Free-access intravenous alcohol self-administration in social drinkers and individuals with alcohol use disorder: Evaluation of relationships with phosphatidylethanol and self-reported alcohol consumption.

Background: The free-access (FA) intravenous alcohol self-administration (IV-ASA) paradigm is an experimental approach that can identify modulators of alcohol consumption in humans. Moreover, the outcome measures of IV-ASA paradigms are associated with self-reported alcohol intake using the timeline follow-back method (TLFB). To evaluate how FA IV-ASA reflects drinking in real life, we examined the relationship between an objective marker of recent alcohol intake, phosphatidylethanol in blood (B-PEth), and TLFB and measures obtained during IV-ASA in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and social drinkers (SD).

Upregulation of the Endogenous Peptide Antisecretory Factor Enhances Hippocampal Long-term Potentiation and Promotes Learning in Wistar Rats.

Antisecretory Factor (AF) is an endogenous peptide known for its powerful antisecretory and anti-inflammatory properties. We have previously shown that AF also acts as a neuromodulator of GABAergic synaptic transmission in rat hippocampus in a way that results in disinhibition of CA1 pyramidal neurons. Disinhibition is expected to facilitate the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), and LTP is known to play a crucial role in learning and memory acquisition.

Proteomic analysis of koala (phascolarctos cinereus) spermatozoa and prostatic bodies.

The aims of this study were to investigate the proteome of koala spermatozoa and that of the prostatic bodies with which they interact during ejaculation. For this purpose, spermatozoa and prostatic bodies were fractionated from the semen of four male koalas and analysed by HPLC MS/MS. This strategy identified 744 sperm and 1297 prostatic body proteins, which were subsequently attributed to 482 and 776 unique gene products, respectively.

Unchanged Cognitive Performance and Concurrent Prefrontal Blood Oxygenation After Accelerated Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation in Depression: A Sham-Controlled Study.

Intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) delivered over the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) has shown promise as a treatment for anhedonia and amotivation in patients with depression. Here, we investigated whether this protocol modulates cognitive performance and concurrent prefrontal blood oxygenation. We also examined whether depressed patients exhibit cognitive dysfunction and prefrontal hypoactivity at baseline compared to healthy controls.

Dopamine D1 receptor density in the mPFC responds to cognitive demands and receptor turnover contributes to general cognitive ability in mice.

In both humans and mice, performance on tests of intelligence or general cognitive ability (GCA) is related to dopamine D1 receptor-mediated activity in the prelimbic cortex, and levels of DRD1 mRNA predict the GCA of mice. Here we assessed the turnover rate of D1 receptors as well as the expression level of the D1 chaperone protein (DRiP78) in the medial PPC (mPFC) of mice to determine whether rate of receptor turnover was associated with variations in the GCA of genetically heterogeneous mice. Following assessment of GCA (aggregate performance on four diverse learning tests) mice were administered an irreversible dopamine receptor antagonist (EEDQ), after which the density of new D1 receptors were quantified.

A broader phenotype of persistence emerges from individual differences in response to extinction.

The typical practice of averaging group performance during extinction gives the impression that responding declines gradually and homogeneously. However, previous studies of extinction in human infants have shown that some individuals persist in responding, whereas others abruptly cease responding. As predicted by theories of control, the infants who quickly resign typically display signs of sadness and despair when the expected reward is omitted.

Isotope geochemistry reveals ontogeny of dispersal and exchange between main-river and tributary habitats in smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu.

Radiogenic strontium isotope ratios ( Sr: Sr) in otoliths were compared with isotope ratios predicted from models and observed in water sampling to reconstruct the movement histories of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu between main-river and adjacent tributary habitats. A mechanistic model incorporating isotope geochemistry, weathering processes and basin accumulation reasonably predicted observed river Sr: Sr across the study area and provided the foundations for experimental design and inferring fish provenance. Exchange between rivers occurred frequently, with nearly half (48%) of the 209 individuals displaying changes in otolith Sr: Sr reflecting movement between isotopically distinct rivers.

Heterozygous L1-deficient mice express an autism-like phenotype.

The L1CAM (L1) gene encodes a cell adhesion molecule that contributes to several important processes in the developing and adult nervous system, including neuronal migration, survival, and plasticity. In humans and mice, mutations in the X chromosome-linked gene L1 cause severe neurological defects in males. L1 heterozygous female mice with one functional copy of the L1 gene show complex morphological features that are different from L1 fully-deficient and wild-type littermate mice.

The external-internal loop of interference: two types of attention and their influence on the learning abilities of mice.

Attention is a component of the working memory system, and is responsible for protecting task-relevant information from interference. Cognitive performance (particularly outside of the laboratory) is often plagued by interference, and the source of this interference, either external or internal, might influence the expression of individual differences in attentional ability. By definition, external attention (also described as "selective attention") protects working memory against sensorial distractors of all kinds, while internal attention (also called "inhibition") protects working memory against emotional impulses, irrelevant information from memory, and automatically-generated responses.

Motor evoked potential monitoring during cryoablation of musculoskeletal tumors.

Purpose: To describe the use of intraprocedural motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring to minimize risk of neural injury during percutaneous cryoablation of perineural musculoskeletal tumors.

Materials And Methods: A single-institution retrospective review of cryoablation procedures performed to treat perineural musculoskeletal tumors with the use of MEP monitoring between May 2011 and March 2013 yielded 59 procedures to treat 64 tumors in 52 patients (26 male). Median age was 61 years (range, 4-82 y).

Interictal scalp electroencephalography and intraoperative electrocorticography in magnetic resonance imaging-negative temporal lobe epilepsy surgery.

