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Background/Objectives: Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 8 (TRPM8) is a non-selective, Ca2+-permeable cation channel involved in thermoregulation and other physiological processes, such as basal tear secretion, cell differentiation, and insulin homeostasis. The activation and deactivation of TRPM8 occur through genetic modifications, channel interactions, and signaling cascades. Recent evidence suggests a significant role of TRPM8 in the hypothalamus and amygdala related to pain sensation and sexual behavior. Notably, TRPM8 has been implicated in neuropathic pain, migraines, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Our laboratory has identified testosterone as a high-affinity ligand of TRPM8. TRPM8 deficiency appears to influence behavioral traits in mice, like increased aggression and deficits in sexual satiety. Here, we aim to explore the pathways altered in brain tissues of TRPM8-deficient mice using the expression and methylation profiles of messenger RNA (mRNA) and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). Specifically, we focused on brain regions integral to behavioral and hormonal control, including the olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, amygdala, and insula. Methods: RNA was isolated and purified for microarray analysis collected from male wild-type and TRPM8 knockout mice. Results: We identified various differentially expressed genes tied to multiple signaling pathways. Among them, the androgen–estrogen receptor (AR-ER) pathway, steroidogenesis pathway, sexual reward pathway, and cocaine reward pathway are particularly worth noting. Conclusions: These results should bridge the existing gaps in the knowledge regarding TRPM8 and inform potential targets for future studies to elucidate its role in the behavior changes and pathology of the diseases associated with TRPM8 activity. 

Auction and voting schemes play a crucial role in the Web3 ecosystem. Yet currently deployed implementations either lack privacy or require at least two rounds, hindering usability and security. We introduce Cicada, a general framework for using linearly homomorphic time-lock puzzles (HTLPs) to enable provably secure, non-interactive private auction and voting protocols. We instantiate our framework with an efficient new HTLP construction and novel packing techniques that enable succinct ballot correctness proofs independent of the number of candidates. We demonstrate the practicality of our approach by implementing our protocols for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). 

In the natural environment, we often form stable perceptual experiences from ambiguous and fleeting sensory inputs. Which neural activity underlies the content of perception and which neural activity supports perceptual stability remains an open question. We used a bistable perception paradigm involving ambiguous images to behaviorally dissociate perceptual content from perceptual stability, and magnetoencephalography to measure whole-brain neural dynamics in humans. Combining multivariate decoding and neural state-space analyses, we found frequency-band-specific neural signatures that underlie the content of perception and promote perceptual stability, respectively. Across different types of images, non-oscillatory neural activity in the slow cortical potential (<5 Hz) range supported the content of perception. Perceptual stability was additionally influenced by the amplitude of alpha and beta oscillations. In addition, neural activity underlying perceptual memory, which supports perceptual stability when sensory input is temporally removed from view, also encodes elapsed time. Together, these results reveal distinct neural mechanisms that support the content versus stability of visual perception. 

Abstract Ambiguous images elicit bistable perception, wherein periods of momentary perceptual stability are interrupted by sudden perceptual switches. When intermittently presented, ambiguous images trigger a perceptual memory trace in the intervening blank periods. Understanding the neural bases of perceptual stability and perceptual memory during bistable perception may hold clues for explaining the apparent stability of visual experience in the natural world, where ambiguous and fleeting images are prevalent. Motivated by recent work showing the involvement of the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) in bistable perception, we conducted a transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) study with a double-blind, within-subject cross-over design to test a potential causal role of rIFG in these processes. Subjects viewed ambiguous images presented continuously or intermittently while under EEG recording. We did not find any significant tDCS effect on perceptual behavior. However, the fluctuations of oscillatory power in the alpha and beta bands predicted perceptual stability, with higher power corresponding to longer percept durations. In addition, higher alpha and beta power predicted enhanced perceptual memory during intermittent viewing. These results reveal a unified neurophysiological mechanism sustaining perceptual stability and perceptual memory when the visual system is faced with ambiguous input. 

Abstract Perception results from the interplay of sensory input and prior knowledge. Despite behavioral evidence that long-term priors powerfully shape perception, the neural mechanisms underlying these interactions remain poorly understood. We obtained direct cortical recordings in neurosurgical patients as they viewed ambiguous images that elicit constant perceptual switching. We observe top-down influences from the temporal to occipital cortex, during the preferred percept that is congruent with the long-term prior. By contrast, stronger feedforward drive is observed during the non-preferred percept, consistent with a prediction error signal. A computational model based on hierarchical predictive coding and attractor networks reproduces all key experimental findings. These results suggest a pattern of large-scale information flow change underlying long-term priors’ influence on perception and provide constraints on theories about long-term priors’ influence on perception.