rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Activation of microglia associated with lentiviral transduction: A semiautomated method of assessment.
Acta histochemica, 2019

Lentiviral transduction is a powerful tool and widely used in neuroscience research to manipulate gene expression of cells. However, the injection of lentiviral vectors in the brain is not totally benign, it potentially induces focal neuroinflammation. Upon inflammation, microglial cells get activated and can induce major changes in tissue environment, which may interfere with experimental results. In the current study, two weeks after the injection of control viral construction in the dentate gyrus (DG) of rats, an activation of microglia was detected. To access the activation status, we used a fast and accurate method of phenotype detection - measurement of fractal dimension (FD). Microglial morphology is a key indicator of neuroinflammation, therefore FD of microglial cells may serve as a reliable index of inflammation status in the brain. Here we present a detailed description of image processing procedure of images of individual microglial cells. The method allows to preserve the complex structure of microglial cells and their thin processes on the output image, which is important for accurate FD assessment.
Alzheimer's disease and the processing of uncertainty during choice task performance: Executive dysfunction within the Hick-Hyman law.
Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 2019

The Hick-Hyman law states that choice response time (RT) increases linearly with increasing information uncertainty. Neuroimaging studies suggest that the representation of uncertainty in support of response generation is mediated by the cognitive control network (CCN), which is disrupted in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, we predicted that patients with AD would be sensitive to increased uncertainty particularly under conditions that place demands on the internal representation of uncertainty, and that choice RT performance under these conditions would be associated with performance on tests of executive function. Cognitively normal older adults (CN) and patients with AD completed card-sorting tasks that separately manipulated either externally cued uncertainty (i.e., number of sorting piles with a fixed probability of each stimulus type) or more internally driven uncertainty (i.e., the probability of each stimulus type with a fixed number of sorting piles). Consistent with our predictions, AD patients were impaired relative to CN particularly on the internally driven uncertainty task, and RT in this task was associated with performance on neuropsychological measures of executive functioning but not episodic memory. We suggest that this pattern of findings is consistent with presumed disruptions to the CCN in AD and provides neuropsychological evidence in support of the role of the CCN in the representation of uncertainty.
CHM mutation spectrum and disease: An update at the time of human therapeutic trials.
Human mutation, 2021

Choroideremia is an X-linked inherited retinal disorder (IRD) characterized by the degeneration of retinal pigment epithelium, photoreceptors, choriocapillaris and choroid affecting males with variable phenotypes in female carriers. Unlike other IRD, characterized by a large clinical and genetic heterogeneity, choroideremia shows a specific phenotype with causative mutations in only one gene, CHM. Ongoing gene replacement trials raise further interests in this disorder. We describe here the clinical and genetic data from a French cohort of 45 families, 25 of which carry novel variants, in the context of 822 previously reported choroideremia families. Most of the variants represent loss-of-function mutations with eleven families having large (i.e. ≥6 kb) genomic deletions, 18 small insertions, deletions or insertion deletions, six showing nonsense variants, eight splice site variants and two missense variants likely to affect splicing. Similarly, 822 previously published families carry mostly loss-of-function variants. Recurrent variants are observed worldwide, some of which linked to a common ancestor, others arisen independently in specific CHM regions prone to mutations. Since all exons of CHM may harbor variants, Sanger sequencing combined with quantitative polymerase chain reaction or multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification experiments are efficient to achieve the molecular diagnosis in patients with typical choroideremia features.
Early Appearance and Spread of Fast Ripples in the Hippocampus in a Model of Cortical Traumatic Brain Injury.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2018

Fast ripples (FRs; activity of >250 Hz) have been considered as a biomarker of epileptic activity in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex; it is thought that they signal the focus of seizure generation. Similar high-frequency network activity has been produced
Morphometric Comparison of the Pterional Trans-Sylvian and the Pretemporal Trans-Clinoidal Approaches to the Posterior Communicating Artery.
Operative neurosurgery (Hagerstown, Md.), 2020

Posterior communicating (Pcom) aneurysms in the modern era have tended toward increased complexity and technical difficulties. The pretemporal approach is a valuable extension to the pterional approach for basilar apex aneurysms, but its advantages for Pcom aneurysms have not been previously elucidated.
Vascular risk factors, white matter lesions and cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: the PACOS longitudinal study.
Journal of neurology, 2021

Vascular risk factors (VRFs) may be associated with cognitive decline in early Parkinson's disease (PD) but results are inconclusive. The identification of modifiable risk factors is relevant for prevention and treatment.
The early postpartum period - Differences between women with and without a history of depression.
Journal of psychiatric research, 2021

