Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Patterns Of Prospective Memory Errors Differ In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis., Caitlyn A Nguyen, Sarah A Raskin, Aaron P Turner, Zaenab Dhari, Lindsay O Neto, Elizabeth S Gromisch

Faculty Scholarship

INTRODUCTION: Prospective memory (PM) deficits have been documented in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to explore the specific types of errors made by persons with MS (PwMS), including differences between PwMS and healthy controls (HC) and PwMS who do and do not have impairments in processing speed and/or verbal learning and memory.

METHOD: PwMS (

RESULTS: Nearly 93% of PwMS made at least one PM error, compared to 76% of HC (

CONCLUSIONS: PM errors are common in PwMS, particularly when there are longer delays and time-based cues. Not only do PwMS make more errors than demographically similar HC, …

Measurement Of Prospective Memory In Spanish Speakers, Laura Cadavid, Alicia Camuy, Valerie Velez, Sarah Raskin

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction: This study aimed to provide preliminary evidence on the psychometric properties of a measure of prospective memory in Spanish speakers, the Memory for Intentions Test (MIST) Spanish translation.

Methods: In addition, this study investigated whether acculturation influenced performance on the MIST. Finally, we measured other cognitive factors that might be impacting the relationship between culture and prospective memory performance. These factors were working memory, autobiographical memory, and episodic future thought.

Results: Overall, the psychometric properties of the Spanish MIST appear to be similar to the English language MIST, but our sample size was too small to allow for the …

Traumatic Brain Injury Screening And Neuropsychological Functioning In Women Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence, Sarah Raskin, Olivia Dejoie, Carolyn Edwards, Chloe Ouchida, Jocelyn Moran, Olivia White, Michelle Mordasiewicz, Dorothy Anika, Blessing Njoku

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: The potential for traumatic brain injury (TBI) to occur as the result of intimate partner violence (IPV) has received increased interest in recent years. This study sought to investigate the possible occurrence of TBI in a group of women who survived IPV and to measure the specific profile of cognitive deficits using standardized neuropsychological measures. Method: A comprehensive questionnaire about abuse history; neuropsychological measures of attention, memory and executive functioning; and measures of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder were given to women who were IPV survivors, women who were sexual assault (SA) survivors, and a comparison group of …

Probability Distribution Of Sars-Cov-2 (Covid) Infectivity Following Onset Of Symptoms: Analysis From First Principles, Mark P. Silverman

Faculty Scholarship

The phasing out of protective measures by governments and public health agencies, despite continued seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, leaves individuals who are concerned for their health with two basic options over which they have control: 1) minimize risk of infection by being vaccinated and by wearing a face mask when appropriate, and 2) minimize risk of transmission upon infection by self-isolating. For the latter to be effective, it is essential to have an accurate sense of the probability of infectivity as a function of time following the onset of symptoms. Epidemiological considerations suggest that the period of infectivity follows …

Differential Ketogenic Diet-Induced Shift In Csf Lipid/Carbohydrate Metabolome Of Pediatric Epilepsy Patients With Optimal Vs. No Anticonvulsant Response: A Pilot Study, Susan A. Masino, David N. Ruskin, Natalie R. Freedgood, Marie Lindefeldt, Maria Dahlin

Faculty Scholarship

Background: The low carbohydrate, high fat ketogenic diet can be an effective anticonvulsant treatment in some pediatric patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Its mechanism(s) of action, however, remain uncertain. Direct sampling of cerebrospinal fluid before and during metabolic therapy may reveal key changes associated with differential clinical outcomes. We characterized the relationship between seizure responsiveness and changes in lipid and carbohydrate metabolites. Methods: We performed metabolomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid samples taken before and during ketogenic diet treatment in patients with optimal response (100% seizure remission) and patients with no response (no seizure improvement) to search for differential diet effects in …

Ketogenic Diet Effects On Inflammatory Allodynia And Ongoing Pain In Rodents, David N. Ruskin, Isabella C. Sturdevant, Livia S. Wyss, Susan A. Masino

