The role of uncertain reward in voluntary task-switching as revealed by pupillometry and gaze.

Cognitive flexibility, the brain's ability to adjust to changes in the environment, is a critical component of executive functioning. Previous literature shows a robust relationship between reward dynamics and flexibility: flexibility is highest when reward changes, while flexibility decreases when reward remains stable. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of uncertain reward in a voluntary task switching paradigm on behavior, pupillometry, and eye gaze.

TOMM40 regulates hepatocellular and plasma lipid metabolism via an LXR-dependent pathway.

Objective: The gene encoding TOMM40 (Transporter of Outer Mitochondrial Membrane 40) is adjacent to that encoding APOE, which has a central role in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. While human genetic variants near APOE and TOMM40 have been shown to be strongly associated with plasma lipid levels, a specific role for TOMM40 in lipid metabolism has not been established, and the present study was aimed at assessing this possibility.

Methods: TOMM40 was knocked down by siRNA in human hepatoma HepG2 cells, and effects on mitochondrial function, lipid phenotypes, and crosstalk between mitochondria, ER, and lipid droplets were examined.

Quantified Ataxic Breathing Can Detect Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression Earlier in Normal Volunteers Infused with Remifentanil.

Background: Ataxic breathing (AB) is a well-known manifestation of opioid effects in animals and humans, but is not routinely included in monitoring for opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD). We quantified AB in normal volunteers receiving increasing doses of remifentanil. We used a support vector machine (SVM) learning approach with features derived from a modified Poincaré plot.

Participant-derived cell line transcriptomic analyses and mouse studies reveal a role for ZNF335 in plasma cholesterol statin response.

Background: Statins lower circulating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) levels and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Though highly efficacious in general, there is considerable inter-individual variation in statin efficacy that remains largely unexplained.

Methods: To identify novel genes that may modulate statin-induced LDLC lowering, we used RNA-sequencing data from 426 control- and 2 µM simvastatin-treated lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from European and African American ancestry participants of the Cholesterol and Pharmacogenetics (CAP) 40 mg/day 6-week simvastatin clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.

Missense variants in SORT1 are associated with LDL-C in an Amish population.

Common noncoding variants at the human 1p13.3 locus associated with SORT1 expression are among those most strongly associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in human genome-wide association studies. However, validation studies in mice and cell lines have produced variable results regarding the directionality of the effect of SORT1 on LDL-C.

Participant-derived cell line transcriptomic analyses and mouse studies reveal a role for ZNF335 in plasma cholesterol statin response.

Background: Statins lower circulating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) levels and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Though highly efficacious in general, there is considerable inter-individual variation in statin efficacy that remains largely unexplained.

Methods: To identify novel genes that may modulate statin-induced LDLC lowering, we used RNA-sequencing data from 426 control- and 2 μM simvastatin-treated lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from European and African American ancestry participants of the Cholesterol and Pharmacogenetics (CAP) 40 mg/day 6-week simvastatin clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.

Effects of media multitasking frequency on a novel volitional multitasking paradigm.

The effect of media multitasking ( listening to podcasts while studying) on cognitive processes has seen mixed results thus far. To date, the tasks used in the literature to study this phenomenon have been classical paradigms primarily used to examine processes such as working memory. While perfectly valid on their own, these paradigms do not approximate a real-world volitional multitasking environment.

OpenSync: An open-source platform for synchronizing multiple measures in neuroscience experiments.

Background: The human mind is multimodal. Most behavioral studies rely on century-old measures such as task accuracy and latency. To better understand human behavior and brain functionality, we need to analyze physiological and behavioral signals of various sources.

Volatile anesthetic gas concentration sensing using flow sensor fusion for use in Austere settings.

Flow sensors are often sensitive to the presence of volatile anesthetics. However, this sensitivity provides a unique opportunity to combine flow sensors of differing technological principles as an alternative to measuring volatile anesthetic gas concentration, particularly for austere settings. To determine the feasibility of flow sensor fusion for volatile anesthetic concentrations monitoring, eight flow sensors were tested with isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane, ranging in concentrations from 0-4.

Component processes underlying voluntary task selection: Separable contributions of task-set inertia and reconfiguration.

Most theories describing the cognitive processes underlying task switching allow for contributions of active task-set reconfiguration and task set inertia. Manipulations of the Cue-to-Stimulus-Interval (CSI) are generally thought to influence task set reconfiguration, while Response-to-Cue (RCI) manipulations are thought to influence task set inertia. Together, these intervals compose the Response-to-Stimulus (RSI) interval.

Direct Optoelectronic Imaging of 2D Semiconductor-3D Metal Buried Interfaces.

The semiconductor-metal junction is one of the most critical factors for high-performance electronic devices. In two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor devices, minimizing the voltage drop at this junction is particularly challenging and important. Despite numerous studies concerning contact resistance in 2D semiconductors, the exact nature of the buried interface under a three-dimensional (3D) metal remains unclear.

Preliminary effects of prefrontal tDCS on dopamine-mediated behavior and psychophysiology.

The ability to manipulate dopamine in vivo through non-invasive, reversible mechanisms has the potential to impact clinical, translational, and basic research. Recent PET studies have demonstrated increased dopamine release in the striatum after bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We sought to extend this work by examining whether bifrontal tDCS could demonstrate an effect on behavioral and physiological correlates of subcortical dopamine activity.

Cerebellar and prefrontal-cortical engagement during higher-order rule learning in older adulthood.