Depression is a highly recurrent disorder. When in remission, it affords an important opportunity to understand the state-independent neurobiological alterations, as well as the socio-demographic characteristics, that likely contribute to the recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD). The present study examined 110 euthymic women in their early postpartum period. A comparison was made between participants with (n = 20) and without (n = 90) a history of MDD by means of a multimodal approach including an fMRI experiment, assessment of hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and a clinical anamnestic interview. Women with a personal history of MDD were found to have decreased resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the lateral parietal cortex (LPC) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and their Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores were significantly higher shortly after childbirth. More often than not, these women also had a family history of MDD. While women with no history of depression showed a negative association between hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and gray matter volume (GMV) in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), the opposite trend was seen in women with a history of depression. This implies that women with remitted depression show distinctive neural phenotypes with subclinical residual symptoms, which likely predispose them to later depressive episodes.
Brain transcriptomics of nonhuman primates: A review.
Neuroscience letters, 2021

The brain is one of the most important and intricate organs in our bodies. Interpreting brain function and illustrating the changes and molecular mechanisms during physiological or pathological processes are essential but sometimes difficult to achieve. In addition to histology, ethology and pharmacology, the development of transcriptomics alleviates this condition by enabling high-throughput observation of the brain at various levels of anatomical specificity. Moreover, because human brain samples are scarce, the brains of nonhuman primates are important alternative models. Here in this review, we summarize the applications of transcriptomics in nonhuman primate brain studies, including investigations of brain development, aging, toxic effects and diseases. Overall, as a powerful tool with developmental potential, transcriptomics has been widely utilized in neuroscience.
Comparing Diagnostic Accuracy of Direct Questioning Versus Schematic Evaluation of Chronic Pain Localization.
Acta clinica Croatica, 2017

None of the previous studies localized pain in comparison with graphic scheme. Our aim was to investigate the validity of direct questioning about the main pain localization in comparison with schematic evaluation. In this cross-sectional study, 331 patients, mean age 49.4±10.72 years, localized their main pain site anatomically with manikin and by direct questioning. Two methods were employed to localize pain: direct questioning and schematic evaluation (manikin). Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR) and odds ratio (OR) were used to compare these two methods. Study patients answered in both methods. The sensitivity and PPV were mostly in a weak range, while accuracy, specificity and NPV were mostly in good range. Kappa index was in the marginal reproducibility range. Pain in the left part of the body had a higher OR (OR=9). PLR for pain in the right part of the body was 28.03. NLR for all questions was located in the small and rarely important change probability group. Negative answer in direct questioning was more reliable than a positive one. Pain localization in the left side of the body was more reliable.
The polyglutamine protein ataxin-3 enables normal growth under heat shock conditions in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris.
Scientific reports, 2017

The protein ataxin-3 carries a polyglutamine stretch close to the C-terminus that triggers a neurodegenerative disease in humans when its length exceeds a critical threshold. A role as a transcriptional regulator but also as a ubiquitin hydrolase has been proposed for this protein. Here, we report that, when expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris, full-length ataxin-3 enabled almost normal growth at 37 °C, well above the physiological optimum of 30 °C. The N-terminal Josephin domain (JD) was also effective but significantly less, whereas catalytically inactive JD was completely ineffective. Based on MudPIT proteomic analysis, we observed that the strain expressing full-length, functional ataxin-3 displayed persistent upregulation of enzymes involved in mitochondrial energy metabolism during growth at 37 °C compared with the strain transformed with the empty vector. Concurrently, in the transformed strain intracellular ATP levels at 37 °C were even higher than normal ones at 30 °C. Elevated ATP was also paralleled by upregulation of enzymes involved in both protein biosynthesis and biosynthetic pathways, as well as of several stress-induced proteins. A similar pattern was observed when comparing a strain expressing JD with another expressing its catalytically inactive counterpart. We suggest that such effects mostly result from mechanisms of transcriptional regulation.
The neural bases of argumentative reasoning.
Brain and language, 2020

