Life Sciences Commons^™

Cortisol And Alpha-Synuclein Stability In Saliva Under Varying Storage And Handling Conditions, Mo Zheng, Sujata Srikanth, Jeremiah Carpenter, Delphine Dean

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor impairments and non-motor symptoms, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Currently, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the primary biofluid used for PD biomarker studies, notably α-synuclein, despite the invasive nature of lumbar puncture procedures. Recent work has shown that some of these PD biomarkers have been measured in saliva. As an alternative to CSF, saliva can be non-invasively self-collected by patients repeatedly over time to monitor biomarker levels. However, the stability of these biomarkers in saliva needs to be evaluated before saliva can be considered for patient self-collection studies. Therefore, …

Energy Drinks, Shots, And Pre-Workout Supplements: A Brief Review, Jason M. Curtis, Jose Antonio

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Abstract

Introduction: There are many purported benefits, both physically and mentally, to consuming energy drinks, energy shots, and multi-ingredient pre-workout supplements ¹.

Methods: This current review, we used studies that investigated the benefits of ED, ES, and MIPS products. We looked for studies that reported the effects of these products, both physical and/or mental.

Review Findings: Current literature on these products suggests that the consumption of these ergogenic aids may increase power, force production, anaerobic production, muscular endurance, and endurance performance in athletes as well as improvement in many indices of mental performance ^2,15.

Practical …

Wearable Device Case-Study: Unveiling Physiological Stress Patterns In A Neurosurgeon Operating Multiple Surgeries, Andy Suarez, Justin Braun, Gabriel J. Sanders, Yoav Ritter, Steven Vanni, Jaime Tartar, Corey A. Peacock

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Introduction

Utilizing a wearable device, this case study aims to measure stress at different surgical durations to bridge the gap in research regarding the physiological stress of surgery. Significant stress variations throughout the surgeries are anticipated, which will provide valuable insight into the patterns of physiological stress experienced by our neurosurgeon.

Materials and Methods

One male neurosurgeon subject (n=1; age: 48; height: 188 cm; weight: 87.3 kg) conducted 82 surgeries (2023-2024). A wearable device (Whoop 4, Boston, MA) was used to monitor maximum heart rate (MAXHR), average heart rate (AVGHR), calories (CAL), strain (STR) and surgery duration (MIN). Surgeries were …

Improved Efficiency And Sensitivity Analysis Of 3-D Agent-Based Model For Pain-Related Neural Activity In The Amygdala, Kayla Kraeuter, Carley Reith, Benedict J. Kolber, Rachael Miller Neilan

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Neuropathic pain is caused by nerve injury and involves brain areas such as the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). We developed the first 3-D agent-based model (ABM) of neuropathic pain-related neurons in the CeA using NetLogo3D. The execution time of a single ABM simulation using realistic parameters (e.g., 13,000 neurons and 22,000+ neural connections) is an important factor in the model’s usability. In this paper, we describe our efforts to improve the computational efficiency of our 3-D ABM, which resulted in a 28% reduction in execution time on average for a typical simulation. With this upgraded model, we performed …

External And Internal Attribution In Human-Agent Interaction: Insights From Neuroscience And Virtual Reality, Nina Lauharatanahirun, Andrea Won, Angel Hsing-Chi Hwang

Human-Machine Communication

Agents are designed in the image of humans, both internally and externally. The internal systems of agents imitate the human brain, both at the levels of hardware (i.e., neuromorphic computing) and software (i.e., neural networks). Furthermore, the external appearance and behaviors of agents are designed by people and based on human data. Sometimes, these humanlike qualities of agents are purposely selected to increase their social influence over human users, and sometimes the human factors that influence perceptions of agents are hidden. Inspired by Blascovich’s “threshold of social influence’, a model designed to explain the effects of different methods of anthropomorphizing …

Embracing The Irreplaceable: The Role Of Neurodiversity In Cultivating Human-Ai Symbiosis In Education, Piper Hutson

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

This study investigates the indispensable role of human skills—such as empathy, ethical judgment, and nuanced understanding—in the development and application of artificial intelligence (AI) within higher education, highlighting the unique contributions of neurodivergent perspectives in creating a symbiotic human-AI relationship. Drawing upon research that evidences the superior performance of diverse teams in creativity and innovation, the paper argues for the integration of neurodiversity into AI development as a means to address the philosophy of 'fearing the Other,' thereby mitigating biases and fostering ethical AI interactions. The technology sector's adoption of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, including biopsychosocial interventions and …

Brain Science And Brain-Inspired Intelligence In Intelligent Era, Xu Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

