Using pharmacological reconsolidation-interference strategies to attenuate maladaptive appetitive memories

Under certain conditions memories can re-enter a transient, labile state in which they are susceptible to modification. ‘Reconsolidation’ thus describes the hypothetical process by which a reactivated memory is returned to a stable state. The current thesis will explore the potential of pharmacological reconsolidation-interference strategies in attenuating the maladaptive appetitive memories underlying alcohol dependence and binge eating disorder (BED). Chapter 1 presents an overview of the reconsolidation literature and its potential to treat disorders of maladaptive appetitive memory. In Chapter 2, a review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of treatments utilising behavioral and pharmacological reconsolidation strategies in clinical or sub-clinical populations is presented. In Chapter 3, the requirement for the inclusion of a prediction error (PE) at retrieval in a population of hazardous drinkers is assessed in a randomised, between subjects design (N=60). Although no effect of post-retrieval N2O (a predicted blocker of reconsolidation) was observed initially, exploratory analysis showed a memory-weakening effect only when administration occurred after cue-alcohol retrieval and PE. Chapter 4 presents a single blind, randomised, between subjects (N=90) study of the efficacy of the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine. Relative to placebo and a no-reactivation group, ketamine produced significant reductions in drinking and putative measures of cue-alcohol memory strength. Chapter 5 explores the efficacy of rapamycin, a proven blocker of reconsolidation in pre-clinical models, to attenuate non-drug reward memory in a population with a tendency of overeat or binge on chocolate (N=75). No effect of rapamycin was observed, although this may represent the limited scope to see improvement in measures of disordered eating within this sample. Finally, Chapter 6 summaries and integrates the current findings into the existing literature. A discussion of the implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research on reconsolidation is given

Ageing in transnational contexts: transforming everyday practices and identities in later life

This Special Issue on 'Ageing in Transnational Contexts: Transforming Everyday Practices and Identities in Later Life' extends our understanding of how ageing is experienced in transnational contexts. It focuses on how everyday lives and identities in older age are being negotiated by individuals who have migration histories or who are affected by the mobilities of others in their lives. In the introduction we situate our approach within an emerging strand of research investigating the inter-related processes of ageing and transnational migration. We also present the seven empirical case studies that constitute the issue and discuss their collective contribution for the research field

'My two homes': children’s picture books and non/normative imaginaries of home in post-divorce/separation families

In spite of a burgeoning interest in children’s home lives, we know little about the meaning and experience of home for children living in postdivorce/separation families who often spend time in more than one parental home. As a starting point, in this article I analyse the way in which thirteen ‘therapeutic’ pictures books for younger children aged 3-8 represent home for such children (and their parents) through their text and images. I argue that the books contain four dominant tropes of domestic transition through their representation of the disruption, journeys, thresholds and materialities of home. However, at the same time, the books also present the ordinariness of domestic home life in post-divorce/separation family life with a counter-narrative of the mundane time spent being together and gender-neutral parental care practices at home

Bostonia

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Grading for Growth: Introducing New Assessment Approaches in Traditional Grading Models

This article explores three teachers’ experiences introducing a new assessment approach in an existing school-wide, grading framework. Teachers explore how they were able to manipulate the school framework in a way that allowed (and required) students to revise and rewrite until they had achieved mastery on key writing assignments

Electroanatomic Mapping to determine Scar Regions in patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Left atrial voltage maps are routinely acquired during electroanatomic mapping in patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. For patients, who have prior catheter ablation when they are in sinus rhythm, the voltage map can be used to identify low voltage areas using a threshold of 0.2 - 0.45 mV. However, such a voltage threshold for maps acquired during atrial fibrillation has not been well established. A prerequisite for defining a voltage threshold is to maximize the topologically matched low voltage areas between the electroanatomic mapping acquired during atrial fibrillation and sinus rhythm. This paper demonstrates a new technique to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the matched low voltage areas. This is achieved by computing omni-directional bipolar voltages and applying Gaussian Process Regression based interpolation to derive the atrial fibrillation map. The proposed method is evaluated on a test cohort of 7 male patients, and a total of 46,589 data points were included in analysis. The low voltage areas in the posterior left atrium and pulmonary vein junction are determined using the standard method and the proposed method. Overall, the proposed method showed patient-specific sensitivity and specificity in matching low voltage areas of 75.70% and 65.55% for a geometric mean of 70.69%. On average, there was an improvement of 3.00% in the geometric mean, 7.88% improvement in sensitivity, 0.30% improvement in specificity compared to the standard method. The results show that the proposed method is an improvement in matching low voltage areas. This may help develop the voltage threshold to better identify low voltage areas in the left atrium for patients in atrial fibrillation

Electroanatomic Mapping to Determine Scar Regions in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Left atrial voltage maps are routinely acquired during electroanatomic mapping in patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). For patients, who have prior catheter ablation when they are in sinus rhythm (SR), the voltage map can be used to identify low voltage areas (LVAs) using a threshold of 0.2 - 0.45 mV. However, such a voltage threshold for maps acquired during AF has not been well established. A prerequisite for defining a voltage threshold is to maximize the topologically matched LVAs between the electroanatomic mapping acquired during AF and SR. This paper demonstrates a new technique to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the matched LVA. This is achieved by computing omni-directional bipolar voltages and applying Gaussian Process Regression based interpolation to derive the AF map. The proposed method is evaluated on a test cohort of 7 male patients, and a total of 46,589 data points were included in analysis. The LVAs in the posterior left atrium and pulmonary vein junction are determined using the standard method and the proposed method. Overall, the proposed method showed patient-specific sensitivity and specificity in matching LVAs of 75.70% and 65.55% for a geometric mean of 70.69%. On average, there was an improvement of 3.00% in the geometric mean, 7.88% improvement in sensitivity, 0.30% improvement in specificity compared to the standard method. The results show that the proposed method is an improvement in matching LVA. This may help develop the voltage threshold to better identify LVA in the left atrium for patients in AF