Event-Related Potential (ERP) studies of episodic memory have ide

Event-Related Potential (ERP) studies of episodic memory have identified a robust neural correlate of recollection-the left parietal old/new effect-that has been widely observed during recognition memory tests. This left parietal old/new effect is believed to provide an index of generic cognitive operations related to recollection; however, it has recently been suggested that the neural correlate of recollection observed when faces are used as retrieval cues has an anterior scalp distribution, raising the possibility that

faces are recollected differently from other types of information. To investigate this possibility, we directly click here compared neural activity associated with remember responses for correctly recognized face and name retrieval

cues. Compound face-name stimuli were studied, Citarinostat clinical trial and at test either a face or a name was presented alone. Participants discriminated studied from unstudied stimuli, and made a remember/familiar decision for stimuli judged ‘old’. Remembering faces was associated with anterior (500-700 ms) and late right frontal old/new effects (700-900 ms), whereas remembering names elicited mid frontal (300-500 ms) and left parietal (500-700 ms) effects. These findings demonstrate that when directly compared, with reference to common episodes, distinct cognitive operations are associated with remembering faces and names. We discuss whether faces can be remembered in the absence of recollection, or whether there may be more than one way of retrieving episodic context. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“The analysis of the Acanthamoeba Ulixertinib mw polyphaga mimivirus genome revealed the first virus-encoded nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDK), an enzyme that is central to the synthesis of RNA and DNA, ubiquitous in cellular organisms, and well conserved among the three domains of life. In contrast with the broad specificity of cellular NDKs for all types of ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides, the mimivirus enzyme exhibits a strongly preferential affinity for deoxypyrimidines. In order to elucidate the molecular

basis of this unique substrate specificity, we determined the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus NDK alone and in complex with various nucleotides. As predicted from a sequence comparison with cellular NDKs, the 3D structure of the mimivirus enzyme exhibits a shorter Kpn loop, previously recognized as a main feature of the NDK active site. The structure of the viral enzyme in complex with various nucleotides also pinpointed two residue changes, both located near the active site and specific to the viral NDK, which could explain its stronger affinity for deoxynucleotides and pyrimidine nucleotides. The role of these residues was explored by building a set of viral NDK variants, assaying their enzymatic activities, and determining their 3D structures in complex with various nucleotides.

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