rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Spaces within spaces: rat parietal cortex neurons register position across three reference frames.
Nature neuroscience, 2012

We recorded parietal cortex neurons as rats traversed squared spiral tracks. Spatial firing patterns distinguished the behaviorally identical track segments composing loops, yet recurred with increasing or decreasing amplitude across the five loops composing the full track. These results indicate that parietal cortex neurons simultaneously respond to spatial relationships in multiple external reference frames, a phenomenon that may reflect a neural mechanism for relating parts to a whole.
Neural Mechanisms of Parental Communicative Adjustments in Spoken Language.
Neuroscience, 2021

During cultural transmission, caregivers typically adjust their form of speech according to the presumed characteristics of an infant/child, a phenomenon known as infant/child directed speech (IDS/CDS) or "parentese." Although ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) damage was previously found to be associated with failure in adjusting non-verbal communicative behaviors, little is known about the neural mechanisms of verbal communicative adjustments, such as IDS/CDS. In the current study, 30 healthy mothers with preschool-age children underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a picture naming task which required them to name an object for either a child or an adult. In the picture naming task, mothers exhibited a longer naming duration in the toward-child condition than the toward-adult control condition. Naming an object for a child, compared with naming it for an adult, resulted in greater involvement in the vmPFC and other regions (e.g., cerebellum) in the global caregiving network. In particular, the vmPFC exhibited task-related deactivation and decreased functional connectivity with the supplementary motor, precentral, postcentral, and supramarginal regions. These findings suggest that the vmPFC, which is included in the default mode network, is involved in optimizing communicative behaviors for the inter-generational transmission of knowledge. This function of the vmPFC may be considered as a prosocial drive to lead to prosocial communicative behaviors depending on the context. This study provides a better understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in communicative adjustments for children and insight into related applied research fields such as parenting, pedagogy, and education.
Incidence, circumstances, treatment and outcome of high-level cervical spinal fracture without associated spinal cord injury in New South Wales, Australia over a 12 year period.
Injury, 2014

No Australian population-based studies have examined temporal trends in the incidence of fracture of the first or second cervical vertebra (C1 or C2 fractures), their aetiology, treatment and outcome for younger (15-64 years) compared to older (65+ years) individuals. The aim of this research is to examine the circumstances, treatment and outcomes including mortality for C1 or C2 fractures without associated spinal cord injury by age group in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Impact of mobile stroke units.
Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, 2021

Since its first introduction in clinical practice in 2008, the concept of mobile stroke unit enabling prehospital stroke treatment has rapidly expanded worldwide. This review summarises current knowledge in this young field of stroke research, discussing topics such as benefits in reduction of delay before treatment, vascular imaging-based triage of patients with large-vessel occlusion in the field, differential blood pressure management or prehospital antagonisation of anticoagulants. However, before mobile stroke units can become routine, several questions remain to be answered. Current research, therefore, focuses on safety, long-term medical benefit, best setting and cost-efficiency as crucial determinants for the sustainability of this novel strategy of acute stroke management.
Dynamic neuroplasticity after human prefrontal cortex damage.
Neuron, 2010

Memory and attention deficits are common after prefrontal cortex (PFC) damage, yet people generally recover some function over time. Recovery is thought to be dependent upon undamaged brain regions, but the temporal dynamics underlying cognitive recovery are poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence that the intact PFC compensates for damage in the lesioned PFC on a trial-by-trial basis dependent on cognitive load. The extent of this rapid functional compensation is indexed by transient increases in electrophysiological measures of attention and memory in the intact PFC, detectable within a second after stimulus presentation and only when the lesioned hemisphere is challenged. These observations provide evidence supporting a dynamic and flexible model of compensatory neural plasticity.
Why do oncology outpatients who report emotional distress decline help?
Psycho-oncology, 2015

Many patients who experience distress do not seek help, and little is known about the reasons for this. We explored the reasons for declining help among patients who had significant emotional distress.
Putative spinal interneurons mediating postural limb reflexes provide a basis for postural control in different planes.
The European journal of neuroscience, 2015

