bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Remote burn injury in aged mice induces colonic lymphoid aggregate expansion and dysbiosis of the fecal microbiome which correlates with neuroinflammation
Authors: Walrath Travis , Najarro Kevin M. , Giesy Lauren E. , Khair Shanawaj , Frank Daniel N. , Robertson Charles E. , Orlicky David J. , Quillinan Nidia , Idrovo Juan-Pablo , McMahan Rachel H. , Kovacs Elizabeth J. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe Earth’s population is aging and, by 2050, 1 out of 6 people will be 65 or older. Therefore, proper treatment of injuries that disproportionately impact people of advanced age will be more important. Clinical studies reveal people aged ≥65 account for 16.5% of all burn injuries, and experience higher morbidity, including neurocognitive decline, and mortality that we and others believe are mediated, in part, by heightened intestinal permeability. Herein we used our clinically relevant model of scald burn injury in young and aged mice to determine whether age and burn injury cooperate to induce heightened colonic damage, alterations to the fecal microbiome, and whether resultant changes in the microbiome correlate with neuroinflammation. We found that aged, burn injured mice have an increase in colonic lymphoid aggregates, inflammation, and pro-inflammatory chemokine expression when compared to young groups and sham injured aged mice. We then performed fecal microbiota sequencing and found a striking reduction in gut protective bacterial taxa, includingAkkermansia, in the aged burn group compared to all other groups. This reduction correlated with an increase in serum FITC-dextran administered by gavage, indicating heightened intestinal permeability. Further, loss ofAkkermansiawas highly correlated with increased mRNA expression of neuroinflammatory markers in the brain, includingccl2, tnfa, cxcl1,ands100a8.Finally, we discovered that post-burn alterations in the microbiome correlated with measures of strength in all treatment groups, and those that performed better on the rotarod and hanging wire tests had higher abundance ofAkkermansiathan those that performed worse. Taken together, these findings indicate that loss of protective bacteria after burn injury in aged mice contributes to alterations in the colon, gut leakiness, neuroinflammation, and strength. Therefore, supplementation of protective bacteria, such asAkkermansia, after burn injury in aged patients may have therapeutic benefit.
How the brain controls decision making in a multisensory world
Authors: Fetsch Christopher R. , Noppeney Uta 
Published: August 2023

Sensory systems evolved to provide the organism with information about the environment to guide adaptive behaviour. Neuroscientists and psychologists have traditionally considered each sense independently, a legacy of Aristotle and a natural consequence of their distinct physical and anatomical bases. However, from the point of view of the organism, perception and sensorimotor behaviour are fundamentally multi-modal; after all, each modality provides complementary information about the same world. Classic studies revealed much about where and how sensory signals are combined to improve performance, but these tended to treat multisensory integration as a static, passive, bottom-up process. It has become increasingly clear how this approach falls short, ignoring the interplay between perception and action, the temporal dynamics of the decision process and the many ways by which the brain can exert top-down control of integration. The goal of this issue is to highlight recent advances on these higher order aspects of multisensory processing, which together constitute a mainstay of our understanding of complex, natural behaviour and its neural basis.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Self-motion perception and sequential decision-making: where are we heading?
Authors: Jerjian Steven J. , Harsch Devin R. , Fetsch Christopher R. 
Published: August 2023

To navigate and guide adaptive behaviour in a dynamic environment, animals must accurately estimate their own motion relative to the external world. This is a fundamentally multisensory process involving integration of visual, vestibular and kinesthetic inputs. Ideal observer models, paired with careful neurophysiological investigation, helped to reveal how visual and vestibular signals are combined to support perception of linear self-motion direction, or heading. Recent work has extended these findings by emphasizing the dimension of time, both with regard to stimulus dynamics and the trade-off between speed and accuracy. Both time and certainty—i.e. the degree of confidence in a multisensory decision—are essential to the ecological goals of the system: terminating a decision process is necessary for timely action, and predicting one's accuracy is critical for making multiple decisions in a sequence, as in navigation. Here, we summarize a leading model for multisensory decision-making, then show how the model can be extended to study confidence in heading discrimination. Lastly, we preview ongoing efforts to bridge self-motion perception and navigationper se, including closed-loop virtual reality and active self-motion. The design of unconstrained, ethologically inspired tasks, accompanied by large-scale neural recordings, raise promise for a deeper understanding of spatial perception and decision-making in the behaving animal.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Visuo-vestibular heading perception: a model system to study multi-sensory decision making
Authors: Zeng Zhao , Zhang Ce , Gu Yong 
Published: August 2023