Most reasoning tasks used in behavioral and neuroimaging studies are abstract, triggering slow, effortful processes. By contrast, most of everyday life reasoning is fast and effortless, as when we exchange arguments in conversation. Recent behavioral studies have shown that reasoning tasks with the same underlying logic can be solved much more easily if they are embedded in an argumentative context. In the present article, we study the neural bases of this type of everyday, argumentative reasoning. Such reasoning is both a social and a metarepresentational process, suggesting it should share some mechanisms, and thus some neural bases, with other social, metarepresentational process such as pragmatics, metacognition, or theory of mind. To isolate the neural bases of argumentative reasoning, we measured fMRI activity of participants who read the same statement presented either as the conclusion of an argument, or as an assertion. We found that conclusions of arguments, compared to assertions, were associated with greater activity in a region of the medial prefrontal cortex that was identified in quantitative meta-analyses of studies on theory of mind. This study shows that it is possible to use more ecologically valid tasks to study the neural bases of reasoning, and that using such tasks might point to different neural bases than those observed with the more abstract and artificial tasks typically used in the neuroscience of reasoning. Specifically, we speculate that reasoning in an argumentative context might rely on mechanisms supporting metarepresentational processes in the medial prefrontal cortex.
The molecular tweezer CLR01 improves behavioral deficits and reduces tau pathology in P301S-tau transgenic mice.
Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2021

Molecular tweezers (MTs) are broad-spectrum inhibitors of abnormal protein aggregation. A lead MT, called CLR01, has been demonstrated to inhibit the aggregation and toxicity of multiple amyloidogenic proteins in vitro and in vivo. Previously, we evaluated the effect of CLR01 in the 3 × Tg mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, which overexpresses mutant human presenilin 1, amyloid β-protein precursor, and tau and found that subcutaneous administration of the compound for 1 month led to a robust reduction of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and microgliosis. CLR01 also has been demonstrated to inhibit tau aggregation in vitro and tau seeding in cell culture, yet because in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in the 3 × Tg model, tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation are thought to be downstream of Aβ insults, the study in this model left open the question whether CLR01 affected tau in vivo directly or indirectly.
Consensus statements on the clinical uses of pregabalin for Hong Kong.
Asia-Pacific psychiatry : official journal of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists, 2020

To facilitate the understanding of pregabalin and optimize its clinical usage in Hong Kong, an expert panel (11 psychiatrists, one family physician and one anesthesiologist) experienced in treating anxiety and somatic symptoms was invited to establish a set of consensus statements based on several discussion areas. A non-systematic literature search for relevant articles was conducted. The panelists addressed the discussion areas by sharing their clinical experience and available literature in a couple of meetings. At the last meeting, consensus statements derived from the proceedings were discussed and finalized. A total of 11 statements were ultimately accepted by panel voting based on their practicability of recommendation in Hong Kong. These statements are aimed to act as a practical reference for local clinicians when they consider prescribing pregabalin in different clinical situations.
Science on the go.
Nature neuroscience, 2010

Mobile devices are emerging as a viable way to maximize time to read and search our ever-expanding body of scientific information. We encourage our readers to download and use our new nature.com app and to provide us with feedback.
Race, science and a novel: an interdisciplinary dialogue.
Developing world bioethics, 2008

In the novel Racists by Kunal Basu (2006), two competing scientists initiate an experiment that they believe will prove which race is superior. The research subjects, one white and one black infant, are sequestered on an isolated island in the care of a mute nurse. The contest must be waged in a 'natural laboratory' with no artificial interventions and with the prospect that one will die at the hands of the other. The politics of empire, the slave trade and the advent of a new scientific way of viewing life, Darwinism, set the stage for the fictional experiment, but the ramifications of such thinking extend into the present. Coming from the disciplines of nursing, philosophy and science, we discuss how a novel can illuminate the moral dimensions of science and healthcare. The critical distance afforded by the novel provides a rich terrain for the examination of issues such as race, care and the purity of science. Despite the recent dominance of social explanations of race, science requires the examination of the differences between human beings at the biological level. The view that biology is destiny is a powerful one with dangerous consequences, especially since the belief that certain human beings' destinies are far worthier than others is a corollary of such a view. In this paper, we present the cross-disciplinary conversation, which has been facilitated by this novel. We hope this will inform ethics educators of the rich potential of using fiction as a pedagogical tool.
Impact of ADCYAP1R1 genotype on longitudinal fear conditioning in children: interaction with trauma and sex.
Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2020

