Conservation of structural brain connectivity in people with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. Structures affected in MS include the corpus callosum, connecting the hemispheres. Studies have shown that in mammalian brains, structural connectivity is organized according to a conservation principle, an inverse relationship between intra- and interhemispheric connectivity.

Comprehension of acoustically degraded emotional prosody in Alzheimer's disease and primary progressive aphasia.

Previous research suggests that emotional prosody perception is impaired in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and primary progressive aphasia (PPA). However, no previous research has investigated emotional prosody perception in these diseases under non-ideal listening conditions. We recruited 18 patients with AD, and 31 with PPA (nine logopenic (lvPPA); 11 nonfluent/agrammatic (nfvPPA) and 11 semantic (svPPA)), together with 24 healthy age-matched individuals.

Plasma phosphorylated tau and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but their neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood.

Methods: NPSs and cognition were assessed annually in participants (DLB n = 222; Alzheimer's disease [AD] n = 125) from the European DLB (E-DLB) Consortium, and plasma phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181) and p-tau231 concentrations were measured at baseline.

Results: Hallucinations, delusions, and depression were more common in DLB than in AD and, in a subgroup with longitudinal follow-up, persistent hallucinations and NPSs were associated with lower p-tau181 and p-tau231 in DLB.

The CSF p-tau/β-amyloid 42 ratio correlates with brain structure and fibrillary β-amyloid deposition in cognitively unimpaired individuals at the earliest stages of pre-clinical Alzheimer's disease.

CSF concentrations of β-amyloid 42 (Aβ42) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) are well-established biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and have been studied in relation to several neuropathological features both in patients and in cognitively unimpaired individuals. The CSF p-tau/Aβ42 ratio, a biomarker combining information from both pathophysiological processes, has emerged as a promising tool for monitoring disease progression, even at pre-clinical stages. Here, we studied the association between the CSF p-tau/Aβ42 ratio with downstream markers of pre-clinical Alzheimer's disease progression including brain structure, glucose metabolism, fibrillary Aβ deposition and cognitive performance in 234 cognitively unimpaired individuals, who underwent cognitive testing, a lumbar puncture, MRI, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and 18F-flutemetamol PET scanning.

Data-driven CSF biomarker profiling: imaging and clinical outcomes in a cohort at risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of synaptic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and glial response, complementing Alzheimer's disease (AD) core biomarkers, have improved the pathophysiological characterization of the disease. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the co-expression of multiple CSF biomarkers will help the identification of AD-like phenotypes when biomarker positivity thresholds are not met yet.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy cognitively unimpaired adults with family history (FH) of sporadic AD (mean age = 60.

Clinical and demographic factors modify the association between plasma phosphorylated tau-181 and cognition.

Introduction: Plasma phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181) associations with global cognition and memory are clear, but the link between p-tau181 with other cognitive domains and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) across the clinical spectrum of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and how this association changes based on genetic and demographic factors is poorly understood.

Methods: Participants were drawn from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and included 1185 adults >55 years of age with plasma p-tau181 and neuropsychological test data. Linear regression models related plasma p-tau181 to neuropsychological composite and SCD scores with follow-up models examining plasma p-tau181 interactions with cognitive diagnosis, apolipoprotein E ε4 carrier status, age, and sex on cognitive outcomes.

Investigating the complementary value of OCT to MRI in cognitive impairment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Background: Cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with neuro-axonal loss, quantifiable by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Associations between OCT measures and cognition in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) remain incompletely investigated, particularly the added value of OCT when combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We investigated the contributions of OCT and MRI while applying stringent criteria to control for subclinical optic neuropathy.

Changes in iPSC-Astrocyte morphology reflect Alzheimer's disease patient clinical markers.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide powerful cellular models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and offer many advantages over non-human models, including the potential to reflect variation in individual-specific pathophysiology and clinical symptoms. Previous studies have demonstrated that iPSC-neurons from individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) reflect clinical markers, including β-amyloid (Aβ) levels and synaptic vulnerability. However, despite neuronal loss being a key hallmark of AD pathology, many risk genes are predominantly expressed in glia, highlighting them as potential therapeutic targets.

Irisin reprograms microglia through activation of STAT6 and prevents cognitive dysfunction after surgery in mice.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is common in the aged population and associated with poor clinical outcomes. Irisin, an endogenous molecule that mediates the beneficial effects of exercise, has shown neuroprotective potential in several models of neurological diseases. Here we show that preoperative serum level of irisin is reduced in dementia patients over the age of 70.

A Machine Learning Model to Harmonize Volumetric Brain MRI Data for Quantitative Neuroradiological Assessment of Alzheimer Disease.

Purpose To extend a previously developed machine learning algorithm for harmonizing brain volumetric data of individuals undergoing neuroradiological assessment of Alzheimer disease not encountered during model training. Materials and Methods Neuroharmony is a recently developed method that uses image quality metrics (IQM) as predictors to remove scanner-related effects in brain-volumetric data using random forest regression. To account for the interactions between Alzheimer disease pathology and IQM during harmonization, the authors developed a multiclass extension of Neuroharmony for individuals with and without cognitive impairment.

Brain change trajectories in healthy adults correlate with Alzheimer's related genetic variation and memory decline across life.

Throughout adulthood and ageing our brains undergo structural loss in an average pattern resembling faster atrophy in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using a longitudinal adult lifespan sample (aged 30-89; 2-7 timepoints) and four polygenic scores for AD, we show that change in AD-sensitive brain features correlates with genetic AD-risk and memory decline in healthy adults. We first show genetic risk links with more brain loss than expected for age in early Braak regions, and find this extends beyond APOE genotype.