Faculty Scholarship

© 2021, The Author(s). Ketogenic diets are very low carbohydrate, high fat, moderate protein diets used to treat medication-resistant epilepsy. Growing evidence suggests that one of the ketogenic diet’s main mechanisms of action is reducing inflammation. Here, we examined the diet’s effects on experimental inflammatory pain in rodent models. Young adult rats and mice were placed on the ketogenic diet or maintained on control diet. After 3–4 weeks on their respective diets, complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) was injected in one hindpaw to induce inflammation; the contralateral paw was used as the control. Tactile sensitivity (von Frey) and indicators of spontaneous …

Patterns Of Contagious Yawning And Itching Differ Amongst Adults With Autistic Traits Vs. Psychopathic Traits, Molly S. Helt, Taylor M. Sorensen, Rachel J. Scheub, Mira B. Nakhle, Anna C. Luddy

Faculty Scholarship

Both individuals with diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and individuals high in psychopathic traits show reduced susceptibility to contagious yawning; that is, yawning after seeing or hearing another person yawn. Yet it is unclear whether the same underlying processes (e.g., reduced eye gaze) are responsible for the relationship between reduced contagion and these very different types of clinical traits. College Students (n = 97) watched videos of individuals yawning or scratching (a form of contagion not reliant on eye gaze for transmission) while their eye movements were tracked. They completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), …

Adenosine A1 Receptor-Mediated Protection Of Mouse Hippocampal Synaptic Transmission Against Oxygen And/Or Glucose Deprivation: A Comparative Study, Masahito Kawamura, David N. Ruskin, Susan A. Masino

Faculty Scholarship

© 2019 the American Physiological Society. Adenosine receptors are widely ex-pressed in the brain, and adenosine is a key bioactive substance for neuroprotection. In this article, we clarify systematically the role of adenosine A1 receptors during a range of timescales and conditions when a significant amount of adenosine is released. Using acute hippocampal slices obtained from mice that were wild type or null mutant for the adenosine A1 receptor, we quantified and characterized the impact of varying durations of experimental ischemia, hypoxia, and hypoglycemia on synaptic transmission in the CA1 subregion. In normal tissue, these three stressors rapidly and markedly …

Writing Assignments In Epidemiology Courses: How Many And How Good?, Ella August, Karen Burke, Cathy Fleischer, James A. Trostle

Faculty Scholarship

© 2019, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. Objectives: Schools and programs of public health are concerned about poor student writing. We determined the proportion of epidemiology courses that required writing assignments and the presence of 6 characteristics of these assignments. Methods: We requested syllabi, writing assignments, and grading criteria from instructors of graduate and undergraduate epidemiology courses taught during 2016 or 2017. We assessed the extent to which these assignments incorporated 6 characteristics of effective writing assignments: (1) a description of the purpose of the writing or learning goals of the assignment, (2) a document type (eg, …

Dietary Intervention For Canine Epilepsy: Two Case Reports, Susan A. Masino, Natalie R. Freedgood, Hannah R. Reichert, Chris J. Director, Vicky H. Whittemore, Beth Zupec-Kania

Faculty Scholarship

© 2019 The Authors. Epilepsia Open published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy. Epilepsy is a common neurologic disorder in humans and domesticated canines. In both species the etiology is diverse and complex, and even with medication a significant portion of the population does not experience sufficient seizure control and/or has unacceptable side effects. Humans often try alternatives such as dietary therapy or brain surgery, but in dogs, brain surgery is rarely an option and, despite potential benefits, there are no standard recommendations for a dietary approach. Herein we describe 2 retrospective case studies detailing …

Determinants Of Latrine Use Behavior: The Psychosocial Proxies Of Individual-Level Defecation Practices In Rural Coastal Ecuador, Velma K. Lopez, Veronica J. Berrocal, Betty Corozo Angulo, Pavani K. Ram, James Trostle, Joseph N.S. Eisenberg

