Health Services Research Commons^™

Parp Inhibitor Response Is Enhanced In Prostate Cancer When Xrcc1 Expression Is Reduced, Kaveri Goel, Vani Venkatappa, Kimiko L Krieger, Dongquan Chen, Arun Sreekumar, Natalie R Gassman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer worldwide and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men. The emergence of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) exemplifies the complex disease management for PCa. PARP inhibitors (PARPis) are being tested to treat mCRPC in tumors with defective homologous recombination repair (HRR) to address this complexity. However, increasing resistance towards PARPi in HRR-deficient patients and the low percentage of HRR-defective mCRPC patients requires the identification of new genes whose deficiency can be exploited for PARPi treatment. XRCC1 is a DNA repair protein critical in the …

Stress, Employment Changes, And Psychological Distress Among Caregivers Of Patients With Head And Neck Cancer, Lama Abdurrahman, Vlad C Sandulache, Cielito Reyes-Gibby, Erich M Sturgis, Pavan Jhaveri, Hoda Badr

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Importance: Patients undergoing external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) often experience adverse effects that require substantial caregiving. The burdens of caregiving can impact caregiver employment and mental health over time, yet this topic remains underexplored.

Objective: To examine the associations between caregiving for patients with HNC who undergo EBRT and caregiver stress, employment status, and psychological distress.

Design, setting, and participants: This was a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal survey study that surveyed caregivers at baseline (ie, at initiation of EBRT) and at 4-month and 12-month follow-ups. The study was conducted at 2 …

The Aging Ovary Stands On The Shoulders Of Giant Multinucleated Cells, Avery A Ahmed, Stephanie A Pangas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Reproductive aging is associated with declining fertility and increasing inflammation, though these events are not well understood. An exciting new study in PLOS Biology utilizes cutting-edge technologies to characterize the role of multinucleated giant cells in ovarian aging.

Core Domain Set For Chronic And/Or Recurrent Manifestations Of Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease: Omeract Delphi Survey To Establish Consensus, Yiling Zhang, Sara K Tedeschi, Abhishek Abhishek, Owen Hensey, David Grossberg, Ken Cai, Beverley Shea, Jasvinder A Singh, Robin Christensen, Teodora Serban, Edoardo Cipolletta, Konstantinos Parperis, Cesar Diaz-Torne, Geraldine M Mccarthy, Fabio Becce, Tamer A Gheita, Silvia Sirotti, Sara Nysom Christiansen, Luis Coronel, Lisa K Stamp, Yousra H Abdel-Fattah, Tristan Pascart, Georgios Filippou, Lih En Hong, John Fitzgerald, Nicola Dalbeth

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: To agree on important domains for the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) core domain set for chronic and/or recurrent manifestations of calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease.

Methods: Patient research partners (PRPs) and other participants (mainly clinicians and researchers) contributed to three rounds of a consensus survey using Delphi methodology. Consensus was defined if ≥70% of both patients and other participants scored the domain as 'critically important domain to include'. In a subsequent ranking exercise, all participants were asked to select and rank up to 10 of the domains reaching consensus.

Results: Fifteen domains reached consensus as critically important. Within …

Nursing Education Research In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review And Bibliometric Analysis, Beth Waweru, Peter Gatiti, Serah Wachira

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Nursing education is pivotal for ensuring competent healthcare professionals, and its improvement is essential for enhancing the quality of health care systems globally. This study focuses on nursing education research in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last decade, employing both bibliometric analysis and systematic review methodologies. The bibliometric analysis reveals an evolving landscape of nursing education research in SSA, offering insights into trends, key countries, journals, and predominant research themes. Notably, the study identifies a scarcity of literature using bibliometric approaches in nursing research, addressing this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the field.The systematic review, guided by the …

Access To Healthcare For Rural Transgender Adults In The United States, Devon Smith

