scholarly journals Mindfulness Promotes Control of Brain Network Dynamics for Self-Regulation and Discontinues the Past from the Present

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Zhou ◽  
Yoona Kang ◽  
Danielle Cosme ◽  
Mia Jovanova ◽  
Xiaosong He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
External Control ◽  
The Past ◽  
Alcohol Cues ◽  
Present Experience ◽  
Macro Scale

Mindfulness is characterized by attentiveness to the present experience with nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance. Practicing mindfulness alters brain function to support the executive regulation of thoughts, feelings, and behavior. While early stages of practice are thought to require greater "neural effort" for later efficiency, current evidence relies on circular definitions of effort based on functional activity magnitude. Here we used network control theory as a model of how external control inputs, which operationalize effort, can distribute changes in neural activity across the macro-scale structural brain network. Further, we inferred the intrinsic timescale of activity to operationalize present-centered activity as shorter momentary timescales that discontinue the past and update the present. To explain effects of mindful regulation on alcohol consumption, we applied these methods to a randomized controlled intervention study with resting-state and task fMRI data. The task primed participants to either mindfully respond or naturally react to alcohol cues. Mobile text interventions and measurements of alcohol consumption were administered using ecological momentary assessments during the subsequent 4 weeks. We hypothesized that neural states of mindfulness require greater effort to enact and sustain. This effort may support deautomatized habitual natural reactions, discontinued processing, and updated present-centered neural dynamics. We found that mindful regulation of alcohol cues, compared to the natural reactions of the benchmark group, involved more effortful control of neural dynamics across cognitive control and attention networks. This effort persisted in the natural reactions of the mindful group compared to the benchmark group. Using resting-state fMRI, we found that more effortful neural states tended to occur over shorter timescales than less effortful states. Our findings provide an explanation for how neural dynamics with altered effort and stability, such as mindful states, tend to center the present experience.

scholarly journals A synthesis of the theories and concepts of early human evolution

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1663) ◽  
pp. 20140064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Maslin ◽  
Susanne Shultz ◽  
Martin H. Trauth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Red Queen Hypothesis ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Macro Scale

Current evidence suggests that many of the major events in hominin evolution occurred in East Africa. Hence, over the past two decades, there has been intensive work undertaken to understand African palaeoclimate and tectonics in order to put together a coherent picture of how the environment of Africa has varied over the past 10 Myr. A new consensus is emerging that suggests the unusual geology and climate of East Africa created a complex, environmentally very variable setting. This new understanding of East African climate has led to the pulsed climate variability hypothesis that suggests the long-term drying trend in East Africa was punctuated by episodes of short alternating periods of extreme humidity and aridity which may have driven hominin speciation, encephalization and dispersals out of Africa. This hypothesis is unique as it provides a conceptual framework within which other evolutionary theories can be examined: first, at macro-scale comparing phylogenetic gradualism and punctuated equilibrium ; second, at a more focused level of human evolution comparing allopatric speciation , aridity hypothesis , turnover pulse hypothesis , variability selection hypothesis , Red Queen hypothesis and sympatric speciation based on sexual selection. It is proposed that each one of these mechanisms may have been acting on hominins during these short periods of climate variability, which then produce a range of different traits that led to the emergence of new species. In the case of Homo erectus ( sensu lato ), it is not just brain size that changes but life history (shortened inter-birth intervals, delayed development), body size and dimorphism, shoulder morphology to allow thrown projectiles, adaptation to long-distance running, ecological flexibility and social behaviour. The future of evolutionary research should be to create evidence-based meta-narratives, which encompass multiple mechanisms that select for different traits leading ultimately to speciation.

scholarly journals Discovering dynamic functional networks in the human neonatal brain with electric source imaging

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Mehrkanoon
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Limbic System ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Source Imaging ◽  
Functional Brain Network ◽  
Macro Scale

AbstractWhen the human brain manifests the birth of organised communication among local and large-scale neuronal populations activity remains undescribed. We report, in resting-state EEG source-estimates of 100 infants at term age, the existence of macro-scale dynamic functional connectivity, which have rich topological organisations, distinct spectral fingerprints and scale-invariance temporal dynamics. These functional networks encompass the default mode, primary sensory-limbic system, thalamo-frontal, thalamo-sensorimotor and visual-limbic system confined in the delta and low-alpha frequency intervals (1-8 Hz). The temporal dynamics of these networks not only are nested within much slower timescale (¡ 0.1 Hz) but also correlated in a hierarchical leading-following organisation. We show that the anatomically constrained richly organised spatial topologies, spectral contents and temporal fluctuations of resting-state networks reflect an established intrinsic dynamic functional connectome in the human brain at term age. The graph theoretical analysis of the spatial architectures of the networks revealed small-world topology and distinct rich-club organisations of interconnected cortical hubs that exhibit rich synchronous dynamics at multiple timescales. The approach opens new avenues to advance our understanding about the early configuration organisation of dynamic networks in the human brain and offers a novel monitoring platform to investigate functional brain network development in sick preterm infants.

