Ashley M Francis, Jenna N Bissonnette, Sarah E MacNeil, Candice E Crocker, Philip G Tibbo, Derek J Fisher
{"title":"Interaction of sex and cannabis in adult <i>in vivo</i> brain imaging studies: A systematic review.","authors":"Ashley M Francis, Jenna N Bissonnette, Sarah E MacNeil, Candice E Crocker, Philip G Tibbo, Derek J Fisher","doi":"10.1177/23982128211073431","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23982128211073431","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cannabis has been shown to cause structural and functional neurocognitive changes in heavy users. Cannabis use initiation aligns with brain development trajectories; therefore, it is imperative that the potential neurological implications of cannabis use are understood. Males and females reach neurodevelopmental milestones at different rates making it necessary to consider biological sex in all cannabis and brain-based research. Through use of a systamatic review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, we aimed to understand the interaction between biological sex and cannabis use on brain-based markers. In total, 18 articles containing a sex-based analysis of cannabis users were identified. While the majority of studies (<i>n</i> = 11) reported no sex by cannabis use interactions on brain-based markers, those that reported findings (<i>n</i> = 8) suggest females may be more susceptible to cannabis' neurotoxic effects. Unfortunately, a large portion of the literature was excluded due to no sex-based analysis. In addition, studies that reported no sex differences often contained a reduced number of females which may result in some studies being underpowered for sex-based analyses, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions. Suggestions to improve cannabis and sex-based reseach are proposed.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":" ","pages":"23982128211073431"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8793398/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39873088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Silvia Pregnolato, H. Sabir, K. Luyt, Kira D. A. Rienecker, A. Isles, E. Chakkarapani
{"title":"Regulation of glutamate transport and neuroinflammation in a term newborn rat model of hypoxic–ischaemic brain injury","authors":"Silvia Pregnolato, H. Sabir, K. Luyt, Kira D. A. Rienecker, A. Isles, E. Chakkarapani","doi":"10.1177/23982128221097568","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128221097568","url":null,"abstract":"In the newborn brain, moderate-severe hypoxia–ischaemia induces glutamate excitotoxicity and inflammation, possibly via dysregulation of candidate astrocytic glutamate transporter (Glt1) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. Tnfα, Il1β, Il6). Epigenetic mechanisms may mediate dysregulation. Hypotheses: (1) hypoxia–ischaemia dysregulates mRNA expression of these candidate genes; (2) expression changes in Glt1 are mediated by DNA methylation changes; and (3) methylation values in brain and blood are correlated. Seven-day-old rat pups (n = 42) were assigned to nine groups based on treatment (for each timepoint: naïve (n = 3), sham (n = 3), hypoxia–ischaemia (n = 8) and timepoint for tissue collection (6, 12 and 24 h post-hypoxia). Moderate hypoxic–ischemic brain injury was induced via ligation of the left common carotid artery followed by 100 min hypoxia (8% O2, 36°C). mRNA was quantified in cortex and hippocampus for the candidate genes, myelin (Mbp), astrocytic (Gfap) and neuronal (Map2) markers (qPCR). DNA methylation was measured for Glt1 in cortex and blood (bisulphite pyrosequencing). Hypoxia–ischaemia induced pro-inflammatory cytokine upregulation in both brain regions at 6 h. This was accompanied by gene expression changes potentially indicating onset of astrogliosis and myelin injury. There were no significant changes in expression or promoter DNA methylation of Glt1. This pilot study supports accumulating evidence that hypoxia–ischaemia causes neuroinflammation in the newborn brain and prioritises further expression and DNA methylation analyses focusing on this pathway. Epigenetic blood biomarkers may facilitate identification of high-risk newborns at birth, maximising chances of neuroprotective interventions.","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43262182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jennifer G. Pearlstein, Sheri L. Johnson, James W. Madole, Kiana Modavi
{"title":"Emotion-related impulsivity: Testing a model of arousal effects on cognitive control","authors":"Jennifer G. Pearlstein, Sheri L. Johnson, James W. Madole, Kiana Modavi","doi":"10.1177/23982128221079572","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128221079572","url":null,"abstract":"The trait-based tendency to respond rashly to emotions is robustly tied to many forms of psychopathology and poor behavioural outcomes, including aggression and suicidality. Researchers have found associations between response inhibition and emotion-related impulsivity; however, effect sizes are often small. Because emotion-related impulsivity emerges in the context of heightened positive and negative emotions, arousal is a candidate trigger of impulsivity. The goals of the present study were to (1) replicate the association between emotion-related impulsivity and response inhibition, and (2) test whether emotion-related impulsivity is associated with arousal-induced decays in response inhibition performance. Participants (N = 55) completed a self-report measure of