Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Healing Of Osteochondral Defects Via Endochondral Ossification In An Ovine Model, Helen Lydon, Alan Getgood, Frances M.D. Henson

Bone and Joint Institute

© The Author(s) 2017. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the mechanism of healing of osteochondral defects of the distal femur in the sheep, a commonly used translational model. Information on the healing mechanism be useful to inform the design of tissue engineering devices for joint surface defect repair. Design: A retrospective study was conducted examining 7-mm diameter osteochondral defects made in the distal medial femoral condyle of 40 adult female sheep, comprising control animals from 3 separate structures. The healing of the defects was studied at post mortem at up to 26 weeks. Results: Osteochondral defects …

Investigating The Visual Number Form Area: A Replication Study, Rebecca Merkley, Benjamin Conrad, Gavin Price, Daniel Ansari

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2019 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society The influential triple-code model of number representation proposed that there are three distinct brain regions for three different numerical representations: verbal words, visual digits and abstract magnitudes. It was hypothesized that the region for visual digits, known as the number form area, would be in ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC), near other visual category-specific regions, such as the visual word form area. However, neuroimaging investigations searching for a region that responds in a category-specific manner to the visual presentation of number symbols have yielded inconsistent results. Price & Ansari (Price, Ansari 2011 …

A Touchscreen Motivation Assessment Evaluated In Huntington's Disease Patients And R6/1 Model Mice, Christopher J. Heath, Claire O'Callaghan, Sarah L. Mason, Benjamin U. Phillips, Lisa M. Saksida, Trevor W. Robbins, Roger A. Barker, Timothy J. Bussey, Barbara J. Sahakian

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Copyright © 2019 Heath, O'Callaghan, Mason, Phillips, Saksida, Robbins, Barker, Bussey and Sahakian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Apathy is pervasive across many neuropsychiatric disorders but is poorly characterized mechanistically, so targeted therapeutic interventions remain elusive. A key …

Translational Tests Involving Non-Reward: Methodological Considerations, Benjamin U. Phillips, Laura Lopez-Cruz, Lisa M. Saksida, Timothy J. Bussey

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2018, The Author(s). This review is concerned with methods for assessing the processing of unrewarded responses in experimental animals and the mechanisms underlying performance of these tasks. A number of clinical populations, including Parkinson’s disease, depression, compulsive disorders, and schizophrenia demonstrate either abnormal processing or learning from non-rewarded responses in laboratory-based reinforcement learning tasks. These effects are hypothesized to result from disturbances in modulatory neurotransmitter systems, including dopamine and serotonin. Parallel work in experimental animals has revealed consistent behavioral patterns associated with non-reward and, consistent with the human literature, modulatory roles for specific neurotransmitters. Classical tests involving an important …

White Matter Injury Predicts Disrupted Functional Connectivity And Microstructure In Very Preterm Born Neonates, Emma G. Duerden, Sheliza Halani, Karin Ng, Ting Guo, Justin Foong, Torin J.A. Glass, Vann Chau, Helen M. Branson, John G. Sled, Hilary E. Whyte, Edmond N. Kelly, Steven P. Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2018 The Authors Objective: To determine whether the spatial extent and location of early-identified punctate white matter injury (WMI) is associated with regionally-specific disruptions in thalamocortical-connectivity in very-preterm born neonates. Methods: 37 very-preterm born neonates (median gestational age: 28.1 weeks; interquartile range [IQR]: 27–30) underwent early MRI (median age 32.9 weeks; IQR: 32–35), and WMI was identified in 13 (35%) neonates. Structural T1-weighted, resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI, n = 34) and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI, n = 31) sequences were acquired using 3 T-MRI. A probabilistic map of WMI was developed for the 13 neonates demonstrating brain …

Girls' Internalizing Symptoms And White Matter Tracts In Cortico-Limbic Circuitry, Ola Mohamed Ali, Matthew R.J. Vandermeer, Haroon I. Sheikh, Marc F. Joanisse, Elizabeth P. Hayden

