rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Using Laser Tweezers For Manipulating Isolated Neurons In Vitro.
Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, 2008

In this paper and video, we describe the protocols used in our laboratory to study the targeting preferences of regenerating cell processes of adult retinal neurons in vitro. Procedures for preparing retinal cell cultures start with the dissection, digestion and trituration of the retina, and end with the plating of isolated retinal cells on dishes made especially for use with laser tweezers. These dishes are divided into a cell adhesive half and a cell repellant half. The cell adhesive side is coated with a layer of Sal-1 antibodies, which provide a substrate upon which our cells grow. Other adhesive substrates could be used for other cell types. The cell repellant side is coated with a thin layer of poly-HEMA. The cells plated on the poly-HEMA side of the dish are trapped with the laser tweezers, transported and then placed adjacent to a cell on the Sal-1 side to create a pair. Formation of cell groups of any size should be possible with this technique. "Laser-tweezers-controlled micromanipulation" means that the investigator can choose which cells to move, and the desired distance between the cells can be standardized. Because the laser beam goes through transparent surfaces of the culture dish, cell selection and placement are done in an enclosed, sterile environment. Cells can be monitored by video time-lapse and used with any cell biological technique required. This technique may help investigations of cell-cell interactions.
Using topographic networks to build a representation of consciousness.
Bio Systems, 2008

The subject of consciousness has intrigued both psychologists and neuroscientists for many years. Recently, following many recent advances in the emerging field of cognitive neuroscience, there is the possibility that this fundamental process may soon be explained. In particular, there have been dramatic insights gained into the mechanisms of attention, cognition and perception in recent decades. Here, simple network models are proposed which are used to create a representation of consciousness. The models are inspired by the structure of the thalamus and all incorporate topographic layers in their structure. Operation of the models allows filtering of the information reaching the representation according to (1) modality and/or (2) sub-modality, in addition several of the models allowing filtering at the topographic level. The models presented have different structures and employ different integrative mechanisms to produce gating or amplification at different levels; the resultant representations of consciousness are discussed.
Immune dysregulation in depression: Evidence from genome-wide association.
Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 2020

A strong body of evidence supports a role for immune dysregulation across many psychiatric disorders including depression, the leading cause of global disability. Recent progress in the search for genetic variants associated with depression provides the opportunity to strengthen our current understanding of etiological factors contributing to depression and generate novel hypotheses. Here, we provide an overview of the literature demonstrating a role for immune dysregulation in depression, followed by a detailed discussion of the immune-related genes identified by the most recent genome-wide meta-analysis of depression. These genes represent strong evidence-based targets for future basic and translational research which aims to understand the role of the immune system in depression pathology and identify novel points for therapeutic intervention.
Using digital technologies in clinical trials: Current and future applications.
Contemporary clinical trials, 2021

In 2015, we provided an overview of the use of digital technologies in clinical trials, both as a methodological tool and as a mechanism to deliver interventions. At that time, there was limited guidance and limited use of digital technologies in clinical research. However, since then smartphones have become ubiquitous and digital health technologies have exploded. This paper provides an update to our earlier publication and an overview of how technology has been used in the past five years in clinical trials, providing examples with varying levels of technological integration and across different health conditions. Digital technology integration ranges from the incorporation of artificial intelligence in diagnostic devices to the use of real-world data (e.g., electronic health records) for study recruitment. Clinical trials can now be conducted entirely virtually, eliminating the need for in-person interaction. Much of the published research demonstrates how digital approaches can improve the design and implementation of clinical trials. While challenges remain, progress over the last five years is encouraging, and barriers can be overcome with careful planning.
Ten-eleven translocation proteins and their role beyond DNA demethylation - what we can learn from the fly.
Epigenetics, 2020

Ten-eleven Translocation (TET) proteins have emerged as a family of epigenetic regulators that are important during development and have been implicated in various types of cancers. TET is a highly conserved protein that has orthologues in almost all multicellular organisms. Here, we review recent literature on the novel substrate specificity of this family of DNA 5-methylcytosine demethylases on DNA 6-methyladenine and RNA 5-methylcytosine that were first identified in the invertebrate model
Glial Metabolic Rewiring Promotes Axon Regeneration and Functional Recovery in the Central Nervous System.
Cell metabolism, 2020

