Article
Psychiatry
Carolin Thurner, Bjoern Horing, Stephan Zipfel, Andreas Stengel, Nazar Mazurak
Summary: This study investigated the impact of controlled social stress on the autonomic nerve system in inpatients with psychosomatic disorders. The results showed changes in heart rate variability, skin conductance, and respiration rate, indicating a decrease in sympathetic activation. However, subjective stress levels remained unchanged. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between these findings and treatment effects or acute states during admission or discharge.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Kieran McVeigh, Ian R. Kleckner, Karen S. Quigley, Ajay B. Satpute
Summary: Psychologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists have long debated whether there is a universal mapping of physiology to emotion or if these mappings vary by person or situation. This study explored the relationship between subjective experience and autonomic reactivity in instances of fear across three different situations. The results showed that the relationship between fear experience and autonomic reactivity is situation-dependent, with individual variance constrained by the situation.
Article
Physiology
Clint R. Bellenger, Rebecca L. Thomson, Kade Davison, Eileen Y. Robertson, Jonathan D. Buckley
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of heavy training leading to performance decrements on sub-maximal post-exercise HRV in male runners. The findings showed that post-exercise HRV likely increased after heavy training, indicating heightened parasympathetic modulation in functionally overreached athletes. Subjective training tolerance also played a significant role in interpreting changes in HRV.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Lucas De Zorzi, Stephane Ranfaing, Jacques Honore, Henrique Sequeira
Summary: Anxiety and depression both lead to dysregulated autonomic reactivity to emotion, with anxiety characterized by hyperreactivity to emotion and hypervigilance to peripheral vision, and depression associated with attenuation of positive emotion and global blunted autonomic reactivity. Anxiety mainly affects early processes of autonomic reactivity, while depression mainly affects later processes, suggesting the need for new stimulation strategies to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Lisa Goudman, Ann De Smedt, Frederic Louis, Virginie Stalmans, Bengt Linderoth, Philippe Rigoard, Maarten Moens
Summary: This study showed that spinal cord stimulation (SCS) significantly reduced back and leg pain intensity in patients with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS), and also significantly decreased heart rate and respiration rate. However, skin conductance level and blood volume pulse did not change between SCS on and off states.
Review
Psychiatry
Olivia D. Cox, Ananya Munjal, William V. Mccall, Brian J. Miller, Chris Baeken, Peter B. Rosenquist
Summary: There is increasing evidence of changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in patients with central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Non-invasive measures of ANS, including heart rate variability (HRV), electrodermal activity (EDA), and pupillary light reflex (PLR), may serve as markers of symptom severity, subtype, risk profile, and/or treatment response. This paper provides an introduction to the anatomy and physiology of EDA and reviews recent literature using EDA as an outcome measure in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The studies included in this review demonstrate that EDA changes vary depending on the frequency and target of TMS.
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Wei-Lieh Huang, Li-Chin Ko, Shih-Cheng Liao
Summary: This study investigated the correlations between heart rate variability (HRV) and skin conductance (SC) in two populations under three different situations. The results showed significant correlations between HRV and SC in healthy individuals during the resting state and cognitive task, but not in patients with somatic symptom disorder comorbid with depression and anxiety. The findings suggest that HRV may not fully reflect the sympathetic cholinergic activity represented by SC.
JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Maria Rosa Bufo, Marco Guidotti, Yassine Mofid, Joelle Malvy, Frederique Bonnet-Brilhault, Nadia Aguillon-Hernandez, Claire Wardak
Summary: This study evaluated the autonomic response to pleasant touch in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) compared to typically developing (TD) children. The results showed that ASD children exhibited reduced autonomic responses and had different baseline values compared to TD children, suggesting a connection to lower arousal levels and social disengagement.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jessica Van Oosterwijck, Uros Marusic, Inge De Wandele, Mira Meeus, Lorna Paul, Luc Lambrecht, Greta Moorkens, Lieven Danneels, Jo Nijs
Summary: Although ANS dysfunction has been proposed in ME/CFS, conflicting evidence makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about ANS activity at rest in ME/CFS patients. This study found that ME/CFS patients showed normal autonomic function at rest in the time-domain, but possible decreased (para)sympathetic activation in the frequency-domain. Additionally, reduced parasympathetic reactivation during recovery from exercise was observed in ME/CFS.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Alexane Tournier, Michael Beacom, Jenny A. Westgate, Laura Bennet, Charles Garabedian, Austin Ugwumadu, Alistair J. Gunn, Christopher A. Lear
Summary: The interpretation of FHR patterns is crucial for monitoring fetal well-being during labor, and changes in FHR variability (FHRV) have been considered an indication of fetal compromise. However, there is a lack of systematic evidence to support this observation. This review examines the potential pathways controlling FHRV during labor-like hypoxia and suggests that the parasympathetic system becomes the sole regulator of FHRV once FHR decelerations occur.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yun-Ru Lai, Chih-Cheng Huang, Ben-Chung Cheng, Nai-Wen Tsai, Wen-Chan Chiu, Hsueh-Wen Chang, Jung-Fu Chen, Cheng-Hsien Lu
Summary: Combining HRV and ESC can enhance the accuracy of CAN screening and provide a better estimation of CAN severity in T2DM patients. This combined approach can also quantitatively reflect the progress or improvement of autonomic nerve function in these patients.
