Microanatomical Correlates of Cognitive Ability and Decline: Normal Ageing, MCI, and Alzheimer's Disease

Chance, Steven A.; Clover, Linda; Cousijn, Helena; Currah, Leila; Pettingill, Rosemary; Esiri, Margaret M.

doi:10.1093/cercor/bhq264

Cited by 48 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Minicolumn organization in the PT has been found to correlate with cognitive scores (tests such as the Mini Mental State Exam which covers a range of tasks including object naming and simple sentence construction; Chance et al, 2011b). The relationship with cognition was specific to minicolumn measures and was not found for neuron density, as also reported in monkeys (Cruz et al, 2009).…”

Section: Auditory Cortex Language and Asymmetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The cortical microstructural basis of lateralized cognition: a review

Chance

2014

Front. Psychol.

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The presence of asymmetry in the human cerebral hemispheres is detectable at both the macroscopic and microscopic scales. The horizontal expansion of cortical surface during development (within individual brains), and across evolutionary time (between species), is largely due to the proliferation and spacing of the microscopic vertical columns of cells that form the cortex. In the asymmetric planum temporale (PT), minicolumn width asymmetry is associated with surface area asymmetry. Although the human minicolumn asymmetry is not large, it is estimated to account for a surface area asymmetry of approximately 9% of the region’s size. Critically, this asymmetry of minicolumns is absent in the equivalent areas of the brains of other apes. The left-hemisphere dominance for processing speech is thought to depend, partly, on a bias for higher resolution processing across widely spaced minicolumns with less overlapping dendritic fields, whereas dense minicolumn spacing in the right hemisphere is associated with more overlapping, lower resolution, holistic processing. This concept refines the simple notion that a larger brain area is associated with dominance for a function and offers an alternative explanation associated with “processing type.” This account is mechanistic in the sense that it offers a mechanism whereby asymmetrical components of structure are related to specific functional biases yielding testable predictions, rather than the generalization that “bigger is better” for any given function. Face processing provides a test case – it is the opposite of language, being dominant in the right hemisphere. Consistent with the bias for holistic, configural processing of faces, the minicolumns in the right-hemisphere fusiform gyrus are thinner than in the left hemisphere, which is associated with featural processing. Again, this asymmetry is not found in chimpanzees. The difference between hemispheres may also be seen in terms of processing speed, facilitated by asymmetric myelination of white matter tracts (Anderson et al., 1999 found that axons of the left posterior superior temporal lobe were more thickly myelinated). By cross-referencing the differences between the active fields of the two hemispheres, via tracts such as the corpus callosum, the relationship of local features to global features may be encoded. The emergent hierarchy of features within features is a recursive structure that may functionally contribute to generativity – the ability to perceive and express layers of structure and their relations to each other. The inference is that recursive generativity, an essential component of language, reflects an interaction between processing biases that may be traceable in the microstructure of the cerebral cortex. Minicolumn organization in the PT and the prefrontal cortex has been found to correlate with cognitive scores in humans. Altered minicolumn organization is also observed in neuropsychiatric disorders including autism and schizophrenia. Indeed, altered interhemispheric connections correlated with ...

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Section: Auditory Cortex Language and Asymmetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The cortical microstructural basis of lateralized cognition: a review

Chance

2014

Front. Psychol.

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“…Neuron loss, neuritic plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles, the classic neuropathologic lesions of AD, have been identified in auditory system brainstem and midbrain nuclei, including the olivary nucleus, inferior colliculus, and medial geniculate body (Ohm and Braak, 1989; Dugger et al, 2011). In addition, plaques and tangles are also common in primary auditory and auditory association cortex in persons with AD (Sinha et al, 1993; Chance et al, 2011). Neuropathologic studies of the central auditory system are less common in non-AD dementias.…”

Section: Hearing Function In Neurodegenerative Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing and music in dementia

Johnson

Chow

2015

Handbook of Clinical Neurology

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Music is a complex acoustic signal that relies on a number of different brain and cognitive processes to create the sensation of hearing. Changes in hearing function are generally not a major focus of concern for persons with a majority of neurodegenerative diseases associated with dementia, such as Alzheimer disease (AD). However, changes in the processing of sounds may be an early, and possibly preclinical, feature of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this chapter is to review the current state of knowledge concerning hearing and music perception in persons who have a dementia as a result of a neurodegenerative disease. The review focuses on both peripheral and central auditory processing in common neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on the processing of music and other non-verbal sounds. The chapter also reviews music interventions used for persons with neurodegenerative diseases.

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“…Moreover, neural enhancement approaches may be applied to inter-laminar microcircuits across the entire cortex (Opris, 2013). In the future, such microcircuit based prostheses will provide efficient therapies for patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders (Casanova, 2007, 2013; Casanova et al, 2008; Chance et al, 2011). …”

Section: Nanostructures: a Platform For Brain Repair And Augmentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanostructures: a platform for brain repair and augmentation

Vidu

Rahman

Mahmoudi

et al. 2014

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

108

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Nanoscale structures have been at the core of research efforts dealing with integration of nanotechnology into novel electronic devices for the last decade. Because the size of nanomaterials is of the same order of magnitude as biomolecules, these materials are valuable tools for nanoscale manipulation in a broad range of neurobiological systems. For instance, the unique electrical and optical properties of nanowires, nanotubes, and nanocables with vertical orientation, assembled in nanoscale arrays, have been used in many device applications such as sensors that hold the potential to augment brain functions. However, the challenge in creating nanowires/nanotubes or nanocables array-based sensors lies in making individual electrical connections fitting both the features of the brain and of the nanostructures. This review discusses two of the most important applications of nanostructures in neuroscience. First, the current approaches to create nanowires and nanocable structures are reviewed to critically evaluate their potential for developing unique nanostructure based sensors to improve recording and device performance to reduce noise and the detrimental effect of the interface on the tissue. Second, the implementation of nanomaterials in neurobiological and medical applications will be considered from the brain augmentation perspective. Novel applications for diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases such as multiple sclerosis, meningitis, stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism will be considered. Because the blood brain barrier (BBB) has a defensive mechanism in preventing nanomaterials arrival to the brain, various strategies to help them to pass through the BBB will be discussed. Finally, the implementation of nanomaterials in neurobiological applications is addressed from the brain repair/augmentation perspective. These nanostructures at the interface between nanotechnology and neuroscience will play a pivotal role not only in addressing the multitude of brain disorders but also to repair or augment brain functions.

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Microanatomical Correlates of Cognitive Ability and Decline: Normal Ageing, MCI, and Alzheimer's Disease

Cited by 48 publications

References 37 publications

The cortical microstructural basis of lateralized cognition: a review

The cortical microstructural basis of lateralized cognition: a review

Hearing and music in dementia

Nanostructures: a platform for brain repair and augmentation

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