rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Memory guidance of value-based decision making at an abstract level of representation.
Scientific reports, 2020

Value-based decisions about alternatives we have never experienced can be guided by associations between current choice options and memories of prior reward. A critical question is how similar memories need to be to the current situation to effectively guide decisions. We address this question in the context of associative learning of faces using a sensory preconditioning paradigm. We find that memories of reward spread along established associations between faces to guide decision making. While memory guidance is specific for associated facial identities, it does not only occur for the specific images that were originally encountered. Instead, memory guidance generalizes across different images of the associated identities. This suggests that memory guidance does not rely on a pictorial format of representation but on a higher, view-invariant level of abstraction. Thus, memory guidance operates on a level of representation that neither over- nor underspecifies associative relationships in the context of obtaining reward.
De novo variants in POLR3B cause ataxia, spasticity, and demyelinating neuropathy.
American journal of human genetics, 2021

POLR3B encodes the second-largest catalytic subunit of RNA polymerase III, an enzyme involved in transcription. Bi-allelic pathogenic variants in POLR3B are a well-established cause of hypomyelinating leukodystrophy. We describe six unrelated individuals with de novo missense variants in POLR3B and a clinical presentation substantially different from POLR3-related leukodystrophy. These individuals had afferent ataxia, spasticity, variable intellectual disability and epilepsy, and predominantly demyelinating sensory motor peripheral neuropathy. Protein modeling and proteomic analysis revealed a distinct mechanism of pathogenicity; the de novo POLR3B variants caused aberrant association of individual enzyme subunits rather than affecting overall enzyme assembly or stability. We expand the spectrum of disorders associated with pathogenic variants in POLR3B to include a de novo heterozygous POLR3B-related disorder.
Learning from the Fly Photoreceptor on How Synapses Integrate Gene Expression to Sustain Retina and Brain Function.
Neuron, 2019

Synapse dysfunction is thought to contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. In this issue of Neuron, Tsai et al. (2019) uncover how membrane phospholipid biosynthesis regulates Drosophila photoreceptor (PR) degeneration and the synaptic vesicle pool through a transcriptional-translational feedback loop from the synaptic terminal to the nucleus.
Sterol Biosynthesis Inhibition in Pregnant Women Taking Prescription Medications.
ACS pharmacology & translational science, 2021

Sterol biosynthesis is a critical homeostatic mechanism of the body. Sterol biosynthesis begins during early embryonic life and continues throughout life. Many commonly used medications, prescribed >200 million times in the United States annually, have a sterol biosynthesis inhibition side effect. Using our high-throughput LC-MS/MS method, we assessed the levels of post-lanosterol sterol intermediates (lanosterol, desmosterol, and 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC)) and cholesterol in 1312 deidentified serum samples from pregnant women. 302 samples showing elevated 7-DHC were analyzed for the presence of 14 medications known to inhibit the 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase enzyme (DHCR7) and increase 7-DHC. Of the 302 samples showing 7-DHC elevation, 43 had detectable levels of prescription medications with a DHCR7-inhibiting side effect. Taking more than one 7-DHC-elevating medication in specific combinations (polypharmacy) might exacerbate the effect on 7-DHC levels in pregnant women, suggesting a potentially additive or synergistic effect. As 7-DHC and 7-DHC-derived oxysterols are toxic, and as DHCR7-inhibiting medications are considered teratogens, our findings raise potential concerns regarding the use of prescription medication with a DHCR7-inhibiting side effect during pregnancy. The use of prescription medications during pregnancy is sometimes unavoidable, but choosing a medication without a DHCR7-inhibiting side effect might lead to a heathier pregnancy and prevent putatively adverse outcomes for the developing offspring.
Properties of Glial Cell at the Neuromuscular Junction Are Incompatible with Synaptic Repair in the 
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2020

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting motoneurons (MNs) in a motor-unit (MU)-dependent manner. Glial dysfunction contributes to numerous aspects of the disease. At the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), early alterations in perisynaptic Schwann cell (PSC), glial cells at this synapse, may impact their ability to regulate NMJ stability and repair. Indeed, muscarinic receptors (mAChRs) regulate the repair phenotype of PSCs and are overactivated at disease-resistant NMJs [soleus muscle (SOL)] in
Pharmacological interventions for self-harm in adults.
The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2021

Self-harm (SH; intentional self-poisoning or self-injury regardless of degree of suicidal intent or other types of motivation) is a growing problem in most countries, often repeated, and associated with suicide. Evidence assessing the effectiveness of pharmacological agents and/or natural products in the treatment of SH is lacking, especially when compared with the evidence for psychosocial interventions. This review therefore updates a previous Cochrane Review (last published in 2015) on the role of pharmacological interventions for SH in adults.
Crosstalk between Sleep Disturbance and Opioid Use Disorder: A Narrative Review.
Addiction & health, 2020

