Infantile amnesia: forgotten but not gone.

Unlike adult memories that can be remembered for many years, memories that are formed early in life are more fragile and susceptible to being forgotten (a phenomenon known as "infantile" or "childhood" amnesia). Nonetheless, decades of research in both humans and nonhuman animals demonstrate the importance of early life experiences on later physical, mental, and emotional functioning. This raises the question of how early memories can be so influential if they cannot be recalled.

Noblesse oblige? Social status and economic inequality maintenance among politicians.

Economic inequality is at historically high levels in the United States and is among the most pressing issues facing society. And yet, predicting the behavior of politicians with respect to their support of economic inequality remains a significant challenge. Given that high status individuals tend to conceive of the current structure of society as fair and just, we expected that high status members of the U.

Identification of enteroendocrine cells that express TRPA1 channels in the mouse intestine.

TRPA1 is an ion channel that detects specific chemicals in food and also transduces mechanical, cold and chemical stimulation. Its presence in sensory nerve endings is well known and recent evidence indicates that it is expressed by some gastrointestinal enteroendocrine cells (EEC). The purpose of the present work is to identify and quantify EEC that express TRPA1 in the mouse gastrointestinal tract.

Regenerative therapeutic potential of adipose stromal cells in early stage diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. Early stage DR involves inflammation, vascular leakage, apoptosis of vascular cells and neurodegeneration. In this study, we hypothesized that cells derived from the stromal fraction of adipose tissue (ASC) could therapeutically rescue early stage DR features.

The mechanism of enhanced defecation caused by the ghrelin receptor agonist, ulimorelin.

Background: Discovery of adequate pharmacological treatments for constipation has proven elusive. Increased numbers of bowel movements were reported as a side-effect of ulimorelin treatment of gastroparesis, but there has been no investigation of the site of action.

Methods: Anesthetized rats were used to investigate sites and mechanisms of action of ulimorelin.

The elusive engram: what can infantile amnesia tell us about memory?

Revealing the engram is one of the greatest challenges in neuroscience. Many researchers focus on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of the engram, but an underutilized approach has been to investigate analogous processes associated with forgetting. Infant rodents present an ideal model for this purpose because they display a rapid form of non-pathological forgetting known as infantile amnesia (IA).

Expenditures in the elderly with peripheral neuropathy: Where should we focus cost-control efforts?

To optimize care in the evaluation of peripheral neuropathy, we sought to define which tests drive expenditures and the role of the provider type. We investigated test utilization and expenditures by provider type in those with incident neuropathy in a nationally representative elderly, Medicare population. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine predictors of MRI and electrodiagnostic utilization.

Acute early-life stress results in premature emergence of adult-like fear retention and extinction relapse in infant rats.

Recent studies have shown that chronic early life stress results in precocious expression of the adult-like phenotype of fear retention and inhibition. However, it is unknown whether the experience of acute early trauma has the same effects as exposure to chronic early stress. In the present study, a 24-hr period of maternal deprivation on postnatal day (P) 9 was used as an acute early life stressor.

Identification of factors associated with sural nerve regeneration and degeneration in diabetic neuropathy.

Objective: Patients with diabetic neuropathy (DN) demonstrate variable degrees of nerve regeneration and degeneration. Our aim was to identify risk factors associated with sural nerve degeneration in patients with DN.

Research Design And Methods: Demographic, anthropometric, biochemical, and anatomical data of subjects with DN from a 52-week trial of acetyl-L-carnitine were retrospectively examined.

Neurogenic vocal fold motion impairment after routine intubation for tonsillectomy in a pediatric patient.

Objectives/hypothesis: Vocal fold motion impairment is a rare complication of general anesthesia and is more common in older patients undergoing longer duration of anesthesia. We present a case of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) axonotmesis in a 16-year-old patient undergoing general anesthesia for tonsillectomy.

Study Design: Case report.

The gut as a sensory organ.

The gastrointestinal tract presents the largest and most vulnerable surface to the outside world. Simultaneously, it must be accessible and permeable to nutrients and must defend against pathogens and potentially injurious chemicals. Integrated responses to these challenges require the gut to sense its environment, which it does through a range of detection systems for specific chemical entities, pathogenic organisms and their products (including toxins), as well as physicochemical properties of its contents.

Altering electromyography studies: importance of the electromyographer's perception of patient pain.

Objective: To determine the relation between the patient's actual pain, the electromyographer's perception of patient pain, and whether an electromyogram (EMG) is altered.

Design: Patients undergoing electromyography reported expected pain and procedure-related overall pain on a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS). Blinded electromyographers estimated patient pain levels and indicated if they altered the study in any way because of this perception.

From resilience to vulnerability: mechanistic insights into the effects of stress on transitions in critical period plasticity.

