Influence of storage on the quality of conventional CT and µCT-imaging for the middle and inner cat ear.

The aim of this study was to analyze whether different fixation methods such as freezing or formaldehyde storage for different periods of time have an influence on the recognition of anatomical relevant structures in the middle and inner ear of the cat with conventional computed tomography (cCT) and micro-computed tomography (µCT). Besides, effects of freeze-thaw cycles on determined structures of the ear were investigated by means of histological slices. Three veterinarians with different radiologic expertise evaluated the scans of 30 dissected cat ears anonymously and scored predefined structures in a five-point scale with reference to visually sharp reproducibility and perfect image quality.

Occurrence of tympanic bone spicules and bone crests in domestic cats.

Small and hyperostotic tympanic bone spicules (STBS and HTBS) extending from the tympanic wall or from the septum bullae into the tympanic cavity have been described in large feline species such as Siberian tigers or African lions and in canids such as dogs, red foxes and wolves. Detailed descriptions of prevalence, location and orientation were performed for dogs and African lions by means of necropsy and conventional computed tomography (cCT). Aims of the current study were to describe same characteristics for domestic cats by means of microcomputed tomography (µCT) and cCT.

[Wearables for context-triggered assessment in psychiatry].

The breathtaking technological progress in the field of mobile computing, smartphones and wearables offers new opportunities for psychiatric research and therapy. Wearables enable not only the objective assessment of psychiatric symptoms in real time and everyday life but using continuous monitoring and analysis of relevant parameters can also define important situations, contexts and timing during which extended assessment strategies and real-life interventions can be implemented. The momentary effect of inner city green space exposure on well-being, motivational behavior feedback and geofencing for the detection of drinking episodes are used as examples to illustrate the core benefits of real-time analyses and feedback from wearables for psychiatric research and therapy.

Amygdala functional connectivity in major depression - disentangling markers of pathology, risk and resilience.

Background: Limbic-cortical imbalance is an established model for the neurobiology of major depressive disorder (MDD), but imaging genetics studies have been contradicting regarding potential risk and resilience mechanisms. Here, we re-assessed previously reported limbic-cortical alterations between MDD relatives and controls in combination with a newly acquired sample of MDD patients and controls, to disentangle pathology, risk, and resilience.

Methods: We analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging data and negative affectivity (NA) of MDD patients (n = 48), unaffected first-degree relatives of MDD patients (n = 49) and controls (n = 109) who performed a faces matching task.

In vitro evaluation of the decontamination effect of cold atmospheric argon plasma on selected bacteria frequently encountered in small animal bite injuries.

Beneficial effects of cold atmospheric argon plasma (CAAP) on wound healing and its capacity for bacterial decontamination has recently been documented. First, in vivo studies in small animals did not prove any decontamination effect in canine bite wounds. The present study evaluated the overall decontamination effect of CAAP for different bacteria frequently encountered in canine bite wounds with respect to growth phase, initial bacteria concentration and treatment duration.

Resilience and the brain: a key role for regulatory circuits linked to social stress and support.

Given the high prevalence and burden of mental disorders, fostering the understanding of protective factors is an urgent issue for translational medicine in psychiatry. The concept of resilience describes individual and environmental protective factors against the backdrop of established adversities linked to mental illness. There is convergent evidence for a crucial role of direct as well as indirect adversity impacting the developing brain, with persisting effects until adulthood.

Common functional networks in the mouse brain revealed by multi-centre resting-state fMRI analysis.

Preclinical applications of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) offer the possibility to non-invasively probe whole-brain network dynamics and to investigate the determinants of altered network signatures observed in human studies. Mouse rsfMRI has been increasingly adopted by numerous laboratories worldwide. Here we describe a multi-centre comparison of 17 mouse rsfMRI datasets via a common image processing and analysis pipeline.

Studying the impact of built environments on human mental health in everyday life: methodological developments, state-of-the-art and technological frontiers.

Rapid worldwide urbanization benefits humans in many aspects, but the prevalence of common psychiatric disorders is increased in urban populations. While the impact of city living and urban upbringing on mental health is well established, it remains elusive which of the multiple factors of urban living convey risk and resilience for mental disorders. For example, air pollutants, traffic noises and fragmented social networks are some of the highly interdependent and complex influences of city living suggested to be detrimental for mental health.

European college of neuropsychopharmacology network on the prevention of mental disorders and mental health promotion (ECNP PMD-MHP).

Prevention is the most promising way to reduce the high personal, familial, societal, clinical and economic costs of mental disorders in Europe and worldwide. A complementary approach is to go beyond the prevention of mental ill health, to promote good mental health. This manuscript highlights the first European consortium fostering cutting-edge multidisciplinary research in these two areas.

Identification of neurobehavioural symptom groups based on shared brain mechanisms.

Most psychopathological disorders develop in adolescence. The biological basis for this development is poorly understood. To enhance diagnostic characterization and develop improved targeted interventions, it is critical to identify behavioural symptom groups that share neural substrates.

Transdiagnostic Prediction of Affective, Cognitive, and Social Function Through Brain Reward Anticipation in Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression, and Autism Spectrum Diagnoses.

The relationship between transdiagnostic, dimensional, and categorical approaches to psychiatric nosology is under intense debate. To inform this discussion, we studied neural systems linked to reward anticipation across a range of disorders and behavioral dimensions. We assessed brain responses to reward expectancy in a large sample of 221 participants, including patients with schizophrenia (SZ; n = 27), bipolar disorder (BP; n = 28), major depressive disorder (MD; n = 31), autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 25), and healthy controls (n = 110).