Recent studies have revealed a growing number of patients affected by opioid use disorders (OUDs). Comorbid disorders are suspected to increase the risk of opioid-related adverse effects or treatment failure. The correlation of opioid use with sleep disturbances has been reported in many different studies and suggested to be linked to the brain regions involved in reward processing. This narrative review was intended to discuss the most recent developments in our understanding of the intricate interaction between sleep disturbance and OUD. In addition, in this study, the effects of sleep problems on the occurrence of unpleasant consequences in addiction management, such as craving and relapse in OCD patients, were highlighted. It has been shown that drug use may trigger the induction of sleep disturbances, and those suffering from difficulties in sleeping are prone to relapse to drug use, including opioids. Moreover, pharmaceutical sleep aids are likely to interfere with opiate use.
The psychoanalysis-neurosciences interface: A proposal for a hypothetical unification of psychoanalytic models.
The International journal of psycho-analysis, 2021

Grotstein's concept of projective transidentification led the author to reconsider the reasons that have led to the plurality of psychoanalytic models. The solution proposed is the existence of a fundamental frontal-occipital oscillatory dynamic, responsible for the projective-introjective dynamic that is at the basis of psychoanalytic theory and, at the same time, of the development and maintenance of mother-infant attunement. Such an oscillatory dynamic, according to this perspective, operates as a "bridge" between two seminal theoretical models of development - the psychoanalytic and the infant research model. A set of neurological hypotheses regarding how maternal interaction may act to modify the infant's projective-introjective dynamic and general brain development is proposed. The different possible modifications of this dynamic offer an explanation of the variety and complexity of psychoanalytic models and the opportunity for a unitary approach, both clinical and theoretical. Given that it is considered to be the basis for cerebral activity, the oscillatory dynamic appears intrinsically connected with the
The accumulation rate of tau aggregates is higher in females and younger amyloid-positive subjects.
Brain : a journal of neurology, 2020

The development of tau-PET allows paired helical filament tau pathology to be visualized in vivo. Increased knowledge about conditions affecting the rate of tau accumulation could guide the development of therapies halting the progression of Alzheimer's disease. However, the factors modifying the rate of tau accumulation over time in Alzheimer's disease are still largely unknown. Large-scale longitudinal cohort studies, adjusting for baseline tau load, are needed to establish such risk factors. In the present longitudinal study, 419 participants from four cohorts in the USA (Avid 05e, n = 157; Expedition-3, n = 82; ADNI, n = 123) and Sweden (BioFINDER, n = 57) were scanned repeatedly with tau-PET. The study participants were cognitively unimpaired (n = 153), or patients with mild cognitive impairment (n = 139) or Alzheimer's disease dementia (n = 127). Participants underwent two to four tau-PET (18F-flortaucipir) scans with a mean (± standard deviation) of 537 (±163) days between the first and last scan. The change in tau-PET signal was estimated in temporal meta- and neocortical regions of interest. Subject specific tau-PET slopes were predicted simultaneously by age, sex, amyloid status (determined by amyloid-β PET), APOE ε4 genotype, study cohort, diagnosis and baseline tau load. We found that accelerated increase in tau-PET signal was observed in amyloid-β-positive mild cognitive impairment (3.0 ± 5.3%) and Alzheimer's disease dementia (2.9 ± 5.7%), respectively, when compared to either amyloid-β-negative cognitively unimpaired (0.4 ± 2.7%), amyloid-β-negative mild cognitive impairment (-0.4 ± 2.3%) or amyloid-β-positive cognitively unimpaired (1.2 ± 2.8%). Tau-PET uptake was accelerated in females (temporal region of interest: t = 2.86, P = 0.005; neocortical region of interest: t = 2.90, P = 0.004), younger individuals (temporal region of interest: t = -2.49, P = 0.013), and individuals with higher baseline tau-PET signal (temporal region of interest: t = 3.83, P < 0.001; neocortical region of interest: t = 5.01, P < 0.001). Tau-PET slopes decreased with age in amyloid-β-positive subjects, but were stable by age in amyloid-β-negative subjects (age × amyloid-β status interaction: t = -2.39, P = 0.018). There were no effects of study cohort or APOE ε4 positivity. In a similar analysis on longitudinal amyloid-β-PET (in ADNI subjects only, n = 639), we found significant associations between the rate of amyloid-β accumulation and APOE ε4 positivity, older age and baseline amyloid-β positivity, but no effect of sex. In conclusion, in this longitudinal PET study comprising four cohorts, we found that the tau accumulation rate is greater in females and younger amyloid-β-positive individuals, while amyloid-β accumulation is greater in APOE ε4 carriers and older individuals. These findings are important considerations for the design of clinical trials, and might improve our understanding of factors associated with faster tau aggregation and spread.
The effect of litter separation on methamphetamine-conditioned place preference in post-partum dams.
Behavioural pharmacology, 2017