Faculty Scholarship

Copyright © 2019 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. There is increasing appreciation that latrine access does not imply use—many individuals who own latrines do not consistently use them. Little is known, however, about the determinants of latrine use, particularly among those with variable defecation behaviors. Using the integrated behavior model of water, sanitation, and hygiene framework, we sought to characterize determinants of latrine use in rural Ecuador. We interviewed 197 adults living in three communities with a survey consisting of 70 psychosocial defecation-related questions. Questions were excluded from analysis if responses lacked variability or at least …

Adenosine Signaling Through A1 Receptors Inhibits Chemosensitive Neurons In The Retrotrapezoid Nucleus, S. D. James, V. E. Hawkins, B. Falquetto, D. N. Ruskin, S. A. Masino, T. S. Moreira, M. L. Olsen, D. K. Mulkey

Faculty Scholarship

© 2018 James et al. A subset of neurons in the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) function as respiratory chemoreceptors by regulating depth and frequency of breathing in response to changes in tissue CO 2 /H + . The activity of chemosensitive RTN neurons is also subject to modulation by CO 2 /H + -dependent purinergic signaling. However, mechanisms contributing to purinergic regulation of RTN chemoreceptors are not entirely clear. Recent evidence suggests adenosine inhibits RTN chemoreception in vivo by activation of A1 receptors. The goal of this study was to characterize effects of adenosine on chemosensitive RTN neurons and identify intrinsic …

Ketogenic Diet Modulates Nad+-Dependent Enzymes And Reduces Dna Damage In Hippocampus, Marwa Elamin, David N. Ruskin, Susan A. Masino, Paola Sacchetti

Faculty Scholarship

© 2018 Elamin, Ruskin, Masino and Sacchetti. The ketogenic diet’s (KD) anti-seizure effects have long been documented. Recently, its therapeutic potential in multiple neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders has emerged. Yet experimental evidence for a fundamental mechanism underlying beneficial effects across numerous diseases remains lacking. We previously showed that feeding rats a KD produced an early (within 2 days) and persistent elevation of hippocampal nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide+ (NAD+), an essential metabolic coenzyme and signaling molecule. NAD+ is a marker of cellular health and a substrate for enzymes implicated in longevity and DNA damage repair such as sirtuins and poly-ADP ribose polymerase-1 …

Trends Of Child Undernutrition In Rural Ecuadorian Communities With Differential Access To Roads, 2004–2013, Velma K. Lopez, Carolyn Dombecki, James Trostle, Patricia Mogrovejo, Nancy Castro Morillo, William Cevallos, Jason Goldstick, Andrew D. Jones, Joseph N.S. Eisenberg

Faculty Scholarship

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Road access can influence protective and risk factors associated with nutrition by affecting various social and biological processes. In northern coastal Ecuador, the construction of new roads created a remoteness gradient among villages, providing a unique opportunity to examine the impact of roads on child nutritional outcomes 10 years after the road was built. Anthropometric and haemoglobin measurements were collected from 2,350 children Esmeraldas, Ecuador, from 2004 to 2013 across 28 villages with differing road access. Logistic generalized estimating equation models assessed the longitudinal association between village remoteness and prevalence of stunting, wasting, …

Prospective Memory In Clinical Populations [Post-Print], Sarah Raskin

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: Prospective memory (PM) has emerged as a form of episodic memory that is frequently impaired in a variety of clinical populations. Neuropsychologists who routinely evaluate these populations are often unaware of the possibility of PM deficits or the impact these deficits may have on everyday functioning. The objective of this special issue is to provide an overview of the nature of prospective deficits in a range of clinical populations, to discuss neuropsychological assessment techniques, and to critically evaluate management strategies. Method: We solicited papers from established researchers and issued a general call for papers for the special …

