Determinants of Overall and Readmission-Free Survival in Patients with Metastatic Epidural Spinal Cord Compression.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the surgical outcomes and survival of patients surgically treated for metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC), with a specific focus on identifying factors that influence overall survival and readmission-free survival.

Methods: All patients who underwent surgery for spine metastases at our department in the period 2018-2022 were included in the study.

Results: A total of 175 patients (n = 71 females, median age 67.

Quantitative comparison of a mobile, tablet-based eye-tracker and two stationary, video-based eye-trackers.

The analysis of eye movements is a noninvasive, reliable and fast method to detect and quantify brain (dys)function. Here, we investigated the performance of two novel eye-trackers-the Thomas Oculus Motus-research mobile (TOM-rm) and the TOM-research stationary (TOM-rs)-and compared them with the performance of a well-established video-based eye-tracker, i.e.

Impact of Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements on Pubertal Status of 9-13-Year Olds: A Follow-Up Study of the iLiNS-DYAD-Ghana Trial.

Background: Early and delayed puberty are both associated with adverse health and psychosocial outcomes.

Objectives: We assessed the impact of provision of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement (SQ-LNS) to mothers during pregnancy and 6 mo postpartum and to their children aged 6-18 mo, on pubertal status.

Methods: This study was a follow-up to a partially double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Habituation of the biological response to repeated psychosocial stress: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Recurrent psychosocial stress poses a significant health challenge, prompting research into mechanisms of successful adaptation. Physiological habituation, defined as decreased reactivity to repeated stressors, is pivotal in protecting the organism from allostatic load. Here, we systematically review and meta-analyze data from studies investigating the capacity of central stress systems to habituate when repeatedly exposed to a standardized psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test (k = 47).

Temporal dynamics of affective scene processing in the healthy adult human brain.

Understanding how the brain distinguishes emotional from neutral scenes is crucial for advancing brain-computer interfaces, enabling real-time emotion detection for faster, more effective responses, and improving treatments for emotional disorders like depression and anxiety. However, inconsistent research findings have arisen from differences in study settings, such as variations in the time windows, brain regions, and emotion categories examined across studies. This review sought to compile the existing literature on the timing at which the adult brain differentiates basic affective from neutral scenes in less than one second, as previous studies have consistently shown that the brain can begin recognizing emotions within just a few milliseconds.

Stationarity assessment of resting state condition via permutation entropy on EEG recordings.

The analysis of electrophysiological recordings of the human brain in resting state is a key experimental technique in neuroscience. Resting state is the default condition to characterize brain dynamics. Its successful implementation relies both on the capacity of subjects to comply with the requirement of staying awake while not performing any cognitive task, and on the capacity of the experimenter to validate that compliance.

A computational deep learning investigation of animacy perception in the human brain.

The functional organization of the human object vision pathway distinguishes between animate and inanimate objects. To understand animacy perception, we explore the case of zoomorphic objects resembling animals. While the perception of these objects as animal-like seems obvious to humans, such "Animal bias" is a striking discrepancy between the human brain and deep neural networks (DNNs).

Mixed-methods process evaluation of a proactive approach to healthcare in Parkinson's disease-ParkProReakt: a protocol of a hybrid efficacy-implementation study.

Introduction: People with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) experience a wide range of motor and non-motor symptoms that have a significant impact on their health and quality of life. Effective care management for PwPD involves monitoring symptoms at home, involving specialised multidisciplinary care providers and enhancing self-management skills. This study protocol describes the process evaluation within a randomised clinical trial to assess the implementation and its impact on patient health outcomes of ParkProReakt-a proactive, multidisciplinary, digitally supported care model for community-dwelling PwPD.

Decoding neuronal networks: A Reservoir Computing approach for predicting connectivity and functionality.

In this study, we address the challenge of analyzing electrophysiological measurements in neuronal networks. Our computational model, based on the Reservoir Computing Network (RCN) architecture, deciphers spatio-temporal data obtained from electrophysiological measurements of neuronal cultures. By reconstructing the network structure on a macroscopic scale, we reveal the connectivity between neuronal units.

Dimensional early life adversity and anxiety symptoms: A network analysis and longitudinal study.

Background: Accumulating literature has found a close relation between early life adversity (ELA) and anxiety. However, previous studies did not rule out the high co-occurrence of different types of ELA when exploring the association of ELA and anxiety. In the present study, we carried out network analysis based on a cross-sectional sample and longitudinal sample to investigate the relationship between ELA and anxiety symptoms in non-clinical populations over time.

Advancing Thalamic Nuclei Segmentation: The Impact of Compressed Sensing on MRI Processing.

The thalamus is a collection of gray matter nuclei that play a crucial role in sensorimotor processing and modulation of cortical activity. Characterizing thalamic nuclei non-invasively with structural MRI is particularly relevant for patient populations with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, dementia, and schizophrenia. However, severe head motion in these populations poses a significant challenge for in vivo mapping of thalamic nuclei.

In vivo assessment of the influence of general anaesthetics on transmembrane water cycling in the brain.