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse among women has recently increased to levels comparable to those observed in men. Although studies using animal models of addiction have begun to include more female subjects, examination of the effects of drugs of abuse on post-partum females is currently lacking. This is especially important in light of the significant hormonal and neurobiological changes that accompany pregnancy and rearing experiences. Furthermore, stress in a known factor in addiction vulnerability and the post-partum experience in the clinical population can be highly stressful. Here, we utilized the conditioned place preference paradigm to investigate the conditioned rewarding effects of METH either in virgin rats or in dams exposed to brief separation (15 min) or long separation (180 min) from the litter. We found that females in the brief separation group showed significantly greater METH conditioned place preference compared with both the long separation and virgin groups. No differences were found in locomotor activity during the conditioning sessions. These findings suggest that peripartum experience and brief litter separation may enhance the rewarding effects of METH.
Dysmyelination with preservation of transverse bands in a long-lived allele of the quaking mouse.
The Journal of comparative neurology, 2015

The new mutant mouse shaking (shk) differs from other "myelin mutants" in having a more stable neurological impairment and a much longer lifespan. We have shown that transverse bands (TBs), the component of the paranodal junction (PNJ) that attaches the myelin sheath to the axon, are present in the shk central nervous system (CNS), in contrast to more severely affected mutants, in which TBs are absent or rare. We have proposed that TBs are the major determinant underlying shk neurological stability and longevity. Here we report that TBs are abundant not only in the shk CNS but also in its peripheral nervous system (PNS), which, as in other "myelin mutants", is not as severely dysmyelinated as the CNS but does display structural abnormalities likely to affect impulse propagation. In particular, myelin sheaths are thinner than normal, and some axonal segments lack myelin sheaths entirely. In addition, we establish that the shk mutation, previously localized to chromosome 17, is a quaking (qk) allele consisting of a 105-nucleotide insertion in the qk regulatory region that decreases qk transcription but does not extend to the Parkin and Parkin coregulated genes, which are affected in the qk allele. We conclude that: 1) dysmyelination is less severe in the shk PNS than in the CNS, but TBs, which are present in both locations, stabilize the PNJs and prevent the progressive neurological deficits seen in mutants lacking TBs; and 2) the insertional mutation in shk mice is sufficient to produce the characteristic neurological phenotype without involvement of the Parkin and Parkin coregulated genes.
Combining Machine Learning and Molecular Dynamics to Predict P-Glycoprotein Substrates.
Journal of chemical information and modeling, 2020

The efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is responsible for the extrusion of a wide variety of molecules, including drug molecules, from the cell. Therefore, P-gp-mediated efflux transport limits the bioavailability of drugs. To identify potential P-gp substrates early in the drug discovery process,
Entraining neurons via noninvasive electric stimulation improves cognition.
PLoS biology, 2020

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) is a method that injects rhythmic currents into the human brain via electrodes attached to the scalp of a participant. This technique allows researchers to control naturally occurring brain rhythms and study their causal relevance for cognition. Recent findings, however, cast doubts on the effectiveness of tACS to stimulate the brain and its mode of action. Two new studies by Vieira and colleagues and Marchesotti and colleagues reported in the current issue report promising new results in showing that tACS can entrain single neuron activity and improve reading abilities in dyslexic individuals.
Pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of interleukin (IL6) in vitro: relevance for major depression and for human hippocampal neurogenesis.
The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2020

Although the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin (IL)6, has been generally regarded as "depressogenic", recent research has started to question this assumption, in light of the fact that this cytokine can also have anti-inflammatory properties. This bimodal action seems to be dependent on its concentration levels, and on the concomitant presence of other pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Zero-valent iron nanoparticles containing nanofiber scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering.
Journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, 2020

Regeneration of nerve tissue is a challenging issue in regenerative medicine. Especially, the peripheral nerve defects related to the accidents are one of the leading health problems. For large degeneration of peripheral nerve, nerve grafts are used in order to obtain a connection. These grafts should be biodegradable to prevent second surgical intervention. In order to make more effective nerve tissue engineering materials, nanotechnological improvements were used. Especially, the addition of electrically conductive and biocompatible metallic particles and carbon structures has essential roles in the stimulation of nerves. However, the metabolizing of these structures remains to wonder because of their nondegradable nature. In this study, biodegradable and conductive nerve tissue engineering materials containing zero-valent iron (Fe) nanoparticles were developed and investigated under in vitro conditions. By using electrospinning technique, fibrous mats composed of electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers and Fe nanoparticles were obtained. Both electrical conductivity and mechanical properties increased compared with control group that does not contain nanoparticles. Conductivity of PCL/Fe5 and PCL/Fe10 increased to 0.0041 and 0.0152 from 0.0013 Scm
A High-Dimensional Quantification of Mouse Defensive Behaviors Reveals Enhanced Diversity and Stimulus Specificity.
Current biology : CB, 2020

