Z-score neurofeedback, heart rate variability biofeedback, and brain coaching for older adults with memory concerns.

BACKGROUND: The three-month, multi-domain Memory Boot Camp program incorporates z-score neurofeedback (NFB), heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback, and one-on-one coaching to teach memory skills and encourage behavior change in diet, sleep, physical fitness, and stress reduction. OBJECTIVE: This prospective trial evaluates the Memory Boot Camp program for adults ages 55 to 85 with symptoms of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and subjective memory complaints. METHODS: Participants were evaluated via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), NeuroTrax Global Cognitive Score, measures of anxiety, depression, sleep, quality of life, quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), and HRV parameters at four timepoints: baseline, pre-program, post-program, and follow-up. The trial included a three-month waiting period between baseline and pre-program, such that each participant acted as their own control, and follow-up took place six months after completion of the program. RESULTS: Participants' MoCA scores and self-reported measures of anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and quality of life improved after treatment, and these changes were maintained at follow-up. Physiological changes in HRV parameters after treatment were not significant, however, breathing rate and QEEG parameters were improved at post-program and maintained at follow-up. Finally, participants' improvement in MoCA score over the treatment period was correlated with their improvement in two brain oscillation parameters targeted by the z-score NFB protocol: relative power of delta and relative power of theta. CONCLUSIONS: Trial results suggest that the Memory Boot Camp program is a promising treatment strategy for older adults with symptoms of MCI and subjective memory complaints.

A genome-wide association study implicates the BMP7 locus as a risk factor for nonsyndromic metopic craniosynostosis.

Our previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) for sagittal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (sNCS) provided important insights into the genetics of midline CS. In this study, we performed a GWAS for a second midline NCS, metopic NCS (mNCS), using 215 non-Hispanic white case-parent triads. We identified six variants with genome-wide significance (P ≤ 5 × 10-8): rs781716 (P = 4.71 × 10-9; odds ratio [OR] = 2.44) intronic to SPRY3; rs6127972 (P = 4.41 × 10-8; OR = 2.17) intronic to BMP7; rs62590971 (P = 6.22 × 10-9; OR = 0.34), located ~ 155 kb upstream from TGIF2LX; and rs2522623, rs2573826, and rs2754857, all intronic to PCDH11X (P = 1.76 × 10-8, OR = 0.45; P = 3.31 × 10-8, OR = 0.45; P = 1.09 × 10-8, OR = 0.44, respectively). We performed a replication study of these variants using an independent non-Hispanic white sample of 194 unrelated mNCS cases and 333 unaffected controls; only the association for rs6127972 (P = 0.004, OR = 1.45; meta-analysis P = 1.27 × 10-8, OR = 1.74) was replicated. Our meta-analysis examining single nucleotide polymorphisms common to both our mNCS and sNCS studies showed the strongest association for rs6127972 (P = 1.16 × 10-6). Our imputation analysis identified a linkage disequilibrium block encompassing rs6127972, which contained an enhancer overlapping a CTCF transcription factor binding site (chr20:55,798,821-55,798,917) that was significantly hypomethylated in mesenchymal stem cells derived from fused metopic compared to open sutures from the same probands. This study provides additional insights into genetic factors in midline CS.

Z-Score Neurofeedback and Heart Rate Variability Training for Adults and Children with Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Retrospective Study.

ADHD is a common condition that causes suffering for those affected and economic loss for society at large. The current standard treatment for ADHD includes stimulant medications, which are not effective for all patients, may include side effects, and can be non-medically misused. Z-score neurofeedback (NFB) and heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback are alternative treatment strategies that have been associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptom improvement. We utilized a retrospective pre-post study design to quantify the change in clients' ADHD symptoms after combined NFB + HRV treatment (which included simultaneous z-score training at four sites). We also assessed whether relevant physiological measures changed in accordance with the protocol, which would be consistent with effective NFB + HRV training. Adults (n = 39) and children (n = 100) with Borderline or Clinical ADHD classifications by the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) received 30 sessions of NFB + HRV training. Measures were compared before and after treatment for the ASEBA, the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA), ADHD medication use, HRV and breathing parameters, and quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) parameters. Average ASEBA Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Problems score improved after treatment for adults and children (p < 0.0001), with Cohen effect sizes (dz) of -1.21 and -1.17, respectively. 87.2% of adults and 80.0% of children experienced improvements of a magnitude greater than or equal to the Minimal Clinically Important Difference. After treatment, 70.8% of adults and 52.8% of children who began in the ASEBA Clinical range, and 80.0% of adults and 63.8% of children who began in the ASEBA Borderline range, were classified in the Normal range. IVA scores also improved after treatment. Changes in HRV and breathing pattern after treatment were consistent with the protocol. QEEG parameters after treatment were closer to the age-based normative mean, which is consistent with effective z-score NFB training.

