bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Age at First Drink Relates to Behavioral Measures of Impulsivity: The Immediate and Delayed Memory Tasks
Authors: Dougherty Donald M. , Mathias Charles W. , Tester Melissa L. , Marsh Dawn M. 
Published: March 2004

Abstract: Background: This study examined the relationship between laboratory‐measured impulsivity and age at first drink.Methods: Using a laboratory behavioral measure of impulsivity [Immediate (IMT) and Delayed Memory Tasks (DMT)], we compared two groups of women differing in their self‐reported age at first drink (early‐onset drinking, age <18 years, n= 40; late‐onset drinking, age ≥21 years, n= 23). It was expected that those who first consumed alcohol before the legal drinking age (i.e., early onset) would perform in a more impulsive manner on the laboratory behavioral measure than the late‐onset drinkers.Results: The main finding was that the early‐onset group (IMT: mean, 28.7%; DMT: mean, 30.4%) had increased commission error rates compared with the late‐onset group (IMT: mean, 21.2%; DMT: mean, 15.5%) during both the IMT [ANOVA:F (1,61) = 4.30; p= 0.042; f= 0.27] and DMT [F (1,61) = 10.76; p= 0.002; f= 0.42]. Age at first drink was significantly correlated with DMT commission errors (r=−0.23; p= 0.037), although this was only at the trend level for IMT commission errors (r=−0.20; p= 0.062); these correlations are likely to be underestimates because of range restriction of the age variable.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that differences in impulsive behavioral responding are distinguishable even between groups of alcohol drinkers who are not experiencing clinically significant problems with alcohol.
The Impact of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Neurophysiological Encoding of Environmental Events at Six Months
Authors: Kable Julie A. , Coles Claire D. 
Published: March 2004

Abstract: Background: Using methodologies from developmental studies on infant information‐processing skills, early manifestations of later long‐term neurocognitive effects of prenatal alcohol exposure can be explored by assessing primary cognitive processes, including attentional regulation and processing speed.Methods: One hundred eighteen 6‐month‐old infants (18 high risk, 100 low risk) from a longitudinal study of moderate prenatal alcohol exposure and intrauterine growth retardation were presented with both auditory (400 and 1000 Hz pure tones) and visual stimuli (chromatic Caucasian faces) in an information‐processing paradigm with cardiac response as the dependent variable. The first three habituation trials were analyzed to assess neurophysiological encoding of environmental events in infants categorized as high and low risk based on status of maternal drinking. Specific indexes of the cardiac response were used to assess the infant's (1) speed of initiating attention, (2) sustained attention, and (3) shifting attention after stimulus offset.Results: Infants identified as high risk based on a cumulative risk index for prenatal alcohol exposure responded more slowly to stimuli and were rated as significantly higher in arousal level across the three trials but did not display differences in their sustained deceleration responses or responses to stimulus‐offset.Conclusions: Less efficient neurophysiological encoding was observed among high‐risk infants, suggesting that prenatal alcohol exposure may disrupt fundamental components of the attentional system responsible for regulating the body's responses to environmental events. Slower neurophysiological responses involved in encoding environmental stimuli and initiating attention and higher levels of behavioral arousal suggest that these infants may have had difficulties with regulating the interactions between arousal level and the attentional system needed to provide optimal efficiency in processing environmental events. These outcomes suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure results in specific impairments in early attentional regulation, which may influence subsequent cognitive development and behavioral outcomes dependent on these primary cognitive processes.
Heightened Heart Rate Response to Alcohol Intoxication Is Associated With a Reward‐Seeking Personality Profile
Authors: Brunelle Caroline , Assaad Jean‐Marc , Barrett Sean P. , Ávila Cesar , Conrod Patricia J. , Tremblay Richard E. , Pihl Robert O. 
Published: March 2004