While early experiences are proposed to be important for the emergence of anxiety and other mental health problems, there is little empirical research examining the impact of such experiences on the development of emotional learning. Of the research that has been performed in this area, however, a complex picture has emerged in which the maturation of emotion circuits is influenced by the early experiences of the animal. For example, under typical laboratory rearing conditions infant rats rapidly forget learned fear associations (infantile amnesia) and express a form of extinction learning which is relapse-resistant (i.

Diagnostic accuracy of diffusion tensor imaging in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.

Rationale And Objectives: There have been a large number of case-control studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The objective of this study was to perform an individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis for the estimation of the diagnostic accuracy measures of DTI in the diagnosis of ALS using corticospinal tract data.

Materials And Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases (1966-April 2011) were searched.

The metabolic syndrome and neuropathy: therapeutic challenges and opportunities.

The metabolic syndrome and neuropathy are common conditions, especially in the elderly, that are associated with significant morbidity. Furthermore, the metabolic syndrome is reaching epidemic proportions across the world. Current evidence supports the association of the metabolic syndrome and its individual components with neuropathy.

Genotype-phenotype correlations in recessive RYR1-related myopathies.

Background: RYR1 mutations are typically associated with core myopathies and are the most common overall cause of congenital myopathy. Dominant mutations are most often associated with central core disease and malignant hyperthermia, and genotype-phenotype patterns have emerged from the study of these mutations that have contributed to the understanding of disease pathogenesis. The recent availability of genetic testing for the entire RYR1 coding sequence has led to a dramatic expansion in the identification of recessive mutations in core myopathies and other congenital myopathies.

Value of thyroid and rheumatologic studies in the evaluation of peripheral neuropathy.

Peripheral neuropathy is a common disorder, often prompting an extensive initial laboratory evaluation. The initial evaluation is particularly challenging to primary care physicians and neurologists because of the broad differential diagnosis. Although screening thyroid and rheumatologic tests are frequently ordered, the diagnostic yield of these tests is unclear.

Electromyography-related pain: muscle selection is the key modifiable study characteristic.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to estimate the effects of patient, provider, and study characteristics on electromyography (EMG)-related pain.

Methods: Patients undergoing EMG rated their EMG-related pain after each muscle was studied on a 100-point visual analog scale (VAS). Investigators recorded the order in which the muscles were sampled, the total time spent with the needle in each muscle, and whether electrical endplate noise was noted.

An imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis revealed by use of 3-T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Importance: A lack of neuroinhibitory function may result in unopposed excitotoxic neuronal damage in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Objective: To determine whether there are reductions in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels and elevations in glutamate-glutamine (Glx) levels in selected brain regions of patients with ALS by use of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Design: Case-control study using short echo time and GABA-edited proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3 T with regions of interest in the left motor cortex, left subcortical white matter, and pons; data analyzed using logistic regression, t tests, and Pearson correlations; and post hoc analyses performed to investigate differences between riluzole-naive and riluzole-treated patients with ALS.

Soral synapomorphies are significant for the systematics of the Ustilago-Sporisorium-Macalpinomyces complex (Ustilaginaceae).

The genera Ustilago, Sporisorium and Macalpinomyces are a polyphyletic complex of plant pathogenic fungi. The four main morphological characters used to define these genera have been considered homoplasious and not useful for resolving the complex. This study re-evaluates character homology and discusses the use of these characters for defining monophyletic groups recovered from a reconstructed phylogeny using four nuclear loci.

Choosing Wisely: highest-cost tests in outpatient neurology.

Identifying the tests/procedures ordered by neurologists that contribute most to health care expenditures is a critical step in the process of creating the neurology top 5 list for the Choosing Wisely initiative. Using data from the 2007-2010 National Ambulatory Care Medical Survey, we found that $13.3 billion (95% confidence interval = $10.

Early experiences and the development of emotional learning systems in rats.

Research first reported nearly 50 years ago demonstrated that infant and young animals (including humans) exhibit profoundly faster rates of forgetting (i.e., infantile amnesia) than do adults.

Identification of epigenetically altered genes in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal disease involving the progressive degeneration of motor neurons within the motor cortex, brainstem and spinal cord. Most cases are sporadic (sALS) with unknown causes suggesting that the etiology of sALS may not be limited to the genotype of patients, but may be influenced by exposure to environmental factors. Alterations in epigenetic modifications are likely to play a role in disease onset and progression in ALS, as aberrant epigenetic patterns may be acquired throughout life.

Use of BPPV processes in emergency department dizziness presentations: a population-based study.

Objective: A common cause of dizziness, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), is effectively diagnosed and cured with the Dix-Hallpike test (DHT) and the canalith repositioning maneuver (CRM). We aimed to describe the use of these processes in emergency departments (EDs), assess for trends in use over time, and determine provider level variability in use.

Study Design: Prospective population-based surveillance study.