rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Imbalance between excitation and inhibition among synaptic connections of CA3 pyramidal neurons in cultured hippocampal slices.
The European journal of neuroscience, 2008

A fundamental property of small neuronal ensembles is their ability to be selectively activated by distinct stimuli. One cellular mechanism by which neurons achieve this input selectivity is by modulating the temporal dynamics of excitation and inhibition. We explored the interplay of excitation and inhibition in synapses between pyramidal neurons of cornu ammonis field 3 of the hippocampal formation (CA3) in cultured rat hippocampal slices, where activation of a single excitatory cell can readily recruit local interneurons. Simultaneous whole-cell recordings from pairs of CA3 pyramidal neurons revealed that the strength of connections was neither uniform nor balanced. Rather, stimulation of presynaptic neurons elicited distinct combinations of excitatory postsynaptic current-inhibitory postsynaptic current (EPSC-IPSC) amplitudes in the postsynaptic neurons. EPSC-IPSC sequences with small EPSCs had large IPSCs and sequences that contained large EPSCs had small IPSCs. In addition to differences in the amplitudes of the responses, the kinetics of the EPSCs were also different, creating distinct temporal dynamics of excitation and inhibition. Weaker EPSCs had significantly slower kinetics and were efficiently occluded by IPSCs, thereby further limiting their contribution to depolarizing the postsynaptic membrane. Our data suggest that hippocampal pyramidal cells may use an imbalance between excitation and inhibition as a filter to enhance selectivity toward preferential excitatory connections.
Magnetization Transfer Ratio and Morphometrics of the Spinal Cord Associates with Surgical Recovery in Patients with Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.
World neurosurgery, 2020

We assessed the prognostic value of the preoperative magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and morphometrics of the spinal cord in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) in a longitudinal cohort study.
Opportunities and challenges of delivering digital clinical trials: lessons learned from a randomised controlled trial of an online behavioural intervention for children and young people.
Trials, 2020

Despite being the gold standard of research to determine effectiveness, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) often struggle with participant recruitment, engagement and retention. These issues may be exacerbated when recruiting vulnerable populations, such as participants with mental health issues. We aimed to update understanding of the scope of these problems in trials of health technology and identify possible solutions through reflecting on experiences from an exemplar trial (Online Remote Behavioural Intervention for Tics; ORBIT).
Association of Intrauterine Growth Restriction and Small for Gestational Age Status With Childhood Cognitive Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
JAMA pediatrics, 2020

The magnitude of the association of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and small for gestational age (SGA) status with cognitive outcomes in preterm and term-born children has not been established.
Connection between small vessel disease related stroke and the MTHFR C677T polymorphism in a Hungarian population.
Heliyon, 2020

There are conflicting results in the literature regarding the connection between thrombophilias and ischaemic stroke. However, most of the clinical studies have not differentiated between various ischaemic stroke subtypes. Our aim was to investigate whether there is an association between the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and ischaemic stroke due to small vessel disease (SVD) in patients ≤50 years of age.
Convection Enhanced Delivery of Optogenetic Adeno-associated Viral Vector to the Cortex of Rhesus Macaque Under Guidance of Online MRI Images.
Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, 2019

In non-human primate (NHP) optogenetics, infecting large cortical areas with viral vectors is often a difficult and time-consuming task. Here, we demonstrate the use of magnetic resonance (MR)-guided convection enhanced delivery (CED) of optogenetic viral vectors into primary somatosensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortices of macaques to obtain efficient, widespread cortical expression of light-sensitive ion channels. Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors encoding the red-shifted opsin C1V1 fused to yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) were injected into the cortex of rhesus macaques under MR-guided CED. Three months post-infusion, epifluorescent imaging confirmed large regions of optogenetic expression (>130 mm
The potential role of sestrin 2 in liver regeneration.
Free radical biology & medicine, 2021

Liver regeneration is a remarkably complex phenomenon conserved across all vertebrates, enabling the restoration of lost liver mass in a matter of days. Unfortunately, extensive damage to the liver may compromise this process, often leading to the death of affected individuals. Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common source of damage preceding regeneration, often present during liver transplantation, resection, trauma, or hemorrhagic shock. Increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are key hallmarks of IRI, which can jeopardize the liver's ability to regenerate. Therefore, a better understanding of both liver regeneration and IRI is of important clinical significance. In the current review, we discuss the potential role of sestrin 2 (SESN2), a novel anti-aging protein, in liver regeneration and ischemia/reperfusion preceding regeneration. We highlight its beneficial role in protecting cells from mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress as key aspects of its involvement in liver regeneration. Additionally, we describe how its ability to promote the expression of Nrf2 bears significant importance in this context. Finally, we focus on a potential novel link between SESN2, mitohormesis and ischemic preconditioning, which could explain some of the protective effects of preconditioning.
Sequential actions: effects of upcoming perceptual and motor tasks on current actions.
Experimental brain research, 2016

