What neural mechanisms support our conscious perception of briefly presented stimuli? Some theories of conscious access postulate a key role of top-down amplification loops involving prefrontal cortex (PFC). To test this issue, we measured the visual backward masking threshold in patients with focal prefrontal lesions, using both objective and subjective measures while controlling for putative attention deficits. In all conditions of temporal or spatial attention cueing, the threshold for access to consciousness was systematically shifted in patients, particular after a lesion of the left anterior PFC. The deficit affected subjective reports more than objective performance, and objective performance conditioned on subjective visibility was essentially normal. We conclude that PFC makes a causal contribution to conscious visual perception of masked stimuli, and outline a dual-route signal detection theory of objective and subjective decision making.

is due to increased vagal output to the heart (40). However, breathing measurements were not made during spontaneous or heat-induced seizures in either of these DS mouse models, so it is unclear whether abnormal breathing contributes to SUDEP. Here we studied patients with DS and mice with an Scn1a R1407X/+ mutation (39) to evaluate a potential role of postictal breathing dysfunction in SUDEP.

Nicotine is a neuroteratogen and is the likely link between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

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SUMMARYHemodynamics plays an important role in the progression and rupture of cerebral aneurysms. The current work describes the blood flow dynamics and fluid-structure interaction in seven patient-specific models of bifurcating cerebral aneurysms located in the anterior and posterior circulation regions of the circle of Willis. The models were obtained from 3D rotational angiography image data, and blood flow dynamics and fluid-structure interaction were studied under physiologically representative waveform of inflow. The arterial wall was assumed to be elastic, isotropic and homogeneous. The flow was assumed to be laminar, non-Newtonian and incompressible. In one case, the effects of different model suppositions and boundary conditions were reported in detail. The fully coupled fluid and structure models were solved with the finite elements package ADINA. The vortex structure, pressure, wall shear stress (WSS), effective stress and displacement of the aneurysm wall showed large variations, depending on the morphology of the artery, aneurysm size and position. The time-averaged WSS, effective stress and displacement at the aneurysm fundus vary between 0.17 and 4.86 Pa, 4.35 and 170.2 kPa and 0.16 and 0.74 mm, respectively, for the seven patient-specific models of bifurcating cerebral aneurysms.