Subcortical auditory agnosia

A case of generalized auditory agnosia without aphasia secondary to cardiogenic cerebral embolism is reported. The infarcts in this patient were localized within the bitemporal subcortices as confirmed by computerized axial tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The findings suggested that interruption of both auditory radiations by bilateral subcortical lesions may play an important role in the occurrence of "cerebral auditory disorders."     

Effects of Visual Error Timing on Smooth Pursuit Gain Adaptation in Humans

Smooth pursuit (SP) is one of the precise oculomotor behaviors when tracking a moving object. Adaptation of SP is based on a visual-error driven motor learning process associated with predictable changes in the visual environment. Proper timing of a sensory signal is an important factor for adaptation of fine motor control. In this study, we investigated whether visual error timing affects SP gain adaptation. An adaptive change in SP gain is produced experimentally by repeated trials of a step-ramp tracking with 2 different velocities (double-velocity paradigm). The authors used the double-velocity paradigm where target speed changes 400 or 800 ms after the target onset. The results show that SP gain changed in a certain time window following adaptation. The authors suggest that SP adaptation shown in this study is associated with timing control mechanisms.     

Fos expression in CRF-containing neurons in the rat paraventricular nucleus after central administration of neuromedin U

We examined the effects of centrally administered neuromedin U (NMU) on corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF)-containing neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of rats, using double immunohistochemistry for CRF and Fos. Almost all CRF-containing neurons in the parvocellular divisions of the PVN expressed Fos-like immunoreactivity 90 min after intracerebroventricular administration of NMU (3 nmol/rat). This results suggest the possibility that central NMU may be involved in stress-induced activation of CRF-containing neurons in the PVN.