rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
CLAC-P/collagen type XXV is required for the intramuscular innervation of motoneurons during neuromuscular development.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2014

Formation of proper neuromuscular connections is a process coordinated by both motoneuron-intrinsic and target-dependent programs. Under these programs, motoneurons innervate target muscles, escape programmed cell death during fetal development, and form neuromuscular junctions (NMJ). Although a number of studies have revealed molecules involved in axon guidance to target muscles and NMJ formation, little is known about the molecular mechanisms linking intramuscular innervation and target-derived trophic factor-dependent prevention of motoneuron apoptosis. Here we studied the physiological function of CLAC-P/collagen XXV, a transmembrane-type collagen originally identified as a component of senile plaque amyloid of Alzheimer's disease brains, by means of generating Col25a1-deficient (KO) mice. Col25a1 KO mice died immediately after birth of respiratory failure. In Col25a1 KO mice, motor axons projected properly toward the target muscles but failed to elongate and branch within the muscle, followed by degeneration of axons. Failure of muscular innervation in Col25a1 KO mice led to excessive apoptosis during development, resulting in almost complete and exclusive loss of spinal motoneurons and immaturity in skeletal muscle development. Bax deletion in Col25a1 KO mice rescued motoneurons from apoptosis, although motor axons remained halted around the muscle entry site. Furthermore, these motoneurons were positive for phosphorylated c-Jun, an indicator of insufficient supply of target-derived survival signals. Together, these observations indicate that CLAC-P/collagen XXV is a novel essential factor that regulates the initial phase of intramuscular motor innervation, which is required for subsequent target-dependent motoneuron survival and NMJ formation during development.
Restless legs syndrome in dialysis patients: a comparison between hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.
Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2012

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). A few studies so far have investigated RLS prevalence in ESRD patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence, characteristics, consequences and predictors of RLS between HD and CAPD patients. We recruited 58 HD and 28 CAPD patients. A neurologist expert in sleep medicine performed RLS diagnosis during a face-to-face interview. The prevalence of RLS was slightly higher in HD than in CAPD patients (19 vs. 10.7%). RLS appeared after the onset of kidney complaint in HD patients; in contrast, in CAPD patients RLS preceded the occurrence of renal disease. Five HD patients reported that RLS symptoms occurred throughout the dialysis session. HD patients with RLS(+) had a higher mean number of HD sessions per week and a longer mean duration of HD session than the RLS(-) ones. Prevalence of females was significantly higher in CAPD patients with RLS(+) than in the RLS(-) ones. RLS frequently affects both HD and CAPD patients. RLS impaired sleep in both groups, but use of dopaminergic agents was uncommon in our sample. Dialysis schedule was associated with RLS in HD patients, while female sex was related to RLS in CAPD patients. Awareness concerning RLS identification and treatment in HD and CAPD patients is recommended.
Molecular insights into therapeutic promise of targeting of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in obesity.
Molecular biology reports, 2020

Obesity is a curable disorder which is a global health concern, linked to an excess amount of fat. It is caused by inherited and environmental factors and can be grim to maintain through dieting only. The importance of peculiar Wnt/β-catenin signaling has directed considerable efforts in the future production of therapeutic approaches in metabolic complications, including obesity. The article aims to examine the prospects of Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade in obesity via directing effects of Wnt/β-catenin cascade in regulating appetite. A deep research on the literature available to date, for Wnt/β-catenin cascade in obesity is conducted using various medical databases like PubMed, MEDLINE from the internet. The articles published in English language were mainly preferred. Obesity has developed endemic worldwide, which initiates various obesity-related comorbidities. Obesity is implied by excessive deposition of fat primarily in the adipose tissue. Numerous studies have shown the vital impact of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the growth of body part and biological homeostasis, while latent data illustrate the inherited variations in the Wnt/β-catenin cascade, correlating to several complications. The current article enlightens the stimulation of the Wnt/β-catenin cascade in obesity, mainly depot-explicit impact among adipose tissue during high caloric intake regulation and WAT browning event. Taken all together these data illustrate Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade subsidizes to obesity promoted insulin resistance independent proliferation of adipose tissue.
Clinical osteoarthritis of the hip and knee and fall risk: The role of low physical functioning and pain medication.
Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism, 2020

Several studies have found an increased fall risk in persons with osteoarthritis (OA). However, most prospective studies did not use a clinical definition of OA. In addition, it is not clear which factors explain this risk. Our objectives were: (1) to confirm the prospective association between clinical OA of the hip and knee and falls; (2) to examine the modifying effect of sex; and (3) to examine whether low physical performance, low physical activity and use of pain medication are mediating these relationships.
Only susceptible rats exposed to a model of PTSD exhibit reactivity to trauma-related cues and other symptoms: an effect abolished by a single amphetamine injection.
Behavioural brain research, 2014

