ABSTRACT
Brain functioning is linked to blood oxygenation levels, as localized neural activation triggers an increase in oxygen supply. This coupling enables the reconstruction of cerebral activity by monitoring fluctuations in blood oxygen levels, for example via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a label-free optical method that measures the differential absorption of...
Perinatal stroke (1:2,300 births) occurs during critical plasticity windows, disrupting neurodevelopment. While microglia-driven inflammation is well-studied in adults, its role in the developing brain remains unclear. To address this, we induced a cortical lesion (MCAO) at P14, assessing recovery via longitudinal behavioral testing. MCAO mice reveal motor deficits and reduced NeuN+ cells. To...
Newborns show sophisticated speech perceptual abilities already at birth, especially for speech over other sounds. But how does the brain process cries, the only vocalizations newborns can produce? We tested 70 newborns and 38 adults using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), measuring their brain activation in the bilateral temporal, frontal, and parietal areas while they were...
Owing to the global increase in life expectancy, neurodegenerative disorders currently represent a significant challenge both in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Specifically, Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the gradual loss of dopaminergic neurons, resulting in the onset of symptoms such as muscle rigidity and coordination difficulties. Unfortunately, these clinical...
The integration of affective information across sensory modalities is fundamental for early social-emotional development. In everyday interactions, emotions are communicated through both facial and vocal cues, yet the neural mechanisms supporting audiovisual emotion integration in infancy remain insufficiently understood. This study examines neural responses to congruent and incongruent...
Human midbrain organoids (hMOs) have recently emerged as 3D in vitro systems capable of self-organizing in complex structures. They can recapitulate key features of the human midbrain, providing a physiologically and pathologically relevant model to investigate Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study aimed to compare the morphology of the dopaminergic neuronal network in midbrain organoids...
Abstract
Measuring subtle variations of neurochemical concentrations in the brain is crucial to advance the diagnostic capabilities and treatments for brain disorders. Recently, nanostructured optical probes have emerged as a promising strategy to enable in situ monitoring of neurochemicals levels through surface enhanced vibrational spectroscopy [1].
We present an innovative approach...
