Journal of Integrative Neuroscience

Prediction of Survival Outcomes in Patients with Glioma Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Hu M, Li J, Li Z and Shen J
Glioma is the most common malignancy in the central nervous system. Even with optimal therapies, glioblastoma (the most aggressive form of glioma) is incurable, with only 26.5% of patients having a 2-year survival rate. The present meta-analysis evaluated the association of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived parameters in glioma patients with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival. Eligible clinical articles on glioma patients included those that contained an evaluation of the association between MRI findings, PFS, and overall length of survival.
The Brain's Aging Resting State Functional Connectivity
Khan AF, Saleh N and Smith ZA
Resting state networks (RSNs) of the brain are characterized as correlated spontaneous time-varying fluctuations in the absence of goal-directed tasks. These networks can be local or large-scale spanning the brain. The study of the spatiotemporal properties of such networks has helped understand the brain's fundamental functional organization under healthy and diseased states. As we age, these spatiotemporal properties change. Moreover, RSNs exhibit neural plasticity to compensate for the loss of cognitive functions. This narrative review aims to summarize current knowledge from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on age-related alterations in RSNs. Underlying mechanisms influencing such changes are discussed. Methodological challenges and future directions are also addressed. By providing an overview of the current state of knowledge in this field, this review aims to guide future research endeavors aimed at promoting healthy brain aging and developing effective interventions for age-related cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases.
Current Status of Plant-Based Bioactive Compounds as Therapeutics in Alzheimer's Diseases
Chen D and Sun Y
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common central neurodegenerative disease disorder characterized primarily by cognitive impairment and non-cognitive neuropsychiatric symptoms that significantly impact patients' daily lives and behavioral functioning. The pathogenesis of AD remains unclear and current Western medicines treatment are purely symptomatic, with a singular pathway, limited efficacy, and substantial toxicity and side effects. In recent years, as research into AD has deepened, there has been a gradual increase in the exploration and application of medicinal plants for the treatment of AD. Numerous studies have shown that medicinal plants and their active ingredients can potentially mitigate AD by regulating various molecular mechanisms, including the production and aggregation of pathological proteins, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, neurogenesis, neurotransmission, and the brain-gut microbiota axis. In this review, we analyzed the pathogenesis of AD and comprehensively summarized recent advancements in research on medicinal plants for the treatment of AD, along with their underlying mechanisms and clinical evidence. Ultimately, we aimed to provide a reference for further investigation into the specific mechanisms through which medicinal plants prevent and treat AD, as well as for the identification of efficacious active ingredients derived from medicinal plants.
Exploring the Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options of Multiple Sclerosis
Lorenzut S, Negro ID, Pauletto G, Verriello L, Spadea L, Salati C, Musa M, Gagliano C and Zeppieri M
The complicated neurological syndrome known as multiple sclerosis (MS) is typified by demyelination, inflammation, and neurodegeneration in the central nervous system (CNS). Managing this crippling illness requires an understanding of the complex interactions between neurophysiological systems, diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic methods. A complex series of processes, including immunological dysregulation, inflammation, and neurodegeneration, are involved in the pathogenesis of MS. Gene predisposition, autoreactive T cells, B cells, and cytokines are essential participants in the development of the disease. Demyelination interferes with the ability of the CNS to transmit signals, which can cause a variety of neurological symptoms, including impaired motor function, sensory deficiencies, and cognitive decline. Developing tailored therapeutics requires understanding the underlying processes guiding the course of the disease. Neuroimaging, laboratory testing, and clinical examination are all necessary for an accurate MS diagnosis. Evoked potentials and cerebrospinal fluid studies assist in verifying the diagnosis, but magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential for identifying distinctive lesions in the CNS. Novel biomarkers have the potential to increase diagnostic precision and forecast prognosis. The goals of MS treatment options are to control symptoms, lower disease activity, and enhance quality of life. To stop relapses and reduce the course of the disease, disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) target several components of the immune response. DMTs that are now on the market include interferons, glatiramer acetate, monoclonal antibodies, and oral immunomodulators; each has a unique mode of action and safety profile. Symptomatic treatments improve patients' general well-being by addressing specific symptoms, including pain, sphincter disorders, fatigue, and spasticity. Novel treatment targets, neuroprotective tactics, and personalized medicine techniques will be the main focus of MS research in the future. Improving long-term outcomes for MS patients and optimizing disease treatment may be possible by utilizing immunology, genetics, and neuroimaging developments. This study concludes by highlighting the complexity of multiple MS, including its changing therapeutic landscape, diagnostic problems, and neurophysiological foundations. A thorough grasp of these elements is essential to improving our capacity to identify, manage, and eventually overcome this intricate neurological condition.
