Hasil untuk "Neurophysiology and neuropsychology"

Dimitrios Charos, Maria Andriopoulou, Giannoula Kyrkou et al.

Family plays a vital role in supporting breast cancer patients. Recent studies have shown that increasing family resilience empowers family support for patients. The study aims to validate the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) scale in breast cancer patients in the Greek population. A factor analysis was performed, and convergent validity and reliability were tested through Cronbach alpha, Split-Half reliability, Spearman-Brown Coefficient, and Guttman Split-Half Coefficient. According to the factor analysis, Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity coefficient (Chi-Square = 439.105, p = 0.000) showed that it has statistically significant correlations between items and the KMO index was 0. 860. The Cronbach α coefficient was 0.78, the Spearman-Brown coefficient was 0.603 and the Guttman Split-Half coefficient was 0.596. Finally, there was a correlation of the scale with FAD (r=0.328, F-COPES (r=0.290), and ECR-R (r=–0.424). The FPSC scale demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties and is a suitable and useful psychometric instrument for investigating family resilience.

Carolina Hernandorena, Micaela Dines, Alessandro Miola et al.

Abstract Background As choices of treatments for bipolar disorder types I (BD1) and II (BD2) and major depressive disorder (MDD) continue to evolve, we reviewed studies directly comparing current clinical usage rates of medicinal treatments for these disorders. Methods Comprehensive searching of five literature databases through March 2024 identified reports on clinical drug prescription rates for BD and MDD patients. Rates were summarized and compared by random-effects meta-analyses with R-Studio software. Results A total of 18 reports (2006–2023) supported comparisons of clinically prescribed treatments for 17,572 mood-disorder patients (mean age 42.8 years; 7936 BD1 age 43.2 years; 6309 BD2, age 43.3; 3327 MDD, age 40.0). Among diagnoses: (BD1 vs. BD2 vs. MDD), treatments differed as: lithium (54.4% vs. 38.0% vs. 6.78%), second-generation antipsychotics (41.6% vs. 22.3% vs. 15.9%), valproate (25.7% vs. 21.5%; no MDD data), lamotrigine (13.1% vs. 27.2%; no MDD data), and antidepressants (34.9% vs. 46.4% vs. 77.5%). International use of lithium for BD appeared to increase between 2006 and 2023. Limitations Outcomes were heterogeneous and requiring inclusion of lithium may introduce selection bias. Conclusions Clinical treatment selections for BD1, BD2, and MDD patients differed substantially. Use of modern antipsychotics is undergoing major increases for both BD and MDD; optimal use of antidepressants for BD remains uncertain; and notably, international use of lithium tended to increase in the present data.

Miguel Angel Morales-Morales, Emilio García-Gómez, Daniel San-Juan et al.

Antiseizure medications (ASMs) remain the cornerstone of epilepsy treatment, yet data on prescription patterns, effectiveness, and safety in low- and middle-income countries are limited. This retrospective cohort study analyzed changes in ASM use, efficacy, and adverse effects across 10 years in a tertiary care center in Mexico, comparing two phases: 2011–2013 (n = 100) and 2021–2023 (n = 128). Data on seizure freedom, adverse effects, and ASM patterns were analyzed using descriptive statistics and comparative tests. Network analysis and centrality measures were performed with MATLAB Version 9.12.0 to explore the relationships among prescribed ASMs and their influence on outcomes. A total of 228 patients were included. Seizure freedom rates increased from 9 % in the first phase to 25.8 % in the second (p = 0.001). Valproic acid remained the most frequently prescribed ASM, while levetiracetam use markedly increased (49 %). Adverse effects rose from 10 % to 17 % despite a modest reduction in polytherapy (93 % to 87.5 %). The network analysis revealed clusters of ASMs commonly prescribed together that were associated with seizure freedom (valproic acid, lamotrigine, topiramate), whereas combinations including phenobarbital and lamotrigine were linked to more adverse effects. Valproate continues to play a key role in seizure control due to its efficacy, accessibility, and broad-spectrum profile. Despite advances in newer ASM use and improved seizure outcomes, adverse effects remain a concern. Continued monitoring of ASM combinations is warranted to better understand evolving treatment patterns and guide epilepsy management in resource-limited settings.

Hu MJ, Hu WW, Yao B et al.

