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Paediatr Anaesth 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Department of Anesthesia, McGovern Medical School, Houston, United States of America.

Background: Spinal muscular atrophy are a group of autosomal recessive inherited neurological disorders secondary to a genetic mutation that leads to progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. Recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Nusinersen is the first treatment specifically for spinal muscular atrophy. This drug must be administered intrathecally, as it does not cross the blood brain barrier. Read More

FASEB J 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Department of Physiology, Life Science and Biopharmaceutical Institution, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.

Blood-brain tumor barrier (BTB) severely restricts the efficient delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs into brain tumor tissue, which is a critical obstacle for glioma treatment. Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have shown as regulation factors of numerous biological processes. In this study, we identified that Lnc00462717 was upregulated in glioma endothelial cells (GECs), and that knockdown of Lnc00462717 significantly increased the BTB permeability. Read More

Dev Psychobiol 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Laboratory of Experimental Physiology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

This study aims at investigating whether early stress interacts with brain injury due to neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI). To this end, we examined possible changes in synaptophysin (SYN) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of maternally separated rats that were subsequently exposed to a HI episode. Rat pups (n = 11) were maternally separated during postnatal days 1 to 6 (3hr/day), while another group was left undisturbed (n = 11). Read More

Neurotox Res 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Department of Molecular Biomedicine, Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, 07360, Mexico City, Mexico.

The amyloid beta-peptide (Aβ) is the low-abundance product of amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is produced lifelong in the healthy brain. The functional properties of Aβ40 and Aβ42 peptides have not been completely elucidated to date. Although, several studies suggest that these peptides have a number of neurotrophic and neurotoxic properties, respectively. Read More

Neurosci Bull 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.

We aimed to select an optimized hematoma expansion (HE) model and investigate the possible mechanism of blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage in mice. The results showed that HE occurred in the group with hypertension combined with hyperglycemia (HH-HE) from 3 to 72 h after intracerebral hemorrhage; this was accompanied by neurological deficits and hardly influenced the survival rate. The receiver operating characteristic curve suggested the criterion for this model was hematoma volume expansion ≥ 45. Read More

Mol Biol Rep 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Astrocytomas, the most prevalent primary brain tumors, can be divided by histology and malignancy levels into four following types: pilocytic astrocytoma (grade I), diffuse fibrillary astrocytoma (grade II), anaplastic astrocytoma (grade III), and glioblastoma multiforme (grade IV). For high grade astrocytomas (grade III and grade IV), blood vessels formation is considered as the most important property. The distribution of cannabinoid receptors type 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) in blood vessels and tumor tissue of astrocytoma is still controversial. Read More

Brain Topogr 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Department of Medicine (Austin Health), The University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, VIC, 3084, Australia.

Head motion is a significant barrier to functional MRI (fMRI) in patients who are unable to tolerate awake scanning, including young children or those with cognitive and behavioural impairments. General anaesthesia minimises motion and ensures patient comfort, however the optimal anaesthesia regimen for fMRI in the paediatric setting is unknown. In this study, we tested the feasibility of anaesthetised fMRI in 11 patients (mean age = 9. Read More

Brain Imaging Behav 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.

Conduct disorder (CD) is a common psychiatric disorder defined by a repetitive and persistent pattern of aggressive and antisocial behaviors. Although numerous task-based and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) studies have emphasized the disrupted functional connectivity in CD, the CD-related alterations in functional interactions between the bilateral cerebral hemispheres are rarely investigated directly. In this study, a voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) method based on rsfMRI was employed for the first time to examine the abnormalities of interhemispheric functional connectivity in patients with CD. Read More

Brain Imaging Behav 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, No. 2 Tiansheng Road, Chongqing, China.

Restrained eating is a popular weight loss strategy for young women that tends to have limited effectiveness over extended periods of time. Although previous studies have explored and identified possible personality and behavior differences between successful and unsuccessful restrained eaters (REs), there has been a paucity of research on neurophysiological differences.Towards addressing this gap, we assessed brain resting state (Rs) differences in groups of unsuccessful REs (N = 39) and successful REs (N = 31). Read More

Psychometrika 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

New York University, Los Angeles, USA.