emotion-related impulsivity, and then completed a computer-based response inhibition task (the antisaccade task, in which participants must make a rapid saccadic eye movement away from a cue rather than toward it) before and after a well-validated stress induction (the Trier Social Stress Test). Psychophysiological indices of arousal were measured throughout the session. Findings provide partial support for the association between emotion-related impulsivity and pre-stress response inhibition. Contrary to hypotheses, emotion-related impulsivity did not interact with arousal to predict post-stress response inhibition performance after controlling for pre-stress response inhibition performance. Future research is needed to consider clinical samples and to assess whether emotion-related impulsivity is related to deficits in other facets of cognitive control and decision-making.","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42334017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan G. Jackson, Laura J Brennan, E. Henderson, E. Robinson
{"title":"Modelling falls in Parkinson’s disease and normal ageing in mice using a complex motor task","authors":"Megan G. Jackson, Laura J Brennan, E. Henderson, E. Robinson","doi":"10.1177/23982128221088794","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128221088794","url":null,"abstract":"Falls resulting from multifactorial deficits are common in both normal ageing and Parkinson’s disease. Resultant injuries can lead to increased hospitalisation and excess mortality. As the disease progresses, gait and balance deficits are relatively refractory to dopaminergic treatments suggesting another system is involved. Attentional impairment is a significant risk factor for falls, and disruption to both the cortical cholinergic system and striatal dopaminergic system increases falls in rats undergoing a complex motor task with high attentional load. However, it is unclear whether this translates to mice and whether normal ageing induces similar deficits. In this study, we use a complex motor task to test the effects of acute dopaminergic and cholinergic antagonism using alpha-flupentixol and scopolamine, respectively, in mice. We also test the effects of normal ageing on complex motor performance and whether these changes are sensitive to a clinical dose of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory Rimadyl. Consistent with previous work, we show that cholinergic but not dopaminergic antagonism impaired task performance. However, a combined approach did not potentiate the deficit beyond observed with cholinergic antagonism alone. We also show that task performance is impaired in aged mice relative to younger controls, and that Rimadyl reduces number of foot slips in an age-specific manner. Overall, these data support prior work showing the importance of the cholinergic system in falls. The studies in aged mice found age-related impairments and a role for inflammation but did not find evidence of an interaction with attentional load, although only one manipulation was tested.","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44235880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kenneth J D Allen, Sheri L Johnson, Taylor A Burke, M McLean Sammon, Christina Wu, Max A Kramer, Jinhan Wu, Heather T Schatten, Michael F Armey, Jill M Hooley
{"title":"Validation of an emotional stop-signal task to probe individual differences in emotional response inhibition: Relationships with positive and negative urgency.","authors":"Kenneth J D Allen, Sheri L Johnson, Taylor A Burke, M McLean Sammon, Christina Wu, Max A Kramer, Jinhan Wu, Heather T Schatten, Michael F Armey, Jill M Hooley","doi":"10.1177/23982128211058269","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23982128211058269","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Performance on an emotional stop-signal task designed to assess emotional response inhibition has been associated with Negative Urgency and psychopathology, particularly self-injurious behaviors. Indeed, difficulty inhibiting prepotent negative responses to aversive stimuli on the emotional stop-signal task (i.e. poor <i>negative</i> emotional response inhibition) partially explains the association between Negative Urgency and non-suicidal self-injury. Here, we combine existing data sets from clinical (hospitalised psychiatric inpatients) and non-clinical (community/student participants) samples aged 18-65 years (<i>N</i> = 450) to examine the psychometric properties of this behavioural task and evaluate hypotheses that emotional stop-signal task metrics relate to distinct impulsive traits among participants who also completed the UPPS-P (<i>n</i> = 223). We specifically predicted associations between worse <i>negative</i> emotional response inhibition (i.e. commission errors during stop-signal trials representing negative reactions to unpleasant images) and Negative Urgency, whereas commission errors to positive stimuli - reflecting worse <i>positive</i> emotional response inhibition - would relate to Positive Urgency. Results support the emotional stop-signal task's convergent and discriminant validity: as hypothesised, poor negative emotional response inhibition was specifically associated with Negative Urgency and no other impulsive traits on the UPPS-P. However, we did not find the hypothesised association between positive emotional response inhibition and Positive Urgency. Correlations between emotional stop-signal task performance and self-report measures were the modest, similar to other behavioural tasks. Participants who completed the emotional stop-signal task twice (<i>n</i> = 61) additionally provide preliminary evidence for test-retest reliability. Together, findings suggest adequate reliability and validity of the emotional stop-signal task to derive candidate behavioural markers of neurocognitive functioning associated with Negative Urgency and psychopathology.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"23982128211058269"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/2e/bb/10.1177_23982128211058269.PMC8619735.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39941546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vasileia Kotoula, Toby Webster, James Stone, Mitul A Mehta
