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OBJECTIVE: International guidelines recommend early screening for identification of patients who are at risk of long-term cognitive impairments after cardiac arrest. However, information about predictors is not provided. A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify early predictors of long-term cognitive outcome after cardiac arrest. METHODS: Scopus and PubMed were systematically searched to identify studies on early predictors of long-term cognitive outcome in patients after cardiac arrest. The population included adult cardiac arrest survivors and potential early predictors were demographics, early cognitive screening scores, imaging measures, electroencephalographic measures, and levels of blood biomarkers. Two investigators reviewed studies for relevance, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. RESULTS: Five articles were included. Risk of bias was assessed as low or moderate. Most detected longterm cognitive impairments were in the domain of memory. Coma duration (2 studies), early cognitive impairments by the self-developed clinical Bedside Neuropsychological Test Battery (BNTB) screener (2 studies), and high S-100B levels on day 3 (2 studies) were the most prominent identified determinants of cognitive impairment on the group level. On the individual patient level, a score on the BNTB of ≤ 94.5 predicted cognitive impairments at 6 months after cardiac arrest (1 study without external validation). Studies on brain imaging and electroencephalography are lacking. CONCLUSION: Early bedside cognitive screening can contribute to prediction of long-term cognitive impairment after cardiac arrest. Evidence is scarce for S-100B levels and coma duration and absent for measures derived from brain imaging and electroencephalography.

BACKGROUND: Current first-line treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD), one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders, is limited in its efficacy. Hence, novel treatment approaches are urgently needed. The current review suggests a combination of meditation-based interventions and the administration of a psychedelic as a future alternative treatment approach. While both separate treatments show promise in the treatment of (other) clinical conditions, their combination has not yet been investigated in the treatment of psychopathologies. AIM: With a systematic literature review, we aim to identify the potential mechanisms by which combined psilocybin and mindfulness treatment could adjust anomalous neural activity underlying SAD and exert therapeutic effects. RESULTS: Thirty experimental studies investigating the neural effects of meditation or psilocybin treatment in healthy and patient samples were included. Findings suggest that psilocybin-assisted meditation interventions might change cognitive processes like biased attention to threat linked to SAD by modulating connectivity of the salience network, balancing the activity and connectivity of cortical-midline structures, and increasing frontoparietal control over amygdala reactivity. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should investigate whether psilocybin-assisted mindfulness-based intervention can provide therapeutic benefits to SAD patients who are do not remit following conventional therapy.

The bioavailability of methylmercury (MeHg) in the brains of orange spotted groupers, captured from four creeks of Mahshahr embayment was measured. Then the effects of this pollutant on the regulation of gene expression, acetylcholinesterase transcript levels was chosen in order to monitor the amounts of methylmercury concentrations in the creeks, and the fluctuations of mRNA expressions in the brain and their effect on fish health. Fishes were collected from Zangi, Ghanam, Marymous and Petrochemical Creeks, and their brains were removed by dissection. In parallel with these experiments some fishes were exposed to methylmerucry chloride in the Fisheries center and the amount of their gene expression was assessed via Real-Time PCR method. The lethal concentration of methylmerucry causing the mortality of half of the fish population after 96 hr (LC50-96) was assessed and gene expression of sub-lethal concentration (more and less than 10% of LC50-96) were analyzed. Gene expression studies revealed that the most polluted creek was the Petrochemical Creek, and the least polluted one was Marymous Creek. This regulation was assessed by the effect of MeHg on the gene expression, meaning the more gene expression, the less polluted and vice versa. From this study we concluded that acetylcholinesterase gene expression can serve as a biomarker of the effect of methylmercury, which can provide a good estimation of the amount of methylmercuric availability in the brain of Epinephelus coioides and its effect on the brain neurotransmission pathway. Published

Cross, E. S., Riddoch, K. A., Pratts, J., Titone, S., Chaudhury, B., & Hortensius, R. (2019). A neurocognitive investigation of the impact of socialising with a robot on empathy for pain:. http://doi.org/10.1101/470534

Cílem je poukázat na to, jak schopnost plastické i strukturální sebeproměny, ale i regenerace mozku ovlivňuje a často i zásadně posunuje bytí samotného lidského jedince. Středem tohoto zájmu jest poukázání na neuroantropologický aspekt tohoto jevu, který se odráží v sociokulturním i behaviorálním bytí člověka. 1. Historie neuroplasticity - elementární popis, objev a výzkum této schopnosti/funkce v rámci neurověd. Popis a vysvětlení neurofyziologických/neurobiologických základů neuroplasticity. 2. Co revoluční objev neuroplasticity znamená pro člověka, uvedení a popis ukázkových kazuistik s neuroantropologickým rozměrem a akcentování nejvýraznějších změn po dovršení procesu neuroplasticity v určité časové ose. Obhájeno This work is focuses on neuroplasticity of the human brain. Main aiming of this work is to describe basic attributes and functions of neuroplasticity, and to expose what impact neuroplasticity has on human mind and behaviour. Strange attention is devote on human culture activities and how this activities changing our brain, of course as how the brain and his settings build a human culture.

