Altered electroencephalography-based source functional connectivity in drug-free patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: Compared to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), source localization of a scalp-recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) provides higher temporal resolution and frequency synchronization to better understand the potential neurophysiological origins of disrupted functional connectivity (FC) in major depressive disorder (MDD). The present study aimed to investigate EEG-sourced measures to examine the FC in drug-free patients with MDD.

Method: Resting-state 32-channel EEG were recorded in 84 drug-free patients with MDD and 143 healthy controls, and the cortical source signals were estimated.

Polystyrene microplastic-induced extracellular vesicles cause kidney-related effects in the crosstalk between tubular cells and fibroblasts.

Plastic waste accumulation and its degradation into microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) pose environmental concerns. Previous studies have indicated that polystyrene (PS)-MPs harm living animals. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are associated with metabolic reprogramming and mitochondrial dysfunction in various kidney diseases.

Tanshinone IIA suppresses burning incense-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways in astrocytes.

The burning incense (BI) behavior could be widely observed in Asia families. Incense sticks are often believed to be made from natural herbs and powders, and to have minimal impact on human health; however, there is limited research to support this claim. The current study aimed to identify the components of BI within the particulate matter 2.

Resting-State EEG Connectivity at High-Frequency Bands and Attentional Performance Dysfunction in Stabilized Schizophrenia Patients.

: Attentional dysfunction has long been viewed as one of the fundamental underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. There is an urgent need to understand its neural underpinning and develop effective treatments. In the process of attention, neural oscillation has a central role in filtering information and allocating resources to either stimulus-driven or goal-relevant objects.

Online Left-Hemispheric In-Phase Frontoparietal Theta tACS Modulates Theta-Band EEG Source-Based Large-Scale Functional Network Connectivity in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial.

EEG studies indicated that schizophrenia patients had increased resting-state theta-band functional connectivity, which was associated with negative symptoms. We recently published the first study showing that theta (6 Hz) transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over left prefrontal and parietal cortices during a working memory task for accentuating frontoparietal theta-band synchronization (in-phase theta-tACS) reduced negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients. Here, we hypothesized that in-phase theta-tACS can modulate theta-band large-scale networks connectivity in schizophrenia patients.

High-Frequency Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation over the Left Prefrontal Cortex Increases Resting-State EEG Frontal Alpha Asymmetry in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Reduced left-lateralized electroencephalographic (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), a biomarker for the imbalance of interhemispheric frontal activity and motivational disturbances, represents a neuropathological attribute of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Unidirectional high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) can increase the excitability of the cortex beneath the stimulating electrode. Yet, it is unclear if hf-tRNS can modulate electroencephalographic FAA in patients with schizophrenia.

High-Frequency Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation Modulates Gamma-Band EEG Source-Based Large-Scale Functional Network Connectivity in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Schizophrenia is associated with increased resting-state large-scale functional network connectivity in the gamma frequency. High-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) modulates gamma-band endogenous neural oscillations in healthy individuals through the application of low-amplitude electrical noises. Yet, it is unclear if hf-tRNS can modulate gamma-band functional connectivity in patients with schizophrenia.

Exposure to polystyrene microplastics impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in mice.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has become a serious environmental issue worldwide, but its potential effects on health remain unknown. The administration of polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs) to mice for eight weeks impaired learning and memory behavior. PS-MPs were detected in the brain especially in the hippocampus of these mice.

Naringenin Induces ROS-Mediated ER Stress, Autophagy, and Apoptosis in Human Osteosarcoma Cell Lines.

Osteosarcoma, a primary bone tumor, responds poorly to chemotherapy and radiation therapy in children and young adults; hence, as the basis for an alternative treatment, this study investigated the cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects of naringenin on osteosarcoma cell lines, HOS and U2OS, by using cell counting kit-8 and colony formation assays. DNA fragmentation and the increase in the G2/M phase in HOS and U2OS cells upon treatment with various naringenin concentrations were determined by using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay and Annexin V/propidium iodide double staining, respectively. Flow cytometry was performed, and 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate, JC-1, and Fluo-4 AM ester probes were examined for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial membrane potential, and intracellular calcium levels, respectively.

Online Left-Hemispheric In-Phase Frontoparietal Theta tACS for the Treatment of Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia.

Negative symptoms represent an unmet need for schizophrenia treatment. The effect of theta frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (theta-tACS) applied during working memory (WM) tasks on negative symptoms has not been demonstrated as of yet. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial of 36 stabilized schizophrenia patients, randomized to receive either twice daily, 6 Hz 2 mA, 20 min sessions of in-phase frontoparietal tACS or sham for five consecutive weekdays.

The Kidney-Related Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on Human Kidney Proximal Tubular Epithelial Cells HK-2 and Male C57BL/6 Mice.

Background: Understanding the epidemic of chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology may be critical for health policies and public health responses. Recent studies have shown that microplastics (MPs) contaminate our food chain and accumulate in the gut, liver, kidney, muscle, and so on. Humans manufacture many plastics-related products.

Efficacy and neurophysiological predictors of treatment response of adjunct bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in treating unipolar and bipolar depression.

Background: Although add-on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising intervention for treating unipolar (UD) and bipolar depression (BD), its moderate antidepressant efficacy urges research into biomarkers for predicting therapeutic response and achieving highly targeted applications.

