Differences in Discounting Behavior and Brain Responses for Food and Money Reward.

Most neuroeconomic research seeks to understand how value influences decision-making. The influence of reward type is less well understood. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate delay discounting of primary (i.

Pain Relief-Related Structural Brain Alterations in Trigeminal Neuralgia Induced by Noninvasive Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic pain disorder defined by unilateral shock-like pain in at least one division of the trigeminal nerve. Although several studies have investigated structural brain plasticity in patients with TN, treatment-induced alterations remain largely uninvestigated.

Methods And Materials: Combining T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging with voxel-based morphometry and multiple-regression analyses, we assessed gray matter maps of patients with TN to investigate changes in gray matter volume (GMV) before and 6 months after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).

What a difference timing makes: Cortisol effects on neural underpinnings of emotion regulation.

The ability of emotion regulation under stress is of crucial importance to psychosocial health. Yet, the dynamic function of stress hormones for the cognitive control of emotions over time via non-genomic and genomic cortisol effects remains to be elucidated. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled neuroimaging experiment, 105 participants (54 men, 51 women) received 20 mg hydrocortisone (cortisol) or a placebo either 30min (rapid, non-genomic cortisol effects) or 90min (slow, genomic cortisol effects) prior to a cognitive reappraisal task including different regulatory goals (i.

Classical conditioning of faciliatory paired-pulse TMS.

In this proof-of-concept study, we questioned whether the influence of TMS on cortical excitability can be applied to classical conditioning. More specifically, we investigated whether the faciliatory influence of paired-pulse TMS on the excitability of the human motor cortex can be transferred to a simultaneously presented auditory stimulus through conditioning. During the conditioning phase, 75 healthy young participants received 170 faciliatory paired TMS pulses (1st pulse at 95% resting motor threshold, 2nd at 130%, interstimulus interval 12 ms), always presented simultaneously with one out of two acoustic stimuli.

Nutrition claims influence expectations about food attributes, attenuate activity in reward-associated brain regions during tasting, but do not impact pleasantness.

Introduction: Nutrition claims are one of the most common tools used to improve food decisions. Previous research has shown that nutrition claims impact expectations; however, their effects on perceived pleasantness, valuation, and their neural correlates are not well understood. These claims may have both intended and unintended effects on food perception and valuation, which may compromise their effect on food decisions.

Dichotic listening performance and interhemispheric integration after administration of hydrocortisone.

Chronic stress has been shown to have long-term effects on functional hemispheric asymmetries in both humans and non-human species. The short-term effects of acute stress exposure on functional hemispheric asymmetries are less well investigated. It has been suggested that acute stress can affect functional hemispheric asymmetries by modulating inhibitory function of the corpus callosum, the white matter pathway that connects the two hemispheres.

The effects of body position and actual execution on motor imagery of locomotor tasks in people with a lower-limb amputation.

Motor imagery (MI) is usually facilitated when performed in a congruent body position to the imagined movement, as well as after actual execution (AE). A lower-limb amputation (LLA) results in important structural and functional changes in the sensorimotor system, which can alter MI. In this study, we investigated the effects of body position and AE on the temporal characteristics of MI in people with LLA.

A Systematic Review of Obesity and Binge Eating Associated Impairment of the Cognitive Inhibition System.

Altered functioning of the inhibition system and the resulting higher impulsivity are known to play a major role in overeating. Considering the great impact of disinhibited eating behavior on obesity onset and maintenance, this systematic review of the literature aims at identifying to what extent the brain inhibitory networks are impaired in individuals with obesity. It also aims at examining whether the presence of binge eating disorder leads to similar although steeper neural deterioration.

Sonication in the diagnosis of fracture-related infections (FRI)-a retrospective study on 230 retrieved implants.

Background: In fracture-related infections (FRI), both the diagnosis of the infection and the identification of the causative pathogen are crucial to optimize treatment outcomes. Sonication has been successfully used for periprosthetic joint infections (PJI); however, its role in FRI remains unknown. Our aim was to determine the diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity) of sonicate fluid culture (SFC).

Sensorimotor white matter projections and disease severity in primary Restless Legs Syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease: a multimodal DTI analysis.

Background: Restless Legs Syndrome, a potentially disabling sleep disorder, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease (RLS/WED), may be caused by loss of inhibitory modulation of descending central motor pathways, structural changes in the somatosensory cortex, abnormal connectivity between motor and sensory areas, as well as by subtle abnormalities in white matter micro-organization.

Objective: To compare diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) metrics in areas associated with sensory or motor function, as well as sensorimotor integration, between subjects with primary mild-to-severe RLS/WED and controls.

Methods: DTI metrics were assessed in 38 subjects with RLS/WED (14 mild to moderate, 24 severe to very severe) and 24 healthy age-matched controls with whole-brain Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS), Region-of-interest (ROI) and probabilistic tractography based analyses.

Sonication of retrieved implants improves sensitivity in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection.

Background: Sonication is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infections (PJI). However, conditions and definition criteria for PJI vary among studies. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic performance (i.

Risk analysis and clinical outcomes of intraoperative periprosthetic fractures: a retrospective study of 481 bipolar hemiarthroplasties.

Background: Intraoperative periprosthetic fractures (IPF) are a well-described complication following hip hemiarthroplasty. Our aims were to identify risk factors that characterize IPF and to investigate postoperative mobility.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 481 bipolar hemiarthroplasties for displaced femoral neck fractures; of which, 421 (87.

Invasive and Non-invasive Stimulation of the Obese Human Brain.

