Vagus nerve stimulation during training fails to improve learning in healthy rats.

Learning new skills requires neuroplasticity. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) during sensory and motor events can increase neuroplasticity in networks related to these events and might therefore serve to facilitate learning on sensory and motor tasks. We tested if VNS could broadly improve learning on a wide variety of tasks across different skill domains in healthy, female adult rats.

Bursts of vagus nerve stimulation paired with auditory rehabilitation fail to improve speech sound perception in rats with hearing loss.

Hearing loss can lead to long-lasting effects on the central nervous system, and current therapies, such as auditory training and rehabilitation, show mixed success in improving perception and speech comprehension. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjunctive therapy that can be paired with rehabilitation to facilitate behavioral recovery after neural injury. However, VNS for auditory recovery has not been tested after severe hearing loss or significant damage to peripheral receptors.

Precise sound characteristics drive plasticity in the primary auditory cortex with VNS-sound pairing.

Introduction: Repeatedly pairing a tone with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) alters frequency tuning across the auditory pathway. Pairing VNS with speech sounds selectively enhances the primary auditory cortex response to the paired sounds. It is not yet known how altering the speech sounds paired with VNS alters responses.

Climate system asymmetries drive eccentricity pacing of hydroclimate during the early Eocene greenhouse.

The early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) represents the peak of Earth's last sustained greenhouse climate interval. To investigate hydroclimate variability in western North America during the EECO, we developed an orbitally resolved leaf wax δH record from one of the most well-dated terrestrial paleoclimate archives, the Green River Formation. Our δH results show ∼60‰ variation and evidence for eccentricity and precession forcing.

fMRI investigation of response inhibition, emotion, impulsivity, and clinical high-risk behavior in adolescents.

High-risk behavior in adolescents is associated with injury, mental health problems, and poor outcomes in later life. Improved understanding of the neurobiology of high-risk behavior and impulsivity shows promise for informing clinical treatment and prevention as well as policy to better address high-risk behavior. We recruited 21 adolescents (age 14-17) with a wide range of high-risk behavior tendencies, including medically high-risk participants recruited from psychiatric clinics.

Effects of emotional context on impulse control.

High risk behaviors such as narcotic use or physical fighting can be caused by impulsive decision making in emotionally-charged situations. Improved neuroscientific understanding of how emotional context interacts with the control of impulsive behaviors may lead to advances in public policy and/or treatment approaches for high risk groups, including some high-risk adolescents or adults with poor impulse control. Inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is an important contributor to response inhibition (behavioral impulse control).

Canadian guidelines for the evidence-based treatment of tic disorders: pharmacotherapy.

This article seeks to provide the practising clinician with guidance on the pharmacological management of tic disorders in children and adults. We performed a systematic review of the literature on the treatment of tic disorders. A multi-institutional group of 14 experts in psychiatry, child psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics, and psychology engaged in a consensus meeting.

Screen-printable silver pastes with metallic nano-zinc and nano-zinc alloys for crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells.

Silver metallization pastes for crystalline silicon PV cells containing nanosized metallic zinc were found to be superior to commercial pastes containing micrometer-sized metallic zinc and micrometer sized zinc oxide in terms of efficiency and firing window. Efficiency performance decreases as the size of the particles increases: nano-Zn > 3.6 μm Zn > 4.

Neuropsychological functioning in children with Tourette syndrome (TS).

Objective: We examined whether children with Tourette syndrome (TS) displayed a unique pattern of neuropsychological deficits on the CANTAB relative to control children. We also looked at whether children with TS and other comorbidities had more neuropsychological impairments than those with uncomplicated TS and how age was related to the profile of neuropsychological deficits in TS.

Method: Participants included 38 children with TS (aged 7 to 13 years) and 38 control children (aged 6 to 12 years).

Risperidone in the treatment of disruptive behavioral symptoms in children with autistic and other pervasive developmental disorders.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of risperidone for the treatment of disruptive behavioral symptoms in children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders (PDD).

Methods: In this 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, risperidone/placebo solution (0.01-0.

Evidence for Involvement of Protein Kinase C in Germinal Vesicle Breakdown in Chaetopterus: (protein kinase C/phorbol ester/oocyte maturation).

We have examined the possible involvement of protein kinase C (C-kinase) in the initiation of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in Chaetopterus oocytes. Two tumor-promoting phorbol esters (phorbol-12, 13-dibezoate and 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate [TPA]) and a permeant diacylglycerol (1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol), potent activators of C-Kinase, triggered GVBD. Two other phorbol esters (phorbol-13-monoacetate and 4α-phorbol-12, 13-didecanoate), which do not activate C-kinase, were inactive.