Neurosciences Commons^™

Unraveling Physiologic Mechanisms In Passive And Active Mechanoreceptor Stimulation, Halah Khan, Braden Ashcraft

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Identifying Breathing, Swallowing, And Speech Biosignatures In Parkinson’S Disease Patients With Wearable Devices, Amanda Brandaris, Katherine Shishido, Rohaan Manzoor, Ethan Hampton, Karthik Jasty, Kelvin Guo, Anna Fish, Spencer Peterson, Ulrike H. Mitchell Phd, Phillip Sechtem Phd, Ccc-Slp, Paula Johnson Phd, Anton E. Bowden Phd, Miriam Cortez-Cooper Pt, Phd, Pamela I. Barney Msrt, Rrt, Ae-C, Nps, John A. Kriak Pharmd

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

A Targeted Gene Expression Biomarker Predicts Clinic Low-Risk Meningioma Recurrence, Minh P Nguyen, Ramin A Morshed, Mark W Youngblood, Haley K Perlow, Calixto-Hope G Lucas, Akash J Patel, Joshua D Palmer, Craig M Horbinski, Stephen T Magill, William C Chen, David R Raleigh

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Despite reassuring clinical and histological features, low-grade meningiomas can recur after surgery. Targeted gene expression profiling improves risk stratification of meningiomas, but the utility of this approach for clinical low-risk meningiomas is incompletely understood.

Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of meningiomas from patients who were treated at 4 institutions from 1992 to 2023. Adult patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent World Health Organization (WHO) grade 1 meningiomas that were treated with gross total resection (GTR) or subtotal resection (STR), or newly diagnosed WHO grade 2 meningiomas that were treated with GTR, were included. A 34-gene expression …

Probing For Intentions: The Early Readiness Potential Does Not Reflect Awareness Of Motor Preparation, Jake Gavenas, Aaron Schurger, Uri Maoz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Voluntary actions are typically preceded by the readiness potential (RP), a negative midfrontal electroencephalography (EEG) deflection that begins ~2 s before movement. What cognitive and neural process the RP reflects and how it relates to conscious intention remain unclear due to conflicting findings. We investigated the neural basis and cognitive significance of the RP in a novel probe-based paradigm. Contrary to prior reports, we found that pre-probe RP buildups were not related to reported awareness of motor preparation. Computational modeling suggested that the best explanation for these results is via metacognitive access to stochastic accumulation. Reported preparation was also related …

Understanding Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Through The Investigation Of Clinical, Neuroanatomic, Neurophysiological And Neurocognitive Dimensions: A Pilot Study, Alessio Simonetti, Evelina Bernardi, Sherin Kurian, Antonio Restaino, Claudia Calderoni, Emanuela De Chiara, Francesca Bardi, Gabriele Sani, Jair C Soares, Kirti Saxena

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Pathophysiological models of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) are lacking. Multimodal approaches may provide a comprehensive description of the complex relationship between the brain and behavior. Aim: To assess behavioral, neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and neuroanatomical alterations in youth with PBD.

Methods: Subjects with PBD (n = 23) and healthy controls (HCs, n = 23) underwent (a) clinical assessments encompassing the severity of psychiatric symptoms, (b) neuropsychological evaluation, (c) analyses of event-related potentials (related to the passive viewing of fearful, neutral, and happy faces during electroencephalography recording, and (d) cortical thickness and deep gray matter volume measurement using magnetic …

Educating Medical Students In Sleep, Diet, And Exercise To Determine Effects On Their Treatment Plan Development For Future Patients, Paul Jackson, Wyatt Edgekoski, Kaleb Gustavsen, Andrew Payne

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Global Epidemiology And Health Burden Of The Autism Spectrum: Findings From The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2021, Global Burden Of Disease Study 2021 Autism Spectrum Collaborators, Lourdes Bernadette Tanchanco, Angel Belle Dy

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background

High-quality estimates of the epidemiology of the autism spectrum and the health needs of autistic people are necessary for service planners and resource allocators. Here we present the global prevalence and health burden of autism spectrum disorder from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 following improvements to the epidemiological data and burden estimation methods.