Axons in the mature central nervous system (CNS) fail to regenerate after axotomy, partly due to the inhibitory environment constituted by reactive glial cells producing astrocytic scars, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, and myelin debris. We investigated this inhibitory milieu, showing that it is reversible and depends on glial metabolic status. We show that glia can be reprogrammed to promote morphological and functional regeneration after CNS injury in Drosophila via increased glycolysis. This enhancement is mediated by the glia derived metabolites: L-lactate and L-2-hydroxyglutarate (L-2HG). Genetically/pharmacologically increasing or reducing their bioactivity promoted or impeded CNS axon regeneration. L-lactate and L-2HG from glia acted on neuronal metabotropic GABA
Resection of an Isolated Pituitary Stalk Epidermoid Cyst Through a Pretemporal Approach: Case Report and Review of the Literature.
World neurosurgery, 2021

Intracranial epidermoid cysts are congenital epidermal inclusion cysts derived from ectodermal origin with desquamated skin. The majority of these cysts occur in the cerebellopontine angle cistern. Epidermoid cyst of the pituitary stalk, however, is a rare location. To date, only 4 previous cases have been reported.
Generative modelling of the thalamo-cortical circuit mechanisms underlying the neurophysiological effects of ketamine.
NeuroImage, 2020

Cortical recordings of task-induced oscillations following subanaesthetic ketamine administration demonstrate alterations in amplitude, including increases at high-frequencies (gamma) and reductions at low frequencies (theta, alpha). To investigate the population-level interactions underlying these changes, we implemented a thalamo-cortical model (TCM) capable of recapitulating broadband spectral responses. Compared with an existing cortex-only 4-population model, Bayesian Model Selection preferred the TCM. The model was able to accurately and significantly recapitulate ketamine-induced reductions in alpha amplitude and increases in gamma amplitude. Parameter analysis revealed no change in receptor time-constants but significant increases in select synaptic connectivity with ketamine. Significantly increased connections included both AMPA and NMDA mediated connections from layer 2/3 superficial pyramidal cells to inhibitory interneurons and both GABA
Decoding visual information from high-density diffuse optical tomography neuroimaging data.
NeuroImage, 2021

Neural decoding could be useful in many ways, from serving as a neuroscience research tool to providing a means of augmented communication for patients with neurological conditions. However, applications of decoding are currently constrained by the limitations of traditional neuroimaging modalities. Electrocorticography requires invasive neurosurgery, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is too cumbersome for uses like daily communication, and alternatives like functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offer poor image quality. High-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) is an emerging modality that uses denser optode arrays than fNIRS to combine logistical advantages of optical neuroimaging with enhanced image quality. Despite the resulting promise of HD-DOT for facilitating field applications of neuroimaging, decoding of brain activity as measured by HD-DOT has yet to be evaluated.
Animal Behavior: Honesty Can Kill.
Current biology : CB, 2019

Virgin male mice naturally kill another male's pups so they can sire their own offspring. New research shows that pups are identified using a combination of generic and 'honest' cues, revealing an unexpected logic underlying pup recognition and ensuing infanticide.
Maternal high-fat diet stimulates proinflammatory pathway and increases the expression of Tryptophan Hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in adolescent mice hippocampus.
Neurochemistry international, 2020

Maternal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption can promote a systemic inflammatory condition that may impair the offspring brain development, damaging memory and learning, when it reaches the hippocampus. This study aims to evaluate maternal HFD effects, during pregnancy and lactation, upon dams/mice offspring nutritional status, protein and gene expression of inflammatory pathway (JNK, pJNK and TNF-α), serotonin system molecules (Tryptophan Hydroxylase 2 (TPH2), key-enzyme of serotonin synthesis, serotonin transporter (SERT); 5-HT1A serotonergic receptor (5-HT1A)) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on recently weaned mice offspring hippocampus. Female Swiss mice were fed a control diet (CD, 11,5% fat) or a HFD (45.0% fat) from pre-mating to lactation. After weaning, the offspring received CD up to 28 post-natal days (PND28). Body weight and visceral adiposity (retroperitoneal and gonadal adipose tissue) of dams and offspring were measured. After euthanasia, the offspring hippocampus was dissected for evaluations of BDNF, inflammatory pathway and serotonergic system molecules protein and gene expression, through the techniques of Western Blotting, RTqPCR and ELISA. Our findings show that, during pregnancy, HFD-dams and HFD-offspring exhibited an increase in body weight gain and visceral adipose tissue compared to control animals. The hippocampus of HFD-offspring showed increased protein expression of TPH2, BDNF, pJNK and increased mRNA levels of TNF-α. However, the TPH2 increase in HFD-offspring did not alter hippocampal serotonin levels quantified through ELISA. Maternal HFD promoted an obesity phenotype in its offspring with increased body weight and visceral adiposity, increased protein and gene expression of the pro-inflammatory proteins pJNK and TNF-α. These changes were accompanied by increased TPH2 and BDNF protein expression. Thus, our findings show that maternal HFD during gestation and lactation increased pJNK and TNF-α expression in their offspring hippocampus indicating a pro-inflammatory state, with increased BDNF expression and alterations in its serotonergic system reflected by increased TPH2 expression.
Revaluing the Role of vmPFC in the Acquisition of Pavlovian Threat Conditioning in Humans.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2020

