The relationships between age, sex, and exercise intensity on cerebral artery hemodynamics during isometric handgrip exercise.

Age and sex may alter the cerebral blood flow (CBF) responses to acute isometric exercise, via associated elevations in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and sympathetic activation. Our aim was to determine the relationships between age, sex, and exercise intensity on cerebrovascular responses to isometric handgrip exercise. In 78 healthy adults (18-80 yr, = 42 females), cerebrovascular responses were assessed during 2-min isometric exercise bouts at three intensities [15, 30, 45% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)].

A genetically defined tecto-thalamic pathway drives a system of superior-colliculus-dependent visual cortices.

Cortical responses to visual stimuli are believed to rely on the geniculo-striate pathway. However, recent work has challenged this notion by showing that responses in the postrhinal cortex (POR), a visual cortical area, instead depend on the tecto-thalamic pathway, which conveys visual information to the cortex via the superior colliculus (SC). Does POR's SC-dependence point to a wider system of tecto-thalamic cortical visual areas? What information might this system extract from the visual world? We discovered multiple mouse cortical areas whose visual responses rely on SC, with the most lateral showing the strongest SC-dependence.

Sex modifies the relationship between age and neurovascular coupling in healthy adults.

Neurovascular coupling (NVC) is the matching between local neuronal activity and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF), but little is known about the effects of age and sex on NVC. This study aimed to investigate the relationships and interaction between age and sex on NVC. Sixty-four healthy adults (18-85 years, N = 34 female) completed a visual stimulus evoked NVC assessment to a flashing checkerboard.

Cross-Country Analysis of the Association of Cultural Dimensions with Prescription Opioid Consumption and Implications for Health Education.

Over 247,000 people died in the U.S. from overdoses related to prescription opioids in 1999-2019, leading the WHO to deem the situation an epidemic.

Comparison of peripheral and cerebral vascular function between premenopausal, early and late postmenopausal females.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? We sought to investigate whether peripheral and cerebrovascular function are impaired in early and late postmenopausal females compared with premenopausal females, while also accounting for nitric oxide and estradiol levels. What is the main finding and its importance? We observed no differences in peripheral vascular and cerebrovascular function between healthy and physically active premenopausal females and early and late postmenopausal females. Our findings contradict previous cross-sectional observations of vascular and cerebrovascular dysfunction across menopause.