Ming-Jun Hu,1,* Wen-Wen Hu,2,* Bei Yao,1 Xiao-Min Dong,1 Xue-Li Wang,1 Dan Su,1 Gui-Qi Song,2,3 Yong-Liang Zhang1 1Department of Health Management Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Gui-Qi Song, School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui, People’s Republic of China, Email songguiqi66@sina.com Yong-Liang Zhang, Department of Health Management Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 0551 62284719, Email zyl2020@ustc.edu.cnPurpose: Chronotype can be used to describe individual’s circadian preference in behavioral and circadian rhythm, representing the preferences for earlier or later sleep times. This study aimed to investigate the association of chronotype with hypertension and metabolic parameters in middle-aged and older adults.Patients and Methods: A total of 945 participants were recruited from December 2023 to December 2024 at First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China. Chronotype was determined using the full Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, with higher scores indicating preference for morning chronotype. Chronotype was dichotomized at the median score in current cohort, classifying 447 participants as morning chronotypes and 498 as evening chronotypes. Anthropometric measurements and biochemical analyses were also conducted. Multivariable logistic, linear regression, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were employed to evaluate association between chronotype, metabolic parameters, and hypertension.Results: After adjustment for covariates, evening chronotype was significantly associated with hypertension risk (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.17− 2.17), compared with morning chronotype. The RCS analysis suggested a significant nonlinearity association between chronotype score and hypertension (P for nonlinear = 0.047). Furthermore, higher chronotype score was significantly associated with decreased levels of total cholesterol [TC, β (95% CI): − 0.12 (− 0.19, − 0.04)], low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [LDL-C, β (95% CI): − 0.21 (− 0.33, − 0.08)] and serum uric acid [SUA, β (95% CI): − 0.09 (− 0.18, − 0.01)], but with increased levels of aspartate aminotransferase [AST, β (95% CI): 0.16 (0.05, 0.27)]. In discrimination model, chronotype was associated with hypertension independently of TC, SUA, alanine transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase, with model’s AUC of 0.779 (95% CI: 0.749– 0.808).Conclusion: In middle-aged and older adults, preference for morning chronotype was associated with decreased levels of TC, LDL-C, and SUA, but with increased levels of AST. Moreover, evening chronotype was significantly independently associated with increased risk of hypertension.Keywords: sleep, chronotype, metabolic parameters, hypertension, risk factors

Fulvio Forni, Rodolphe Sepulchre

We introduce a gradient modeling framework for memristive systems. Our focus is on memristive systems as they appear in neurophysiology and neuromorphic systems. Revisiting the original definition of Chua, we regard memristive elements as gradient operators of quadratic functionals with respect to a metric determined by the memristance. We explore the consequences of gradient properties for the analysis and design of neuromorphic circuits.

Keke Huang, Yu Guang Wang, Ming Li et al.

Spectral Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), alternatively known as graph filters, have gained increasing prevalence for heterophily graphs. Optimal graph filters rely on Laplacian eigendecomposition for Fourier transform. In an attempt to avert prohibitive computations, numerous polynomial filters have been proposed. However, polynomials in the majority of these filters are predefined and remain fixed across different graphs, failing to accommodate the varying degrees of heterophily. Addressing this gap, we demystify the intrinsic correlation between the spectral property of desired polynomial bases and the heterophily degrees via thorough theoretical analyses. Subsequently, we develop a novel adaptive heterophily basis wherein the basis vectors mutually form angles reflecting the heterophily degree of the graph. We integrate this heterophily basis with the homophily basis to construct a universal polynomial basis UniBasis, which devises a polynomial filter based graph neural network - UniFilter. It optimizes the convolution and propagation in GNN, thus effectively limiting over-smoothing and alleviating over-squashing. Our extensive experiments, conducted on a diverse range of real-world and synthetic datasets with varying degrees of heterophily, support the superiority of UniFilter. These results not only demonstrate the universality of UniBasis but also highlight its proficiency in graph explanation.

Mara A. Guzmán‑Ruiz, Amor Herrera‑González, Adriana Jiménez et al.

Qingjie Meng, Wenjia Bai, Declan P O'Regan et al.