Importance: Scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) are routinely used in the evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging-negative temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) undergoing standard anterior temporal lobectomy with amygdalohippocampectomy (ATL), but the utility of interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) identification and its role in outcome are poorly defined.

Objectives: To determine whether the following are associated with surgical outcomes in patients with magnetic resonance imaging-negative TLE who underwent standard ATL: (1) unilateral-only IEDs on preoperative scalp EEG; (2) complete resection of tissue generating IEDs on ECoG; (3) complete resection of opioid-induced IEDs recorded on ECoG; and (4) location of IEDs recorded on ECoG.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Data were gathered through retrospective medical record review at a tertiary referral center.

ABLATE: a renal ablation planning algorithm.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to present the ABLATE renal ablation planning algorithm (Table 1), which is based on anatomic renal tumor characteristics critical to ablation. [Table: see text].

Conclusion: ABLATE provides a systematic method for reviewing cross-sectional imaging of renal masses for ablation planning purposes.

Recruitment of house staff into anesthesiology: a longitudinal evaluation of factors responsible for selecting a career in anesthesiology and an individual training program.

Study Objective: To re-evaluate factors responsible for selecting a career in anesthesiology and for selecting an anesthesiology training program. The perceptions of anesthesiology residents about employment opportunities and future job security were also re-examined. Novel data on the impact of duty hour restrictions on residency training were obtained.

A single-institution experience in image-guided thermal ablation of adrenal gland metastases.

Purpose: To assess safety, technical success, local control, and survival associated with percutaneous image-guided adrenal ablation.

Materials And Methods: Adult patients with adrenal metastases who underwent percutaneous image-guided adrenal ablation during the years 2003-2012 were identified. There were 32 patients with 37 adrenal tumors identified.

Non-neurological surgery and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for neuronal and astroglial integrity.

Non-neurological surgery has both acute and long-term effects on the brain. Markers for Alzheimer pathology may be used to study surgically induced neurological changes relevant for postoperative confusion, asthenia or cognitive decline. Inflammatory biomarkers, total tau (T-tau) and phosphorylated tau (P-tau) were recently shown to increase progressively in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during surgery for nasal CSF leak, suggesting a neuroinflammatory response with signs of neuronal damage.

Dopamine D1 sensitivity in the prefrontal cortex predicts general cognitive abilities and is modulated by working memory training.

A common source of variance (i.e., "general intelligence") underlies an individual's performance across diverse tests of cognitive ability, and evidence indicates that the processing efficacy of working memory may serve as one such source of common variance.

Voluntary aerobic exercise increases the cognitive enhancing effects of working memory training.

Increases in performance on tests of attention and learning are often observed shortly after a period of aerobic exercise, and evidence suggests that humans who engage in regular exercise are partially protected from age-related cognitive decline. However, the cognitive benefits of exercise are typically short-lived, limiting the practical application of these observations. Here, we explored whether physical exercise might induce lasting changes in general cognitive ability if that exercise was combined with working memory training, which is purported to broadly impact cognitive performance.

Therapeutic hypothermia for out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation survivors: a feasibility study comparing time to achieve target core temperature using conventional conductive cooling versus combined conductive plus pericranial convective cooling.

Objective: Mild to moderate therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has been shown to improve survival and neurologic outcome, as well as to reduce healthcare costs in patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with ventricular fibrillation. Accordingly, the American Heart Association has categorized this as a Class IB intervention. The therapeutic window for initiating TH is narrow, and thus, achieving target temperature expeditiously is of paramount importance to improve postresuscitative neurologic outcome.

Changes in serum and cerebrospinal fluid cytokines in response to non-neurological surgery: an observational study.

Background: Surgery launches an inflammatory reaction in the body, as seen through increased peripheral levels of cytokines and cortisol. However, less is known about perioperative inflammatory changes in the central nervous system (CNS).Our aim was to compare inflammatory markers in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) before and after surgery and evaluate their association with measures of blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity.

Correlations between executive function, decision-making and impulsivity are disrupted in schizophrenia versus controls.

Schizophrenia (n=68) and control (n=62) participants matched on cigarette smoking history were assessed on executive function, decision-making and impulsivity tasks. In controls, executive function and decision-making correlated positively with each other and negatively with impulsivity. There were no inter-task correlations in schizophrenia participants.

Happiness in first-episode schizophrenia.

Unlabelled: Happiness is a core dimension of a person's life, related to both functioning and success. As patients with schizophrenia experience marked functional deficits, it would be informative to investigate their level of happiness. There are limited data currently available, perhaps due to the longstanding belief that anhedonia is an inherent feature of this illness.

Changes in transfusion practice over time in adult patients undergoing liver transplantation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in transfusion practice over time in liver transplantation surgery and to evaluate potential causes for changes in practice and report associated perioperative morbidity and mortality.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A single tertiary referral academic hospital.

Brain stimulation methods to treat tobacco addiction.

Background: Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide, but many smokers are simply unable to quit. Psychosocial and pharmaceutical treatments have shown modest results on smoking cessation rates, but there is an urgent need to develop treatments with greater efficacy. Brain stimulation methods are gaining increasing interest as possible addiction therapeutics.

Changes in red blood cell transfusion practice during the past quarter century: a retrospective analysis of pediatric patients undergoing elective scoliosis surgery using the Mayo database.

Background Context: Previous studies have demonstrated significant changes in red blood cell (RBC) transfusion practice over several decades.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to ascertain changes in transfusion practice during a 25-year study epoch and determine whether these changes had any impact on the frequency of perioperative morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients undergoing major spine surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.