The overlap across psychotic disorders: A functional network connectivity analysis.

Functional network connectivity (FNC) has previously been shown to distinguish patient groups from healthy controls (HC). However, the overlap across psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar (BP), and schizoaffective disorder (SAD) is not evident yet. This study focuses on studying the overlap across these three psychotic disorders in both dynamic and static FNC (dFNC/sFNC). We used resting-state fMRI, demographics, and clinical information from the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes cohort (BSNIP). The data includes three groups of patients with schizophrenia (SZ, N = 181), bipolar (BP, N = 163), and schizoaffective (SAD, N = 130) and HC (N = 238) groups. After estimating each individual's dFNC, we group them into three distinct states. We evaluated two dFNC features, including occupancy rate (OCR) and distance travelled over time. Finally, the extracted features, including both sFNC and dFNC, are tested statistically across patients and HC groups. In addition, we explored the link between the clinical scores and the extracted features. We evaluated the connectivity patterns and their overlap among SZ, BP, and SAD disorders (false discovery rate or FDR corrected p < 0.05). Results showed dFNC captured unique information about overlap across disorders where all disorder groups showed similar pattern of activity in state 2. Moreover, the results showed similar patterns between SZ and SAD in state 1 which was different than BP. Finally, the distance travelled feature of SZ (average R = 0.245, p < 0.01) and combined distance travelled from all disorders was predictive of the PANSS symptoms scores (average R = 0.147, p < 0.01).

Exploring the Neural Processes behind Narrative Engagement: An EEG Study.

Past cognitive neuroscience studies using naturalistic stimuli have considered narratives holistically and focused on cognitive processes. In this study, we incorporated the narrative structure, the dramatic arc, as an object of investigation, to examine how engagement levels fluctuate across a narrative-aligned dramatic arc. We explored the possibility of predicting self-reported engagement ratings from neural activity and investigated the idiosyncratic effects of each phase of the dramatic arc on brain responses as well as the relationship between engagement and brain responses. We presented a movie excerpt following the six-phase narrative arc structure to female and male participants while collecting EEG signals. We then asked this group of participants to recall the excerpt, another group to segment the video based on the dramatic arc model, and a third to rate their engagement levels while watching the movie. The results showed that the self-reported engagement ratings followed the pattern of the narrative dramatic arc. Moreover, while EEG amplitude could not predict group-averaged engagement ratings, other features comprising dynamic intersubject correlation (dISC), including certain frequency bands, dynamic functional connectivity patterns and graph features were able to achieve this. Furthermore, neural activity in the last two phases of the dramatic arc significantly predicted engagement patterns. This study is the first to explore the cognitive processes behind the dramatic arc and its phases. By demonstrating how neural activity predicts self-reported engagement, which itself aligns with the narrative structure, this study provides insights on the interrelationships between narrative structure, neural responses, and viewer engagement.

Higher levels of narrativity lead to similar patterns of posterior EEG activity across individuals.

Introduction: The focus of cognitive and psychological approaches to narrative has not so much been on the elucidation of important aspects of narrative, but rather on using narratives as tools for the investigation of higher order cognitive processes elicited by narratives (e.g., understanding, empathy, etc.). In this study, we work toward a scalar model of narrativity, which can provide testable criteria for selecting and classifying communication forms in their level of narrativity. We investigated whether being exposed to videos with different levels of narrativity modulates shared neural responses, measured by inter-subject correlation, and engagement levels. Methods: Thirty-two participants watched video advertisements with high-level and low-level of narrativity while their neural responses were measured through electroencephalogram. Additionally, participants' engagement levels were calculated based on the composite of their self-reported attention and immersion scores. Results: Results demonstrated that both calculated inter-subject correlation and engagement scores for high-level video ads were significantly higher than those for low-level, suggesting that narrativity levels modulate inter-subject correlation and engagement. Discussion: We believe that these findings are a step toward the elucidation of the viewers' way of processing and understanding a given communication artifact as a function of the narrative qualities expressed by the level of narrativity.

Default mode network dynamic functional network connectivity predicts psychotic symptom severity.