Telomere Length and Oxidative Damage in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Ma L, Liu C, Song R, Qian Y and Zhang F
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been reported to confer an increased risk of natural premature death. Telomere erosion caused by oxidative stress is a common consequence in age-related diseases. However, whether telomere length (TL) and oxidative indicators are significantly changed in ASD patients compared with controls remains controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the associations of ASD with TL and oxidative indicators by performing a meta-analysis of all published evidence.
Remimazolam Combined with Andrographolide Improve Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Rats after Cardiopulmonary Bypass through the AMPK/SIRT1 Signaling Pathway
Chen C, Lan L and Xu K
The effects of remimazolam (Re) in combination with andrographolide (AP) on learning, memory, and motor abilities in rats following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery were studied.
Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes
Qi F, Zhang N, Nitsche MA, Yi L, Zhang Y and Yue T
Sports fatigue in soccer athletes has been shown to decrease neural activity, impairing cognitive function and negatively affecting motor performance. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter cortical excitability, augment synaptic plasticity, and enhance cognitive function. However, its potential to ameliorate cognitive impairment during sports fatigue remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the effect of dual-site tDCS targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or primary motor cortex (M1) on attention, decision-making, and working memory in elite soccer athletes during sports fatigue.
Effects of Electrical Stimulation on Activation of Mirror Neuron Network in Healthy Adults during Motor Execution and Imitation: An fNIRS Study
Cui Y, Cong F, Huang FB, Zeng M and Wang J
Observation, execution, and imitation of target actions based on mirror neuron network (MNN) have become common physiotherapy strategies. Electrical stimulation (ES) is a common intervention to improve muscle strength and motor control in rehabilitation treatments. It is possible to enhance MNN's activation by combining motor execution (ME) and motor imitation (MI) with ES simultaneously. This study aims to reveal whether ES could impact cortical activation during ME and MI.
The Robustness of White Matter Brain Networks Decreases with Aging
Huang C, Wang X and Xie D
White matter (WM) is a principal component of the human brain, forming the structural basis for neural transmission between cortico-cortical and subcortical structures. The impairment of WM integrity is closely associated with the aging process, manifesting as the reorganization of brain networks based on graph theoretical analysis of complex networks and increased volume of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in imaging studies.
Neural Correlates of Social Perception Deficit in Schizophrenia: An Event-related Potential Study
Li JJ, Li XP, Han JM, Sun YF, Liu XH, Gao XZ, Chen LM, Zhou ZH and Zhou HL
Deficits in emotion recognition have been shown to be closely related to social-cognitive functioning in schizophrenic. This study aimed to investigate the event-related potential (ERP) characteristics of social perception in schizophrenia patients and to explore the neural mechanisms underlying these abnormal cognitive processes related to social perception.
Changes in the Parietal Lobe Subregion Volume at Various Stages of Alzheimer's Disease and the Role in Cognitively Normal and Mild Cognitive Impairment Conversion
Lu F, Ma Q, Shi C and Yue W
Volume alterations in the parietal subregion have received less attention in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and their role in predicting conversion of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD and cognitively normal (CN) to MCI remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the volumetric variation of the parietal subregion at different cognitive stages in AD and to determine the role of parietal subregions in CN and MCI conversion.
Neural Correlates of Social Touch Processing: An fMRI Study on Brain Functional Connectivity
Khorev V, Kurkin S, Mayorova L, Portnova G, Kushnir A and Hramov A
The significance of tactile stimulation in human social development and personal interaction is well documented; however, the underlying cerebral processes remain under-researched. This study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of social touch processing, with a particular focus on the functional connectivity associated with the aftereffects of touch.
The Impact of Optical Undersampling on the Ca Signal Resolution in Ca Imaging of Spontaneous Neuronal Activity
Milicevic KD, Ivanova VO, Brazil TN, Varillas CA, Zhu YMD, Andjus PR and Antic SD
In neuroscience, Ca imaging is a prevalent technique used to infer neuronal electrical activity, often relying on optical signals recorded at low sampling rates (3 to 30 Hz) across multiple neurons simultaneously. This study investigated whether increasing the sampling rate preserves critical information that may be missed at slower acquisition speeds.