{"title":"Resting-state connectivity studies as a marker of the acute and delayed effects of subanaesthetic ketamine administration in healthy and depressed individuals: A systematic review.","authors":"Vasileia Kotoula, Toby Webster, James Stone, Mitul A Mehta","doi":"10.1177/23982128211055426","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128211055426","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acute ketamine administration has been widely used in neuroimaging research to mimic psychosis-like symptoms. Within the last two decades, ketamine has also emerged as a potent, fast-acting antidepressant. The delayed effects of the drug, observed 2-48 h after a single infusion, are associated with marked improvements in depressive symptoms. At the systems' level, several studies have investigated the acute ketamine effects on brain activity and connectivity; however, several questions remain unanswered around the brain changes that accompany the drug's antidepressant effects and how these changes relate to the brain areas that appear with altered function and connectivity in depression. This review aims to address some of these questions by focusing on resting-state brain connectivity. We summarise the studies that have examined connectivity changes in treatment-naïve, depressed individuals and those studies that have looked at the acute and delayed effects of ketamine in healthy and depressed volunteers. We conclude that brain areas that are important for emotional regulation and reward processing appear with altered connectivity in depression whereas the default mode network presents with increased connectivity in depressed individuals compared to healthy controls. This finding, however, is not as prominent as the literature often assumes. Acute ketamine administration causes an increase in brain connectivity in healthy volunteers. The delayed effects of ketamine on brain connectivity vary in direction and appear to be consistent with the drug normalising the changes observed in depression. The limited number of studies however, as well as the different approaches for resting-state connectivity analysis make it very difficult to draw firm conclusions and highlight the importance of data sharing and larger future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"23982128211055426"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8597064/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39645404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In search for the most optimal EEG method: A practical evaluation of a water-based electrode EEG system.","authors":"Marta Topor, Bertram Opitz, Philip J A Dean","doi":"10.1177/23982128211053698","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23982128211053698","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study assessed a mobile electroencephalography system with water-based electrodes for its applicability in cognitive and behavioural neuroscience. It was compared to a standard gel-based wired system. Electroencephalography was recorded on two occasions (first with gel-based, then water-based system) as participants completed the flanker task. Technical and practical considerations for the application of the water-based system are reported based on participant and experimenter experiences. Empirical comparisons focused on electroencephalography data noise levels, frequency power across four bands (theta, alpha, low beta and high beta) and event-related components (P300 and ERN). The water-based system registered more noise compared to the gel-based system which resulted in increased loss of data during artefact rejection. Signal-to-noise ratio was significantly lower for the water-based system in the parietal channels which affected the observed parietal beta power. It also led to a shift in topography of the maximal P300 activity from parietal to frontal regions. The water-based system may be prone to slow drift noise which may affect the reliability and consistency of low-frequency band analyses. Practical considerations for the use of water-based electrode electroencephalography systems are provided.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"23982128211053698"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8554570/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39580567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Charlotte L. Rae, Martin Farley, Kate J. Jeffery, Anne E. Urai
