Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation Drives Bi-Directional Changes in Excitability in Prefrontal Cortex.

Theta burst stimulation (TBS), an FDA-cleared treatment for depression, is hypothesized to modulate excitability in the prefrontal cortex, though this has not definitively been shown in vivo. We performed calcium imaging on glutamatergic neurons in awake rodents to understand the effects of theta burst stimulation at a cellular level. Our findings provide the first direct evidence that TBS bidirectionally modulates glutamatergic activity when delivered in vivo and directly links calcium activity changes during stimulation with post-stimulation plasticity.

Allergen Induces Depression-like Behavior in Association with Altered Prefrontal-hippocampal Circuit in Male Rats.

Allergic asthma is a common chronic inflammatory condition associated with psychiatric comorbidities. Notably depression, correlated with adverse outcomes in asthmatic patients. Peripheral inflammation's role in depression has been shown previously.

Stimulating olfactory epithelium mitigates mechanical ventilation-induced hippocampal inflammation and apoptosis.

Mechanical ventilation (MV), as a life-saving procedure in critical patients, is a risk factor to develop of neurocognitive dysfunction and triggers of inflammation and apoptosis in the brain. Since diversion of breathing route to the tracheal tube diminishes brain activity entrained by physiological nasal breathing, we hypothesized that simulating nasal breathing using rhythmic air-puff (AP) into the nasal cavity of mechanically ventilated rats can reduce hippocampal inflammation and apoptosis in association with restoring respiration-coupled oscillations. We found that stimulating olfactory epithelium through applying rhythmic nasal AP, in association with reviving respiration-coupled brain rhythm, mitigates MV-induced hippocampal apoptosis and inflammation involving microglia and astrocytes.

Corticosteroid treatment attenuates anxiety and mPFC-amygdala circuit dysfunction in allergic asthma.

Aims: Allergic asthma is associated with anxiety-related behaviors, leading to poor quality of life. Previous studies mainly described the neuropathophysiology of asthma-induced anxiety. However, the effects of corticosteroids, the most common anti-inflammatory agents for asthma treatment, on the neurophysiological foundations of allergic asthma-induced anxiety are unexplored.

Nasal airflow promotes default mode network activity.

Background And Objectives: Default mode network (DMN) is a principal network that is more active at the baseline functional state of consciousness and spontaneous brain activity. Nasal breathing beyond the oxygen supply, entrained brain oscillations in widespread brain regions. Consistent with the important role of nasal breathing on neural oscillation for brain function, here we aimed to evaluate respiration entrained DMN rhythms.

The olfactory bulb coordinates the ventral hippocampus-medial prefrontal cortex circuit during spatial working memory performance.

Neural oscillations synchronize the activity of brain regions during cognitive functions, such as spatial working memory. Olfactory bulb (OB) oscillations are ubiquitous rhythms that can modulate neocortical and limbic regions. However, the functional connectivity between the OB and areas contributing to spatial working memory, such as the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), is less understood.

Disrupted connectivity in the olfactory bulb-entorhinal cortex-dorsal hippocampus circuit is associated with recognition memory deficit in Alzheimer's disease model.

Neural synchrony in brain circuits is the mainstay of cognition, including memory processes. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that disrupts neural synchrony in specific circuits, associated with memory dysfunction before a substantial neural loss. Recognition memory impairment is a prominent cognitive symptom in the early stages of AD.

ACC-BLA functional connectivity disruption in allergic inflammation is associated with anxiety.

Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease. Psychiatric disorders, including anxiety are associated with poorer treatment response and disease control in asthmatic patients. To date, there is no experimental evidence describing the role of peripheral inflammation on the oscillatory activities in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), two major brain structures modulating anxiety.

Asthma induces psychiatric impairments in association with default mode and salience networks alteration: A resting-state EEG study.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders. There are specific brain networks responsible for emotional processes, including two important networks associated with psychiatric problems: the default mode network (DMN), which is more active in the resting state, and the salience network (SN), which is structurally connected to DMN. Although previous studies suggested that neuro-phenotypes of asthma may be recognizable by the neural activity of brain circuits, an association between the brain's functional alterations and psychiatric impairments induced by asthma remains unknown.

Nasal Air Puff Promotes Default Mode Network Activity in Mechanically Ventilated Comatose Patients: A Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Approach.

