rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Zinc and linoleic acid pre-treatment attenuates biochemical and histological changes in the midbrain of rats with rotenone-induced Parkinsonism.
BMC neuroscience, 2018

Studies have suggested the supplementation of Zinc and Linoleic acid in the management of neurodegenerative disorders but none has investigated the combined effects. Little is known about the neuroprotective effects of either Zinc or Linoleic acid or their combination against development of Parkinsonism. This study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of Zinc and Linoleic acid in rotenone-induced Parkinsonism in rats.
A neural mass model with direct and indirect excitatory feedback loops: identification of bifurcations and temporal dynamics.
Neural computation, 2015

Neural mass modeling is a part of computational neuroscience that was developed to study the general behavior of a neuronal population. This type of mesoscopic model is able to generate output signals that are comparable to experimental data, such as electroencephalograms. Classically, neural mass models consider two interconnected populations: excitatory pyramidal cells and inhibitory interneurons. However, many authors have included an excitatory feedback on the pyramidal cell population. Two distinct approaches have been developed: a direct feedback on the main pyramidal cell population and an indirect feedback via a secondary pyramidal cell population. In this letter, we propose a new neural mass model that couples these two approaches. We perform a detailed bifurcation analysis and present a glossary of dynamical behaviors and associated time series. Our study reveals that the model is able to generate particular realistic time series that were never pointed out in either simulated or experimental data. Finally, we aim to evaluate the effect of balance between both excitatory feedbacks on the dynamical behavior of the model. For this purpose, we compute the codimension 2 bifurcation diagrams of the system to establish a map of the repartition of dynamical behaviors in a direct versus indirect feedback parameter space. A perspective of this work is, from a given temporal series, to estimate the parameter value range, especially in terms of direct versus indirect excitatory feedback.
Understanding the Complex of Suicide in Depression: from Research to Clinics.
Psychiatry investigation, 2020

Amongst psychiatric disorders, major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent, by affecting approximately 15-17% of the population and showing a high suicide risk rate equivalent to around 15%. The present comprehensive overview aims at evaluating main research studies in the field of MDD at suicide risk, by proposing as well as a schematic suicide risk stratification and useful flow-chart for planning suicide preventive and therapeutic interventions for clinicians.
Community consultation in emergency neurotrauma research: results from a pre-protocol survey.
Acta neurochirurgica, 2013

Uncertainty remains as to the role of decompressive craniectomy (DC) for primary evacuation of an acute subdural haematoma (ASDH). In 2011, a collaborative group of neurosurgeons, neuro-intensive care physicians and trial methodologists was formed in the UK with the aim of answering the following question: "What is the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of DC, in comparison to simple craniotomy for adult patients undergoing primary evacuation of an ASDH?" The proposed RESCUE-ASDH trial (Randomised Evaluation of Surgery with Craniectomy for patients Undergoing Evacuation of Acute Subdural Haematoma) is a multi-centre, pragmatic, parallel group randomised trial of DC versus simple craniotomy for adult head-injured patients with an ASDH. Clinical trials in the emergency setting face the problem that potential participants may be incapacitated and their next of kin initially unavailable. As a result, consent and enrolment of participants can often be difficult.
Enhanced Na
Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society, 2019

Altered γ-aminobutyric acid signaling is believed to disrupt the excitation/inhibition balance in the striatum, which may account for the motor symptoms of Huntington's disease. Na-K-2Cl cotransporter-1 is a key molecule that controls γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic signaling. However, the role of Na-K-2Cl cotransporter-1 and efficacy of γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic transmission remain unknown in Huntington's disease.
Impact of Different Types of Physical Activity in Green Urban Space on Adult Health and Behaviors: A Systematic Review.
European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education, 2021