Abstract: Background: The psychomotor stimulant theory of addiction posits that sensitivity to the positively rewarding properties of alcohol puts certain individuals at higher risk for alcohol abuse. A valid and reliable index of overactivation in the reward system has been a heightened baseline heart rate (HR) increase on the ascending limb of the blood alcohol curve. The main goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between this HR response and a questionnaire measuring sensitivity to reward and sensitivity to punishment. Additional goals included looking at (1) the association between a high HR response and various personality traits (hopelessness/introversion, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, and sensation‐seeking) and (2) the relationship between these personality traits and stimulant use.Methods: A total of 18 low‐ and 19 high‐HR responders completed the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS), and a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index.Results: High‐HR responders obtained significantly higher scores than low‐HR responders on the sensitivity to reward scale of the SPSRQ, as well as increased sensation‐seeking scores on the SURPS. High‐HR responders were not at significantly higher risk of having used stimulants, but stimulant use was associated with higher impulsivity scores on the SURPS.Conclusions: Novelty/sensation‐seeking is among the personality traits that have been linked to heavy alcohol use. This study suggests that reward sensitivity might mediate the relationship between this personality profile and drinking behavior.
Nefazodone Treatment of Comorbid Alcohol Dependence and Major Depression
Authors: Hernandez‐Avila Carlos A. , Modesto‐Lowe Vania , Feinn Richard , Kranzler Henry R. 
Published: March 2004

Abstract: Background: Major depression is a common comorbid condition among individuals with alcohol dependence. This study examined the effects of nefazodone, a norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake blocker and 5‐hydroxytryptamine‐2 receptor antagonist, on mood and anxiety symptoms and drinking behavior in a sample of depressed alcoholics.Methods: This study was a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled comparison of nefazodone (200–600 mg/day) or placebo in a sample of alcohol‐dependent subjects (n= 41; 52% women) with current major depression. After a 1‐week placebo lead‐in period, subjects were randomly assigned to receive study medication and supportive psychotherapy for 10 weeks.Results: Depressive and anxiety symptoms declined significantly over time. Although the nefazodone group showed greater reductions in these symptoms, the effects did not reach statistical significance. Nonetheless, nefazodone‐treated subjects showed a significantly greater reduction in heavy drinking days and in total drinks compared with placebo‐treated subjects.Conclusions: The lack of significant effects on depression and anxiety symptoms may reflect limited statistical power. Despite the small sample size, nefazodone significantly reduced some measures of alcohol consumption in this sample of depressed alcoholics.
Differential Expression of Liver Interleukin‐6 Receptor‐α in Female Versus Male Ethanol‐Consuming Rats
Authors: Gallucci Randle M. , Sloan Dusti K. , O'Dell Sijy J. , Reinke Lester A. 
Published: March 2004

Abstract: Background: It is well known that women are more susceptible to alcoholic liver disease (ALD) than men, and inflammation is thought to play a major role in alcohol‐induced liver injury. Increased circulating levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)‐6 are a marker for serious ALD in humans. However, IL‐6 also has protective effects, such as induction of liver regeneration and inhibition of hepatocyte apoptosis. Although the roles of IL‐6 in ALD have begun to be established, little is known about the expression of its receptor (IL‐6Rα) during chronic alcohol administration.Methods: Male and female rats were intragastrically fed ethanol or control isocaloric liquid diet for 2 and 4 weeks. Liver samples were collected, and gene expression was assessed by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and Western blot.Results: Herein, we show clear gender differences in alcohol‐induced liver IL‐6Rα expression. Analysis of rat liver samples showed that ethanol consumption significantly increased IL‐6Rα messenger RNA and protein expression in females as compared with similarly treated males after 2 and 4 weeks. Increased STAT3 phosphorylation in the livers of ethanol‐consuming females also indicated greater IL‐6Rα activation in these animals. Conversely, ethanol‐consuming males displayed increased IκB messenger RNA and protein expression, which may inhibit IL‐6R expression, compared with females.Conclusions: Given the association of inflammation with ethanol‐induced liver damage, these data may offer insight into a possible mechanism by which females develop more severe ALD than males.
EEG and ECG in Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy
Authors: Nei Maromi , Ho Reginald T. , Abou‐Khalil Bassel W. , Drislane Frank W. , Liporace Joyce , Romeo Alicia , Sperling Michael R. 
Published: March 2004

