Electrophysiological correlates of dream recall during REM sleep: evidence from multiple awakenings and within-subjects design

Purpose: In the current study, we aimed to investigate the EEG correlates of dream recall (DR) monitoring both the homeostatic and state-trait like factors. We assessed the influence of the time of night on the EEG correlates of DR from REM sleep. Specifically, we tested the continuity-hypothesis (on the theta EEG band) and the activation-hypothesis (on the delta and beta bands). Methods: Twenty-seven subjects underwent polysomnography with multiple provoked awakenings during REM sleep. Only the subjects showing combinations of dream recall (REC) and non-REC (NREC) conditions in both first (1st– 2nd sleep cycle) and second (3rd– 4th sleep cycle) part of the night were included in the analyses. The final sample was composed of 10 subjects (mean age 24± 0.70). EEG power spectra of the 5-min of REM sleep preceding each awakening were computed by a fast Fourier transform. The following frequency bands were considered: delta (0.50– 4.75 Hz), theta (5.00– 7.75 Hz), and beta (16.00– 24.75 Hz). We also calculated the delta/beta power ratio as an integrated EEG index of activation. Results: The 2× 2 within-subjects ANOVA recall × time revealed: a) no significant effect for time and no interaction; b) significant differences over the occipital area in the beta band; c) significant differences over the parietal area for the activation index values. Overall, the results indicated that DR is associated with higher activation regardless of homeostatic pressure across the night of sleep. Conclusion: In line with recent findings, we have shown that DR is predicted by desynchronized EEG activity during REM sleep, providing clear evidence in favor of the activation-hypothesis. We have also confirmed that the EEG pattern of DR can be ascribed to state-like factors. Further studies should assess whether homeostatic modulation may interact with some dream features and the related EEG predictors

MicroRNAs’ crucial role in salivary gland cancers’ onset and prognosis

Simple Summary: Salivary gland cancers are incredibly heterogeneous, both in the physical onset and in the aggressiveness. Setting up a novel diagnostic and prognostic detection method based on the noninvasive microRNAs’ profiling might represent a goal for the clinical management of those particular malignancies, saving precious time for the patients. Abstract: Salivary gland cancer (SGC) is an uncommon and heterogeneous disease that accounts for around 8.5% of all head and neck cancers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) consist of a class of highly conserved, short, single-stranded segments (18–25 nucleotides) of noncoding RNA that represent key gene-transcription regulators in physiological and pathological human conditions. However, their role in SGC development and progression is not completely clear. This review aims to compile and summarize the recent findings on the topic, focusing on the prognostic and diagnostic value of the major modulated and validated microRNAs in SGC. Their differential expression could possibly aid the clinician in delivering an early diagnosis, therapeutic strategy and precision medicine

“Non c’è altra vera religione che quella di Christo”. Bernardino Ochino e il francescanesimo radicale di fronte alla Riforma

The scope of this essay is to reflect on the attitudes of radical Franciscan circles in the face of the Reformation, examining the representative experience of the preacher and Vicar-General of the Capuchin Order Bernardino Ochino, renowned for his flight into Protestant territory in August 1542. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of Ochinian thought in relation to the theme of Orders and of religious vows, contrasting the works of the Italian period with a series of propagandistic writings dating to the early years of his exile. In opposition to the many «religions» of the «church of Antichrist», Ochino lays claim in these texts to an ideal of Christian perfection independent of the observance of a specific rule and centred, instead, on adherence to the divine will through the «living faith» in the «great goodness of Christ». Conflating motifs deriving from Erasmian and Lutheran criticism of religious vows with the antidogmatic inclinations of Franciscan and Waldensian spirituality, he furthermore declares there to be no «other true religion in the world than that of Christ», expressing such a radical and subjective understanding of Christian liberty and of the sequela Christi, that it soon proves to be incompatible even with the new orthodoxies established by the churches of the Reformation