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2019 The Authors Dysfunction in cortico-limbic circuitry is implicated in internalizing disorders (i.e., depressive and anxious disorders), but less is known about whether structural variations precede frank disorder and thus potentially mark risk. We therefore examined associations between white matter (WM) tract microstructure in cortico-limbic circuitry at age 7 and concurrent and longitudinal patterns of internalizing symptoms in 42 typically developing girls using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). Girls' internalizing symptoms were concurrently associated with reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in segments of the cingulum bundle (CB) and the uncinate fasciculus (UF), bilaterally. Moreover, latent profile analysis showed that girls with …

The Benefit To Speech Intelligibility Of Hearing A Familiar Voice, Ysabel Domingo, Emma Holmes, Ingrid S. Johnsrude

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2019 American Psychological Association. Previous experience with a voice can help listeners understand speech when a competing talker is present. Using the coordinate-response measure task (Bolia, Nelson, Ericson, & Simpson, 2000), Johnsrude et al. (2013) demonstrated that speech is more intelligible when either the target or competing (masking) talker is a long-term spouse than when both talkers are unfamiliar (termed familiar-target and familiar-masker benefits, respectively). To better understand how familiarity improves intelligibility, we measured the familiar-target and familiar-masker benefits in older and younger spouses using a more challenging matrix task, and compared the benefits listeners gain from spouses' and …

Biomarkers Of Parkinson's Disease: Striatal Sub-Regional Structural Morphometry And Diffusion Mri, Ali R. Khan, Nole M. Hiebert, Andrew Vo, Brian T. Wang, Adrian M. Owen, Ken N. Seergobin, Penny A. Macdonald

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2018 The Authors Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder that has no reliable biomarkers. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of semi-automated sub-regional analysis of the striatum with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to distinguish PD patients from controls (i.e., as a diagnostic biomarker) and to compare PD patients at different stages of disease. With 3 Tesla MRI, diffusion- and T1-weighted scans were obtained on two occasions in 24 PD patients and 18 age-matched, healthy controls. PD patients completed one session on and the other session off dopaminergic medication. The striatum was parcellated into …

Linked Mri Signatures Of The Brain's Acute And Persistent Response To Concussion In Female Varsity Rugby Players, Kathryn Y. Manning, Alberto Llera, Gregory A. Dekaban, Robert Bartha, Christy Barreira, Arthur Brown, Lisa Fischer, Tatiana Jevremovic, Kevin Blackney, Timothy J. Doherty, Douglas D. Fraser, Jeff Holmes, Christian F. Beckmann, Ravi S. Menon

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Acute brain changes are expected after concussion, yet there is growing evidence of persistent abnormalities well beyond clinical recovery and clearance to return to play. Multiparametric MRI is a powerful approach to non-invasively study structure-function relationships in the brain, however it remains challenging to interpret the complex and heterogeneous cascade of brain changes that manifest after concussion. Emerging conjunctive, data-driven analysis approaches like linked independent component analysis can integrate structural and functional imaging data to produce linked components that describe the shared inter-subject variance across images. These linked components not only offer the potential of a more comprehensive understanding of …

Brain Activation Time-Locked To Sleep Spindles Associated With Human Cognitive Abilities, Zhuo Fang, Laura B. Ray, Adrian M. Owen, Stuart M. Fogel

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Simultaneous electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) studies have revealed brain activations time-locked to spindles. Yet, the functional significance of these spindle-related brain activations is not understood. EEG studies have shown that inter-individual differences in the electrophysiological characteristics of spindles (e.g., density, amplitude, duration) are highly correlated with "Reasoning" abilities (i.e., "fluid intelligence"; problem solving skills, the ability to employ logic, identify complex patterns), but not short-term memory (STM) or verbal abilities. Spindle-dependent reactivation of brain areas recruited during new learning suggests night-to-night variations reflect offline memory processing. However, the functional significance of stable, trait-like inter-individual differences in brain …

Alive Inside, Andrew Peterson, Adrian M. Owen, Jason Karlawish

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

This article provides an ethical analysis of the U.S. practice guideline update on disorders of consciousness. Our analysis focuses on the guideline’s recommendations regarding the use of investigational neuroimaging methods to assess brain-injured patients. Complex and multifaceted ethical issues have emerged because these methods alter the clinical understanding of consciousness. We address issues of false hope, patient suffering, and cost. We argue that, in spite of these concerns, there is significant benefit to using neuroimaging to assess brain-injured patients in most cases.