Methods

For GBD 2021, a systematic literature review involving searches in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, the Global Health Data Exchange, and consultation with experts identified data on the epidemiology of autism spectrum disorder. Eligible data were used to estimate prevalence …

Synaptic Alterations In Pyramidal Cells Following Genetic Manipulation Of Neuronal Excitability In Monkey Prefrontal Cortex, Guillermo Gonzalez-Burgos, Takeaki Miyamae, Yosuke Nishihata, Olga L Krimer, Kirsten Wade, Kenneth N Fish, Dominique Arion, Zhao-Lin Cai, Mingshan Xue, William R Stauffer, David A Lewis

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

The primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) displays unique in vivo activity patterns, but how in vivo activity regulates DLPFC pyramidal neuron (PN) properties remains unclear. We assessed the effects of in vivo Kir2.1 overexpression, a genetic silencing tool, on synapses in monkey DLPFC PNs. We show for the first time that recombinant ion channel expression successfully modifies the excitability of primate cortex neurons, producing effects on synaptic properties apparently different from those in the rodent cortex.

Differential Effects Of Stimulation Waveform And Intensity On The Neural Structures Activated By Lumbar Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation, Harrison T. Finn, Marel Parono, Elizabeth A. Bye, Janet L. Taylor, Simon C. Gandevia, Martin E. Héroux, Jane E. Butler

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Lumbar transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (TSS) evokes synchronized muscle responses, termed spinally evoked motor response (sEMR). Whether the structures TSS activates to evoke sEMRs differ when TSS intensity and waveform are varied is unknown. In 15 participants (9 F, 6 M), sEMRs were evoked by TSS over L1–L3 (at sEMR threshold and suprathreshold intensities) with conventional (one 400-ls biphasic pulse) or high-frequency burst (ten 40-ls biphasic pulses at 10 kHz) stimulus waveforms in vastus medialis (VM), tibialis anterior (TA), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles. TSS was paired with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the contralateral motor cortex at relative interstimulus …

Single-Nuclei Sequencing Reveals A Robust Corticospinal Response To Nearby Axotomy But Overall Insensitivity To Spinal Injury, Zimei Wang, Manojkumar Kumaran, Elizabeth Bastel, Sofia Testor-Cabrera, Zac Beine, Alicia Alvarez Ribelles, Pantelis Tsoulfas, Ishwariya Venkatesh, Murray G. Blackmore

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The ability of neurons to sense and respond to damage is crucial for maintaining homeostasis and facilitating nervous system repair. For some cell types, notably dorsal root ganglia and retinal ganglion cells, extensive profiling has uncovered a significant transcriptional response to axon injury, which influences survival and regenerative outcomes. In contrast, the injury responses of most supraspinal cell types, which display limited regeneration after spinal damage, remain mostly unknown. In this study, we used single-nuclei sequencing in adult male and female mice to profile the transcriptional responses of diverse supraspinal cell types to spinal injury. Surprisingly, thoracic spinal injury induced …

All Three Supersystems-Nervous, Vascular, And Immune-Contribute To The Cortical Infarcts After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Jens P Dreier, Alexander Joerk, Hiroki Uchikawa, Viktor Horst, Coline L Lemale, Helena Radbruch, Devin W Mcbride, Peter Vajkoczy, Ulf C Schneider, Ran Xu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The recently published DISCHARGE-1 trial supports the observations of earlier autopsy and neuroimaging studies that almost 70% of all focal brain damage after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage are anemic infarcts of the cortex, often also affecting the white matter immediately below. The infarcts are not limited by the usual vascular territories. About two-fifths of the ischemic damage occurs within ~ 48 h; the remaining three-fifths are delayed (within ~ 3 weeks). Using neuromonitoring technology in combination with longitudinal neuroimaging, the entire sequence of both early and delayed cortical infarct development after subarachnoid hemorrhage has recently been recorded in patients. Characteristically, cortical …