Summary:  Purpose: Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a major cause of mortality for patients with epilepsy. Cardiac factors may be involved and were evaluated in this study. Methods: EEG and ECG data for 21 patients with definite (n = 6) or probable (n = 15) SUDEP were compared with data from a group of 43 patients with refractory partial epilepsy. ECG abnormalities and heart rate (HR) changes were correlated with clinical data. Results: Fourteen patients died in their sleep; two were awake. Ictal maximal HR (90 seizures from 16 of 21 patients) was significantly higher in SUDEP (mean, 149 beats/min, BPM) than in comparison patients (mean, 126 BPM; p < 0.001). Greater increases in HR were associated with seizures arising from sleep (78 BPM increase) than from wakefulness (47 BPM; p < 0.001) in SUDEP, as compared with the non‐SUDEP group (52 BPM in sleep, 43 BPM in wakefulness; p = 0.27). Ictal cardiac repolarization and rhythm abnormalities occurred in 56% of SUDEP (including two atrial fibrillation, two ventricular premature depolarizations, two marked sinus arrhythmia, two atrial premature depolarizations, one junctional escape, one ST‐segment elevation), and 39% of comparison patients (p = 0.39). No specific seizure onset (laterality or lobe) was associated with SUDEP. Conclusions: This study reveals, for the first time, evidence of increased autonomic stimulation (as measured by HR) associated with seizures, particularly in sleep, in patients with SUDEP, as compared with a clinically similar group of patients with refractory epilepsy.
Seizure, Neuron Loss, and Mossy Fiber Sprouting in Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1–Infected Organotypic Hippocampal Cultures
Authors: Chen Su‐Fen , Huang Chiung‐Chun , Wu Hung‐Ming , Chen Shun‐Hua , Liang Ying‐Ching , Hsu Kuei‐Sen 
Published: March 2004

Summary:  Purpose: Epileptic seizures are frequently seen after viral encephalitis. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) encephalitis is the most common cause of acquired epilepsy in humans. However, little information is available about the neuropathogenesis of HSV‐1–associated seizures. We have developed an in vitro HSV‐1–infected organotypic hippocampal slice culture to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of HSV‐1–associated acute seizure activity. Methods: Hippocampal slice cultures were prepared from postnatal day 10 to 12 rat pups. Wild‐type HSV‐1 strain RE (1 × 105 PFU) was applied to cultures at 14 days in vitro. The excitability of CA3 pyramidal cells and hippocampal network properties were measured with electrophysiological recordings. Hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) and Timm stains were used. Results: HSV‐1 infection induces epileptiform activity, neuron loss, and subsequently a dramatic increase of mossy fiber sprouting in the supragranular area. With intracellular recordings, surviving CA3 pyramidal cells exhibited a more depolarizing resting membrane potential concomitant with an increase in membrane input resistance and had a lower threshold to generate synchronized bursts and a decrease in the amplitude of afterhyperpolarization than did controls. When the antiherpes agent acyclovir was applied with a delay of 1 or 24 h after HSV‐1 infection, a dramatic inhibition of HSV‐1 replication and protection of the neuron loss were observed. Conclusions: These results suggest that a direct change in the excitability of the hippocampal CA3 neuronal network and HSV‐1–induced neuron loss resulting in subsequent mossy fiber reorganization may play an important role in the generation of epileptiform activity.
Increased Numbers of Coassembled PSD‐95 to NMDA‐receptor Subunits NR2B and NR1 in Human Epileptic Cortical Dysplasia
Authors: Ying Zhong , Bingaman William , Najm Imad M. 
Published: March 2004