Dysregulated fear conditioned responses have been associated with PTSD in adults, with increased fear-potentiated startle (FPS) serving as a potential intermediate phenotype for PTSD risk. This phenotype has also been associated with stress-related ADCYAP1R1 gene variants in adult women. However, FPS and genotype have not yet been examined during development. The aim of this study was to examine developmental changes in fear conditioning, and to see whether these changes were impacted by genotype and trauma. Differential fear conditioning using FPS was tested in n = 63 children ages 8-13 at two visits (V1, V2) 1 year apart. Startle response was measured using electromyograph recordings of the eyeblink muscle. The rs2267735 SNP of the ADCYAP1R1 gene was extracted from genome-wide (GWAS) analyses. Trauma exposure was assessed using the Violence Exposure Scale-Revised (VEX-R). We found significant Visit by Genotype interactions, with CC genotype increasing FPS from V1 to V2. At V2 there was a Genotype by Violence interaction, with higher FPS in the CC vs G allele groups among those with higher violence exposure (F = 17.46, p = 0.0002). Females with the CC genotype had higher FPS compared to G allele females (F = 12.09, p = 0.002); there were no effects of genotype in males. This study showed Gene × Environment × Development and Gene × Sex effects of ADCYAP1R1 in a high-risk pediatric population. Those with the CC genotype and high levels of violence exposure, as well as females with the CC genotype, showed the greatest conditioned fear responses in adolescence.
Assessing the neuroanatomy knowledge and spatial ability of radiotherapy technologist undergraduates using an interactive volumetric simulation tool-the RadioLOG project.
European radiology, 2021

To assess the use of a volumetric image display simulation tool (VDST) for the evaluation of applied radiological neuroanatomy knowledge and spatial understanding of radiotherapy technologist (RTT) undergraduates.
Retraction Note: Losing control: Mostly incongruent lists postpone, but do not eliminate, the Stroop effect.
Attention, perception & psychophysics, 2018

This article has been retracted at the request of all authors. In Experiments 3 and 4 an honest error in the experimental script pointed to the wrong stimulus file on 6.25% of trials, resulting in inaccurate output for each participant.
Signal quality and patient experience with wearable devices for epilepsy management.
Epilepsia, 2020

Noninvasive wearable devices have great potential to aid the management of epilepsy, but these devices must have robust signal quality, and patients must be willing to wear them for long periods of time. Automated machine learning classification of wearable biosensor signals requires quantitative measures of signal quality to automatically reject poor-quality or corrupt data segments. In this study, commercially available wearable sensors were placed on patients with epilepsy undergoing in-hospital or in-home electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring, and healthy volunteers. Empatica E4 and Biovotion Everion were used to record accelerometry (ACC), photoplethysmography (PPG), and electrodermal activity (EDA). Byteflies Sensor Dots were used to record ACC and PPG, the Activinsights GENEActiv watch to record ACC, and Epitel Epilog to record EEG data. PPG and EDA signals were recorded for multiple days, then epochs of high-quality, marginal-quality, or poor-quality data were visually identified by reviewers, and reviewer annotations were compared to automated signal quality measures. For ACC, the ratio of spectral power from 0.8 to 5 Hz to broadband power was used to separate good-quality signals from noise. For EDA, the rate of amplitude change and prevalence of sharp peaks significantly differentiated between good-quality data and noise. Spectral entropy was used to assess PPG and showed significant differences between good-, marginal-, and poor-quality signals. EEG data were evaluated using methods to identify a spectral noise cutoff frequency. Patients were asked to rate the usability and comfort of each device in several categories. Patients showed a significant preference for the wrist-worn devices, and the Empatica E4 device was preferred most often. Current wearable devices can provide high-quality data and are acceptable for routine use, but continued development is needed to improve data quality, consistency, and management, as well as acceptability to patients.
Morphometric and computational assessments to evaluate neuron survival and maturation within compartmentalized microfluidic devices: The influence of design variation on diffusion-driven nutrient transport.
Neuroscience letters, 2019

Burgeoning use of segregated microfluidic platforms that parse somas and neurites into discrete compartments is fueling unique examinations of neuronal structure and physiology in a manner impossible to achieve with non-compartmentalized systems. However, even though this line of axon-soma polarizing microfluidic devices stems from the same general design of a Campenot chamber set-up, slight deviations in device geometry appear to induce vastly different nutrient transport profiles that influence neuron survival and maturation. Here we examine the uptake of nerve growth factor (NGF) by a pheochromocytoma PC12 cell line cultured using two Campenot-like device designs, a "Standard" layout, representative of a commercial device, and a custom "Notch" layout, predicted to encourage more efficient nutrient transfer that gives rise to sustained neuron viability and extensive neurite elaboration. Exploiting in vitro culture schemes coupled with computational analyses, we identify the influence of device design geometry on the interplay between neuronal survival and maturation, gauged from morphometric assessments and the spatiotemporal distribution of NGF. Computer simulations of NGF transport within the devices revealed that the microfluidic neuron culture system is highly sensitive to change, where nutrient transport is intricately linked to device geometry and cell plating density, and premature depletion of nutrients is observed if specific design criteria are not met. This study underscores the importance of validating specific device geometries for a particular neuro-based assessment, while showcasing computational modeling as a powerful tool to achieve this goal.