rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Short-term antidepressant administration reduces default mode and task-positive network connectivity in healthy individuals during rest.
NeuroImage, 2014

Resting-state studies in depressed patients have revealed increased connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) and task-positive network (TPN). This has been associated with heightened rumination, which is the tendency to repetitively think about symptoms of distress. Here, we performed a pharmacological neuroimaging study in healthy volunteers to investigate whether short-term antidepressant administration could reduce DMN connectivity. We recorded resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans in twenty-three healthy volunteers after two week intake of the combined serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Duloxetine improved mood in part as a result of increased resilience to the mood-worsening effects of scanning and reduced DMN and TPN connectivity. Within the DMN, duloxetine reduced connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the lateral parietal cortex (LPC) and uncoupled the MPFC from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Within the TPN, duloxetine uncoupled the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) from the inferior occipital gyrus. These results show that two-week antidepressant administration reduces DMN and TPN connectivity in healthy volunteers, which may contribute to their antidepressant effects in depression.
Endocrine stress response in pregnancy and 12 weeks postpartum - Exploring risk factors for postpartum depression.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2021

Pregnancy and the postpartum period are characterized by physiological alterations in cortisol and cortisone levels. In the present study, we sought to explore the risk factors for postpartum depression (PPD) and self-remitting postpartum adjustment disorder (AD) and whether cortisol/cortisone metabolism might have any bearing on them. Hair samples from 196 participants (mean age = 31.44, SD = 4.71) were collected at two time points (1-6 days after childbirth and 12 weeks postpartum) to determine the cumulative hair cortisol (HCC) and hair cortisone (HCNC) exposure in the third trimester and during the 12 weeks postpartum. Compared to the non-depressed group (ND, n = 141), more women in the AD (n = 28) and PPD (n = 27) groups had a personal or family history of depression and more stressful life events. Compared to ND and PPD, more women in the AD group had birth-related complications with their children being more often transferred to a pediatric ward. The factors associated with PPD were found to include being unmarried and having a lower household income, less support at home, more subjectively perceived stress after childbirth and lower maternal sensitivity. The natural decrease in HCC concentration from the third trimester to 12 weeks postpartum was significant only in the ND and AD groups, but not in PPD. In summary, prolonged subjectively perceived postpartum stress associated with living situations may contribute to the development of PPD while birth- and child-related complications are likely to trigger brief episodes of AD. Only in ND and AD, the pregnancy-related physiological changes in glucocorticoid levels return to the pre-pregnancy baseline after 12 weeks. Our observations point to the difference between the ND and PPD groups in glucocorticoid metabolism-related postpartum adjustment, which may be a factor in the development of PPD.
TAK1 inhibition in mouse astrocyte cultures ameliorates cytokine-induced chemokine production and neutrophil migration.
Journal of neurochemistry, 2020

Systemic inflammation can exacerbate symptoms of many neurological diseases. This effect may be facilitated by glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that alter their transcriptional responses and up-regulate cytokine and chemokine expression which can, in turn trigger immune surveillance. In this study, we sought to determine the effects of pro-inflammatory cytokine stimulation (TNF, IL-1α, IL-1β) on astrocyte and microglia chemokine secretion. Primary cultures of astrocytes or microglia were stimulated with the recombinant cytokines and the levels of secreted chemokines were semi-quantitatively determined using a chemokine-specific proteome profiler array and densitometry. Pharmacological inhibitors were used to determine the effects of p38 MAPK, JNK, ERK1/2, NFkB, and transforming growth factor beta-associated kinase 1 (TAK1) in controlling chemokine production. Finally, neutrophil migration assays were performed to demonstrate functionality. Our data show that stimulated astrocytes secrete at least eight chemokines as a response to cytokine stimulation. These include those involved in neutrophil chemo-attraction and proved capable of promoting neutrophil migration in vitro. In contrast, microglia up-regulated few chemokines in response to cytokine stimulation and did not promote neutrophil migration. However, microglia readily secreted chemokines following stimulation with the toll-like receptor agonists. Finally, we show that both the production of chemokines and neutrophil migration resulting from cytokine stimulation of astrocytes was dependent on TAK1 signaling. Collectively, this study adds to the understanding of how astrocytes and microglia respond to stimuli and their role in promoting neutrophil migration to the CNS during inflammatory conditions.
More dampened monocytic Toll-like receptor 4 response to lipopolysaccharide and its association with cognitive function in Chinese Han first-episode patients with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia research, 2019

Accumulating evidence suggests alterations of the innate immune system are related to schizophrenia, although the precise mechanism remains to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to detect the monocytic toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression under basal and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated conditions in first-episode (FE) Han Chinese patients with schizophrenia, as well as its association with cognitive function.
A Comparison of Suicide Risk Scales in Predicting Repeat Suicide Attempt and Suicide: A Clinical Cohort Study.
The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2019