The dorsal-side-up trunk orientation in standing quadrupeds is maintained by the postural system driven mainly by somatosensory inputs from the limbs. Postural limb reflexes (PLRs) represent a substantial component of this system. Earlier we described spinal neurons presumably contributing to the generation of PLRs. The first aim of the present study was to reveal trends in the distribution of neurons with different parameters of PLR-related activity across the gray matter of the spinal cord. The second aim was to estimate the contribution of PLR-related neurons with different patterns of convergence of sensory inputs from the limbs to stabilization of body orientation in different planes. For this purpose, the head and vertebral column of the decerebrate rabbit were fixed and the hindlimbs were positioned on a platform. Activity of individual neurons from L5 to L6 was recorded during PLRs evoked by lateral tilts of the platform. In addition, the neurons were tested by tilts of the platform under only the ipsilateral or only the contralateral limb, as well as during in-phase tilts of the platforms under both limbs. We found that, across the spinal gray matter, strength of PLR-related neuronal activity and sensory input from the ipsilateral limb decreased in the dorsoventral direction, while strength of the input from the contralateral limb increased. A near linear summation of tilt-related sensory inputs from different limbs was found. Functional roles were proposed for individual neurons. The obtained data present the first characterization of posture-related spinal neurons, forming a basis for studies of postural networks impaired by injury.
Dysbindin-1 loss compromises NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity and contextual fear conditioning.
Hippocampus, 2014

Genetic variants in DTNBP1 encoding the protein dysbindin-1 have often been associated with schizophrenia and with the cognitive deficits prominent in that disorder. Because impaired function of the hippocampus is thought to play a role in these memory deficits and because NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity in this region is a proposed biological substrate for some hippocampal-dependent memory functions in schizophrenia, we hypothesized that reduced dysbindin-1 expression would lead to impairments in NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity and in contextual fear conditioning. Acute slices from male mice carrying 0, 1, or 2 null mutant alleles of the Dtnbp1 gene were prepared, and field recordings from the CA1 striatum radiatum were obtained before and after tetanization of Schaffer collaterals of CA3 pyramidal cells. Mice homozygous for the null mutation in Dtnbp1 exhibited significantly reduced NMDAR-dependent synaptic potentiation compared to wild type mice, an effect that could be rescued by bath application of the NMDA receptor coagonist glycine (10 μM). Behavioral testing in adult mice revealed deficits in hippocampal memory processes. Homozygous null mice exhibited lower conditional freezing, without a change in the response to shock itself, indicative of a learning and memory deficit. Taken together, these results indicate that a loss of dysbindin-1 impairs hippocampal plasticity which may, in part, explain the role dysbindin-1 plays in the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia.
Imaging and Analysis of Neurofilament Transport in Excised Mouse Tibial Nerve.
Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, 2020

Neurofilament protein polymers move along axons in the slow component of axonal transport at average speeds of ~0.35-3.5 mm/day. Until recently the study of this movement in situ was only possible using radioisotopic pulse-labeling, which permits analysis of axonal transport in whole nerves with a temporal resolution of days and a spatial resolution of millimeters. To study neurofilament transport in situ with higher temporal and spatial resolution, we developed a hThy1-paGFP-NFM transgenic mouse that expresses neurofilament protein M tagged with photoactivatable GFP in neurons. Here we describe fluorescence photoactivation pulse-escape and pulse-spread methods to analyze neurofilament transport in single myelinated axons of tibial nerves from these mice ex vivo. Isolated nerve segments are maintained on the microscope stage by perfusion with oxygenated saline and imaged by spinning disk confocal fluorescence microscopy. Violet light is used to activate the fluorescence in a short axonal window. The fluorescence in the activated and flanking regions is analyzed over time, permitting the study of neurofilament transport with temporal and spatial resolution on the order of minutes and microns, respectively. Mathematical modeling can be used to extract kinetic parameters of neurofilament transport including the velocity, directional bias and pausing behavior from the resulting data. The pulse-escape and pulse-spread methods can also be adapted to visualize neurofilament transport in other nerves. With the development of additional transgenic mice, these methods could also be used to image and analyze the axonal transport of other cytoskeletal and cytosolic proteins in axons.
Sleep disturbances are key symptoms of very early stage Alzheimer disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms: a Japan multi-center cross-sectional study (J-BIRD).
International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2017

Sleep disturbances in Alzheimer disease (AD) may affect behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Our aim was to elucidate the associations between sleep disturbances and other BPSD at different stages of AD.
Nonlinear spatial integration in the receptive field surround of retinal ganglion cells.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2014