The Neural Basis Of External Responsiveness In Prolonged Disorders Of Consciousness, Clara A. Stafford, Adrian M. Owen, Davinia Fernández-Espejo

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Objective: To investigate the structural integrity of fibre tracts underlying overt motor behaviour in PDOC. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 15 PDOC patients and 22 healthy participants. Eight PDOC patients met the criteria for the vegetative state, 5 met the criteria for the minimally conscious state and 2 met the criteria for emerging from the minimally conscious state. We used fibre tractography to reconstruct the white matter fibres known to be involved in voluntary motor execution (i.e., those connecting thalamus with M1, M1 with cerebellum, and cerebellum with thalamus) and used fractional anisotropy (FA) as a measure of their integrity. …

Developing And Validating Tools To Assess Higher Level Cognition In Children And Adolescents, Brainscan, Western University, Bobby Stojanoski, Marc Joanisse, Ryan Stevenson, Cambridge Brain Sciences Inc.

Project Summaries

Collaborating with CBS, we will create a unique platform for understanding, detecting and predicting delays in cognition during the formative period from childhood to adolescence. The aim of this project is to develop and validate a battery of tests specifically for children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 15 to measure various aspects of higher-level cognitive abilities. These include short-term and episodic memory, planning, reasoning, verbal abilities and executive functioning (those processes necessary to control behaviour, such as controlling attention and inhibition, working memory, reasoning and problem solving).

Multi-Area Organization Of Saccade-Evoked Traveling Waves, Brainscan, Western University, Julio Martinez-Trujillo, Lyle Muller, Adam Williamson

Project Summaries

In this project, we will employ new, large-scale electrophysiological recording techniques to sample widely across the visual system. It will allow us to test our hypothesis that neural traveling waves coordinated across multiple areas contribute to perceptual stability during eye movements. Using our newly developed signal processing technique to track traveling waves moment-by-moment in noisy multichannel data, we will detect and quantify them across multiple visual areas.

Detecting Fine-Grained Population Codes In Human Prefrontal Cortex, Brainscan, Western University, Marieke Mur, Julio Martinez-Trujillo, Ravi Menon, Joe Gati

Project Summaries

In this project, we will develop techniques for improving our measurement resolution so that we can gain access to prefrontal population codes. We will combine high-field fMRI with pattern analysis techniques to unlock population coding in the prefrontal cortex. This is essential for understanding how the brain supports higher-order cognition, and ultimately, for treating dysfunctions of cognitive flexibility in the clinic.

Can Self-Efficacy Training Improve Memory And Functional Activation In Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment? A Proof-Of-Concept Intervention Study, Brainscan, Western University, Lindsay Nagamatsu, Derek Mitchell, Paul Minda, Amer Burhan, Becky Horst

Project Summaries

The goal of this study is to examine the changes in brain activity after a memory self-efficacy training program to better understand the mechanisms of memory self-efficacy. We will conduct a proof-of-concept six-week memory self-efficacy intervention in older adults with MCI, in order to demonstrate that self-efficacy impacts brain function. This will allow us to determine whether self-efficacy interventions may be a potential strategy for combating AD in the future.

Developing A Mechanistic Understanding Of Crossmodal Reorganization Following Sensory Loss, Brainscan, Western University, Blake E. Butler, Brian Allman, Ravi Menon

Project Summaries

Our long-term goal is to understand how plasticity reshapes circuits in the brain in response to atypical early experiences. This will allow us to better understand how the Deaf brain processes the world around us, and will make clear the challenges that must be overcome to optimize the function of cochlear implants and prostheses designed to restore sensory functions more broadly.

Assessment Of A Novel 32-Channel Phased Array For Cardiovascular Hybrid Pet/Mri Imaging: Mri Performance., Adam Farag, R Terry Thompson, Jonathan D Thiessen, John Butler, Frank S Prato, Jean Theberge

Department of Medicine Publications

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular imaging using hybrid positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) requires a radio frequency phased array resonator capable of high acceleration factors in order to achieve the shortest breath-holds while maintaining optimal MRI signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and minimum PET photon attenuation. To our knowledge, the only two arrays used today for hybrid PET/MRI cardiovascular imaging are either incapable of achieving high acceleration or affect the PET photon count greatly.