University Honors Theses

Urban and rural healthcare differ significantly in the amount of facilities, providers and kinds of specialty care that are offered in each environment. The United States is split into urban and rural counties in any given region, and based on those population sizes, are the allocation of healthcare resources for residents. In rural areas in the U.S., transgender adults lack access to gender-affirming care and encounter a lack of gender-affirming care providers due to workforce shortages, discrimination, and a lack of cultural competency. To determine if these residents lacked access to care compared with their urban counterparts, I performed a …

Intersectoral Interventions: Integration For Impact On Preterm Birth, Etienne V. Langlois, Maria El Bizri, Kelly Thompson, Amy Reid, Merette Khalil, Giulia Gasparri, Joy E. Lawn, Teesta Dey, Judith Robb-Mccord, Marleen Temmerman

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Progress: The last two decades have seen a growing focus on intersectoral interventions to improve maternal and newborn health and well-being outcomes, as refected in eforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Preterm births are linked to cross-sectoral determi‑ nants that afect health outcomes and human capital across the life-course, necessitating an intersectoral approach that addresses these multifaceted challenges.

Programmatic priorities: Recognizing that social, biological and economic determinants signifcantly infuence health outcomes, it is critical that robust health systems are reinforced by a comprehensive intersectoral approach. Evidence suggests that the factors infuencing …

Determinants Of Teenage Pregnancy In Tanzania, Harun Yussuf Ayoub, Kemal Nazaruddin Siregar

Jurnal Biostatistik, Kependudukan, dan Informatika Kesehatan

Teenage pregnancies are among the leading public health problems in Tanzania. This was linked to limited education, socioeconomic disparities, cultural barriers, and inadequate access to healthcare centers. Thus, this study aims to explore the prevalence and predictors of teenage pregnancy among adolescent women using data from the 2022-2023 Tanzanian Demographic Health Survey (TDHS). The research design employed a cross-sectional approach and utilized TDHS data. The population for this study was female adolescents, while the sample was 7,545 adolescent women aged 15-24 years. Predictor variables were education level, socioeconomic status, place of residence, employment status, and lifestyle factors, including alcohol consumption …

Prosthesis, Alexander A. Grosek

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the hospital as a prosthetic—a structural and spatial support for the human body in moments of vulnerability. Like a crutch or cast, the hospital temporarily supports patients in their transition from horizontal (infirm) to vertical (mobile), yet its architecture often fails to contribute meaningfully to that healing process. While clinical treatment is prioritized, the spatial, emotional, and sensory dimensions of care are neglected. What supports what becomes a central question: the building holds the body, but the body also gives meaning to the building. Their relationship is reciprocal.

Rather than proving that good design improves health—an idea …

Secreted Phosphoprotein 1 In Lung Diseases, Hongli Liu, Cristian Coarfa, Arzoo N Charania, Jennifer L Larson-Casey, Ivan O Rosas, Chao He

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), also known as osteopontin (OPN) or early T lymphocyte activation protein 1 (ETA-1), is a multifunctional protein involved in numerous biological processes, including immune modulation, stress response, and tissue remodeling. The role of SPP1 in interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) has become an area of increasing interest, given its elevated expression in various ILDs such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), connective tissue disease-associated ILD (CTD-ILD), and pneumoconiosis, especially with recent data derived from single-cell RNA sequencing. In addition to ILDs, SPP1 has been implicated in infectious granulomatous lung diseases, lung and pleural malignancies, airway diseases, and COVID-19. …

Job Satisfaction Among Health Workers At Primary Health Care In Palembang City, Indonesia, Asmaripa Ainy, Merri Nurmala Sarri, Poppy Fujiyanti, Hartati Inaku, Tannia Tembo

