Biology subjects

D'Angelo, M.

Publications and source records attributed to D'Angelo, M..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Beta oscillations support somatosensory temporal integration for body ownership

The sense of body ownership, the perceptual experience of what belongs to ones body, relies on the integration of self-related signals across multiple sensory modalities. Alpha oscillations modulate the temporal resolution of visuotactile integration for body ownership by constraining how visual and tactile signals from the body are temporally combined or segregated. However, body ownership can be supported and modulated in the absence of vision, for example during self-touch, raising the question of whether the same alpha-based temporal mechanism supports purely somatosensory integration. Here, we show that individual beta frequency (IBF), rather than alpha, predicts the temporal integration of tactile signals between the two hands in a somatic rubber hand illusion self-touch paradigm. IBF predicted the temporal window within which two tactile stimuli were judged as simultaneous and within which illusory self-touch body ownership was experienced. Moreover, while individual alpha frequency did not contribute to this purely somatosensory integration, IBF also did not predict the temporal resolution of visuotactile integration when visual body-related inputs were available. Together, these findings suggest a double dissociation in which frequency-specific oscillatory processes reflect the temporal integration of bodily signals in a modality-dependent manner: beta frequency emerges as the key correlate of somatosensory integration during self-touch, whereas alpha frequency governs visuotactile integration when vision is available.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Normal breast tissue classifiers assess large-scale tissue compartments with high accuracy

Cancer research emphasises early detection, yet quantitative methods for normal tissue analysis remain limited. Digitised haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained slides enable computational histopathology, but artificial intelligence (AI)-based analysis of normal breast tissue (NBT) in whole slide images (WSIs) remains scarce. We curated 70 WSIs of NBTs from multiple sources and cohorts with pathologist-guided manual annotations of epithelium, stroma, and adipocytes (https://github.com/cancerbioinformatics/OASIS). We developed robust convolutional neural network (CNN)-based, patch-level classification models, named NBT-Classifiers, to tessellate and classify NBTs at different scales. Across three external cohorts, NBT-Classifiers trained on 128{square}x{square}128{square}{micro}m and 256{square}x{square}256{square}{micro}m patches achieved AUCs of 0.98-1.00. The model learned independent normal features different from those of precancerous and cancerous epithelium, which were further visualised using two explainable AI techniques. When integrated into an end-to-end preprocessing pipeline, NBT-Classifiers facilitate efficient downstream analysis within peri-lobular regions. NBT-Classifiers provide robust compartment-specific analytical tools and enhance our understanding of NBT appearances, which serve as valuable reference points for identifying premalignant changes and guiding early breast cancer prevention strategies.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2025

Parietal alpha frequency shapes own-body perception by modulating the temporal integration of bodily signals

An influential proposal in the field of cognitive neuroscience suggests that alpha-frequency brain oscillations constrain the temporal sampling of external sensory signals, shaping the temporal binding window (TBW)--the interval during which sensory signals are integrated. However, whether alpha frequency modulates the integration of self-related sensory signals and the perception of the body as ones own (body ownership) remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that individual alpha frequency (IAF) from the parietal cortex predicted TBWs and perceptual sensitivities in body ownership and visuotactile simultaneity judgment tasks, with faster frequencies narrowing TBWs and increasing sensitivities, and vice versa. Modulating IAF through brain stimulation altered TBWs and sensitivities, establishing a causal relationship. Computational modeling linked IAF to uncertainty in asynchrony information within the causal inference process, providing a mechanism. These findings demonstrate that parietal alpha frequency shapes the sense of body ownership by modulating the temporal integration of bodily sensory signals.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Transcriptional profiling of the cortico-accumbal pathway reveals sex-specific alterations underlying stress susceptibility

Anxiety and depressive disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD), affect millions of people every year, imposing significant socio-economic burdens. In this scenario, current treatments for MDD show limited efficacy, highlighting the need to better understand its molecular mechanisms. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been identified as a critical brain region in MDD pathology, displaying altered activity and morphology. This study targets the mPFC-to-nucleus accumbens (NAc) pathway, which is implicated in the regulation of emotional behavior. We used a pathway-specific approach to uncover transcriptional profiles in mPFC neurons projecting to the NAc in stressed male and female mice. Using the RiboTag technique and RNA sequencing, we identified sex-specific gene expression changes, revealing potential roles in stress susceptibility. Differential expression and weighted gene co-expression network analyses revealed distinct transcriptional responses to chronic stress in males and females. Key findings include the identification of the X-linked lymphocyte-regulated 4B (Xlr4b) gene, within a highly relevant gene module, as a stress susceptibility driver in males. By experimentally overexpressing the Xlr4b gene, we characterized its crucial role in regulating neuronal firing and influencing arborization patterns to promote anxiety-like behavior in a sex-specific fashion. These findings suggest that chronic stress induces unique and shared transcriptional alterations in mPFC neurons projecting to the NAc. Some of these alterations change the morphological and functional properties of neuronal pathways ultimately contributing to the differential manifestation of anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors in male and female mice.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Determining the antiviral mechanism of MARCH2

Membrane-associated RING-CH (MARCH) 2 protein is a member of the MARCH protein family of RING-CH finger E3 ubiquitin ligases that have important functions in regulating the levels of proteins found on the cell surface. MARCH1, 2 and 8 inhibit HIV-1 infection by preventing the incorporation of the envelope glycoproteins in nascent virions. However, a better understanding on the mechanism utilized by MARCH proteins to restrict HIV-1 is needed. In this report, we identify an amino acid in human MARCH2, that is absent in mouse MARCH2, critical for its antiretroviral function. Moreover, we map the domains of human MARCH2 critical for restricting as well as binding to the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins. Our findings reveal important new aspects of the antiviral mechanism utilized by human MARCH2 to restrict HIV-1 that have potential implications to all MARCH proteins with antiviral functions.

microbiology↗