Reports of spatial interactions between current and upcoming elements in a movement sequence could be due to intentional planning of a "global" action sequence (i.e., strategic effects), or to unintentional motor planning arising from merely paying attention to upcoming target objects (i.e., interference effects). The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether paying attention to an upcoming target object could induce kinematic changes in a current grasping action when there is no strategic advantage associated with such changes. Specifically, participants grasped a rectangular target object in the presence of a second rectangular object that was either ignored, or was the target of a subsequent grasping or perceptual judgment task. Peak grip aperture during the primary grasping action was assessed in relation to the size of the second rectangle. The results revealed an effect of the second rectangle's size only when it was the target of a subsequent perceptual judgment task. This result calls into question the assumption that interactions between current and subsequent elements of an action sequence are necessarily due to strategic movement planning processes and might instead arise from interference arising from merely paying attention to nontarget objects.
Direct inhibition of levodopa-induced beginning-of-dose motor deterioration by subthalamic nucleus stimulation in a patient with Parkinson disease.
Journal of neurosurgery, 2008

Beginning-of-dose motor deterioration (BDMD) is a complication of levodopa medications in Parkinson disease (PD) that is presumably caused by inhibitory effects of levodopa. Only limited experience of BDMD has been described in the literature. The authors report the case of a patient with PD who demonstrated a marked BDMD while being treated with standard levodopa medications. This 55-year-old woman had a 12-year history of PD and a 10-year history of levodopa treatment. Marked exacerbation of symptoms occurred 15 to 20 minutes after every dose of levodopa at 100 mg and lasted approximately 15 minutes. The PD symptoms, particularly tremor and rigidity, were exacerbated more markedly during this period than during the wearing-off deterioration. The BDMD could be controlled very well by subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation without any change in the regimen of levodopa medications. These observations suggest that the BDMD was inhibited by STN stimulation through a direct effect.
Single- versus dual-attending strategy for spinal deformity surgery: 2-year experience and systematic review of the literature.
Journal of neurosurgery. Spine, 2020

Adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery is complex and associated with high morbidity and complication rates. There is growing evidence in the literature for the beneficial effects of an approach to surgery in which two attending physicians rather than a single attending physician perform surgery for and oversee the surgical care of a single patient in a dual-attending care model. The authors developed a dual-attending care collaboration in August 2017 in which a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon mutually operated on patients with ASD.
Cortical Hemodynamic Response to Multi-afferent Stimulation: an optical imaging study.
Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference, 2020

Multisensory stimulation plays an important role in the recovery of ischemic stroke. However, little is known about the interactions between neuronal activities with multi-afferent stimulations and their effects on hemodynamic responses. Optogenetics has been a useful tool in neuroscience research to unravel the mechanisms of neurovascular coupling at cell-specific level. In this study, we applied laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) to map the cortical hemodynamic response with high spatiotemporal resolution. The results showed that optogenetic inhibition of pyramidal neurons in sensorimotor cortex induced both local and distant increases of cerebral blood flow (CBF) with dual peaks, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) was significantly larger than that of the CBF response to optogenetic excitation. Furthermore, optogenetic excitation of pyramidal neurons could significantly increase the local CBF response to sensory stimulation, whereas optogenetic inhibition of pyramidal neurons decreased the local CBF response at the early stage after sensory stimulation and increased the distant CBF response during the recovery period. Our work provided useful insights into the mechanisms of brain stimulation, which might help in clinical neurological applications.
Low-Dimensional Spatiotemporal Dynamics Underlie Cortex-wide Neural Activity.
Current biology : CB, 2020

Cognition arises from the dynamic flow of neural activity through the brain. To capture these dynamics, we used mesoscale calcium imaging to record neural activity across the dorsal cortex of awake mice. We found that the large majority of variance in cortex-wide activity (∼75%) could be explained by a limited set of ∼14 "motifs" of neural activity. Each motif captured a unique spatiotemporal pattern of neural activity across the cortex. These motifs generalized across animals and were seen in multiple behavioral environments. Motif expression differed across behavioral states, and specific motifs were engaged by sensory processing, suggesting the motifs reflect core cortical computations. Together, our results show that cortex-wide neural activity is highly dynamic but that these dynamics are restricted to a low-dimensional set of motifs, potentially allowing for efficient control of behavior.
Quantifying Subcellular Ubiquitin-proteasome Activity in the Rodent Brain.
Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, 2019

