Spontaneous Prediction Error Generation in Schizophrenia

Goal-directed human behavior is enabled by hierarchically-organized neural systems that process executive commands associated with higher brain areas in response to sensory and motor signals from lower brain areas. Psychiatric diseases and psychotic conditions are postulated to involve disturbances in these hierarchical network interactions, but the mechanism for how aberrant disease signals are generated in networks, and a systems-level framework linking disease signals to specific psychiatric symptoms remains undetermined. In this study, we show that neural networks containing schizophrenia-like deficits can spontaneously generate uncompensated error signals with properties that explain psychiatric disease symptoms, including fictive perception, altered sense of self, and unpredictable behavior. To distinguish dysfunction at the behavioral versus network level, we monitored the interactive behavior of a humanoid robot driven by the network. Mild perturbations in network connectivity resulted in the spontaneous appearance of uncompensated prediction errors and altered interactions within the network without external changes in behavior, correlating to the fictive sensations and agency experienced by episodic disease patients. In contrast, more severe deficits resulted in unstable network dynamics resulting in overt changes in behavior similar to those observed in chronic disease patients. These findings demonstrate that prediction error disequilibrium may represent an intrinsic property of schizophrenic brain networks reporting the severity and variability of disease symptoms. Moreover, these results support a systems-level model for psychiatric disease that features the spontaneous generation of maladaptive signals in hierarchical neural networks

Microperimetry and mfERG as functional measurements in diabetic macular oedema undergoing intravitreal ranibizumab treatment

To evaluate Microperimetry (MP) and multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) as whole-macula functional markers of treatment response in naive diabetic macular oedema (DMO) patients undergoing ranibizumab treatment. Microperimetry and mfERG were able to demonstrate DMO functional improvement after treatment loading dose, as well as early visual changes when treatment regimen was switched to PRN.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Laser and Light Therapies for Acne

Acne vulgaris is a very common cutaneous disorder which can cause permanent scarring and disfigurement.Acne is a multifactorial disorder of pilosebaceous units and affects the areas of skin with the greatest concentration of sebaceous follicles such as the face, neck, chest, and back.Common therapies for acne treatment include retinoids, keratolytic agents, antimicrobials, and anti-inflammatory agents.The need for an alternative treatment has led to the investigation of lasers and light sources as a new treatment.The 1450 nm diode laser, 585- and 595-nm pulsed dye lasers (PDLs), near infrared diode lasers, 1320 nm Nd:YAG laser, 532 nm potassium titanyl phosphate laser, 1064 nm long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser, 1540 nm Erbium (Er):Glass Laser, and the 1550 nm Er:Glass fractional laser are among the most common lasers used to treat acne and acne scarring.1540 nm Erbium (Er):Glass Laser, and the 1550 nm Er:Glass fractional laser are among the most common lasers used to treat acne and acne scarring.These lasers target the underlying causes of acne including the colonization of Priopionibacterium acnes, high levels of sebum production, altered keratinization, inflammation, and bacterial colonization of hair follicles on the face, neck, and back