3D motion estimation from cine cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) images is important for the assessment of cardiac function and the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Current state-of-the art methods focus on estimating dense pixel-/voxel-wise motion fields in image space, which ignores the fact that motion estimation is only relevant and useful within the anatomical objects of interest, e.g., the heart. In this work, we model the heart as a 3D mesh consisting of epi- and endocardial surfaces. We propose a novel learning framework, DeepMesh, which propagates a template heart mesh to a subject space and estimates the 3D motion of the heart mesh from CMR images for individual subjects. In DeepMesh, the heart mesh of the end-diastolic frame of an individual subject is first reconstructed from the template mesh. Mesh-based 3D motion fields with respect to the end-diastolic frame are then estimated from 2D short- and long-axis CMR images. By developing a differentiable mesh-to-image rasterizer, DeepMesh is able to leverage 2D shape information from multiple anatomical views for 3D mesh reconstruction and mesh motion estimation. The proposed method estimates vertex-wise displacement and thus maintains vertex correspondences between time frames, which is important for the quantitative assessment of cardiac function across different subjects and populations. We evaluate DeepMesh on CMR images acquired from the UK Biobank. We focus on 3D motion estimation of the left ventricle in this work. Experimental results show that the proposed method quantitatively and qualitatively outperforms other image-based and mesh-based cardiac motion tracking methods.

Hasan Gorjian Mahlabani, Ali Sheykholeslami, Ahmadreza Kiani et al.

Aim and Background: Among all the problems that can occur in a marital relationship, infidelity is the most severe and threatening point for the stability of the relationship. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of Affective–Reconstructive Couple Therapy on the cognitive emotion regulation in women affected by infidelity. Methods and Materials: The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up design. The statistical population of the study included all women affected by marital infidelity who referred to the counseling clinic of Eltiam and Mehrafza in Babolsar city in the years 2018, 2019 and 2020. The sample size included 24 couples, i.e. 12 couples of the experimental group (Affective-reconstructive couple therapy) and 12 couples of the control group, which were selected by available sampling method and randomly replaced in the groups. Garnefski et al.'s (2001) cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire was used to collect data. The method of data analysis was analysis of variance with repeated measurements. Findings: The obtained results showed that affective-reconstructive couple therapy was effective in improving the emotional cognitive regulation strategies of women affected by infidelity (p≤0.05). Conclusions: According to the findings, it can be said that affective- reconstructive couple therapy is effective in reducing emotional problems and improving emotional regulation strategies of women.

Junmei Hu Frisk, Stefan Örn, Gunnar Pejler et al.

Abstract Background Deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) is an essential building block of DNA, and defects in enzymes involved in dTTP synthesis cause neurodegenerative disorders. For instance, mutations in DTYMK, the gene coding for thymidylate kinase (TMPK), cause severe microcephaly in human. However, the mechanism behind this is not well-understood. Here we used the zebrafish model and studied (i) TMPK, an enzyme required for both the de novo and the salvage pathways of dTTP synthesis, and (ii) thymidine kinases (TK) of the salvage pathway in order to understand their role in neuropathology. Results Our findings reveal that maternal-stored dNTPs are only sufficient for 6 cell division cycles, and the levels of dNTPs are inversely correlated to cell cycle length during early embryogenesis. TMPK and TK activities are prominent in the cytosol of embryos, larvae and adult fish and brain contains the highest TMPK activity. During early development, TMPK activity increased gradually from 6 hpf and a profound increase was observed at 72 hpf, and TMPK activity reached its maximal level at 96 hpf, and remained at high level until 144 hpf. The expression of dtymk encoded Dtymk protein correlated to its mRNA expression and neuronal development but not to the TMPK activity detected. However, despite the high TMPK activity detected at later stages of development, the Dtymk protein was undetectable. Furthermore, the TMPK enzyme detected at later stages showed similar biochemical properties as the Dtymk enzyme but was not recognized by the Dtymk specific antibody. Conclusions Our results suggest that active dNTP synthesis in early embryogenesis is vital and that Dtymk is essential for neurodevelopment, which is supported by a recent study of dtymk knockout zebrafish with neurological disorder and lethal outcomes. Furthermore, there is a novel TMPK-like enzyme expressed at later stages of development.

Mainieri G, Loddo G, Castelnovo A et al.