This systematic review aimed to investigate the type of physical activity carried out in green urban spaces by the adult population and to value its impact on the population's health. Additionally, another purpose was to examine if the presence of outdoor gyms in green urban spaces can promote participation in physical activity among adults. Searches of electronic databases, with no time restrictions and up to June 2020, resulted in 10 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. A quantitative assessment is reported as effect size. Many people practiced walking activity as a workout, which showed improvements in health. Walking is the most popular type of training due to its easy accessibility and it not requiring equipment or special skills. Outdoor fitness equipment has been installed in an increasing number of parks and has become very popular worldwide. Further, outdoor fitness equipment provides free access to fitness training and seems to promote physical activity in healthy adults. However, other studies about outdoor fitness equipment efficiency are needed. People living near to equipped areas are more likely to perform outdoor fitness than those who live further away. The most common training programs performed in green urban spaces included exercises with free and easy access, able to promote physical health and perception.
Risk for broad-spectrum neuropsychiatric disorders after mild traumatic brain injury in a cohort of US Air Force personnel.
Occupational and environmental medicine, 2015

Military personnel are at increased risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI) from combat and non-combat exposures. Sequelae of moderate-to-severe TBI are well described, but the literature remains conflicted regarding whether mild TBI (mTBI) results in lasting brain injury and functional impairments. This study assessed risk for a range of neuropsychiatric disorders presenting after mTBI while adjusting for the potential confounds of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Prenatal betamethasone does not affect glutamatergic or GABAergic neurogenesis in preterm newborns.
Neuroscience, 2014

Prenatal glucocorticoids (GCs) are routinely used for pregnant women in preterm labor to prevent respiratory distress syndrome and intraventricular hemorrhage in premature infants. However, the effect of antenatal GCs on neurogenesis in preterm neonates remains elusive. Herein, we hypothesized that prenatal GCs might suppress both glutamatergic and GABAergic neurogenesis in preterm rabbits and that this treatment would induce distinct changes in the expression of transcription factors regulating these developmental events. To test our hypotheses, we treated pregnant rabbits with betamethasone at E27 and E28, delivered the pups at E29 (term=32d), and assessed neurogenesis at birth and postnatal day 3. We quantified radial glia (Sox2(+)) and intermediate progenitor cells (Tbr2(+)) in the dorsal cortical subventricular zone to assess glutamatergic neuronal progenitors, and counted Nkx2.1(+) and Dlx2(+) cells in the ganglionic eminence to evaluate GABAergic neurogenesis. In addition, we assayed transcription factors regulating neurogenesis. We found that prenatal GCs did not affect the densities of radial glia and intermediate progenitors of glutamatergic or GABAergic neurons. The number of GABA(+) interneurons in the ganglionic eminence was similar between the prenatal GC-treated pups compared to untreated controls. Moreover, the mRNA expression of transcription factors, including Pax6, Ngn1/2, Emx1/2, Insm1, Dlx1, Nkx2.1, and Gsh2, were comparable between the two groups. However, there was a transient elevation in Mash1 protein in betamethasone-treated pups relative to controls at birth. These data suggest that prenatal GC treatment does not significantly impact the balance of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurogenesis in premature infants.
EGR-1 Expression in Catecholamine-synthesizing Neurons Reflects Auditory Learning and Correlates with Responses in Auditory Processing Areas.
Neuroscience, 2018

Distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar individuals is an important task that shapes the expression of social behavior. As such, identifying the neural populations involved in processing and learning the sensory attributes of individuals is important for understanding mechanisms of behavior. Catecholamine-synthesizing neurons have been implicated in sensory processing, but relatively little is known about their contribution to auditory learning and processing across various vertebrate taxa. Here we investigated the extent to which immediate early gene expression in catecholaminergic circuitry reflects information about the familiarity of social signals and predicts immediate early gene expression in sensory processing areas in songbirds. We found that male zebra finches readily learned to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar acoustic signals ('songs') and that playback of familiar songs led to fewer catecholaminergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (but not in the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, or periaqueductal gray) expressing the immediate early gene, EGR-1, than playback of unfamiliar songs. The pattern of EGR-1 expression in the locus coeruleus was similar to that observed in two auditory processing areas implicated in auditory learning and memory, namely the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and the caudal medial mesopallium (CMM), suggesting a contribution of catecholamines to sensory processing. Consistent with this, the pattern of catecholaminergic innervation onto auditory neurons co-varied with the degree to which song playback affected the relative intensity of EGR-1 expression. Together, our data support the contention that catecholamines like norepinephrine contribute to social recognition and the processing of social information.
Low- and high-frequency transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation induces different effects on cerebral μ-opioid receptor availability in rhesus monkeys.
Journal of neuroscience research, 2014