To date most aging research has focused on cortical systems and networks, ignoring the cerebellum which has been implicated in both cognitive and motor function. Critically, older adults (OA) show marked differences in cerebellar volume and functional networks, suggesting it may play a key role in the behavioral differences observed in advanced age. OA may be less able to recruit cerebellar resources due to network and structural differences.

Efficient sampling for polynomial chaos-based uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis using weighted approximate Fekete points.

Performing uncertainty quantification (UQ) and sensitivity analysis (SA) is vital when developing a patient-specific physiological model because it can quantify model output uncertainty and estimate the effect of each of the model's input parameters on the mathematical model. By providing this information, UQ and SA act as diagnostic tools to evaluate model fidelity and compare model characteristics with expert knowledge and real world observation. Computational efficiency is an important part of UQ and SA methods and thus optimization is an active area of research.

Longitudinal Assessment and Functional Neuroimaging of Movement Variability Reveal Novel Insights Into Motor Dysfunction in Clinical High Risk for Psychosis.

Motor dysfunction in youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis is thought to reflect abnormal neurodevelopment within cortical-subcortical motor circuits and may be important for understanding clinical trajectories of CHR individuals. However, to date, our perspective of brain-behavior relationships has been informed solely by cross-sectional correlational studies linking behavior in the lab to brain structure or respective resting-state network connectivity. Here, we assess movement dysfunction from 2 perspectives: study 1 investigates the longitudinal progression of handwriting variability and positive symptoms in a sample of 91 CHR and healthy controls during a 12-month follow-up and study 2 involves a multiband functional magnetic resonance imaging task exploring the relationship between power grip force stability and motor network brain activation in a subset of participants.

Adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis show qualitatively altered patterns of activation during rule learning.

Background: The ability to flexibly apply rules to novel situations is a critical aspect of adaptive human behavior. While executive function deficits are known to appear early in the course of psychosis, it is unclear which specific facets are affected. Identifying whether rule learning is impacted at the early stages of psychosis is necessary for truly understanding the etiology of psychosis and may be critical for designing novel treatments.

Creativity on demand - Hacking into creative problem solving.

How can creative problem solving be enhanced? The paper identifies and examines modulatory approaches from the cognitive and neuroscientific literature that have been made to make creative problem solving better. We review neuromodulatory approaches of both global and local effects. Through a 2-process model of creative problem solving that involves both automatic and controlled processes, we demonstrate how these approaches could be used and what potential they may have for enhancing creative problem solving.

An Automated Algorithm Incorporating Poincaré Analysis Can Quantify the Severity of Opioid-Induced Ataxic Breathing.

Background: Opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) is traditionally recognized by assessment of respiratory rate, arterial oxygen saturation, end-tidal CO2, and mental status. Although an irregular or ataxic breathing pattern is widely recognized as a manifestation of opioid effects, there is no standardized method for assessing ataxic breathing severity. The purpose of this study was to explore using a machine-learning algorithm for quantifying the severity of opioid-induced ataxic breathing.

A procedure for determining subject-specific pulse oxygen saturation response.

The oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve describes the relationship between the partial pressure of oxygen and the percent of hemoglobin saturated with oxygen and varies with chemical and physical factors that differ for every patient. If variability could be determined, patient-specific oxygen therapy could be administered. We have developed a procedure for characterizing variations in the oxygen dissociation curve.

Age Differences in the Subcomponents of Executive Functioning.

Objectives: Across the life span, deficits in executive functioning (EF) are associated with poor behavioral control and failure to achieve goals. Though EF is often discussed as one broad construct, a prominent model of EF suggests that it is composed of three subdomains: inhibition, set shifting, and updating. These subdomains are seen in both younger (YA) and older adults (OA), with performance deficits across subdomains in OA.

A comparison of ventilation with a non-invasive ventilator versus standard O with a nasal cannula for colonoscopy with moderate sedation using propofol.

The aim of this study was to test the effects of CPAP on moderately sedated patients undergoing colonoscopy. Our hypothesis was that CPAP can reduce the incidence and duration of obstructive apnea and hemoglobin oxygen desaturation in patients undergoing procedural sedation for colonoscopy. Two groups of consenting adult patients scheduled to undergo routine colonoscopy procedures and sedated with propofol and fentanyl were monitored in this study: control and intervention.

A comparison of controlled ventilation with a noninvasive ventilator versus traditional mask ventilation.

After induction, but before intubation, many general anesthesia patients are manually bag-mask ventilated. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of bag-mask ventilation (MkV) of an anesthetized patient versus mask ventilation using a noninvasive ventilator (NIV). We hypothesized that feedback-controlled, mask ventilation via NIV is more efficacious and safer.

Cortical Morphometry in the Psychosis Risk Period: A Comprehensive Perspective of Surface Features.

Background: Gyrification features reflect brain development in the early prenatal environment. Clarifying the nature of these features in psychosis can help shed light on the role of early developmental insult. However, the literature is currently widely discrepant, which may reflect confounds related to formally psychotic patient populations or overreliance on a single feature of cortical surface morphometry (CSM).

Distinct and opposite profiles of connectivity during self-reference task and rest in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis.

Self-reference is impaired in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, associated with disability, and closely related to characteristic patterns of aberrant brain connectivity. However, at present, it is unclear whether self-reference is impacted in pathogenesis of the disorder. Alterations in connectivity during a self-reference task or resting-state in the psychosis risk (i.