Integrating noisy signals across time as well as sensory modalities, a process named multi-sensory decision making (MSDM), is an essential strategy for making more accurate and sensitive decisions in complex environments. Although this field is just emerging, recent extraordinary works from different perspectives, including computational theory, psychophysical behaviour and neurophysiology, begin to shed new light onto MSDM. In the current review, we focus on MSDM by using a model system of visuo-vestibular heading. Combining well-controlled behavioural paradigms on virtual-reality systems, single-unit recordings, causal manipulations and computational theory based on spiking activity, recent progress reveals that vestibular signals contain complex temporal dynamics in many brain regions, including unisensory, multi-sensory and sensory-motor association areas. This challenges the brain for cue integration across time and sensory modality such as optic flow which mainly contains a motion velocity signal. In addition, new evidence from the higher-level decision-related areas, mostly in the posterior and frontal/prefrontal regions, helps revise our conventional thought on how signals from different sensory modalities may be processed, converged, and moment-by-moment accumulated through neural circuits for forming a unified, optimal perceptual decision.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Multisensory integration in the mammalian brain: diversity and flexibility in health and disease
Authors: Choi Ilsong , Demir Ilayda , Oh Seungmi , Lee Seung-Hee 
Published: August 2023

Multisensory integration (MSI) occurs in a variety of brain areas, spanning cortical and subcortical regions. In traditional studies on sensory processing, the sensory cortices have been considered for processing sensory information in a modality-specific manner. The sensory cortices, however, send the information to other cortical and subcortical areas, including the higher association cortices and the other sensory cortices, where the multiple modality inputs converge and integrate to generate a meaningful percept. This integration process is neither simple nor fixed because these brain areas interact with each other via complicated circuits, which can be modulated by numerous internal and external conditions. As a result, dynamic MSI makes multisensory decisions flexible and adaptive in behaving animals. Impairments in MSI occur in many psychiatric disorders, which may result in an altered perception of the multisensory stimuli and an abnormal reaction to them. This review discusses the diversity and flexibility of MSI in mammals, including humans, primates and rodents, as well as the brain areas involved. It further explains how such flexibility influences perceptual experiences in behaving animals in both health and disease.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Conserved features of eye movement related eardrum oscillations (EMREOs) across humans and monkeys
Authors: Lovich Stephanie N. , King Cynthia D. , Murphy David L. K. , Abbasi Hossein , Bruns Patrick , Shera Christopher A. , Groh Jennifer M. 
Published: August 2023

Auditory and visual information involve different coordinate systems, with auditory spatial cues anchored to the head and visual spatial cues anchored to the eyes. Information about eye movements is therefore critical for reconciling visual and auditory spatial signals. The recent discovery of eye movement-related eardrum oscillations (EMREOs) suggests that this process could begin as early as the auditory periphery. How this reconciliation might happen remains poorly understood. Because humans and monkeys both have mobile eyes and therefore both must perform this shift of reference frames, comparison of the EMREO across species can provide insights to shared and therefore important parameters of the signal. Here we show that rhesus monkeys, like humans, have a consistent, significant EMREO signal that carries parametric information about eye displacement as well as onset times of eye movements. The dependence of the EMREO on the horizontal displacement of the eye is its most consistent feature, and is shared across behavioural tasks, subjects and species. Differences chiefly involve the waveform frequency (higher in monkeys than in humans) and patterns of individual variation (more prominent in monkeys than in humans), and the waveform of the EMREO when factors due to horizontal and vertical eye displacements were controlled for.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Multisensory perception constrains the formation of object categories: a review of evidence from sensory-driven and predictive processes on categorical decisions
Authors: Newell F. N. , McKenna E. , Seveso M. A. , Devine I. , Alahmad F. , Hirst R. J. , O'Dowd A. 
Published: August 2023

Although object categorization is a fundamental cognitive ability, it is also a complex process going beyond the perception and organization of sensory stimulation. Here we review existing evidence about how the human brain acquires and organizes multisensory inputs into object representations that may lead to conceptual knowledge in memory. We first focus on evidence for two processes on object perception, multisensory integration of redundant information (e.g. seeing and feeling a shape) and crossmodal, statistical learning of complementary information (e.g. the ‘moo’ sound of a cow and its visual shape). For both processes, the importance attributed to each sensory input in constructing a multisensory representation of an object depends on the working range of the specific sensory modality, the relative reliability or distinctiveness of the encoded information and top-down predictions. Moreover, apart from sensory-driven influences on perception, the acquisition of featural information across modalities can affect semantic memory and, in turn, influence category decisions. In sum, we argue that both multisensory processes independently constrain the formation of object categories across the lifespan, possibly through early and late integration mechanisms, respectively, to allow us to efficiently achieve the everyday, but remarkable, ability of recognizing objects.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Multisensory causal inference is feature-specific, not object-based
Authors: Badde Stephanie , Landy Michael S. , Adams Wendy J. 
Published: August 2023