Kesmas

Health workers at primary health care are the frontline providers of community health services. This study aimed to investigate the level of job satisfaction of health workers at primary health care in Palembang City, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia, and its influencing factors. Using a questionnaire developed by the authors' team, the study involved 257 samples. A total of 66.15% of respondents indicated high satisfaction, 21.79% reported moderate satisfaction, and 12.06% expressed dissatisfaction. A statistically significant correlation was found between knowledge, skills, income, promotion opportunities, work supervision, and relationships with colleagues and job satisfaction (p-value <0.001). The correlations were strong, with Spearman's rho of 0.822, 0.869, 0.912, 0.895, and 0.821, respectively. Statistical analysis of the Wilcoxon rank-sum and Kruskal-Wallis tests showed no significant differences in median satisfaction scores between sociodemographic groups (p-value 0.072 to 0.552>0.05). These findings showed that job …

Factors Associated With Caregivers' Concern In Maintaining The Oral Function Of Elderly Living In Long-Term Care Facilities, Susiana Nugraha, Tri Budi Wahyuni Rahardjo, Misako Higashijima, Yuko Hirano

Kesmas

This study investigated the attentiveness of elderly caregivers in long-term care facilities in maintaining oral function. A cross-sectional approach was used to achieve the study's purpose. The sample size formula accounted for 213 caregivers randomly selected from 18 long-term care facilities in 4 provinces. A self-reported questionnaire of sociodemographic characteristics and an adapted Leopold’s oral care checklist was distributed. The average age of study participants was 35.24 (±11.2 SD; aged 18–70 years), dominated by females (62.9%), and only 39% had experienced long-term care training. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that younger caregivers likely pay more attention in the swallowing periods …

Availability And Distribution Of Stoma Bags For Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Case Study At National Referral And Private Hospitals, Ratna Aryani, Toar Jm Lalisang, Debie Dahlia, Evi Martha, Achir Yani S Hamid, Sukma Wicaturatmashudi, Helen Helen

Kesmas

Stoma bags are essential for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with stomas. However, access and affordability in Indonesia remain challenging as the National Health Insurance (NHI) does not fully cover these devices. This study aimed to describe the availability and distribution of stoma bags for patients with CRC in national referral and private hospitals, focusing on outpatient access. A qualitative case study was conducted through observations and in-depth interviews with four enterostomal therapy nurses and six patients across three national referral hospitals and one private hospital in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area, Indonesia. Notably, the availability of stoma bags was limited in …

Influences And Implications Of Medical Mistrust On Healthcare Behaviors In A Low Health Outcomes County In The State Of New Jersey, Dale Johnson, Adeena Javed, Nathaniel J Byrnes, Anne C Jones, Kristin N Bertsch

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Medical mistrust is an ongoing concern in the United States, with patient confidence in both individual practitioners and institutions decreasing sharply in recent years. Atlantic County, New Jersey has some of the worst health outcomes in the state and is below the national average. This study sought to investigate medical mistrust by recruiting participants to complete a survey and/or health screening at 12 food pantry distribution events throughout Atlantic County (N = 124). The mean score for the Medical Mistrust Index was 19.06 (SD = 5.6) for participants who reported receiving the annual influenza vaccine and 16.05 (SD = 4.7) …

The Influence Of Compensation From Wages And Benefits On Healthcare Workers' Performance In Healthcare Services, Jiddan Azizan Hakim, Ghania Danisha Maharani, Riswandy Wasir, Alif Indah Melani, Cahya Arbitera

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

This study aims to evaluate the influence of compensation, including wages, incentives, and benefits, on the performance of health workers in primary health centers and hospitals. A literature review was conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed, focusing on articles published in the last 5–10 years. From an initial search yielding 1,021 articles, nine were selected based on inclusion criteria. The results show that direct compensation (salary) and indirect compensation (benefits) have a positive impact on health worker performance. However, the effect of incentives varies depending on implementation. Motivation and job satisfaction were mediating factors that strengthened the relationship between compensation …