JOURNAL OF DIABETES INVESTIGATION
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Dalbyeol Bae, Jacob J. L. Matthews, J. Jean Chen, Linda Mah
Summary: In this study, the impact of manipulating exhalation to inhalation ratio (E:I) on heart rate variability (HRV) was examined. The findings suggest that a longer exhalation relative to inhalation, without altering breathing rate, acutely increased HRV metrics, pointing towards an enhancement of cardiac vagal tone.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Deshan Ma, Li Li, Wenbin Shi, Mengwei Li, Jian Zhang, Yong Fan, Yu Kang, Xiu Zhang, Pengming Yu, Qing Zhang, Zhengbo Zhang, Chien-Hung Yeh
Summary: Autonomic nervous system dysfunction is a significant characteristic of congestive heart failure patients. This study introduced HRV and MMCA-derived parameters to quantify ANS function in CHF patients and compared their clinical efficacy. The results showed that most parameters improved after treatment in SRHF patients, while only a few showed significant differences in ARHF patients. PNS function and ANS balance were recovered in all CHF patients after treatment. These metrics can be used for prognosis and therapeutic efficacy monitoring.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Heather E. Dark, Nathaniel G. Harnett, Adam M. Goodman, Muriah D. Wheelock, Sylvie Mrug, Mark A. Schuster, Marc N. Elliott, Susan Tortolero Emery, David C. Knight
Summary: Violence exposure during childhood can lead to functional changes in brain regions involved in emotion expression and regulation, increasing the susceptibility to internalizing disorders in adulthood. Specifically, exposure to childhood violence disrupts functional connectivity among brain regions including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, which are important for stress response modulation. This study investigates the relationship between stress-induced changes in autonomic responses and whole brain resting-state functional connectivity as a function of violence exposure. The results suggest that post-stress fronto-limbic and parieto-limbic functional connectivity modulates heart rate and may underlie differences in the stress response among individuals exposed to high levels of violence.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ruitao Gao, Huachao Yan, Zhou Yang
Summary: This paper investigates the impact of tractor field operations vibration on driver comfort and health through physiological indicators collection experiments. The study proposes a vibration comfort evaluation method based on multiple physiological parameters and uses an artificial neural network model to predict discomfort with an accuracy rate of 88.9%. The effectiveness of physiological signals changing with human body vibration is verified by changing vibration conditions with a shock-absorbing suspension on a tractor, providing a basis for structural design optimization.
Article
Neurosciences
Gianluca Saetta, Lars Michels, Peter Brugger
Summary: This study uncovered the neural activity associated with delusional belief in right brain-damaged patients who believe their contralesional limbs belong to someone else. The results suggest a connection between this belief and specific brain regions involved in integrating multimodal signals related to the affected hand.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Andreas Buchmann, Christopher Ritter, Sabrina Theresia Muller, Melanie Haynes, Carmen Ghisleni, Ruth Tuura, Gregor Hasler
Summary: Subjects with a history of major depressive episode (MDE) showed significantly reduced respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) compared to those who never experienced depression. Higher RSA was associated with lower anxiety and fear levels, particularly in relation to cardiac symptoms and the fear of dying. Lower RSA was also linked to elevated levels of cytokines and thyroid-stimulating hormone in the serum, suggesting a potential connection between the immune system, vegetative nervous system, and emotional dysregulation.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Lars Michels, Roman Buechler, Karin Kucian
Summary: The study compared structural covariance in the brain between children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) and typically developing children, revealing higher structural covariance between specific brain regions in the DD group. This suggests that abnormalities in both structural and functional networks may be involved in the pathophysiology of DD.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Vincent Huynh, Robin Luetolf, Jan Rosner, Roger Luechinger, Armin Curt, Spyros Kollias, Lars Michels, Michele Hubli
Summary: This study combined CPM testing, VBM, and rsFC to identify neural correlates of CPM in healthy subjects. Greater pain inhibition was related to specific brain regions' volume and functional connectivity strength, revealing structural and functional interactions related to CPM efficiency.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lars Michels, Marius Moisa, Philipp Stampfli, Sarah Hirsiger, Markus R. Baumgartner, Werner Surbeck, Erich Seifritz, Boris B. Quednow
Summary: This study investigates the impact of chronic cocaine use, levamisole exposure, and alcohol use on white matter integrity using a novel diffusion tensor imaging metric. The results suggest that all three factors were associated with significant white matter impairments in chronic cocaine users.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Flavia M. Wehrle, Melanie Furrer, Maria Feldmann, Rabia Liamlahi, Nadja Naef, Ruth O'Gorman, Beatrice Latal, Reto Huber
Summary: Working memory is frequently impaired in children with complex congenital heart disease (CHD), but little is known about the functional neuronal correlates. This study investigated whether functional networks of working memory abilities are altered in children with complex CHD using EEG recordings during sleep. The findings suggest that sleep slow wave activity (SWA) reliably maps working memory networks in children with complex CHD and that these functional networks are generally preserved in these patients.
