Quantifying neurovascular coupling through a concurrent assessment of arterial, capillary, and neuronal activation in humans: A multimodal EEG-fNIRS-TCD investigation.

Background: This study explored a novel multimodal neuroimaging approach to assess neurovascular coupling (NVC) in humans using electroencephalography (EEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD).

Methods: Fifteen participants (nine females; age 19-32) completed concurrent EEG-fNIRS-TCD imaging during motor (finger tapping) and visual ("Where's Waldo?") tasks, with synchronized monitoring of blood pressure, capnography, and heart rate. fNIRS assessed microvascular oxygenation within the frontal, motor, parietal, and occipital cortices, while the middle and posterior cerebral arteries (MCA/PCA) were insonated using TCD.

Quality indicators for schizophrenia care: A scoping review.

Measuring quality of care is a critical first step towards improving the healthcare contributing to persistent poor outcomes experienced by many people living with schizophrenia. This scoping review aims to identify and characterize indicators for measuring the quality of care for people living with schizophrenia. We searched 6 academic databases, 4 grey literature databases, and 23 organization websites for documents containing quality indicators developed for or applied in a population with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

The pore-forming apolipoprotein APOL7C drives phagosomal rupture and antigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells.

Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) generate protective cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against extracellular pathogens and tumors. This is achieved through a process known as cross-presentation (XP), and, despite its biological importance, the mechanism(s) driving XP remains unclear. Here, we show that a cDC-specific pore-forming protein called apolipoprotein L 7C (APOL7C) is up-regulated in response to innate immune stimuli and is recruited to phagosomes.

Longitudinal relationships between free-living activities, fatigue, and symptom severity in myasthenia gravis using cohort and individualized models.

Introduction/aims: Fluctuating symptoms and fatigue are common issues in myasthenia gravis (MG), but it is unclear if these symptoms are related to physical activity or sleep patterns. This study sought to determine the day-to-day relationship between patient-reported symptoms and physical activity and sleep over 12 weeks.

Methods: Sixteen participants with generalized MG wore a wrist-mounted accelerometer continuously for the study duration and reported their symptoms and fatigue each evening.

Procognitive Effects of Adjunctive D-Cycloserine to Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation in Major Depressive Disorder: Effets procognitifs de la D-cyclosérine en traitement complémentaire par la stimulation thêta-burst intermittente dans le trouble dépressif caractérisé.

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with cognitive impairments that persist despite successful treatment. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive treatment for MDD that is associated with small procognitive effects on working memory and executive function. We hypothesized that pairing stimulation with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonism would enhance the effects of stimulation and its procognitive effects.

Retrosplenial hypometabolism precedes the conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Not all individuals who experience mild cognitive impairment (MCI) transition through progressive stages of cognitive decline at the same rate, if at all. Previous observational studies have identified the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) as an early site of hypometabolism in MCI which seems to be predictive of later transition to Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: We examined N = 399 MCI subjects with baseline F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

Prenatal Cannabis Exposure and Executive Function and Aggressive Behavior at Age 5 Years.

Importance: Cannabis use during pregnancy is increasingly common in the US and may affect the development and behavior of preschool-aged children.

Objective: To prospectively investigate the association of prenatal cannabis exposure with executive function and aggressive behavior at age 5 years.

Design, Setting, Participants: This cohort study was conducted from 2016 through 2020.

Fenebrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, blocks distinct human microglial signaling pathways.

Background: Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is an intracellular signaling enzyme that regulates B-lymphocyte and myeloid cell functions. Due to its involvement in both innate and adaptive immune compartments, BTK inhibitors have emerged as a therapeutic option in autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Brain-penetrant, small-molecule BTK inhibitors may also address compartmentalized neuroinflammation, which is proposed to underlie MS disease progression.

Assessment of patient life engagement in schizophrenia using items from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Background: Improved patient life engagement is a meaningful treatment goal in schizophrenia that cannot be satisfactorily measured using existing tools. This research aimed to determine whether certain items from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) can assess patient life engagement in schizophrenia.