An ENU mutagenesis screen in zebrafish for visual system mutants identifies a novel splice-acceptor site mutation in patched2 that results in Colobomas.

PURPOSE: To identify recessive mutations affecting development and/or maintenance of the zebrafish visual system. METHODS: A three-generation ENU (N-Nitroso-N-ethylurea)-based forward genetic screen was performed. F3 embryos were screened visually from 1 to 5 days postfertilization (dpf) for ocular abnormalities, and 5 dpf embryos were fixed and processed for cryosectioning, after which eye sections were screened for defects in cellular organization within the retina, lens, and cornea. A combination of PCR and DNA sequencing, in situ hybridization, and pharmacological treatments were used to clone and characterize a coloboma mutant. RESULTS: A total of 126 F2 families were screened, and, from these, 18 recessive mutations were identified that affected eye development. Phenotypes included lens malformations and cataracts, photoreceptor defects, oculocutaneous albinism, microphthalmia, and colobomas. Analysis of one such coloboma mutant, uta(1), identified a splice-acceptor mutation in the patched2 gene that resulted in an in-frame deletion of 19 amino acids that are predicted to contribute to the first extracellular loop of Patched2. ptch2(uta1) mutants possessed elevated Hedgehog (Hh) pathway activity, and blocking the Hh pathway with cyclopamine prevented colobomas in ptch2(uta1) mutant embryos. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified 18 recessive mutations affecting development of the zebrafish visual system and we have characterized a novel splice-acceptor site mutation in patched2 that results in enhanced Hh pathway activity and colobomas.

Toward a better understanding of human eye disease insights from the zebrafish, Danio rerio.

Visual impairment and blindness is widespread across the human population, and the development of therapies for ocular pathologies is of high priority. The zebrafish represents a valuable model organism for studying human ocular disease; it is utilized in eye research to understand underlying developmental processes, to identify potential causative genes for human disorders, and to develop therapies. Zebrafish eyes are similar in morphology, physiology, gene expression, and function to human eyes. Furthermore, zebrafish are highly amenable to laboratory research. This review outlines the use of zebrafish as a model for human ocular diseases such as colobomas, glaucoma, cataracts, photoreceptor degeneration, as well as dystrophies of the cornea and retinal pigmented epithelium.

Uhrf1 and Dnmt1 are required for development and maintenance of the zebrafish lens.

DNA methylation is one of the key mechanisms underlying the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. During DNA replication, the methylation pattern of the parent strand is maintained on the replicated strand through the action of Dnmt1 (DNA Methyltransferase 1). In mammals, Dnmt1 is recruited to hemimethylated replication foci by Uhrf1 (Ubiquitin-like, Containing PHD and RING Finger Domains 1). Here we show that Uhrf1 is required for DNA methylation in vivo during zebrafish embryogenesis. Due in part to the early embryonic lethality of Dnmt1 and Uhrf1 knockout mice, roles for these proteins during lens development have yet to be reported. We show that zebrafish mutants in uhrf1 and dnmt1 have defects in lens development and maintenance. uhrf1 and dnmt1 are expressed in the lens epithelium, and in the absence of Uhrf1 or of catalytically active Dnmt1, lens epithelial cells have altered gene expression and reduced proliferation in both mutant backgrounds. This is correlated with a wave of apoptosis in the epithelial layer, which is followed by apoptosis and unraveling of secondary lens fibers. Despite these disruptions in the lens fiber region, lens fibers express appropriate differentiation markers. The results of lens transplant experiments demonstrate that Uhrf1 and Dnmt1 functions are required lens-autonomously, but perhaps not cell-autonomously, during lens development in zebrafish. These data provide the first evidence that Uhrf1 and Dnmt1 function is required for vertebrate lens development and maintenance.