Multisensory integration depends on causal inference about the sensory signals. We tested whether implicit causal-inference judgements pertain to entire objects or focus on task-relevant object features. Participants in our study judged virtual visual, haptic and visual–haptic surfaces with respect to two features—slant and roughness—against an internal standard in a two-alternative forced-choice task. Modelling of participants' responses revealed that the degree to which their perceptual judgements were based on integrated visual–haptic information varied unsystematically across features. For example, a perceived mismatch between visual and haptic roughness would not deter the observer from integrating visual and haptic slant. These results indicate that participants based their perceptual judgements on a feature-specific selection of information, suggesting that multisensory causal inference proceeds not at the object level but at the level of single object features.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
The role of conflict processing in multisensory perception: behavioural and electroencephalography evidence
Authors: Marly Adrià , Yazdjian Arek , Soto-Faraco Salvador 
Published: August 2023

To form coherent multisensory perceptual representations, the brain must solve a causal inference problem: to decide if two sensory cues originated from the same event and should be combined, or if they came from different events and should be processed independently. According to current models of multisensory integration, during this process, the integrated (common cause) and segregated (different causes) internal perceptual models are entertained. In the present study, we propose that the causal inference process involves competition between these alternative perceptual models that engages the brain mechanisms of conflict processing. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two experiments, measuring reaction times (RTs) and electroencephalography, using an audiovisual ventriloquist illusion paradigm with varying degrees of intersensory disparities. Consistent with our hypotheses, incongruent trials led to slower RTs and higher fronto-medial theta power, both indicative of conflict. We also predicted that intermediate disparities would yield slower RTs and higher theta power when compared to congruent stimuli and to large disparities, owing to the steeper competition between causal models. Although this prediction was only validated in the RT study, both experiments displayed the anticipated trend. In conclusion, our findings suggest a potential involvement of the conflict mechanisms in multisensory integration of spatial information.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Different types of uncertainty in multisensory perceptual decision making
Authors: Aston Stacey , Nardini Marko , Beierholm Ulrik 
Published: August 2023

Efficient decision-making requires accounting for sources of uncertainty (noise, or variability). Many studies have shown how the nervous system is able to account for perceptual uncertainty (noise, variability) that arises from limitations in its own abilities to encode perceptual stimuli. However, many other sources of uncertainty exist, reflecting for example variability in the behaviour of other agents or physical processes. Here we review previous studies on decision making under uncertainty as a function of the different types of uncertainty that the nervous system encounters, showing that noise that is intrinsic to the perceptual system can often be accounted for near-optimally (i.e. not statistically different from optimally), whereas accounting for other types of uncertainty can be much more challenging. As an example, we present a study in which participants made decisions about multisensory stimuli with both intrinsic (perceptual) and extrinsic (environmental) uncertainty and show that the nervous system accounts for these differently when making decisions: they account for internal uncertainty but under-account for external. Human perceptual systems may be well equipped to account for intrinsic (perceptual) uncertainty because, in principle, they have access to this. Accounting for external uncertainty is more challenging because this uncertainty must be learned.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Decision and control processes in multisensory perception’.
Profiling abuse and neglect of women with disabilities: a step towards prevention of mistreatment of vulnerable populations
Authors: Savard Josephine , Gavriilidis Georgios , Lindblad Anna , Huang Jesse , Adzemovic Milena Zeitelhofer 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWomen with disabilities are at increased risk of violence and neglect, and the physical and psychological barriers to seeking help often lead to prolonged periods of abuse. In addition to being a leading cause of acute injuries and numerous chronic diseases, exposure to violence also negatively affects mental health.In this cross-sectional quantitative data analysis on experiences of violence among women with physical disabilities resulting from cerebral palsy (CP), multiple sclerosis (MS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke and arthritis, a high prevalence of abuse and neglect can be confirmed. These groups were also compared with women who have visual- and hearing impairment. We could observe that type of mistreatment, perpetrators and required personal assistance differ between disability groups. Interestingly, the highest frequency of abuse was observed among women with hearing impairment, including number of ongoing incidences at the time of response. Moreover, denial of help with basic needs or prevented use of assistive devices was again more commonly associated with hearing impairment but also with MS. Since it has been shown that hearing impairment is related to the risk for cognitive decline and one of the greatest risks for dementia, it is tempting to speculate that cognitive impairment may not only enhance but pose a higher risk factor for abuse than physical disability itself, hence calling for further research and more targeted interventions to prevent violence and support victims among women with disabilities.
Maternal Postpartum Stress Scale: Translation and validation study of the Chinese version
Authors: Wang Yanchi , Gao Qian , Liu Jin , Zhang Feng , Xu Xujuan 
Published: August 2023

