Visually guided equivalence learning in borderline personality disorder

The hallmark symptoms of borderline personality disorder are maladaptive behavior and impulsive emotional reactions. However, the condition is occasionally associated with cognitive alterations. Recently, it has been found that the function of the basal ganglia and the hippocampi might also be affected. Hence, deterioration in learning and memory processes associated with these structures is expected. Thus, we sought to investigate visually guided associative learning, a type of conditioning associated with the basal ganglia and the hippocampi, in patients suffering from borderline personality disorder. In this study, the modified Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test was used to assess associative learning in 23 patients and age-, sex-, and educational level-matched controls. The acquisition phase of the test, which is associated primarily with the frontostriatal loops, was altered in patients with borderline personality disorder: the patients exhibited poor performance in terms of building associations. However, the retrieval and generalization functions, which are primarily associated with the hippocampi and the medial temporal lobes, were not affected. These results corroborate that the basal ganglia are affected in borderline personality disorder. However, maintained retrieval and generalization do not support the assumption that the hippocampi are affected too. © 2022 The Author

Automated preprocessing of 64 channel electroenchephalograms recorded by biosemi instruments

Preprocessing is a mandatory step in electroencephalogram (EEG) signal analysis. Overcoming challenges posed by high noise levels and substantial amplitude artifacts, such as blink-induced electrooculogram (EOG) and muscle-related electromyogram (EMG) interference, is imperative. The signal-to-noise ratio significantly influences the reliability and statistical significance of subsequent analyses. Existing referencing approaches employed in multi-card systems, like using a single electrode or averaging across multiple electrodes, fall short in this respect. In this article, we introduce an innovative referencing method tailored to multi-card instruments, enhancing signal fidelity and analysis outcomes. Our proposed signal processing loop not only mitigates blink-related artifacts but also accurately identifies muscle activity. This work contributes to advancing EEG analysis by providing a robust solution for artifact removal and enhancing data integrity

A szenzoros információ párhuzamos feldolgozó mechanizmusai az emlősagyban = Paralell processing of sensory information in the mammalian brain

Élettani és anatómiai vizsgálataink egy olyan új koncepció bizonyítására irányulnak, mely szerint a szenzoros információ feldolgozása egymással párhuzamosan, egymástól többé-kevésbé függetlenül futó csatornákon/pályákon/áramlatokon keresztül valósul meg. A pályázat végrehajtása során altatott, immobilizált macskák agyában extracelluláris egysejt-tevékenységet regisztráltunk, valamint nyomkövető anyagokkal pályaanalízist végeztünk. Emellett éber, viselkedő majmok inferotemporális kérgében regisztráltunk egysejtaktivitást a képfelismerés élettani folyamatainak tisztázására. A vizsgálatok más része pszichiátriai, neurológiai vagy szemészeti kórképekben szenvedő embereken történt. Leírtuk, hogy a bazális ganglionok két magjában (nucleus caudatus és substantia nigra) levő sejtek klasszikus receptív mező tulajdonságai megfelelnek az általunk korábban leírt tecto-thalamo-corticalis multimodalis pályarendszer neuronjainak élettani sajátságaival. Morfológiai eredményeink összegzése és az élettani adatokkal történő összevetése alkalmat nyújt arra, hogy egy multimodalis szenzoros információfeldolgozó modellt állítsunk össze, mely a bazális ganglionok szenzoros bemenetének újszerű szemléletét szolgáltatja. A makákó majom inferotemporalis kérgi sejtjei egységtevékenységének mérése lehetővé tette a vizuális asszociatív funkció és percepciós neuronális működés összevetését is. | Our physiological and anatomical experiments were aimed at verifying a novel concept in sensory information processing. This concept implies that sensory information is processed through parallel, more or less independent channels/pathways/streams. We recorded extracellular single-unit activity in the brain of anaesthetized, immobilized cats and analyzed sensory pathways employing various tracers. In addition to this, single-unit activity was recorded in the inferotemporal cortex of awake, restrained monkeys in order to clarify the physiological processes during perception. Other experiments were performed in psychiatric, neurological and ophthalmologic patients. Our most important finding was that we proved the classical receptive field properties of some basal ganglia (caudate nucleus and substantia nigra) correspond to the physiological properties of neurons in the tecto-thalamo-cortical multimodal pathway described by us during the last 25 years. Integration of our morphological data with the results of physiological experiments allowed us to construct a novel model of sensory information processing that suggest the sensory input towards the basal ganglia being of tectal origin. The analysis of neuronal activity in the inferotemporal cortex of monkeys allowed a comparison of visual associative function and neuronal activity. In our clinical investigations we analyzed the consequences of selective pathway lesions in various disease forms

