Neuronal oscillations are ubiquitous in the brain and contribute to perception and attention. However, most associated evidence derives from post hoc correlations between brain dynamics and behavior. Although a few recent studies demonstrate rhythms in behavior, it remains largely unknown whether behavioral performances manifest spectrotemporal dynamics in a neurophysiologically relevant manner (e.g., the temporal modulation of ongoing oscillations, the cross-frequency coupling). To investigate the issue, we examined fine spectrotemporal dynamics of behavioral time courses in a large sample of human participants (n ϭ 49), by taking a high time-resolved psychophysical measurement in a precuing attentional task. We observed compelling dynamic oscillatory patterns directly in behavior. First, typical attentional effects are demonstrated in low-pass (0 -2 Hz) filtered time courses of behavioral responses. Second, an uninformative peripheral cue elicits recurring ␣-band (8 -20 Hz) pulses in behavioral performances, and the elicited ␣ pulses for cued and uncued conditions are in a temporally alternating relationship. Finally, ongoing ␣-band power is phase locked to ongoing -bands (3-5 Hz) in behavioral time courses. Our findings constitute manifestation of oscillations at physiologically relevant rhythms and powerphase locking, as widely observed in neurophysiological recordings, in behavior. The findings suggest that behavioral performance actually consists of rich dynamic information and may reflect underlying neuronal oscillatory substrates. Our data also speak to a neural mechanism for item attention based on successive cycles () of a sequential attentional sampling (␣) process.

Background Studies have shown that the outbreak of infectious diseases would result in mental health problems. Females are in greater risk for psychological problems than males. The present study investigated gender differences of depression and anxiety and explored associated factors during the COVID-19 epidemic among Chinese social media users. Methods We recruited 3088 participants through social media cross China. Participants completed sociodemographic and the COVID-19 epidemic related questions, the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), and the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2), the Chinese version of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. We applied Chi-square test and ANOVA for data description and linear regression analysis for exploring factors associated with depression and anxiety. Results Of 3063 participants eligible for analysis, the total prevalence of depression and anxiety was 14.14 and 13.25%. Females were experiencing more severe stress and anxiety symptoms, while males showed better resilience to stress. The severity of depression symptoms would decrease with the increase of age resilience, and it would increase if being unemployed, feeling less adapted, being more stressed. The severity of anxiety symptoms would decrease with higher education and better resilience, and it would increase if being female, spending over 60 min on COVID-19 related information, less adapted, and being more stressed. Conclusion The findings show the increased prevalence of depression and anxiety in Chinese population during the COVID-19 epidemic, and females are experiencing more severe anxiety symptoms than males. As social media is the current main resource of information related to COVID-19, interventions should be implemented to help users to limit the time they spend on social media and to get key information related to the epidemic from authoritative and authentic resource to avoid infodemic and prevent mental health problems.

Sleep and wakefulness are homeostatically regulated by a variety of factors, including adenosine. However, how neural activity underlying the sleep-wake cycle controls adenosine release in the brain remains unclear. Using a newly developed genetically encoded adenosine sensor, we found an activity-dependent rapid increase in the concentration of extracellular adenosine in mouse basal forebrain (BF), a critical region controlling sleep and wakefulness. Although the activity of both BF cholinergic and glutamatergic neurons correlated with changes in the concentration of adenosine, optogenetic activation of these neurons at physiological firing frequencies showed that glutamatergic neurons contributed much more to the adenosine increase. Mice with selective ablation of BF glutamatergic neurons exhibited a reduced adenosine increase and impaired sleep homeostasis regulation. Thus, cell type–specific neural activity in the BF dynamically controls sleep homeostasis.

Serotonin (5-HT) is a phylogenetically conserved monoamine neurotransmitter modulating important processes in the brain. To directly visualize the release of 5-HT, we developed a genetically encoded G PC R - A ctivation- B ased 5-HT (GRAB 5-HT ) sensor with high sensitivity, selectivity, subsecond kinetics, and subcellular resolution. GRAB 5-HT detects 5-HT release in multiple physiological and pathological conditions in both flies and mice, and provides new insights into the dynamics and mechanisms of 5-HT signaling.