Biology subjects

Ping, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Ping, A..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

INS-fMRI reveals a mesoscale limbic organization associated with medial pulvinar in primates

The experience of emotion comprises not only the feelings (happiness, sadness), but also behavioral expression, internal awareness, and the bodys physiological response. However, it remains unclear how the brain integrates these disparate aspects of emotion. Here, to examine functional connectivity in the limbic system of macaque monkeys, we combined focal Infrared Neural Stimulation of a sensory gateway (medial pulvinar PM), with ultra-high-field 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging (INS-fMRI). We find connected sites are mesoscale (millimeter-scale) in size and arranged in patchy patterns across cingulate, insula, and amygdala. Non-overlapping connections evoked from three sequential stimulation sites in PM form clusters of multi-site integration, and appear related to known functional organization within these limbic regions. We suggest these mesoscale functional connections link the limbic axes of motor expression (cingulate), interoception (insula), and emotion-related processing (amygdala), and that, much like visual system, the limbic system is fundamentally quite orderly at mesoscale. Our results underscore the importance of millimeter-scale precision and organization in diagnosis and treatment of affective disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Enhancing Neural Synchrony with Endogenous-like 1/f Noise Stimulation

Aperiodic components of neural activity, characterized by endogenous 1/f noise dynamics, are hypothesized to support the emergence of large-scale cortical order and cognitive flexibility. Here, we combine computational modeling and human brain stimulation to elucidate the role of 1/f noise in modulating neural synchrony. Using a coupled oscillator model, we demonstrate that ubiquitous 1/f noise does more effectively enhances phase synchrony than spectrally flat (white) noise. Crucially, we identify a competitive synergy between noise intensity and the 1/f spectral exponent: starting from optimal white noise-induced synchrony, increasing the 1/f exponent while decreasing noise intensity leads to a further enhancement of synchrony, which peaks at a specific parameter regime before diminishing. To experimentally validate these findings, we developed a transcranial 1/f noise stimulation (tFNS) system and applied it to human subjects. Compared to spectrally white noise stimulation, the tFNS more robustly enhanced corticospinal synchrony, consistent with model predictions. These results uncover a functional advantage of scale-free brain noise in driving coordinated neural dynamics, offering a new framework for optimizing non-invasive brain stimulation. More broadly, our findings suggest that the brain may harness stochastic facilitation through adaptive modulation of its aperiodic activity to support ordered macro-dynamics.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2024

Human intralaminar and medial thalamic nuclei transiently gate conscious perception through the thalamocortical loop

Human high-order thalamic nuclei have been known to closely correlate with conscious states. However, given the great difference of conscious states and contents (conscious perception), it is nearly unknown how those thalamic nuclei and thalamocortical interactions directly contribute to the transient process of conscious perception. To address this question, we simultaneously recorded local field potentials (LFP) in the human intralaminar, medial and ventral thalamic nuclei as well as in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), while patients with implanted electrodes performing a visual consciousness task. Overall, compared to the ventral nuclei, intralaminar and medial nuclei showed earlier and stronger consciousness-related activity. Moreover, the transient thalamocortical neural synchrony and cross-frequency coupling were both driven by the theta phase of the intralaminar and medial nuclei during conscious perception. These results indicated that the intralaminar and medial thalamic nuclei, rather than the commonly believed PFC, play a decisive gate role in conscious perception. Highlights O_LIIntralaminar and medial thalamic nuclei showed earlier and stronger visual consciousness-related activity, comparing to the ventral nuclei. C_LIO_LIIntralaminar and medial thalamic transiently drove the thalamocortical synchronization through theta (2-8Hz) phase modulation during the emergence of visual consciousness. C_LIO_LITheta phase of intralaminar and medial thalamic activity dynamically regulated the amplitude of PFC activity during the emergence of consciousness. C_LIO_LIIntralaminar and medial thalamic nuclei showed more regulation on lateral PFC than on other PFC subregions during the emergence of consciousness. C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Brainwide mesoscale functional networks revealed by focal infrared neural stimulation of the amygdala

The primate amygdala serves to evaluate emotional content of sensory inputs and modulate emotional and social behaviors; it modulates cognitive, multisensory and autonomic circuits predominantly via the basal (BA), lateral (LA), and central (CeA) nuclei, respectively. Based on recent electrophysiological evidence suggesting mesoscale (millimeters-scale) nature of intra-amygdala functional organization, we have investigated the connectivity of these nuclei using Infrared Neural Stimulation of single mesoscale sites coupled with mapping in ultrahigh field 7T functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (INS-fMRI). Stimulation of multiple sites within amygdala of single individuals evoked mesoscale functional connectivity maps, allowing comparison of BA, LA and CeA connected brainwide networks. This revealed a mesoscale nature of connected sites, complementary spatial patterns of functional connectivity, and topographic relationships of nucleus-specific connections. Our data reveal a functional architecture of systematically organized brainwide networks mediating sensory, cognitive, and autonomic influences from the amygdala.

neuroscience↗