With intelligence technology as the core technology and intelligent computing power as the productive force, the intelligent era has once again pushed brain science to the forefront of world science and technology. Brain science is the science that studies the nature and rule of cognition and intelligence of human, animal, and machine. A comprehensive analysis of the structure and functional connection rule of the nervous system will eventually draw the functional connectivity map of the brain. In the past decade, neuroscience research has been committed to systematically analyzing the types of neurons and neural structural connections of the nervous system, …

Does Joint Angle Affect Composite, Inter-Individual, And Intra-Individual Patterns Of Responses For Men During Fatiguing Isometric Forearm Flexion Tasks Anchored To A High Perceptual Intensity?, Jocelyn E. Arnett, Robert W. Smith, Tyler J. Neltner, John Paul V. Anders, Dolores G. Ortega, Terry J. Housh, Richard J. Schmidt, Glen O. Johnson

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to utilize the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Clamp Model to examine the effects of joint angle on the composite, inter-, and intra-individual patterns of responses for torque and neuromuscular parameters during fatiguing isometric tasks anchored to RPE of 8 (RPE = 8) at elbow joint angles of 75° (JA75) and 125° (JA125) for men. Methods: Ten men (Mean ± SD: age: 20.7 ± 1.2 yrs; height: 181.6 ± 6.0 cm; body mass: 83.7 ± 14.9 kg) performed 2,3 s forearm flexion maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) with the dominant arm before and …

Harmonious Healing: A Review Of Music Therapy, A Humanities-Based Approach To Alzheimer’S Disease Treatment, Rohan K. Desai

Kentucky Undergraduate Journal for the Health Humanities

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease often characterized by memory loss, confusion, and overall cognitive decline. The aging global population has, in recent years, highlighted the fundamental lack of pharmacological treatments for individuals facing an AD diagnosis. In response, a growing body of research has shifted focus to non-pharmacological humanities-based interventions. One such intervention has been music therapy (MT). Music-focused measures have shown great promise as a method of slowing cognitive decline, but mixed results in the literature warrant the need for further investigation. Often, socioeconomic barriers can limit an individual’s access to drug-related treatments, but the affordable …

2023 Ulm Student Research Symposium Proceedings, Burton Ashworth

Multidisciplinary Psychology: A Journal of Collaboration

This is the results and proceedings from the 2023 ULM Student Research Symposium.

Neuropsychological Malingering Determination: The Illusion Of Scientific Lie Detection, Chunlin Leonhard, Christoph Leonhard

Georgia Law Review

Humans believe that other humans lie, especially when stakes are high. Stakes can be very high in a courtroom, from substantial amounts of monetary damages in civil litigation to liberty or life in criminal cases. One of the most frequently disputed issues in U.S. courts is whether litigants are malingering when they allege physical or mental conditions for which they are seeking damages or which would allow them to avoid criminal punishment. Understandably, creating a scientific method to detect lies is very appealing to all persons engaged in lie detection. Neuropsychologists claim that they can use neuropsychological assessment tests (Malingering …

The Effect Of Pornography On Marriage And Its Societal Impacts: A Neurobiological Perspective, Katie Rose Geer

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Theatre And Cognitive Neuroscience, Mary Katherine Flage

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Potential Of Using Eeg To Monitor Cognitive Workload In Simulated Suborbital Flight, Erik Seedhouse Phd

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Mental workload can be assessed using electrophysiological measures of brain activity, such as electroencephalography (EEG). EEG signals reveal cortical electrical activity. This cortical activity was recorded using specialized headsets. The focus of this research was to study cognitive performance (CP) in four pilots during simulated suborbital flights under nominal day and night profiles and under contingency day and night profiles. A 14-channel EMOTIV EEG headset measured the participants' brain activity while they flew simulated flights in a Suborbital Spaceflight Simulator (SSFS). Several sessions of EEG data were recorded from each subject, and feature extraction was applied. Data revealed that real-time …

Precommentary: Animal Personality Needs Animal Sentience, Ralph Adolphs, Yue Xu

Animal Sentience

We are grateful to Owens, Bryja & Bekoff (2024) for their important discussion of individual differences in animals, emphasizing the role of personality in conservation, wildlife research, and wellbeing. But their emphasis also raises new challenges: How should we conceive of personality in nonhuman species? what modern tools could be leveraged to best measure it? and, perhaps most important of all: how can we ensure that the conscious experience of animals — their capacity for wellbeing and for suffering — is not forgotten along the way? We touch on each of these challenges in this invited Precommentary in the hope …