Greta Mainieri,1,* Giuseppe Loddo,2,* Anna Castelnovo,3– 5 Giulia Balella,1 Rosalia Cilea,6 Susanna Mondini,7 Mauro Manconi,3,4,8 Federica Provini1,7 1Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 2Department of Primary Care, Azienda AUSL di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 3Sleep Medicine Unit, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Lugano, Switzerland; 4Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland; 5University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; 6Neurology Unit, “Morgagni-Pierantoni” Hospital, AUSL Romagna, Forlì, Italy; 7IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italia; 8Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Federica Provini, IRCCS, Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Bellaria Hospital, Via Altura, 3, Bologna, 40139, Italy, Tel +39 051 4966829, Email federica.provini@unibo.itPurpose: Disorders of arousal (DoA) are characterized by incomplete awakening from NREM sleep, with the admixture of both deep sleep and wake EEG activity. Previous observations suggested that changes in EEG activity could be detected in the seconds preceding DoA episodes. The aims of this work were to characterize the topography of EEG spectral changes prior to DoA episodes and to investigate whether or not behavioral complexity could be predicted by changes in EEG immediately preceding behavioral onsets.Patients and Methods: We collected 103 consecutive video-polysomnographic recordings of 53 DoA adult patients and classified all episodes as simple, rising and complex arousal movements. For each episode, a 5-second window preceding its motor onset (“pre-event”) and a 60-second window from 2 to 3 minutes before the episodes (“baseline”) were compared. Subsequently, a between-group comparison was performed for the pre-event of simpler versus the more complex episodes.Results: Spectral analysis over 325 DoA episodes showed an absolute significant increase prior to DoA episodes in all frequency bands excluding sigma, which displayed the opposite effect. In normalized maps, the increase was relatively higher over the central/anterior areas for both slow and fast frequency bands. No significant differences emerged from the comparison between simpler and more complex episodes.Conclusion: Taken together, these results show that deep sleep and wake-like EEG rhythms coexist over overlapping areas before DoA episodes, suggesting an alteration of local sleep mechanisms. Episodes of different complexity are preceded by a similar EEG activation, implying that they possibly share a similar pathophysiology.Keywords: parasomnia, disorders of arousal, neurophysiology, spectral EEG

Qi Wang, Zhe Ding, Gary Wong et al.

Acoustic mixing of droplets is a promising way to implement biosensors that combine high speed and minimal reagent consumption. To date, this type of droplet mixing is driven by a volume force resulting from the absorption of high-frequency acoustic waves in the bulk of the fluid. Here, we show that the speed of these sensors is limited by the slow advection of analyte to the sensor surface due to the formation of a hydrodynamic boundary layer. We eliminate this hydrodynamic boundary layer by using much lower ultrasonic frequencies to excite the droplet, which drives a Rayleigh streaming that behaves essentially like a slip velocity. Three-dimensional simulations show that this provides a threefold speedup compared to Eckart streaming. Experimentally, we shorten a SARS-CoV-2 antibody immunoassay from 20 min to 40 s.

Ilke Öztekin, Mark A. Finlayson, Paulo A. Graziano et al.

Given the negative trajectories of early behavior problems associated with ADHD, early diagnosis is considered critical to enable intervention and treatment. To this end, the current investigation employed machine learning to evaluate the relative predictive value of parent/teacher ratings, behavioral and neural measures of executive function (EF) in predicting ADHD in a sample consisting of 162 young children (ages 4–7, mean age 5.55, 82.6 % Hispanic/Latino). Among the target measures, teacher ratings of EF were the most predictive of ADHD. While a more extensive evaluation of neural measures, such as diffusion-weighted imaging, may provide more information as they relate to the underlying cognitive deficits associated with ADHD, the current study indicates that measures of cortical anatomy obtained in research studies, as well cognitive measures of EF often obtained in routine assessments, have little incremental value in differentiating typically developing children from those diagnosed with ADHD. It is important to note that the overlap between some of the EF questions in the BRIEF, and the ADHD symptoms could be enhancing this effect. Thus, future research evaluating the importance of such measures in predicting children’s functional impairment in academic and social areas would provide additional insight into their contributing role in ADHD.

Vellieux G, Frija-Masson J, Rouvel-Tallec A et al.

Geoffroy Vellieux,1,2 Justine Frija-Masson,1,2 Anny Rouvel-Tallec,1,2 Xavier Drouot,3 Marie-Pia d’Ortho1,2 1Université de Paris, NeuroDiderot, Inserm, Paris, F-75019, France; 2Centre du sommeil, Service de Physiologie – Explorations Fonctionnelles, AP-HP, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris, F-75018, France; 3Neurophysiologie Clinique et Explorations Fonctionnelles, CHU de Poitiers, Poitiers, FranceCorrespondence: Geoffroy VellieuxUniversité de Paris, NeuroDiderot, Inserm, Paris, F-75019, FranceTel +33 140258401Fax +33 140257181Email geoffroy.vellieux@aphp.frAbstract: We describe the case of a male patient who was diagnosed with narcolepsy type 1 on the basis of sleep and wake symptoms, and the results of investigations including video-polysomnography, multiple sleep latency test, human leukocyte antigen status and orexin level in cerebrospinal fluid. During the first years after disease onset, the patient did not show any significant improvement despite treatment with a variety of stimulant and anti-cataplectic drugs. However, spontaneous remission of disease occurred after 15 years.Keywords: narcolepsy, cataplexy, excessive daytime sleepiness, orexin, hypocretin, remission

Johanna Liebig, Angela D. Friederici, Nicole E. Neef

Andreas Rogalewski, Frédéric Zuhorn, Ludwig Wilkens et al.