Theory of mind (ToM) is an essential social-cognitive ability to understand one's own and other people's mental states. Neural data as well as behavior data have been utilized in ToM research, but the two types of data have rarely been analyzed together, creating a large gap in the literature. In this paper, we propose and apply a novel joint modeling approach to analyze brain activations with two types of behavioral data, response times and response accuracy, obtained from a multi-item ToM assessment, with the intention to shed new light on the nature of the underlying process of ToM reasoning. Read More

Metab Brain Dis 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas: Fisiologia, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Hunter syndrome or mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) is an X-linked recessive disease caused by the deficiency of iduronate 2-sulfatase (IDS), leading to storage of undegraded heparan and dermatan sulfate. Patients with the severe form present neurological abnormalities, but the mechanisms of such alterations are unknown. Here, we hypothesized that the undegraded substances found in this disease could be recognized as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPS), leading to activation of the inflammasome. Read More

Pflugers Arch 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Cognitive Neuroscience Section, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio, Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.

Brain neural networks undergo relevant changes during physiological aging, which affect cognitive and behavioral functions. Currently, non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), are proposed as tools able to modulate cognitive functions in brain aging, acting on networks properties and connectivity. Segregation and integration measures are used and evaluated by means of local clustering (segregation) and path length (integration). Read More

Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Department of Medical Biophysics and Informatics, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Praha 10 Ruská 87, 100 00, Prague, Czech Republic.

Objectives:  Patients with nasopharyngeal cancer are candidates for proton radiotherapy due to large and comprehensive target volumes, and the necessity for sparing of healthy tissues. The aim of this work is to evaluate treatment outcome and toxicity profile of patients treated with proton pencil-beam scanning radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods:  Between Jan 2013 and June 2018, 40 patients were treated for nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) with IMPT (proton radiotherapy with modulated intensity). Read More

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuou-ku, Chiba, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan.

It has been suggested that dopaminergic neurotransmission plays important roles for the psychotic symptoms and probably etiology of schizophrenia. In our recent preliminary study, we demonstrated that the specific allele combinations of dopamine-related functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs10770141, rs4680, and rs1800497 could indicate risks for schizophrenia. The present validation study involved a total of 2542 individuals who were age- and sex-matched in a propensity score matching analysis, and the results supported the statistical significances of the proposed genetic risks described in our previous reports. Read More

Neuro Oncol 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Neurology Clinic and National Center for Tumor Diseases, University Hospital Heidelberg, INF, Heidelberg.

The recent discovery of synaptic connections between neurons and brain tumor cells fundamentally challenges our understanding of gliomas and brain metastases, and shows how these tumors can integrate into complex neuronal circuits. Here, we provide an overview on glutamatergic neuron-to-brain tumor synaptic communication (NBTSC) and explore novel therapeutic avenues. First, we summarize current concepts of direct synaptic interactions between presynaptic neurons and postsynaptic glioma cells, and indirect perisynaptic input to metastatic breast cancer cells. Read More

Neuro Oncol 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Department of Hematology/Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy.

J Alzheimers Dis 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND, USA.

Background: The intestinal microbiota and its metabolites, particularly short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), have been implicated in immune function, host metabolism, and even behavior.

Objective: This study was performed to investigate whether probiotic administration influences levels of intestinal microbiota and their metabolites in a fashion that may attenuate brain changes in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) mice were compared to AppNL-G-Fmice. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a presenile neurodegenerative disease for which there is no effective pharmacological treatment. Recently, a link has been proposed between neuroinflammation and FTD.

Objective: Here, we aim to investigate the effects of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) combined with luteoline (PEA-LUT), an endocannabinoid with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects, on behavior, cognition, and cortical activity in a sample of FTD patients. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2020 Jun 27. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Background/objective: This study compares the effectiveness and safety of intranasal versus subcutaneous administration of dantrolene in 5XFAD Alzheimer's disease (AD) mice.