Musicality and social cognition in dementia: clinical and anatomical associations.

Human musicality might have co-evolved with social cognition abilities, but common neuroanatomical substrates remain largely unclear. In behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, social cognitive abilities are profoundly impaired, whereas these are typically spared in Alzheimer's disease. If musicality indeed shares a neuroanatomical basis with social cognition, it could be hypothesized that clinical and neuroanatomical associations of musicality and social cognition should differ between these causes of dementia.

Association of the Cervical Canal Area With Disability and Progression in People With Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Objectives: In multiple sclerosis (MS), brain reserve serves as a protective factor against cognitive impairment. Previous research has suggested a structural counterpart in the spine-spinal cord reserve-seemed to be associated with physical disability. This study aimed to investigate the potential of the cervical canal area (CCaA) as a proxy for spinal cord reserve in a multicentric cohort of people with MS (PwMS).

Research Priorities for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response: An Interdisciplinary Delphi Study.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a multisensory experience most often associated with feelings of relaxation and altered consciousness, elicited by stimuli which include whispering, repetitive movements, and close personal attention. Since 2015, ASMR research has grown rapidly, spanning disciplines from neuroscience to media studies but lacking a collaborative or interdisciplinary approach. To build a cohesive and connected structure for ASMR research moving forwards, a modified Delphi study was conducted with ASMR experts, practitioners, community members, and researchers from various disciplines.

Transethnic analysis identifies SORL1 variants and haplotypes protective against Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The SORL1 locus exhibits protective effects against Alzheimer's disease (AD) across ancestries, yet systematic studies in diverse populations are sparse.

Methods: Logistic regression identified AD-associated SORL1 haplotypes in East Asian (N = 5249) and European (N = 8588) populations. Association analysis between SORL1 haplotypes and AD-associated traits or plasma biomarkers was conducted.

Heterogeneity of aerobic fitness changes with exercise training in progressive multiple sclerosis: Secondary, exploratory analysis of data from the CogEx trial.

Background: There is heterogeneity of aerobic fitness (VO) changes with a standardized exercise training stimulus in the general population (i.e. some participants demonstrate improvements, others no change, and some a reduction in VO).

Targeted Proteomic Biomarker Profiling Using NULISA in a cohort enriched with risk for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.

Introduction: Targeted proteomic assays may be useful for diagnosing and staging Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). We evaluated the performance of a 120-marker central nervous system (CNS) NUcleic acid-Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay (NULISA) panel in samples spanning the AD spectrum.

Methods: Cross-sectional plasma samples (n=252) were analyzed using Alamar's NULISAseq CNS panel.

Clinical value of novel blood-based tau biomarkers in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Background: The diagnostic and prognostic performance of the novel fluid biomarkers brain-derived tau (BD-tau) and phospho-tau217 (p-tau217) in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is not defined.

Methods: We measured cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma BD-tau, p-tau217, p-tau181, total tau (t-tau), neurofilament light (NfL), and 14-3-3 in 100 CJD patients, 100 with non-prion rapidly progressive dementia (np-RPD), 92 with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (AD-MCI), and 55 healthy controls (HC).

Results: Plasma BD-tau performed comparably to plasma t-tau but had lower performance than CSF t-tau (p < 0.

The effect of virtual visual scene inclination transitions on gait modulation in healthy older versus young adults-A virtual reality study.

Bipedal locomotion requires body adaptation to maintain stability after encountering a transition to incline walking. A major part of this adaptation is reflected by adjusting walking speed. When transitioning to uphill walking, people exert more energy to counteract gravitational forces pulling them backward, while when transitioning to downhill walking people break to avoid uncontrolled acceleration.

Why does the brain matter for education?

Background: The present special issue on mind, brain and education (educational neuroscience) contains four papers that employ a neuroscience-informed approach to educational phenomena, including dyslexia, academic self-concepts, bullying and the effect of mindset on learning.

Aim: This commentary positions the papers with respect to the goals and methods of educational neuroscience, placing them on a continuum of approaches from basic research to applied intervention.

Procedure: We argue that a focus on the brain matters for teachers because it increases understanding of how learning works and the factors that influence learning outcomes and student well-being without being reductionist.

Implementation and validation of single-cell genomics experiments in neuroscience.

Single-cell or single-nucleus transcriptomics is a powerful tool for identifying cell types and cell states. However, hypotheses derived from these assays, including gene expression information, require validation, and their functional relevance needs to be established. The choice of validation depends on numerous factors.

Opportunities and challenges of single-cell and spatially resolved genomics methods for neuroscience discovery.

Over the past decade, single-cell genomics technologies have allowed scalable profiling of cell-type-specific features, which has substantially increased our ability to study cellular diversity and transcriptional programs in heterogeneous tissues. Yet our understanding of mechanisms of gene regulation or the rules that govern interactions between cell types is still limited. The advent of new computational pipelines and technologies, such as single-cell epigenomics and spatially resolved transcriptomics, has created opportunities to explore two new axes of biological variation: cell-intrinsic regulation of cell states and expression programs and interactions between cells.

Sex differences in the trajectories of plasma biomarkers, brain atrophy, and cognitive decline relative to amyloid onset.

Introduction: The factors that influence the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) after individuals become amyloid-positive are poorly understood. This study examines how sex influences the longitudinal trajectories of plasma AD and neurodegenerative biomarkers in the years following a person's estimated onset of amyloid-β.

Methods: Linear mixed-effects modeling investigated overall and sex-specific longitudinal trajectories of plasma biomarkers, brain volumes, and cognition relative to the estimated age of amyloid onset in a cohort of 78 amyloid-positive Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) participants (n = 45 male; follow-up time: 6.