Methods: This open-label trial enrolled UD (N=58) and BD (N=22) patients who had failed 1 or more trials of adequate pharmacologic interventions (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03287037).

Neurotoxic astrocytes express the d-serine synthesizing enzyme, serine racemase, in Alzheimer's disease.

Although β-amyloid plaques are a well-recognized hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology, no drugs reducing amyloid burden have shown efficacy in clinical trials, suggesting that once AD symptoms emerge, disease progression becomes independent of Aβ production. Reactive astrocytes are another neuropathological feature of AD, where there is an emergence of neurotoxic (A1) reactive astrocytes. We find that serine racemase (SR), the neuronal enzyme that produces the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) co-agonist d-serine, is robustly expressed in A1-reactive neurotoxic astrocytes in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex of AD subjects and an AD rat model.

Deletion of Dtnbp1 in mice impairs threat memory consolidation and is associated with enhanced inhibitory drive in the amygdala.

Schizophrenia is a severe and highly heritable disorder. Dystrobrevin-binding protein 1 (DTNBP1), also known as dysbindin-1, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Specifically, dysbindin-1 mRNA and protein expression are decreased in the brains of subjects with this disorder.

Changes in Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations From Child Participation in Bicycle Trains for Commuting to and From School.

Background: Active commuting to school (ACS) is associated with increased physical activity and lowered risk of obesity. In observational studies, ACS was associated with child self-efficacy, parent self-efficacy, and parent outcome expectations, although few experiments have assessed changes in these behavioral constructs.

Aim: This study examined the effects of a bicycle train intervention (BTI) on child self-efficacy, parent self-efficacy, and parent outcome expectations in a diverse, low socioeconomic status population.

Bidirectional and long-lasting control of alcohol-seeking behavior by corticostriatal LTP and LTD.

Addiction is proposed to arise from alterations in synaptic strength via mechanisms of long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD). However, the causality between these synaptic processes and addictive behaviors is difficult to demonstrate. Here we report that LTP and LTD induction altered operant alcohol self-administration, a motivated drug-seeking behavior.

Serine Racemase and D-serine in the Amygdala Are Dynamically Involved in Fear Learning.

Background: The amygdala is a central component of the neural circuitry that underlies fear learning. N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent plasticity in the amygdala is required for pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction. N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation requires the binding of a coagonist, D-serine, which is synthesized from L-serine by the neuronal enzyme serine racemase (SR).

Stroke triggers nigrostriatal plasticity and increases alcohol consumption in rats.

Excessive alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for stroke, but the effect of stroke on alcohol intake is unknown. The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and midbrain areas of the nigrostriatal circuit are critically associated to stroke and alcohol addiction. Here we sought to explore the influence of stroke on alcohol consumption and to uncover the underlying nigrostriatal mechanism.

Inhibition of O-GlcNAcase leads to elevation of O-GlcNAc tau and reduction of tauopathy and cerebrospinal fluid tau in rTg4510 mice.

Background: Hyperphosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau is a distinct feature of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) that are the hallmark of neurodegenerative tauopathies. O-GlcNAcylation is a lesser known post-translational modification of tau that involves the addition of N-acetylglucosamine onto serine and threonine residues. Inhibition of O-GlcNAcase (OGA), the enzyme responsible for the removal of O-GlcNAc modification, has been shown to reduce tau pathology in several transgenic models.

Dopamine D1 or D2 receptor-expressing neurons in the central nervous system.

Dopamine signals mainly through D1 receptors (D1Rs) and D2 receptors (D2Rs); D1R-expressing or D2R-expressing neurons contribute to distinct reward and addictive behaviors. Traditionally, transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under D1R or D2R promoters are used for fluorescent verification in electrophysiology studies, whereas Cre mice are employed for behavioral research. However, it is unknown whether the same neuronal populations are targeted in GFP and Cre mice.

North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) suppresses β-adrenergic-dependent signalling, hypertrophy, and cardiac dysfunction.

There is increasing evidence for a beneficial effect of ginseng on cardiac pathology. Here, we determined whether North American ginseng can modulate the deleterious effects of the β-adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol on cardiac hypertrophy and function using in vitro and in vivo approaches. Isoproterenol was administered for 2 weeks at either 25 mg/kg per day or 50 mg/kg per day (ISO25 or ISO50) via a subcutaneously implanted osmotic mini-pump to either control rats or those receiving ginseng (0.

Distinct Synaptic Strengthening of the Striatal Direct and Indirect Pathways Drives Alcohol Consumption.

Background: Repeated exposure to addictive drugs or alcohol triggers glutamatergic and gamma-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) plasticity in many neuronal populations. The dorsomedial striatum (DMS), a brain region critically involved in addiction, contains medium spiny neurons (MSNs) expressing dopamine D or D receptors, which form direct and indirect pathways, respectively. It is unclear how alcohol-evoked plasticity in the DMS contributes to alcohol consumption in a cell type-specific manner.

Myocardial Hypertrophic Remodeling and Impaired Left Ventricular Function in Mice with a Cardiac-Specific Deletion of Janus Kinase 2.

The Janus kinase (JAK) system is involved in numerous cell signaling processes and is highly expressed in cardiac tissue. The JAK isoform JAK2 is activated by numerous factors known to influence cardiac function and pathologic conditions. However, although abundant, the role of JAK2 in the regulation or maintenance of cardiac homeostasis remains poorly understood.