The present study had two main goals. First, to investigate whether an animal model of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), single prolonged stress (SPS) leads to one of the main PTSD symptom: avoidance of trauma-related stimuli. Second, to investigate whether a single amphetamine injection delivered 30 days after SPS can reduce these symptoms. Olfactory and auditory cues were added to the SPS context and reactivity to these cues were tested more than one month later using an odor discrimination test, and freezing to the trauma-related tone. Other PTSD symptoms, such as anxiety (elevated plus maze) and hyperarousal (acoustic startle response), were also investigated in these rats. Some behavioural reactivity to the environmental cues was observed in rats exposed to SPS. However, a subgroup of these rats showed an exaggerated disruption in performance in 3 to 4 of the behavioral tests relative to controls, suggesting that two classes of rats, those that are susceptible and those that are resilient to SPS, can be dissociated. When rats were treated with amphetamine (1mg/kg) injected in the SPS context 30 days after SPS, traumatized rats no longer differed from their corresponding controls and all were identified as resilient. The present data demonstrated that rats exposed to SPS can be either susceptible or resilient and a single amphetamine injection can abolish the associated symptoms. We propose that combining memory reactivation, with an amphetamine-induced positive mood, can modify the emotional valence of the initial memory, inducing long-lasting remodeling of the traumatic memory, thereby opening a novel therapeutic avenue.
A molecular pathway involved in the generation of microtubule-associated protein 2-positive cells from microglia.
Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 2008

We have recently demonstrated that microglia as multipotential stem cells give rise to microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2)-positive and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive cells and that microglia-derived MAP2-positive cells possess properties of functional neurons. In this study, we investigated the molecular pathways involved in the generation of microglia-derived MAP2-positive and GFAP-positive cells. Western blot analyses demonstrated that expression levels of Id2 protein, an inhibitory basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor of the inhibitor of differentiation and DNA binding family, and Smad proteins were upregulated under differentiation conditions. Immunocytochemical analyses demonstrated that the generation of MAP2-positive and GFAP-positive cells from microglia was promoted by bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and was inhibited by noggin which is a BMP antagonist, Smad4 siRNA and Id2 siRNA. These results indicate that activation of BMP signaling through Smad and Id2 proteins is one of the molecular pathways involved in the generation of microglia-derived MAP2-positive and GFAP-positive cells.
FTY720 (fingolimod) attenuates beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ42)-induced impairment of spatial learning and memory in rats.
Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN, 2013

Imbalanced lipid metabolism and increase in the ceramide-to-S1P ratio in the brain have been postulated to play a role in amyloidogenesis, neuroinflammatory reactions, and neuronal apoptosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. FTY720, the immunomodulatory sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) analog, has recently gained interest because of its CNS-directed effects. In addition to its immunomodulatory functions in multiple sclerosis, FTY720 possesses anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective roles in different cerebral ischemia models. In the present study, we examined the effects of FTY720 in a rat model of AD. Memory deficit was induced by bilateral intrahippocampus injection of beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ(42)) and examined through the Morris water maze test. The extent of histological injury in the hippocampus and the activation of caspase-3 were determined respectively by Nissl staining and Western blotting. Chronic daily administration of FTY720 (1 mg/kg, i.p., 14 days) significantly attenuated the Aβ(42)-induced learning and memory impairment and prevented the hippocampus neuronal damage as well as caspase-3 activation. These data show for the first time that FTY720 has a beneficial effect in restoring memory loss in Aβ(42)-induced neurotoxicity and also suggest that S1P receptors and signaling pathways may provide a potential target for the treatment of AD.
Younger Patients Are Differentially Affected by Stiffness-Related Disability Following Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery.
World neurosurgery, 2019

The Lumbar Stiffness Disability Index (LSDI) assesses impact of lumbar stiffness on activities of daily living. We hypothesized that patients <60 years old would perceive greater lumbar stiffness-related functional limitation following fusion for adult spinal deformity.
Neural processing of social interaction: Coordinate-based meta-analytic evidence from human neuroimaging studies.
Human brain mapping, 2019

