Neurosciences Commons^™

Volume Of Subcortical Brain Regions In Social Anxiety Disorder: Mega-Analytic Results From 37 Samples In The Enigma-Anxiety Working Group, Nynke A. Groenewold, Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam, Alyssa R. Amod, Max A. Laansma, Laura S. Van Velzen, Moji Aghajani, Kevin Hilbert, Hyuntaek Oh, Ramiro Salas, Anderson M. Winkler

School of Medicine Publications

There is limited convergence in neuroimaging investigations into volumes of subcortical brain regions in social anxiety disorder (SAD). The inconsistent findings may arise from variations in methodological approaches across studies, including sample selection based on age and clinical characteristics. The ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group initiated a global mega-analysis to determine whether differences in subcortical volumes can be detected in adults and adolescents with SAD relative to healthy controls. Volumetric data from 37 international samples with 1115 SAD patients and 2775 controls were obtained from ENIGMA-standardized protocols for image segmentation and quality assurance. Linear mixed-effects analyses were adjusted for comparisons across seven …

Shared Brain And Genetic Architectures Between Mental Health And Physical Activity, Wei Zhang, Sarah E. Paul, Anderson M. Winkler, Ryan Bogdan, Janine D. Bijsterbosch

School of Medicine Publications

Physical activity is correlated with, and effectively treats various forms of psychopathology. However, whether biological correlates of physical activity and psychopathology are shared remains unclear. Here, we examined the extent to which the neural and genetic architecture of physical activity and mental health are shared. Using data from the UK Biobank (N = 6389), we applied canonical correlation analysis to estimate associations between the amplitude and connectivity strength of subnetworks of three major neurocognitive networks (default mode, DMN; salience, SN; central executive networks, CEN) with accelerometer-derived measures of physical activity and self-reported mental health measures (primarily of depression, anxiety …

Computational Modeling Of Threat Learning Reveals Links With Anxiety And Neuroanatomy In Humans, Rany Abend, Diana Burk, Sonia G. Ruiz, Andrea L. Gold, Julia L. Napoli, Jennifer C. Britton, Kalina J. Michalska, Tomer Shechner, Anderson M. Winkler, Ellen Leibenluft

School of Medicine Publications

Influential theories implicate variations in the mechanisms supporting threat learning in the severity of anxiety symptoms. We use computational models of associative learning in conjunction with structural imaging to explicate links among the mechanisms underlying threat learning, their neuroanatomical substrates, and anxiety severity in humans. We recorded skin-conductance data during a threat-learning task from individuals with and without anxiety disorders (N=251; 8-50 years; 116 females). Reinforcement-learning model variants quantified processes hypothesized to relate to anxiety: threat conditioning, threat generalization, safety learning, and threat extinction. We identified the best-fitting models for these processes and tested associations among latent learning parameters, whole-brain …

Addressing The Disparities In Dementia Risk, Early Detection And Care In Latino Populations: Highlights From The Second Latinos & Alzheimer's Symposium, Yakeel T. Quiroz, Michele Solis, María P. Aranda, Alicia I. Arbaje, Mirna Arroyo-Miranda, Laura Y. Cabrera, Minerva Maria Carrasquillo, Maria M. Corrada, Gladys E. Maestre, Rosa V. Pirela

School of Medicine Publications

The Alzheimer's Association hosted the second Latinos & Alzheimer's Symposium in May 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was held online over 2 days, with virtual presentations, discussions, mentoring sessions, and posters. The Latino population in the United States is projected to have the steepest increase in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the next 40 years, compared to other ethnic groups. Latinos have increased risk for AD and other dementias, limited access to quality care, and are severely underrepresented in AD and dementia research and clinical trials. The symposium highlighted developments in AD research with Latino populations, including advances …

Ptsd As An Endothelial Disease: Insights From Covid-19, Adonis Sfera, Carolina Osorio, Leah Rahman, Carlos M. Zapata Martín Del Campo, Jose Campo Maldonado, Nyla Jafri, Michael Cummings, Steve Maurer, Zisis Kozlakidis