Psychiatric Manifestations Of Encephalitis, Paris Bean, Ashley Heck, Ralph Habis, Swathi Sowmitran, Zoe Cartaina, Rajesh Gupta, John Probasco, Rodrigo Hasbun, Arun Venkatesan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Encephalitis is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition of infectious or autoimmune cause. We aim to characterize the frequency and clinical spectrum of presenting psychiatric symptoms in encephalitis in order to inform earlier recognition and initiation of treatment.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of adult patients who met the 2013 International Encephalitis Consortium (IEC) and/or 2016 Graus criteria between February 2005 and February 2023. The study included two hospital systems in Houston, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland and included a total of 642 patients. Psychiatric manifestations were grouped into five high-level categories: behavior, psychosis, mood, sleep disturbances, and catatonia. …

Vertex-Based Analysis Of Cerebral Blood Flow And Fractional Amplitude Of Low-Frequency Fluctuations (Cbf-Falff) Coupling In Moderate-To-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury During The First Year Post-Injury, Vaidehi Hemkumar Patel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is known to involve damage in the neurovascular unit. TBI may disrupt the brain’s neurovascular coupling–the relationship between cerebral blood flow and neural activity–that can lead to cognitive and functional impairments. This study attempted to non-invasively investigate neurovascular coupling in patients with moderate to severe TBI (msTBI) during the first year post-injury using a combined metric of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), a proxy for spontaneous neural activity. Using arterial spin labeling (ASL) and functional MRI sequences, CBF and fALFF were measured in 29 msTBI patients 3-, 6- and 12-months …

Predictors Of Bi-Directional Transitions From Mild Cognitive Impairment In A Diverse Cohort, Mitzi M. Gonzales, Roman Fernandez, Sarah Kremen, Zaldy S. Tan, Amy E. Werry, Xueqiu Jian, John Hart, Donald Royall, Gladys Maestre, Sara Espinoza

School of Medicine Publications

Trajectories following a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are varied and may fluctuate over time. Among diverse ethnic and racial groups, social factors, medical comorbidities, and biases in assessment procedures may contribute to greater heterogeneity in the MCI diagnostic category and affect its prognostic significance for dementia. The study goal was to evaluate the frequency and variables associated with MCI transitions among non-Hispanic White (NHW) and Latinx older adults. Multistate Markov models characterized transitions across diagnostic states (cognitively unimpaired (CU), MCI, dementia) over ten years. Variables associated with transitions were assessed using hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals …

Development Of 24-Hour Rhythms In Cortisol Secretion Across Infancy: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Individual Participant Data, Laura Kervezee, Michelle Romijn, Kirsten N.G. Van De Weijer, Britney S.J. Chen, George L. Burchell, Marieke S. Tollenaar, Marcela Tamayo-Ortiz, Lauren E. Philbrook, Carolina De Weerth, Yang Cao, Joost Rotteveel, Rina D. Eiden, Rima Azar, Nicole R. Bush, Adina Chis, Grazyna Kmita, Melissa W. Clearfield, Roseriet Beijers, Michael Gröschl, Stefan A. Wudy, Andries Kalsbeek, Evalotte Mörelius, Martijn J.J. Finken

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Context: In adults, cortisol levels show a pronounced 24-hour rhythm with a peak in the early morning. It is unknown at what age this early-morning peak in cortisol emerges during infancy, hampering the establishment of optimal dosing regimens for hydrocortisone replacement therapy in infants with an inborn form of adrenal insufficiency. Objective: We aimed to characterize daily variation in salivary cortisol concentration across the first year of life. Methods: We conducted a systematic review followed by an individual participant data meta-analysis of studies reporting on spontaneous (ie, not stress-induced) salivary cortisol concentrations in healthy infants aged 0-1 year. A one-stage …

Investigating The Impact Of Sorghum On Tau Protein Phosphorylation And Mitochondrial Dysfunction Modulation In Alzheimer’S Disease: An In Vitro Study, Nasim Rezaee, Eugene Hone, Hamid Sohrabi, Rasheed Abdulraheem, Stuart K. Johnson, Stuart Gunzburg, Ralph N. Martins, W. M.A.D.Binosha Fernando