The Role Of Mobile Genetic Elements In The Spread Of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia Coli From Chickens To Humans In Small-Scale Production Poultry Operations In Rural Ecuador, Kara A. Moser, Lixin Zhang, Ian Spicknall, Nikolay P. Braykov, Karen Levy, Carl F. Marrs, Betsy Foxman, Gabriel Trueba, William Cevallos, Jason Goldstick, James Trostle, Joseph N.S. Eisenberg

Faculty Scholarship

© The Author(s) 2018. Small-scale production poultry operations are increasingly common worldwide. To investigate how these operations influence antimicrobial resistance and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), Escherichia coli isolates were sampled from small-scale production birds (raised in confined spaces with antibiotics in feed), household birds (no movement constraints; fed on scraps), and humans associated with these birds in rural Ecuador (2010-2012). Isolates were screened for genes associated with MGEs as well as phenotypic resistance to 12 antibiotics. Isolates from small-scale production birds had significantly elevated odds of resistance to 7 antibiotics and presence of MGE genes compared with household birds (adjusted …

Caffeine Consumption Disrupts Hippocampal Long-Term Potentiation In Freely Behaving Rats., J Harry Blaise, Jee Eun Park, Nicholas J Bellas, Thomas M Gitchell, Vy Phan

Faculty Scholarship

Caffeine, one of the most commonly consumed psychoactive substances in the world, has long been known to alter neurological functions, such as alertness, attention, and memory. Despite caffeine's popularity, systematic investigations of its effects on synaptic plasticity in the brain are still lacking. Here we used a freely behaving rodent model of long-term potentiation (LTP), a frequently studied form of synaptic plasticity, to assess the effects of caffeine consumption on hippocampal plasticity. LTP, which is a persistent increase in the strength of synaptic connections between neurons, is a cellular mechanism widely considered to underlie the processes of learning and memory. …

Editorial: Metabolic Control Of Brain Homeostasis, Detlev Boison, Jochen C. Meier, Susan A. Masino

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Heavy Drinking In College Students Is Associated With Accelerated Gray Matter Volumetric Decline Over A 2 Year Period, Shashwath A. Meda, Alecia D. Dager, Keith A. Hawkins, Howard Tennen, Sarah Raskin, Rebecca Wood, Carol S. Austad, Carolyn Fallahi, Godfrey D. Pearlson

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Heavy and/or harmful alcohol use while in college is a perennial and significant public health issue. Despite the plethora of cross-sectional research suggesting deleterious effects of alcohol on the brain, there is a lack of literature investigating the longitudinal effects of alcohol consumption on the adolescent brain. We aim to probe the longitudinal effects of college drinking on gray matter change in students during this crucial neurodevelopmental period.

Methods: Data were derived from the longitudinal Brain and Alcohol Research in College Students (BARCS) study of whom a subset underwent brain MRI scans at two time points 24 months apart. …

Metabolic Dysfunction Underlying Autism Spectrum Disorder And Potential Treatment Approaches, Ning Cheng, Jong M. Rho, Susan A. Masino

Faculty Scholarship

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in sociability and communication, and increased repetitive and/or restrictive behaviors. While the etio-pathogenesis of ASD is unknown, clinical manifestations are diverse and many possible genetic and environmental factors have been implicated. As such, it has been a great challenge to identify key neurobiological mechanisms and to develop effective treatments. Current therapies focus on co-morbid conditions (such as epileptic seizures and sleep disturbances) and there is no cure for the core symptoms. Recent studies have increasingly implicated mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD. The fact that mitochondria are an integral part of diverse cellular functions …

Ketogenic Diet Improves Behaviors In A Maternal Immune Activation Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, David N. Ruskin, Michelle I. Murphy, Sierra L. Slade, Susan A. Masino

Faculty Scholarship

Prenatal factors influence autism spectrum disorder (ASD) incidence in children and can increase ASD symptoms in offspring of animal models. These may include maternal immune activation (MIA) due to viral or bacterial infection during the first trimesters. Unfortunately, regardless of ASD etiology, existing drugs are poorly effective against core symptoms. For nearly a century a ketogenic diet (KD) has been used to treat seizures, and recent insights into mechanisms of ASD and a growing recognition that immune/inflammatory conditions exacerbate ASD risk has increased interest in KD as a treatment for ASD. Here we studied the effects of KD on core …

