Patients with mild depression and apparently healthy individuals were presented images and asked to sort them into "pleasant" and "unpleasant" subsets. In both groups, the main differences between brain activation patterns during presentation of pleasant and unpleasant images were localized in the motor regions (precentral and postcentral gyrus) and in the cerebellum (p<0.05 with FWE correction). Most likely, these clusters are associated with motion (pressing a button in accordance with the instruction). According to the data of intergroup contrasts, patients with depression had less pronounced activation of frontal structures (middle frontal gyrus and other areas, including the white matter) in response to both positive and negative images (p<0.001). In healthy subjects, the response of the temporo-occipital areas (lingual and fusiform gyrus) to unpleasant stimuli was more intensive than in patients (p<0.001). This can be due to differences in the semantic image processing. Thus, in case of mild depression, the response of the amygdaloid complex, the key structure in the development in affective disorder, was not always observed. At the same time, the response of frontal and temporo-occipital regions has a certain potential as a biomarker of mild depression, although the reliability of the obtained data requires additional confirmation.

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Depressive disorders can be associated with changes in not only interaction between neural networks, but also in their composition. Resting state fMRI scanning was performed for 4 min twice for each subject and the results of patients with mild depression (N=15) and healthy subjects (N=19) were analyzed. The fMRI signal was reduced into the independent components and the contrasts between the groups and between the first and second records were constructed for each component. During the first scanning, the auditory network of individuals with depression involved greater volume in the left insular region and lower volume in the right hemisphere. In record 2, depression patients were characterized by expansion of the executive network in the left hemisphere in the region of the middle and inferior frontal cortex. In healthy people, from record 1 to record 2, representation of the dorsal default mode network (DMN) increased in the left medial prefrontal area, the precuneus network expanded in the left hemisphere, and presentation of the ventral DMN in the right precuneus decreased. In the depression group, the auditory network lost some part of the left temporo-insular cortex; the sensorimotor network expanded in the left hemisphere to the cerebellum or to the central parietal region depending on the evaluation method, and the visuospatial network included or excluded a cluster in the left parietal lobe (in different points). Our findings indicate that connection of the auditory network with the left insular cortex could be a possible depression marker and also demonstrate a possibility of evaluating the composition of cerebral networks in intergroup comparisons and in dynamics without interventions.

Aim:The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological and functional features of the process of spermatogenesis in the testes of male albino rats when exposed to lead acetate.Materials and Methods:Using histological, morphometric and statistical methods explored the effects of lead acetate on the process of spermatogenesis in the testes of male albino rats. Investigations were carried out using a digital microscope Axio Imager. M2 and automatic cell counter Countess™.Results:It is shown that when exposed to lead acetate a decrease in the production of all populations of spermatogenic cells, decreased spermatogenesis index and an index of relaxation (tension spermatogenesis), the increase in the index of ripening, index meiotic activity and germinative index, which indicates a decrease in the functional activity of the testes. On preparations, it is possible to see that after the influence of acetate of lead the head of spermatozoa becomes more roundish, breaks of tails observed.Conclusion:Lead acetate reduces the productivity of the seminal glands, which leads to the decrease of the concentration of spermatozoa, and their viability. The results of the studies suggest a negative impact of lead acetate in the course of the process of spermatogenesis in the testes of male white rats.