Methods: 5XFAD and wild type (WT) B6SJLF1/J mice were treated with intranasal or subcutaneous dantrolene (5 mg/kg, 3×/wk), or vehicle. The early (ETG) and late (LTG) treatment groups began treatment at 2 or 6 months of age, respectively, and both treatment groups finished at12 months of age. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Institute of Clinical Medicine/Neurology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

We explored the association of type 2 diabetes related blood markers with brain amyloid accumulation on PiB-PET scans in 41 participants from the FINGER PET sub-study. We built logistic regression models for brain amyloid status with12 plasma markers of glucose and lipid metabolism, controlled for diabetes and APOEɛ4 carrier status. Lower levels of insulin, insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), C-peptide, and plasminogen activator (PAI-1) were associated with amyloid positive status, although the results were not significant after adjusting for multiple testing. Read More

Biomed Tech (Berl) 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Epilepsy surgery is an important treatment modality for medically refractory focal epilepsy. The outcome of surgery usually depends on the localization accuracy of the epileptogenic zone (EZ) during pre-surgical evaluation. Good localization can be achieved with various electrophysiological and neuroimaging approaches. Read More

Mult Scler Relat Disord 2020 Jul 1;45:102348. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

National Neuroscience Institute of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address:

Background: Area postrema syndrome is considered as one of the most typical presentations of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs) (Wingerchuk et al., 2015). The involvement of area postrema is rarely seen in multiple sclerosis (MS). Read More

Mult Scler Relat Disord 2020 Jun 21;45:102313. Epub 2020 Jun 21.

Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address:

This contribution reports the case of a young female patient with a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) heterozygous missense mutation giving rise to a broad range of autoimmune diseases, including central nervous system inflammation presenting as disseminated intramedullary and infiltrating brain lesions on MRI. Multiple sclerosis was one of the diagnoses considered. CTLA-4 is a negative immune regulator essential for the function of regulatory T-cells, themselves responsible for maintaining self-tolerance and immune homeostasis. Read More

iScience 2020 Jun 20;23(7):101289. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address:

Chronic stress-related hormones modulate tumor pathogenesis at multiple levels; however, the molecular pathways involved in stress and cervical cancer progression are not well understood. We established a preclinical orthotopic mouse model of cervical cancer and used the model to show that daily restraint stress increased tumor growth and metastatic tumor burden. Exposure to norepinephrine significantly protected cervical cancer cells from anoikis. Read More

iScience 2020 Jun 19;23(7):101284. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China; Gerald Choa Neuroscience Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address:

Despite intensive research on Parkinson disease (PD) for decades, this common neurodegenerative disease remains incurable. We hypothesize that abnormal iron accumulation is a common thread underlying the emergence of the hallmarks of PD, namely mitochondrial dysfunction and α-synuclein accumulation. We investigated the powerful action of the main iron regulator hepcidin in the brain. Read More

Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2020 Jun 22;77:64-69. Epub 2020 Jun 22.

Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Neuroscience Track, Mayo Graduate School, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Department of Clinical Genomics, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA. Electronic address:

Introduction: Genetic variants in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene have been previously associated with susceptibility to synucleinopathies. The risk is well-established in Lewy body disease but is not as confirmed for multiple system atrophy (MSA). We aim to evaluate associations between exonic variants in GBA and risk of neuropathologically-confirmed multiple system atrophy (MSA). Read More

Med Image Anal 2020 Jun 25;65:101763. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China. Electronic address:

Thermal ablation is a minimally invasive procedure for treating small or unresectable tumors. Although CT is widely used for guiding ablation procedures, yet the contrast of tumors against normal soft tissues is often poor in CT scans, aggravating the accurate thermal ablation. In this paper, we propose a fast MR-CT image registration method to overlay pre-procedural MR (pMR) and pre-procedural CT (pCT) images onto an intra-procedural CT (iCT) image to guide the thermal ablation of liver tumors. Read More

Med Image Anal 2020 Jun 23;65:101752. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Department, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, India.