While the action observation and mentalizing networks are considered to play complementary roles in understanding others' goals and intentions, they might be concurrently engaged when processing social interactions. We assessed this hypothesis via three activation-likelihood-estimation meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies on the neural processing of: (a) social interactions, (b) individual actions by the action observation network, and (c) mental states by the mentalizing network. Conjunction analyses and direct comparisons unveiled overlapping and specific regions among the resulting maps. We report quantitative meta-analytic evidence for a "social interaction network" including key nodes of the action observation and mentalizing networks. An action-social interaction-mentalizing gradient of activity along the posterior temporal cortex highlighted a hierarchical processing of interactions, from visuomotor analyses decoding individual and shared intentions to in-depth inferences on actors' intentional states. The medial prefrontal cortex, possibly in conjunction with the amygdala, might provide additional information concerning the affective valence of the interaction. This evidence suggests that the functional architecture underlying the neural processing of interactions involves the joint involvement of the action observation and mentalizing networks. These data might inform the design of rehabilitative treatments for social cognition disorders in pathological conditions, and the assessment of their outcome in randomized controlled trials.
18F-Florbetaben PET/CT to Assess Alzheimer's Disease: A new Analysis Method for Regional Amyloid Quantification.
Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging, 2019

While AD can be definitively confirmed by postmortem histopathologic examination, in vivo imaging may improve the clinician's ability to identify AD at the earliest stage. The aim of the study was to test the performance of amyloid PET using new processing imaging algorithm for more precise diagnosis of AD.
Association between birth weight and educational attainment: an individual-based pooled analysis of nine twin cohorts.
Journal of epidemiology and community health, 2018

There is evidence that birth weight is positively associated with education, but it remains unclear whether this association is explained by familial environmental factors, genetic factors or the intrauterine environment. We analysed the association between birth weight and educational years within twin pairs, which controls for genetic factors and the environment shared between co-twins.
Neuronal activity and glutamate uptake decrease mitochondrial mobility in astrocytes and position mitochondria near glutamate transporters.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2014

Within neurons, mitochondria are nonuniformly distributed and are retained at sites of high activity and metabolic demand. Glutamate transport and the concomitant activation of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase represent a substantial energetic demand on astrocytes. We hypothesized that mitochondrial mobility within astrocytic processes might be regulated by neuronal activity and glutamate transport. We imaged organotypic hippocampal slice cultures of rat, in which astrocytes maintain their highly branched morphologies and express glutamate transporters. Using time-lapse confocal microscopy, the mobility of mitochondria within individual astrocytic processes and neuronal dendrites was tracked. Within neurons, a greater percentage of mitochondria were mobile than in astrocytes. Furthermore, they moved faster and farther than in astrocytes. Inhibiting neuronal activity with tetrodotoxin (TTX) increased the percentage of mobile mitochondria in astrocytes. Mitochondrial movement in astrocytes was inhibited by vinblastine and cytochalasin D, demonstrating that this mobility depends on both the microtubule and actin cytoskeletons. Inhibition of glutamate transport tripled the percentage of mobile mitochondria in astrocytes. Conversely, application of the transporter substrate d-aspartate reversed the TTX-induced increase in the percentage of mobile mitochondria. Inhibition of reversed Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchange also increased the percentage of mitochondria that were mobile. Last, we demonstrated that neuronal activity increases the probability that mitochondria appose GLT-1 particles within astrocyte processes, without changing the proximity of GLT-1 particles to VGLUT1. These results imply that neuronal activity and the resulting clearance of glutamate by astrocytes regulate the movement of astrocytic mitochondria and suggest a mechanism by which glutamate transporters might retain mitochondria at sites of glutamate uptake.
Cognition in mood disorders.
BJPsych open, 2020

Cognitive impairment plays a key role in determining the course of illness and functional outcomes in mood disorders. This article summarises and discusses important papers within this thematic series of BJPsych Open that contribute to a greater understanding of the complexity of 'Cognition in Mood Disorders'.
The availability of attentional resources modulates the inhibitory strength related to weakly activated priming.
Attention, perception & psychophysics, 2016

The current study investigated the role of attention in inhibitory processes (the inhibitory processes described in the current study refer only to those associated with masked or flanked priming) using a mixed paradigm involving the negative compatibility effect (NCE) and object-based attention. Accumulating evidence suggests that attention can be spread more easily within the same object, which increases the availability of attentional resources, than across different objects. Accordingly, we manipulated distractor location (with primes presented in the same object versus presented in different objects) together with prime/target compatibility (compatible versus incompatible) and prime-distractor stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA, 23 ms vs 70 ms). The aim was to investigate whether inhibitory processes related to weakly activated priming, which have been previously assumed to be automatic, depend on the availability of attentional resources. The results of Experiment 1 showed a significant NCE for the 70-ms SOA when the prime and distractor were presented in the same object (greater attentional resource availability); however, reversed NCEs were obtained for all other conditions. Experiment 2 was designed to disentangle whether the results of Experiment 1 were affected by the prime position, and the results indicated that the prime position did not modulate the NCE in Experiment 1. Together, these results are consistent with the claim that the availability of attentional resources modulates the inhibitory strength related to weakly activated priming. Specifically, if attentional resources are assigned to the distractor when it is presented in the same object as the prime, the strength of the inhibition elicited by the distractor may increase and reverse the activation elicited by the prime, which could lead to a significant NCE.
The Influence of Video Format on Engagement and Performance in Online Learning.
Brain sciences, 2021