CHILD NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Melanie Ehrler, Peter Brugger, Matthias Greutmann, Ladina Schlosser, Flavia M. Wehrle, Rabia Liamlahi, Nadja Naef, Oliver Kretschmar, Ruth Tuura O'Gorman, Beatrice Latal
Summary: Congenital heart disease (CHD) patients have alterations in cerebral white matter microstructure (WMM) that do not change with age. Reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter tracts is associated with executive function (EF) impairments in CHD patients. CHD complexity, parental education, and specific white matter tracts' FA also contribute to EF impairments.
CHILD NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Heiko Pohl, Patrik Wyss, Peter S. Sandor, Jean Schoenen, Roger Luechinger, Ruth O'Gorman, Franz Riederer, Andreas R. Gantenbein, Lars Michels
Summary: This study examined the levels of GABA and GLX in the early visual cortex of episodic migraine patients and their response to tDCS. The results showed that tDCS reduced the concentration of GABA but not GLX or migraine frequency immediately after the stimulation, although this effect was not observed 4 months later. The changes in GABA levels in the early visual cortex during the interictal period suggest that tDCS may have an impact on migraine frequency.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Patrick Manser, Lars Michels, Andre Schmidt, Filip Barinka, Eling D. de Bruin
Summary: This study aims to explore the effectiveness of a newly developed exergame-based motor-cognitive training concept called Brain-IT in improving cognitive functioning in older adults with mild neurocognitive disorder. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted with 34 to 40 participants, and various outcomes such as global cognitive functioning, brain structure and function, and psychosocial factors will be assessed. Data collection is expected to be completed by December 2023, and the results will be submitted for publication in 2024.
JMIR RESEARCH PROTOCOLS
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Antonio Giulio Gennari, Dorottya Cserpan, Ilona Stefanos-Yakoub, Raimund Kottke, Ruth O'Gorman Tuura, Georgia Ramantani
Summary: This study investigated the potential of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in paediatric structural epilepsy associated with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). The results showed that DTI indices can differentiate between FCD and contralateral brain parenchyma (CBP), and that clinical features have an impact on these indices.
INSIGHTS INTO IMAGING
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Heiko Pohl, Peter S. Sandor, Marius Moisa, Christian C. Ruff, Jean Schoenen, Roger Luechinger, Ruth O'Gorman, Franz Riederer, Andreas R. Gantenbein, Lars Michels
Summary: Cerebral blood flow differs between migraine patients and healthy controls, and anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate brain perfusion in migraine patients. tDCS can increase blood flow in regions processing visual stimuli in the short term, but the effect is not sustained.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Gustavo Santo Pedro Pamplona, Jennifer Heldner, Robert Langner, Yury Koush, Lars Michels, Silvio Ionta, Carlos Ernesto Garrido Salmon, Frank Scharnowski
Summary: Neurofeedback based on functional magnetic resonance imaging allows for learning voluntary control over one's own brain activity, aiming to enhance cognition and clinical symptoms. This study investigated the long-term effects of neurofeedback training on sustained attention and found lasting regulation-related brain changes but transient behavioral effects.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Dorottya Cserpan, Antonio Gennari, Luca Gaito, Santo Pietro Lo Biundo, Ruth Tuura, Johannes Sarnthein, Georgia Ramantani
Summary: High-frequency oscillations (HFO) in scalp EEG are a promising biomarker for epilepsy, especially in pediatric lesional epilepsy. The characteristics of the lesions, such as volume and depth, can affect the scalp HFO rates. Our study shows that larger lesions generate higher cumulative scalp HFO rates and can be detected in more channels.