Use of the Adaptive Behaviour Dementia Questionnaire in a Down Syndrome Specialty Clinic
Oreskovic NM, Harisinghani A, Bregman C, Cottrell C, Pulsifer M, Skotko BG, Torres A, Spognardi AG and Santoro SL
To study the use of a dementia screening tool in our clinic cohort of adults with Down syndrome.
Performance Neuroscience
Tang YY and Tang R
Mitochondria as a Therapeutic Target: Focusing on Traumatic Brain Injury
Carteri RB
Mitochondria are organelles of eukaryotic cells delimited by two membranes and cristae that consume oxygen to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and are involved in the synthesis of vital metabolites, calcium homeostasis, and cell death mechanisms. Strikingly, normal mitochondria function as an integration center between multiple conditions that determine neural cell homeostasis, whereas lesions that lead to mitochondrial dysfunction can desynchronize cellular functions, thus contributing to the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In addition, TBI leads to impaired coupling of the mitochondrial electron transport system with oxidative phosphorylation that provides most of the energy needed to maintain vital functions, ionic homeostasis, and membrane potentials. Furthermore, mitochondrial metabolism produces signaling molecules such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), regulating calcium levels and controlling the expression profile of intrinsic pro-apoptotic effectors influenced by TBI. Hence, the set of these functions is widely referred to as 'mitochondrial function', although the complexity of the relationship between such components limits such a definition. In this review, we present mitochondria as a therapeutic target, focus on TBI, and discuss aspects of mitochondrial structure and function.
Behavior Changes in Quinpirole Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Rats Treated with 6-Hydroxydopamine and the Corresponding Dopaminergic Compulsive Loop Mechanism
Zheng H, He R, Ming Y, He H, Wang W, Chen L and Gong F
Recent studies suggest that the anterior limb of the internal capsule may be an area of convergence for multiple compulsion loops. In this study, the role of different dopaminergic compulsion loops in the mechanism of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was investigated by selectively damaging dopaminergic neurons or fibers in the corresponding targets with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and depicting the anatomical map of various compulsion loops located in the anterior limb of the internal capsule.
Polymorphism in Genes Encoding HSP40 Family Proteins is Associated with Ischemic Stroke Risk and Brain Infarct Size: A Pilot Study
Kobzeva KA, Gurtovoy DE, Polonikov AV, Pokrovsky VM, Patrakhanov EA and Bushueva OY
Heat shock proteins (HSPs) play a critical role in the molecular mechanisms of ischemic stroke (IS). A possible role for HSP40 family proteins in atherosclerosis progression has already been revealed; however, to date, molecular genetic studies on the involvement of genes encoding proteins of the HSP40 family in IS have not yet been carried out.
Coherent Changes in Neural Motor Network Activity during Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease
Brazhnik ES, Mysin IE, Popova LB, Minaychev VV and Novikov NI
Long-term use of levodopa, a metabolic precursor of dopamine (DA) for alleviation of motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), can cause a serious side effect known as levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). With the development of LID, high-frequency gamma oscillations (~100 Hz) are registered in the motor cortex (MCx) in patients with PD and rats with experimental PD. Studying alterations in the activity within major components of motor networks during transition from levodopa-off state to dyskinesia can provide useful information about their contribution to the development of abnormal gamma oscillations and LID.
Cognitive Impairment in MASLD is associated with Amygdala-Related Connectivity Dysfunction in the Prefrontal and Sensory Cortex
Jin Y, Tang R, Wu L, Xu K, Chen X, Zhu Y, Shi J and Li J
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a common metabolism-related multisystem clinical disorder, often accompanied by a high comorbidity of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Increasing evidence suggests that the amygdala is crucial in cognitive processing during metabolic dysfunction. Nevertheless, the role of the amygdala in the neural mechanisms of MASLD with MCI (MCI_MASLD) remains unclear.
Neuroimaging Correlates of the NIH-Toolbox-Driven Cognitive Metrics in Children
Acosta-Rodriguez H, Yuan C, Bobba P, Stephan A, Zeevi T, Malhotra A, Tran AT, Kaltenhauser S and Payabvash S
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Cognition Battery is increasingly being used as a standardized test to examine cognitive functioning in multicentric studies. This study examines the associations between the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery composite scores with neuroimaging metrics using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study to elucidate the neurobiological and neuroanatomical correlates of these cognitive scores.