Meta-analytic connectivity and behavioral parcellation of the human cerebellum.

The cerebellum historically has been thought to mediate motor and sensory signals between the body and cerebral cortex, yet cerebellar lesions are also associated with altered cognitive behavioral performance. Neuroimaging evidence indicates that the cerebellum contributes to a wide range of cognitive, perceptual, and motor functions. Here, we used the BrainMap database to investigate whole-brainco-activation patterns between cerebellar structures and regions of the cerebral cortex, as well as associations with behavioral tasks.

Multimodal connectivity mapping of the human left anterior and posterior lateral prefrontal cortex.

Working memory is essential for many of our distinctly human abilities, including reasoning, problem solving, and planning. Research spanning many decades has helped to refine our understanding of this high-level function as comprising several hierarchically organized components, some which maintain information in the conscious mind, and others which manipulate and reorganize this information in useful ways. In the neocortex, these processes are likely implemented by a distributed frontoparietal network, with more posterior regions serving to maintain volatile information, and more anterior regions subserving the manipulation of this information.

Translational research will fail without surgical leadership: SCOTRRCC a successful surgeon-led Nationwide translational research infrastructure in renal cancer.

Background: High quality human biosamples with associated high quality clinical data are essential for successful translational research. Despite this, the traditional approach is for the surgeon to act as a technician in the tissue collection act. Biomarker research presents multiple challenges and the field is littered with failures.

Functional connectivity modeling of consistent cortico-striatal degeneration in Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a complex neuropsychiatric phenotype. In a recent meta-analysis we identified core regions of consistent neurodegeneration in premanifest HD in the striatum and middle occipital gyrus (MOG). For early manifest HD convergent evidence of atrophy was most prominent in the striatum, motor cortex (M1) and inferior frontal junction (IFJ).

Modeling the effective connectivity of the visual network in healthy and photosensitive, epileptic baboons.

The baboon provides a model of photosensitive, generalized epilepsy. This study compares cerebral blood flow responses during intermittent light stimulation (ILS) between photosensitive (PS) and healthy control (CTL) baboons using H 2 (15) O-PET. We examined effective connectivity associated with visual stimulation in both groups using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Connectivity and functional profiling of abnormal brain structures in pedophilia.

Despite its 0.5-1% lifetime prevalence in men and its general societal relevance, neuroimaging investigations in pedophilia are scarce. Preliminary findings indicate abnormal brain structure and function.

Functional activation and effective connectivity differences in adolescent marijuana users performing a simulated gambling task.

Background. Adolescent marijuana use is associated with structural and functional differences in forebrain regions while performing memory and attention tasks. In the present study, we investigated neural processing in adolescent marijuana users experiencing rewards and losses.

Neurobiological impact of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of pharmacologic neuroimaging studies.

Background: Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists augment cognition among cigarette smokers and nonsmokers, yet the systems-level neurobiological mechanisms underlying such improvements are not fully understood. Aggregating neuroimaging results regarding nAChR agonists provides a means to identify common functional brain changes that may be related to procognitive drug effects.

Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of pharmacologic neuroimaging studies within the activation likelihood estimation framework.

The Selective PI3K Inhibitor XL147 (SAR245408) Inhibits Tumor Growth and Survival and Potentiates the Activity of Chemotherapeutic Agents in Preclinical Tumor Models.

Dysregulation of PI3K/PTEN pathway components, resulting in hyperactivated PI3K signaling, is frequently observed in various cancers and correlates with tumor growth and survival. Resistance to a variety of anticancer therapies, including receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitors and chemotherapeutic agents, has been attributed to the absence or attenuation of downregulating signals along the PI3K/PTEN pathway. Thus, PI3K inhibitors have therapeutic potential as single agents and in combination with other therapies for a variety of cancer indications.

Consultation audio-recording reduces long-term decision regret after prostate cancer treatment: A non-randomised comparative cohort study.

Introduction: The life expectancy of prostate patients is long and patients will spend many years carrying the burdens & benefits of the treatment decisions they have made, therefore, it is vital that decisions on treatments are shared between patient and physician. The objective was to determine if consultation audio-recording improves quality of life, reduces regret or improves patient satisfaction in comparison to standard counselling.

Patients And Methods: In 2012 we initiated consultation audio-recordings, where patients are given a CD of their consultation to keep and replay at home.

A Critical Analysis of the Learning Curve and Postlearning Curve Outcomes of Two Experience- and Volume-Matched Surgeons for Laparoscopic and Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy.

Background And Purpose: There remains equipoise with regard to whether laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) or robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has any benefit over the other. Despite this, there is a trend for the increasing adoption of RARP at great cost to health services across the world. The aim was to critically analyze the learning curve and outcomes for LRP and RARP for two experience- and volume-matched surgeons who have completed the learning curve for LRP and RARP.

Subspecialization in the human posterior medial cortex.