Summary:  Purpose: Glutamatergic transmission between neurons occurs at chemical synapses. The N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA)‐receptor subclass of ionotropic glutamate receptors has been implicated in the epileptogenic mechanisms in human cortical dysplasia (CD). NMDA receptors are clustered at the postsynaptic membrane by anchoring to the postsynaptic density protein PSD‐95, a putative ion channel–clustering protein. In this study, we quantitatively investigated the coassembly of PSD‐95 to NR2B and NR1 in human epileptogenic cortex as compared with nonepileptic cortex. Methods: We used coimmunoprecipitation and immunoblotting techniques to quantify and compare the numbers of coassembled PSD‐95 with NR2B, PSD‐95 with NR1, and NR2B with NR1 in the membrane proteins of brain tissues resected from four patients (aged 3.5, 6, 14, and 18 years) with medically intractable neocortical epilepsy associated with CD. The resected cortical tissues were grouped into epileptic and nonepileptic, as determined by prolonged subdural electrode recordings in three patients and direct intraoperative electrocorticographic recording in one patient. Results: In all patients, the amounts of immunoprecipitated complexes, which reflect the numbers of coassembled PSD‐95 proteins to NR2B subunits, were increased in epileptic cortex as compared with nonepileptic cortex. Conclusions: These results suggest that increased coassembly of NR2B and NR1 with PSD‐95 may underlie one of the cellular mechanisms that contribute to the in situ increased hyperexcitability, leading to seizure generation in focal CD.
Complete Loss of the Cytoplasmic Carboxyl Terminus of the KCNQ2 Potassium Channel: A Novel Mutation in a Large Czech Pedigree with Benign Neonatal Convulsions or Other Epileptic Phenotypes
Authors: Pereira Sandrine , Roll Patrice , Krizova Jitka , Genton Pierre , Brazdil Milan , Kuba Robert , Cau Pierre , Rektor Ivan , Szepetowski Pierre 
Published: March 2004

Summary:  Purpose: Benign neonatal familial convulsions (BNFCs) represent a rare epileptic disorder with autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. To date, two voltage‐gated potassium (K+) channel genes, KCNQ2 and KCNQ3, have been identified in typical BNFC families. The study of new pedigrees may help detect new mutations and define genotype–phenotype correlations. Methods: A large Czech family was detected in which BNFC was inherited together with a broad range of various nonneonatal epileptic phenotypes. Genetic linkage study and direct mutation analysis were performed to find the disease‐causing mutation. Results: In seven patients with BNFCs and no recurrence of seizures, a novel two‐base‐pair deletion (1369del2) was identified within the coding sequence of the KCNQ2 gene. The mutation led to a putative protein that lacked nearly all its carboxyl terminus part, which plays a critical role for the accurate expression of the functional K+ channels. Three patients with generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCSs), all without any history of BNFCs, also displayed 1369del2. Three other patients with other idiopathic epileptic phenotypes did not have the mutation. Conclusions: A novel 2‐bp deletion within the coding sequence of the potassium channel KCNQ2 gene was detected in patients from a large and heterogeneous family with BNFCs or non‐BNFC seizures.
Polygenic Control of Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy Phenotypes in the Genetic Absence Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS)
Authors: Rudolf Gabrielle , Thérèse Bihoreau Marie , F. Godfrey Richard , P. Wilder Steven , D. Cox Roger , Lathrop Mark , Marescaux Christian , Gauguier Dominique 
Published: March 2004

Summary:  Purpose: Generalized nonconvulsive absence seizures are characterized by the occurrence of synchronous and bilateral spike‐and‐wave discharges (SWDs) on electroencephalographic recordings, concomitant with behavioral arrest. The GAERS (genetic absence rats from Strasbourg) strain, a well‐characterized inbred model for idiopathic generalized epilepsy, spontaneously develops EEG paroxysms that resemble those of typical absence seizures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic control of SWD variables by using a combination of genetic analyses and electrophysiological measurements in an experimental cross derived from GAERS and Brown Norway (BN) rats. Methods: SWD subphenotypes were quantified on EEG recordings performed at both 3 and 6 months in a cohort of 118 GAERS × BN F2 animals. A genome‐wide scan of the F2 progenies was carried out with 146 microsatellite markers that were used to test each marker locus for evidence of genetic linkage to the SWD quantitative traits. Results: We identified three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in chromosomes 4, 7, and 8 controlling specific SWD variables in the cross, including frequency, amplitude, and severity of SWDs. Age was a major factor influencing the detection of genetic linkage to the various components of the SWDs. Conclusions: The identification of these QTLs demonstrates the polygenic control of SWDs in the GAERS strain. Genetic linkages to specific SWD features underline the complex mechanisms contributing to SWD development in idiopathic generalized epilepsy.
Subtraction SPECT Coregistered to MRI in Focal Malformations of Cortical Development: Localization of the Epileptogenic Zone in Epilepsy Surgery Candidates
Authors: O'Brien Terence J. , So Elson L. , Cascino Gregory D. , Hauser Mary F. , Marsh W. Richard , Meyer Fredric B. , Sharbrough Frank W. , Mullan Brian P. 
Published: March 2004

