Basal tree complexity shapes functional pathways in the prefrontal cortex

Apathy and the functional anatomy of the prefrontal cortex-basal ganglia circuits.

The clinical signs grouped under the concept of apathy are a common feature of prefrontal and basal ganglia lesions or dysfunctions and can therefore help to improve our understanding of the functional anatomy of the prefrontal-basal ganglia system. Apathy is here defined as a quantitative reduction of voluntary, goal-directed behaviors. The underlying mechanisms responsible for apathy can be d...

Structural and functional relationship between the basal forebrain and the medial prefrontal cortex

Circuits through prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and ventral anterior nucleus map pathways beyond motor control

The ventral anterior (VA) nucleus of the thalamus is connected with prefrontal and premotor cortices and with the basal ganglia. Although classically associated with motor functions, recent evidence implicates the basal ganglia in cognition and emotion as well. Here, we used two complementary approaches to investigate whether the VA is a key link for pathways underlying cognitive and emotional ...

P142: The Prefrontal Cortex and Stress-Related Psychopathologies

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a central role in processing both normal and pathological affective states and it is among the brain regions most closely associated with stress-related psychopathology in humans. The ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) in particular has been shown to be required for healthy emotional regulation, social function and risk assessment and decision-making. Also this region ex...

Neurosteroid biosynthetic pathways changes in prefrontal cortex in Alzheimer's disease.

Expression of the genes for enzymes involved in neurosteroid biosynthesis was studied in human prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n=49). Quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) revealed that mRNA levels of diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI), which is involved in the first step of steroidogenesis and in GABAergic transmission, were increased, as were mRNA levels for several neur...