Cerebral Activity in Female Baboons (Papio anubis) During the Perception of Conspecific and Heterospecific Agonistic Vocalizations: a Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Study

The "voice areas" in the superior temporal cortex have been identified in both humans and non-human primates as selective to conspecific vocalizations only (i.e., expressed by members of our own species), suggesting its old evolutionary roots across the primate lineage. With respect to non-human primate species, it remains unclear whether the listening of vocal emotions from conspecifics leads to similar or different cerebral activations when compared to heterospecific calls (i.e., expressed by another primate species) triggered by the same emotion. Using a neuroimaging technique rarely employed in monkeys so far, functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, the present study investigated in three lightly anesthetized female baboons (Papio anubis), temporal cortex activities during exposure to agonistic vocalizations from conspecifics and from other primates (chimpanzees-Pan troglodytes), and energy matched white noises in order to control for this low-level acoustic feature. Permutation test analyses on the extracted OxyHemoglobin signal revealed great inter-individual differences on how conspecific and heterospecific vocal stimuli were processed in baboon brains with a cortical response recorded either in the right or the left temporal cortex. No difference was found between emotional vocalizations and their energy-matched white noises. Despite the phylogenetic gap between Homo sapiens and African monkeys, modern humans and baboons both showed a highly heterogeneous brain process for the perception of vocal and emotional stimuli. The results of this study do not exclude that old evolutionary mechanisms for vocal emotional processing may be shared and inherited from our common ancestor.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00164-z.

Effect of acupuncture plus conventional treatment on brain activity in ischemic stroke patients: a regional homogeneity analysis

OBJECTIVE

To determine differences in cerebral activity evoked by acupuncture and conventional stroke treatment, and identify the treatment targets.

METHODS

In total, 21 patients were randomly divided into two groups. Group A (11 patients) received both acupuncture and conventional treatment, while group B (10 patients) received conventional treatment only. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed on each participant before and after treatment. Regional homogeneity analysis was performed to investigate the potential mechanism of acupuncture treatment by comparing differences in cerebral activity between treatments.

RESULTS

Group A showed higher ReHo in the frontal lobe (BA6, BA46), supra-marginal gyrus (BA40), middle temporal gyrus (BA21), cerebellum, and insula. Group B showed higher ReHo in the frontal lobe (BA6) and parietal lobe (BA3, BA7).

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture and conventional treatment triggered relatively different clinical efficacy and brain responses. Acupuncture treatment more significantly improved the symptoms of stroke patients. More marked changes in sensory, emotional, and motor areas (including the frontal lobe, middle temporal gyrus, cerebellum, and insula) might reflect the specific acupuncture mechanism.

Low cerebral activity and cerebral oxygenation during immediate transition in term neonates-A prospective observational study

AIM

To analyze whether in term neonates during immediate transition after birth low cerebral activity measured by amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) is linked to cerebral regional oxygen saturation (crSO2) measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Additionally, the cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction (cFTOE) was calculated to analyze whether cerebral activity is linked to cFTOE.

METHODS

A total of 244 term neonates delivered by primary cesarean section were studied. In addition to routine monitoring with pulse oximetry, aEEG and NIRS measurements were performed during the first 15min after birth. The mean minimum (Vmin) and maximum (Vmax) amplitude of the cerebral activity as well as crSO2 and cFTOE for each minute was determined. Neonates with initial Vmin<5μV or Vmax<10μV, which normalized during transition (study group) were compared to neonates with normal aEEG values throughout the whole monitoring period (control group).

RESULTS

9 neonates fulfilled inclusion criteria to the study group and were compared to 50 neonates in the control group. Vmin, Vmax, crSO2, SpO2 and cFTOE were compared from the 4th to 15thmin after birth. During our study period, Vmin and Vmax were significantly lower in the study group than in the control group. crSO2 was significantly lower in the study group until minute 11, dropping below the 10th centile in minute 8. cFTOE was significantly higher in the study group until minute 10, rising above the 90th centile in minutes 8 and 9. SpO2 was within normal ranges in both groups. crSO2 and cFTOE were within normal ranges in the control group.

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrates that neonates with initially low cerebral activity during immediate transition after birth concurrently showed low crSO2 (<10th percentile), but increased cerebral oxygen extraction (cFTOE>90th percentile). Cerebral monitoring with aEEG and NIRS might provide useful information on the neonates' condition during immediate transition.