To compare the predictive accuracy of the Suicide Intent Scale (SIS), the Suicide Assessment Scale (SUAS), the Karolinska Interpersonal Violence Scale (KIVS), and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) for suicide attempts and suicides within 3 and 12 months of an episode of self-harm.
Serum erythropoietin and outcome after ischaemic stroke: a prospective study.
BMJ open, 2016

Erythropoietin (EPO), which is inversely associated with blood haemoglobin (Hb), exerts neuroprotective effects in experimental ischaemic stroke (IS). However, clinical treatment trials have so far been negative. Here, in patients with IS, we analysed whether serum EPO is associated with (1) initial stroke severity, (2) recovery and (3) functional outcome.
Normative data of the Magical Ideation Scale from childhood to adulthood in an Italian cohort.
Comprehensive psychiatry, 2016

The assessment of schizotypy allows to identify people at risk to develop psychosis. For this purpose, psychometric tools have been developed, such as the Magical Ideation Scale (MIS). This scale investigates attenuated forms of thought transmission experiences, thought withdrawal and aberrant beliefs, related to positive schizotypy. This study aims at providing an Italian version of the MIS and its normative data in the general population from childhood to adulthood, being the first study evaluating subjects under 17year-old. The Italian MIS version was translated by three independent operators and administered to 1378 non-clinical participants, stratified into four age groups (i.e., 8-13, 14-17, 18-24 and 25-34). The unidimensionality of the scale was supported, and its internal consistency was satisfactory (i.e., ordinal Cronbach's αs ranging from 0.86 to 0.90 in different age groups), as well as test-retest reliability (i.e., 1-month ICC of 0.82 in a retested sub-sample). Normative data for the age groups were provided. Specific gender and age-related differences in MIS score were found, i.e. females scored higher than males in the 25-34 age group, which in general, as a group, scored lower than all the other age groups. This study provided evidence of reliability for the Italian version of the MIS in childhood and adolescence, for the first time, as well as in adulthood, showing specific gender and age effects in the early adult cohort.
An epilepsy-associated mutation in the nuclear import receptor KPNA7 reduces nuclear localization signal binding.
Scientific reports, 2020

KPNA7 is a member of the Importin-α family of nuclear import receptors. KPNA7 forms a complex with Importin-β and facilitates the translocation of signal-containing proteins from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Exome sequencing of siblings with severe neurodevelopmental defects and clinical features of epilepsy identified two amino acid-altering mutations in KPNA7. Here, we show that the E344Q substitution reduces KPNA7 binding to nuclear localization signals, and that this limits KPNA7 nuclear import activity. The P339A substitution, by contrast, has little effect on KPNA7 binding to nuclear localization signals. Given the neuronal phenotype described in the two patients, we used SILAC labeling, affinity enrichment, and mass spectrometry to identify KPNA7-interacting proteins in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons. We identified heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins hnRNP R and hnRNP U as KPNA7-interacting proteins. The E344Q substitution reduced binding and KPNA7-mediated import of these cargoes. The c.1030G > C allele which generates E344Q is within a predicted CTCF binding site, and we found that it reduces CTCF binding by approximately 40-fold. Our data support a role for altered neuronal expression and activity of KPNA7 in a rare type of pediatric epilepsy.
Multivesicular release differentiates the reliability of synaptic transmission between the visual cortex and the somatosensory cortex.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2010

Neurons in layer 4 (L4) of the cortex play an important role in transferring signals from thalamus to other layers of the cortex. Understanding the fundamental properties of synaptic transmission between L4 neurons helps us gain a clear picture of how the neuronal network in L4 cooperates to process sensory information. In the present study, we have determined the underlying parameters that govern synaptic strength, such as quantal size, size of readily releasable vesicle pool, and release probability (Pr) of excitatory synaptic connections within L4 of the visual cortex (V1) and the somatosensory cortex (S1) in mice. Although only a single vesicle is released per release site under physiological conditions at V1 synapses, multivesicular release (MVR) is observed at S1 synapses. In addition, we observed a saturation of postsynaptic receptors at S1 synapses. Other synaptic properties are similar in both cortices. Dynamic clamp experiments suggest that higher Pr and MVR at S1 synapses lower the requirement of the number of synaptic inputs to generate postsynaptic action potentials. In addition, the slower decay of synaptic current and the intrinsic membrane properties of the postsynaptic neuron also contribute to the reliable transmission between S1 neurons.
Is there a recognition memory deficit in Parkinson's disease? Evidence from estimates of recollection and familiarity.
The International journal of neuroscience, 2010