The role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in human pavlovian threat conditioning has been relegated largely to the extinction or reversal of previously acquired stimulus-outcome associations. However, recent neuroimaging evidence questions this view by also showing activity in the vmPFC during threat acquisition. Here we investigate the casual role of vmPFC in the acquisition of pavlovian threat conditioning by assessing skin conductance response (SCR) and declarative memory of stimulus-outcome contingencies during a differential pavlovian threat-conditioning paradigm in eight patients with a bilateral vmPFC lesion, 10 with a lesion outside PFC and 10 healthy participants (each group included both females and males). Results showed that patients with vmPFC lesion failed to produce a conditioned SCR during threat acquisition, despite no evidence of compromised SCR to unconditioned stimulus or compromised declarative memory for stimulus-outcome contingencies. These results suggest that the vmPFC plays a causal role in the acquisition of new learning and not just in the extinction or reversal of previously acquired learning, as previously thought. Given the role of the vmPFC in schema-related processing and latent structure learning, the vmPFC may be required to construct a detailed representation of the task, which is needed to produce a sustained conditioned physiological response in anticipation of the unconditioned stimulus during threat acquisition.
Outcome Prediction of TBI: Are There Parameters That Affect the IMPACT and CRASH Models?
World neurosurgery, 2021

Abnormal hematologic parameters associated with unfavorable neurological outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been studied in isolation. We aimed to study whether there are any additional parameters that improve standard prognostic models in TBI.
Radiologically isolated syndrome: from biological bases to practical management.
Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2021

Technological advances and greater availability of magnetic resonance imaging have prompted an increment on incidental and unexpected findings within the central nervous system. The concept of radiologically isolated syndrome characterizes a group of subjects with images suggestive of demyelinating disease in the absence of a clinical episode compatible with multiple sclerosis. Since the description of this entity, many questions have arisen; some have received responses but others remain unanswered. A panel of experts met with the objective of performing a critical review of the currently available evidence. Definition, prevalence, biological bases, published evidence, and implications on patient management were reviewed. Thirty to 50% of subjects with radiologically isolated syndrome will progress to multiple sclerosis in 5 years. Male sex, age < 37 years old, and spinal lesions increase the risk. These subjects should be evaluated by a multiple sclerosis specialist, carefully excluding alternative diagnosis. An initial evaluation should include a brain and complete spine magnetic resonance, visual evoked potentials, and identification of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid. Disease-modifying therapies could be considered when oligoclonal bands or radiological progression is present.
Goal-dependent flexibility in preferences formation from rapid payoff sequences.
Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006), 2019

The formation of attitudes or preferences for alternatives that consist of rapid numerical sequences has been suggested to reflect either a summation or an averaging principle. Previous studies indicate the presence of two mechanisms, accumulators (that mediate summation) and population-coding (that mediate averaging), which operate in preference formation tasks of rapid numerical sequences, and are subject to task-demands and individual differences. Here, we test whether participants can flexibly control the preference mechanism they deploy as a function of the reward contingency. Towards this aim, participants in two studies (
"Who Are the Cyka Blyat?" How Empathy, Impulsivity, and Motivations to Play Predict Aggressive Behaviors in Multiplayer Online Games.
Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking, 2021

Prior studies have mainly focused on the controversial issue of whether violent video games lead to aggressive behavior in real life. However, data regarding antisocial behavior while playing online are still scarce. In this study, we examined the relationship between toxicity (a form of verbal aggressive behavior directed against other players) in multiplayer online video games and several potential predictors such as personality traits, emotion reactivity, and motivations to play. A large-scale survey (
Distinct subpopulations of mechanosensory chordotonal organ neurons elicit grooming of the fruit fly antennae.
eLife, 2020

Diverse mechanosensory neurons detect different mechanical forces that can impact animal behavior. Yet our understanding of the anatomical and physiological diversity of these neurons and the behaviors that they influence is limited. We previously discovered that grooming of the
Target: Stroke Was Associated With Faster Intravenous Thrombolysis and Improved One-Year Outcomes for Acute Ischemic Stroke in Medicare Beneficiaries.
Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes, 2020

The benefit of intravenous thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke is time dependent. To assist hospitals in providing faster thrombolytic treatment, the American Heart Association launched target: stroke quality initiative in January 2010 which disseminated feasible strategies to shorten door-to-needle times for thrombolytic therapy. This study aimed to examine whether target: stroke was associated with improved door-to-needle times and 1-year outcomes.
Neurotelemetry Reveals Putative Predictive Activity in HVC during Call-Based Vocal Communications in Zebra Finches.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2020

