Evaluation of Software Tools for Segmentation of Temporal Bone Anatomy.

Surgeons are increasingly relying on 3D medical image data for planning interventions. Virtual 3D models of intricate anatomy, such as that found within the temporal bone, have proven useful for surgical education, planning, and rehearsal, but such applications require segmentation of surgically relevant structures in the image data. Four publicly available software packages, ITK-SNAP, MITK, 3D Slicer, and Seg3D, were evaluated for their efficacy in segmenting temporal bone anatomy from CT and MR images to support patient-specific surgery simulation.

Divergent responses of inflammatory mediators within the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex to acute psychological stress.

There is now a growing body of literature that indicates that stress can initiate inflammatory processes, both in the periphery and brain; however, the spatiotemporal nature of this response is not well characterized. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an acute psychological stress on changes in mRNA and protein levels of a wide range of inflammatory mediators across a broad temporal range, in key corticolimbic brain regions involved in the regulation of the stress response (amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, medial prefrontal cortex). mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators were analyzed immediately following 30min or 120min of acute restraint stress and protein levels were examined 0h through 24h post-termination of 120min of acute restraint stress using both multiplex and ELISA methods.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone drives anandamide hydrolysis in the amygdala to promote anxiety.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a central integrator in the brain of endocrine and behavioral stress responses, whereas activation of the endocannabinoid CB1 receptor suppresses these responses. Although these systems regulate overlapping functions, few studies have investigated whether these systems interact. Here we demonstrate a novel mechanism of CRH-induced anxiety that relies on modulation of endocannabinoids.