: To date, studies on brain field are growing and now they have touched the spiritual dimension. Amin divided the brain into five major systems, namely the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, the limbic system, gyrus cingulatus, and temporal lobes. One of the tools that can be used to measure the relationship between the performance of the brain and spirituality is Indonesia Spiritual Health Assessment (ISHA). There are four components of spirituality: spiritual experiences, positive emotion, meaning of life, and rituals. This sudy was aimed to determine the relationship between the performance of brain and the spirituality of religious leaders of Mawar Sharon Church in North Sulawesi. This was a descriptive analytical study with a survey method. Data were analyzed with Spearman correlation test. Subjects were 50 Christian religious leaders of Mawar Sharon Church in North Sulawesi. The results showed that there was a weak but significant correlation between gyrus cingulatus and spiritual experiences as well as positive emotions; and between the temporal lobe and meaning of life and ritual. Conclusion: There was a weak but significant correlation between the brain performance and the human spirituality measured by ISHA in religious leaders of Mawar Sharon Church in North Sulawesi.

Cerebellar hemorrhage (CBH) represents the most commonly acquired lesion of the posterior fossa in the neonatal period. We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies exploring the perinatal risk factors and neurological outcome of CBH in preterm infants. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE. Studies were included if they examined preterm infants and reported primary data on maternal, obstetric, or perinatal characteristics, and/or outcomes of infants with and without CBH. A random-effects model was used to calculate mean differences (MD), odds ratios (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We found 231 potentially relevant studies, of which 15 met the inclusion criteria (4,236 infants, 347 CBH cases). Meta-analysis could not demonstrate a significant association between CBH and multiple gestation, chorioamnionitis, pre-eclampsia, placental abruption, use of antenatal corticosteroids, mode of delivery, or infant sex. Infants with CBH had a significantly lower gestational age (6 studies, MD -1.55 weeks, 95% CI -1.93 to -1.16) and birth weight (6 studies, MD -173g, 95% CI -225 to -120), and significantly higher rates of intubation at birth, hypotension, patent ductus arteriosus, intraventricular hemorrhage, sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. CBH was significantly associated with delayed mental (6 studies, OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.21 to 7.20) and psychomotor (6 studies, OR 3.62, 95% CI 1.34 to 9.76) development, and higher rates of cerebral palsy (4 studies, OR 3.09, 95% CI 1.55 to 6.19). In conclusion, the present meta-analysis shows that the youngest and sickest preterm infants are at higher risk of developing CBH. Our results highlight the multifactorial nature of CBH and reinforce the idea that cerebellar injury in very preterm newborns has important neurodevelopmental consequences among survivors.

