Effects of isoxazolo-pyridinone 7e, a potent activator of the Nurr1 signaling pathway, on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune chronic disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by immune-mediated inflammation, demyelination and subsequent axonal damage. Gene expression profiling showed that Nurr1, an orphan nuclear receptor, is down-regulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of MS patients. Nurr1 exerts an anti-inflammatory role repressing the activity of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kB.

Executive functioning in anorexia nervosa patients and their unaffected relatives.

Formal genetic studies suggested a substantial genetic influence for anorexia nervosa (AN), but currently results are inconsistent. The use of the neurocognitive endophenotype approach may facilitate our understanding of the AN pathophysiology. We investigated decision-making, set-shifting and planning in AN patients (n=29) and their unaffected relatives (n=29) compared to healthy probands (n=29) and their relatives (n=29).

Motor inhibition and cognitive flexibility in eating disorder subtypes.

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN) are complex Eating Disorders (EDs). Even if are considered two different diagnostic categories, they share clinical relevant characteristics. The evaluation of neurocognitive functions, using standardized neuropsychological assessment, could be a interesting approach to better understand differences and similarities between diagnostic categories and clinical subtypes in EDs thus improving our knowledge of the pathophisiology of EDs spectrum.

Compensatory movement-related recruitment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients with dominant upper motor neuron signs: an EEG source analysis study.

Cortical reorganization to simple movement in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been investigated in neuroimaging studies, reporting recruitment of ipsilateral primary sensorimotor (iSMC) and premotor regions (PMd). In order to investigate the spatiotemporal pattern of such overactivation, EEG source analysis to brisk self-paced finger movements was performed in thirty-two ALS patients, able to initiate their movement as fast as controls and clustered according to their most affected motor neuron (upper or lower). Reduced activity within cortical sources in bilateral SMC and caudal mesial areas was found only in patients subgroup with extensive upper motor neuron (UMN) clinical signs and mild motor weakness (U>L).

Motor area localization using fMRI-constrained cortical current density reconstruction of movement-related cortical potentials, a comparison with fMRI and TMS mapping.

The localization of human hand primary motor area (M1) has been the object of several studies during the last decades. EEG source analysis, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are non-invasive methods for localizing M1 with good accuracy compared to direct electrocorticography (ECoG) results. EEG sources were reconstructed with Cortical Current Density (CCD) method, allowing to evaluate simultaneous and distributed patterns of activation and to increase accuracy by constraining on information derived from fMRI (fMRI-CCD).

Cortical control of unilateral simple movement in healthy aging.

Normal aging is associated with several modifications in the cerebral motor system that reflect into an increased and more bilateral activation in elderly subjects. Twelve young and nine elderly healthy right-handed subjects performed a self-initiated brisk right thumb extension while recorded with 32-channel EEG. The aging effect over cortical generators of bereithshaftspotential, reconstructed using cortical current density (CCD) method and a realistic volume conductor, was evaluated in five different periods and in both mesial and lateral motor-related areas.