The ubiquitin-proteasome system is a key regulator of protein degradation and a variety of other cellular processes in eukaryotes. In the brain, increases in ubiquitin-proteasome activity are critical for synaptic plasticity and memory formation and aberrant changes in this system are associated with a variety of neurological, neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. One of the issues in studying ubiquitin-proteasome functioning in the brain is that it is present in all cellular compartments, in which the protein targets, functional role and mechanisms of regulation can vary widely. As a result, the ability to directly compare brain ubiquitin protein targeting and proteasome catalytic activity in different subcellular compartments within the same animal is critical for fully understanding how the UPS contributes to synaptic plasticity, memory and disease. The method described here allows collection of nuclear, cytoplasmic and crude synaptic fractions from the same rodent (rat) brain, followed by simultaneous quantification of proteasome catalytic activity (indirectly, providing activity of the proteasome core only) and linkage-specific ubiquitin protein tagging. Thus, the method can be used to directly compare subcellular changes in ubiquitin-proteasome activity in different brain regions in the same animal during synaptic plasticity, memory formation and different disease states. This method can also be used to assess the subcellular distribution and function of other proteins within the same animal.
Orthopaedic trauma care during a pandemic: initial responses in the United States and Canada.
OTA international : the open access journal of orthopaedic trauma, 2021

As in other countries, COVID-19 had a significant impact on the delivery of Orthopaedic trauma care in North America. Both Canada and the United States had similar experiences and responses to the pandemic, while the burden of disease was significantly greater in the United States. There was significant uncertainty in the early phases of the pandemic, fueled by a lack of knowledge of the pathophysiology and spread of COVID-19, questions surrounding screening protocols, lack of guidelines for managing infected patients, and concern over limited supplies of personal protective equipment. As we gained knowledge and experience, changes were implemented to optimize the delivery of trauma care, some of which may have lasting effects. In this article, we share the experiences and lessons learned in Canada and the United States in response to the pandemic.
"Begging the Question"-Does 
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 2020

Although the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) is unclear, infectious agents, including some parasitic roundworms (nematodes), have been proposed as possible risk factors or contributors. Here, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published observational studies to evaluate whether there is a possible association between infection with, or exposure to, one or more members of the genus
First-person body view modulates the neural substrates of episodic memory and autonoetic consciousness: A functional connectivity study.
NeuroImage, 2020

Episodic memory (EM) is classically conceived as a memory for events, localized in space and time, and characterized by autonoetic consciousness (ANC) allowing to mentally travel back in time and subjectively relive an event. Building on recent evidence that the first-person visual co-perception of one's own body during encoding impacts EM, we used a scene recognition task in immersive virtual reality (VR) and measured how first-person body view would modulate peri-encoding resting-state fMRI, EM performance, and ANC. Specifically, we investigated the impact of body view on post-encoding functional connectivity in an a priori network of regions related either to EM or multisensory bodily processing and used these regions in a seed-to-whole brain analysis. Post-encoding connectivity between right hippocampus (rHC) and right parahippocampus (rPHC) was enhanced when participants encoded scenes while seeing their body. Moreover, the strength of connectivity between the rHC, rPHC and the neocortex displayed two main patterns with respect to body view. The connectivity with a sensorimotor fronto-parietal network, comprising primary somatosensory and primary motor cortices, correlated with ANC after - but not before - encoding, depending on body view. The opposite change of connectivity was found between rHC, rPHC and the medial parietal cortex (from being correlated with ANC before encoding to an absence of correlation after encoding), but irrespective of body view. Linking immersive VR and fMRI for the study of EM and ANC, these findings suggest that seeing one's own body during encoding impacts the brain activity related to EM formation by modulating the connectivity between the right hippocampal formation and the neocortical regions involved in the processing of multisensory bodily signals and self-consciousness.
The antinociceptive mechanisms of melatonin: role of L-arginine/nitric oxide/cyclic GMP/KATP channel signaling pathway.
Behavioural pharmacology, 2020