Longitudinal Influence Of Alcohol And Marijuana Use On Academic Performance In College Students, Shashwath A. Meda, Ralitza V. Gueorguieva, Brian Pittman, Rivkah R. Rosen, Farah Aslanzadeh, Howard Tennen, Samantha Leen, Keith A. Hawkins, Sarah Raskin, Rebecca Wood, Carol S. Austad, Alecia Dager, Carolyn Fallahi, Godfrey D. Pearlson

Faculty Scholarship

Background

Alcohol and marijuana are the two most abused substances in US colleges. However, research on the combined influence (cross sectional or longitudinal) of these substances on academic performance is currently scant.

Methods

Data were derived from the longitudinal 2-year Brain and Alcohol Research in College Students (BARCS) study including 1142 freshman students who completed monthly marijuana use and alcohol consumption surveys. Subjects were classified into data-driven groups based on their alcohol and marijuana consumption. A linear mixed-model (LMM) was employed using this grouping factor to predict grade point average (GPA), adjusted for a variety of socio-demographic and clinical factors. …

Metabolic Therapy For Temporal Lobe Epilepsy In A Dish: Investigating Mechanisms Of Ketogenic Diet Using Electrophysiological Recordings In Hippocampal Slices, Masahito Kawamura Jr., David N. Ruskin, Susan A. Masino

Faculty Scholarship

The hippocampus is prone to epileptic seizures and is a key brain region and experimental platform for investigating mechanisms associated with the abnormal neuronal excitability that characterizes a seizure. Accordingly, the hippocampal slice is a common in vitro model to study treatments that may prevent or reduce seizure activity. The ketogenic diet is a metabolic therapy used to treat epilepsy in adults and children for nearly 100 years; it can reduce or eliminate even severe or refractory seizures. New insights into its underlying mechanisms have been revealed by diverse types of electrophysiological recordings in hippocampal slices. Here we review these …

Antibiotic Resistance In Animal And Environmental Samples Associated With Small-Scale Poultry Farming In Northwestern Ecuador, Nikolay Braykov, Joseph Eisenberg, Marissa Grossman, Lixin Zhang, Karla Vasco, William Cevallos, Diana Munoz, Andres Acevedo, Kara Moser, Carl Marrs, Betsy Foxman, James A. Trostle, Gabriel Trueba, Karen Levy

Faculty Scholarship

The effects of animal agriculture on the spread of antibiotic resistance (AR) are cross-cutting and thus require a multidisciplinary perspective. Here we use ecological, epidemiological, and ethnographic methods to examine populations of Escherichia coli circulating in the production poultry farming environment versus the domestic environment in rural Ecuador, where small-scale poultry production employing nontherapeutic antibiotics is increasingly common. We sampled 262 “production birds” (commercially raised broiler chickens and laying hens) and 455 “household birds” (raised for domestic use) and household and coop environmental samples from 17 villages between 2010 and 2013. We analyzed data on zones of inhibition from Kirby-Bauer …

Correlates Of Smoking Status Among Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence: Substance Use, Posttraumatic Stress, And Coping [Post-Print], Tami Sullivan, Julianne Flanagan, Desreen Dudley, Laura Holt, Carolyn Mazure, Sherry Mckee

Faculty Scholarship

Background and Objectives

Smoking prevalence among women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) is two to three times higher than the prevalence among women nationally. Yet, research on cigarette smoking among this population of women is scarce.

Methods

This study examined differences between daily smokers and non-smokers among a sample of 186 IPV-victimized women. Comparing these groups may identify key factors that could inform future research, and ultimately, smoking cessation interventions to improve women's health.

