Publications by authors named "J A P Coutinho"

Background: The Default Mode Network (DMN) is involved in self-referential and emotional processes, while the insula integrates emotional and interoceptive signals. Functional connectivity between the insula and the DMN is proposed to enhance these processes by linking internal bodily states with self-referential thoughts and emotional regulation. Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a measure of parasympathetic regulation of cardiac activity, has been associated with the capacity to regulate autonomic arousal.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hyperacute cardiac CT is more effective than transthoracic echocardiography in detecting intracardiac thrombus, but its routine use is limited due to costs and risks.
  • A study of 1,136 ischemic stroke or TIA patients found that longer arterial input function (AIF) dispersal times correlate with the presence of thrombus and worse outcomes, with a specific cutoff of 33 seconds indicating higher risk.
  • The findings support using AIF dispersal measurements to help identify patients who may benefit from cardiac imaging, potentially optimizing resource use in stroke management.
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Pupil responses are commonly used to provide insight into visual perception, autonomic control, cognition, and various brain disorders. However, making inferences from pupil data can be complicated by nonlinearities in pupil dynamics and variability within and across individuals, which challenge the assumptions of linearity or group-level homogeneity required for common analysis methods. In this study, we evaluated luminance evoked pupil dynamics in young healthy adults (n = 10, M:F = 5:5, ages 19-25 years) by identifying nonlinearities, variability, and conserved relationships across individuals to improve the ability to make inferences from pupil data.

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Background: Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is increasingly used to search for cardioembolic sources of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We assessed the association between high-risk cardioembolic sources on cardiac CT and AIS.

Methods: We performed a case-control study using data from a prospective cohort including consecutive adult patients with suspected stroke who underwent cardiac CT acquired during the initial stroke imaging protocol between 2018 and 2020.

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Background: There is a paucity of studies on patient-reported outcomes and quality of life (QoL) in conservatively managed patients with a cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM).

Methods: This single-center observational study included consecutive adult CCM patients, diagnosed in 2000-2023, managed conservatively, and with at least 6 months of follow-up. Patients completed two validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs): EuroQol 5-dimensions 5-levels (EQ-5D-5L), and Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System 29 (PROMIS-29).

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