Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Perturbs the Brain-Wide Excitation-Inhibition Balance: Associations with Microcircuit Organization, Clinical Parameters, and Cognitive Dysfunction.

Excitation-inhibition (E/I) imbalance is theorized as a key mechanism in the pathophysiology of epilepsy, with ample research focusing on elucidating its cellular manifestations. However, few studies investigate E/I imbalance at the macroscale, whole-brain level, and its microcircuit-level mechanisms and clinical significance remain incompletely understood. Here, the Hurst exponent, an index of the E/I ratio, is computed from resting-state fMRI time series, and microcircuit parameters are simulated using biophysical models.

Delayed Versus Atypical Speech Sound Development: A Markedness-Based Analysis of Speech Sound Disorder in Cantonese.

Purpose: Speech sound disorder (SSD) is one of the major speech disorders in school-age children. Given the heterogeneity in terms of subtypes within SSD, there is a need to develop techniques for a quick identification of these subtypes. Furthermore, given the paucity of studies from children with SSD from Cantonese-speaking homes and a noted prevalence of SSDs in Cantonese-speaking children, it becomes even more important to investigate the subtypes of SSDs in Cantonese-speaking children.

Beyond Increasing Sample Sizes: Optimizing Effect Sizes in Neuroimaging Research on Individual Differences.

Linking neurobiology to relatively stable individual differences in cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior can require large sample sizes to yield replicable results. Given the nature of between-person research, sample sizes at least in the hundreds are likely to be necessary in most neuroimaging studies of individual differences, regardless of whether they are investigating the whole brain or more focal hypotheses. However, the appropriate sample size depends on the expected effect size.

Mapping patterns of thought onto brain activity during movie-watching.

Movie-watching is a central aspect of our lives and an important paradigm for understanding the brain mechanisms behind cognition as it occurs in daily life. Contemporary views of ongoing thought argue that the ability to make sense of events in the 'here and now' depend on the neural processing of incoming sensory information by auditory and visual cortex, which are kept in check by systems in association cortex. However, we currently lack an understanding of how patterns of ongoing thoughts map onto the different brain systems when we watch a film, partly because methods of sampling experience disrupt the dynamics of brain activity and the experience of movie-watching.

Children's executive functioning and health behaviors across pediatric life stages and ecological contexts.

Executive functioning (EF) has been linked to chronic disease risk in children. Health behaviors are thought to partially explain this association. The current cross-sectional study evaluated specific domains of EF and varied health behaviors in three pediatric life stages.

Resting-State Cortico-Cerebellar Connectivity Correlates with Post-Stroke Motor Recovery - A Prospective Functional MRI Study.

Cerebellar functional and structural connectivity are likely related to motor function after stroke. Less is known about motor recovery, which is defined as a gain of function between two time points, and about the involvement of the cerebellum. Fifteen patients who were hospitalized between 2018 and 2020 for a first cerebral ischemic event with persistent upper limb deficits were assessed by resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) and clinical motor score measurements at 3, 9 and 15 weeks after stroke.

Demographic Correlates of Autism: How Do Associations Compare Between Diagnosis and a Quantitative Trait Measure?

Prevalence of autism diagnosis has historically differed by demographic factors. Using data from 8224 participants drawn from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we examined relationships between demographic factors and parent-reported autism-related traits as captured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; T score > 65) and compared these to relations with parent-reported clinician diagnosis of ASD, in generalized linear mixed effects regression analyses. Results suggested lower odds of autism diagnosis, but not of SRS T > 65, for non-Hispanic Black children (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.

Computational complexity as a potential limitation on brain-behaviour mapping.

Within the reductionist framework, researchers in the special sciences formulate key terms and concepts and try to explain them with lower-level science terms and concepts. For example, behavioural vision scientists describe contrast perception with a psychometric function, in which the perceived brightness increases logarithmically with the physical contrast of a light patch (the Weber-Fechner law). Visual neuroscientists describe the output of neural circuits with neurometric functions.

Somatic Instability Leading to Mosaicism in Fragile X Syndrome and Associated Disorders: Complex Mechanisms, Diagnostics, and Clinical Relevance.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic condition caused by the inheritance of alleles with >200 CGG repeats in the 5' UTR of the fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 () gene. These full mutation (FM) alleles are associated with DNA methylation and gene silencing, which result in intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, and social and behavioral issues. Mosaicism for both the size of the CGG repeat tract and the extent of its methylation is commonly observed in individuals with the FM.

Of mice and men: Dendritic architecture differentiates human from mice neuronal networks.

The organizational principles that distinguish the human brain from other species have been a long-standing enigma in neuroscience. Focusing on the uniquely evolved human cortical layers 2 and 3, we computationally reconstruct the cortical architecture for mice and humans. We show that human pyramidal cells form highly complex networks, demonstrated by the increased number and simplex dimension compared to mice.

A qualitative study assessing acceptability and appropriateness of a technology-assisted mental health intervention by community frontline workers: mPareshan implementation research in rural Pakistan.

