ASSET: Analysis of Sequences of Synchronous Events in Massively Parallel Spike Trains.

With the ability to observe the activity from large numbers of neurons simultaneously using modern recording technologies, the chance to identify sub-networks involved in coordinated processing increases. Sequences of synchronous spike events (SSEs) constitute one type of such coordinated spiking that propagates activity in a temporally precise manner. The synfire chain was proposed as one potential model for such network processing. Previous work introduced a method for visualization of SSEs in massively parallel spike trains, based on an intersection matrix that contains in each entry the degree of overlap of active neurons in two corresponding time bins. Repeated SSEs are reflected in the matrix as diagonal structures of high overlap values. The method as such, however, leaves the task of identifying these diagonal structures to visual inspection rather than to a quantitative analysis. Here we present ASSET (Analysis of Sequences of Synchronous EvenTs), an improved, fully automated method which determines diagonal structures in the intersection matrix by a robust mathematical procedure. The method consists of a sequence of steps that i) assess which entries in the matrix potentially belong to a diagonal structure, ii) cluster these entries into individual diagonal structures and iii) determine the neurons composing the associated SSEs. We employ parallel point processes generated by stochastic simulations as test data to demonstrate the performance of the method under a wide range of realistic scenarios, including different types of non-stationarity of the spiking activity and different correlation structures. Finally, the ability of the method to discover SSEs is demonstrated on complex data from large network simulations with embedded synfire chains. Thus, ASSET represents an effective and efficient tool to analyze massively parallel spike data for temporal sequences of synchronous activity.

The temporal sequence of magnetic brain activity for food categorization and memorization--an exploratory study.

The importance of food stimuli for all living organisms is defined by their relevance for survival. Therefore, visual processing of food stimuli is influenced by many factors, such as cultural and societal background. In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study, we examined the categorization and memorization of visual food and non-food stimuli in lean subjects, using a one-back working memory task. We found an increase in neural activity in several different regions of the brain elicited by food stimuli in comparison to non-food stimuli. The first observed significant difference was found in low-level visual areas as early as 120 ms after stimulus onset. The stimulus category of the previous picture did not influence this effect. However, preceding stimuli modulated behavioral measures (reaction time and accuracy of responses) and later components of the evoked responses around 350 ms. The evoked magnetic field of this late component showed a significant increase inactivity in the temporal cortex for food versus non-food objects. This late component exhibited a significant correlation with the reaction time. The difference of category-specific effects in the early components and the behavioral modulation of late components could be useful for further investigations of the cortical activity in response to food stimuli, e.g. in subjects with eating disorders or obesity.

Processing of food pictures: influence of hunger, gender and calorie content.

In most cases obesity, a major risk factor for diabetes mellitus type 2 and other associated chronic diseases, is generated by excessive eating. For a better understanding of eating behavior, it is necessary to determine how it is modulated by factors such as the calorie content of food, satiety and gender. Twelve healthy normal weighted participants (six female) were investigated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. In order to prevent the influence of social acceptability, an implicit one-back task was chosen for stimulus presentation. We presented food (high- and low-caloric) and non-food pictures in a block design and subjects had to indicate by button press whether two consecutive pictures were the same or not. Each subject performed the task in a hungry and satiated state on two different days. High-caloric pictures compared to low-caloric pictures led to increased activity in food processing and reward related areas, like the orbitofrontal and the insular cortex. In addition, we found activation differences in visual areas (occipital lobe), despite the fact that the stimuli were matched for their physical features. Detailed investigation also revealed gender specific effects in the fusiform gyrus. Women showed higher activation in the fusiform gyrus while viewing high-caloric pictures in the hungry state. This study shows that the calorie content of food pictures modulates the activation of brain areas related to reward processing and even early visual areas. In addition, satiation seems to influence the processing of food pictures differently in men and women. Even though an implicit task was used, activation differences could also be observed in the orbitofrontal cortex, known to be activated during explicit stimulation with food related stimuli.

Insulin modulates food-related activity in the central nervous system.

CONTEXT: Previous data suggest a key role of central nervous insulin action in regulating energy homeostasis. OBJECTIVE: We therefore investigated whether insulin modulates brain responses to food and nonfood pictures in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Nine healthy, normal-weight subjects underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements to compare the effects of insulin and placebo administration during a visual recognition task with food and nonfood pictures. Insulin was administered intranasally to raise insulin concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid without altering systemic effects in the periphery. Metabolic parameters were continuously determined during the experiments. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: We measured the changes in brain activity after intranasal insulin administration. RESULTS: Food pictures were detected faster when compared to nonfood pictures in all conditions without any effect of placebo or insulin. After insulin application, functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements showed a significantly reduced activity in the presence of food pictures compared to placebo in the right and left fusiform gyrus, the right hippocampus, the right temporal superior cortex, and the right frontal middle cortex. The brain activation induced by nonfood pictures remained unaffected by insulin. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that intranasal insulin led to a reduction of activity in brain areas related to object processing and memory and may have an effect on brain activation with regard to the processing of food pictures. This effect might be part of a mechanism that terminates food intake in the postprandial state.