Millions of students follow online classes which are delivered in video format. Several studies examine the impact of these video formats on engagement and learning using explicit measures and outline the need to also investigate the implicit cognitive and emotional states of online learners. Our study compared two video formats in terms of engagement (over time) and learning in a between-subject experiment. Engagement was operationalized using explicit and implicit neurophysiological measures. Twenty-six (26) subjects participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions based on the video shown: infographic video or lecture capture. The infographic video showed animated graphics, images, and text. The lecture capture showed a professor, providing a lecture, filmed in a classroom setting. Results suggest that lecture capture triggers greater emotional engagement over a shorter period, whereas the infographic video maintains higher emotional and cognitive engagement over longer periods of time. Regarding student learning, the infographic video contributes to significantly improved performance in matters of difficult questions. Additionally, our results suggest a significant relationship between engagement and student performance. In general, the higher the engagement, the better the student performance, although, in the case of cognitive engagement, the link is quadratic (inverted U shaped)
The role of music therapy in rehabilitation: improving aphasia and beyond.
The International journal of neuroscience, 2018

Music is part of the human nature, and it is also philogenically relevant to language evolution. Language and music are bound together in the enhancement of important social functions, such as communication, cooperation and social cohesion. In the last few years, there has been growing evidence that music and music therapy may improve communication skills (but not only) in different neurological disorders. One of the plausible reasons concerning the rational use of sound and music in neurorehabilitation is the possibility to stimulate brain areas involved in emotional processing and motor control, such as the fronto-parietal network. In this narrative review, we are going to describe the role of music therapy in improving aphasia and other neurological disorders, underlying the reasons why this tool could be effective in rehabilitative settings, especially in individuals affected by stroke.
The suppression of scale-free fMRI brain dynamics across three different sources of effort: aging, task novelty and task difficulty.
Scientific reports, 2016

There is growing evidence that fluctuations in brain activity may exhibit scale-free ("fractal") dynamics. Scale-free signals follow a spectral-power curve of the form P(f ) ∝ f(-β), where spectral power decreases in a power-law fashion with increasing frequency. In this study, we demonstrated that fractal scaling of BOLD fMRI signal is consistently suppressed for different sources of cognitive effort. Decreases in the Hurst exponent (H), which quantifies scale-free signal, was related to three different sources of cognitive effort/task engagement: 1) task difficulty, 2) task novelty, and 3) aging effects. These results were consistently observed across multiple datasets and task paradigms. We also demonstrated that estimates of H are robust across a range of time-window sizes. H was also compared to alternative metrics of BOLD variability (SDBOLD) and global connectivity (Gconn), with effort-related decreases in H producing similar decreases in SDBOLD and Gconn. These results indicate a potential global brain phenomenon that unites research from different fields and indicates that fractal scaling may be a highly sensitive metric for indexing cognitive effort/task engagement.
Familial Alzheimer's disease presenilin-2 mutants affect Ca
Aging clinical and experimental research, 2021

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia in the elderly. Few cases are familial (FAD), due to autosomal dominant mutations in presenilin-1 (PS1), presenilin-2 (PS2) or amyloid precursor protein (APP). The three proteins are involved in the generation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides, providing genetic support to the hypothesis of Aβ pathogenicity. However, clinical trials focused on the Aβ pathway failed in their attempt to modify disease progression, suggesting the existence of additional pathogenic mechanisms. Ca
Behavioral activation can normalize neural hypoactivation in subthreshold depression during a monetary incentive delay task.
Journal of affective disorders, 2016

Late adolescents are under increased risk of developing depressive symptoms. Behavioral activation is an effective treatment for subthreshold depression, which can prevent the development of subthreshold depression into a major depressive disorder. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the efficacy of behavioral activation have not been clearly understood. We investigated neural responses during reward processing by individuals with subthreshold depression to clarify the neural mechanisms of behavioral activation.