A fogágybetegség mint az atheroscleroticus cardiovascularis betegség rizikófaktora = Periodontal disease, a risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Absztrakt: A cardiovascularis betegség világszerte a halálozás és a rokkantság vezető oka. Ezen halálozások többségének hátterében atheroscleroticus és thromboembolisatiós folyamatok állnak, amelyek ischaemiás szívbetegség és stroke kialakulásához vezetnek. A gyulladásos folyamatok szerepe jól dokumentált mind az atherosclerosis, mind az atherothrombosis kialakulásában. Egyre több tudományos eredmény támasztja alá a fogágybetegség, azon belül is a parodontitis szerepét az atherosclerosis és így a cardiovascularis betegségek egyik potenciális rizikófaktoraként. A krónikus gyulladásban lévő, fertőzött parodontalis tasakban lévő kórokozók, valamint azok toxinjai és bomlástermékei növelik a szervezetben zajló szisztémás gyulladásos választ. A szisztémás keringésbe jutva és magukat az atheroscleroticus plakkokat is infiltrálva, további lokális és szisztémás gyulladásos választ indukálnak, összességében fokozzák az atherosclerosis progresszióját, és potenciálisan növelik a cardiovascularis megbetegedések kialakulásának kockázatát. Ennek megfelelően a jó általános szájhigiénia, súlyosabb esetekben parodontalis terápiával elősegítve, potenciálisan csökkentheti a cardiovascularis megbetegedések kialakulásának kockázatát, és része lehet a primer és szekunder prevenciós tevékenységeknek is. Jelen közleményünk célja a fogágybetegség és a cardiovascularis megbetegedések közötti lehetséges patofiziológiai kapcsolatok összefoglalása epidemiológiai vizsgálatok alapján, klinikai evidenciák bemutatása a fogágybetegség és bizonyos cardiovascularis kórképek között, valamint megvizsgálni a parodontalis terápia lehetséges hatásainak szerepét a cardiovascularis megbetegedések megelőzésében, kezelésében. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(11): 419–425. | Abstract: Cardiovascular disease is recognized as the leading cause of death and disability in the world. The majority of these deaths can be attributed to atherosclerotic disease and thromboembolic events leading to ischemic heart disease and stroke. The role of inflammation is well recognized in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis. Increasing number of studies support the hypothesis that periodontal disease, specifically periodontitis, is a potential risk factor for atherosclerosis and thus cardiovascular disease. Chronic infections of periodontal pockets act as reservoirs for pathogenic microorganisms, their toxins and degradation products, raising the overall systemic inflammatory burden. Entering the circulation and atherosclerotic lesions themselves, they lead to further local and systemic inflammatory response, in all contributing to atherosclerosis progression, potentially increasing cardiovascular risk. Along these lines, good oral health in general and the periodontal treatment in more severe cases may play a role in cardiovascular risk reduction, primary and secondary prevention. The present review summarizes the possible pathophysiological mechanisms linking periodontal and cardiovascular pathology, lists clinical evidence between periodontitis and specific forms of cardiovascular disease and looks forward at the potential role of periodontal treatment in cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(11): 419–425

Az epidermolysis bullosa szájüregi tünetei és annak ellátása

The aim of this comprehensive article is to provide guidelines for the daily treatment of patients with epidermolysis bullosa, thus contributing to the attainment of their higher quality of life through the improvement of their oral health. Moreover, it is our intention to facilitate the cooperation among Hungarian general practitioners, dermatologists and dentists. Relying on recent research findings of the international literature, we intend to help general practitioners or dermatologists treating epidermolysis bullosa patients on a daily basis by identifying symptoms that require consulting an oral professional on the one hand, and to present the most important prevention strategies and further treatments advised for dentists on the other. Focusing on various aspects of dental treatment, we specify how a dentist can treat the patient without causing additional wounds or pain, and what kinds of therapy are justified by this approach

Visual consequent stimulus complexity affects performance in audiovisual associative learning

In associative learning (AL), cues and/or outcome events are coupled together. AL is typically tested in visual learning paradigms. Recently, our group developed various AL tests based on the Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test (RAET), both visual and audiovisual, keeping the structure and logic of RAET but with different stimuli. In this study, 55 volunteers were tested in two of our audiovisual tests, SoundFace (SF) and SoundPolygon (SP). The antecedent stimuli in both tests are sounds, and the consequent stimuli are images. The consequents in SF are cartoon faces, while in SP, they are simple geometric shapes. The aim was to test how the complexity of the applied consequent stimuli influences performance regarding the various aspects of learning the tests assess (stimulus pair learning, retrieval, and generalization of the previously learned associations to new but predictable stimulus pairs). In SP, behavioral performance was significantly poorer than in SF, and the reaction times were significantly longer, for all phases of the test. The results suggest that audiovisual associative learning is significantly influenced by the complexity of the consequent stimuli

Suboptimal multisensory processing in pediatric migraine without aura: a comparative, cross-sectional study

Alterations of sensory processing in migraine are well known. There is some evidence to suggest that multisensory processing is altered in migraine as well, but the area is underexplored, especially regarding pediatric migraine. A visual and an audiovisual version of the Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test paradigm was administered to pediatric patients with migraine without aura (aged 7–17.5 years) and to age- and sex-matched controls. The application of audiovisual stimuli significantly facilitated associative pair learning in migraine-free children and adolescents, but not in pediatric migraine patients. The results of this study corroborate the hypothesis that multisensory processing is altered in pediatric migraine without aura