Summary:  Purpose: To determine the extent to which periictal subtraction single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) may improve detection and definition of the epileptogenic zone in patients with focal malformations of cortical development (MCDs). Methods: Subtraction SPECT coregistered to magnetic resonance (MR) images (SISCOM) were constructed for 22 consecutive patients with focal MCDs who underwent periictal SPECT injection (18 ictal and four postictal). In the 17 patients who had epilepsy surgery, concordance between the site of SISCOM localization and site of surgical resection was determined by coregistration of SISCOM images with postoperative MRIs. Results: SISCOM images were localizing in 19 (86%) patients, including eight of the 10 with nonlocalizing MRI. Concordance of SISCOM localization was 91% with MRI localization, 93% with scalp ictal EEG localization, and 100% with intracranial EEG localization. Eight patients whose SISCOM localization was concordant with the surgical resection site had lower postoperative seizure frequency scores (SFSs; p = 0.04) and greater postoperative improvement in SFSs (p = 0.05) than the nine patients whose SISCOM was either nonconcordant or nonlocalizing. On multiple regression analysis, a model combining SISCOM concordance with surgical resection site and extent of MRI lesion resection was predictive of postoperative SFS (R2= 0.47; p = 0.03). Conclusions: Periictal subtraction SPECT using the SISCOM technique provides useful information for seizure localization in patients with focal MCDs, even when MRI is nonlocalizing.
Differential Sperm Priming by Male Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna): Effects of Female and Male Size
Authors: Aspbury Andrea S. , Gabor Caitlin R. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractRecent interest in sperm competition has led to a re‐evaluation of the ‘cheap sperm’ assumption inherent in many studies of sexual selection. In particular, mounting evidence suggests that male sperm availability can be increased by the presence of females. However, there is little information on how this interacts with male traits presumably affected by female mate choice, such as larger size. This study examines the effects on male sperm availability of female presence, male body size, and female body size in the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna. Individual males of variable body sizes were isolated in divided tanks for 3 d, after which time either a female or no female was added to the other side of the tank. Prior to the treatments, larger males had more stripped sperm than smaller males. Female presence significantly increased the amount of sperm males primed, but this effect was strongest in small males. Furthermore, males showed a greater priming response in the presence of larger females than in the presence of smaller females. These results demonstrate that the presence of sexually mature females increases the amount of sperm males have for insemination. Furthermore, traits that indicate female fecundity may be used by males as cues in male mate choice.
Incubation Behaviour in Northern Lapwings: Nocturnal Nest Attentiveness and Possible Importance of Individual Breeding Quality
Authors: Lislevand Terje , Byrkjedal Ingvar , Grønstøl Gaute B. , Hafsmo Jo E. , Kallestad Geir R. , Larsen Vegard A. 
Published: March 2004

AbstractPrevious studies of sex roles in the polygynous Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus have shown that males incubate less than females, perhaps suggesting that sexual selection is important in shaping the parental behaviour of this species. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine for the first time the possibility that males compensate for low diurnal nest attentiveness by increasing their nocturnal assistance and (2) evaluate the hypotheses that sexual selection and individual breeding quality determines incubation behaviour in lapwings. Males were never found incubating at night in 19 nests, although median diurnal male attentiveness was 15.3% in 16 of the same pairs. Nor were there any differences among monogamous and polygynous males in the time spent in four categories of behaviour (incubation, guarding, maintenance and mating activities). The time males spent in mating and incubation behaviours was weakly negatively correlated, and the time spent incubating varied considerably among males (0–74%). Further, female body condition was positively related with male nest attentiveness and there was a negative relationship between nest attentiveness and date of arrival to the study area in monogamous, but not in polygynous, males. We argue that sexual selection could not alone explain all sides of Northern Lapwing incubation, and suggest that individual differences in breeding quality may also be important.