Pain is one of the most common medical challenges, reducing life quality. Despite the progression in pain management, it has remained a clinical challenge, which raises the need for investigating novel antinociceptive drugs with correspondence signaling pathways. Besides, the precise antinociceptive mechanisms of melatonin are not revealed. Accordingly, owing to the critical role of L-arginine/nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic GMP (cGMP)/KATP in the antinociceptive responses of various analgesics, the role of this signaling pathway is evaluated in the antinociceptive effects of melatonin. Male NMRI mice were intraperitoneally pretreated with the injection of L-arginine (NO precursor, 100 mg/kg), N(gamma)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester [L-NAME, NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, 30 mg/kg], S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP, NO donor, 1 mg/kg), sildenafil (phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 0.5 mg/kg), and glibenclamide (KATP channel blocker, 10 mg/kg) alone and before the administration of the most effective dose of melatonin amongst the intraperitoneal doses of 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg. The formalin test (2%, 25 µL, intra-plantarly) was done following the melatonin administration, then the nociceptive responses of mice were evaluated during the early phase for 5 min and the late phase for 15 min. The results showed that 100 mg/kg dose of melatonin carried out the most antinociceptive effects. While the antinociceptive effect of melatonin was increased by L-arginine, SNAP, and sildenafil, it was significantly reduced by L-NAME and glibenclamide in both phases of the formalin test, with no relation to the sedative effects of melatonin evaluated by the inclined plane test. In conclusion, the antinociceptive effect of melatonin is mediated through the L-arginine/NO/cGMP/KATP pathway.
Intravenous Alcohol Administration Selectively Decreases Rate of Change in Elasticity of Demand in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder.
Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2020

Alcohol demand is a key behavioral economic concept that provides an index of alcohol's relative reinforcing value. Initial studies have reported that alcohol demand increases during alcohol administration and in response to alcohol cues. However, the extent to which these effects are observed explicitly in samples composed of individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and are operative in conjunction with each other has not been studied.
An explicitly designed paratope of amyloid-β prevents neuronal apoptosis 
Chemical science, 2020

Synthetic antibodies hold great promise in combating diseases, diagnosis, and a wide range of biomedical applications. However, designing a therapeutically amenable, synthetic antibody that can arrest the aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) remains challenging. Here, we report a flexible, hairpin-like synthetic paratope (
Isolated cilioretinal artery occlusion secondary to perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody vasculitis.
European journal of ophthalmology, 2020

Antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitides encompass a diverse spectrum of autoimmune diseases characterized by necrotizing small vessel vasculitis. Ocular manifestations may be the presenting findings of antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitides.
Comments on: "Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review".
Brain sciences, 2018

Dear Editor, Brunelin et al. [1] recently conducted a systematic review that evaluated the effect of applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).[...].
Reward motivation influences response bias on a recognition memory task.
Cognition, 2020

Reward-motivated memory has been studied extensively in psychology and neuroscience. Many recognition studies follow the same type of paradigm: stimuli are cued at encoding with high or low reward values which indicate the amount the stimulus is worth if successfully recognized on a subsequent memory test. Each incorrect endorsement of a lure at retrieval is penalized with an arbitrary value between the high and low reward value, resulting in a single false alarm rate. Studies employing this type of paradigm have reported higher hit rates for high value items compared to low value items, but generally hit rate is the only measure of memory that is reported as a function of reward value. It is currently not clear what aspects of the experimental design lead to these memory effects, and other measures, like discriminability and response bias, cannot be properly calculated when there is only a single false alarm rate, but we hypothesize that these are also susceptible to motivational manipulations. To test how reward anticipation might influence memory and response bias in this type of task, we created a novel paradigm that allowed us to calculate both by associating rewards with categories (indoor vs. outdoor scenes), thus calculating separate false alarm rate as well as hit rate at each level of reward. We report results of three experiments that varied rewards and penalties for correct and error responses for the category items. In two experiments, we replicated prior findings of higher hit rates for high compared to low reward items, but consistently across three experiments, when d' was calculated, we found no difference in memory discriminability as a function of reward. Further, Experiment 1 we found that response bias was more conservative for low reward items: participants were more likely to endorse a 'new' response to low compared to high reward items. This effect was significantly reduced in Experiment 2 and eliminated in Experiment 3 when the reward-penalty structure was manipulated to reduce bias. Our findings reveal that reward motivation can influence decisional biases thought to be independent of memory processes. The amount of the reward value for correct responses and the amount of the penalty for incorrect responses should be considered when designing experimental paradigms to study motivation-cognition interactions.
Four-year pain relief after coblation combined with active exercise for cervical discogenic pain: Case report.
Medicine, 2019

Coblation of intervertebral disc is an effective and safe minimally invasive technology for treating discogenic pain. The inactivation of neural ingrowth around annulus and tissue ablation and coagulation are currently considered to be the major causes for success of this treatment. However, it has been found by clinical researchers that its long-term clinical outcome is not optimistic. This report has given us favorable information that this situation can be improved with multimodal therapy.
Beyond reduction with the representation: The need for causality with full complexity to unravel mental health.
The Behavioral and brain sciences, 2019

In this commentary on Borsboom et al.'s target article, we argue that researchers should be aware of the historical development of models in neuroscience. Considering the importance of causality in anatomo-clinical approach and stressing the complexity of mental phenomenon, we provide new insight on reductionism and representation limitation.