Animal studies and human tissue experiments have demonstrated that traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes damage to the extracellular matrix (ECM). To test the hypothesis that TBI causes disruption of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) in the ECM, we measured levels of sGAG in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, and urine, in patients with severe TBI in the acute postinjury period. Samples of CSF, blood, and urine were obtained within 72 h of injury in patients who received external ventricular drains as part of their treatment of severe TBI. Levels of chondroitin and heparan sGAGs were measured, along with their disaccharide constituents. Demographic information, presence of polytrauma, brain injury load, and distance of radiologically visible parenchymal injury from the ventricle were analyzed for correlation with total subtype sGAG levels. Levels were measured in 14 patients ranging in age from 17 to 90 years. CSF sGAG levels were variable among patients, with higher sGAG levels in plasma compared with CS...

The etiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors. Neuroligin3, a synaptic adhesion protein, and cytoplasmic FMR1 interacting protein 1 (CYFIP1), a regulator of protein translation and actin polymerization, are two proteins associated with ASDs that interact in neurons in vivo . Here, we investigated the role of the Neuroligin3/CYFIP1 pathway in behavioral functioning and synapse formation in mice and found that it contributes to motor learning and synapse formation in males. Similar investigation in female mice revealed an absence of such phenotypes, suggesting that females are protected against mutations affecting this pathway. Previously, we showed that the social environment influences the behavior of male mice. We extended this finding and found that the transcriptome of wild-type mice housed with their mutant littermates, lacking Neuroligin3, differed from the transcriptome of wild-type mice housed together. Altogether, these results identi...

Tinnitus is a pervasive disorder that is characterized by earsonds that occur without auditory stimulation. The goal of the present study was to determine if emotional in addition to sensory processing is altered in tinnitus sufferers, if it occurs early on or as a long-term consequence of tinnitus, and which brain regions mediate this response. Sixteen acute tinnitus sufferers, 16 chronic tinnitus patients and 16 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were exposed to a set of positive, negative and neutral slides from the International Affective Picture System while their brain activation was assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, emotional valence and arousal ratings were recorded. The acute and the chronic tinnitus sufferers were comparable in tinnitus characteristics as well as the psychometric data. The three groups were not significantly different in the ratings of the pictures suggesting that they were processed in a similar manner. Acute tinnitus sufferers showed a hig...

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Parkinson's Disease 101 is a community neuroscience education program that was developed to help Parkinsonian's understand the basic neuroscience underlying PD, as well as the biological basis for the various surgical and drug treatments currently available. Parkinson's Disease 101 was modeled after a Brain Awareness program for local elementary schoolchildren that was developed by students in the Behavioral Neuroscience Club at FAU. Using many of the same activities and materials that we use to teach children, we have been able to bring neuroscience education to the adults in our community. Parkinson's Disease 101, an interactive hands-on program, has been presented to several local Parkinson's support groups in South Florida. During the presentation, the Parkinsonian's and their caregivers learn about the brain's anatomy and physiology and how it relates to PD. Treatments such as pallidotomy, deep-brain stimulation, stem cell transplants, and pharmaceutical agents are explained in relation to brain struc...

SfN Past Presidents Eve Marder and Huda Akil were each awarded the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden in a ceremony on October 24. The National Medal of Science the highest recognition the U.S. bestows on scientists and engineers.

SfN Past Presidents Eve Marder and Huda Akil were each awarded the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden in a ceremony on October 24. The National Medal of Science the highest recognition the U.S. bestows on scientists and engineers.

An ideal prosthetic arm should both act and feel like a healthy human arm to enable a user to interact naturally with individuals and objects around them. To do so, the prosthesis needs to convey physical object characteristics, such as how soft or roug...

Normal-baric 100% oxygen treatment (100%NbOxTr) during first aid enhances neuronal survival rates in the human brain after heart attacks or strokes. However, whether motor learning processes of the brain can be improved by this treatment is not known. M...