School of Medicine Publications

SARS-CoV-2 virus, the etiologic agent of COVID-19, has affected almost every aspect of human life, precipitating stress-related pathology in vulnerable individuals. As the prevalence rate of posttraumatic stress disorder in pandemic survivors exceeds that of the general and special populations, the virus may predispose to this disorder by directly interfering with the stress-processing pathways. The SARS-CoV-2 interactome has identified several antigens that may disrupt the blood-brain-barrier by inducing premature senescence in many cell types, including the cerebral endothelial cells. This enables the stress molecules, including angiotensin II, endothelin-1 and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, to aberrantly activate the amygdala, hippocampus, and …

Endovascular Thrombectomy In Patients With Large Core Ischemic Stroke: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis From The Select Study, Amrou Sarraj, Elena Pizzo, Kyriakos Lobotesis, James C. Grotta, Ameer E. Hassan, Michael G. Abraham, Spiros Blackburn, Arthur L. Day, Mark J. Dannenbaum, William Hicks

School of Medicine Publications

Background It is unknown whether endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is cost effective in large ischemic core infarcts.

Methods In the prospective, multicenter, cohort study of imaging selection study (SELECT), large core was defined as computed tomography (CT) ASPECTS(CTP) ischemic core volume (rCBF

Results From 361 patients enrolled in SELECT, 105 had large core on CT or CTP (EVT 62, MM 43). 19 (31%) EVT vs 6 (14%) MM patients achieved modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score 0–2 (OR 3.27, 95% CI 1.11 to 9.62, P=0.03) with a shift towards better mRS (cOR 2.12, 95% CI 1.05 to 4.31, P=0.04). Over the projected …

Bilingual Problem-Solving Training For Caregivers Of Adults With Dementia: A Randomized, Factorial-Design Protocol For The Cades Trial, Shannon B. Juengst, Charlene Supnet, Chung Lin (Novelle) Kew, Valeria Silva, Marlene Vega, Gang Han, Brendan Kelley, Matthew Lee Smith, Gladys E. Maestre

School of Medicine Publications

Objective: Caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) often experience debilitating caregiver burden and emotional distress. To address these negative emotional consequences of caregiving, we will test and refine a strategy training intervention - Problem-Solving Training (PST) - that promotes self-efficacy and reduces caregiver burden and depressive symptoms. Previous research supports efficacy of PST; however, we do not know exactly how many PST sessions are needed or if post-training "boosters" are required to maintain PST benefits. Additionally, we translated and culturally-adapted PST into "Descubriendo Soluciones Juntos" (DSJ), our novel intervention for Spanish-speaking caregivers.

Method: In this 2 …

Two-Year Responses Of Heart Rate And Heart Rate Variability To First Occupational Lead Exposure, Yuling Yu, Lutgarde Thijs, Cai-Guo Yu, Wenyi Yang, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Dongmei Wei, Fangfei Wei, Tim S. Nawrot, Peter Verhamme, Harry Roels

School of Medicine Publications

Because of the falling lead exposure, the literature relating autonomous nervous function to blood lead (BL) has limited relevance. In the longitudinal Study for Promotion of Health in Recycling Lead (URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02243904), we recorded the 2-year responses of heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV; Cardiax, International Medical Equipment Developing, Budapest, Hungary), and median nerve conduction velocity (Brevio, NeuMed, West Trenton, NJ), a routine test in occupational medicine, to first lead exposure in 195 newly hired workers (91.3% men; mean age, 27.8 years). High- and low-frequency HRV power and orthostatic HRV responses were derived from 5-minute ECGs …

Uncovering The Complex Genetics Of Human Temperament, Igor Zwir, Javier Arnedo, Coral Del-Val, Laura Pulkki-Råback, Bettina Konte, Sarah S. Yang, Rocio Romero-Zaliz, Mirka Hintsanen, Kevin M. Cloninger, Gabriel A. De Erausquin

School of Medicine Publications

Experimental studies of learning suggest that human temperament may depend on the molecular mechanisms for associative conditioning, which are highly conserved in animals. The main genetic pathways for associative conditioning are known in experimental animals, but have not been identified in prior genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of human temperament. We used a data-driven machine learning method for GWAS to uncover the complex genotypic–phenotypic networks and environmental interactions related to human temperament. In a discovery sample of 2149 healthy Finns, we identified sets of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that cluster within particular individuals (i.e., SNP sets) regardless of phenotype. Second, we identified …