Common brain disorders are associated with heritable patterns of apparent aging of the brain.

Common risk factors for psychiatric and other brain disorders are likely to converge on biological pathways influencing the development and maintenance of brain structure and function across life. Using structural MRI data from 45,615 individuals aged 3-96 years, we demonstrate distinct patterns of apparent brain aging in several brain disorders and reveal genetic pleiotropy between apparent brain aging in healthy individuals and common brain disorders.

A simulation model for the degradation of magnesium-based bone implants.

The development of degradable bone implants, in particular made of metal materials, is an emerging field. The advantage of degradable implants is that they do not have to be removed later. In order to be able to develop and scale appropriate implants for different applications, it is necessary to know the change in mechanical properties of the implant during the degradation process in general and at different locations.

The Long-Term Impact of Early Life Stress on Orbitofrontal Cortical Thickness.

Early adversity has been related to brain structure alterations and to an increased risk of psychiatric disorders. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a key region for emotional processing, with structural alterations being described in several mental disorders. However, little is known about how its cortical thickness (CT) is affected by the long-term impact of life stress (LS) at different developmental stages.

[The importance of social neurosciences for psychiatry].

Background: The social brain is dysfunctional in numerous stress-related psychiatric disorders.

Objective: The definition of social brain networks and their susceptibility for social environmental stress. It is also reviewed how social brain networks are disrupted in schizophrenia, autism and conduct disorder.

The Association Between Familial Risk and Brain Abnormalities Is Disease Specific: An ENIGMA-Relatives Study of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder.

Background: Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share genetic liability, and some structural brain abnormalities are common to both conditions. First-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia (FDRs-SZ) show similar brain abnormalities to patients, albeit with smaller effect sizes. Imaging findings in first-degree relatives of patients with bipolar disorder (FDRs-BD) have been inconsistent in the past, but recent studies report regionally greater volumes compared with control subjects.

MAOA-VNTR genotype affects structural and functional connectivity in distributed brain networks.

Previous studies have linked the low expression variant of a variable number of tandem repeat polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA-L) to the risk for impulsivity and aggression, brain developmental abnormalities, altered cortico-limbic circuit function, and an exaggerated neural serotonergic tone. However, the neurobiological effects of this variant on human brain network architecture are incompletely understood. We studied healthy individuals and used multimodal neuroimaging (sample size range: 219-284 across modalities) and network-based statistics (NBS) to probe the specificity of MAOA-L-related connectomic alterations to cortical-limbic circuits and the emotion processing domain.

Deficient Amygdala Habituation to Threatening Stimuli in Borderline Personality Disorder Relates to Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Background: Heightened amygdala response to threatening cues has been repeatedly observed in borderline personality disorder (BPD). A previous report linked hyperactivation to deficient amygdala habituation to repeated stimuli, but the biological underpinnings are incompletely understood.

Methods: We examined a sample of 120 patients with BPD and 115 healthy control subjects with a well-established functional magnetic resonance imaging emotional face processing task to replicate the previously reported amygdala habituation deficit in BPD and probed this neural phenotype for associations with symptom severity and early social risk exposure.

Neural correlates of individual differences in affective benefit of real-life urban green space exposure.

Psychiatric morbidity is high in cities, so identifying potential modifiable urban protective factors is important. We show that exposure to urban green space improves well-being in naturally behaving male and female city dwellers, particularly in districts with higher psychiatric incidence and fewer green resources. Higher green-related affective benefit was related to lower prefrontal activity during negative-emotion processing, which suggests that urban green space exposure may compensate for reduced neural regulatory capacity.

Neural network-based alterations during repetitive heat pain stimulation in major depression.

The current study aimed to identify alterations in brain activation and connectivity related to nociceptive processing and pain sensitization in major depressive disorder (MDD), using repetitive heat pain stimulation during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 37 MDD patients and 33 healthy controls. Regional activation did not differ between groups, but functional connectivity was significantly decreased in MDD in a neural network connecting frontal, temporal and occipital areas (family-wise error-corrected p = 0.045).

Semen parameters and testicular dimensions in small breed dogs below ten-kilogram bodyweight.

Because of few available data on semen parameters in small breed dogs, the study aimed to analyse semen and measure testes of dogs ≤10.0 kg bodyweight. Semen was collected from 41 fertile stud dogs, which were divided based on bodyweight: group 1 ≤ 5.

Bidirectional signal exchanges and their mechanisms during joint attention interaction - A hyperscanning fMRI study.

Social interactions are essential to our daily life. We tested the hypothesis that social interactions during joint attention (JA) require bidirectional communication, each with a different mechanism. We used a novel multivariate functional connectivity analysis, which enables obtaining directed pathways between four regions at each time-frequency point, with hyper-scanning MRI data of real-time JA interaction.

[The CIMH track concept in the treatment of psychotic disorders].

The treatment of psychotic disorders and illnesses is a challenge for therapists and institutions due to the heterogeneity of the cause and course, refractory symptoms, lack of therapy adherence and high rates of relapse. These circumstances can be effectively counteracted by the flexibility of therapeutic approaches and settings. A useful but rarely used concept is the treatment of psychoses within the so-called track unit.