rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
SFRR-E Young Investigator AwardeeαB-crystallin modulation after acute exercise in skeletal muscle: the role of oxidative stress and fiber composition.
Free radical biology & medicine, 2014

αB-crystallin (CRYAB) is a member of the small heat shock proteins implicated in various biological functions, particularly in skeletal muscle where it is involved in adaptive remodelling processes, activation of gene transcription and stabilization of nascent proteins.In this research we analysed αB-crystallin' response in mouse gastrocnemius at 15' and 30' of recovery from an acute aerobic exercise (1hour), correlating its modulation with oxidative stress level and fiber composition, red (RG) and white gastrocnemius (WG).We found for the first time that the acute exercise lead to a short term, specific increase of phospho-αB-crystallin level (pCRYAB) in the RG, while no changes were observed in the WG. Moreover, this induction was correlated with increased level of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE),suggesting a putative role for oxidative stress in driving CRYAB, but not hsp70 or hsp27, activity during exercise. Any increased level of αB-crystallin' protein was observed neither in RG nor in WG. These data were also supported by our in vitro experiments showing a significant enhancement of pCRYAB in H2O2-treated C2C12 myotubes.Although our results seem suggest a fiber-dependent role of CRYAB, further experiments are in progress to clarify both the molecular pathway driving CRYAB phosphorylation and its fiber-specific induction after exercise -induced oxidative stress.This work was supported by MIUR - PRIN 2012 grant.
Discrete Patterns of Cross-Hemispheric Functional Connectivity Underlie Impairments of Spatial Cognition after Stroke.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2020

Despite intense research, the neural correlates of stroke-induced deficits of spatial cognition remain controversial. For example, several cortical regions and white-matter tracts have been designated as possible anatomic predictors of spatial neglect. However, many studies focused on local anatomy, an approach that does not harmonize with the notion that brain-behavior relationships are flexible and may involve interactions among distant regions. We studied in humans of either sex resting-state fMRI connectivity associated with performance in line bisection, reading and visual search, tasks commonly used for he clinical diagnosis of neglect. We defined left and right frontal, parietal, and temporal areas as seeds (or regions of interest, ROIs), and measured whole-brain seed-based functional connectivity (FC) and ROI-to-ROI connectivity in subacute right-hemisphere stroke patients. Performance on the line bisection task was associated with decreased FC between the right fusiform gyrus and left superior occipital cortex. Complementary increases and decreases of connectivity between both temporal and occipital lobes predicted reading errors. In addition, visual search deficits were associated with modifications of FC between left and right inferior parietal lobes and right insular cortex. These distinct connectivity patterns were substantiated by analyses of FC between left- and right-hemispheric ROIs, which revealed that decreased interhemispheric and right intrahemispheric FC was associated with higher levels of impairment. Together, these findings indicate that intrahemispheric and interhemispheric cooperation between brain regions lying outside the damaged area contributes to spatial deficits in a way that depends on the different cognitive components recruited during reading, spatial judgments, and visual exploration.
Statistical analysis and optimality of neural systems.
Neuron, 2021

Normative theories and statistical inference provide complementary approaches for the study of biological systems. A normative theory postulates that organisms have adapted to efficiently solve essential tasks and proceeds to mathematically work out testable consequences of such optimality; parameters that maximize the hypothesized organismal function can be derived ab initio, without reference to experimental data. In contrast, statistical inference focuses on the efficient utilization of data to learn model parameters, without reference to any a priori notion of biological function. Traditionally, these two approaches were developed independently and applied separately. Here, we unify them in a coherent Bayesian framework that embeds a normative theory into a family of maximum-entropy "optimization priors." This family defines a smooth interpolation between a data-rich inference regime and a data-limited prediction regime. Using three neuroscience datasets, we demonstrate that our framework allows one to address fundamental challenges relating to inference in high-dimensional, biological problems.
Insights into visual working memory precision at the feature- and object-level from a hemispheric encoding manipulation.
Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006), 2020

Mnemonic precision is an important aspect of visual working memory (WM). Here, we probed mechanisms that affect precision for spatial (size) and non-spatial (colour) features of an object, and whether these features are encoded and/or stored separately in WM. We probed precision at the
Occupational therapy consensus recommendations for functional neurological disorder.
Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, 2020

People with functional neurological disorder (FND) are commonly seen by occupational therapists; however, there are limited descriptions in the literature about the type of interventions that are likely to be helpful. This document aims to address this issue by providing consensus recommendations for occupational therapy assessment and intervention.
Brain structure correlates of expected social threat and reward.
Scientific reports, 2020

