Elevated C-Reactive Protein in Older Men With Chronic Pain: Association With Plasma Amyloid Levels and Hippocampal Volume.

Background: Chronic pain leads to tau accumulation and hippocampal atrophy, which may be moderated through inflammation. In older men, we examined associations of chronic pain with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related plasma biomarkers and hippocampal volume as moderated by systemic inflammation.

Methods: Participants were men without dementia.

Non-invasive ventral cervical magnetoneurography as a proxy of in vivo lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation.

Maintenance of autonomic homeostasis is continuously calibrated by sensory fibers of the vagus nerve and sympathetic chain that convey compound action potentials (CAPs) to the central nervous system. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intravenous challenge reliably elicits a robust inflammatory response that can resemble systemic inflammation and acute endotoxemia. Here, we administered LPS intravenously in nine healthy subjects while recording ventral cervical magnetoneurography (vcMNG)-derived CAPs at the rostral Right Nodose Ganglion (RNG) and the caudal Right Carotid Artery (RCA) with optically pumped magnetometers (OPM).

EMG-projected MEG High-Resolution Source Imaging of Human Motor Execution: Brain-Muscle Coupling above Movement Frequencies.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive functional imaging technique for pre-surgical mapping. However, movement-related MEG functional mapping of primary motor cortex (M1) has been challenging in presurgical patients with brain lesions and sensorimotor dysfunction due to the large numbers of trails needed to obtain adequate signal to noise. Moreover, it is not fully understood how effective the brain communication is with the muscles at frequencies above the movement frequency and its harmonics.

Magnetoencephalogram-based brain-computer interface for hand-gesture decoding using deep learning.

Advancements in deep learning algorithms over the past decade have led to extensive developments in brain-computer interfaces (BCI). A promising imaging modality for BCI is magnetoencephalography (MEG), which is a non-invasive functional imaging technique. The present study developed a MEG sensor-based BCI neural network to decode Rock-Paper-scissors gestures (MEG-RPSnet).

Multi-path decoder U-Net: A weakly trained real-time segmentation network for object detection and localization in ultrasound scans.

Detecting and localizing an anatomical structure of interest within the field of view of an ultrasound scan is an essential step in many diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. However, ultrasound scans suffer from high levels of variabilities across sonographers and patients, making it challenging for sonographers to accurately identify and locate these structures without extensive experience. Segmentation-based convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been proposed as a solution to assist sonographers in this task.

Non-invasive cervical vagus nerve stimulation effects on reaction time and valence image anticipation response.

Background: Norepinephrine (NE) driven noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS), which improves attention and reduces reaction time, augments learning. Equally important, endogenous NE mediated arousal is highly dependent on the valence (positive or negative) of the exogenous stimulus. But to date, no study has measured valence specific effects of nVNS on both functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) anticipation task response and reaction time in healthy individuals.

Toward Composite Pain Biomarkers of Neuropathic Pain-Focus on Peripheral Neuropathic Pain.

Chronic pain affects ~10-20% of the U.S. population with an estimated annual cost of $600 billion, the most significant economic cost of any disease to-date.

Sex-specific differences in the efficacy of traditional low frequency versus high frequency spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain.

Introduction: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS), an FDA-approved therapy for chronic pain, uses paresthesia (low frequency SCS (LF-SCS)) or paresthesia-free (such as high-frequency SCS (HF-SCS)) systems, providing analgesia through partially-elucidated mechanisms, with recent studies indicating a sexual dimorphism in pain pathogenesis (Bretherton et al., Neuromodulation, 2021; Paller et al., Pain Med 10:289-299, 2009; Slyer et al.

Effects of Noninvasive Cervical Vagal Nerve Stimulation on Cognitive Performance But Not Brain Activation in Healthy Adults.

Objectives: While preliminary evidence suggests that noninvasive vagal nerve stimulation (nVNS) may enhance cognition, to our knowledge, no study has directly assessed the effects of nVNS on brain function and cognitive performance in healthy individuals. The aim of this study was therefore to assess whether nVNS enhances complex visuospatial problem solving in a normative sample. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine underlying neural substrates.

Peripheral Nerve Magnetoneurography With Optically Pumped Magnetometers.

Electrodiagnosis is routinely integrated into clinical neurophysiology practice for peripheral nerve disease diagnoses, such as neuropathy, demyelinating disorders, nerve entrapment/impingement, plexopathy, or radiculopathy. Measured with conventional surface electrodes, the propagation of peripheral nerve action potentials along a nerve is the result of ionic current flow which, according to Ampere's Law, generates a small magnetic field that is also detected as an "action current" by magnetometers, such as superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) Magnetoencephalography (MEG) systems. Optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) are an emerging class of quantum magnetic sensors with a demonstrated sensitivity at the 1 fT/√Hz level, capable of cortical action current detection.