Accumulating evidence suggests that non-invasive and invasive brain stimulation may reduce food craving and calorie consumption rendering these techniques potential treatment options for obesity. Non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) or repetitive transcranial magnet stimulation (rTMS) are used to modulate activity in superficially located executive control regions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Modulation of the DLPFC's activity may alter executive functioning and food reward processing in interconnected dopamine-rich regions such as the striatum or orbitofrontal cortex.

Satiety-induced enhanced neuronal activity in the frontal operculum relates to the desire for food in the obese female brain.

In the present pilot study, we questioned how eating to satiety affects cognitive influences on the desire for food and corresponding neuronal activity in the obese female brain. During EEG recording, lean (n = 10) and obese women (n = 10) self-rated the ability to reappraise visually presented food. All women were measured twice, when hungry and after eating to satiety.

The role of the human cerebellum in linguistic prediction, word generation and verbal working memory: evidence from brain imaging, non-invasive cerebellar stimulation and lesion studies.

Lesion studies emphasize the role of the human cerebellum in a variety of cognitive processes. To date, most evidence comes from studies investigating language-related functions, such as verbal short-term/working memory, word generation, or linguistic/semantic predictions. This review summarizes brain imaging, non-invasive cerebellar stimulation and lesion studies in this field.

Intermittent compared to continuous real-time fMRI neurofeedback boosts control over amygdala activation.

Real-time fMRI neurofeedback is a feasible tool to learn the volitional regulation of brain activity. So far, most studies provide continuous feedback information that is presented upon every volume acquisition. Although this maximizes the temporal resolution of feedback information, it may be accompanied by some disadvantages.

Non-invasive Prefrontal/Frontal Brain Stimulation Is Not Effective in Modulating Food Reappraisal Abilities or Calorie Consumption in Obese Females.

Previous studies suggest that non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the prefrontal cortex modulates food choices and calorie intake in obese humans. In the present fully randomized, placebo-controlled, within-subject and double-blinded study, we applied single sessions of anodal, cathodal, and sham tDCS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and contralateral frontal operculum in 25 hungry obese women and investigated possible influences on food reappraisal abilities as well as calorie intake. We hypothesized that tDCS, (i) improves the ability to regulate the desire for visually presented foods and, (ii) reduces their consumption.

The obese brain as a heritable phenotype: a combined morphometry and twin study.

Background: Body weight and adiposity are heritable traits. To date, it remains unknown whether obesity-associated brain structural alterations are under a similar level of genetic control.

Methods: For this study, we utilized magnetic resonance imaging data from the Human Connectome Project.

Differences in Insula and Pre-/Frontal Responses during Reappraisal of Food in Lean and Obese Humans.

Brain regions involved in the reappraisal of tasty but unhealthy foods are of special interest for the development of new therapeutic interventions for obesity, such as non-invasive brain stimulation or neurofeedback. Here, we visually presented food items (i.e.

Leptin Substitution in Patients With Lipodystrophy: Neural Correlates for Long-term Success in the Normalization of Eating Behavior.

Lipodystrophy (LD) is a rare disease with a paucity of subcutaneous adipocytes and leptin deficiency. Patients often develop severe diabetes and, additionally, show a disturbed eating behavior with reduced satiety. The disturbed eating behavior can be restored by substitution with the leptin analog metreleptin.

Sex differences in serotonin-hypothalamic connections underpin a diminished sense of emotional well-being with increasing body weight.

Background/objectives: The neurobiological mechanisms linking obesity to emotional distress related to weight remain largely unknown.

Participants/methods: Here we combined positron emission tomography, using the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) radiotracer [(11)C]-3-amino-4-(2-dimethylaminomethylphenylsulfanyl)-benzonitrile, with functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite questionnaire (IWQOL-Lite) to investigate the role of central serotonin in the severity of depression (BDI-II), as well as in the loss of emotional well-being with body weight (IWQOL-Lite).

Results: In a group of lean to morbidly obese individuals (n=28), we found sex differences in the 5-HTT availability-related connectivity of the hypothalamus.

Pharmacologic attenuation of cross-modal sensory augmentation within the chronic pain insula.

Pain can be elicited through all mammalian sensory pathways yet cross-modal sensory integration, and its relationship to clinical pain, is largely unexplored. Centralized chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia are often associated with symptoms of multisensory hypersensitivity. In this study, female patients with fibromyalgia demonstrated cross-modal hypersensitivity to visual and pressure stimuli compared with age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Resting BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex correlate with tactile acuity.

Sensory perception, including 2-point discrimination (2 ptD), is tightly linked to cortical processing of tactile stimuli in primary somatosensory cortices. While the role of cortical activity in response to a tactile stimulus has been widely investigated, the role of baseline cortical activity is largely unknown. Using resting state fMRI we investigated the relationship between local BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex (the representational field of the hand) and 2 ptD of the corresponding index finger (right and left).

Can rotational thromboelastometry predict thrombotic complications in reconstructive microsurgery?

Thrombotic occlusion of the microvascular pedicle is the major reason for flap loss. Thus, identifying patients who are at risk for such events is paramount. Rotational thromboelastometry (RTE) is widely used to detect coagulopathy and hypercoagulable states.

Free tissue transfer in patients with severe peripheral arterial disease: functional outcome in reconstruction of chronic lower extremity defects.

Chronic wounds of the lower extremity are difficult to treat, especially in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). This patient population frequently suffers from multiple comorbidities, which further impairs wound healing. Local flaps are often not available, or are insufficient to cover these defects, and limbs are frequently amputated, although they could possibly be salvaged by free tissue transplantation.