Prospection (mentally simulating future events) generates emotionally-charged mental images that guide social decision-making. Positive and negative social expectancies-imagining new social interactions to be rewarding versus threatening-are core components of social approach and avoidance motivation, respectively. Interindividual differences in such positive and negative future-related cognitions may be underpinned by distinct neuroanatomical substrates. Here, we asked 100 healthy adults to vividly imagine themselves in a novel self-relevant event that was ambiguous with regards to possible social acceptance or rejection. During this task we measured participants' expectancies for social reward (anticipated feelings of social connection) or threat (anticipated feelings of rejection). On a separate day they underwent structural MRI; voxel-based morphometry was used to explore the relation between social reward and threat expectancies and regional grey matter volumes (rGMV). Increased rGMV in key default-network regions involved in prospection, socio-emotional cognition, and subjective valuation, including ventromedial prefrontal cortex, correlated with both higher social reward and lower social threat expectancies. In contrast, social threat expectancies uniquely correlated with rGMV of regions involved in social attention (posterior superior temporal sulcus, pSTS) and interoception (somatosensory cortex). These findings provide novel insight into the neurobiology of future-oriented cognitive-affective processes critical to adaptive social functioning.
Dual-Color Single-Cell Imaging of the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Reveals a Circadian Role in Network Synchrony.
Neuron, 2020

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) acts as a master pacemaker driving circadian behavior and physiology. Although the SCN is small, it is composed of many cell types, making it difficult to study the roles of particular cells. Here we develop bioluminescent circadian reporter mice that are Cre dependent, allowing the circadian properties of genetically defined populations of cells to be studied in real time. Using a Color-Switch PER2::LUCIFERASE reporter that switches from red PER2::LUCIFERASE to green PER2::LUCIFERASE upon Cre recombination, we assess circadian rhythms in two of the major classes of peptidergic neurons in the SCN: AVP (arginine vasopressin) and VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide). Surprisingly, we find that circadian function in AVP neurons, not VIP neurons, is essential for autonomous network synchrony of the SCN and stability of circadian rhythmicity.
Predicting Working Memory Capacity in Older Subjects Using Quantitative Electroencephalography.
Psychiatry investigation, 2018

We utilized a spectral and network analysis technique with an integrated support vector classification algorithm for the automated detection of cognitive capacity using resting state electroencephalogram (EEG) signals.
The moderating effects of pain catastrophizing on the relationship between illness perceptions and self-reported signs of central sensitization in patients with persistent pain.
International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptation, 2020

Two factors related to the continuation of persistent pain are pain catastrophizing and illness perceptions. Pain neuroscience education is known to positively influence both in patients with persistent pain. As the integration of pain neuroscience education in monodisciplinary physiotherapy treatments is effective, integration in transdisciplinary cognitive-behavioral treatments seems recommendable. When doing so, the moderating effect of pain catastrophizing and perceptions on treatment results have to be examined, as these provide valuable information under which conditions treatment works. A bottom-up retrospective observational study evaluated the changes in clinical outcomes, and relationships between clinical outcomes and cognitive and emotional factors in patients with persistent pain. Multiple regression analysis, PROCESS macro, explored the moderating effects of pain catastrophizing on the relationship between illness perceptions and self-reported symptoms of central sensitization. In total, 78 patients were included in the study. A correlation between pretreatment scores and change scores in illness perceptions and self-reported symptoms of central sensitization following treatment were found (resp. R-sq 0.407, F(10,99) = 0.638, P = 0.000; R-sq 0.361, F(5, 54) = 0.609, P = 0.000; and R-sq 0.314, F(4,55) = 0.560, P = 0.00), however, moderation of pain catastrophizing scores on these correlations was not found. Even though an association between changes in pain catastrophizing and illness perceptions in patients with persistent pain was found, the direction or strength between the changes in illness perceptions and changes in self-reported symptoms of central sensitization was not influenced by pretreatment scores of pain catastrophizing.
Genomic and drug target evaluation of 90 cardiovascular proteins in 30,931 individuals.
Nature metabolism, 2020

Circulating proteins are vital in human health and disease and are frequently used as biomarkers for clinical decision-making or as targets for pharmacological intervention. Here, we map and replicate protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) for 90 cardiovascular proteins in over 30,000 individuals, resulting in 451 pQTLs for 85 proteins. For each protein, we further perform pathway mapping to obtain trans-pQTL gene and regulatory designations. We substantiate these regulatory findings with orthogonal evidence for trans-pQTLs using mouse knockdown experiments (ABCA1 and TRIB1) and clinical trial results (chemokine receptors CCR2 and CCR5), with consistent regulation. Finally, we evaluate known drug targets, and suggest new target candidates or repositioning opportunities using Mendelian randomization. This identifies 11 proteins with causal evidence of involvement in human disease that have not previously been targeted, including EGF, IL-16, PAPPA, SPON1, F3, ADM, CASP-8, CHI3L1, CXCL16, GDF15 and MMP-12. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the utility of large-scale mapping of the genetics of the proteome and provide a resource for future precision studies of circulating proteins in human health.
Region-specific amyloid-β accumulation in the olfactory system influences olfactory sensory neuronal dysfunction in 5xFAD mice.
Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2021