Although systematic studies have demonstrated that acupuncture or electroacupuncture (EA) analgesia is based on their accelerating endogenous opioid release to activate opioid receptors and that EA of different frequencies is mediated by different opioid receptors in specific areas of the central nervous system, there is little direct, real-time evidence to confirm this in vivo. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS), an analogue of EA, at low and high frequencies on μ-opioid receptor (MOR) availability in the brain of rhesus monkeys. Monkeys underwent 95-min positron emission tomography (PET) with (11) C-carfentanil three times randomly while receiving 0, 2, or 100 Hz TEAS, respectively. Each TEAS was administered in the middle 30 min during the 95-min PET scan, and each session of PET and TEAS was separated by at least 2 weeks. The results revealed that 2 Hz but not 100 Hz TEAS evoked a significant increase in MOR binding potential in the anterior cingulate cortex, the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the temporal lobe, the somatosensory cortex, and the amygdala compared with 0 Hz TEAS. The effect remained after the end of TEAS in the anterior cingulate cortex and the temporal lobe. The selective increase in MOR availability in multiple brain regions related to pain and sensory processes may play a role in mediating low-frequency TEAS efficacy.
Support for a novel five-factor model of posttraumatic stress symptoms in three independent samples of Iraq/Afghanistan veterans: a confirmatory factor analytic study.
Journal of psychiatric research, 2012

A large body of confirmatory factor analytic studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has demonstrated the superiority of 4-factor dysphoria and emotional numbing models over the DSM-IV model. Recently, a novel 5-factor model, which separates the DSM-IV hyperarousal symptom cluster into distinct dysphoric and anxious arousal clusters, has been identified. However, little research has evaluated the best-fitting representation of PTSD symptoms in veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Bringing proportional recovery into proportion: Bayesian modelling of post-stroke motor impairment.
Brain : a journal of neurology, 2020

Accurate predictions of motor impairment after stroke are of cardinal importance for the patient, clinician, and healthcare system. More than 10 years ago, the proportional recovery rule was introduced by promising that high-fidelity predictions of recovery following stroke were based only on the initially lost motor function, at least for a specific fraction of patients. However, emerging evidence suggests that this recovery rule is subject to various confounds and may apply less universally than previously assumed. Here, we systematically revisited stroke outcome predictions by applying strategies to avoid confounds and fitting hierarchical Bayesian models. We jointly analysed 385 post-stroke trajectories from six separate studies-one of the largest overall datasets of upper limb motor recovery. We addressed confounding ceiling effects by introducing a subset approach and ensured correct model estimation through synthetic data simulations. Subsequently, we used model comparisons to assess the underlying nature of recovery within our empirical recovery data. The first model comparison, relying on the conventional fraction of patients called 'fitters', pointed to a combination of proportional to lost function and constant recovery. 'Proportional to lost' here describes the original notion of proportionality, indicating greater recovery in case of a more severe initial impairment. This combination explained only 32% of the variance in recovery, which is in stark contrast to previous reports of >80%. When instead analysing the complete spectrum of subjects, 'fitters' and 'non-fitters', a combination of proportional to spared function and constant recovery was favoured, implying a more significant improvement in case of more preserved function. Explained variance was at 53%. Therefore, our quantitative findings suggest that motor recovery post-stroke may exhibit some characteristics of proportionality. However, the variance explained was substantially reduced compared to what has previously been reported. This finding motivates future research moving beyond solely behaviour scores to explain stroke recovery and establish robust and discriminating single-subject predictions.
Serum Progesterone and Testosterone Levels in Schizophrenia Patients at Different Stages of Treatment.
Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN, 2021