PURPOSE: This study is focused on the evaluation of the MRI performance of a novel third-party prototype 32-channel phased array designed for simultaneous PET/MRI cardiovascular imaging. The …

The Threatful Self: Midbrain Functional Connectivity To Cortical Midline And Parietal Regions During Subliminal Trauma-Related Processing In Ptsd., Braeden A Terpou, Maria Densmore, Jean Theberge, Janine Thome, Paul Frewen, Margaret C Mckinnon, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

BACKGROUND: The innate alarm system consists of a subcortical network of interconnected midbrain, lower brainstem, and thalamic nuclei, which together mediate the detection of evolutionarily-relevant stimuli. The periaqueductal gray is a midbrain structure innervated by the innate alarm system that coordinates the expression of defensive states following threat detection. In participants with post-traumatic stress disorder, the periaqueductal gray displays overactivation during the subliminal presentation of trauma-related stimuli as well as altered resting-state functional connectivity. Aberrant functional connectivity is also reported in post-traumatic stress disorder for the default-mode network, a large-scale brain network recruited during self-referential processing and autobiographical memory. Here, …

Back To The Basics: Resting State Functional Connectivity Of The Reticular Activation System In Ptsd And Its Dissociative Subtype., Janine Thome, Maria Densmore, Georgia Koppe, Braeden Terpou, Jean Theberge, Margaret C Mckinnon, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

BACKGROUND: Brainstem and midbrain neuronal circuits that control innate, reflexive responses and arousal are increasingly recognized as central to the neurobiological framework of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The reticular activation system represents a fundamental neuronal circuit that plays a critical role not only in generating arousal but also in coordinating innate, reflexive responding. Accordingly, the present investigation aims to characterize the resting state functional connectivity of the reticular activation system in PTSD and its dissociative subtype.

METHODS: We investigated patterns of resting state functional connectivity of a central node of the reticular activation system, namely, the pedunculopontine nuclei, among individuals …

Overlapping Frontoparietal Networks In Response To Oculomotion And Traumatic Autobiographical Memory Retrieval: Implications For Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing., Sherain Harricharan, Margaret C Mckinnon, Mischa Tursich, Maria Densmore, Paul Frewen, Jean Theberge, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

Background: Oculomotor movements have been shown to aid in the retrieval of episodic memories, serving as sensory cues that engage frontoparietal brain regions to reconstruct visuospatial details of a memory. Frontoparietal brain regions not only are involved in oculomotion, but also mediate, in part, the retrieval of autobiographical episodic memories and assist in emotion regulation. Objective: We sought to investigate how oculomotion influences retrieval of traumatic memories by examining patterns of frontoparietal brain activation during autobiographical memory retrieval in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and in healthy controls. Method: Thirty-nine participants (controls, n = 19; PTSD, n = 20) recollected both …

The Risk Of New-Onset Epilepsy And Refractory Epilepsy In Older Adult Stroke Survivors, Jorge G. Burneo, Tresah C. Antaya, Britney N. Allen, Andrea Belisle, Salimah Z. Shariff, Gustavo Saposnik

Neuroepidemiology Research Unit Project Summaries

Research Summary: Key Findings

• Stroke is a common cause of epilepsy in older adults, but little is known about stroke-related epilepsy or its outcomes in this population.
• 1.1% of older adult stroke survivors developed epilepsy in this study, of whom 12.9% developed refractory epilepsy, indicating that this population is particularly responsive to treatment.
• Over 85% of deaths in this population are not due to stroke or epilepsy.

The Effects Of Students’ Perceptions Of Teachers’ Anti-Bullying Behavior On Bullying Vicimization: Is Sense Of School Belonging A Mediator?, Diana M. Doumas, Aida Midgett

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study evaluated the influence of students’ perceptions of teachers’ anti-bullying behavior and sense of school belonging on bullying victimization among elementary school students (N = 110). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a mediational model in which we hypothesized sense of school belonging would mediate the relationship between students’ perceptions of teacher behavior and bullying victimization. Results supported the mediational model, indicating students’ perceptions of teachers’ anti-bullying behavior was positively related to sense of school belonging, which in turn was related to lower levels of bullying victimization. Findings highlight the importance of teachers in fostering a …

