George & Coch, 2011; Hou et al., 2014). However, no study to date has examined whether musical training can influence decision-making ability. Given the positive effects of musical training on emotional and cognitive processes, the current study tested the hypothesis that musical training (especially early training) would be associated with better performance on the IGT. In addition, this study examined whether such effects were inde- pendent of training-related improvement in WM and/or emotion perception.Method and MaterialsParticipantsData for this study came from a larger project (e.g., Chen et al., 2013; Hou et al., 2014). Five hundred sixty-seven undergraduates at Beijing Normal University took the IGT test as well as other cognitive tests (see below for details). Based on their self-report (see below), 42 participants had early musical training (e.g., piano, keyboard, violin, and accordion) starting before the age of 7 years (11 males and 31 females; Table 1); 52 participants had late musical training (e.g., piano, keyboard, clarinet, and saxophone) starting after the age of 8 years (13 males and 39 females; see Table 1). From 473 participants who had no musical training, we selected 60 participants (12 males and 48 females; see Table 1) to match, roughly, the early and late musical training participants, in terms of age, gender, and IQ.MeasuresMusical training history. Participants were asked the age at which they started formal musical training, the types of musical instruments they used, and the number of years they had such formal training.The IGT. A computerized version of the IGT (Bechara et al., 2000; He et al., 2010) was used in the current study to assess decision making under ambiguity and risk (a screen shot is displayed in Figure 1). To motivate subjects, they were informed that the amount of their winning would be converted into real money. Participants were asked to select one card at a time (100 trials in total) from one of the four decks (labeled A, B, C, and D). As described in previous studies and the IGT manual (PAR, Inc, Lutz, FL), two of the decks were disadvantageous because they yielded high immediate gain but a greater loss in the long run (i. …

Objective: To examine whether exposure to curve versus sharp contours in the built healthcare setting produces systematic and identifiable patterns of amygdala activation and behavioral response in healthy adults. Background: Recent studies in cognitive neuroscience suggest that humans prefer objects with a curved contour compared with objects that have pointed features and a sharp-angled contour. An implicit perception of threat represented by sharp objects, in humans, was hypothesized to explain this bias. Method: The study adopted a within-subject experimental design, where 36 subjects (representing three age-groups and both sexes) were exposed to a randomized order of 312 real-life images (objects, interiors, exteriors, landscape, and a set of control images). Amygdala activation was simultaneously captured using functional magnetic resonance imaging technology. Subjects’ preference (like/dislike) data were also collected while in the scanner. Data were collected in 2013. Results: In case of images depicting landscape and healthcare objects, brain scans show significant higher amygdala activation associated with sharp contours. However, in relation to images depicting hospital interiors and exterior envelops, brain scans show significant higher amygdala activation associated with curve contours. These activations pertain to exposure during the precognitive stages of the subjects’ perception. Conclusion: Hospital forms do have systematic impact on fear response during precognitive stages of human perception. Whether this first impression colors the subsequent experience of an actual patient with real illness or injury is unknown.