This study presents the first in vivo measurement of transcytolemmal water exchange in the brain using a novel Magnetic Resonance technique. We extend previous applications of Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) to examine water exchange across cellular membranes in late-stage chicken embryo brains. The immature blood-brain barrier at this stage allows Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents (GBCAs) to penetrate the brain's interstitial space, sensitizing the CEST effect to water exchange between intra- and extracellular environments.

Dissociating goal from outcome during action observation.

Understanding the goal of an observed action requires computing representations that are invariant to specific instantiations of the action. For example, we can accurately infer the goal of an action even when the agent's desired outcome is not achieved. Observing actions consistently recruits a set of frontoparietal and posterior temporal regions, often labeled the "action observation network.

A computational model for angular velocity integration in a locust heading circuit.

Accurate navigation often requires the maintenance of a robust internal estimate of heading relative to external surroundings. We present a model for angular velocity integration in a desert locust heading circuit, applying concepts from early theoretical work on heading circuits in mammals to a novel biological context in insects. In contrast to similar models proposed for the fruit fly, this circuit model uses a single 360° heading direction representation and is updated by neuromodulatory angular velocity inputs.

Individual differences in online research: Comparing lab-based and online administration of a psycholinguistic battery of linguistic and domain-general skills.

Experimental psychologists and psycholinguists increasingly turn to online research for data collection due to the ease of sampling many diverse participants in parallel. Online research has shown promising validity and consistency, but is it suitable for all paradigms? Specifically, is it reliable enough for individual differences research? The current paper reports performance on 15 tasks from a psycholinguistic individual differences battery, including timed and untimed assessments of linguistic abilities, as well as domain-general skills. From a demographically homogenous sample of young Dutch people, 149 participants participated in the lab study, and 515 participated online.

Optimizing in vivo exposure using occasional reinforced extinction with aversive imagery in spider fearful individuals.

Although exposure-based therapy is widely recognized as effective for treating various anxiety disorders, a significant proportion of patients fail to benefit or experience a return of fear following successful treatment. One promising strategy involves occasional presentation of fear-evoking stimuli during extinction (occasional reinforced extinction, ORE). This study investigates a novel approach to translate ORE into clinical practice by incorporating occasional vivid imagery of individuals' worst-case fear scenarios during in-vivo exposure.

Do sensorimotor insoles improve gait safety in patients with Parkinson's disease on a short scale?

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) often leads to gait abnormalities, increasing the risk of falls and affecting daily life. Sensorimotor insoles aim to enhance foot sensitivity, potentially improving gait stability.

Methods: This study examined whether there are short-term effects of sensorimotor insoles on neural activation (measured by EEG), kinematic gait parameters (speed, cadence, step length, and step-length variability), and subjective gait stability in PD patients.

Advancing the personalized advantage index (PAI): a systematic review and application in two large multi-site samples in anxiety disorders.

Background: The Personalized Advantage Index (PAI) shows promise as a method for identifying the most effective treatment for individual patients. Previous studies have demonstrated its utility in retrospective evaluations across various settings. In this study, we explored the effect of different methodological choices in predictive modelling underlying the PAI.

Use It or Lose It: Facilitating the Use of Interactive Data Apps in Psychological Research Data Sharing.

The value of open research data (ORD), a key feature of open science, lies in their reuse. However, the mere online availability of ORD does not guarantee their reuse by other researchers. Specifically, previous meta-scientific research has indicated that the underutilization of ORD is related to barriers at the level of the ORD themselves, potential reusers of ORD, and the broader academic ecosystem.

Advances in brain and religion studies: a review and synthesis of recent representative studies.

We review and synthesize recent religion and brain studies and find that at a broad network neuroscience level, religious/spiritual experiences (RSEs) appear to depend crucially upon interactions between the default mode network (DMN), the frontoparietal network (FPN), and the salience network (SN). We see this general result as broadly consistent with Menon's et al. "Triple Network or Tripartite Model" (TPM) of neuropsychiatric function/dysfunction.

Neuroarchitecture of the Central Complex in the Madeira Cockroach Rhyparobia maderae: Tangential Neurons.

Navigating in diverse environments to find food, shelter, or mating partners is an important ability for nearly all animals. Insects have evolved diverse navigational strategies to survive in challenging and unknown environments. In the insect brain, the central complex (CX) plays an important role in spatial orientation and directed locomotion.

How interoceptive sensibility moderates decision-making: an fMRI study of neuroforecasting mobile games engagement.

Neuroscientists in decision science have advanced an affect-integration-motivation (AIM) framework, demonstrating that neural activity associated with positive affect or value integration can predict individual and aggregate choice. Given that individuals with higher interoceptive sensibility (IS) have tendency to engage their bodily sensations and thus exhibit a more coherent pattern between their neural, affective, and behavioral measures, we investigated how IS may interact with the affective/integrative components for predicting individual and aggregate choice. Thus, we 1) explored neural underpinnings of individual choice, affective ratings, aggregate outcomes, 2) examined how the above-mentioned measures predict individual and aggregate choices on mobile games, and 3) tested the moderation effect of IS by comparing the differences in how these measures perform in prediction models between subgroups of IS.