Biology subjects

Layher, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Layher, E..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Criterion-selective neurons in the human medial frontal cortex track decision thresholds during memory-based decision making

The decision criterion is foundational to theories of decision-making, yet little is known about its neural underpinnings. In memory-based decision making, the criterion sets the minimal memory strength for something to be familiar, but whether or how it is distinctly represented from memory strength is unknown. We recorded single neurons in the medial frontal cortex (MFC) and medial temporal lobe (MTL), both implicated in memory-based decisions, while participants made decisions under different decision criteria. We identified criterion-selective (CS) neurons in the MFC that tracked the criterion regardless of memory strength, and memory-selective (MS) neurons in both regions that tracked memory strength regardless of the criterion. CS neurons signaled the criterion before MS neurons signaled memory strength, and a race model incorporating both neuron types outperformed one using MS neurons alone. These findings reveal two independent cellular substrates, one for the decision criterion and one for memory strength, whose joint activity underlies memory-based decisions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy

Pregnancy is a period of profound hormonal and physiological change experienced by millions of women annually, yet the neural changes unfolding in the maternal brain throughout gestation have not been studied in humans. Leveraging precision imaging, we mapped neuroanatomical changes in an individual from preconception through two years postpartum. Pronounced decreases in gray matter volume and cortical thickness were evident across the brain, which stand in contrast to increases in white matter microstructural integrity, ventricle volume, and cerebrospinal fluid, with few regions untouched by the transition to motherhood. This dataset serves as the first comprehensive map of the human brain across gestation, providing an open-access resource for the brain imaging community to stimulate further exploration and discovery.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Progesterone shapes medial temporal lobe volume across the human menstrual cycle

The rhythmic production of sex steroid hormones is a central feature of the mammalian endocrine system. In rodents and nonhuman primates, sex hormones are powerful regulators of hippocampal subfield morphology. However, it remains unknown whether intrinsic fluctuations in sex hormones alter hippocampal morphology in the human brain. In a series of dense-sampling studies, we used high-resolution imaging of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) to determine whether endogenous fluctuations (Study 1) and exogenous manipulation (Study 2) of sex hormones alter MTL volume over time. Across the menstrual cycle, intrinsic fluctuations in progesterone were associated with volumetric changes in CA2/3, entorhinal, perirhinal, and parahippocampal cortex. Chronic progesterone suppression abolished these cycle-dependent effects and led to pronounced volumetric changes in entorhinal cortex and CA2/3 relative to freely cycling conditions. No associations with estradiol were observed. These results establish progesterones ability to rapidly and dynamically shape MTL morphology across the human menstrual cycle. HighlightsO_LISex hormones are powerful regulators of hippocampal plasticity in mammals. C_LIO_LIThe impact of hormone fluctuations on hippocampal morphology in humans is unknown. C_LIO_LIHigh resolution imaging of the MTL was conducted across two 30-day periods. C_LIO_LIProgesterone dynamically shapes MTL volume across the human menstrual cycle. C_LIO_LIChronic progesterone suppression abolishes cycle-dependent changes. C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Functional reorganization of brain networks across the human menstrual cycle

The brain is an endocrine organ, sensitive to the rhythmic changes in sex hormone production that occurs in most mammalian species. In rodents and nonhuman primates, estrogen and progesterones impact on the brain is evident across a range of spatiotemporal scales. Yet, the influence of sex hormones on the functional architecture of the human brain is largely unknown. In this dense-sampling, deep phenotyping study, we examine the extent to which endogenous fluctuations in sex hormones alter intrinsic brain networks at rest in a woman who underwent brain imaging and venipuncture for 30 consecutive days. Standardized regression analyses illustrate estrogen and progesterones widespread associations with functional connectivity. Time-lagged analyses examined the temporal directionality of these relationships and suggest that cortical network dynamics (particularly in the Default Mode and Dorsal Attention Networks, whose hubs are densely populated with estrogen receptors) are preceded--and perhaps driven--by hormonal fluctuations. A similar pattern of associations was observed in a follow-up study one year later. Together, these results reveal the rhythmic nature in which brain networks reorganize across the human menstrual cycle. Neuroimaging studies that densely sample the individual connectome have begun to transform our understanding of the brains functional organization. As these results indicate, taking endocrine factors into account is critical for fully understanding the intrinsic dynamics of the human brain. HighlightsO_LIIntrinsic fluctuations in sex hormones shape the brains functional architecture. C_LIO_LIEstradiol facilitates tighter coherence within whole-brain functional networks. C_LIO_LIProgesterone has the opposite, reductive effect. C_LIO_LIOvulation (via estradiol) modulates variation in topological network states. C_LIO_LIEffects are pronounced in network hubs densely populated with estrogen receptors. C_LI

neuroscience↗