There is conflicting evidence whether Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with impaired recognition memory and which of its underlying processes, namely recollection and familiarity, is more affected by the disease. The present study explored the contribution of recollection and familiarity to verbal recognition memory performance in 14 nondemented PD patients and a healthy control group with two different methods: (i) the word-frequency mirror effect, and (ii) Remember/Know judgments. Overall, recognition memory of patients was intact. The word-frequency mirror effect was observed both in patients and controls: Hit rates were higher and false alarm rates were lower for low-frequency compared to high-frequency words. However, Remember/Know judgments indicated normal recollection, but impaired familiarity. Our findings suggest that mild to moderate PD patients are selectively impaired at familiarity whereas recollection and overall recognition memory are intact.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mortality rates among ethnic groups in a predominant admixed population in Latin America: a population-based study in Ecuador.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration, 2019

Current evidence suggests heterogeneity of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among geographic areas and populations. Lower mortality rates have been reported in admixed populations compared to European origin populations. We aimed to describe and compare ALS mortality rates among ethnic groups using a population-based approach in a multiethnic country. Annual mortality cause registers were searched to determine ALS deaths from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses in Ecuador (INEC) from 1990 to 2016. Mid-year population was considered for each year. The time trend was assessed using a negative binomial regression. Rate ratio statistics were performed to compare the age and sex standardized rates based on the 2010 US population among ethnic groups. Overall, 570 ALS deaths were identified. ALS mortality showed an age-related profile with a peak between 55 and 70 years. After age-sex standardization on the 2010 US population, mortality rate was 0.33 (CI 0.30-0.36) per 100,000. The time trend showed an increase of ALS mortality (
Hemispheric lateralization of posterior alpha reduces distracter interference during face matching.
Brain research, 2014

Previous M/EEG studies on visuospatial attention have shown that attending to one hemifield, while ignoring the other, leads to a decrease in occipito-parietal alpha power contralateral to the target and a concurrent ipsilateral alpha increase. Here, we tested whether this alpha modulation facilitates the processing of attended faces in the presence of distracters. Face processing was tested in a match-to-sample task, in which participants matched a target face in a cued hemifield to a previously seen sample face. The target faces in the cued hemifield were presented together with a distracter face (intact or scrambled faces) in the other hemifield. The behavioral data indicated a larger impairment of matching performance when the distracter was another face, rather than a scrambled face. We hypothesized that enhanced alpha power contralateral to the distracter would enhance target matching by decreasing the interference from similar distracters. We found this effect, but only in the left hemisphere. Moreover, we found that with targets contralateral from the left hemisphere, a down-regulation of relative alpha power in the left hemisphere also correlated with increased target matching performance. Hence, the left hemisphere could protect the target from distracter interference either by decreasing alpha power in response to a contralateral target, or increasing alpha power to a contralateral distracter. Remarkably, alpha power in the right hemisphere was not predictive for matching performance. These findings support the hypothesis that alpha modulations contribute to the suppression of task-irrelevant information, but suggest a dominant role herein of the left hemisphere during face matching in the presence of distracters.
Stability and dynamics of polycomb target sites in Drosophila development.
PLoS genetics, 2008

Polycomb-group (PcG) and Trithorax-group proteins together form a maintenance machinery that is responsible for stable heritable states of gene activity. While the best-studied target genes are the Hox genes of the Antennapedia and Bithorax complexes, a large number of key developmental genes are also Polycomb (Pc) targets, indicating a widespread role for this maintenance machinery in cell fate determination. We have studied the linkage between the binding of PcG proteins and the developmental regulation of gene expression using whole-genome mapping to identify sites bound by the PcG proteins, Pc and Pleiohomeotic (Pho), in the Drosophila embryo and in a more restricted tissue, the imaginal discs of the third thoracic segment. Our data provide support for the idea that Pho is a general component of the maintenance machinery, since the majority of Pc targets are also associated with Pho binding. We find, in general, considerable developmental stability of Pc and Pho binding at target genes and observe that Pc/Pho binding can be associated with both expressed and inactive genes. In particular, at the Hox complexes, both active and inactive genes have significant Pc and Pho binding. However, in comparison to inactive genes, the active Hox genes show reduced and altered binding profiles. During development, Pc target genes are not simply constantly associated with Pc/Pho binding, and we identify sets of genes with clear differential binding between embryo and imaginal disc. Using existing datasets, we show that for specific fate-determining genes of the haemocyte lineage, the active state is characterised by lack of Pc binding. Overall, our analysis suggests a dynamic relationship between Pc/Pho binding and gene transcription. Pc/Pho binding does not preclude transcription, but levels of Pc/Pho binding change during development, and loss of Pc/Pho binding can be associated with both stable gene activity and inactivity.
Early matrix metalloproteinase-9 concentration in the first 48 h after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage predicts delayed cerebral ischaemia: An observational study.
European journal of anaesthesiology, 2016

