Divided mind – divided brain. The neurobiology of dissociative identity disorder from the perspective of dynamical systems theory

Explaining the biology of dissociative identity disorder and its clinical aspects is one of the major challenges in modern neuroscience. The complexity and the unique nature of this disorder, coupled with insufficient biopsychological models needed for creating universal therapeutic procedures, make the treatment difficult. The vast majority of neuroimaging studies in dissociative identity disorder patients proved to be inconclusive. Abnormalities of particular brain structures do not explain the wide range of symptoms in dissociative identity disorder. Moreover, the findings are partly contradictory. Collecting adequate representative study samples is difficult and most reports are in fact single case studies. On top of that, meta-analyses show that patients with dissociative identity disorder usually present with additional mental problems, which makes interpretation of neuroimaging data extremely difficult. Nowadays, scientific research on dissociative identity disorder focuses on child trauma and its influence on the development of the central nervous system. This article is an overview of recent research on the neurobiology of dissociative identity disorder, with particular emphasis on the impact of childhood trauma on the development of the central nervous system. It focuses on hypotheses attempting to capture the specific dynamics of neural activity leading to neural network fragmentation, and uses the dynamical systems theory to describe this phenomenon.

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SARS-CoV-2 and the Nervous System: From Clinical Features to Molecular Mechanisms

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms21155475 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (15) ◽

pp. 5475 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Manuela Pennisi ◽

Giuseppe Lanza ◽

Luca Falzone ◽

Francesco Fisicaro ◽

Raffaele Ferri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Neuronal Damage ◽

Neurological Complications ◽

Neurological Manifestations ◽

Wide Range ◽

Inflammatory State ◽

Acute Polyneuropathy ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

The Impact

Increasing evidence suggests that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can also invade the central nervous system (CNS). However, findings available on its neurological manifestations and their pathogenic mechanisms have not yet been systematically addressed. A literature search on neurological complications reported in patients with COVID-19 until June 2020 produced a total of 23 studies. Overall, these papers report that patients may exhibit a wide range of neurological manifestations, including encephalopathy, encephalitis, seizures, cerebrovascular events, acute polyneuropathy, headache, hypogeusia, and hyposmia, as well as some non-specific symptoms. Whether these features can be an indirect and unspecific consequence of the pulmonary disease or a generalized inflammatory state on the CNS remains to be determined; also, they may rather reflect direct SARS-CoV-2-related neuronal damage. Hematogenous versus transsynaptic propagation, the role of the angiotensin II converting enzyme receptor-2, the spread across the blood-brain barrier, the impact of the hyperimmune response (the so-called “cytokine storm”), and the possibility of virus persistence within some CNS resident cells are still debated. The different levels and severity of neurotropism and neurovirulence in patients with COVID-19 might be explained by a combination of viral and host factors and by their interaction.

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The variable monoaminergic outcomes of cleaner fish brains when facing different social and mutualistic contexts

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.4830 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e4830 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Murilo S. de Abreu ◽

João P.M. Messias ◽

Per-Ove Thörnqvist ◽

Svante Winberg ◽

Marta C. Soares

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Social Behaviour ◽

Visual Assessment ◽

Physical Contact ◽

Specific Response ◽

Dopaminergic Activity ◽

Cleaner Fish ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

The Impact

The monoamines serotonin and dopamine are important neuromodulators present in the central nervous system, known to be active regulators of social behaviour in fish as in other vertebrates. Our aim was to investigate the region-specific brain monoaminergic differences arising when individual cleaners face a client (mutualistic context) compared to when they are introduced to another conspecific (conspecific context), and to understand the relevance of visual assessment compared to the impact of physical contact with any partner. We demonstrated that serotoninergic activity at the diencephalon responds mostly to the absence of physical contact with clients whereas cerebellar dopaminergic activity responds to actual cleaning engagement. We provide first insights on the brain’s monoaminergic (region-specific) response variations, involved in the expression of cleaner fishes’ mutualistic and conspecific behaviour. These results contribute to a better understanding of the monoaminergic activity in accordance to different socio-behavioural contexts.

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Distribution of the prion protein in sheep terminally affected with BSE following experimental oral transmission

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/0022-1317-82-10-2319 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 82 (10) ◽

pp. 2319-2326 ◽

Cited By ~ 89

Author(s):

J. D. Foster ◽

D. W. Parnham ◽

N. Hunter ◽

M. Bruce

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Experimental Infection ◽

Oral Route ◽

Similar Distribution ◽

Peripheral Tissues ◽

Oral Transmission ◽

Wide Range ◽

Direct Contrast ◽

The Central Nervous System

This study has examined the distribution of PrPSc in sheep by immunocytochemistry of tissues recovered from terminally affected animals following their experimental infection by the oral route with BSE. Despite a wide range of incubation period lengths, affected sheep showed a similar distribution of high levels of PrPSc throughout the central nervous system. PrPSc was also found in the lymphoid system, including parts of the digestive tract, and some components of the peripheral nervous system. These abundant PrPSc deposits in sheep in regions outside the central nervous system are in direct contrast with cattle infected with BSE, which show barely detectable levels of PrPSc in peripheral tissues. A number of genetically susceptible, challenged animals appear to have survived.