Premotor predictions facilitate vocal interactions. Here, we study such mechanisms in the forebrain nucleus HVC (proper name), a cortex-like sensorimotor area of songbirds, otherwise known for being essential for singing in zebra finches. To study the role of the HVC in calling interactions between male and female mates, we used wireless telemetric systems for simultaneous measurement of neuronal activity of male zebra finches and vocalizations of males and females that freely interact with each other. In a non-social context, male HVC neurons displayed stereotypic premotor activity in relation to active calling and showed auditory-evoked activity to hearing of played-back female calls. In a social context, HVC neurons displayed auditory-evoked activity to hearing of female calls only if that neuron showed activity preceding the upcoming female calls. We hypothesize that this activity preceding the auditory-evoked activity in the male HVC represents a neural correlate of behavioral anticipation, predictive activity that helps to coordinate vocal communication between social partners.
The expanding genetic landscape of hereditary motor neuropathies.
Brain : a journal of neurology, 2020

Hereditary motor neuropathies are clinically and genetically diverse disorders characterized by length-dependent axonal degeneration of lower motor neurons. Although currently as many as 26 causal genes are known, there is considerable missing heritability compared to other inherited neuropathies such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Intriguingly, this genetic landscape spans a discrete number of key biological processes within the peripheral nerve. Also, in terms of underlying pathophysiology, hereditary motor neuropathies show striking overlap with several other neuromuscular and neurological disorders. In this review, we provide a current overview of the genetic spectrum of hereditary motor neuropathies highlighting recent reports of novel genes and mutations or recent discoveries in the underlying disease mechanisms. In addition, we link hereditary motor neuropathies with various related disorders by addressing the main affected pathways of disease divided into five major processes: axonal transport, tRNA aminoacylation, RNA metabolism and DNA integrity, ion channels and transporters and endoplasmic reticulum.
Patch-clamp recording from neuronal dendrites.
Current protocols in neuroscience, 2004

Pyramidal neurons of the central nervous system have extensively arborized apical dendrites that contribute importantly to the signaling properties of the neuron. Recent advances in electrophysiological techniques have allowed recording from neuronal dendrites. These techniques depend on using infrared optics to visualize dendritic processes in the unstained brain slice preparation, on pipet positioning with high resolution micromanipulators, and on stringent techniques for brain slice preparation that preserved healthy dendritic processes, even in tissue from mature animals. The procedures underlying these techniques are described in this unit.
[Brain-enhancement: anthropological, sociological and legal issues].
Journal international de bioethique et d'ethique des sciences, 2018

With advances in neuroscience, the neuro-improvement market is booming. Independently of the possible risks on public health, neuro-improvement seems to come from a free decision and self-definition. However, this evolution, benefiting from the ambiguity between the notions of health and performance, leads to question. Because this medicalization of society can carry risks for the human person and introduce an imbalance in social relations.
Insomnia as a mediating therapeutic target for depressive symptoms: A sub-analysis of participant data from two large randomized controlled trials of a digital sleep intervention.
Journal of sleep research, 2021

Insomnia predicts the onset of depression, commonly co-presents with depression and often persists following depression remission. However, these conditions can be challenging to treat concurrently using depression-specific therapies. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia may be an appropriate treatment to improve both insomnia and depressive symptoms. We examined the effects of a fully-automated digital cognitive behavioural therapy intervention for insomnia (Sleepio) on insomnia and depressive symptoms, and the mediating role of sleep improvement on depressive symptoms in participants from two randomized controlled trials of digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. We also explored potential moderators of intervention effects. All participants met criteria for probable insomnia disorder and had clinically significant depressive symptomatology (PHQ-9 ≥ 10; n = 3,352). Individuals allocated to treatment in both trials were provided access to digital cognitive behavioural therapy. Digital cognitive behavioural therapy significantly improved insomnia (p < .001; g = 0.76) and depressive symptoms (p < .001; g = 0.48) at post-intervention (weeks 8-10), and increased the odds (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 2.34, 3.65) of clinically significant improvement in depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 < 10). Improvements in insomnia symptoms at mid-intervention mediated 87% of the effects on depressive symptoms at post-intervention. No variables moderated effectiveness outcomes, suggesting generalizability of these findings. Our results suggest that effects of digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia extend to depressive symptoms in those with clinically significant depressive symptomatology. Insomnia may, therefore, be an important therapeutic target to assist management of depressive symptoms.