The Impact Of A Revised Discharge Process From Acute Care To Home Care On Hospital Utilization In Children With Single Ventricle Heart Disease, Brian M. Stahulak

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Problem Description: It is estimated that approximately ~0.5%, or ~400,000, of all U.S. children, are identified as having complex chronic conditions (CCC) and account for as much as one-third, or ~$100 billion, of health care spending for all children. The goal of this quality improvement (QI) project was to identify the impact of a revised discharge process for children with Single Ventricle Heart Disease (SVHD) on hospital utilization rates and the parent’s perception of discharge readiness during the interstage period. The QI project was conducted in a 44-bed cardiac care unit within a 336-bed freestanding pediatric, academic medical center in …

Risk And Protective Factors For Secondary Traumatic Stress And Burnout Among Home Visitors, Sandina Begic, Jennifer M. Weaver, Theodore W. Mcdonald

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The overarching goal of this study was to understand the context of home visitor secondary traumatic stress and burnout, and how this might affect intention to quit among home visitors, particularly focusing on potential risk factors and supportive strategies identified by the home visitors. All home visitors providing services in the state in which the research was conducted (N = 27) completed a structured interview and a quantitative survey at two time points, 6 months apart. Results indicated that more than two-thirds of the home visitors experienced either medium or high levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout over the …

Expanding Access To Medication-Assisted Treatment (Mat) Through Primary Care Practices: Findings From The Maine Health Access Foundation's Addiction Care Program (Years One And Two), Mary Lindsey Smith Phd, Rachel M. Gallo Mph, Katie Rosingana Ba, Mark Richards Bs, Frances Jimenez Bs

Substance Use Research & Evaluation

No abstract provided.

January 2019, New England Osteopathic Heritage Center

New England Osteopathic Heritage Center Newsletter

New England Osteopathic Heritage Center's annual newsletter for January 2019

Identifying Attrition Phases In Survey Data: Applicability And Assessment Study, Camille J. Hochheimer, Roy T. Sabo, Robert A. Perera, Nitai Mukhopadhyay, Alex H. Krist

Biostatistics Publications

Background: Although Web-based questionnaires are an efficient, increasingly popular mode of data collection, their utility is often challenged by high participant dropout. Researchers can gain insight into potential causes of high participant dropout by analyzing the dropout patterns.

Objective: This study proposed the application of and assessed the use of user-specified and existing hypothesis testing methods in a novel setting—survey dropout data—to identify phases of higher or lower survey dropout.

Methods: First, we proposed the application of user-specified thresholds to identify abrupt differences in the dropout rate. Second, we proposed the application of 2 existing hypothesis testing methods to detect …

Groundwater Resources As A Global Reservoir For Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria, Luisa Andrade, Madeleine Kelly, Paul Hynds, John Weatherill, Anna Majury, Jean O'Dwyer

Articles

Antimicrobial resistance represents one of our most significant global health threats, with increasing incidences noted in both clinical and environmental settings. As such, identifying and understanding the sources and pathways for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) is critical. The current study presents the first systematic review and pooled analysis of ARB occurrence in global groundwater supplies, which are used as primary drinking water sources by 2.2 billion people worldwide and are recurrently linked to significant outbreaks of infection. Seventy peer-reviewed studies were identified and included; findings reveal that 80.2% ± 29.0 and 57.2% ± 36.8 of aggregated groundwater isolates were resistant to …

Crocodylian Head Width Allometry And Phylogenetic Prediction Of Body Size In Extinct Crocodyliforms, Haley D O'Brien, Leigha M Lynch, Kent A Vliet, John Brueggen, Gregory M Erickson, Paul M Gignac

2010-2019 OA Pubs

Body size and body-size shifts broadly impact life-history parameters of all animals, which has made accurate body-size estimates for extinct taxa an important component of understanding their paleobiology. Among extinct crocodylians and their precursors (e.g., suchians), several methods have been developed to predict body size from suites of hard-tissue proxies. Nevertheless, many have limited applications due to the disparity of some major suchian groups and biases in the fossil record. Here, we test the utility of head width (HW) as a broadly applicable body-size estimator in living and fossil suchians. We use a dataset of sexually mature male and female …