Higher spatial resolution in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) can give reliable information about the functional networks in the cerebral cortex. Typical methods can achieve higher spatial or temporal resolution by speeding up scans using either (i) complex pulse-sequence designs or (ii) k-space undersampling coupled with priors on the signal. We propose to undersample the R-fMRI acquisition in k-space and time to speedup scans in order to improve spatial resolution. Read More

Neurobiol Aging 2020 Jun 7;94:154-163. Epub 2020 Jun 7.

Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA. Electronic address:

Despite the importance of cortico-striatal circuits to cognition, investigation of age effects on the structural circuitry connecting these regions is limited. The current study examined age effects on frontostriatal white matter connectivity, and identified associations with both executive function performance and dynamic modulation of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activation to task difficulty in a lifespan sample of 169 healthy humans aged 20-94 years. Greater frontostriatal diffusivity was associated with poorer executive function and this negative association strengthened with increasing age. Read More

Neurobiol Aging 2020 May 19;94:140-148. Epub 2020 May 19.

Department of Functional Brain Imaging, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address:

Damaged mitochondria may be one of the earliest manifestations of Alzheimer's disease. Because oxidative phosphorylation is a primary source of neuronal energy, unlike glycolysis-dependent energy production in inflamed glia, mitochondrial respiration could provide a selective biomarker of neuronal deterioration in Alzheimer's disease. Here we used a recently developed positron emission tomography (PET) probe targeting mitochondrial complex I (MC-I), F-BCPP-EF, to non-invasively visualize mitochondrial abnormalities in the brains of tau transgenic mice (rTg4510). Read More

J Adolesc 2020 Jul 2;83:12-21. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience Thompson Institute, Birtinya, QLD, Australia.

Introduction: Poor sleep quality has been linked to reduced neural connectivity through decreased white matter (WM) structural integrity. WM tract development has been shown to continue throughout adolescence with studies reporting positive correlations between diffusion-derived estimates of structural integrity and reduced sleep quality in adult samples. Few studies have investigated this relationship exclusively within a sample of young adolescents. Read More

J Psychosom Res 2020 Jun 29;136:110173. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

eCentreClinic, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

Objective: Mental health and cognitive difficulties are highly prevalent across neurological disorders and significantly contribute to poorer patient outcomes. Unfortunately, access to effective psychological services for these comorbidities are limited. To determine whether a novel transdiagnostic internet-delivered psychological intervention, the Wellbeing Neuro Course, was feasible, acceptable and efficacious a single-group feasibility open trial was employed. Read More

Vet Parasitol 2020 Jun 20;283:109171. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

Shiraz Branch, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran.

To date, there is no effective vaccine to prevent abortion or vertical transmission associated with neosporosis in cattle. In the present study, the efficacy of a live experimental vaccine of Neospora caninum attenuated (NCa) by long-term serial passages on a murine macrophage cell line was evaluated in the prevention of vertical transmission and abortion in the mouse model. Forty non-pregnant mice were randomly divided into four equal groups including non-immunized/challenged (injected with PBS); positive control (inoculated with un-attenuated NC-1 tachyzoites); immunized/challenged (inoculated with NCa attenuated strain) and immunized/non-challenged or vaccinated (inoculated with NCa) groups. Read More

Aquat Toxicol 2020 Jun 18;225:105547. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

University of Exeter, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, Stocker Rd., Exeter, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Some chemicals in the environment disrupt thyroid hormone (TH) systems leading to alterations in organism development, but their effect mechanisms are poorly understood. In fish, this has been limited by a lack of fundamental knowledge on thyroid gene ontogeny and tissue expression in early life stages. Here we established detailed expression profiles for a suite of genes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis of zebrafish (Danio rerio) between 24-120 h post fertilisation (hpf) and quantified their responses following exposure to 3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) using whole mount in situ hybridisation (WISH) and qRT-PCR (using whole-body extracts). Read More

J Exp Child Psychol 2020 Jul 2;198:104905. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