Objectives: Coma state and loss of consciousness are associated with impaired brain activity, particularly gamma oscillations, that integrate functional connectivity in neural networks, including the default mode network (DMN). Mechanical ventilation (MV) in comatose patients can aggravate brain activity, which has decreased in coma, presumably because of diminished nasal airflow. Nasal airflow, known to drive functional neural oscillations, synchronizing distant brain networks activity, is eliminated by tracheal intubation and MV.

Allergen disrupts amygdala-respiration coupling.

Allergic asthma affects both the respiratory function and central nervous system. Communication between the amygdala and respiratory control system is critical for regulating breathing function. To date, no study provides the effect of allergic inflammation on amygdala-respiration coupling.

The olfactory bulb modulates entorhinal cortex oscillations during spatial working memory.

Cognitive functions such as working memory require integrated activity among different brain regions. Notably, entorhinal cortex (EC) activity is associated with the successful working memory task. Olfactory bulb (OB) oscillations are known as rhythms that modulate rhythmic activity in widespread brain regions during cognitive tasks.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of ICU Patients with COVID-19 Infection in Tehran, Iran: a Single-Centered Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: The clinical characteristics of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were diverse and unspecific. Here, we identified the associated factors with surviving of COVID-19 ICU patients based on the clinical characteristics of patients admitted to one of the Corona Centre Hospitals of Iran.

Materials And Methods: This cohort study was performed retrospectively from February to June 2020 on 133 COVID-19 patients admitted to 4 intensive care units of Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran, Iran.

Allergic rhinitis impairs working memory in association with drop of hippocampal - Prefrontal coupling.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic inflammatory disease frequently associated with a deficit in learning and memory. Working memory is an important system for decision making and guidance, which depends on interactions between the ventral hippocampus (vHipp) and the prelimbic prefrontal cortex (plPFC). It is still unclear whether AR influences the activity and coupling of these brain areas, which consequently may impair working memory.

Rhythmic air-puff into nasal cavity modulates activity across multiple brain areas: A non-invasive brain stimulation method to reduce ventilator-induced memory impairment.

Mechanical ventilation (MV) can result in long-term brain impairments that are resistant to treatment. The mechanisms underlying MV-induced brain function impairment remain unclear. Since nasal airflow modulates brain activity, here we evaluated whether reinstating airflow during MV could influence the memory performance of rats after recovery.

Allergen-induced anxiety-like behavior is associated with disruption of medial prefrontal cortex - amygdala circuit.

Anxiety is prevalent in asthma, and is associated with disease severity and poor quality of life. However, no study to date provides direct experimental evidence for the effect of allergic inflammation on the structure and function of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala, which are essential regions for modulating anxiety and its behavioral expression. We assessed the impact of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic inflammation on the appearance of anxiety-like behavior, mPFC and amygdala volumes using MRI, and the mPFC-amygdala circuit activity in sensitized rats.

Distraction of olfactory bulb-medial prefrontal cortex circuit may induce anxiety-like behavior in allergic rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the upper respiratory tract, which is associated with high incidence of anxiety symptom. There is evidence that medial prefrontal cortex modulates anxiety-related behaviors and receives projections from olfactory bulb. Since olfactory dysfunction has been reported in allergic rhinitis, we aimed to evaluate anxiety-like behavior and oscillations of olfactory bulb-medial prefrontal cortex circuit in an animal model of allergic rhinitis.

Comparison of Effects of Light Anesthetics, Diethyl Ether and Carbon Dioxide, on Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus D and D Dopamine Receptors- and Glucosensitive Neurons-Induced Food Intake in Fasted Conscious Rats.

Introduction: Carbon Dioxide (CO) and diethyl ether are used as light anesthetics. However, experimental data about their side effects are scarce. In addition, in all our previous works on regulatory mechanisms of hypothalamus during food intake, including the effect of Paraventricular Nucleus (PVN) D and D dopamine receptors and glucosensitive neurons, the drug injections were performed under brief diethyl ether anesthesia.

Bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance patterns in pediatric urinary tract infections: a four-year surveillance study (2009-2012).

The aims of this study were to assess the common bacterial microorganisms causing UTI and their antimicrobial resistance patterns in Bandar Abbas (Southern Iran) during a four-year period. In this retrospective study, samples with a colony count of ≥10(5) CFU/mL bacteria were considered positive; for these samples, the bacteria were identified, and the profile of antibiotic susceptibility was characterized. From the 19223 samples analyzed, 1513 (7.