It has been suggested that dysregulation of hormones is associated with schizophrenia (SCZ). This study aimed to measure the serum levels of progesterone and testosterone in 125 SCZ patients at different stages of treatment and 96 healthy control (HC) subjects. Our results showed that first-episode drug-free SCZ patients had significantly increased testosterone levels when compared with HC subjects, and chronic medication, but not short-term medication, further increased the serum testosterone levels in the patients. Further analysis suggested that the sex of the patients did not affect testosterone levels. In contrast, serum progesterone levels did not show significant differences between first-episode, drug-free SCZ patients and controls, and the antipsychotics increased progesterone levels in the male SCZ patients, but not female patients. Interestingly, our analyses demonstrated that the serum progesterone levels were negatively correlated with PANSS total score and PNASS positive score, suggesting a correlation between blood hormone levels and disease severity in SCZ patients. Taken together, our data showed differential changes in serum testosterone and progesterone levels in SCZ patients with or without antipsychotics, and our results suggest that increased sex hormone levels may be a defensive response to protect the human body under stress.
Low unesterified:esterified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plasma concentration ratio is associated with bipolar disorder episodes, and omega-3 plasma concentrations are altered by treatment.
Bipolar disorders, 2015

Omega (n)-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are molecular modulators of neurotransmission and inflammation. We hypothesized that plasma concentrations of n-3 PUFAs would be lower and those of n-6 PUFAs higher in subjects with bipolar disorder (BD) compared to healthy controls (HCs), and would correlate with symptom severity in subjects with BD, and that effective treatment would correlate with increased n-3 but lower n-6 PUFA levels. Additionally, we explored clinical correlations and group differences in plasma levels of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.
Effects of Chronic Dim-light-at-night Exposure on Sleep in Young and Aged Mice.
Neuroscience, 2020

Dim-light-at-night (DLAN) exposure is associated with health problems, such as metabolic disruptions, immunological modulations, oxidative stress, sleep problems, and altered circadian timing. Neurophysiological parameters, including sleep patterns, are altered in the course of aging in a similar way. Here, we investigated the effect of chronic (three months) DLAN exposure (12 L:12 Dim-light, 75:5 lux) on sleep and the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), and rest-activity behavior in young (6-month-old, n = 9) and aged (18- n = 8, 24-month-old, n = 6) C57BL/6J mice and compared with age-matched controls (n = 11, n = 9 and n = 8, respectively). We recorded the EEG and electromyogram continuously for 48-h and conducted a 6-h sleep-deprivation. A delay in the phase angle of entrainment of locomotor activity and daily vigilance state rhythms was apparent in mice following DLAN exposure, throughout the whole age spectrum, rendering sleep characteristics similar among the three age DLAN groups and significantly different from the age-matched controls. Notably, slow-wave-activity in NREM sleep (SWA, EEG power density in 0.5-4.0 Hz) was differentially altered in young and aged DLAN mice. Particularly, SWA increased as a function of age, which was further accentuated following DLAN exposure. However, this was not found in the young DLAN animals, which were characterized by the lowest SWA levels. Concluding, long-term DLAN exposure induced more pronounced alterations in the sleep architecture of young mice, towards an aging phenotype, while it enhanced age-associated sleep changes in the older groups. Our data suggest that irrespective of age, chronic DLAN exposure deteriorates sleep behavior and may consequently impact general health.
Mutations in XPR1 cause primary familial brain calcification associated with altered phosphate export.
Nature genetics, 2015

Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neurological disease characterized by calcium phosphate deposits in the basal ganglia and other brain regions and has thus far been associated with SLC20A2, PDGFB or PDGFRB mutations. We identified in multiple families with PFBC mutations in XPR1, a gene encoding a retroviral receptor with phosphate export function. These mutations alter phosphate export, implicating XPR1 and phosphate homeostasis in PFBC.
Risk factors for developing subdural hematoma: a registry-based study in 1457 patients with shunted idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.
Journal of neurosurgery, 2021

Subdural hematomas and hygromas (SDHs) are common complications in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients with shunts. In this registry-based study, patients with shunted iNPH were screened nationwide to identify perioperative variables that may increase the risk of SDH.
Whole genome paired-end sequencing elucidates functional and phenotypic consequences of balanced chromosomal rearrangement in patients with developmental disorders.
Journal of medical genetics, 2019

Balanced chromosomal rearrangements associated with abnormal phenotype are rare events, but may be challenging for genetic counselling, since molecular characterisation of breakpoints is not performed routinely. We used next-generation sequencing to characterise breakpoints of balanced chromosomal rearrangements at the molecular level in patients with intellectual disability and/or congenital anomalies.
An optimized protocol for human M2 macrophages using M-CSF and IL-4/IL-10/TGF-β yields a dominant immunosuppressive phenotype.
Scandinavian journal of immunology, 2014

Monocytes are highly abundant circulatory effector cells and play a vital role in driving or resolving inflammatory processes depending on their activation phenotype. We investigated and compared a panel of polarization protocols of blood-derived monocytes to achieve a stable, optimal and effective regimen for in vitro induction of immunosuppressive human macrophages, evaluating their surface receptor expression, cytokine profile, scavenging function and ability to suppress T-cell proliferation. Importantly, we assessed the effect of copolarization or secondary pro-inflammatory stimulation of a primary anti-inflammatory activation phenotype. A combination of IL-4/IL-10/TGF-β yielded a relatively stable and dominant immunosuppressive phenotype characterized by higher IL-10 production and down-regulated TNF-α, IL-6, CD86, CD274 and MHC II expression. Functionally, IL-4/IL-10/TGF-β-stimulated macrophages (M2) had a potent deactivating effect on a subsequent pro-inflammatory LPS/IFNγ-activated macrophage (M1) stimulation and significantly suppressed T-cell proliferation. Monocytes derived from patients with chronic inflammatory diseases could be induced to be anti-inflammatory using this protocol. Pre-differentiation with GM-CSF or M-CSF was further demonstrated to enhance final M1/M2 activation status. Our findings indicate a robust polarization protocol for generation of specific immunosuppressive human monocyte-derived macrophages.
Stress-free microinjections in conscious rats.
Journal of neuroscience methods, 2011

Microinjections are a major tool in modern neuroscience. Microinjection techniques in conscious animals typically involve four steps: (1) animal adapts to experimental setup; (2) injection system is filled and the microinjector is carefully inserted; (3) a drug solution is injected; (4) 1-2 min later the microinjector is carefully removed. Steps 2 and 4 are difficult to perform in rodents without disturbing the animal. This disruption can cause stress and accompanying tachycardia and hyperthermia - unwanted artifacts in physiological research. To reduce these effects, we altered the traditional approach. Our procedure of microinjection consisted of the following steps: (1) we filled the injection setup and fixed the microinjector in its guide cannula; (2) allowed an animal to adapt to the setup; (3) performed an experiment including microinjection(s); (4) removed the microinjector after the experiment was complete. The key change we incorporated was a 1m long piece of tubing with a small internal diameter; it allowed us to inject nanoliter volumes through the injector which had been placed into the guide cannula in advance. This way we avoided the usual manipulations related to microinjection, and minimized extraneous disturbances to the rat. In this report we describe the details of this technique in conscious rats and provide examples of the effects and the reproducibility of a 100 nL drug injection on cardiovascular function.