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Psychological Medicine Nov 2020Cognition is commonly affected in brain disorders. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may have procognitive effects, with high tolerability. This meta-analysis... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Cognition is commonly affected in brain disorders. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may have procognitive effects, with high tolerability. This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in improving cognition, in schizophrenia, depression, dementia, Parkinson's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis.
METHODS
A PRISMA systematic search was conducted for randomized controlled trials. Hedges' g was used to quantify effect sizes (ES) for changes in cognition after TMS/tDCS v. sham. As different cognitive functions may have unequal susceptibility to TMS/tDCS, we separately evaluated the effects on: attention/vigilance, working memory, executive functioning, processing speed, verbal fluency, verbal learning, and social cognition.
RESULTS
We included 82 studies (n = 2784). For working memory, both TMS (ES = 0.17, p = 0.015) and tDCS (ES = 0.17, p = 0.021) showed small but significant effects. Age positively moderated the effect of TMS. TDCS was superior to sham for attention/vigilance (ES = 0.20, p = 0.020). These significant effects did not differ across the type of brain disorder. Results were not significant for the other five cognitive domains.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results revealed that both TMS and tDCS elicit a small trans-diagnostic effect on working memory, tDCS also improved attention/vigilance across diagnoses. Effects on the other domains were not significant. Observed ES were small, yet even slight cognitive improvements may facilitate daily functioning. While NIBS can be a well-tolerated treatment, its effects appear domain specific and should be applied only for realistic indications (i.e. to induce a small improvement in working memory or attention).
Topics: Attention; Brain Diseases; Cognition; Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
PubMed: 33070785
DOI: 10.1017/S0033291720003670 -
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience Jul 2019Many human brain disorders are associated with characteristic alterations in the structural and functional connectivity of the brain. In this article, we explore how... (Review)
Review
Many human brain disorders are associated with characteristic alterations in the structural and functional connectivity of the brain. In this article, we explore how commonalities and differences in connectome alterations can reveal relationships across disorders. We survey recent literature on connectivity changes in neurological and psychiatric disorders in the context of key organizational principles of the human connectome and observe that several disturbances to network properties of the human brain have a common role in a wide range of brain disorders and point towards potentially shared network mechanisms underpinning disorders. We hypothesize that the distinct dimensions along which connectome networks are organized (for example, 'modularity' and 'integration') provide a general coordinate system that allows description and categorization of relationships between seemingly disparate disorders. We outline a cross-disorder 'connectome landscape of dysconnectivity' along these principal dimensions of network organization that may place shared connectome alterations between brain disorders in a common framework.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Brain Diseases; Connectome; Humans; Nerve Net
PubMed: 31127193
DOI: 10.1038/s41583-019-0177-6 -
International Journal of Molecular... Nov 2020Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine condition associated with reproductive and psychiatric disorders, and with obesity. Eating disorders, such as bulimia... (Review)
Review
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine condition associated with reproductive and psychiatric disorders, and with obesity. Eating disorders, such as bulimia and recurrent dieting, are also linked to PCOS. They can lead to the epigenetic dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, thereby impacting on ovarian folliculogenesis. We postulate that PCOS is induced by psychological distress and episodes of overeating and/or dieting during puberty and adolescence, when body dissatisfaction and emotional distress are often present. We propose that upregulated activation of the central HPG axis during this period can be epigenetically altered by psychological stressors and by bulimia/recurrent dieting, which are common during adolescence and which can lead to PCOS. This hypothesis is based on events that occur during a largely neglected stage of female reproductive development. To date, most research into the origins of PCOS has focused on the prenatal induction of this disorder, particularly in utero androgenization and the role of anti-Müllerian hormone. Establishing causality in our peripubertal model requires prospective cohort studies from infancy. Mechanistic studies should consider the role of the gut microbiota in addition to the epigenetic regulation of (neuro) hormones. Finally, clinicians should consider the importance of underlying chronic psychological distress and eating disorders in PCOS.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Age of Onset; Brain Diseases; Child; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Female; Humans; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Psychology, Adolescent; Puberty; Risk Factors
PubMed: 33153014
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21218211 -
Sleep Jul 2022
Topics: Brain Diseases; Humans; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
PubMed: 35605607
DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac119 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Oct 1997Scientific advances over the past 20 years have shown that drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease that results from the prolonged effects of drugs on the brain....
Scientific advances over the past 20 years have shown that drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease that results from the prolonged effects of drugs on the brain. As with many other brain diseases, addiction has embedded behavioral and social-context aspects that are important parts of the disorder itself. Therefore, the most effective treatment approaches will include biological, behavioral, and social-context components. Recognizing addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use can impact society's overall health and social policy strategies and help diminish the health and social costs associated with drug abuse and addiction.
