Promoting social plasticity in developmental disorders with non-invasive brain stimulation techniques

Being socially connected directly impacts our basic needs and survival. People with deficits in social cognition might exhibit abnormal behaviors and face many challenges in our highly social-dependent world. These challenges and limitations are associated with a substantial economical and subjective impact. As many conditions where social cognition is affected are highly prevalent, more treatments have to be developed. Based on recent research, we review studies where noninvasive neuromodulatory techniques have been used to promote Social Plasticity in developmental disorders. We focused on three populations where non-invasive brain stimulation seems to be a promising approach in inducing social plasticity: Schizophrenia, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Williams Syndrome (WS). There are still very few studies directly evaluating the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the social cognition of these populations. However, when considering the promising preliminary evidences presented in this review and the limited amount of clinical interventions available for treating social cognition deficits in these populations today, it is clear that the social neuroscientist arsenal may profit from non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for rehabilitation and promotion of social plasticity

Dispersal history of SARS-CoV-2 in Galicia, Spain

The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission are influenced by a variety of factors, including social restrictions and the emergence of distinct variants. In this study, we delve into the origins and dissemination of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of concern in Galicia, northwest Spain. For this, we leveraged genomic data collected by the EPICOVIGAL Consortium and from the GISAID database, along with mobility information from other Spanish regions and foreign countries. Our analysis indicates that initial introductions during the Alpha phase were predominantly from other Spanish regions and France. However, as the pandemic progressed, introductions from Portugal and the USA became increasingly significant. Notably, Galicia’s major coastal cities emerged as critical hubs for viral transmission, highlighting their role in sustaining and spreading the virus. This research emphasizes the critical role of regional connectivity in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and offers essential insights for enhancing public health strategies and surveillance measures.This work was funded by grant EPICOVIGAL FONDO SUPERA-COVID19 from Banco Santander-CSIC-CRUE and grant CT850A-2 from ACIS SERGAS from the Consellería de Sanidade Xunta de Galicia. PGG was supported by grant ED481A-2021/345 from the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade Xunta de Galicia. SD acknowledges support from the Fonds National de la Recherche (F.R.S.-FNRS, Belgium; grant no. F.4515.22). SD and GB acknowledge support from the Research Foundation - Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen, FWO, Belgium; grant no. G098321N) and from the European Union Horizon RIA 2023 project LEAPS (grant no. 101094685). GB acknowledges support from the Internal Funds KU Leuven (Grant No. C14/18/094), from the Research Foundation - Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen, FWO, Belgium; grant no. G0E1420N) and from the DURABLE EU4Health project 02/2023-01/2027, which is co-funded by the European Union (call EU4H-2021-PJ4; grant no. 101102733). SD and PL acknowledge support from the European Union Horizon 2020 project MOOD (grant agreement no. 874850). PL and MAS acknowledge support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 725422 - ReservoirDOCS), from the Wellcome Trust through project 206298/Z/17/Z and from the National Institutes of Health grants R01 AI153044, R01 AI162611 and U19 AI135995. PL also acknowledges support from the Research Foundation - Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen, G0D5117N, and G051322N); MIV, JCS and NSO acknowledge support from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (project UIDB/50026/2020, UIDP/50026/2020).N