Cardiovascular Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Mechanistic Links: From Pathophysiology to Treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E. Fragoulis ◽  
Ismini Panayotidis ◽  
Elena Nikiphorou
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Pharmacological Intervention ◽  
Cvd Risk ◽  
The Past ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Cv Disease ◽  
Obesity Hypertension ◽  
Inflammatory Burden

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory arthritis. Inflammation, however, can spread beyond the joints to involve other organs. During the past few years, it has been well recognized that RA associates with increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) compared with the general population. This seems to be due not only to the increased occurrence in RA of classical CVD risk factors and comorbidities like smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and others but also to the inflammatory burden that RA itself carries. This is not unexpected given the strong links between inflammation and atherosclerosis and CVD. It has been shown that inflammatory cytokines which are present in abundance in RA play a significant role in every step of plaque formation and rupture. Most of the therapeutic regimes used in RA treatment seem to offer significant benefits to that end. However, more studies are needed to clarify the effect of these drugs on various parameters, including the lipid profile. Of note, although pharmacological intervention significantly helps reduce the inflammatory burden and therefore the CVD risk, control of the so-called classical risk factors is equally important. Herein, we review the current evidence for the underlying pathogenic mechanisms linking inflammation with CVD in the context of RA and reflect on the possible impact of treatments used in RA.

scholarly journals What Has Clinical Research in Suicide Prevention Done for You Lately?

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 440-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Fawcett
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
Panic Attacks ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Past ◽  
Standard Risk ◽  
Suicide Plan

What have you heard or read over the past 10 years that has improved you ability to assess and manage suicide risk in your patients?There has been a paucity of data. What little data there is reviewed in this month's articles.They highlight findings that you should know about. Clinicians seem to cling to the familiar, unless some intense marketing is done.For instance, are you aware that the current evidence shows that a denial of suicide thoughts, plans, or intent—even a contract for safety—means absolutely nothing in the absence of a full suicide risk assessment?Yet clinicians seem to rely on these ’reassurances“ from their patients and are shocked when the patient later commits suicide. Why should a patient who is deciding that life is too painful to live tell you the truth? Robert I. Simon, MD, and Daniel W. Shuman, JD, review these facts.Are you aware that severe psychic anxiety, panic attacks, agitation, and severe insomnia often precede suicide within hours, days, or weeks and can be rapidly modified with treatment?On the other hand, standard risk factors for suicide such as suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and past suicidal attempts are not good predictors of suicide in the short term. A suicide plan, recent high intent attempt, or refusal to contract for safety may well indicate immediate risk, but a denial of suicidal ideation or intent and a contract for no harm mean absolutely nothing without a full suicide assessment that takes current clinical status, past suicidal tendencies, social support, and willingness to accept help into account.

scholarly journals The unbalanced reorganization of weaker functional connections induces the altered brain network topology in schizophrenia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rossana Mastrandrea ◽  
Fabrizio Piras ◽  
Andrea Gabrielli ◽  
Nerisa Banaj ◽  
Guido Caldarelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resting State ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Modular Organization ◽  
Node Degree ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Brain Disorder ◽  
Functional Connections ◽  
The Brain

AbstractNetwork neuroscience shed some light on the functional and structural modifications occurring to the brain associated with the phenomenology of schizophrenia. In particular, resting-state functional networks have helped our understanding of the illness by highlighting the global and local alterations within the cerebral organization. We investigated the robustness of the brain functional architecture in 44 medicated schizophrenic patients and 40 healthy comparators through an advanced network analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data. The networks in patients showed more resistance to disconnection than in healthy controls, with an evident discrepancy between the two groups in the node degree distribution computed along a percolation process. Despite a substantial similarity of the basal functional organization between the two groups, the expected hierarchy of healthy brains' modular organization is crumbled in schizophrenia, showing a peculiar arrangement of the functional connections, characterized by several topologically equivalent backbones. Thus, the manifold nature of the functional organization’s basal scheme, together with its altered hierarchical modularity, may be crucial in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This result fits the disconnection hypothesis that describes schizophrenia as a brain disorder characterized by an abnormal functional integration among brain regions.

scholarly journals Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy: Overview of an Emerging Medical Problem from Pathophysiology to Outcomes

Medicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Gabriele Savioli ◽  
Iride Francesca Ceresa ◽  
Luca Caneva ◽  
Sebastiano Gerosa ◽  
Giovanni Ricevuti
Keyword(s):  
Major Trauma ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Medical Problem ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Potential Drug ◽  
The Past ◽  
Trauma Induced Coagulopathy ◽  
Threatening Condition ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Trauma Mortality

Coagulopathy induced by major trauma is common, affecting approximately one-third of patients after trauma. It develops independently of iatrogenic, hypothermic, and dilutive causes (such as iatrogenic cause in case of fluid administration), which instead have a pejorative aspect on coagulopathy. Notwithstanding the continuous research conducted over the past decade on Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy (TIC), it remains a life-threatening condition with a significant impact on trauma mortality. We reviewed the current evidence regarding TIC diagnosis and pathophysiological mechanisms and summarized the different iterations of optimal TIC management strategies among which product resuscitation, potential drug administrations, and hemostatis-focused approaches. We have identified areas of ongoing investigation and controversy in TIC management.

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