Instinctive defensive behaviors, consisting of stereotyped sequences of movements and postures, are an essential component of the mouse behavioral repertoire. Since defensive behaviors can be reliably triggered by threatening sensory stimuli, the selection of the most appropriate action depends on the stimulus property. However, since the mouse has a wide repertoire of motor actions, it is not clear which set of movements and postures represent the relevant action. So far, this has been empirically identified as a change in locomotion state. However, the extent to which locomotion alone captures the diversity of defensive behaviors and their sensory specificity is unknown. To tackle this problem, we developed a method to obtain a faithful 3D reconstruction of the mouse body that enabled to quantify a wide variety of motor actions. This higher dimensional description revealed that defensive behaviors are more stimulus specific than indicated by locomotion data. Thus, responses to distinct stimuli that were equivalent in terms of locomotion (e.g., freezing induced by looming and sound) could be discriminated along other dimensions. The enhanced stimulus specificity was explained by a surprising diversity. A clustering analysis revealed that distinct combinations of movements and postures, giving rise to at least 7 different behaviors, were required to account for stimulus specificity. Moreover, each stimulus evoked more than one behavior, revealing a robust one-to-many mapping between sensations and behaviors that was not apparent from locomotion data. Our results indicate that diversity and sensory specificity of mouse defensive behaviors unfold in a higher dimensional space, spanning multiple motor actions.
Factors Associated With Timely Blood Glucose Testing and Insulin Administration in Patients Receiving Mealtime Insulin Coverage in Medical Surgical Units.
The Diabetes educator, 2018

Purpose The purpose of the study was to identify the rate and factors associated with timely mealtime capillary blood glucose (CBG) testing and insulin coverage in hospitalized patients with diabetes. Methods A descriptive-correlational design was used with a random sample of patients (n = 77) and nurses (n = 36) on a medicine and a neuroscience unit of a large Magnet hospital. After written consent was obtained, post-meal patient and nurse interviews were conducted to collect information about patient, nurse, and situational factors known to influence timely mealtime diabetes care. Results Timely CBG testing occurred on 85.7% of the patient participants, and 71.4% received timely insulin coverage. Timely CBG testing was associated (unadjusted) with telling the patient care associate to obtain a finger stick (FS) prior to meals and patient off the unit during mealtime. The odds of having insulin administered on time was significantly and independently associated with the nurse caring for fewer patients, patients waiting for insulin prior to eating, and patients knowing pre-meal FS was high. Conclusions One situational factor and 2 patient factors were independently associated with timely insulin coverage prior to meals. Interventions aimed at raising staff awareness of these factors and providing tailored education to patients may improve the odds of having insulin administered on time.
TSC1 as a Novel Gene for Sleep-Related Hypermotor Epilepsy: A Child with a Mild Phenotype of Tuberous Sclerosis.
Neuropediatrics, 2021

Sleep-related hypermotor epilepsy (SHE) is a rare syndrome that presents with hyperkinetic asymmetric tonic/dystonic seizures with vegetative signs, vocalization, and emotional facial expression, mainly during light non-rapid eye movement sleep stages. The role of various genes (
The delivery of psychotherapy-A Delphi study on the dimensions of psychotherapy delivery and a proposal for reporting guidelines.
Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 2019

Efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy are well studied, but we know little about optimal ways of delivering therapy. Evidence of how best to deliver psychotherapy is scarce and difficult to scope because reports of how interventions are delivered lack a common terminology. We therefore conducted a Delphi study on what dimensions of therapy delivery are important to report and examine. The study was conducted between October 2016 and July 2017. Twenty therapy experts rated and commented on various dimensions of therapy delivery (e.g., duration, spacing, or format of session). Experts were asked (a) how relevant these were for reporting of therapy studies, (b) how much they agreed with the guidelines for describing them, (c) how important these were to investigate in future studies, and (d) whether they agreed with the name of the dimension. Experts were asked to suggest other dimensions of therapy delivery they considered relevant and propose revisions of the initial guidelines. The panel agreed on names and guidelines for the description of 13 dimensions of therapy delivery. These were deemed relevant or highly relevant to report and research in future psychotherapy studies. We propose structured guidelines for reporting the delivery of psychotherapy.