Neuropsychiatric disorders affect millions of people worldwide every year. Recent studies showed that the symptomatic overlaps across neuropsychiatric disorders mislead schizophrenia and bipolar disorder diagnosis. Additionally, recent studies claimed that schizoaffective disorder as a condition overlapped with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Since symptomatic overlap among these disorders causes misdiagnosis, a need for neuroimaging biomarkers differentiating these disorders for a more accurate diagnosis is crucial. This study investigates dynamics functional network connectivity (dFNC) in the default mode network (DMN) of schizophrenia, bipolar, and schizoaffective disorder patients and compares them with their relative and healthy control. Additionally, it explored whether DMN dFNC features can predict the symptom severity of these neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we found that dFNC features can differentiate schizophrenia from bipolar disorder. At the same time, we did not see a significant difference between schizoaffective with other conditions. Additionally, we found dFNC features can predict symptom severity of these three conditions.

EEG theta and N400 responses to congruent versus incongruent brand logos.

Neuroimaging and behavioral studies have shown that brands convey meaning to consumers. To investigate the immediate reactions of the brain to brand logos, followed either by congruent or incongruent pictorial brand-related cues, can deepen understanding of the semantic processing of brands, and perhaps how consolidated the logo is in consumers' minds. Participants were exposed to different brand-related image sets, that were either congruent (a match between brand-related images and brand logo) or incongruent (a mismatch between brand-related images and brand logo) while having their brain signals recorded. Event-related potential and EEG time-frequency domain features were extracted from the signals of the target image (brand logo). The results showed significantly larger N400 peak and relative theta power increase for incongruent compared to congruent logos, which could be attributed to an error-monitoring process. Thus, we argue that brands are encoded deeply in consumers' minds, and cognitive processing of mismatched (vs matched) brand logos is more difficult, leading to greater error monitoring. The results were mostly consistent with previous studies investigating semantic incongruences in the linguistic field. Therefore, the error-monitoring process could be extended beyond linguistic forms, for example to images and brands.

Low-dose gamma irradiation and pectin biodegradable nanocomposite coating containing curcumin nanoparticles and ajowan (Carum copticum) essential oil nanoemulsion for storage of chilled lamb loins.

The current investigation assessed the effect of pectin (PE) biodegradable nanocomposite coating containing curcumin nanoparticles (CNP) and ajowan (Carum copticum) essential oil nanoemulsion (ANE) combined with low-dose gamma irradiation on microbial, physiochemical, and sensorial qualities of lamb loins during refrigeration conditions. Active coating combined with gamma irradiation reduced the count number of mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae; and minimized lipid and protein oxidation changes, total volatile basic nitrogen content, met-myoglobin formation, and color deterioration in the loin samples. The increased shelf-life of lamb loins up to 25 days compared with 5 days assigned for the control group can be associated with the application of ionizing radiation and edible PE coating containing CNP and ANE, which might be due to the synergistic or additive effects of treatments. Overall, as an effective preservation technique, a combination of PE + CNP + ANE and irradiation can be recommended for prolonging the shelf-life of lamb loins during refrigerated storage.

Dynamic Functional Connectivity Predicts Treatment Response to Electroconvulsive Therapy in Major Depressive Disorder.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for major depressive disorder. Recently, there has been increasing attention to evaluate the effect of ECT on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). This study aims to compare rs-fMRI of depressive disorder (DEP) patients with healthy participants, investigate whether pre-ECT dynamic functional network connectivity network (dFNC) estimated from patients rs-fMRI is associated with an eventual ECT outcome, and explore the effect of ECT on brain network states. Method: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected from 119 patients with depression or depressive disorder (DEP) (76 females), and 61 healthy (HC) participants (34 females), with an age mean of 52.25 (N = 180) years old. The pre-ECT and post-ECT Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were 25.59 ± 6.14 and 11.48 ± 9.07, respectively. Twenty-four independent components from default mode (DMN) and cognitive control network (CCN) were extracted, using group-independent component analysis from pre-ECT and post-ECT rs-fMRI. Then, the sliding window approach was used to estimate the pre-and post-ECT dFNC of each subject. Next, k-means clustering was separately applied to pre-ECT dFNC and post-ECT dFNC to assess three distinct states from each participant. We calculated the amount of time each subject spends in each state, which is called "occupancy rate" or OCR. Next, we compared OCR values between HC and DEP participants. We also calculated the partial correlation between pre-ECT OCRs and HDRS change while controlling for age, gender, and site. Finally, we evaluated the effectiveness of ECT by comparing pre- and post-ECT OCR of DEP and HC participants. Results: The main findings include (1) depressive disorder (DEP) patients had significantly lower OCR values than the HC group in state 2, where connectivity between cognitive control network (CCN) and default mode network (DMN) was relatively higher than other states (corrected p = 0.015), (2) Pre-ECT OCR of state, with more negative connectivity between CCN and DMN components, is linked with the HDRS changes (R = 0.23 corrected p = 0.03). This means that those DEP patients who spent less time in this state showed more HDRS change, and (3) The post-ECT OCR analysis suggested that ECT increased the amount of time DEP patients spent in state 2 (corrected p = 0.03). Conclusion: Our finding suggests that dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) features, estimated from CCN and DMN, show promise as a predictive biomarker of the ECT outcome of DEP patients. Also, this study identifies a possible underlying mechanism associated with the ECT effect on DEP patients.