{"title":"Climate crisis and ecological emergency: Why they concern (neuro)scientists, and what we can do","authors":"Charlotte L. Rae, Martin Farley, Kate J. Jeffery, Anne E. Urai","doi":"10.1177/23982128221075430","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128221075430","url":null,"abstract":"Our planet is experiencing severe and accelerating climate and ecological breakdown caused by human activity. As professional scientists, we are better placed than most to understand the data that evidence this fact. However, like most other people, we ignore this inconvenient truth and lead our daily lives, at home and at work, as if these facts weren’t true. In particular, we overlook that our own neuroscientific research practices, from our laboratory experiments to our often global travel, help drive climate change and ecosystem damage. We also hold privileged positions of authority in our societies but rarely speak out. Here, we argue that to help society create a survivable future, we neuroscientists can and must play our part. In April 2021, we delivered a symposium at the British Neuroscience Association meeting outlining what we think neuroscientists can and should do to help stop climate breakdown. Building on our talks (Box 1), we here outline what the climate and ecological emergencies mean for us as neuroscientists. We highlight the psychological mechanisms that block us from taking action, and then outline what practical steps we can take to overcome these blocks and work towards sustainability. In particular, we review environmental issues in neuroscience research, scientific computing, and conferences. We also highlight the key advocacy roles we can all play in our institutions and in society more broadly. The need for sustainable change has never been more urgent, and we call on all (neuro)scientists to act with the utmost urgency.","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45775368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Malcolm J W Prior, Tobias Bast, Stephanie McGarrity, Jürgen Goldschmidt, Daniel Vincenz, Adam Seaton, Gerard Hall, Alain Pitiot
{"title":"Ratlas-LH: An MRI template of the Lister hooded rat brain with stereotaxic coordinates for neurosurgical implantations.","authors":"Malcolm J W Prior, Tobias Bast, Stephanie McGarrity, Jürgen Goldschmidt, Daniel Vincenz, Adam Seaton, Gerard Hall, Alain Pitiot","doi":"10.1177/23982128211036332","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128211036332","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is currently no brain atlas available to specifically determine stereotaxic coordinates for neurosurgery in Lister hooded rats despite the popularity of this strain for behavioural neuroscience studies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. We have created a dataset, which we refer to as 'Ratlas-LH' (for Lister hooded). Ratlas-LH combines in vivo magnetic resonance images of the brain of young adult male Lister hooded rats with ex vivo micro-computed tomography images of the ex vivo skull, as well as a set of delineations of brain regions, adapted from the Waxholm Space Atlas of the Sprague Dawley Rat Brain. Ratlas-LH was produced with an isotropic resolution of 0.15 mm. It has been labelled in such a way as to provide a stereotaxic coordinate system for the determination of distances relative to the skull landmark of bregma. We have demonstrated that the atlas can be used to determine stereotaxic coordinates to accurately target brain regions in the Lister hooded rat brain. Ratlas-LH is freely available to facilitate neurosurgical procedures in the Lister hooded rat.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"23982128211036332"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/cf/6c/10.1177_23982128211036332.PMC8370892.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39336462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan G Jackson, Stafford L Lightman, Gary Gilmour, Hugh Marston, Emma S J Robinson
{"title":"Evidence for deficits in behavioural and physiological responses in aged mice relevant to the psychiatric symptom of apathy.","authors":"Megan G Jackson, Stafford L Lightman, Gary Gilmour, Hugh Marston, Emma S J Robinson","doi":"10.1177/23982128211015110","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23982128211015110","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Apathy is widely reported in patients with neurological disorders or post viral infection but is also seen in otherwise-healthy aged individuals. This study investigated whether aged male mice express behavioural and physiological changes relevant to an apathy phenotype. Using measures of motivation to work for reward, we found deficits in the progressive ratio task related to rate of responding. In an effort-related decision-making task, aged mice were less willing to exert effort for high value reward. Aged mice exhibited reduced reward sensitivity but also lower measures of anxiety in the novelty supressed feeding test and an attenuated response to restraint stress with lower corticosterone and reduced paraventricular nucleus c-fos activation. This profile of affective changes did not align with those observed in models of depression but suggested emotional blunting. In a test of cognition (novel object recognition), aged mice showed no impairments, but activity was lower in a measure of exploration in a novel environment. Together, these data suggest aged mice show changes across the domains of motivated behaviour, reward sensitivity and emotional reactivity and may be a suitable model for the pre-clinical study of the psychiatric symptom of apathy.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"23982128211015110"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8161852/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39076780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}