AbstractObjectiveThis study aimed to translate the Maternal Postpartum Stress Scale (MPSS) into Chinese and validate its psychometric properties in postpartum women.MethodsA total of 406 postpartum women were recruited from 6 hospitals in Nantong, Jiangsu, China. Cronbach’s α co-efficient, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability were used to evaluate the reliability of the translated scale. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to evaluate the structural validity of the scale. The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS), the anxiety subscale of the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were used as calibration scales to measure the correlation of MPSS.ResultsThe Cronbach’s α co-efficient of the Chinese version of MPSS was 0.940 and the Cronbach’s α co-efficient of the three subscales ranged from 0.882 to 0.911. The split-half reliability was 0.825, and the test-retest reliability was 0.912. The content validity index of the scale (S-CVI) was 0.926. A total of three common factors were extracted from the EFA. The CFA validated the explored 3-factor structure, and the indicators fitted well (χ2/df = 2.167, comparative fit index = 0.918, tucker-lewis index=0.907, incremental fit index=0.919 and root mean square error of approximation = 0.075).ConclusionWith superb reliability and validity, the Chinese version of MPSS can be used to assess postpartum stress in Chinese women, which is expected to lay a scientific basis for the early identification of postpartum women’s stress, thus providing a basis for the development of early individualized interventions. Equally importantly, with specific clinical value and practical significance for postpartum women’s physical and mental health, future replication studies of the Chinese version of MPSS should be carried out in diverse samples and clinical populations.
Household food insecurity, living conditions, and individual sense of security among Burkina Faso refugees in Ghana: a cross-sectional survey using in-person data collection
Authors: Inusah Abdul-Wahab , Brackstone Ken , Head Michael , Ahmed Tahiru Issahaku , Nartey David Tetteh , Ziblim Shamsu-Deen 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFood insecurity and adequate nutrition is a major global challenge, especially in vulnerable groups such as refugee communities. In West Africa, due to conflict and instability in their home country, thousands of Burkina Faso refugees have crossed the border into northern Ghana. We conducted a cross-sectional study aimed at assessing household food insecurity, living conditions, and sense of security among Burkina Faso refugees currently residing in the upper east region of Ghana. Study data was collected from 19-29 October 2022 from 498 refugee households. Results revealed that almost 100% of households experienced food insecurity, with 80.3% experiencing severe food insecurity. Refugees from rural areas were more food secure compared to urban refugees. Refugees residing in host communities experienced lesser food insecurity than those in designated refugee camps. Further, refugees who were dissatisfied with the size of their accommodation were more likely to experience food insecurity. More than half of the refugees felt safe and welcomed by the host communities. The study underscores the critical need for targeted intervention to avert hunger and malnutrition among vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, and the aged in the refugee population. The study also emphasizes the importance of community support systems and social amenities for refugees’ well-being. Long-term measures should include improving logistics for food distribution, providing suitable accommodation, and strengthening healthcare services. Follow-up research, such as repeated community surveys, can track this evolving situation to continuously inform decision-making for refugee support.
Statistical Analysis Plan: The Effect of Automated External Defibrillators for Cardiac Arrests in Private Homes An Observational Study
Authors: Andersen Lars W. , Holmberg Mathias J. , Granfeldt Asger , Stankovic Nikola , Høybye Maria , Folke Fredrik , Caulley Lisa 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTThis document describes the statistical analysis plan for the study “The Effect of Automated External Defibrillators for Cardiac Arrests in Private Homes”. This will be an observational study using prospectively collected data from the CARES registry in the United States. We will include patients with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a private home. The exposure will be application of an AED and the primary outcome will be survival to hospital discharge. Assuming that there is no causal effect of AED application in those with a non-shockable rhythm, we will use a “difference-in-difference” approach to estimate the causal effect of AED application in those with a shockable rhythm.