Primary auditory cortex is necessary for the acquisition and expression of categorical behavior.

The primary auditory cortex (ACtx) is critically involved in the association of sensory information with specific behavioral outcomes. Such sensory-guided behaviors are necessarily brain-wide endeavors, requiring a plethora of distinct brain areas, including those that are involved in aspects of decision making, motor planning, motor initiation, and reward prediction. ACtx comprises a number of distinct excitatory cell-types that allow for the brain-wide propagation of behaviorally-relevant sensory information.

Hyperpolarization Induced by Lipopolysaccharides but Not by Chloroform Is Inhibited by Doxapram, an Inhibitor of Two-P-Domain K Channel (K2P).

Bacterial septicemia is commonly induced by Gram-negative bacteria. The immune response is triggered in part by the secretion of bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS induces the subsequent release of inflammatory cytokines which can result in pathological conditions.

Intracellular zinc signaling influences NMDA receptor function by enhancing the interaction of ZnT1 with GluN2A.

Zinc, loaded into glutamate-containing presynaptic vesicles and released into the synapse in an activity-dependent manner, modulates neurotransmission through its actions on postsynaptic targets, prominently via high-affinity inhibition of GluN2A-containing NMDA receptors. Recently, we identified a postsynaptic transport mechanism that regulates endogenous zinc inhibition of NMDARs. In this new model of zinc regulation, the postsynaptic transporter ZnT1 mediates zinc inhibition of NMDARs by binding to GluN2A.

The Function and Regulation of Zinc in the Brain.

Nearly sixty years ago Fredrich Timm developed a histochemical technique that revealed a rich reserve of free zinc in distinct regions of the brain. Subsequent electron microscopy studies in Timm- stained brain tissue found that this "labile" pool of cellular zinc was highly concentrated at synaptic boutons, hinting a possible role for the metal in synaptic transmission. Although evidence for activity-dependent synaptic release of zinc would not be reported for another twenty years, these initial findings spurred decades of research into zinc's role in neuronal function and revealed a diverse array of signaling cascades triggered or regulated by the metal.

Synaptic zinc inhibition of NMDA receptors depends on the association of GluN2A with the zinc transporter ZnT1.

The NMDA receptor (NMDAR) is inhibited by synaptically released zinc. This inhibition is thought to be the result of zinc diffusion across the synaptic cleft and subsequent binding to the extracellular domain of the NMDAR. However, this model fails to incorporate the observed association of the highly zinc-sensitive NMDAR subunit GluN2A with the postsynaptic zinc transporter ZnT1, which moves intracellular zinc to the extracellular space.

Preferences of Information Dissemination on Treatment for Bipolar Disorder: Patient-Centered Focus Group Study.

Background: Patient education has taken center stage in successfully shared decision making between patients and health care providers. However, little is known about how patients with bipolar disorder typically obtain information on their illness and the treatment options available to them.

Objective: This study aimed to obtain the perspectives of patients with bipolar disorder and their family members on the preferred and most effectively used information channels on bipolar disorder and the available treatment options.

Comprehensive comparison of monotherapies for psychiatric hospitalization risk in bipolar disorders.

Objectives: This study compared 29 drugs for risk of psychiatric hospitalization in bipolar disorders, addressing the evidence gap on the >50 drugs used by US patients for treatment.

Methods: The Truven Health Analytics MarketScan database was used to identify 190 894 individuals with bipolar or schizoaffective disorder who filled a prescription for one of 29 drugs of interest: lithium, first- or second-generation antipsychotics, mood-stabilizing anticonvulsants, and antidepressants. Competing risks regression survival analysis was used to compare drugs for risk of psychiatric hospitalization, adjusting for patient age, sex, comorbidities, and pretreatment medications.

Systemic challenges in bipolar disorder management: A patient-centered approach.

Objectives: As part of a series of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded large-scale retrospective observational studies on bipolar disorder (BD) treatments and outcomes, we sought the input of patients with BD and their family members to develop research questions. We aimed to identify systemic root causes of patient-reported challenges with BD management in order to guide subsequent studies and initiatives.

Methods: Three focus groups were conducted where patients and their family members (total n = 34) formulated questions around the central theme, "What do you wish you had known in advance or over the course of treatment for BD?" In an affinity mapping exercise, participants clustered their questions and ranked the resulting categories by importance.

Antenatal dexamethasone exposure differentially affects distinct cortical neural progenitor cells and triggers long-term changes in murine cerebral architecture and behavior.

Antenatal administration of synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) is the standard of care for women at risk for preterm labor before 34 gestational weeks. Despite their widespread use, the type of sGC used and their dose or the dosing regimens are not standardized in the United States of America or worldwide. Several studies have identified neural deficits and the increased risk for cognitive and psychiatric disease later in life for children administered sGC prenatally.

16 Y/O Female with "Watermelon Stomach"?

Background. Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) also known as "watermelon stomach" (WS) is an uncommon cause of gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss. It typically presents in middle aged females.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the risk factors for sudden sensorineural hearing loss in adults.

Objectives/hypothesis: To review the medical literature evidence of potential risk factors for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in the adult general population.

Study Design: Systematic review of prospective and retrospective studies; meta-analysis of case-controlled studies.

Methods: Three researchers independently reviewed MEDLINE (January 1, 1950-November 30, 2010), Embase (January 1, 1980-November 30, 2010), and Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews databases in addition to conducting a manual reference search.

Inflammatory cytokines determine the susceptibility of human CD8 T cells to Fas-mediated activation-induced cell death through modulation of FasL and c-FLIP(S) expression.

The nature of inflammatory signals determines the outcome of T cell responses. However, little is known about how inflammatory cytokines provided to human CD8 T cells during activation affects their susceptibility to post-activation cell death. We have examined and compared the effects of the inflammatory cytokine IL-12, as well as the combination of IL-1, IL-6, and IL-23 (IL-1/6/23) on the susceptibility of primary human CD8 T cells to post-activation cell death.

State of the controlled clinical trial enterprise in the United States.

We undertook a survey of the current capability in the United States to conduct controlled clinical trials. The intention was to use the results as a foundation for understanding how to create a controlled clinical trial capability sufficient to meet future needs of US health care. For this purpose, using the results from an advanced search of ClinicalTrials.

Intracellular membrane localization of pseudomonas ExoS and Yersinia YopE in mammalian cells.

ExoS (453 amino acids) is a bi-functional type-III cytotoxin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Residues 96-233 comprise the Rho GTPase-activating protein (Rho GAP) domain, while residues 234-453 comprise the 14-3-3-dependent ADP-ribosyltransferase domain. Residues 51-72 represent a membrane localization domain (MLD), which targets ExoS to perinuclear vesicles within mammalian cells.

Intracellular localization modulates targeting of ExoS, a type III cytotoxin, to eukaryotic signalling proteins.

ExoS is a bifunctional type III cytotoxin produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Residues 96-232 comprise the Rho GTPase activating protein (Rho GAP) domain, whereas residues 233-453 comprise the 14-3-3-dependent ADP-ribosyltransferase domain. Earlier studies showed that the N-terminus targeted ExoS to intracellular membranes within eukaryotic cells.