The Perk/Atf4 Pathway Is Required For Metabolic Reprogramming And Progressive Lung Fibrosis, Jyotsana Pandey, Jennifer L Larson-Casey, Mallikarjun H Patil, Chao He, Nisarat Pinthong, A Brent Carter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Asbestosis is a prototypical type of fibrosis that is progressive and does not resolve. ER stress is increased in multiple cell types that contribute to fibrosis; however, the mechanism(s) by which ER stress in lung macrophages contributes to fibrosis is poorly understood. Here, we show that ER stress resulted in protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK; Eif2ak3) activation in humans with asbestosis. Similar results were seen in asbestos-injured mice. Mice harboring a conditional deletion of Eif2ak3 were protected from fibrosis. Lung macrophages from asbestosis individuals had evidence of metabolic reprogramming to fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Eif2ak3fl/fl mice had increased oxygen …

Exposure To Second-Hand Smoke In Homes And Respiratory Symptoms Among Non-Smoking Adults In Depok, Indonesia 2025, Faraz Ali, Budi Hartono

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in the home environment has become a public health emergency, especially in countries with very high smoking rates, such as Indonesia. SHS exposure has already presented evidence of symptoms of the respiratory category, like a cough and shortness of breath. This study aimed to assess the association between exposure to SHS at home and the presence of respiratory symptoms among non-smoking adults in Depok, Indonesia. Convenience sampling was adopted for enrolling 108 non-smoking adults aged 18-30 who were jointly exposed to SHS in their homes for a cross-sectional study. Data aggregations of gatherings were performed using …

Strengthening Occupational Health And Safety (Ohs) In Schools To Minimize Risks For Students, Teachers, And Visitors: Policy Recommendation, Wiwik Eko Pertiwi, Hanifa Maher Denny, Yuliani Setyaningsih, Agung Dwi Laksono

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Vocational schools equip students with practical skills and expose them to industry-related hazards, making Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) a crucial aspect of the school environment. This study aims to identify key factors behind the weak implementation of OHS in vocational schools. A literature review used articles published between 2017–2024 from national and international journals. The review found poor OHS implementation stems from lack of awareness, inadequate policies, insufficient infrastructure, weak safety culture, and negligence in accident prevention. To address these issues, the study recommends OHS education and training, improvement of school infrastructure, curriculum integration, formation of safety teams, and …

Staff Expectancies In Conducting Ship Hygiene And Sanitation Inspections: A Qualitative Study At Banten Class I Port Health Quarantine Office, Lukman Waris, Budiman Budiman, Hany Puspita Aryani

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Sea transport plays a vital role in the movement of goods and passengers, yet it simultaneously poses a potential risk for the transmission of infectious diseases, both nationally and internationally. Ship hygiene and sanitation inspection (HSI) is a strategic measure to control such risks, and the outcomes of these inspections are influenced by the expectations of the implementing officers. This study explores how staff expectancy at the Banten Class I Port Health Quarantine Office affects the quality of HSI. A qualitative study using the Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP) was conducted with 80 staff members across five work units. Data were …

Rural And Urban Disparities In Access To Glp-1 Agonists For Patients With Obesity, Christine J. Hackler-Moorman

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

The increasing interest in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, such as semaglutide, which are often prescribed as a first-line treatment for managing Type II diabetes, as well as for non-diabetic purposes—such as weight management and improving metabolic health—highlights their potential in preventive care. This promise inspires hope for a future where preventive healthcare is more effective and accessible to a wider audience. Nonetheless, significant geographic disparities in access to healthcare, especially between rural and urban areas, create obstacles that prevent numerous patients from reaping the benefits of these essential medications. In rural communities, challenges like cost, availability, and awareness are often …

Observed And Reported Outcomes Following Experiential Cultural Capability And Clinical Yarning Training For Clinicians Treating Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People With Persistent Pain, Stuart Ekberg, Renata F. I Meuter, Ivan Lin, Roslyn Rowen, Angela Kinnell, Eva Malacova, Tania Waring, Kushla Houkamau, Marayah Taylor, Matthew Bryant, Jermaine Isua, Andrew Claus, Paul Gray, Joseph Kluver, Christina M. Bernardes, Greg Pratt