Investigation of Brain Functional Networks in Children Suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

ADHD defects the recognition of facial emotions. This study assesses the neurophysiological differences between children with ADHD and matched healthy controls during a face emotional recognition task. The study also explores how brain connectivity is affected by ADHD. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were recorded from 64 scalp electrodes. Event-related phase coherence (ERPCOH) method was applied to pre-processed signals, and functional connectivity between any pair of electrodes was computed in different frequency bands. A logistic regression (LR) classifier with elastic net regularization (ENR) was trained to classify ADHD and HC participants using the functional connectivity of frequency bands as a potential biomarker. Subsequently, the brain network is constructed using graph-theoretic techniques, and graph indices such as clustering coefficient (C) and shortest path length (L) were calculated. Significant intra-hemispheric and the inter-hemispheric discrepancy between ADHD and healthy control (HC) groups in the beta band was observed. The graph features indicate that the clustering coefficient is significantly higher in the ADHD group than that in the HC group. At the same time, the shortest path length is significantly lower in the beta band. ADHD's brain networks have a problem in transferring information among various neural regions, which can cause a deficiency in the processing of facial emotions. The beta band seems better to reflect the differences between ADHD and HC. The observed functional connectivity and graph differences could also be helpful in ADHD investigations.

Effect of edible composite film based on chitosan and cumin essential oil-loaded nanoemulsion combined with low-dose gamma irradiation on microbiological safety and quality of beef loins during refrigerated storage.

This research was conducted to assess the combined effect of chitosan (Ch) film containing cumin essential oil nanoemulsion (CNE) and low-dose gamma irradiation (GI) at 2.5 kGy on microbiological safety and quality of beef loins during 21 days of chilled storage. The growth of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and lactic acid bacteria were retarded in all treated groups (Ch, GI, Ch + CNE, Ch + GI, and Ch + CNE + GI groups) compared to control group during storage time. The treatments also slowed down the increasing level of total volatile basic nitrogen and pH during storage, while irradiation increased the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and protein carbonyls in beef loins. All treatments except Ch were effective to control the growth of inoculated pathogenic bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella typhimurium, in loin samples. The combination of Ch + CNE + GI was the most effective treatment to control the population of microbial flora and inoculated pathogens, slow down some physicochemical changes, and enhance the storage life of beef loins. As a result, the combination of active chitosan film and low-dose gamma irradiation can ensure microbiological safety and is suggested for long time preservation of beef during chilled storage.

Clinico-pathological features of thyroid cancer as observed in five referral hospitals in Iran--a review of 1177 cases.

In this study some of the clinical and pathological aspects of thyroid carcinomas in Iran are defined. Until fairly recently, Iran was an area of endemic iodine deficiency. The medical records of 1177 confirmed cases of thyroid cancer treated over a 15-year period at 5 tertiary referral centers were reviewed. The female/male ratio was 1.8/1. Mean age was 42.8 +/- 0.9 years, male patients being significantly older. The most common clinical presentation (initial manifestation) was a central neck mass; 28.6% of the tumors had metastasized, usually to the cervical lymph nodes, by the time the patient presented with disease. The mean size of non-metastatic tumors was 5.0 cm at their longest diameter. The distribution of tumors in our study did not reflect the expectations for an iodine-deficient area, where follicular thyroid carcinoma is common, but rather what is seen in iodine-rich areas. Papillary and follicular types accounted for79.7% and 8.8% of cases, respectively.