User recommended papers

User-recommended papers allows you to suggest a paper you would like to see on Nature China. When these papers appear on our site, users may comment and vote on them. To recommend a paper please use this form. Please note that you cannot recommend a paper you have authored. The editors will reject any self-recommendations. All comments and recommendation are checked by the editors and may be edited prior to publication on the site.

  • 8 votes

    Neuroscience

    • Auditory fear conditioning modulates prepulse inhibition in socially reared rats and isolation-reared rats.

      • Nanxin Li, Junli Ping, Rongbin Wu, Chao Wang, Xihong Wu, Liang Li
        Original article citation: Behavioral Neuroscience 122," 107 - 118, (2008).

      • Categories: Neuroscience
      • Recommended by : Chun Wang on 07/30/2008 08:05PM GMT

        This fascinating study for the first time shows that isolation rearing could not only impair prepulse inhibition, a commonly used sensorimotor gating model of schizophrenia, but also significantly impair the attentional modulation of prepulse inhibition. The authors further demonstrate that this effect is modulated via metabolic glutamate receptors. This work provides a brand new animal model for investigating both neural bases and cognitive features of schizophrenia.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

  • 15 votes

    Physics

  • 2 votes

    Ecology & Evolution

    • Chloroplast phylogeography of Dipentodon (Dipentodontaceae) in southwest China and northern Vietnam

      • QING-JUN YUAN, ZHI-YONG ZHANG, HUA PENG, SONG GE
        Original article citation: Mol Ecol 17," 1054 - 1065, (2008).

      • Categories: Ecology & Evolution, Genetics, and Cell & Molecular Biology
      • Recommended by : zhang xuemei on 04/12/2008 02:13AM GMT

        This is an excellent and meaningful papar involving the conceivably most complicated evolutionary history in the southeast Tibetan Plateau,where the topography and climate are extremely complex. The incumbent target is also an attractive monotypic genus Dipentodon sinicus. By using chloroplast sequences, important results were obtained providing new insights to the evolution of biodiversity on the Tibetan Plateau and adiacent areas. Also, a historical framework for the conservation of biodiversity in this area was given. In summary, it is an informative and helpful paper for understanding the Dipentodon and Tibetan Plateau.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

  • 4 votes

    Neuroscience

    • Whole brain functional connectivity in the early blind

      • Y. Liu, C. Yu, M. Liang, J. Li, L. Tian, Y. Zhou, W. Qin, K. Li, T. Jiang
        Original article citation: Brain 130," 2085 - 2096, (2007).

      • Categories: Neuroscience
      • Recommended by : Yong HE on 04/07/2008 09:45AM GMT

        Recent research has demonstrated that visual deprivation in early life is accompanied by structural and functional alterations of the brain, which could be explained by either of two hypotheses. The general-loss hypothesis might explain for maladaptive changes, while the compensatory-plasticity hypothesis might explain for enhanced ability to use remaining senses. So far, task-based fMRI studies have provided support for the compensatory-plasticity hypothesis, but these studies did not provide evidence supporting the general-loss hypothesis since the blind people cannot carry out visual tasks. Liu et al. employed resting-state fMRI to investigate the changes in functional connectivity of spontaneous brain activities in early blind subjects. They found that, compared with controls, the blind demonstrated decreased functional connectivities within the occipital visual cortices as well as between the occipital visual cortices and the parietal somatosensory, frontal motor and temporal multisensory cortices. The authors interpret these differences as supporting the general-loss hypothesis. In addition, they also found that the introduction of Braille earlier in life or with longer daily practice sessions was associated with stronger functional connectivities between these brain areas, which might support the compensatory-plasticity hypothesis. Finally, the authors also report increased functional connectivities between occipital cortices and frontal cortices in subjects with early onset of blindness as compared to the controls, which they again interpret as evidence for the compensatory plasticity. This study indicates that the changes in the functional connectivities in the resting state may be an integrated reflection of general loss and compensatory plasticity when a single sensory modality is deprived.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

  • 2 votes

    Clinical Medicine

    • Discussion of posthumous organ donation in Chinese families

      • Anise Man Sze Wu
        Original article citation: Psych., Hlth. & Med. 13," 48 - 54, (2008).

      • Categories: Clinical Medicine
      • Recommended by : Jie Huang on 04/04/2008 04:26PM GMT

        A pretty cool investigation about organ donation in China's background. Organ donation is more prevelant in western cultures, at least it's an ordinary topic for them, e.g., when applying for a driver's license, there's a check-box on the application form for you to indicate whether you are willing to donate your organs if "something" happens. In China, it's more of problem with family and social pressure coming from traditional concept. Based on the perspective of psychology, they investigated the factors affecting the likelihood of family discussion about organ donation. It serves socially pragmatic value for medical service.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

  • 1 vote

    Neuroscience

  • 2 votes

    Cell & Molecular Biology

  • 0 votes

    Neuroscience

    • Spontaneous activities associated with primary visual cortex: detected from resting state fMRI data

      • Kun Wang, Tianzi Jiang, Chunshui Yu, Lixia Tian, Jun Li, Yong Liu, Yuan Zhou, Ming Song, Kuncheng Li
        Original article citation: Cerebral Cortex 18," 697 - 704, (2008).

      • Categories: Neuroscience
      • Recommended by : Meng Liang on 02/24/2008 04:02PM GMT

        Using regional temporal clustering, this study provided quantitative evidence for the existence of spontaneous activities in the primary visual areas of human beings during the resting state. They also found that there was a neural network that was associated with the emergence of spontaneous activities in the PVA. Although the precise mental processes supported by such a neural network remain to be elucidated, our results suggest that memory-related mental imagery and visual memory consolidation processes may be candidates. Through investigating spontaneous activities without any external stimulus, this study may offer a new perspective for exploring the visual perception and other brain processing. In addition, the phenomenon that primary visual area has spontaneous activities without any stimulus offers new evidence for the perspective that the brain is a system intrinsically operating on its own, and sensory information interacts with rather than determines the operation of the system.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

  • 1 vote

    Cell & Molecular Biology

  • 1 vote

    Neuroscience

    • Different effects of mild and severe seizures on hippocampal neurogenesis in adult rats

      • Fang Yang, Jin-Cun Wang, Jun-Liang Han, Gang Zhao, Wen Jiang
        Original article citation: Hippocampus doi:10.1002/hipo.20409

      • Categories: Neuroscience, Cell & Molecular Biology, and Developmental Biology
      • Recommended by : Jie Huang on 02/21/2008 03:47PM GMT

        Hippocampus is known to be one site of continuing neurogenesis into adulthood for humans and other mammals, which provides possible compensatory and rehabilitative mechanisms for some brain injuries. Based on previous knowledge about epileptic seizures effect on neurogenesis in dentate gyrus (DG), researchers in this study examined seizure severity's influence in this process on rats. It appeared though both mild and severe seizures promoted mitotic activity in DG, difference in severity were driving neuron proliferation and migration into two distinctive directions. On the other hand, it hints at limitations of hippocampus' postnatal neurogenesis.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made
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