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Communication is recognised as crucial to culturally safe healthcare, and poor communication remains a major reason that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not access healthcare. This pragmatic, pre-post comparison study employed mixed methods to evaluate cultural capability and clinical yarning training delivered to 57 clinicians supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at three persistent pain management services in Queensland, Australia. Observable outcomes of the training were evaluated by video recording clinicians’ training experiences and seven consultations with patients that occurred either pre- or post-training. Reported outcomes were evaluated by using a modified Cultural Safety Survey (CSS), which …

Enhancing Patient Education Of Antimicrobial Side Effects At Discharge, Isaac Daudelin, Md, Phd, Bojan Lazarevic, Jordan Feingold-Link, Md, Nehar Damle, Md, Pharmd, Caroline Brugger, Crnp, Rachel Carr, Pa-C, Devin Weber, Md, Daniel Taupin, Md, Mhqs

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Problem: Patients discharged from the hospital on antimicrobial agents often receive insufficient education about potential side effects that warrant medical attention(1). We identified a critical gap in patient communication and safety that occurred during discharge at a large urban academic center.

Stakeholders

• Patients
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Pharmacists
• Outpatient providers
• Nurse practitioners
• Physician assistants

Objective: This project aimed to utilize a multidisciplinary team to:

1. Quantify a gap in patient education
2. Create an interactive navigator- which would not rely on provider memory and automatically include relevant information in patient discharge paperwork
3. Implement within 3 months into the EPIC system
4. Measure the effect …

Future Of Transplant Centers: Leveraging Integration Of Transplant Institutes To Mitigate The Impact Of Transplant Professional Shortages And Enhance Patient Outcomes, Kiran Goli, Prashamsa Shenoy, Paula Martinez-Cantarin, Maitreyee Gupta, Rakesh Gulati, Pooja Singh

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

The Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model introduced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) emphasizes increasing transplant volumes, reducing disparities, and enhancing care efficiency. Transplant centers face unique challenges, including workforce shortages, growing demand for organ transplants, care delivery inefficiencies, and the need to align with the achievement, efficiency, and quality domains of the IOTA model while fostering health equity. Integration, whether through mergers, acquisitions, or strategic alliances, offers transplant centers a competitive advantage in optimizing resources, expanding access, and meeting CMS metrics.

Improving Viral Hepatitis Testing With A Clinical Scenario Based Order Set: The Viral Hepatitis Hub, Jordan Feingold-Link, Md, Elizabeth A. Braden, Md, Courtney E. Comar, Phd, Jonathan M. Fenkel, Md, Kory S. London, Md, Sean P. Moss, Md, Elizabeth Novick, Md, Matthew Pettengill, Phd, Christine Papastamelos, Md, Jeffrey M. Riggio, Md, Daniel Taupin, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background and Problem

Viral hepatitis disproportionately affects historically marginalized populations, with less than one-third of high-risk patients receiving appropriate screening. Racial and ethnic minoritized groups, rural residents, and PWID face significant disparities in both testing and treatment.

Paradoxically, while underserved populations remain undertested, providers frequently order inappropriate hepatitis tests, particularly acute- phase markers like HAV IgM and HBV core IgM, in clinical situations where guidelines do not indicate their use. This pattern of inappropriate testing is partly driven by provider uncertainty regarding the selection of appropriate serologic tests from a complex array of options. Clinical decision support (CDS) within computerized …

Project Proposal: The Impact Of The Septa Zero Fare Program On Healthcare Access Among Philadelphia's Refugee And Migrant Population, Emily Hashem, Bs, Paranshu Shah, Mitchell Kaminski, Md, Mba

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Since the 1960s, private, state sponsored, and charitable programs have attempted to increase transportation programs to improve healthcare access. Among these are the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) program, Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) benefiting Medicaid recipients, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Association’s (SEPTA) SEPTA Access (formerly known as CCT connect) for disabled and elderly people, and ModivCare, a social services corporation that offers non-emergency medical transportation for qualifying people with low incomes. The importance of these programs is emphasized by the body of evidence surrounding healthcare metrics and transportation access. A Robert Wood Johnson …