Results

Results showed that smokers and non-smokers differed in terms of alcohol and drug use problem severity, posttraumatic stress symptom severity, psychological and physical IPV …

Ketogenic Diet Alters Dopaminergic Activity In The Mouse Cortex [Post-Print], William H. Church, Ryan E. Adams, Livia S. Wyss

Faculty Scholarship

The present study was conducted to determine if the ketogenic diet altered basal levels of monoamineneurotransmitters in mice. The catecholamines dopamine (DA) and norephinephrine (NE) and the indolamine serotonin (5HT) were quantified postmortem in six different brain regions of adult mice fed a ketogenic diet for 3 weeks. The dopamine metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) and the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5HIAA) were also measured. Tissue punches were collected bilaterally from the motor cortex, somatosensory cortex,nucleus accumbens, anterior caudate–putamen, posterior caudate–putamen and the midbrain. Dopaminergic activity, as measured by the dopamine metabolites to dopamine content ratio …

Fmri Response During Figural Memory Task Performance In College Drinkers [Pre-Print], Alecia Dager, Sharma Jamadar, Michael Stevens, Rivkah I. Rosen, Rachel Jiantonio-Kelly, Jason-Flor Sisante, Sarah Raskin, Howard Tennen, Carol S. Austad, Rebecca Wood, Carolyn Fallahi, Godfrey D. Pearlson

Faculty Scholarship

Rationale: 18-25-year-olds show the highest rates of alcohol use disorders (AUD) and heavy drinking, which may have critical neurocognitive implications. Regions subserving memory may be particularly susceptible to alcohol-related impairments.

Objective: We used blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural correlates of visual encoding and recognition among heavy drinking college students. We predicted that heavy drinkers would show worse memory performance and increased frontal/parietal activation and decreased hippocampal response during encoding.

Methods: Participants were 23 heavy drinkers and 33 demographically matched light drinkers, ages 18-20, characterized using quantity/frequency of drinking and AUD diagnosis. Participants …

A Person-Centered Approach To Understanding Negative Reinforcement Drinking Among First Year College Students [Post-Print], Laura Holt, Stephen Armeli, Howard Tennen, Carol S. Austad, Sarah Raskin, Carolyn Fallahi, Rebecca Wood, Rivkah I. Rosen, Meredith Ginley, Godfrey D. Pearlson

Faculty Scholarship

The current study used a person-centered approach (i.e. latent profile analysis) to identify distinct types of college student drinkers based on the predictions of motivational, social learning, and stress and coping theories of maladaptive drinking. A large sample (N = 844; 53% female) of first-year undergraduates from two institutions, public and private, who reported consuming one or more drinks in the last three months completed measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms, positive alcohol-outcome expectancies, negative life events, social support, drinking motives, drinking level and drinking-related problems. Latent profile analysis revealed a small subgroup of individuals (n = 81, …

Active Prospective Control Is Required For Effective Sensorimotor Learning, Winona Snapp-Childs, Elizabeth Casserly, Mark Mon-Williams, Geoffrey Bingham

Faculty Scholarship

Passive modeling of movements is often used in movement therapy to overcome disabilities caused by stroke or other disorders (e.g. Developmental Coordination Disorder or Cerebral Palsy). Either a therapist or, recently, a specially designed robot moves or guides the limb passively through the movement to be trained. In contrast, action theory has long suggested that effective skill acquisition requires movements to be actively generated. Is this true? In view of the former, we explicitly tested the latter. Previously, a method was developed that allows children with Developmental Coordination Disorder to produce effective movements actively, so as to improve manual performance …

Ketogenic Diets And Pain [Post-Print], Susan A. Masino, David N. Ruskin

Faculty Scholarship

Ketogenic diets are well established as a successful anticonvulsant therapy. Based on overlap between mechanisms postulated to underlie pain and inflammation, and mechanisms postulated to underlie therapeutic effects of ketogenic diets, recent studies have explored the ability for ketogenic diets to reduce pain. Here we review clinical and basic research thus far exploring the impact of a ketogenic diet on thermal pain, inflammation, and neuropathic pain.