Dispersal history of SARS-CoV-2 in Galicia, Spain

13 páginas, 4 figurasThe dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission are influenced by a variety of factors, including social restrictions and the emergence of distinct variants. In this study, we delve into the origins and dissemination of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron-BA.1 variants of concern in Galicia, northwest Spain. For this, we leveraged genomic data collected by the EPICOVIGAL Consortium and from the GISAID database, along with mobility information from other Spanish regions and foreign countries. Our analysis indicates that initial introductions during the Alpha phase were predominantly from other Spanish regions and France. However, as the pandemic progressed, introductions from Portugal and the United States became increasingly significant. The number of detected introductions varied from 96 and 101 for Alpha and Delta to 39 for Omicron-BA.1. Most of these introductions left a low number of descendants (<10), suggesting a limited impact on the evolution of the pandemic in Galicia. Notably, Galicia's major coastal cities emerged as critical hubs for viral transmission, highlighting their role in sustaining and spreading the virus. This research emphasizes the critical role of regional connectivity in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and offers essential insights for enhancing public health strategies and surveillance measures.This work was funded by grant EPICOVIGAL FONDO SUPERA-COVID19 from Banco Santander-CSIC-CRUE and grant CT850A-2 from ACIS SERGAS from the Consellería de Sanidade Xunta de Galicia. PGG was supported by grant ED481A-2021/345 from the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade Xunta de Galicia. SD acknowledges support from the Fonds National de la Recherche (F.R.S.-FNRS, Belgium; grant no. F.4515.22). SD and GB acknowledge support from the Research Foundation - Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen, FWO, Belgium; grant no. G098321N) and from the European Union Horizon RIA 2023 project LEAPS (grant no. 101094685). GB acknowledges support from the Internal Funds KU Leuven (Grant No. C14/18/094), from the Research Foundation - Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen, FWO, Belgium; grant no. G0E1420N) and from the DURABLE EU4Health project 02/2023-01/2027, which is co-funded by the European Union (call EU4H-2021-PJ4; grant no. 101102733). SD and PL acknowledge support from the European Union Horizon 2020 project MOOD (grant agreement no. 874850). PL and MAS acknowledge support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 725422 - ReservoirDOCS), from the Wellcome Trust through project 206298/Z/17/Z and from the National Institutes of Health grants R01 AI153044, R01 AI162611 and U19 AI135995. PL also acknowledges support from the Research Foundation - Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen, G0D5117N, and G051322N); MIV, JCS and NSO acknowledge support from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (project UIDB/50026/2020, UIDP/50026/2020).Peer reviewe

Psychopathology and behavior problems in children and adolescents with Williams syndrome: distinctive relationships with cognition

Several studies have documented the high prevalence of psychopathology and behavior problems in Williams syndrome (WS). However, the links between cognitive development and such symptoms need further clarification. Our study aims to expand current knowledge on levels of behavior problems and its links to cognition in a sample of Brazilian individuals with WS. A total of 25 children and adolescents with WS and their parents participated in this study. The participants' IQs were assessed with the Wechsler Scales of Intelligence (for children or adults) and parental reports of psychopathology/behavior problems were collected using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The presence of clinically significant attention problems was a main feature in our sample of children and adolescents with WS. In the children, higher IQ scores were found to be significantly associated with less externalizing problems, while in the adolescents cognitive abilities were found to be associated with less internalizing symptoms. These results provide further insight into the links between psychopathology and behavior problems and cognitive abilities in WS, and suggest the need to take age into consideration when analyzing such relationships.This work was supported by CAPES [grant numbers BEX 1551/08-6 and BEX 9573/11-9]; CNPq [grant numbers 308540/2012-3 and 487188/2013-6]; and FEDER through the Competitive Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE) and national funds from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [grant number PTDC/PSI-PCL/115316/2009].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Patterns and Processes of Mycobacterium bovis Evolution Revealed by Phylogenomic Analyses