Opposite effects of zinc on human and rat P2X2 receptors.

P2X(2) receptors from rats show potentiation when a submaximal concentration of ATP is combined with zinc in the range of 10-100 microM. Alignment of the amino acid sequences of human P2X(2) (hP2X(2)) and rat P2X(2) (rP2X(2)) indicated that only one of two histidines essential for zinc potentiation in rP2X(2) is present at the homologous position in hP2X(2) (H132), with the position homologous to rat H213 instead having an arginine (R225). When expressed in Xenopus oocytes, mouse P2X(2a) and P2X(2b) receptors showed zinc potentiation indistinguishable from rat P2X(2a), but hP2X(2b) receptors were inhibited by zinc. The extent of zinc inhibition of hP2X(2b) varied with the ATP concentration, with an IC(50) of 8.4 microM zinc when ATP was applied at 10% of maximal and 87 microM zinc when ATP was applied at 99% of maximal. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that none of the nine histidines in the extracellular domain of hP2X(2b) were required for zinc inhibition, although inhibition was attenuated in the H204A and H209A mutations. Mutating R225 to a cysteine was sufficient to confer zinc potentiation onto hP2X(2b), and zinc potentiation was absent in the hP2X(2b)H132A/R225C double mutant. This suggests that zinc potentiation in the mutant hP2X(2b) uses the same mechanism as zinc potentiation in wild-type rP2X(2a). Because of the species-specific modulation by zinc, evidence for an in vivo role of P2X(2) receptors based on studies conducted on genetically modified mice needs to be viewed with caution when extrapolations are made to the function of the human nervous system.

A histidine scan to probe the flexibility of the rat P2X2 receptor zinc-binding site.

The response of P2X(2) receptors to submaximal concentrations of ATP is potentiated by low levels of extracellular zinc. Histidines 120 and 213 have previously been shown to be essential in binding zinc across an intersubunit binding site. We tested the flexibility of the zinc-binding site by making mutations that had the effect of shifting the two essential histidines up to 13 residues upstream or downstream from their original positions and then testing the ability of the mutated receptors to respond to zinc. Using this method, we were able to explore potential orientations of the two regions relative to one another. Our data are consistent with a moderately flexible zinc-binding site and inconsistent with parallel and anti-parallel orientations of the regions surrounding histidines 120 and 213.

An intersubunit zinc binding site in rat P2X2 receptors.

P2X receptors are ATP-gated ion channels made up of three similar or identical subunits. It is unknown whether ligand binding is intersubunit or intrasubunit, either for agonists or for allosteric modulators. Zinc binds to rat P2X2 receptors and acts as an allosteric modulator, potentiating channel opening. To probe the location of this zinc binding site, P2X2 receptors bearing mutations of the histidines at positions 120 and 213 were expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Studies of H120C and H213C mutants produced five lines of evidence consistent with the hypothesis that the residues in these positions bind zinc. Mixing of subunits containing the H120A or H213A mutation generated receptors that showed zinc potentiation, even though neither of these mutant receptors showed zinc potentiation on its own. Furthermore, expression of trimeric concatamers with His --> Ala mutations at some but not all six positions showed that zinc potentiation correlated with the number of intersubunit histidine pairs. These results indicate that zinc potentiation requires an interaction across a subunit interface. Expression of the H120C/H213C double mutant resulted in the formation of ectopic disulfide bonds that could be detected by changes in the physiological properties of the receptors after treatment with reducing and oxidizing agents. Immunoblot analysis of H120C/H213C protein separated under nonreducing conditions demonstrated that the ectopic bonds were between adjacent subunits. Taken together, these data indicate that His120 and His213 sit close to each other across the interface between subunits and are likely to be key components of the zinc binding site in P2X2 receptors.