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ObjectiveBy using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique we assessed brain activation patterns while subjects were viewing the living environments representing natural and urban scenery.Materials and MethodsA total of 28 healthy right-handed subjects underwent an fMRI on a 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner. The stimulation paradigm consisted of three times the rest condition and two times the activation condition, each of which lasted for 30 and 120 seconds, respectively. During the activation period, each subject viewed natural and urban scenery, respectively.ResultsThe predominant brain activation areas observed following exposure to natural scenic views in contrast with urban views included the superior and middle frontal gyri, superior parietal gyrus, precuneus, basal ganglia, superior occipital gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and insula. On the other hand, the predominant brain activation areas following exposure to urban scenic views in contrast with natural scenes included the middle and inferior occipital gyri, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, amygdala, anterior temporal pole, and inferior frontal gyrus.ConclusionOur findings support the idea that the differential functional neuroanatomies for each scenic view are presumably related with subjects' emotional responses to the natural and urban environment, and thus the differential functional neuroanatomy can be utilized as a neural index for the evaluation of friendliness in ecological housing.

Introduction: We have not known how menopause synchronously influences brain morphology and function associated with visually stimulated sexual arousal in postmenopausal women. Aim: This study used a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging and voxel-based morphometry to evaluate menopause-related brain morphological and functional changes in postmenopausal women. Methods: Nineteen premenopausal women and 19 postmenopausal women underwent functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging. Brain function activity was measured while the subjects viewed an erotic video clip. Main Outcome Measures: A 2-sample t-test was used for cross-analysis of the 2 groups for comparison of gray matter volumes (corrected P < .05) and brain activation (uncorrected P < .01). Results: Our study revealed a relationship between sexual function and morphological changes in postmenopausal women. Compared with premenopausal women, the postmenopausal group showed significantly lower brain activations in the major parts of the limbic system and basal ganglia, including the parahippocampal gyrus, head of caudate nucleus, insula, putamen, hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and globus pallidus, which are involved in sexual behavior and emotional responses. In morphometric analyses, postmenopausal women showed significantly decreased gray matter volumes of the insula, putamen, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala, and anterior cingulate gyrus, most of which were associated with decreased functional activity during visual sexual arousal in postmenopausal women. In addition, the premenopausal group alone showed a positive correlation between the activity of the insula and the level of estradiol (Pearson correlation r ¼ 0.588; P ¼ .008). Conclusion: This study demonstrates an association between menopause-related brain function and morphological changes in postmenopausal women. This finding provides insight into the neural mechanisms associated with the sexual functional deficit in postmenopausal women.

ObjectiveTo assess the dynamic activations of the key brain areas associated with the time-course of the sexual arousal evoked by visual sexual stimuli in healthy male subjects.Materials and MethodsFourteen right-handed heterosexual male volunteers participated in this study. Alternatively combined rest period and erotic video visual stimulation were used according to the standard block design. In order to illustrate and quantify the spatiotemporal activation patterns of the key brain regions, the activation period was divided into three different stages as the EARLY, MID and LATE stages.ResultsFor the group result (p < 0.05), when comparing the MID stage with the EARLY stage, a significant increase of the brain activation was observed in the areas that included the inferior frontal gyrus, the supplementary motor area, the hippocampus, the head of the caudate nucleus, the midbrain, the superior occipital gyrus and the fusiform gyrus. At the same time, when comparing the EARLY stage with the MID stage, the putamen, the globus pallidus, the pons, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the lingual gyrus and the cuneus yielded significantly increased activations. When comparing the LATE stage with the MID stage, all the above mentioned brain regions showed elevated activations except the hippocampus.ConclusionOur results illustrate the spatiotemporal activation patterns of the key brain regions across the three stages of visual sexual arousal.