Mycobacterium bovis is an important animal pathogen worldwide, parasitizing wild and domesticated vertebrate live stocks as well as humans. We investigated evolutionary patterns and processes in 38 sequenced genomes of M. bovis from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. We found that US strains are evolving distinctly (though with low magnitude) from most South American lineages regarding core-coding size, GC-content, and codon usage bias, and we further employ agreement to this pattern as proxy for phylogenetic reliability. Three data types were used for tree inference: 1. Single copy core-coding genes (core-coding); 2. Indel blocks coded as numeric characters (indels); 3. Gene presence/absence similarly coded (pangenome). Core-coding´s performance was below expected regarded we used 2,000+ genes, but indels and pangenome individually estimated reasonable trees, with HGT rates as high as 200x the DNA substitution rate. In addressing why core-coding performed poorly, we excluded phylogenetic method bias, homologous recombination, positive, and purifying selection as possible causes, whilst transient retention of random mildly deleterious mutations due to recent diversification, and also ongoing pseudogeneization, may be plausible. Although total evidence´s retention index was as good as presence/absence data individually in identifying US samples, it additionaly found a South American clade with more lineages excluding only two Brazilian samples. We further inferred divergence times using indels + pangenome due to lack of informativeness of core-coding, recovering relatively similar date estimates to previous studies on the origin of M. bovis (< 10,000 y) regardless of the dating prior (strict vs. uncorrelated clock, uniform vs. exponential clock, different age/rate standard deviation priors), evincing the suitability and unsuspected robustness of using strictly genomic-wide presence/absence data to dating, while also decisively rejecting a strict clock for our dataset. All trees supported a relatively basal position of African strains, which were isolated from Homo sapiens, suggesting it was an important region for early diversification and confirming we were one of the earliest hosts of the species. Evolution of US strains was affected by lateral acquisition of 57 exclusive genes from, including genes important for virulence. A clade of three US localities, distant from one another, is under even faster evolutionary rates supported by core-coding, indels, and pangenome.Fil: Patané, José S.L.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Martins, Joaquim. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Castelão, Ana Beatriz. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Nishibe, Christiane. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Montera, Luciana. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Bigi, Fabiana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Zumárraga, Martín José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cataldi, Ángel Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Junior, Antônio Fonseca. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Roxo, Eliana. Instituto Biológico de São Pablo; BrasilFil: Osório, Ana Luiza A. R.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Jorge, Klaudia S.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Thacker, Tyler C.. United States Department of Agriculture; Estados UnidosFil: Almeida, Nalvo F.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Araújo, Flabio R.. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Setubal, João C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech; Estados Unido

Patterns and Processes of Mycobacterium bovis Evolution Revealed by Phylogenomic Analyses

Mycobacterium bovis is an important animal pathogen worldwide, parasitizing wild and domesticated vertebrate live stocks as well as humans. We investigated evolutionary patterns and processes in 38 sequenced genomes of M. bovis from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. We found that US strains are evolving distinctly (though with low magnitude) from most South American lineages regarding core-coding size, GC-content, and codon usage bias, and we further employ agreement to this pattern as proxy for phylogenetic reliability. Three data types were used for tree inference: 1. Single copy core-coding genes (core-coding); 2. Indel blocks coded as numeric characters (indels); 3. Gene presence/absence similarly coded (pangenome). Core-coding´s performance was below expected regarded we used 2,000+ genes, but indels and pangenome individually estimated reasonable trees, with HGT rates as high as 200x the DNA substitution rate. In addressing why core-coding performed poorly, we excluded phylogenetic method bias, homologous recombination, positive, and purifying selection as possible causes, whilst transient retention of random mildly deleterious mutations due to recent diversification, and also ongoing pseudogeneization, may be plausible. Although total evidence´s retention index was as good as presence/absence data individually in identifying US samples, it additionaly found a South American clade with more lineages excluding only two Brazilian samples. We further inferred divergence times using indels + pangenome due to lack of informativeness of core-coding, recovering relatively similar date estimates to previous studies on the origin of M. bovis (< 10,000 y) regardless of the dating prior (strict vs. uncorrelated clock, uniform vs. exponential clock, different age/rate standard deviation priors), evincing the suitability and unsuspected robustness of using strictly genomic-wide presence/absence data to dating, while also decisively rejecting a strict clock for our dataset. All trees supported a relatively basal position of African strains, which were isolated from Homo sapiens, suggesting it was an important region for early diversification and confirming we were one of the earliest hosts of the species. Evolution of US strains was affected by lateral acquisition of 57 exclusive genes from, including genes important for virulence. A clade of three US localities, distant from one another, is under even faster evolutionary rates supported by core-coding, indels, and pangenome.Fil: Patané, José S.L.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Martins, Joaquim. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Castelão, Ana Beatriz. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Nishibe, Christiane. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Montera, Luciana. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Bigi, Fabiana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Zumárraga, Martín José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cataldi, Ángel Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Junior, Antônio Fonseca. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Roxo, Eliana. Instituto Biológico de São Pablo; BrasilFil: Osório, Ana Luiza A. R.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Jorge, Klaudia S.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Thacker, Tyler C.. United States Department of Agriculture; Estados UnidosFil: Almeida, Nalvo F.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Araújo, Flabio R.. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Setubal, João C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech; Estados Unido