Predictors for Returning to Paid Work after Transient Ischemic Attack and Minor Ischemic Stroke.

This study aims to determine which factors within the first week after a first-ever transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor ischemic stroke (MIS) are associated with stroke survivors’ ability to return to either partial or full time paid external work (RTpW). In this single-center prospective cohort study, we recruited 88 patients with first-ever TIA or MIS (NIHSS ≤ 5). Bivariate analyses were conducted between patients that did (RTpW) or did not return to paid work (noRTpW) within 7 days after stroke onset and at 3-months follow-up.

Neural correlates of expectations-induced effects of caffeine intake on executive functions.

Placebo effects are defined as the beneficial subjective or behavioral outcomes of an intervention that are not attributable to its inherent properties; Placebo effects thus follow from individuals' expectations about the effects of the intervention. The present study aimed at examining how expectations influence neurocognitive processes. We addressed this question by contrasting three double-blinded within-subjects experimental conditions in which participants were given decaffeinated coffee, while being told they had received caffeinated (condition i) or decaffeinated coffee (ii), and given caffeinated coffee while being told they had received decaffeinated coffee (iii).

Experience with opioids does not modify the brain network involved in expectations of placebo analgesia.

Placebo analgesia (PA) is defined as a psychobiological phenomenon triggered by the information surrounding an analgesic drug instead of its inherent pharmacological properties. PA is hypothesized to be formed through either verbal suggestions or conditioning. The present study aims at disentangling the neural correlates of expectations effects with or without conditioning through prior experience using the model of PA.

Beta Electroencephalographic Oscillation Is a Potential GABAergic Biomarker of Chronic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain.

This preliminary investigation aimed to assess beta (β) oscillation, a marker of the brain GABAergic signaling, as a potential objective pain marker, hence contributing at the same time to the mechanistic approach of pain management. This case-control observational study measured β electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillation in 12 right-handed adult male with chronic neuropathic pain and 10 matched controls (∼55 years). Participants were submitted to clinical evaluation (pain visual analog scale, Hospital Anxiety, and Depression scale) and a 24-min high-density EEG recording (BIOSEMI).

Acute alcohol intoxication and expectations reshape the spatiotemporal functional architecture of executive control.

While the deleterious effects of acute ethyl alcohol intoxication on executive control are well-established, the underlying spatiotemporal brain mechanisms remain largely unresolved. In addition, since the effects of alcohol are noticeable to participants, isolating the effects of the substance from those related to expectations represents a major challenge. We addressed these issues using a double-blind, randomized, parallel, placebo-controlled experimental design comparing the behavioral and electrical neuroimaging acute effects of 0.