Methods: Three approaches were used to identify PANSS items that reflect patient life engagement: (1) a panel discussion with expert psychiatrists (n = 4); (2) interviews with patients with schizophrenia (n = 20); and (3) a principal component analysis to explore clustering of items (n = 954 from three randomized controlled trials).

Analysis and visualization of the effect of multiple sclerosis on biological brain age.

Introduction: The rate of neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) is an important biomarker for disease progression but can be challenging to quantify. The brain age gap, which quantifies the difference between a patient's chronological and their estimated biological brain age, might be a valuable biomarker of neurodegeneration in patients with MS. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the value of an image-based prediction of the brain age gap using a deep learning model and compare brain age gap values between healthy individuals and patients with MS.

New insights into the use of high dose corticosteroids and plasmapheresis in persons with MOGAD and NMOSD.

Background: Anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein associated disease (MOGAD) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disease (NMOSD) are antibody mediated diseases characterized by neurological symptoms including recurrent relapses of optic neuritis and/or myelitis, as well as other less frequent syndromes. The current treatment for acute attacks of NMOSD/MOGAD are based on clinical studies for other demyelinating diseases(i.e.

Big data research is everyone's research-Making epilepsy data science accessible to the global community: Report of the ILAE big data commission.

Epilepsy care generates multiple sources of high-dimensional data, including clinical, imaging, electroencephalographic, genomic, and neuropsychological information, that are collected routinely to establish the diagnosis and guide management. Thanks to high-performance computing, sophisticated graphics processing units, and advanced analytics, we are now on the cusp of being able to use these data to significantly improve individualized care for people with epilepsy. Despite this, many clinicians, health care providers, and people with epilepsy are apprehensive about implementing Big Data and accompanying technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Quercetin, the new stress buster: Investigating the transcriptional and behavioral effects of this flavonoid on multiple stressors using Lymnaea stagnalis.

Growing evidence suggests that a flavonoid-rich diet can prevent or reverse the effects of stressors, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. One common and abundant flavonoid found in numerous foods is quercetin. This study utilizes the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, a valid model organism for learning and memory, and a simple but robust learning paradigm-operant conditioning of aerial respiration-to explore the behavioral and transcriptional effects of different stressors on snails' cognitive functions and to investigate whether quercetin exposure can prevent stress effects on learning and memory formation.

Febrile Seizures, Ongoing Epileptiform Activity, and the Resulting Long-Term Consequences: Lessons From Animal Models.

Febrile seizures affect 2% to 14% of children. Prospective studies indicate that following a relatively prolonged febrile seizure there are long-term consequences. Although controlled experiments in children have ethical limitations, nonhuman animal models give us the ability to discover new phenomena, determine their mechanisms, and test treatments that can potentially translate to the human clinical population.

External Factors Modulating Pain and Pain-Related Functional Impairment in Cervical Dystonia.

Background: Little is known about factors modulating pain and pain-related functional impairment in isolated cervical dystonia (CD).

Objective: The aim was to assess the prevalence and interrelationship between pain-modulating factors and pain-related determinants of functional impairment and quality of life in CD.

Methods: We analyzed pain-aggravating and pain-relieving external factors, the degree of pain-related functional impact on routine activities, and the relationship between these and pain severity, using cross-sectional data collected using the Pain in Dystonia Scale (PIDS) from 85 participants with CD.

Are Opioids Agitating? A Data Analysis of Baseline Data from the STAN Study.

 Agitation, a common dementia symptom often arising from untreated pain, lacks comprehensive research on its connection with opioids prescribed for long-term pain. This study investigated the relationship between opioid use and agitation in dementia patients. Participants ( = 188) were categorized into opioid, acetaminophen PRN, or no-pain medication groups.

Phytocannabinoids restore seizure-induced alterations in emotional behaviour in male rats.

Epilepsy often presents with severe emotional comorbidities including anxiety and abnormal fear responses which impose a significant burden on, and reduce, quality of life in people living with the disease. Our lab has recently shown that kindled seizures lead to changes in emotional processing resulting from the downregulation of anandamide signalling within the amygdala. Phytocannabinoids derived from the Cannabis sativa plant have attracted a lot of interest as a new class of drugs with potential anticonvulsant effects.