Throughout different sensory systems, individual neurons integrate incoming signals over their receptive fields. The characteristics of this signal integration are crucial determinants for the neurons' functions. For ganglion cells in the vertebrate retina, receptive fields are characterized by the well-known center-surround structure and, although several studies have addressed spatial integration in the receptive field center, little is known about how visual signals are integrated in the surround. Therefore, we set out here to characterize signal integration and to identify relevant nonlinearities in the receptive field surround of ganglion cells in the isolated salamander retina by recording spiking activity with extracellular electrodes under visual stimulation of the center and surround. To quantify nonlinearities of spatial integration independently of subsequent nonlinearities of spike generation, we applied the technique of iso-response measurements as follows: using closed-loop experiments, we searched for different stimulus patterns in the surround that all reduced the center-evoked spiking activity by the same amount. The identified iso-response stimuli revealed strongly nonlinear spatial integration in the receptive field surrounds of all recorded cells. Furthermore, cell types that had been shown previously to have different nonlinearities in receptive field centers showed similar surround nonlinearities but differed systematically in the adaptive characteristics of the surround. Finally, we found that there is an optimal spatial scale of surround suppression; suppression was most effective when surround stimulation was organized into subregions of several hundred micrometers in diameter, indicating that the surround is composed of subunits that have strong center-surround organization themselves.
The parafacial respiratory group and the control of active expiration.
Respiratory physiology & neurobiology, 2019

Breathing at rest is typically characterized by three phases: active inspiration, post-inspiration (or stage 1 expiration), and passive expiration (or stage 2 expiration). Breathing during periods of increased respiratory demand, on the other hand, engages active expiration through recruitment of abdominal muscles in order to increase ventilation. It is currently hypothesized that different phases of the respiratory rhythm are driven by three coupled oscillators: the preBötzinger Complex, driving inspiration, the parafacial respiratory group (pFRG), driving active expiration and the post-inspiratory Complex, driving post-inspiration. In this paper we review advances in the understanding of the pFRG and its role in the generation of active expiration across different developmental stages and vigilance states. Recent experiments suggest that the abdominal recruitment varies across development depending on the vigilance state, possibly following the maturation of the network responsible for the generation of active expiration and neuromodulatory systems that influence its activity. The activity of the pFRG is tonically inhibited by GABAergic inputs and strongly recruited by cholinergic systems. However, the sources of these modulatory inputs and the physiological conditions under which these mechanisms are used to recruit active expiration and increase ventilation need further investigation. Some evidence suggests that active expiration during hypercapnia is evoked through disinhibition, while during hypoxia it is elicited through activation of catecholaminergic C1 neurons. Finally, a discussion of experiments indicating that the pFRG is anatomically and functionally distinct from the adjacent and partially overlapping chemosensitive neurons of the retrotrapezoid nucleus is also presented.
Pharmacological inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase attenuates social behavioural deficits in male rats prenatally exposed to valproic acid.
Pharmacological research, 2016

Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterised by impaired social interaction, deficits in communication and repetitive stereotyped behaviours. The endocannabinoid system plays an important role in modulating emotionality and social responding, however there have been a paucity of studies investigating this system in autistic animal models. This study investigated the effect of inhibiting fatty acid amide hydrolyase (FAAH), the anandamide catabolic enzyme, on behavioural responding in the valproic acid (VPA) rat model of autism. Male rats prenatally exposed to VPA exhibit an autistic-like behavioural phenotype exemplified as thermal hypoalgesia, reduced social and exploratory behaviour, and enhanced repetitive behaviour. Systemic administration of the FAAH inhibitor PF3845 (10mg/kg) attenuated the deficit in social behaviour observed in VPA exposed male animals without altering nociceptive, repetitive or exploratory behaviour. In comparison, female VPA exposed rats displayed enhanced repetitive and reduced exploratory behaviour, but no change in social behaviour or thermal nociceptive responding. PF3845 did not alter social, repetitive or thermal nociceptive responding, but reduced exploratory behaviour in a social context in VPA-, but not saline-, exposed females. These data indicate that FAAH inhibition elicits sexual dimorphic effects on behavioural responding in VPA exposed rodents, and support an important role for FAAH in the regulation of social behavioural deficits in autistic males.
Reduced amygdala activity during aversive conditioning in human narcolepsy.
Annals of neurology, 2010

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a sleep-wake disorder caused by a loss of hypothalamic hypocretins. Here we assessed the time course of amygdala activation during aversive conditioning in unmedicated patients with narcolepsy. Unlike healthy matched control subjects, narcolepsy patients had no enhancement of amygdala response to conditioned stimuli and no increase in functional coupling between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that human narcolepsy is accompanied by abnormal emotional learning, and that, in line with animal data, the hypocretin system and the amygdala are involved in this process.
Surgical management of traumatic brain injury.
Journal of neurosurgical sciences, 2018

