Temporal Summation but Not Expectations of Pain Relief Predict Response to Acupuncture Treatment in Fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common chronic pain condition for which acupuncture treatment is increasingly utilized. However, there is no universally accepted measure to predict whether a specific patient will benefit from acupuncture. This is a single-center, single-blind, sham-controlled, randomized, noncrossover, longitudinal trial of 76 subjects with FM, assigned to either electroacupuncture (EA) or a placebo control, mock laser (ML) acupuncture.

Psychedelic concentrations of nitrous oxide reduce functional differentiation in frontoparietal and somatomotor cortical networks.

Despite the longstanding use of nitrous oxide and descriptions of its psychological effects more than a century ago, there is a paucity of neurobiological investigation of associated psychedelic experiences. We measure the brain's functional geometry (through analysis of cortical gradients) and temporal dynamics (through analysis of co-activation patterns) using human resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data acquired before and during administration of 35% nitrous oxide. Both analyses demonstrate that nitrous oxide reduces functional differentiation in frontoparietal and somatomotor networks.

Large-scale momentary brain co-activation patterns are associated with hyperalgesia and mediate focal neurochemistry and cross-network functional connectivity in fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia has been characterized by augmented cross-network functional communication between the brain's sensorimotor, default mode, and attentional (salience/ventral and dorsal) networks. However, the underlying mechanisms of these aberrant communication patterns are unknown. In this study, we sought to understand large-scale topographic patterns at instantaneous timepoints, known as co-activation patterns (CAPs).

Classical and non-classical psychedelic drugs induce common network changes in human cortex.

The neurobiology of the psychedelic experience is not fully understood. Identifying common brain network changes induced by both classical (i.e.

Altered network architecture of functional brain communities in chronic nociplastic pain.

Neuroimaging has enhanced our understanding of the neural correlates of pain. Yet, how neural circuits interact and contribute to persistent pain remain largely unknown. Here, we investigate the mesoscale organization of the brain through intrinsic functional communities generated from resting state functional MRI data from two independent datasets, a discovery cohort of 43 Fibromyalgia (FM) patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) as well as a replication sample of 34 FM patients and 21 HC.

WASh multicentre randomised controlled trial: water-assisted sigmoidoscopy in English NHS bowel scope screening.

Objectives: The English Bowel Cancer Screening Programme invites 55 year olds for a sigmoidoscopy (Bowel Scope Screening (BSS)), aiming to resect premalignant polyps, thus reducing cancer incidence. A national patient survey indicated higher procedural pain than anticipated, potentially impacting on screening compliance and effectiveness. We aimed to assess whether water-assisted sigmoidoscopy (WAS), as opposed to standard CO technique, improved procedural pain and detection of adenomatous polyps.

The WASh Trial: water-assisted sigmoidoscopy in the English Bowel Scope Screening Programme: study protocol for a randomized multicenter trial.

 The English National Bowel Scope Screening Programme (BSSP) invites 55-year-olds for a one-off, unsedated flexible sigmoidoscopy (FSIG). Data from BSSP participant-reported experience studies shows 1 in 3 participants report moderate or severe discomfort. Water-assisted colonoscopy (WAS) may improve participants' comfort.

Social experience and sex-dependent regulation of aggression in the lateral septum by extrasynaptic δGABA receptors.

Rationale: Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms mediating dominance and competitive aggression is essential to understanding the development and treatment of various psychiatric disorders. Previous research suggests that these mechanisms are both sexually differentiated and influenced substantially by social experience. In numerous species, GABA receptors in the lateral septum have been shown to play a significant role in aggression in males.

Sex-dependent effects of social isolation on the regulation of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) V1a, oxytocin (OT) and serotonin (5HT) 1a receptor binding and aggression.

It is widely held that social isolation produces higher rates of mortality and morbidity and has deleterious effects on an individual's sociality. Relatedly, it is widely observed that socially isolated adult rodents display significantly higher levels of aggression when placed in a social situation than do their conspecifics living in social groups. In the following study, we investigated the effects of social isolation on several neurochemical signals that play key roles in the regulation of social behavior in adults.

Association of Inflammation With Pronociceptive Brain Connections in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients With Concomitant Fibromyalgia.

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with concomitant fibromyalgia (FM) exhibit alterations in brain connectivity synonymous with central sensitization. This study was undertaken to investigate how peripheral inflammation, the principal nociceptive stimulus in RA, interacts with brain connectivity in RA patients with FM.

Methods: RA patients with concomitant FM and those without FM (FM+ and FM-, respectively; n = 27 per group) underwent functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging.

Functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging correlates of fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Fatigue is a major burden among patients with RA, yet is poorly understood. We sought to conduct the first imaging study to investigate the neurobiological correlates of fatigue in RA and to improve upon the methodological limitations of previous neuroimaging studies that have investigated this symptom in other populations.

Methods: Chronically fatigued RA patients were clinically characterized before undertaking a combined functional and structural mode MRI brain scan.

Functional and neurochemical disruptions of brain hub topology in chronic pain.

A critical component of brain network architecture is a robust hub structure, wherein hub regions facilitate efficient information integration by occupying highly connected and functionally central roles in the network. Across a wide range of neurological disorders, hub brain regions seem to be disrupted, and the character of this disruption can yield insights into the pathophysiology of these disorders. We applied a brain network-based approach to examine hub topology in fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition with prominent central nervous system involvement.

A multi-modal MRI study of the central response to inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.

It is unknown how chronic inflammation impacts the brain. Here, we examined whether higher levels of peripheral inflammation were associated with brain connectivity and structure in 54 rheumatoid arthritis patients using functional and structural MRI. We show that higher levels of inflammation are associated with more positive connections between the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), medial prefrontal cortex, and multiple brain networks, as well as reduced IPL grey matter, and that these patterns of connectivity predicted fatigue, pain and cognitive dysfunction.

Neurobiologic Features of Fibromyalgia Are Also Present Among Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

Objective: Many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) report pain despite excellent control of inflammation with immunotherapies. Variable degrees of coexisting fibromyalgia (FM) may explain this disparity. FM has been characterized by aberrant brain functional connectivity, especially between the default mode network (DMN) and insula.

Serotonin and arginine-vasopressin mediate sex differences in the regulation of dominance and aggression by the social brain.

There are profound sex differences in the incidence of many psychiatric disorders. Although these disorders are frequently linked to social stress and to deficits in social engagement, little is known about sex differences in the neural mechanisms that underlie these phenomena. Phenotypes characterized by dominance, competitive aggression, and active coping strategies appear to be more resilient to psychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with those characterized by subordinate status and the lack of aggressiveness.

Activation of oxytocin receptors, but not arginine-vasopressin V1a receptors, in the ventral tegmental area of male Syrian hamsters is essential for the reward-like properties of social interactions.

Social reward plays a fundamental role in shaping human and animal behavior. The rewarding nature of many forms of social behavior including sexual behavior, parental behavior, and social play has been revealed using well-established procedures such as the conditioned place preference test. Many motivated social behaviors are regulated by the nonapeptides oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) through their actions in multiple brain structures.

Oxytocin (OT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) act on OT receptors and not AVP V1a receptors to enhance social recognition in adult Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Social recognition is a fundamental requirement for all forms of social relationships. A majority of studies investigating the neural mechanisms underlying social recognition in rodents have investigated relatively neutral social stimuli such as juveniles or ovariectomized females over short time intervals (e.g.

Sustained activation of GABAA receptors in the suprachiasmatic nucleus mediates light-induced phase delays of the circadian clock: a novel function of ionotropic receptors.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) contains a circadian clock that generates endogenous rhythmicity and entrains that rhythmicity with the day-night cycle. The neurochemical events that transduce photic input within the SCN and mediate entrainment by resetting the molecular clock have yet to be defined. Because GABA is contained in nearly all SCN neurons we tested the hypothesis that GABA serves as this signal in studies employing Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Oxytocin induces social communication by activating arginine-vasopressin V1a receptors and not oxytocin receptors.

Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) and their receptors are very similar in structure. As a result, at least some of the effects of these peptides may be the result of crosstalk between their canonical receptors. The present study investigated this hypothesis by determining whether the induction of flank marking, a form of social communication in Syrian hamsters, by OT is mediated by the OT receptor or the AVP V1a receptor.

Effect of absolute and relative loading on muscle activity during stable and unstable squatting.

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of stable and unstable conditions on one repetition maximum strength and muscle activity during dynamic squatting using absolute and relative loading.

Methods: Ten recreationally weight-trained males participated in this study (age = 24.1 +/- 2.

Illuminating the health and safety of luminol.

Luminol is a reagent that is used to enhance areas of non-visible bloodstaining and it is one of the most sensitive of such reagents available to the forensic scientist. However, its use, particularly within the UK and some other European countries, has been limited, predominantly due to concerns about the health and safety of the reagent. This paper reviews the literature currently available regarding the health and safety of luminol, and in the authors' view demonstrates that there are no significant health and safety concerns with the preparation of luminol solution and its application at the crime scene or in the laboratory, providing suitable precautions are taken.