A CNN Segmentation-Based Approach to Object Detection and Tracking in Ultrasound Scans with Application to the Vagus Nerve Detection.

Ultrasound scanning is essential in several medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications. It is used to visualize and analyze anatomical features and structures that influence treatment plans. However, it is both labor intensive, and its effectiveness is operator dependent.

Resting-state magnetoencephalography source magnitude imaging with deep-learning neural network for classification of symptomatic combat-related mild traumatic brain injury.

Combat-related mild traumatic brain injury (cmTBI) is a leading cause of sustained physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral disabilities in Veterans and active-duty military personnel. Accurate diagnosis of cmTBI is challenging since the symptom spectrum is broad and conventional neuroimaging techniques are insensitive to the underlying neuropathology. The present study developed a novel deep-learning neural network method, 3D-MEGNET, and applied it to resting-state magnetoencephalography (rs-MEG) source-magnitude imaging data from 59 symptomatic cmTBI individuals and 42 combat-deployed healthy controls (HCs).

Spinal cord stimulation in chronic pain: evidence and theory for mechanisms of action.

Well-established in the field of bioelectronic medicine, Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) offers an implantable, non-pharmacologic treatment for patients with intractable chronic pain conditions. Chronic pain is a widely heterogenous syndrome with regard to both pathophysiology and the resultant phenotype. Despite advances in our understanding of SCS-mediated antinociception, there still exists limited evidence clarifying the pathways recruited when patterned electric pulses are applied to the epidural space.

Marked Increases in Resting-State MEG Gamma-Band Activity in Combat-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Combat-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a leading cause of sustained impairments in military service members and veterans. Recent animal studies show that GABA-ergic parvalbumin-positive interneurons are susceptible to brain injury, with damage causing abnormal increases in spontaneous gamma-band (30-80 Hz) activity. We investigated spontaneous gamma activity in individuals with mTBI using high-resolution resting-state magnetoencephalography source imaging.

Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation alters neural response and physiological autonomic tone to noxious thermal challenge.

The mechanisms by which noninvasive vagal nerve stimulation (nVNS) affect central and peripheral neural circuits that subserve pain and autonomic physiology are not clear, and thus remain an area of intense investigation. Effects of nVNS vs sham stimulation on subject responses to five noxious thermal stimuli (applied to left lower extremity), were measured in 30 healthy subjects (n = 15 sham and n = 15 nVNS), with fMRI and physiological galvanic skin response (GSR). With repeated noxious thermal stimuli a group × time analysis showed a significantly (p < .

Relations of combat stress and posttraumatic stress disorder to 24-h plasma and cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 levels and circadian rhythmicity.

Background: Acute and chronic stress can lead to a dysregulation of the immune response. Growing evidence suggests peripheral immune dysregulation and low-grade systemic inflammation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with numerous reports of elevated plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels. However, only a few studies have assessed IL-6 levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

MEG Working Memory N-Back Task Reveals Functional Deficits in Combat-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Combat-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a leading cause of sustained cognitive impairment in military service members and Veterans. However, the mechanism of persistent cognitive deficits including working memory (WM) dysfunction is not fully understood in mTBI. Few studies of WM deficits in mTBI have taken advantage of the temporal and frequency resolution afforded by electromagnetic measurements.

Spinal Cord Stimulator Related Infections: Findings From a Multicenter Retrospective Analysis of 2737 Implants.

Introduction: Surgical site infection is a potential complication of spinal cord stimulator (SCS) implantation. Current understanding of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of these infections is based largely on small clinical studies, many of which are outdated. Evidence-based guidelines for management of SCS-related infections thus rely instead on expert opinion, case reports, and case series.

Posttraumatic stress disorder influences the nociceptive and intrathecal cytokine response to a painful stimulus in combat veterans.

Objective: Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain frequently occur in tandem, the pathophysiological mechanisms mediating this comorbidity are poorly understood. Because excessive inflammation occurs in both conditions, we examined the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of inflammatory response mediators interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) after prolonged suprathreshold pain stimulus in 21 male combat veterans; 10 with PTSD and 11 combat controls (CC).

Methods: After completing baseline quantitative sensory testing (QST) and psychological profiling, all patients received an injection of capsaicin into the quadriceps muscle.

Noninvasive Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Decreases Whole Blood Culture-Derived Cytokines and Chemokines: A Randomized, Blinded, Healthy Control Pilot Trial.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the transcutaneous noninvasive vagus nerve stimulator (nVNS) (gammaCore©) device to determine if it modulates the peripheral immune system, as has been previously published for implanted vagus nerve stimulators.

Materials And Methods: A total of 20 healthy males and females were randomized to receive either nVNS or sham stimulation (SST). All subjects underwent an initial blood draw at 8:00 am, followed by stimulation with nVNS or SST at 8:30 am.