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Systems Theory, Emergent Properties, and the Organization of the Central Nervous System

The Physics of the Mind and Brain Disorders - Springer Series in Cognitive and Neural Systems ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-29674-6_3 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 55-68

Author(s):

Manuel F. Casanova ◽

Ioan Opris ◽

Estate Sokhadze ◽

Emily L. Casanova

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Systems Theory ◽

Emergent Properties ◽

The Central Nervous System

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Neuroactive Substances Influencing Regenerative Processes in the Central Nervous System: Neurobiological and Clinical Aspects

Advances in Neurosurgery - Regulation of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism Neurosurgical Treatment of Epilepsy Rehabilitation in Neurosurgery ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-71793-2_57 ◽

1987 ◽

pp. 283-289

Author(s):

U. H. Wiese

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Clinical Aspects ◽

Regenerative Processes ◽

The Central Nervous System

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Progress in Research on SARS-CoV-2 Infection Causing Neurological Diseases and Its Infection Mechanism

Frontiers in Neurology ◽

10.3389/fneur.2020.592888 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Lintao Wang ◽

Zhiguang Ren ◽

Li Ma ◽

Yanjie Han ◽

Wenqiang Wei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Neurological Diseases ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Neurological Complications ◽

Major Public Health Problem ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

The Impact ◽

Great Harm

COVID-19 has spread rapidly worldwide since its outbreak and has now become a major public health problem. More and more evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 may not only affect the respiratory system but also cause great harm to the central nervous system. Therefore, it is extremely important to explore in-depth the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the nervous system. In this paper, the possible mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 invading the central nervous system during COVID-19, and the neurological complications caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection were reviewed.

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Relation of insulin resistance to neurocognitive function and electroencephalography in obese children

Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism ◽

10.1515/jpem-2017-0186 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (10) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Onur Akın ◽

İbrahim Eker ◽

Mutluay Arslan ◽

Süleyman Tolga Yavuz ◽

Sevil Akman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Insulin Resistance ◽

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Model Assessment ◽

Obese Children ◽

Neurocognitive Functions ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Biochemical Indices ◽

The Impact

AbstractBackground:Childhood obesity may lead to neuronal impairment in both the peripheral and the central nervous system. This study aimed to investigate the impact of obesity and insulin resistance (IR) on the central nervous system and neurocognitive functions in children.Methods:Seventy-three obese children (38 male and 35 female) and 42 healthy children (21 male and 21 female) were recruited. Standard biochemical indices and IR were evaluated. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and electroencephalography (EEG) were administered to all participants. The obese participants were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of IR, and the data were compared between the subgroups.Results:Only verbal scores on the WISC-R in the IR+ group were significantly lower than those of the control and IR– groups. There were no differences between the groups with respect to other parameters of the WISC-R or the EEG. Verbal scores of the WISC-R were negatively correlated with obesity duration and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values. EEGs showed significantly more frequent ‘slowing during hyperventilation’ (SDHs) in obese children than non-obese children.Conclusions:Neurocognitive functions, particularly verbal abilities, were impaired in obese children with IR. An early examination of cognitive functions may help identify and correct such abnormalities in obese children.

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HLA-DRB1*1501 intensifies the impact of IL-6 promoter polymorphism on the susceptibility to multiple sclerosis in an Iranian population

Multiple Sclerosis Journal ◽

10.1177/1352458510376177 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 1173-1177 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

M. Shahbazi ◽

H. Ebadi ◽

D. Fathi ◽

D. Roshandel ◽

M. Mohamadhosseni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Promoter Polymorphism ◽

Exact Test ◽

Inflammatory Processes ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Pcr Method ◽

Multiple Sclerosis Patients ◽

The Impact

Background: The multifunctional cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is involved in inflammatory processes in the central nervous system. It is well documented that amount of IL-6 is increased in serum, cerebrospinal fluid and central nervous system lesions of patients with multiple sclerosis. A single nucleotide polymorphism at position -174 in the IL-6 gene promotor appears to influence IL-6 expression. Recently, several researchers have focused on HLA-DRB alleles, specifically HLA-DRB1*1501, as a potential risk allele in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. Objective: To investigate the possible influence of IL-6/-174 polymorphisms on susceptibility to multiple sclerosis and its integration with HLA-DRB1*1501. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood of 345 patients with multiple sclerosis and 426 control subjects. Method: The SSP-PCR method was used to determine genotypes and Fisher’s exact test was applied to determine differences between groups. HLA-DRB1*1501 was observed more frequently among multiple sclerosis patients compared with healthy subjects (45% and 34%, respectively; OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.2—2.2, p = 0.0018). At the IL-6/-174 position, the G allele had higher frequency among multiple sclerosis patients compared with controls (77% and 70%, respectively; OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1—1.8, p = 0.0038). This difference was more significant among HLA-DRB1*1501-positive patients and controls (81% and 67%, respectively; OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.5—2.5, p < 0.0001). Results: Our results have shown that the G allele at the IL-6/-174 promoter polymorphism may be associated with development of multiple sclerosis in this population, and may be strengthened by HLA-DRB1*1501. Conclusions: We suggest more studies to confirm these results in other populations.

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Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Functionalization for Biomedical Applications in the Central Nervous System

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma12030465 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 465 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Shoeb Ansari ◽

Eleonora Ficiarà ◽

Federico Ruffinatti ◽

Ilaria Stura ◽

Monica Argenziano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Iron Oxide ◽

Iron Oxide Nanoparticles ◽

Oxide Nanoparticles ◽

Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles ◽

Close Link ◽

Wide Range ◽

Methods Of Synthesis ◽

The Central Nervous System

Magnetic Nanoparticles (MNPs) are of great interest in biomedicine, due to their wide range of applications. During recent years, one of the most challenging goals is the development of new strategies to finely tune the unique properties of MNPs, in order to improve their effectiveness in the biomedical field. This review provides an up-to-date overview of the methods of synthesis and functionalization of MNPs focusing on Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (IONPs). Firstly, synthesis strategies for fabricating IONPs of different composition, sizes, shapes, and structures are outlined. We describe the close link between physicochemical properties and magnetic characterization, essential to developing innovative and powerful magnetic-driven nanocarriers. In conclusion, we provide a complete background of IONPs functionalization, safety, and applications for the treatment of Central Nervous System disorders.

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