A large body of research in developmental psychology has been devoted to the ongoing debate over which aspects of language are fundamental to false belief understanding (FBU). A key proposal from de Villiers and colleagues proposes the essential role of complementation syntax in FBU development. The current study, using scalp electroencephalography (EEG), addressed one opposing hypothesis purporting that complementation is redundant to FBU by characterizing the electrophysiological correlates of FBU and complementation syntax in school-age children. Read More

J Neurol Sci 2020 Jun 27;416:117006. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester LE2 7LX, UK; Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester LE3 9QP, UK; University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK. Electronic address:

Objectives: This study draws on advances in Doppler ultrasound bubble sizing to investigate whether high volumes of macro-bubbles entering the brain during cardiac surgery increase the risk of new cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), ischemic MR lesions, or post-operative cognitive decline (POCD).

Methods: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound recordings were analysed to estimate numbers of emboli and macrobubbles (>100 μm) entering the brain during cardiac surgery. Logistic regression was used to explore the hypothesis that emboli characteristics affect the incidence of new brain injuries identified through pre- and post-operative MRI and neuropsychological testing. Read More

J Neurol Sci 2020 Jun 30;416:117007. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

The University of Sydney, School of Psychology, Sydney, NSW, Australia; The University of Sydney, Brain & Mind Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Electronic address:

Objective: While patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) typically present with predominant language impairment, behavioural symptoms, such as apathy, are often under-recognised. We aimed to systematically characterise apathy across the three recognised subtypes of PPA, plus atypical right-lateralised presentations of semantic dementia, and to evaluate the impact of apathy on carer burden and psychological wellbeing.

Methods: Baseline assessments from 114 PPA patients were included: 31 left semantic dementia (left SD) 16 right semantic dementia (right SD), 30 progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA) and 37 logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA). Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2020 Jun 27;27:102331. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA; Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA. Electronic address:

Simultaneous real-time fMRI and EEG neurofeedback (rtfMRI-EEG-nf) is an emerging neuromodulation approach, that enables simultaneous volitional regulation of both hemodynamic (BOLD fMRI) and electrophysiological (EEG) brain activities. Here we report the first application of rtfMRI-EEG-nf for emotion self-regulation training in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). In this proof-of-concept study, MDD patients in the experimental group (n = 16) used rtfMRI-EEG-nf during a happy emotion induction task to simultaneously upregulate two fMRI and two EEG activity measures relevant to MDD. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2020 Jun 24;27:102323. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Hyperpolarized carbon-13 (HP-C) MRI is a non-invasive imaging technique for probing brain metabolism, which may improve clinical cancer surveillance. This work aimed to characterize the consistency of serial HP-C imaging in patients undergoing treatment for brain tumors and determine whether there is evidence of aberrant metabolism in the tumor lesion compared to normal-appearing tissue.

Methods: Serial dynamic HP [1-C]pyruvate MRI was performed on 3 healthy volunteers (6 total examinations) and 5 patients (21 total examinations) with diffuse infiltrating glioma during their course of treatment, using a frequency-selective echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2020 Jun 26;27:102320. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

CNNP lab(1), Interdisciplinary Complex Systems Group, School of Computing, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom; NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Objective: To characterise temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) surgery-induced changes in brain network properties, as measured using diffusion weighted MRI, and investigate their association with postoperative seizure-freedom.

Methods: For 48 patients who underwent anterior temporal lobe resection, diffusion weighted MRI was acquired pre-operatively, 3-4 months post-operatively (N = 48), and again 12 months post-operatively (N = 13). Data for 17 controls were also acquired over the same period. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2020 Jun 19;27:102316. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Institute for Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics (ICTEAM), Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE), Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Electronic address:

Schizophrenia, as a psychiatric disorder, has recognized brain alterations both at the structural and at the functional magnetic resonance imaging level. The developing field of connectomics has attracted much attention as it allows researchers to take advantage of powerful tools of network analysis in order to study structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia. Many methods have been proposed to identify biomarkers in schizophrenia, focusing mainly on improving the classification performance or performing statistical comparisons between groups. Read More

Acta Psychol (Amst) 2020 Jul 2;209:103118. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Wales Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales LL57 2AS, United Kingdom.

