Resting-state functional connectivity in an auditory network differs between aspiring professional and amateur musicians and correlates with performance.

Auditory experience-dependent plasticity is often studied in the domain of musical expertise. Available evidence suggests that years of musical practice are associated with structural and functional changes in auditory cortex and related brain regions. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to investigate neural correlates of musical training and expertise beyond specific task influences.

Observing Plasticity of the Auditory System: Volumetric Decreases Along with Increased Functional Connectivity in Aspiring Professional Musicians.

Playing music relies on several sensory systems and the motor system, and poses strong demands on control processes, hence, offering an excellent model to study how experience can mold brain structure and function. Although most studies on neural correlates of music expertise rely on cross-sectional comparisons, here we compared within-person changes over time in aspiring professionals intensely preparing for an entrance exam at a University of the Arts to skilled amateur musicians not preparing for a music exam. In the group of aspiring professionals, we observed gray-matter volume decrements in left planum polare, posterior insula, and left inferior frontal orbital gyrus over a period of about 6 months that were absent among the amateur musicians.

Modeling transcriptomic age using knowledge-primed artificial neural networks.

The development of 'age clocks', machine learning models predicting age from biological data, has been a major milestone in the search for reliable markers of biological age and has since become an invaluable tool in aging research. However, beyond their unquestionable utility, current clocks offer little insight into the molecular biological processes driving aging, and their inner workings often remain non-transparent. Here we propose a new type of age clock, one that couples predictivity with interpretability of the underlying biology, achieved through the incorporation of prior knowledge into the model design.

Impact of atrial fibrillation detected by extended monitoring-A population-based cohort study.

Background: The clinical relevance of extended monitoring of AF in the general population is unclear. The study evaluated the detection of AF using transtelephonic electrocardiography and the clinical relevance of additional AF findings, especially with regard to stroke risk and mortality.

Methods: The data of 1678 volunteers participating in the tele-ECG-subproject of the Study of Health in Pomerania was evaluated.

Regional variation of chronic kidney disease in Germany: results from two population-based surveys.

Background/aims: Due to the increasing prevalence of risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD), kidney dysfunction becomes a major public health problem. We investigated the CKD prevalence and determined to what extent the variation of risk factors explains the different CKD prevalence in Germany.

Methods: We analyzed data from 6,054 participants, aged 31 to 82 years, from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-1) in Northeast Germany and the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA F4) Study in Southern Germany.

Inverse association of estimated cystatin C- and creatinine-based glomerular filtration rate with left ventricular mass: Results from the Study of Health in Pomerania.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease in the general population and in patients with chronic kidney disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with left ventricular mass index (LVMI), LVH and left ventricular geometry. A question of clinical relevance is whether estimated glomerular filtration rate based on cystatin C (eGFRcystatinC) is a better marker for cardiovascular risk than estimated glomerular filtration rate based on creatinine (eGFRcreatinine).

Urban-rural disparities in smoking behaviour in Germany.

Background: It is currently not clear whether individuals living in metropolitan areas differ from individuals living in rural and urban areas with respect to smoking behaviours. Therefore, we sought to explore the relation between residential area and smoking behaviours in Germany.

Methods: We used a nationwide German census representative for the general population of Germany.

Putative association between anti-Borrelia IgG and autoimmune thyroid disease?

An association between borreliosis and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) has previously been discussed. We undertook the present analyses to explore associations between anti-Borrelia immunoglobulin G (IgG) and AITD using data from the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), which was conducted in a region with endemic Borreliosis. Data of 4,256 persons were available for the present analyses.

Occupational exposure to ionizing radiation is associated with autoimmune thyroid disease.

Context: The thyroid gland is a potential target organ for radiation-related damage.

Objective: The aim of the analysis was to investigate the association between occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD).

Design: Our design was the cross-sectional Study of Health in Pomerania.

Lack of CB1 receptors increases noradrenaline release in vas deferens without affecting atrial noradrenaline release or cortical acetylcholine release.

1. We studied whether cannabinoid CB1 receptor gene disruption (to yield CB1-/- mice) affects the electrically evoked tritium overflow from vas deferens and atrial pieces preincubated with [3H]-noradrenaline (NA) ('noradrenaline release') and from cerebral cortex slices preincubated with [3H]-choline ('acetylcholine release'). 2.