Background: With a shortage of mental health specialists and a significant rural population in Pakistan, leveraging community-based healthcare workers becomes crucial to address mental health needs. Equipping the healthcare workers with digital tools such as mobile applications have the potential to increase access to mental health support in low-resource areas. This study examines the acceptability, appropriateness, barriers, and facilitators to implementing a technology-assisted mental health intervention (mPareshan) delivered by Lady Health Workers (LHWs) in rural Pakistan.

Co-occurring Psychopathology in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Differences by Sex in the ECHO Cohorts.

Purpose: Our goals were to: 1) examine the occurrence of behavioral and emotional symptoms in children on the autism spectrum in a large national sample, stratifying by sex, and 2) evaluate whether children with increased autism-related social communication deficits also experience more behavioral and emotional problems.

Methods:  Participants (n = 7,998) were from 37 cohorts from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Cross-sectional information on demographic factors, parent-report of an ASD diagnosis by clinician, Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores, and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores were obtained for children aged 2.

Imagine, Discover, Inspire: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society.

Down syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 (T21) is present in a significant number of children and adults around the world and is associated with cognitive and medical challenges. Through research, the T21 Research Society (T21RS), established in 2014, unites a worldwide community dedicated to understanding the impact of T21 on biological systems and improving the quality of life of people with DS across the lifespan. T21RS hosts an international conference every two years to support collaboration, dissemination, and information sharing for this goal.

Metabolomics of mothers of children with autism, idiopathic developmental delay, and Down syndrome.

Developmental delays have been associated with metabolic disturbances in children. Previous research in the childhood autism risk from genetics and the environment (CHARGE) case-control study identified neurodevelopment-related plasma metabolites in children, suggesting disturbances in the energy-related tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and 1-carbon metabolism (1CM). Here, we investigated associations between children's neurodevelopmental outcomes and their mothers' plasma metabolite profiles in a subset of mother-child dyads from CHARGE, including those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 209), Down syndrome (DS, n = 76), idiopathic developmental delay (iDD, n = 64), and typically developed (TD, n = 185) controls.

Guidelines for the standardization of pre-analytical variables for salivary biomarker studies in Alzheimer's disease research: An updated review and consensus of the Salivary Biomarkers for Dementia Research Working Group.

There is a pressing need for accessible biomarkers with high diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis to facilitate widespread screening, particularly in underserved groups. Saliva is an emerging specimen for measuring AD biomarkers, with distinct contexts of use that could complement blood and cerebrospinal fluid and detect various analytes. An interdisciplinary, international group of AD and related dementias (ADRD) researchers convened and performed a narrative review of published studies on salivary AD biomarkers.

Comparison of different group-level templates in gradient-based multimodal connectivity analysis.

The study of large-scale brain connectivity is increasingly adopting unsupervised approaches that derive low-dimensional spatial representations from high-dimensional connectomes, referred to as gradient analysis. When translating this approach to study interindividual variations in connectivity, one technical issue pertains to the selection of an appropriate group-level template to which individual gradients are aligned. Here, we compared different group-level template construction strategies using functional and structural connectome data from neurotypical controls and individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to identify between-group differences.

Longitudinal Patterns of Disordered Eating Behaviors in Children and Adolescents from the Brazilian High-Risk Cohort Study for Mental Conditions.

Objective: Disordered Eating Behaviors (DEB) are associated with dysfunctional changes in eating behavior, not meeting diagnostic criteria for eating disorders. DEB affects a significant percentage of individuals, yet it remains under-researched. The current study investigates the developmental trajectory and psychopathological correlates of DEB in children and adolescents in Brazil.

An Evidence-Based IT Program With Chatbot to Support Caregiving and Clinical Care for People With Dementia: The CareHeroes Development and Usability Pilot.

Background: There are numerous communication barriers between family caregivers and providers of people living with dementia, which can pose challenges to caregiving and clinical decision-making. To address these barriers, a new web and mobile-enabled app, called CareHeroes, was developed, which promotes the collection and secured sharing of clinical information between caregivers and providers. It also provides caregiver support and education.

The mental health care system for children and adolescents in Greece: a review and structure assessment.

Background: The mental health system in Greece faces challenges to complete its transition to a community-oriented model, having significant concerns for child and adolescent care due to lower coverage and service gaps. This component of the mental health system has not been comprehensively evaluated.

Methods: We conducted a review of the mental health care system for children and adolescents in Greece.

Profiling of activated monocyte populations in autism and associations with increased severity and comorbid behaviors.

Immune dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been widely reported and is associated with increased impairments in social interactions, communication, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and gastrointestinal problems. Several lines of evidence point towards increased activation of the innate immune system including activation of microglia, increases in innate inflammatory cytokines/chemokines in blood, brain tissue and CSF, activated dendritic cells and macrophages, and abnormal peripheral monocyte cell function. Monocytes are major players in innate immunity and have important functions in the phagocytosis of pathogens or debris, immune defense and cytokine/chemokine production.

Quality of life after myocardial infarction in the pakistani population - insights from a single-center cohort study.

Background: Health-related Quality of life (HRQoL) assessment is essential for optimizing patient care, treatment adjustments, and medical decision-making, particularly in post-Myocardial Infarction (MI) patients, but limited data exists on HRQOL post-MI from Pakistan. This study aimed to assess HRQoL and its determinants in the Pakistani population.

Methods: A single-center cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.