Improving Healthcare Access Among Hunter College Students – Suggestions For A Hunter College Student Health Center, Jacob Villorente

Publications and Research

This study investigates disparities in healthcare access among students at CUNY Hunter College, an urban public university in Manhattan serving over 22,000 students. 89% of Hunter students receive financial aid, with 67% of students receiving Pell grants. Hunter College only offers limited health services, primarily short-term mental health counseling and wellness workshops. A cross-sectional survey (n = 33) assessed insurance status, coverage (dental, vision, psychiatric), access barriers (e.g., transportation), mental health symptoms, and impacts to academia. While 69.7% of respondents reported comprehensive insurance, students with public insurance (Medicaid, Medicare) experienced substantially higher access barriers than those with employer-sponsored plans and …

Role Of Systemic Therapy In Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma: Where Do We Stand And Where Are We Heading?, Deepa Raghavan, Viktoriya Gibatova, Nikhil Vojjala, Nagaishwarya Moka, Aihua Edward Yen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The effectiveness of immunotherapy and targeted therapy has been well established in metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC). These therapies demonstrated higher overall response rates and led to prolonged survival. In contrast, in localized RCC, conventional treatment is either partial or complete nephrectomy. While surgery is a curative option in early stages, high recurrence rates remain a concern, with survival rates ranging from 53% to 85%, depending on the initial stage at the time of diagnosis. Given favorable outcomes with systemic therapies in the metastatic setting, there has also been an increased interest in utilizing these therapies for the localized stage …

Incorporating Latent Survival Trajectories And Covariate Heterogeneity In Time-To-Event Data Analysis: A Joint Mixture Model Approach, Fu-Wen Liang, Wenyaw Chan, Michael D Swartz, Bouthaina S Dabaja

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Finite mixture models have been recently applied in time-to-event data to identify subgroups with distinct hazard functions, yet they often assume differing covariate effects on failure times across latent classes but homogeneous covariate distributions. This study aimed to develop a method for analyzing time-to-event data while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity within a mixture modeling framework.

Methods: A joint model was developed to incorporate latent survival trajectories and observed information for the joint analysis of time-to-event outcomes, correlated discrete and continuous covariates, and a latent class variable. It assumed covariate effects on survival times and covariate distributions vary across latent …

Advancing Remote Monitoring For Patients With Alzheimer Disease And Related Dementias: Systematic Review, Mohmmad Arif Shaik, Fahim Islam Anik, Md Mehedi Hasan, Sumit Chakravarty, Mary Dioise Ramos, Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, Nazmus Sakib

School of Nursing Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Using remote monitoring technology in the context of Alzheimer disease (AD) care presents exciting new opportunities to lessen caregiver stress and improve patient care quality. The application of wearables, environmental sensors, and smart home systems designed specifically for patients with AD represents a promising interdisciplinary approach that integrates advanced technology with health care to enhance patient safety, monitor health parameters in real time, and provide comprehensive support to caregivers. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study included evaluating the effectiveness of various remote sensing technologies in enhancing patient outcomes and identifying strategies to alleviate the burden on health care professionals …

Theta Oscillons In Behaving Rats, M S Zobaer, Nastaran Lotfi, Carli M Domenico, Clarissa Hoffman, Luca Perotti, Daoyun Ji, Yuri Dabaghian

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Recently discovered constituents of the brain waves—the oscillons—provide a high-resolution representation of the extracellular field dynamics. Here, we study the most robust, highest-amplitude oscillons recorded in actively behaving male rats, which underlie the traditional θ-waves. The resemblances between θ-oscillons and the conventional θ-waves are manifested primarily at the ballpark level—mean frequencies, mean amplitudes, and bandwidths. In addition, both hippocampal and cortical oscillons exhibit a number of intricate, behavior-attuned, transient properties that suggest a new vantage point for understanding the θ-rhythms’ structure, origins and functions. In particular, we demonstrate that oscillons are frequency-modulated waves, with speed-controlled …