The posterior medial cortex (PMC) is particularly poorly understood. Its neural activity changes have been related to highly disparate mental processes. We therefore investigated PMC properties with a data-driven exploratory approach.

Functional Segregation of the Human Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex.

The human dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) has been implicated in various complex cognitive processes, including social cognition. To unravel its functional organization, we assessed the dmPFC's regional heterogeneity, connectivity patterns, and functional profiles. First, the heterogeneity of a dmPFC seed, engaged during social processing, was investigated by assessing local differences in whole-brain coactivation profiles.

Cabozantinib in chemotherapy-pretreated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: results of a phase II nonrandomized expansion study.

Purpose: Cabozantinib (XL184), an oral inhibitor of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases such as MET and VEGFR2, was evaluated in a phase II nonrandomized expansion study in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Patients And Methods: Patients received open-label cabozantinib at daily starting doses of 100 mg or 40 mg until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point was bone scan response, defined as ≥ 30% reduction in bone scan lesion area.

Developmental meta-analyses of the functional neural correlates of bipolar disorder.

Importance: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a debilitating mental illness associated with high costs to diagnosed individuals and society. Within the past 2 decades, increasing numbers of children and adolescents have been diagnosed as having BD. While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have begun to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying BD, few have directly compared differences in youths with BD and adults with BD (hereafter BD-youths and BD-adults, respectively).

Statistical algorithms for ontology-based annotation of scientific literature.

Background: Ontologies encode relationships within a domain in robust data structures that can be used to annotate data objects, including scientific papers, in ways that ease tasks such as search and meta-analysis. However, the annotation process requires significant time and effort when performed by humans. Text mining algorithms can facilitate this process, but they render an analysis mainly based upon keyword, synonym and semantic matching.

Contemporary practice and technique-related outcomes for radical prostatectomy in the UK: a report of national outcomes.

Objective: To determine current radical prostatectomy (RP) practice in the UK and compare surgical outcomes between techniques.

Patients And Methods: All RPs performed between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011 in the UK with data entered into the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) database, were identified for analysis. Overall surgical outcomes were assessed and subgroup analyses of these outcomes, based on operative technique [open RP (ORP), laparoscopic RP (LRP) and robot-assisted laparoscopic RP (RALP)], were made.

Gender differences in working memory networks: a BrainMap meta-analysis.

Gender differences in psychological processes have been of great interest in a variety of fields. While the majority of research in this area has focused on specific differences in relation to test performance, this study sought to determine the underlying neurofunctional differences observed during working memory, a pivotal cognitive process shown to be predictive of academic achievement and intelligence. Using the BrainMap database, we performed a meta-analysis and applied activation likelihood estimation to our search set.

Meta-analysis in human neuroimaging: computational modeling of large-scale databases.

Spatial normalization--applying standardized coordinates as anatomical addresses within a reference space--was introduced to human neuroimaging research nearly 30 years ago. Over these three decades, an impressive series of methodological advances have adopted, extended, and popularized this standard. Collectively, this work has generated a methodologically coherent literature of unprecedented rigor, size, and scope.

Meta-analytic connectivity modeling revisited: controlling for activation base rates.

Co-activation of distinct brain regions is a measure of functional interaction, or connectivity, between those regions. The co-activation pattern of a given region can be investigated using seed-based activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging data stored in databases such as BrainMap. This method reveals inter-regional functional connectivity by determining brain regions that are consistently co-activated with a given region of interest (the "seed") across a broad range of experiments.

Mutant human FUS Is ubiquitously mislocalized and generates persistent stress granules in primary cultured transgenic zebrafish cells.

FUS mutations can occur in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS), a neurodegenerative disease with cytoplasmic FUS inclusion bodies in motor neurons. To investigate FUS pathology, we generated transgenic zebrafish expressing GFP-tagged wild-type or fALS (R521C) human FUS. Cell cultures were made from these zebrafish and the subcellular localization of human FUS and the generation of stress granule (SG) inclusions examined in different cell types, including differentiated motor neurons.

Neural networks related to dysfunctional face processing in autism spectrum disorder.

One of the most consistent neuropsychological findings in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a reduced interest in and impaired processing of human faces. We conducted an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis on 14 functional imaging studies on neural correlates of face processing enrolling a total of 164 ASD patients. Subsequently, normative whole-brain functional connectivity maps for the identified regions of significant convergence were computed for the task-independent (resting-state) and task-dependent (co-activations) state in healthy subjects.

Comparison of structural covariance with functional connectivity approaches exemplified by an investigation of the left anterior insula.

The anterior insula is a multifunctional region involved in various cognitive, perceptual and socio-emotional processes. In particular, a portion of the left anterior insula is closely associated with working memory processes in healthy participants and shows gray matter reduction in schizophrenia. To unravel the functional networks related to this left anterior insula region, we here combined resting state connectivity, meta-analytic-connectivity modeling (MACM) and structural covariance (SC) in addition to functional characterization based on BrainMap meta-data.