286 results match your criteria: "Center for Neurosciences C4N[Affiliation]"

Note of concern regarding the sources of scientific evidence used to justify the Reclassification of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) Devices without an intended medical purpose into Class III.

Brain Stimul

January 2025

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Neuroprotection and Neuromodulation Research Group (NEUR), Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium; Department of Psychiatry, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Brussels, Belgium; Center for Care and Cure Technology (C3Te), Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

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Decoding ruminative reflection in healthy individuals: The role of triple network connectivity.

Int J Clin Health Psychol

October 2024

Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.

Ruminative reflection has been linked to enhanced executive control in processing internally represented emotional information, suggesting it may serve as an adaptive strategy for emotion regulation. Investigating the neural substrates of reflection can deepen our understanding of its adaptive properties. This study used network-based statistic (NBS)-Predict methodology to identify resting state functional connectivity (FC)-based predictors of ruminative reflection in a healthy sample.

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Background: Heterotopic ossification is a common complication after joint replacement surgery, such as hip or knee arthroplasty. In the intensive care unit, it is most commonly associated with traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury. To prevent recurrence, surgical resection of heterotopic ossification is recommended once the ectopic bone has fully matured, which is estimated to occur after at least 12 months.

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Baseline gray matter volume associates with working memory performance after prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation.

Behav Brain Res

March 2025

Department of Head and Skin, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address:

Working memory is crucial for daily life and is often impaired in neuropsychiatric conditions. Attempts to enhance it using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have shown mixed results, possibly due to large inter-individual variability. This study assessed whether baseline regional brain volume was associated with working memory performance following tDCS.

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Background: Increasing one's walking speed is an important goal in post-stroke gait rehabilitation. Insufficient arm swing in people post-stroke might limit their ability to propel the body forward and increase walking speed.

Purpose: To investigate the speed-dependent changes (and their contributing factors) in the arm swing of persons post-stroke.

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Does rehabilitation improve work participation in patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery: a systematic review.

J Rehabil Med

January 2025

STIMULUS research group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jette, Belgium; Cluster Neurosciences, Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Pain in Motion Research Group (PAIN), Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education & Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jette, Belgium; Department of Neurosurgery, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Jette, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jette, Belgium; Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Jette, Belgium.

Objective: Patients with therapy-refractory chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery experience increased disability, resulting in substantial loss of employment and consequently lower quality of life. Despite findings that rehabilitation improves socio-economic outcomes in other chronic pain conditions, evidence for patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery is limited. A systematic review was conducted to provide an overview of rehabilitation interventions and their effectiveness to improve work participation for patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery.

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The cerebellum is involved in implicit motor sequence learning.

Front Neurosci

December 2024

Brain, Body and Cognition Research Group, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Elsene, Belgium.

Background: Implicit motor sequence learning (IMSL) is a cognitive function that allows us to execute multiple movements in a specific sequential order and plays a crucial role in our daily functional activities. Although the role of the basal ganglia network in IMSL is well-established, the exact involvement of the cerebellar network is less clear.

Aim: Here, we aimed to address this issue by investigating the effects of cerebellar transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) on IMSL.

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: Sleep disturbance is often observed in the context of chronic pain. We hypothesize that, by providing an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience with a serious game to chronic pain patients an hour before bedtime, attention can be diverted from the pain condition, consequently leading to improved sleep quality. The aim is to evaluate the efficacy of VR compared to usual care in reducing the number of awakenings during the night and increasing sleep efficiency in patients suffering from painful diabetic polyneuropathy (PDPN).

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Objectives: There is no European consensus on good clinical practice for timely diagnosis and culturally appropriate care of people with dementia from minority ethnic groups. Despite significant advances in culture-sensitive dementia diagnostics, little is known about how this has been implemented in clinical practice. The aims of this follow-up survey were to explore current practices for assessing dementia in patients from minority ethnic groups in Europe and to determine whether barriers in access to specialized dementia services have changed during the last 14 years.

