Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Jul 2012
ReviewThe young brain and concussion: imaging as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis.
Concussion (mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)) is a significant pediatric public health concern. Despite increased awareness, a comprehensive understanding of the acute and chronic effects of concussion on central nervous system structure and function remains incomplete. Here we review the definition, epidemiology, and sequelae of concussion within the developing brain, during childhood and adolescence, with current data derived from studies of pathophysiology and neuroimaging. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the neurological consequences of traumatic brain injuries, which in turn, may lead to the development of brain biomarkers to improve identification, management and prognosis of pediatric patients suffering from concussion.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Apr 2012
ReviewUsing Support Vector Machine to identify imaging biomarkers of neurological and psychiatric disease: a critical review.
Standard univariate analysis of neuroimaging data has revealed a host of neuroanatomical and functional differences between healthy individuals and patients suffering a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Significant only at group level however these findings have had limited clinical translation, and recent attention has turned toward alternative forms of analysis, including Support-Vector-Machine (SVM). ⋯ Here we provide a brief overview of the method and review those studies that applied it to the investigation of Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, presymptomatic Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and autistic spectrum disorder. We conclude by discussing the main theoretical and practical challenges associated with the implementation of this method into the clinic and possible future directions.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Mar 2012
ReviewNMDA receptors and metaplasticity: mechanisms and possible roles in neuropsychiatric disorders.
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are key components of neural signaling, playing roles in synaptic transmission and in the synaptic plasticity thought to underlie learning and memory. NMDAR activation can also have neurotoxic consequences contributing to several forms of neurodegeneration. Additionally, NMDARs can modulate neuronal function and regulate the ability of synapses to undergo synaptic plasticity. ⋯ These latter findings raise the possibility that NMDARs contribute to cognitive dysfunction associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. This paper examines NMDAR metaplasticity and its potential role in cognition. Recent studies using NMDAR antagonists for therapeutic purposes also raise the possibility that metaplasticity may contribute to clinical effects of certain drugs.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Feb 2012
Review Meta AnalysisA meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies of white matter volume alterations in Alzheimer's disease.
Structural neuroimaging studies of white matter volume (WMV) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) have yielded variable findings. ⋯ White matter atrophy was clearly identified in AD, mainly in bilateral structures close to memory formations such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and entorhinal cortex.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Feb 2012
ReviewMechanistic explanations how cell-mediated immune activation, inflammation and oxidative and nitrosative stress pathways and their sequels and concomitants play a role in the pathophysiology of unipolar depression.
This paper reviews that cell-mediated-immune (CMI) activation and inflammation contribute to depressive symptoms, including anhedonia; anxiety-like behaviors; fatigue and somatic symptoms, e.g. illness behavior or malaise; and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These effects are in part mediated by increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (PICs), e.g. interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, and Th-1-derived cytokines, such as IL-2 and interferon (IFN)γ. ⋯ It is concluded that depression may be the consequence of a complex interplay between CMI activation and inflammation and their sequels/concomitants which all together cause neuroprogression that further shapes the depression phenotype. Future research should employ high throughput technologies to collect genetic and gene expression and protein data from patients with depression and analyze these data by means of systems biology methods to define the dynamic interactions between the different cell signaling networks and O&NS pathways that cause depression.