Levetiracetam (LEV) is a broad-spectrum, second-generation anti-seizure medication, which has quickly become one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for people with epielpsy due to its good tolerability, rapid up-dosing capability, with both parenteral and enteral routes of administration. Considering the frequent prescriptions and predominant excretion by the kidney with minimal hepatic metabolism, severe liver injury is very rarely a complication associated with LEV. An analysis of this reported case and further published cases was performed with respect to indication, relevant previous liver diseases, concomitant medication, and both the dosage as well as the duration of LEV when drug-induced liver injury (DILI) was noted. DILI occurs after a few days to a maximum of five months after initiation of therapy with LEV and, in the worst case, may require liver transplantation or result in death. Monitoring of serum transaminase values may be helpful. Discontinuing LEV is the first therapeutic measure. In addition, immunosuppression with cortisone can be considered for serious cases.

Xiao Lu, Mohammad Salehi, Martin Haenggi et al.

The performance of wireless networks is fundamentally limited by the aggregate interference, which depends on the spatial distributions of the interferers, channel conditions, and user traffic patterns (or queueing dynamics). These factors usually exhibit spatial and temporal correlations and thus make the performance of large-scale networks environment-dependent (i.e., dependent on network topology, locations of the blockages, etc.). The correlation can be exploited in protocol designs (e.g., spectrum-, load-, location-, energy-aware resource allocations) to provide efficient wireless services. For this, accurate system-level performance characterization and evaluation with spatio-temporal correlation are required. In this context, stochastic geometry models and random graph techniques have been used to develop analytical frameworks to capture the spatio-temporal interference correlation in large-scale wireless networks. The objective of this article is to provide a tutorial on the stochastic geometry analysis of large-scale wireless networks that captures the spatio-temporal interference correlation (and hence the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) correlation). We first discuss the importance of spatio-temporal performance analysis, different parameters affecting the spatio-temporal correlation in the SIR, and the different performance metrics for spatio-temporal analysis. Then we describe the methodologies to characterize spatio-temporal SIR correlations for different network configurations (independent, attractive, repulsive configurations), shadowing scenarios, user locations, queueing behavior, relaying, retransmission, and mobility. We conclude by outlining future research directions in the context of spatio-temporal analysis of emerging wireless communications scenarios.

Jennie A. Jaggers, June Gruber

Steven M Paul, Graziano Pinna, Alessandro Guidotti

Allopregnanolone is synthesized in the central nervous system either de novo from cholesterol or from steroid hormone precursors like progesterone and pregnenolone. Over the past 30 years, direct and rapid, non-genomic actions of allopregnanolone and its derivatives via GABAA receptors have been demonstrated. Changes in brain levels of allopregnanolone during pregnancy and in the postpartum period, or during exposure to protracted stress appear to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. The discovery that allopregnanolone at low (nanomolar) concentrations elicits marked anxiolytic, anti-stress and antidepressant effects by facilitating allosterically the action of GABA at extrasynaptic GABAA receptors has provided new perspectives for the discovery of novel drugs useful for the treatment of mood disorders. These findings have led to the seminal clinical studies that recently demonstrated that treatment with allopregnanolone (i.e., brexanolone) can dramatically and rapidly improve the symptoms of postpartum depression in many patients.

Loewy J

Joanne Loewy The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY 10003, USACorrespondence: Joanne LoewyThe Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, 10 Union Square East, New York, NY 10003, USATel +1 212 420-3484Email Joanne.Loewy@mountsinai.orgAbstract: Sleep deficiency is linked to chronic health problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression. Healthcare practitioners are increasingly paying close attention to sleep and its impact on health and wellness as a measure of critical vitality. Sleep’s impact on neurologic function, and cognitive endurance affect capacity throughout the lifespan. This article will address recent findings related to the potential of music to induce sleep in illness and wellness. Music therapy research findings and its efficacy as a potent cost-effective intervention will be highlighted.Keywords: music sedation, music therapy, sleep induction