Thyroid function and epilepsy: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study
ConclusionThis study indicates that there is no causal relationship between thyroid-related disorders and various types of epilepsy. Future research should aim to avoid potential confounding factors that might impact the study. (Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 17, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Early childhood malnutrition impairs adult resting brain function using near-infrared spectroscopy
This study aims to investigate functional brain network alterations using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in adults, aged 45–51 years, from the Barbados Nutrition Study (BNS) who suffered from a single episode of malnutrition restricted to their first year of life (n = 26) and controls (n = 29). A total of 55 individuals from the BNS cohort underwent NIRS recording at rest.Results and discussionUsing functional connectivity and permutation analysis, we found patterns of increased Pearson’s correlation with a specific vulnerability of the frontal cortex in the PEM group (ps < 0.05). Using a graph theoretical approa...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 17, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Prefrontal network engagement by deep brain stimulation in limbic hubs
Prefrontal circuits in the human brain play an important role in cognitive and affective processing. Neuromodulation therapies delivered to certain key hubs within these circuits are being used with increasing frequency to treat a host of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the detailed neurophysiological effects of stimulation to these hubs are largely unknown. Here, we performed intracranial recordings across prefrontal networks while delivering electrical stimulation to two well-established white matter hubs involved in cognitive regulation and depression: the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) and ventral capsule/ventral str...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 12, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis overlapping neuropathology start in the first two decades of life in pollution exposed urbanites and brain ultrafine particulate matter and industrial nanoparticles, including Fe, Ti, Al, V, Ni, Hg, Co, Cu, Zn, Ag, Pt, Ce, La, Pr and W are key players. Metropolitan Mexico City health crisis is in progress
The neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are present in urban children exposed to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), combustion and friction ultrafine PM (UFPM), and industrial nanoparticles (NPs). Metropolitan Mexico City (MMC) forensic autopsies strongly suggest that anthropogenic UFPM and industrial NPs reach the brain through the nasal/olfactory, lung, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and placental barriers. Diesel-heavy unregulated vehicles are a key UFPM source for 21.8 million MMC residents....
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 12, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Heterogeneities of the perceptual-motor style during locomotion at height
In this study, we aimed to investigate the modulation of perceptual-motor style during locomotion at height in 16 persons with no history of fear of heights or acrophobia. We used an inexpensive virtual reality (VR) video game. In this VR game, Richie’s Plank, the person progresses on a narrow plank placed between two buildings at the height of the 30th floor. Our first finding was that the static markers (head, trunk and limb configurations relative to the gravitational vertical) and some dynamic markers (jerk, root mean square, sample entropy and two-thirds power law at head, trunk and limb level) we had previously ide...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 12, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
The California Cognitive Assessment Battery (CCAB)
DiscussionThe CCAB holds the promise of providing scalable laboratory-quality neurodiagnostic assessments to underserved urban, exurban, and rural populations. (Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Online group therapies for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma-related disorders: a systematic review
ConclusionThere is evidence supporting the effectiveness of online group treatments for SAD and PTSD. Further studies from different research groups may be needed to replicate the use of these and other forms of online treatments in individuals with SAD, PTSD, and other clinical populations, such as OCD, panic disorder, agoraphobia and specific phobias.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023408491. (Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Influence of monaural auditory stimulation combined with music on brain activity
DiscussionThis state is considered similar to the “totonou” state, which manifests in physical and mental feelings of relaxation, pleasure, and mental clarity in the sauna. Thus, the present research proposes a convenient method for achieving relaxation, opening an avenue for individuals to customize their “totonou” music based on personal preferences. (Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Attentional bias to threat is modulated by stimulus content: an fNIRS study
People are evolutionarily predisposed to associate threat relevant stimuli with fear or aversiveness and show an attentional bias toward threat. Attentional bias modification (ABM) has been shown to reduce threat biases, while quantitative reviews assessing the effectiveness of bias modification yielded inconsistent results. The current study examined the relationship between the training effect of attentional bias to threat and the type of threatening stimuli. Twenty-two participants performed a modified dot-probe task while undergoing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging. Results indicated that there was...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Neural underpinnings of the interplay between actual touch and action imagination in social contexts
While there is established evidence supporting the involvement of the sense of touch in various actions, the neural underpinnings of touch and action interplay in a social context remain poorly understood. To prospectively investigate this phenomenon and offer further insights, we employed a combination of motor and sensory components by asking participants to imagine exerting force with the index finger while experiencing their own touch, the touch of one another individual, the touch of a surface, and no touch. Based on the assumption that the patterns of activation in the motor system are similar when action is imagined...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Influence of mild cognitive impairment on clinical and functional prognosis in older candidates for cardiac surgery
ConclusionThe present study provides clue on the impact of MCI in candidates for cardiac surgery. Preoperative detection of cognitive impairment could be highly valuable to help guide pre- and post-operative management. (Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Alterations of spontaneous brain activity in type 2 diabetes mellitus without mild cognitive impairment: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance study
ConclusionThe combination of ALFF, ReHo and VMHC analyses demonstrated abnormal spontaneous neural activity in brain regions which were reported in T2DM patients without cognitive impairment. These results may enhance our understanding of the diabetic brain changes at the early stage. (Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Gamma music: a new acoustic stimulus for gamma-frequency auditory steady-state response
In this study, we proposed a new form of gamma stimulation, called gamma music, combining 40 Hz auditory stimuli and music. This gamma music consists of drums, bass, and keyboard sounds, each containing a 40 Hz frequency oscillation. Since 40 Hz stimuli are known to induce an auditory steady-state response (ASSR), we used the 40 Hz power and phase locking index (PLI) as indices of neural activity during sound stimulation. We also recorded subjective ratings of each sound through a questionnaire using a visual analog scale. The gamma music, gamma drums, gamma bass, and gamma keyboard sounds showed significantly higher value...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Written discourse in diagnosis for acquired neurogenic communication disorders: current evidence and future directions
ConclusionDifferences in linguistic features by patient populations are not yet clear due to the limited number of studies and different measures and tasks used across the studies. Nevertheless, there is substantial evidence of numerous linguistic features in acquired neurogenic communication disorders that depart from those of healthy controls. Compared to the controls, people with aphasia tend to produce fewer words, and syntactically simpler utterances compared to the controls. People with Alzheimer’s disease produce less information content, and this feature increases over time, as reported in longitudinal studies. O...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 11, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Editorial: Effects of physical exercise on brain and cognitive functioning, volume II
(Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - January 9, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