A Sociedade Europeia de Pesquisa do Sono realizou muito recentemente um estudo, onde mostrou que a prevalência média de adormecimento ao volante nos últimos 2 anos foi de 17%. Além disto, tem sido provado por todo o mundo que a sonolência durante a condução é uma das principais causas de acidentes de trânsito. Torna-se assim conveniente, o desenvolvimento de sistemas que analisem a suscetibilidade de um determinado condutor para adormecer no trânsito, bem como de ferramentas que monitorem em tempo real o estado físico e mental do condutor, para alertarem nos momentos críticos. Apesar do estudo do sono se ter iniciado há vários anos, a maioria das investigações focaram-se no ciclo normal do sono, estudando os indivíduos de forma relaxada e de olhos fechados. Só mais recentemente, têm surgido os estudos que se focam nas situações de sonolência em atividade, como _e o caso da condução. Uma grande parte Dos estudos da sonolência em condução têm utilizado a eletroencefalografia (EEG), de forma a perceber se existem alterações nas diferentes bandas de frequência desta, que possam indicar o estado de sonolência do condutor. Além disso, a evolução da sonolência a partir de alterações no piscar dos olhos (que podem ser vistas nos sinais EEG) também tem sido alvo de grande pesquisa, tendo vindo a revelar resultados bastante promissores. Neste contexto e em parceria com a empresa HealthyRoad, esta tese está integrada no projeto HealthyDrive, que visa o desenvolvimento de um sistema de alerta e deteção de sinais de fadiga e sonolência nos condutores de veículos automóveis. A contribuição desta tese no projeto prendeu-se com o estudo da sonolência dos indivíduos em condução a partir de sinais EEG, para desta forma investigar possíveis indicadores dos diferentes níveis desta que possam ser utilizados pela empresa no projeto. Foram recolhidos e analisados 17 sinais EEG de indivíduos em simulação de condução. Além disso foram desenvolvidos dois métodos de análise destes sinais: O primeiro para a deteção e análise dos piscar de olhos a partir de EEG, o segundo para análise do espetro de potência. Ambos os métodos foram utilizados para analisar os sinais recolhidos e investigar que tipo de relação existe entre a sonolência do condutor e as alterações nos piscares dos olhos, bem como as alterações do espetro do EEG. Os resultados mostraram uma correlação entre a duração do piscar de olhos e a sonolência do condutor. Com o aumento da sonolência velicou-se um aumento da duração do piscar, desencadeado principalmente pelo aumento na duração de fecho, que chegou aos 51.2%. Em relação ao espectro de potência, os resultados sugerem que a potência relativa de todas as bandas analisadas fornecem informações relevantes sobre a sonolência do condutor. Além disso, o parâmetro (_+_)/_ demostrou estar relacionado com variações da sonolência, diminuindo com o seu avanço e aumentando significativamente (111%) no instante em que os condutores adormeceram. The European Society of Sleep Research recently conducted a study whose results howed that the average prevalence of prevalence of drowsiness in individuals during driving activities was 17% over the last two years. Similarly to this, several other studies showed that sleepiness during driving is one of the main causes of traffic accidents. Due to this fact, it is necessary the development of systems capable of analysing the susceptibility of a particular driver falling asleep in traffic. In addition, the creation of tools to monitor the physical and mental state of the driver in real time is faced as an essential point. Although the sleep study started several years ago, most in researches have focused on the normal sleep cycle by studying relaxed and closed eyes subjects. More recently, there has been an increasing number of studies focusing on sleepiness situations in activity, such as driving. A large piece of the driving drowsiness studies have sed the electroencephalogram (EEG) to observe changes in its different frequency bands, indicating the driver drowsiness state. Moreover, the study of drowsiness from the variability of eye blinks which have shown a significant relationship with drowsiness, and can be observed in the EEG. In this context and in partnership with HealthyRoad Company, this thesis is integrated in the HealthyDrive project. The project seeks to develop a detection and alert system of the drivers fatigue and sleepiness. This work’s contribution to the HealthyDrive project is linked to the experimental study of the subjects’ drowsiness while driving simulations. The purpose is to determine possible indicators of the drowsiness levels that may be used posteriorly by the company. A set of experiments were conducted and 17 EEG signals were collected and analysed while driving simulations. In addition, two methods of EEG analysis were developed. The first was designed to detect and analyze the eye blink of the EEG data. The second was developed to analyze the EEG power spectrum. Both methods were used to analyze the collected signals and thereby to determine the relation between the driver’s drowsiness and the eye blink changes, as well as the EEG spectrum changes. The results show a high correlation between the eye blink measures and driver’s drowsiness. As the drowsiness increases it was observed an increase of the eye blink duration, mainly triggered by the increase in the eye closure duration which reached 51.2%. Regarding the power spectrum, the results suggest that the relative power of all analyzed bands give relevant information about the driver drowsiness. Furthermore, the ratio (θ+α)/β as shown to be intimately related to drowsiness variations, by decreasing with its advance and increasing significantly (111%) at the same time that drivers fall asleep.

Despite emerging evidence suggesting a biological basis to our social tiles, our understanding of the neural processes which link two minds is unknown. We implemented a novel approach, which included connectome similarity analysis using resting state intrinsic networks of parent-child dyads as well as daily diaries measured across 14 days. Intrinsic resting-state networks for both parents and their adolescent child were identified using independent component analysis (ICA). Results indicate that parents and children who had more similar RSN connectome also had more similar day-to-day emotional synchrony. Furthermore, dyadic RSN connectome similarity was associated with childrens emotional competence, suggesting that being neurally in-tune with their parents confers emotional benefits. We provide the first evidence that dyadic RSN similarity is associated with emotional synchrony in what is often our first and most essential social bond, the parent-child relationship. As part of a larger study, we recruited 76 participants (37 adolescent children and 39 primary caregivers). All participants provided informed consent/assent, and no participants reported any mental health problems (e.g., current clinical diagnose or pharmacological intervention for a mental illness). Among all participants, 31 parent-child dyads (n=62) successfully completed the dyadic resting state scan (parent Mage=43.06 years, range=33 – 57, 12.90% father; child Mage=14.80 years, range=13–17, 48.39% female). All parentchild dyads were biologically related and provided written informed consent/assent. No participants were excluded due to excessive motion (i.e., mean framewise displacement, FD > 0.5 mm) or reported any mental health problems (e.g., current clinical diagnose or pharmacological intervention for a mental illness). All data was ICA-denoised at individual level and rs-maps were estimated at group level using temporal concatenate ICA (TICA).