Dietary trends and the decline in male reproductive health.

Over the twentieth century, male reproductive health has suffered a substantial decline, as evidenced by decreases in sperm counts and testosterone levels and increases in reproductive pathologies. At the same time, the prevalence of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome has risen dramatically. Metabolic and reproductive health are highly interconnected, suggesting that their respective trends are intertwined and, given the timeframe of such trends, environmental and not genetic factors are most likely to be the primary causes.

High-protein diets and testosterone.

A recent meta-analysis found low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets (> 3.4 g/kg of bodyweight/day) (g/kg/day) decreased men's total testosterone (∼5.23 nmol/L) [Whittaker and Harris (2022) Low-carbohydrate diets and men's cortisol and testosterone: systematic review and meta-analysis.

The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cerebral Autoregulation in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The thigh-cuff release (TCR) maneuver is a physiological challenge that is widely used to assess dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA). It is often applied in conjunction with Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD), which provides temporal information of the global flow response in the brain. This established method can only yield very limited insights into the regional variability of dCA, whereas functional MRI (fMRI) has the ability to reveal the spatial distribution of flow responses in the brain with high spatial resolution.

Advancing a cultural change agenda in higher education: issues and values related to reimagining academic leadership.

Traditional models of academic leadership are based largely on managerial and transactional approaches. Such efforts frequently support status quo individual success rather than values-based leadership based on collective institutional or sustainability-centered pursuits. Evolved reward systems and leaderships modes that support collective and institution-level effort and innovations prioritizing community and sustainability require new leadership models.

Low-carbohydrate diets and men's cortisol and testosterone: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Low-carbohydrate diets may have endocrine effects, although individual studies are conflicting. Therefore, a review was conducted on the effects of low- versus high-carbohydrate diets on men's testosterone and cortisol. The review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021255957).

Measuring Arterial Pulsatility With Dynamic Inflow Magnitude Contrast.

The pulsatility of blood flow through cerebral arteries is clinically important, as it is intrinsically associated with cerebrovascular health. In this study we outline a new MRI approach to measuring the real-time pulsatile flow in cerebral arteries, which is based on the inflow phenomenon associated with fast gradient-recalled-echo acquisitions. Unlike traditional phase-contrast techniques, this new method, which we dub dynamic inflow magnitude contrast (DIMAC), does not require velocity-encoding gradients as sensitivity to flow velocity is derived purely from the inflow effect.

Low-fat diets and testosterone in men: Systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies.

Background: Higher endogenous testosterone levels are associated with reduced chronic disease risk and mortality. Since the mid-20th century, there have been significant changes in dietary patterns, and men's testosterone levels have declined in western countries. Cross-sectional studies show inconsistent associations between fat intake and testosterone in men.

Neurofeedback Training versus Treatment-as-Usual for Alcohol Dependence: Results of an Early-Phase Randomized Controlled Trial and Neuroimaging Correlates.

Introduction: Alcohol dependence is one of the most common substance use disorders, and novel treatment options are urgently needed. Neurofeedback training (NFT) based on real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtf-MRI) has emerged as an attractive candidate for add-on treatments in psychiatry, but its use in alcohol dependence has not been formally investigated in a clinical trial. We investigated the use of rtfMRI-based NFT to prevent relapse in alcohol dependence.

Graded fMRI Neurofeedback Training of Motor Imagery in Middle Cerebral Artery Stroke Patients: A Preregistered Proof-of-Concept Study.

Ischemic stroke of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), a major brain vessel that supplies the primary motor and premotor cortex, is one of the most common causes for severe upper limb impairment. Currently available motor rehabilitation training largely lacks satisfying efficacy with over 70% of stroke survivors showing residual upper limb dysfunction. Motor imagery-based functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (fMRI-NF) has been suggested as a potential therapeutic technique to improve motor impairment in stroke survivors.

Corrigendum: Cerebral Autoregulation Evidenced by Synchronized Low Frequency Oscillations in Blood Pressure and Resting-State fMRI.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.

Resting-State Network Patterns Underlying Cognitive Function in Bipolar Disorder: A Graph Theoretical Analysis.

Synchronous and antisynchronous activity between neural elements at rest reflects the physiological processes underlying complex cognitive ability. Regional and pairwise connectivity investigations suggest that perturbations in these activity patterns may relate to widespread cognitive impairments seen in bipolar disorder (BD). Here we take a network-based perspective to more meaningfully capture interactions among distributed brain regions compared to focal measurements and examine network-cognition relationships across a range of commonly affected cognitive domains in BD in relation to healthy controls.

Vascular physiology drives functional brain networks.

We present the first evidence for vascular regulation driving fMRI signals in specific functional brain networks. Using concurrent neuronal and vascular stimuli, we collected 30 BOLD fMRI datasets in 10 healthy individuals: a working memory task, flashing checkerboard stimulus, and CO inhalation challenge were delivered in concurrent but orthogonal paradigms. The resulting imaging data were averaged together and decomposed using independent component analysis, and three "neuronal networks" were identified as demonstrating maximum temporal correlation with the neuronal stimulus paradigms: Default Mode Network, Task Positive Network, and Visual Network.

Frontolimbic, Frontoparietal, and Default Mode Involvement in Functional Dysconnectivity in Psychotic Bipolar Disorder.