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Purpose: As the global population aged 60+ grows, ensuring mobility and independence for older adults is a critical public health goal. This paper examines barriers to life-space mobility in older adults and explores wearable lower limb exoskeletons (LLEs) and green exercise as innovative solutions.

Methods: Literature search and interdisciplinary expert input were utilized.

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Effects of semi-immersive virtual reality and manipulation of optic flow speed on gait biomechanics in people post-stroke.

J Rehabil Med

January 2024

Rehabilitation Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Brussels, Belgium; Brussels Human Robotic Research Center (BruBotics), Brussels, Belgium; Alliance research group REBI (Rehabilitation technology for people with a brain injury), Vrije Universiteit Brussel & Ghent University, Brussels, Ghent, Belgium.

Objectives: To investigate how people post-stroke and healthy people experience the addition of semi-immersive virtual reality (VR) and optic flow speed manipulation while walking on a treadmill, and if optic flow speed manipulation could be used in rehabilitation to elicit changes in post-stroke gait biomechanics.

Methods: Sixteen people post-stroke and 16 healthy controls walked on a self-paced treadmill. After 2 habituation trials (without and with VR), participants walked 3 more trials under the following conditions of optic flow: matched, slow, and fast.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chiral metabolomics is a growing area in neuroscience that focuses on D-amino acids as potential biomarkers for neurological diseases, utilizing advanced analytical techniques like liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
  • The review highlights the importance of D-amino acids in disease pathology, particularly their influence on neurotransmission, and discusses the need for sensitive methods due to their low concentration in biological samples.
  • Recent advancements in chiral derivatization and LC-MS/MS techniques have improved the detection and quantification of D-amino acids, enhancing our understanding of their role in neurological disorders and drug interactions in the brain.
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RPLS is a rare neuroradiologic syndrome characterized by headache, visual disturbances, focal deficits and confusion. There are several underlying mechanisms causing RPLS, including arterial hypertension and renal failure, but also treatments with immunosuppressive therapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapy (such as small molecule inhibitors). Acalabrutinib is a novel second-generation BTK inhibitor, frequently used as treatment for B-cell malignancies.

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Background: We present a method to determine and visualise the functional centre of rotation (FCOR) of the hip during total hip arthroplasty using an augmented reality head mounted display (AR-HMD).

Methods: We developed software allowing a HoloLens to provide inside-out infrared tracking of markers affixed to cadaver femurs and 3D printed acetabuli. Two observers rotated 20 cadaver femurs twice in a matching cup, producing 80 measurements.

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Background: Microbial melanins possess a broad spectrum of biological activities. However, there is little understanding of their neuroprotective and neuronal cell differentiation properties. This study aimed to extract, purify, and modify melanins from two medicinal fungi (Daedaleopsis tricolor and Fomes fomentarius), and to evaluate their antioxidant activity, as well as their cell protective ability against neurotoxins.

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Introduction: Differential target multiplexed spinal cord stimulation (DTM SCS) is a new stimulation paradigm for chronic pain management with the aim of modulating glial cells and neurons in order to rebalance their interactions. Animal studies revealed positive effects of this type of stimulation; however, studies in humans are still scarce, pointing towards the need for an evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of DTM SCS in clinical settings. Furthermore, the differential target multiplexed (DTM) algorithm consists of a combination of several programmes, which will presumably consume more energy from the spinal cord stimulation (SCS) battery.

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Augmented reality guidance improves accuracy of orthopedic drilling procedures.

Sci Rep

October 2024

Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium.

In several orthopedic procedures, the accurate use of surgical power tools is critical to avoid damage to surrounding tissues. As such, various guidance techniques and safety measures were developed. Augmented reality (AR) guidance shows promise but requires validation.

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Sensorineural Hearing Loss Negatively Impacts Cognition in Older Subjects with Normal Lateral Semi-Circular Canal Function.

Audiol Neurootol

October 2024

Resonant Labs Antwerp, Department of Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.