Studying social modulation of cognitive processes holds much promise for illuminating how, where, when and why social factors influence how we perceive and act in the world, as well as providing insight into the underlying cognitive mechanisms. This is no small objective; it reflects an ambitious programme of research. At present, based on the modal theoretical and methodological approach, we suggest that several challenges exist to achieving such lofty aims. Read More

Infant Behav Dev 2020 Jul 2;60:101409. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Department of Psychology, Cambridge University, UK.

Preliminary evidence suggests that changes in DNA methylation, a widely studied epigenetic mechanism, contribute to the etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, data is primarily derived from post-mortem brain samples or peripheral tissue from adults. Deep-phenotyped longitudinal infant cohorts are essential to understand how epigenetic modifications relate to early developmental trajectories and emergence of ASD symptoms. Read More

Neurochirurgie 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

General surgeon, Deparment of Neurosurgery, National Oncologic Institute "Dr. Juan Tanca Marengo" ION-SOLCA, Guayaquil, 090505, Ecuador.

Objective: To report two rare cases of medulloblastoma in pregnant patients and a review of the literature.

Material And Methods: Report of patients diagnosed with medulloblastoma during their pregnancies, who were treated with surgery and adjuvant therapy. We also reviewed other cases reported in the literature and the association made with hormonal receptors. Read More

Neurochirurgie 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

CHRU Montpellier, Service de Neurochirurgie, Montpellier, F-34295, France; IGF, Montpellier, F-34094, France; CNRS UMR5203, Montpellier, F-34094, France; INSERM, U661, Montpellier, F-34094, France; Université Montpellier I, Montpellier, F-34094, France. Electronic address:

Purpose: To discuss the potential of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the dentate nucleus as a treatment for dystono-dyskinetic syndromes.

Methods: An extensive literature review covered the anatomy and physiology of the dentate nucleus and the experimental evidence for its involvement in the pathophysiology of dystonia and dyskinesia.

Results: Evidence from animal models and from functional imaging in humans is strongly in favor of involvement of the dentate nucleus in dystono-dyskinetic syndromes. Read More

Biochimie 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), CNRS, Université de Montpellier, ENSCM, Montpellier, France.

Brain functions are known to be mainly modulated by adequate dietary intake. Inadequate intake as can be an excess or significant deficiency affect cognitive processes, behavior, neuroendocrine functions and synaptic plasticity with protective or harmful effects on neuronal physiology. Lipids, in particular, ω-6 and ω-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) play structural roles and govern the different functions of the brain. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2020 Jul 2:129679. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa-Ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwaicho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan. Electronic address:

Background: Hyaluronan (HA) is a major component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and is involved in many cellular functions. In the adult brain, HA forms macromolecular aggregates around synapses and plays important roles in neural plasticity. In contrast to the well-characterized function of HA in the adult brain, its roles in the developing brain remain largely unknown. Read More

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020 Jul 2:110029. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Addiction Research Group, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5C1, Canada; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5C1, Canada; Department of Psychiatry. Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5C1, Canada. Electronic address:

Clinical and pre-clinical evidence demonstrates divergent psychotropic effects of THC vs. CBD. While THC can induce perceptual distortions and anxiogenic effects, CBD displays antipsychotic and anxiolytic properties. Read More

Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020 Jun 17;120:104777. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, OSUWMC, United States.

Spouses share common risks for cardiometabolic diseases: a person's diabetes or hypertension raises the partner's odds of developing the same condition. The mechanisms responsible for this disease concordance remain poorly understood. To examine three factors that may modulate partners' cardiometabolic similarity-closeness, hostile marital behavior, and age-and to explore whether health behavior concordance plays a role, on two separate occasions 43 healthy couples ages 24-61 provided fasting glucose, metabolic data (fat and carbohydrate oxidation), and resting blood pressure before discussing one of their most severe marital disagreements. Read More