Background: Functional abnormalities, mostly involving functionally specialized subsystems, have been associated with disorders of emotion regulation such as bipolar disorder (BD). Understanding how independent functional subsystems integrate globally and how they relate with anatomical cortical and subcortical networks is key to understanding how the human brain's architecture constrains functional interactions and underpins abnormalities of mood and emotion, particularly in BD.

Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance time series were averaged to obtain individual functional connectivity matrices (using AFNI software); individual structural connectivity matrices were derived using deterministic non-tensor-based tractography (using ExploreDTI, version 4.

Cerebral Autoregulation Evidenced by Synchronized Low Frequency Oscillations in Blood Pressure and Resting-State fMRI.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is a widely used technique for mapping the brain's functional architecture, so delineating the main sources of variance comprising the signal is crucial. Low frequency oscillations (LFO) that are not of neural origin, but which are driven by mechanisms related to cerebral autoregulation (CA), are present in the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal within the rs-fMRI frequency band. In this study we use a MR compatible device (Caretaker, Biopac) to obtain a non-invasive estimate of beat-to-beat mean arterial pressure (MAP) fluctuations concurrently with rs-fMRI at 3T.

Cerebrovascular Function in the Large Arteries Is Maintained Following Moderate Intensity Exercise.

Exercise has been shown to induce cerebrovascular adaptations. However, the underlying temporal dynamics are poorly understood, and regional variation in the vascular response to exercise has been observed in the large cerebral arteries. Here, we sought to measure the cerebrovascular effects of a single 20-min session of moderate-intensity exercise in the one hour period immediately following exercise cessation.

The Functional Connectivity Between the Nucleus Accumbens and the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex as an Endophenotype for Bipolar Disorder.

Background: Alterations in functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and frontal cortices have been previously associated with the presence of psychiatric syndromes, including bipolar disorder (BD). Whether these alterations are a consequence or a risk factor for mental disorders remains unresolved.

Methods: This study included 35 patients with BD, 30 nonaffected siblings of patients with BD, and 23 healthy control subjects to probe functional connectivity at rest between NAcc and the rest of the brain in a cross-sectional design.

The BOLD response in primary motor cortex and supplementary motor area during kinesthetic motor imagery based graded fMRI neurofeedback.

There is increasing interest in exploring the use of functional MRI neurofeedback (fMRI-NF) as a therapeutic technique for a range of neurological conditions such as stroke and Parkinson's disease (PD). One main therapeutic potential of fMRI-NF is to enhance volitional control of damaged or dysfunctional neural nodes and networks via a closed-loop feedback model using mental imagery as the catalyst of self-regulation. The choice of target node/network and direction of regulation (increase or decrease activity) are central design considerations in fMRI-NF studies.

Changes in arterial cerebral blood volume during lower body negative pressure measured with MRI.

Cerebral Autoregulation (CA), defined as the ability of the cerebral vasculature to maintain stable levels of blood flow despite changes in systemic blood pressure, is a critical factor in neurophysiological health. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful technique for investigating cerebrovascular function, offering high spatial resolution and wide fields of view (FOV), yet it is relatively underutilized as a tool for assessment of CA. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the potential of using MRI to measure changes in cerebrovascular resistance in response to lower body negative pressure (LBNP).

Neurofeedback training for alcohol dependence versus treatment as usual: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) is used for neurofeedback training (NFT). Preliminary results suggest that it can help patients to control their symptoms. This study uses rtfMRI NFT for relapse prevention in alcohol dependence.

Arterial CO2 Fluctuations Modulate Neuronal Rhythmicity: Implications for MEG and fMRI Studies of Resting-State Networks.

Unlabelled: A fast emerging technique for studying human resting state networks (RSNs) is based on spontaneous temporal fluctuations in neuronal oscillatory power, as measured by magnetoencephalography. However, it has been demonstrated recently that this power is sensitive to modulations in arterial CO2 concentration. Arterial CO2 can be modulated by natural fluctuations in breathing pattern, as might typically occur during the acquisition of an RSN experiment.

The absolute CBF response to activation is preserved during elevated perfusion: Implications for neurovascular coupling measures.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques in which the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) response to a neural stimulus are measured, can be used to estimate the fractional increase in the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) that accompanies evoked neural activity. A measure of neurovascular coupling is obtained from the ratio of fractional CBF and CMRO2 responses, defined as n, with the implicit assumption that relative rather than absolute changes in CBF and CMRO2 adequately characterise the flow-metabolism response to neural activity. The coupling parameter n is important in terms of its effect on the BOLD response, and as potential insight into the flow-metabolism relationship in both normal and pathological brain function.

Retention of Underrepresented Minority Faculty: Strategic Initiatives for Institutional Value Proposition Based on Perspectives from a Range of Academic Institutions.

The student and faculty make-up of academic institutions does not represent national demographics. Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately underrepresented nationally, and particularly at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Although significant efforts and funding have been committed to increasing points of access or recruitment of under-represented minority (URM) students and faculty at PWIs, these individuals have not been recruited and retained at rates that reflect their national proportions.

Cultivating Diversity and Competency in STEM: Challenges and Remedies for Removing Virtual Barriers to Constructing Diverse Higher Education Communities of Success.

The need to increase the number of college graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines is a national issue. As the demographics of the United States' population grow increasingly more diverse, the recognition that students of color are disproportionately under-represented among those individuals successful at completing STEM degrees requires exigent and sustained intervention. Although a range of efforts and funding have been committed to increasing the success of under-represented minority (URM) students at primarily white, or majority, institutions, widespread progress has been slow.