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Surgical intervention is one of the main pillars of TBI management. The mainstay of treatment for substantial intracranial hematomas is surgical evacuation. In addition, patients with TBI may have brain swelling and increased intracranial pressure. If the latter is refractory to medical management, surgical interventions can be helpful. In this review we seek to outline the major tenets of the surgical management of TBI.
Sex-specific differences in cardiovascular and metabolic hormones with integrated signalling in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus.
Experimental physiology, 2017

What is the topic of this review? We describe roles of crucial signalling molecules in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and highlight recent data suggesting sex-specific changes in the expression of crucial signalling molecules and their receptors, which may underlie sex differences in both cardiovascular and metabolic function. What advances does it highlight? This review highlights the integrative capacity of the paraventricular nucleus in mediating cardiovascular and metabolic effects by integrating information from multiple signalling molecules. It also proposes that these signalling molecules have sex-specific differential gene expression, indicating the importance of considering these differences in our ongoing search to understand the female-male differences in the regulation of crucial autonomic systems. Many traditional cardiovascular hormones have been implicated in metabolic function. Conversely, many hormones traditionally involved in metabolic regulation have an effect on cardiovascular function. Many of these signalling molecules exert such effects through specific actions in the paraventricular nucleus, an integrative autonomic control centre located in the hypothalamus. Here, we focus on four cardiovascular/metabolic peptide hormones that signal within the paraventricular nucleus, namely angiotensin II, orexin, adiponectin and nesfatin-1. Each of these hormones has specific electrophysiological effects on paraventricular nucleus neurons that can be related to its physiological actions. In addition, we introduce preliminary transcriptomic data indicating that the genes for some of these hormones and their receptors have sex-specific differential expression.
Hand movement direction decoded from MEG and EEG.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2008

Brain activity can be used as a control signal for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). A powerful and widely acknowledged BMI approach, so far only applied in invasive recording techniques, uses neuronal signals related to limb movements for equivalent, multidimensional control of an external effector. Here, we investigated whether this approach is also applicable for noninvasive recording techniques. To this end, we recorded whole-head MEG during center-out movements with the hand and found significant power modulation of MEG activity between rest and movement in three frequency bands: an increase for < or = 7 Hz (low-frequency band) and 62-87 Hz (high-gamma band) and a decrease for 10-30 Hz (beta band) during movement. Movement directions could be inferred on a single-trial basis from the low-pass filtered MEG activity as well as from power modulations in the low-frequency band, but not from the beta and high-gamma bands. Using sensors above the motor area, we obtained a surprisingly high decoding accuracy of 67% on average across subjects. Decoding accuracy started to rise significantly above chance level before movement onset. Based on simultaneous MEG and EEG recordings, we show that the inference of movement direction works equally well for both recording techniques. In summary, our results show that neuronal activity associated with different movements of the same effector can be distinguished by means of noninvasive recordings and might, thus, be used to drive a noninvasive BMI.
FMR1 Premutation: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Involvement.
Cerebellum (London, England), 2016

The wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes associated with the FMR1 premutation affect more than two million people worldwide. The clinical implications have only been recognized recently despite this disorder constitutes a relevant health problem. The present issue of The Cerebellum is focused on the "2(nd) International Conference on the FMR1 Premutation: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Involvement" held in Sitges, Barcelona (Spain), from September 30th to October 2nd, 2015. The conference was attended by professionals from different countries in Europe, the USA, Chile, Israel, Australia, and Indonesia and covered the latest clinical and molecular findings resulting from FMR1 premutation studies. Although the pathologies associated with the FMR1 premutation are considered as rare diseases, seventy abstracts were presented. This reflects the relevance of this topic in the medical community and the growing interest among professionals from other disciplines. The major topics discussed included why and how the mRNA toxicity due to a gain of function and non-canonical RAN are responsible for disorders associated with the premutation. Several presentations addressed the impact of these mechanisms in FXTAS and FXPOI, two clinical presentations caused by the FMR1 premutation. Interestingly, a deterioration of the DNA repair machinery was first proposed as the pathogenicity cause of premutation alleles. Communications related to FXTAS and FXPOI animal models were also presented. These models facilitate studies aimed to understand disease progression and early treatment interventions. Finally, there were presentations related to psychiatric, psychological, neurological, and radiological aspects. Interesting discussion on intermediate alleles and their involvement in clinical and reproductive aspects was generated. In this regards, genetic counselling is improved by taking into account the AGG interruptions and including information about the FMR1 premutation associated pathologies although there are still some uncertainties linked to the spectrum of these pathologies. Overall, the meeting covered all aspects of the different pathologies associated with the premutation of the FMR1 gene.