Article Synopsis
  • Approximately 400 million people worldwide experience hearing loss, which is linked to cognitive decline, often influenced by factors like vestibular dysfunction, anxiety, and depression.
  • A study involving 42 older adults with moderate-to-severe hearing loss and 42 matched normal-hearing controls assessed cognitive functioning using various tests, revealing significant cognitive deficits in those with hearing loss.
  • The findings showed that participants with hearing loss scored lower on overall cognitive tests, particularly in visuospatial skills and attention, suggesting that hearing loss adversely impacts cognitive abilities in older adults, regardless of vestibular function.
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Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a language-based dementia, causing progressive decline of language functions. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can augment effects of speech-and language therapy (SLT). However, this has not been investigated in bilingual patients with PPA.

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Background: Aging results in changes in resting state functional connectivity within key networks associated with cognition. Cardiovascular function, physical activity, sleep, and body composition may influence these age-related changes in the brain. Better understanding these associations may help clarify mechanisms related to brain aging and guide interventional strategies to reduce these changes.

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Effectiveness of pain medication tapering in chronic pain patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Br J Anaesth

November 2024

STIMULUS Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jette, Belgium; Cluster Neurosciences, Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Pain in Motion Research Group (PAIN), Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jette, Belgium; Department of Neurosurgery, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Jette, Belgium; Department of Radiology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Jette, Belgium. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • This systematic review and meta-analysis explored the effects of tapering pain medication in adults with chronic noncancer pain, identifying all relevant outcome measures.
  • A total of 57 studies were reviewed, with 34 included in the meta-analysis, showing a significant overall effect size of 0.917, indicating tapering is beneficial.
  • Despite promising results, the high risk of bias in many studies suggests that these findings should be interpreted cautiously.
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Article Synopsis
  • The immune system plays a crucial role in major depressive disorder (MDD), with about 30% of depressed patients exhibiting inflammation and atypical symptoms, leading to a poorer response to standard antidepressants.
  • The INSTA-MD trial is a 12-week, double-blind study assessing the effectiveness of minocycline or celecoxib as adjunct treatments for patients with MDD who have not responded to previous antidepressant trials.
  • The trial will stratify participants based on their inflammation levels (high vs. low hsCRP) and aims to determine if this stratification can help predict treatment response and improve outcomes with these immune-targeted therapies.
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Effect of neuromodulation for chronic pain on the autonomic nervous system: a systematic review.

BJA Open

September 2024

STIMULUS Research Group, Cluster Neurosciences, Center for Neurosciences (C4N) and Pain in Motion (PAIN) Research Group, Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.

Article Synopsis
  • There is increasing interest in neuromodulation techniques, like spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, as alternatives for managing chronic pain, focusing on their effects on the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
  • A systematic review analyzed 43 studies from various databases, assessing how neuromodulation impacts the ANS in chronic pain patients, with cardiovascular parameters being the most common outcome measured.
  • Results showed a variety of ANS function indicators, emphasizing the need for better understanding of neuromodulation's role in chronic pain treatment and its interaction with the ANS.
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Recently, we showed that three months of resistance exercise significantly alters 18 canonical pathways related to chronic inflammation in PBMCs of older adults. In this exploratory sub-study, the aim is to explore whether resistance exercise enhances the PBMCs stress response by mimicking an acute infection through in vitro LPS stimulation. Women (≥65 years) were randomly divided into intensive strength training (IST), strength endurance training (SET), or flexibility training (as control group, CON) groups.

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Diagnosis of Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and the specific underlying neuropathologies (frontotemporal lobar degeneration; FTLD- Tau and FTLD-TDP) is challenging, and thus fluid biomarkers are needed to improve diagnostic accuracy. We used proximity extension assays to analyze 665 proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from a multicenter cohort including patients with FTD (n = 189), Alzheimer's Disease dementia (AD; n = 232), and cognitively unimpaired individuals (n = 196). In a subset, FTLD neuropathology was determined based on phenotype or genotype (FTLD-Tau = 87 and FTLD-TDP = 68).

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