Interhemispheric motor interactions in hemiparetic children with perinatal stroke: Clinical correlates and effects of neuromodulation therapy

Perinatal ischemic stroke (PS) is the occlusion of arteries or veins that results in cerebral damage between 20 weeks gestation and 28 days of life (Raju, 2007; Nelson and Lynch, 2004). PS is common, occurring in >1:3000 live births, and accounts for most hemiparetic cerebral palsy (CP) (Kirton and DeVeber, 2013). Children with PS-induced hemiparetic CP typically manifest motor asymmetry and early hand preference in the first 4-6 months of life (Kirton et al., 2010b). How the motor system develops following such early unilateral brain injury is increasingly defined by animal (Martin et al., 2007) and human (Eyre, 2007; Staudt, 2007) studies.

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Nerve Ultrasound in Neurofibromatosis type 1: a Follow-up Study

Peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs) are one of the main characteristics of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). They can undergo malignant transformation, which is a leading cause of mortality (Hirbe and Gutmann, 2014; Stucky et al., 2012).

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Founder mutation in IKBKAP gene causes vestibular impairment in familial dysautonomia

Familial dysautonomia (FD, OMIN #223900) is an inherited sensory and autonomic neuropathy (type III) mapped to the IKBKAP gene on chromosome 9 (Slaugenhaupt et al., 2001). Mutations in the gene affect the development and survival of primary afferent neurons (Norcliffe-Kaufmann et al., 2010; Macefield et al., 2011; Norcliffe-Kaufmann et al., 2017). Phenotypically, patients with FD have widespread somatosensory and autonomic deficits caused by impaired transmission of nociceptive, thermal, mechanical, chemical, metabolic, and osmotic information from the body to the brain (Norcliffe-Kaufmann et al., 2010; Gutierrez et al., 2015; Palma et al., 2015; Norcliffe-Kaufmann et al., 2017).

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Chronic deep brain stimulation normalizes scalp EEG activity in isolated dystonia

Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by involuntary sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal movements and postures (Albanese et al., 2013). It is recognized as a circuit disorder involving the basal ganglia, thalamus, cortex and cerebellum (Marsden et al., 1985; Vitek et al., 1999; Neychev et al., 2011). Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus (GP; (Kupsch et al., 2006; Vidailhet et al., 2007; Volkmann et al., 2014)), subthalamic nucleus (STN; (Ostrem et al., 2011)) or thalamus (Fukaya et al., 2007; Mure et al., 2014) is able to improve dystonic symptoms, but its mechanism of action is unknown (Tisch et al., 2007; Vidailhet et al., 2013).

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Abnormal functional connectivity of high-frequency rhythms in drug-naïve schizophrenia

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe and chronic mental disorder characterized by distinct positive symptoms (e.g., delusions and hallucinations), negative symptoms (e.g., diminished expression or abolition of motivation), and cognitive deficits. Although the exact pathophysiology remains unclear, recent neuroimaging-based evidence points to the "dysconnection hypothesis" as a core pathophysiological mechanism of SZ (Friston, 1998; Ribolsi et al., 2009; Schmitt et al., 2011; Stephan et al., 2006). According to this hypothesis, patients with SZ have an impaired brain network, which leads to deviation from optimum functional connectivity reflected in at least some symptoms of SZ (Ćurčić-Blake et al., 2017; Mulert et al., 2011).

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Disruptive Behavior Treatment Progress as a Function of Therapy Focus and Youth Diagnosis in a Community Mental Health Setting

Abstract

Monthly disruptive behavior treatment progress for 613 youth ages 7–18 receiving intensive in-home services was examined. Multilevel modeling indicated carrying a depressive mood diagnosis predicted less disruptive behavior progress compared to youth with only externalizing diagnoses. Paradoxically, more monthly focus on disruptive behavior treatment targets predicted lower concurrent progress ratings, while greater focus on depressive mood targets predicted greater disruptive behavior progress for youth with a depressive mood diagnosis. Findings held when other predictors of disruptive behavior progress were included as covariates, including episode length, youth age, and functional impairment. Treatment and research implications are discussed.

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Genetic analysis assessed by microsatellites for a diallel mating design of two geographical stocks of the blood clam Tegillarca granosa

Abstract

To determine the potential for productive efficiency and genetic improvement in the blood clam Tegillarca granosa, four offspring populations (ZZ, ZK, KZ and KK) were produced from a diallel mating of two different geographical stocks (Z and K). The levels of genetic diversity and population structures of four populations were analyzed using 14 polymorphic microsatellites. The results showed that the mean observed heterozygosities (Ho) of reciprocal cross populations (ZK and KZ) was higher than those of pure populations(ZZ and KK). The largest values of genetic differentiation coefficient (F_st = 0.067) and Nei's unbiased genetic distance (Dc = 0.263) were between ZK and KZ, and the smallest (F_st = 0.020, Dc = 0.116) were between ZZ and KK, which revealed that the largest genetic divergence was between the two reciprocal cross populations and the smallest was between two pure populations. This study demonstrated that the reciprocal cross populations of T. granosa had an extensive genetic difference and improvement, which may be advantageous for future breeding studies.

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Transcriptome profiling of PeCRY1 transgenic Populus tomentosa

Abstract

Cryptochromes, a class of blue light photoreceptors, play vital roles in regulating growth and development in higher plants. Despite their control over various important traits, there have been few studies focusing on cryptochromes in forest trees to date. In this study, the Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) gene PeCRY1 (cryptochrome 1 of Populus euphratica) was isolated and heterologously expressed in Populus tomentosa. Three biological replicates of each of the PeCRY1 transgenic P. tomentosa (CRY1) and wild-type (WT) plants were processed for transcriptome profiling. We found 34792 commonly expressed transcripts among the 93868 detected unigenes. Using R package DESeq, we identified 357 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 132 upregulated and 225 downregulated genes. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment were used to better understand the functions of detected DEGs. Biosynthetic processes, such as starch and sucrose metabolism, which are closely related to growth and development, were highly enriched. Organic cyclic compound biosynthesis was downregulated, whereas carbohydrate metabolism was upregulated. Through KEGG pathway enrichment, we observed that the pentose phosphate pathway, photosynthesis, and circadian rhythm were significantly enriched. Another method of expression analysis based on quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) validated our RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) results.

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Restoration of motor control and proprioceptive and cutaneous sensation in humans with prior upper-limb amputation via multiple Utah Slanted Electrode Arrays (USEAs) implanted in residual peripheral arm nerves

Despite advances in sophisticated robotic hands, intuitive control of and sensory feedback from these prostheses has been limited to only 3-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) with 2 sensory percepts in closed-loop contr...

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