Hyposmia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a typical early symptom according to numerous previous clinical studies. Although amyloid-β (Aβ), which is one of the toxic factors upregulated early in AD, has been identified in many studies, even in the peripheral areas of the olfactory system, the pathology involving olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) remains poorly understood.
Exploring dopaminergic transmission in gambling addiction: A systematic translational review.
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2020

Dopamine has a crucial and well-documented role in the development and maintenance of Gambling Disorder (GD). This systematic review adopts a translational approach aimed at providing a comprehensive synthesis of current clinical and preclinical knowledge on dopaminergic function in GD at a neurobiological level. To this end, we present and discuss converging dopaminergic alterations and phenotypes. Preclinical and clinical review protocols were registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42019124404, CRD42019124405). The literature search was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines using three databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus). We identified 67 preclinical studies using pharmacological and non-pharmacological manipulations of the gambling-like phenotype and 33 human studies investigating either genetic polymorphisms or functional brain imaging data. Dopamine transporter and D2, D3, D4 receptor alterations showed strongest translational concordance. Though no postsynaptic dopaminergic alterations were observed, several studies point at dysfunctions in presynaptic dopamine trafficking in GD, suggestive of hyperdopaminergic states. Developing meaningful translational models is essential to working towards the development of an integrated conceptual framework for GD and neurobiologically-based treatment interventions.
Dose-Dependent Acute Effects of Everolimus Administration on Immunological, Neuroendocrine and Psychological Parameters in Healthy Men.
Clinical and translational science, 2020

The rapamycin analogue everolimus (EVR) is a potent inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and clinically used to prevent allograft rejections as well as tumor growth. The pharmacokinetic and immunosuppressive efficacy of EVR have been extensively reported in patient populations and in vitro studies. However, dose-dependent ex vivo effects upon acute EVR administration in healthy volunteers are rare. Moreover, immunosuppressive drugs are associated with neuroendocrine changes and psychological disturbances. It is largely unknown so far whether and to what extend EVR affects neuroendocrine functions, mood, and anxiety in healthy individuals. Thus, in the present study, we analyzed the effects of three different clinically applied EVR doses (1.5, 2.25, and 3 mg) orally administered 4 times in a 12-hour cycle to healthy male volunteers on immunological, neuroendocrine, and psychological parameters. We observed that oral intake of medium (2.25 mg) and high doses (3 mg) of EVR efficiently suppressed T cell proliferation as well as IL-10 cytokine production in ex vivo mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell. Further, acute low (1.5 mg) and medium (2.25 mg) EVR administration increased state anxiety levels accompanied by significantly elevated noradrenaline (NA) concentrations. In contrast, high-dose EVR significantly reduced plasma and saliva cortisol as well as NA levels and perceived state anxiety. Hence, these data confirm the acute immunosuppressive effects of the mTOR inhibitor EVR and provide evidence for EVR-induced alterations in neuroendocrine parameters and behavior under physiological conditions in healthy volunteers.
Inadequate completion of advance care directives by individuals with dementia: national audit of health and aged care facilities.
BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2021

(i) Describe the prevalence and type of advance care directives (ACDs) and other advance care planning (ACP) documentation completed by persons with dementia, healthcare providers and others on behalf of a person with dementia; (ii) identify the personal and ACP programme characteristics associated with having ACP documentation in the health record; (iii) identify the personal and ACP programme characteristics associated with having a self-completed ACD.
Involvement of 5-HT1B/1D receptors in the inflammatory response and oxidative stress in intestinal ischemia/reperfusion in rats.
European journal of pharmacology, 2020

Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is caused by an abrupt cessation of blood flow to the small intestine. Reperfusion is the return of blood flow to the ischemic bowel. Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) leads to the formation of reactive oxygen species, local inflammatory response, and may lead to the patient's death. Pre-treatment of the intestinal may reduce the high mortality associated with AMI. 5-Hydroxytryptamine 1B (5-HT1B) and 5-HT1D receptors have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in different experimental studies. We aimed to investigate the potential involvement of these receptors in intestinal I/R injury. Firstly, we assessed the expression and localization of 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors in the enteric nervous system using an immunofluorescence-based method. Intestinal I/R in rats was induced by 30 min occlusion of superior mesenteric artery and reperfusion for 2 h. Rats were randomly divided in different control and I/R groups (n = 6) receiving either vehicle, sumatriptan (5-HT1B/1D receptors agonist; 0.1 mg/kg), GR127,935 (5-HT1B/1D receptors antagonist; 0.1 mg/kg) and combination of sumatriptan (0.1 mg/kg) + GR127,935 (0.1 mg/kg) before determination of biochemical and histological parameters. In the enteric nervous system, 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors were expressed 17% and 11.5%, respectively. Pre-treatment with sumatriptan decreased 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) level by 53%, and significantly decreased calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) levels, lipid pereoxidation, neutrophil infiltration, and level of pro-inflammatory markers in the serum. Histopathologic studies also showed a remarkable decrease in intestinal tissue injury. These findings suggest that sumatriptan may inhibit intestinal injury induced by I/R through modulating the inflammatory response by activation of 5-HT1B/1D receptors.
Learning of association between a context and multiple possible target locations in a contextual cueing paradigm.
Attention, perception & psychophysics, 2020

Searching for a target is faster in a repeated context compared to a new context, possibly because the learned contextual information guides visual attention to the target location (attentional guidance). Previous studies showed that switching the target location following learning, or having the target appear in one of multiple possible locations during learning, fails to produce search facilitation in repeated contexts. In this study, we re-examined whether the learning of an association between a distractor configuration context and a target is limited to one-to-one context-target associations. Visual search response times were facilitated even when a repeated context was associated with one of four possible target locations, provided the target locations were also shared by other repeated distractor contexts. These results suggest that contextual cueing may involve mechanisms other than attentional guidance by one-to-one context-target associations.
Onset of psychiatric signs and impaired neurocognitive domains in inherited metabolic disorders: A case series.
JIMD reports, 2021

Inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs) can present with psychiatric signs that vary widely from one disease to another. This picture is further complicated by the fact that these features occur at very different illness time points, which may further delay appropriate diagnosis and treatment. In this case series of 62 children and adolescents suffering from IMDs, we clustered psychiatric signs (on the basis of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders classification) as well as impaired cognitive domains (on the basis of the Research Domain Criteriamatrix) according to their mean age of onset (5.7 ± 4 years). We observed consistent patterns of occurrence across disorders. Externalizing symptoms, sleep problems, and cross-domain self-regulation deficits were found to precede the IMD diagnosis. Repetitive thoughts and behaviors as well as emotional dysregulation were found to occur around the disease onset. Finally, late-onset features included dissociative or eating disorders, together with impaired emotion knowledge. Clinicians should specifically look for the co-occurrence of age-specific atypical signs, such as treatment resistance or worsening with psychotropic medication in the earliest stages and symptom fluctuation, confusion, catatonia, or isolated visual hallucinations. We believe that the combined characterizations of psychiatric signs and impaired neurocognitive domains may enable the earliest detection of IMDs and the appropriate care of these particular manifestations.
Neural Sensitivity to Mutual Information in Intermediate-Complexity Face Features Changes during Childhood.
Brain sciences, 2019

One way in which face recognition develops during infancy and childhood is with regard to the visual information that contributes most to recognition judgments. Adult face recognition depends on critical features spanning a hierarchy of complexity, including low-level, intermediate, and high-level visual information. To date, the development of adult-like information biases for face recognition has focused on low-level features, which are computationally well-defined but low in complexity, and high-level features, which are high in complexity, but not defined precisely. To complement this existing literature, we examined the development of children's neural responses to intermediate-level face features characterized using mutual information. Specifically, we examined children's and adults' sensitivity to varying levels of category diagnosticity at the P100 and N170 components. We found that during middle childhood, sensitivity to mutual information shifts from early components to later ones, which may indicate a critical restructuring of face recognition mechanisms that takes place over several years. This approach provides a useful bridge between the study of low- and high-level visual features for face recognition and suggests many intriguing questions for further investigation.
Quantitative analysis of surface expression of membrane proteins using cold-adapted proteases.
Current protocols in protein science, 2013

This unit presents an improved method for quantitative analysis of surface expression of membrane proteins utilizing a cold-adapted trypsin. Preservation of the proteolytic activity of the enzyme at 0° to 4°C allows cleavage of surface-expressed membrane proteins at temperatures at which trafficking of the mammalian plasmalemmal proteins is blocked. This provides an important advantage over established trypsin-cleavage protocols since it can be applied to membrane proteins with a fast turnover rate of the membrane pool and a fast recycling rate. Compared to surface biotinylation, the method is less time consuming.
Association of microbiota-derived propionic acid and Alzheimer's disease; bioinformatics analysis.
Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders, 2020

Microbiota-derived metabolites could alter the brain tissue toward the neurodegeneration disease. This study aims to select the genes associated with Propionic acid (PPA) and compromise Alzheimer's disease (AD) to find the possible roles of PPA in AD pathogenesis.