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with poorly understood pathology. Elevated tau, phospho-tau and mitochondrial dysfunction are significantly correlated with an increased risk of AD and are therefore targets for disease-modifying therapy. In this study, we examined the effects of polyphenolic extracts from six different varieties of sorghum: Shawaya short black-1 (Black), IS1311C (Brown), QL33/QL36 (Red), B923296 (Red), QL12 (White), and QL33 (Red) on the attenuation of beta amyloid-induced phospho-tau levels, total tau levels, and mitochondrial dysfunction in neuronal cells. Method: Tau proteins (231 (pT231), Serine- 199 (pS199), and total tau proteins (T-tau)) were detected and quantified …

Molecular Modification Of Queen Bee Acid And 10-Hydroxydecanoic Acid With Specific Tripeptides: Rational Design, Organic Synthesis, And Assessment For Prohealing And Antimicrobial Hydrogel Properties, Song Hong, Sachin B. Baravkar, Yan Lu, Abdul Razak Masoud, Qi Zhao, Weilie Zhou

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Royal jelly and medical grade honey are traditionally used in treating wounds and infections, although their effectiveness is often variable and insufficient. To overcome their limitations, we created novel amphiphiles by modifying the main reparative and antimicrobial components, queen bee acid (hda) and 10-hydroxyl-decanoic acid (hdaa), through peptide bonding with specific tripeptides. Our molecular design incorporated amphiphile targets as being biocompatible in wound healing, biodegradable, non-toxic, hydrogelable, prohealing, and antimicrobial. The amphiphilic molecules were designed in a hda(hdaa)-aa1-aa2-aa3 structural model with rational selection criteria for each moiety, prepared via Rink/Fmoc-tBu-based solid-phase peptide synthesis, and structurally verified by NMR and LC–MS/MS. …

Behavioral And Neuroactivational Correlates Of Psychosocial Stress-Induced Cocaine Seeking In The Rat, Nicole Hinds

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Nicole Maria Hinds BEHAVIORAL AND NEUROACTIVATIONAL CORRELATES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS-INDUCED COCAINE SEEKING IN THE RAT 2024 Molecular Cell Biology & Neuroscience Doctor of Philosophy Cocaine Use Disorder is characterized by a high risk for relapse that can persist over extended periods of abstinence. Psychosocial stressors are well-established to promote drug craving and relapse in humans but have rarely been employed in preclinical relapse models. Consequently, the underlying neural circuitry by which these stressors drive cocaine seeking has not yet been thoroughly explored. This project aimed to identify brain regions recruited during psychosocial stress-induced cocaine seeking in rats, with a …

The Quic-Sp: A Spanish Language Tool Assessing Unpredictability In Early Life Is Linked To Physical And Mental Health, Sabrina R. Liu, Natasha A. Bailey, Sara Romero-González, Amy Moors, Belinda Campos, Elysia P. Davis, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Accumulating evidence indicates that unpredictable signals in early life represent a unique form of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associated with disrupted neurodevelopmental trajectories in children and adolescents. The Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) was developed to assess early life unpredictability, encompassing social, emotional, and physical unpredictability in a child’s environment, and has been validated in three independent cohorts. However, the importance of identifying ACEs in diverse populations, including non-English speaking groups, necessitates translation of the QUIC. The current study aims to translate and validate a Spanish language version of the QUIC (QUIC-SP) and assess its associations with mental and …

The Biological Intersection Between Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairment And Alzheimer Disease, Matthew Torre, Camila A Zanella, Mel B Feany

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and one of the leading causes of death in elderly patients. The number of patients with AD in the United States is projected to double by 2060. Thus, understanding modifiable risk factors for AD is an urgent public health priority. In parallel with the number of patients with AD, the number of cancer survivors is estimated to increase significantly, and up to 80% of cancer patients treated with chemotherapy will develop cognitive deficits, termed chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment. This review discusses biologically plausible pathways underlying both disorders, with the goal of …