Comorbidity, Treatment, and Service Utilization Patterns in Difficult-to-Treat Depression Patients: A Retrospective Study in a Portuguese Community Mental Health Team.

: Observational studies with data from real-world clinical practice with patients with difficult-to-treat depression (DTD) are rare. This study aims to collect observational data from the real-world clinical practice of a Portuguese community mental health team (CMHT) on the prevalence of DTD and to explore differences between DTD and non-DTD groups. : We conducted a retrospective chart review study using data from Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of adult patients with psychiatric disorders followed by a CMHT from the Department of Psychiatry of the Coimbra Local Health Unit (between 1 December 2020-31 December 2022).

Unveiling the potential of intranasal delivery of renin-angiotensin system drugs: Insights on the pharmacokinetics of irbesartan.

The therapeutic interest of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) drugs for the treatment of neuroinflammation has been recently acknowledged. Nevertheless, most of them display limited passage across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Therefore, this study investigated the potential of intranasal (IN) delivery of six RAS drugs to circumvent the BBB and attain the brain, envisioning its future use in central nervous system (CNS) neuroinflammatory diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Expanding the mutational and phenotypical spectrum of FHONDA syndrome.

Foveal hypoplasia, optic nerve decussation, and anterior segment dysgenesis (FHONDA) is a rare recessively inherited syndrome first described in 2013. FHONDA is associated with biallelic disease-causing variants in the gene, which has a strong expression in the photoreceptor layer. To date, 60 different disease-causing variants in the gene have been described.

Distinct oscillatory patterns differentiate between segregation and integration processes in perceptual grouping.

Recently, there has been a resurgence in experimental and conceptual efforts to understand how brain rhythms can serve to organize visual information. Oscillations can provide temporal structure for neuronal processing and form a basis for integrating information across brain areas. Here, we use a bistable paradigm and a data-driven approach to test the hypothesis that oscillatory modulations associate with the integration or segregation of visual elements.

Rapid effects of tryptamine psychedelics on perceptual distortions and early visual cortical population receptive fields.

N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychedelic tryptamine acting on 5-HT2A serotonin receptors, which is associated with intense visual hallucinatory phenomena and perceptual changes such as distortions in visual space. The neural underpinnings of these effects remain unknown. We hypothesised that changes in population receptive field (pRF) properties in the primary visual cortex (V1) might underlie visual perceptual experience.

Executive function in schizophrenia and autism in adults shares common components separating high and low performance groups.

The profile of executive function (EF) in adults with Schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains unclear. This study aims to ascertain if distinct EF patterns can be identified between each clinical condition by comparing the neuropsychological profile of adults with SCZ and ASD, for whom the differential diagnosis is still highly challenging. Forty-five individuals (15 SCZ, 15 ASD, 15 controls) matched for age, sex, education level, and handedness underwent intelligence evaluation and neuropsychological testing for working memory, inhibition, planning and set-shifting, and verbal fluency subdomains.

From images to insights: a neuroradiologist's practical guide on white matter fiber tract anatomy and DTI patterns for pre-surgical planning.

Introduction: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a valuable non-invasive imaging modality for mapping white matter tracts and assessing microstructural integrity, and can be used as a "biomarker" in diagnosis, differentiation, and therapeutic monitoring. Although it has gained clinical importance as a marker of neuropathology, limitations in its interpretation underscore the need for caution.

Methods: This review provides an overview of the principles and clinical applicability of DTI.

Neurofeedback training of executive function in autism spectrum disorder: distinct effects on brain activity levels and compensatory connectivity changes.

Background: Deficits in executive function (EF) are consistently reported in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Tailored cognitive training tools, such as neurofeedback, focused on executive function enhancement might have a significant impact on the daily life functioning of individuals with ASD. We report the first real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI NF) study targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in ASD.

Irreversible atrophy in memory brain regions over 7 years is predicted by glycemic control in type 2 diabetes without mild cognitive impairment.

Memory-related impairments in type 2 diabetes may be mediated by insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. Previous cross-sectional studies have controversially suggested a relationship between metabolic control and a decrease in hippocampal volumes, but only longitudinal studies can test this hypothesis directly. We performed a longitudinal morphometric study to provide a direct test of a possible role of higher levels of glycated hemoglobin with long term brain structural integrity in key regions of the memory system - hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and fusiform gyrus.

Functional and structural connectivity success predictors of real-time fMRI neurofeedback targeting DLPFC: Contributions from central executive, salience, and default mode networks.

Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) neurofeedback (NF), a training method for the self-regulation of brain activity, has shown promising results as a neurorehabilitation tool, depending on the ability of the patient to succeed in neuromodulation. This study explores connectivity-based structural and functional success predictors in an NF -back working memory paradigm targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We established as the NF success metric the linear trend on the ability to modulate the target region during NF runs and performed a linear regression model considering structural and functional connectivity (intrinsic and seed-based) metrics.

Functional reorganization of memory processing in the hippocampus is associated with neuroprotector GLP-1 levels in type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) often impairs memory functions, suggesting specific vulnerability of the hippocampus. In vivo neuroimaging studies relating encoding and retrieval of memory information with endogenous neuroprotection are lacking. The neuroprotector glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) has a high receptor density in anterior/ventral hippocampus, as shown by animal models.

Rosuvastatin effect on atherosclerotic plaque metabolism: A subclinical atherosclerosis imaging study with F-NaF PET-CT.

Background And Aims: Atherosclerotic plaque fluorine-18 sodium fluoride (F-NaF) uptake on positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET-CT) identifies active microcalcification and has been shown to correlate with clinical instability in patients with cardiovascular (CV) disease. Statin therapy promotes coronary macrocalcification over time. Our aim was to investigate rosuvastatin effect on atheroma F-NaF uptake.

EEG as a potential ground truth for the assessment of cognitive state in software development activities: A multimodal imaging study.

Cognitive human error and recent cognitive taxonomy on human error causes of software defects support the intuitive idea that, for instance, mental overload, attention slips, and working memory overload are important human causes for software bugs. In this paper, we approach the EEG as a reliable surrogate to MRI-based reference of the programmer's cognitive state to be used in situations where heavy imaging techniques are infeasible. The idea is to use EEG biomarkers to validate other less intrusive physiological measures, that can be easily recorded by wearable devices and useful in the assessment of the developer's cognitive state during software development tasks.

Neurochemical differences in core regions of the autistic brain: a multivoxel H-MRS study in children.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition which compromises various cognitive and behavioural domains. The understanding of the pathophysiology and molecular neurobiology of ASD is still an open critical research question. Here, we aimed to address ASD neurochemistry in the same time point at key regions that have been associated with its pathophysiology: the insula, hippocampus, putamen and thalamus.

Neural correlates of fanhood: the role of fan identity and team brand strength.

Introduction: We analyzed the importance of fan identity and brand strength on fans' neural reactions to different team-related stimuli.

Methods: A total of 53 fMRI scans with fans of two professional sport teams were conducted. Following up on a previous study we focused on the differences between fandom levels as well as the contrast between two team "brand" strength.

When Sex Matters: Differences in the Central Nervous System as Imaged by OCT through the Retina.

Background: Retinal texture has gained momentum as a source of biomarkers of neurodegeneration, as it is sensitive to subtle differences in the central nervous system from texture analysis of the neuroretina. Sex differences in the retina structure, as detected by layer thickness measurements from optical coherence tomography (OCT) data, have been discussed in the literature. However, the effect of sex on retinal interocular differences in healthy adults has been overlooked and remains largely unreported.

Intranasal irbesartan reverts cognitive decline and activates the PI3K/AKT pathway in an LPS-induced neuroinflammation mice model.

Background: New strategies are urgently needed to manage and delay the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neuroinflammation is a significant contributor to cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) protect hypertensive patients against AD, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain unknown.

A human cortical adaptive mutual inhibition circuit underlying competition for perceptual decision and repetition suppression reversal.

A model based on inhibitory coupling has been proposed to explain perceptual oscillations. This 'adapting reciprocal inhibition' model postulates that it is the strength of inhibitory coupling that determines the fate of competition between percepts. Here, we used an fMRI-based adaptation technique to reveal the influence of neighboring neuronal populations, such as reciprocal inhibition, in motion-selective hMT+/V5.

Hysteresis reveals a happiness bias effect in dynamic emotion recognition from ambiguous biological motion.

Considering the nonlinear dynamic nature of emotion recognition, it is believed to be strongly dependent on temporal context. This can be investigated by resorting to the phenomenon of hysteresis, which features a form of serial dependence, entailed by continuous temporal stimulus trajectories. Under positive hysteresis, the percept remains stable in visual memory (persistence) while in negative hysteresis, it shifts earlier (adaptation) to the opposite interpretation.

Assessing the impact of age on everyday cognitive function with a virtual environment task: The .

More realistic assessment tools are imperative for a better understanding of the impact of age-related cognitive deficits on functional status. With this in mind, we probed the ability of the , a non-immersive virtual environment task with increasing executively demanding kitchen chores, to detect the effects of aging on the simulated everyday functioning of healthy adults. Fifty-three adults (age between 23 and 77 years) were assessed with the and a set of conventional paper-and-pencil neuropsychological tests.