Delayed cerebral ischaemia from vasospasm is an important cause of complications and death after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. There is currently no established biomarker for identifying patients at high risk of delayed cerebral ischaemia.
Mutations in ANKLE2, a ZIKA Virus Target, Disrupt an Asymmetric Cell Division Pathway in Drosophila Neuroblasts to Cause Microcephaly.
Developmental cell, 2019

The apical Par complex, which contains atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), Bazooka (Par-3), and Par-6, is required for establishing polarity during asymmetric division of neuroblasts in Drosophila, and its activity depends on L(2)gl. We show that loss of Ankle2, a protein associated with microcephaly in humans and known to interact with Zika protein NS4A, reduces brain volume in flies and impacts the function of the Par complex. Reducing Ankle2 levels disrupts endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and nuclear envelope morphology, releasing the kinase Ballchen-VRK1 into the cytosol. These defects are associated with reduced phosphorylation of aPKC, disruption of Par-complex localization, and spindle alignment defects. Importantly, removal of one copy of ballchen or l(2)gl suppresses Ankle2 mutant phenotypes and restores viability and brain size. Human mutational studies implicate the above-mentioned genes in microcephaly and motor neuron disease. We suggest that NS4A, ANKLE2, VRK1, and LLGL1 define a pathway impinging on asymmetric determinants of neural stem cell division.
Probe dependency in the determination of ligand binding kinetics at a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor.
Scientific reports, 2019

Drug-target binding kinetics are suggested to be important parameters for the prediction of in vivo drug-efficacy. For G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the binding kinetics of ligands are typically determined using association binding experiments in competition with radiolabelled probes, followed by analysis with the widely used competitive binding kinetics theory developed by Motulsky and Mahan. Despite this, the influence of the radioligand binding kinetics on the kinetic parameters derived for the ligands tested is often overlooked. To address this, binding rate constants for a series of histamine H
The interaction of process and domain in prefrontal cortex during inductive reasoning.
Neuropsychologia, 2015

Inductive reasoning is an everyday process that allows us to make sense of the world by creating rules from a series of instances. Consistent with accounts of process-based fractionations of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) along the left-right axis, inductive reasoning has been reliably localized to left PFC. However, these results may be confounded by the task domain, which is typically verbal. Indeed, some studies show that right PFC activation is seen with spatial tasks. This study used fMRI to examine the effects of process and domain on the brain regions recruited during a novel pattern discovery task. Twenty healthy young adult participants were asked to discover the rule underlying the presentation of a series of letters in varied spatial locations. The rules were either verbal (pertaining to a single semantic category) or spatial (geometric figures). Bilateral ventrolateral PFC activations were seen for the spatial domain, while the verbal domain showed only left ventrolateral PFC. A conjunction analysis revealed that the two domains recruited a common region of left ventrolateral PFC. The data support a central role of left PFC in inductive reasoning. Importantly, they also suggest that both process and domain shape the localization of reasoning in the brain.
Novel, continuous visual motion induces c-fos expression in the avian optokinetic nuclei and optic tectum.
Neuroscience, 2009

We studied the stimulus characteristics necessary for the expression of c-fos protein in optokinetic system neurons using immunocytochemistry. Using whole-field visual motion as a stimulus, we found substantial c-fos expression in the optic tectum (TeO), the nucleus of the basal optic root (nBOR) and the pretectal nucleus lentiformis mesencephali (LM); in all cases immunostaining was seen only on the side contralateral to the eye viewing whole-field unidirectional motion; the side of the brain contralateral to the eye wearing a diffuser showed no staining. In the nBOR and the LM, different regions showed a remarkable specificity of c-fos expression depending on the direction of visual motion stimulation. Neurons were stained primarily in regions known from previous electrophysiological recordings to be maximally responsive to that direction of motion; little staining was seen after motion orthogonal to the preferred motion direction. Novel, continuous visual motion stimuli, lasting more than 30 min, was required for maximal c-fos expression, suggesting that brief periods of unidirectional optic flow, as would be experienced during normal life, do not stimulate the expression of c-fos. The largest number of neurons was labeled when birds raised from hatching with one eye covered by a diffuser were exposed to full-field visual motion immediately after the diffuser was switched from one eye to the other, so that only the previously naive eye was visually stimulated. We conclude that the expression of c-fos in the optokinetic nuclei is linked to near peak firing rates on the one hand, and the novelty and duration of the visual signals, on the other, supporting the assumption that this expression is mainly related to stimulus contexts leading to neuronal plastic changes.
Docosahexaenoic acid complexed to human albumin in experimental stroke: neuroprotective efficacy with a wide therapeutic window.
Experimental & translational stroke medicine, 2012

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) complexed to human serum albumin (Alb) is neuroprotective after experimental stroke. Here we tested using lower concentrations of albumin as part of the complex to achieve neuroprotection. We found that lower Alb concentrations extend the therapeutic window of protection beyond 5 h after stroke onset.