Topics: Behavior, Addictive; Brain; Brain Diseases; Chronic Disease; Health Policy; Humans; Public Health; Recurrence; Social Problems; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 9311924
DOI: 10.1126/science.278.5335.45 -
BMB Reports Nov 202014-3-3 proteins are mostly expressed in the brain and are closely involved in numerous brain functions and various brain disorders. Among the isotypes of the 14-3-3... (Review)
Review
14-3-3 proteins are mostly expressed in the brain and are closely involved in numerous brain functions and various brain disorders. Among the isotypes of the 14-3-3 proteins, 14-3-3γ is mainly expressed in neurons and is highly produced during brain development, which could indicate that it has a significance in neural development. Furthermore, the distinctive levels of temporally and locally regulated 14-3-3γ expression in various brain disorders suggest that it could play a substantial role in brain plasticity of the diseased states. In this review, we introduce the various brain disorders reported to be involved with 14-3-3γ, and summarize the changes of 14-3-3γ expression in each brain disease. We also discuss the potential of 14-3-3γ for treatment and the importance of research on specific 14-3-3 isotypes for an effective therapeutic approach. [BMB Reports 2020; 53(10): 500-511].
Topics: 14-3-3 Proteins; Animals; Brain; Brain Diseases; Humans; Neurogenesis; Neurons; Phosphorylation; Protein Binding
PubMed: 32958119
DOI: 10.5483/BMBRep.2020.53.10.158 -
Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi. Folia... 2019Two third of our body is composed of water molecules. Regulation of water and electrolytes is indeed the most important homeostatic functions. Many diseases, such as... (Review)
Review
Two third of our body is composed of water molecules. Regulation of water and electrolytes is indeed the most important homeostatic functions. Many diseases, such as heart failure, are associated with disturbance in fluid homeostasis. Surprisingly, water dynamics inside the brain is still largely unknown. In 2012, a new concept referred as "glymphatic system" was proposed by Nedergaard's group, where aquaporin4 (AQP4) may play an important role as well as sleep. AQP4 is mainly expressed in the central nervous system, especially in the foot processes of astrocytes; surrounding the capillary, beneath pia matter and lining the ventricles. The unique distribution of AQP4 suggest that AQP4 might play a role in brain water homeostasis. The concept of "glymphatic system" is still controversial, and needs to be clarified with new experimental data. This approach will lead to the better understanding of roles of astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases and pharmacokinetics inside the brain, and eventually will facilitate the development of new drugs for sleep or mental disorders. It has been accumulating evidence that sleep disturbance is related to several kinds of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. In addition, the number of patients with dementia are significantly increasing. It is therefore critical to understand the physiological and pathological mechanisms of brain lymphatic system from the medical and social point of views. Here I will discuss about the roles of AQP4 in neurodegenerative diseases and introduce new knowledge regarding to "glymphatic system".
Topics: Aquaporin 4; Astrocytes; Brain; Brain Diseases; Glymphatic System; Humans
PubMed: 31092756
DOI: 10.1254/fpj.153.231 -
Nature Methods May 2020
Topics: Brain; Brain Diseases; Chromatin; Humans
PubMed: 32371969
DOI: 10.1038/s41592-020-0833-9 -
Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2017In the past two decades much has been published on whiplash injury, yet both the confusion regarding the condition, and the medicolegal discussion about it have...
In the past two decades much has been published on whiplash injury, yet both the confusion regarding the condition, and the medicolegal discussion about it have increased. In this paper, functional imaging research results are summarized using MRIcroGL 3D visualization software and assembled in an image comprising regions of cerebral activation and deactivation.
Topics: Brain; Brain Diseases; Brain Injuries; Brain Mapping; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Whiplash Injuries
PubMed: 28697186
DOI: 10.1967/s002449910550 -
Developmental Medicine and Child... Nov 2020In this paper we reframe febrile seizures, which are viewed as a symptom of an underlying brain disorder. The general observation is that a small cohort of children will... (Review)
Review
In this paper we reframe febrile seizures, which are viewed as a symptom of an underlying brain disorder. The general observation is that a small cohort of children will develop febrile seizures (2-5% in the West), while the greater majority will not. This suggests that the brain that generates a seizure, in an often-mild febrile context, differs in some ways from the brain that does not. While the underlying brain disorder appears to have no significant adverse implication in the majority of children with febrile seizures, serious long-term outcomes (cognitive and neuropsychiatric) have been recently reported, including sudden death. These adverse events likely reflect the underlying intrinsic brain pathology, as yet undefined, of which febrile seizures are purely a manifestation and not the primary cause. A complex interaction between brain-genetics-epigenetics-early environment is likely at play. In view of this emerging data, it is time to review whether febrile seizures are a single entity, with a new and multidimensional approach needed to help with predicting outcome. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: A febrile seizure is due to a brain's aberrant response to high temperature. Problems in a small group of children are now being identified later in life. There is no clear correlation between duration or other characteristics of febrile seizures and subsequent mesial temporal sclerosis.
Topics: Brain Diseases; Child, Preschool; Cognitive Dysfunction; Epilepsy; Humans; Infant; Mental Disorders; Seizures, Febrile
PubMed: 32748466
DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.14642