Static and Dynamic Autonomic Response with Increasing Nausea Perception

Background—Nausea is a commonly occurring symptom typified by epigastric discomfort with urge to vomit. The relationship between autonomic nervous system (ANS) outflow and increasing nausea perception is not fully understood. Methods—Our study employed a nauseogenic visual stimulus (horizontally translating stripes) while 17 female subjects freely rated transitions in nausea level and autonomic outflow was measured (heart rate, HR, heart rate variability, HRV, skin conductance response, SCR, respiratory rate). We also adopted a recent approach to continuous high frequency (HF) HRV estimation to evaluate dynamic cardiovagal modulation. Results—HR increased from baseline for all increasing nausea transitions, especially transition to strong nausea (15.0±11.4 bpm), but decreased (−6.6±4.6 bpm) once the visual stimulus ceased. SCR also increased for all increasing nausea transitions, especially transition to strong nausea (1.76±1.68 μS), but continued to increase (0.52 ± 0.65 μS) once visual stimulation ceased. LF/HF HRV increased following transition to moderate (1.54±2.11 a.u.) and strong (2.57±3.49 a.u.) nausea, suggesting a sympathetic shift in sympathovagal balance. However, dynamic HF HRV suggested that bursts of cardiovagal modulation precede transitions to higher nausea, perhaps influencing subjects to rate higher levels of nausea. No significant change in respiration rate was found. Conclusions—Our results suggest that increasing nausea perception is associated with both increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic ANS modulation. These findings corroborate past ANS studies of nausea, applying percept-linked analyses and dynamic estimation of cardiovagal modulation in response to nausea.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-HL084502)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-DA015644)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant DP1-OD003646)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant K01-AT002166)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P01-AT002048)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant F05-AT003770)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant K23-DK069614)National Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (P41RR14075)National Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (CRC 1 UL1 RR025758-01)Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery (MIND) InstituteInternational Foundation of Functional Gastrointestinal DisordersInstitute of Information Technology Advancement (South Korea)Institute of Information Technology Advancement (South Korea) (Korea IITA- 2008-(C1090-0801-0002)

An Observational Analysis of ‘Me Too’ Narratives from YouTube

The ‘me too’ movement originated to help survivors of sexual violence by providing resources and building a community of advocates to exemplify the magnitude of sexual violence victimization. This movement gained momentum via Twitter due to the viral hashtag—#metoo. YouTube is often used as a means of expression in younger generations, thus sexual violence survivors began using the platform as a way to disseminate ‘me too’ narratives. Therefore, this study aimed to examine how sexual violence narratives resulting from the ‘me too’ movement are being told on YouTube and understand the components of the narratives related to self-blaming mindsets. Based on predetermined search criteria, researchers identified and screened YouTube videos of people sharing ‘me too’ narratives, and developed themes and codes (e.g., type of violence, perpetrator characteristics). Descriptive statistics and a logistic regression were conducted using demographic, experience, and attitudinal data to predict self-blaming mindsets. Sixty-two YouTube videos were included, consisting of 96 individual ‘me too’ stories. The sample was mostly female, and perpetrators were predominately strangers. The model explained 19.3% of the variance in self-blaming attitudes. Odds of self-blaming rose 4.589 times for those who experienced sexual harassment, and 6.109 times for those who experienced rape. If the perpetrator was not mentioned in the video, odds of self-blaming dropped by 89.4%. This study suggests self-blaming beliefs are prominent among victims, even when they have the space to share their story. Overall, our findings support the continued need for further education and support for victims

Phenomenology and measurement of circumscribed interests in autism spectrum disorders

Circumscribed interests (CI) are important and understudied symptoms that affect individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The present study sought to develop quantitative measures of the content, intensity and functional impairment of CI in 50 children with high-functioning ASD compared to an age-, IQ-, and gender-matched sample of 50 typically developing (TD) peers. The Interests Scale, a parent-rating questionnaire, and the Interview for Repetitive Behaviors, a semi-structured interview, were used to assess CI. Groups did not differ on the number of interests children held, but they did differ on types of interests and impairment associated with them. The interests of ASD participants were more likely to be nonsocial in nature (e.g. mechanical systems) than TD participants. Parents of children with ASD endorsed higher degrees of functional impairment on metrics including frequency, interference, resistance when interrupted, flexibility, and accommodation required, as well as less involvement of other people, than parents of children with TD. These findings suggest that interests of individuals with ASD differ qualitatively and in intensity from individuals with TD. The present study offers further support for the notion that CI reflect a clinically significant feature of ASD that warrants intervention in some children

Children with autism demonstrate circumscribed attention during passive viewing of complex social and nonsocial picture arrays

Although circumscribed interests are a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorders, providing a means for quantifying their functional impairment has proven difficult. We developed a passive viewing task to measure aspects of visual attention in children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developing controls. Task stimuli included picture arrays that were matched for social and nonsocial content. Nonsocial content was balanced to include items related to circumscribed interests (e.g., trains) as well as more commonplace items (e.g., furniture). Discrete aspects of gaze behavior were quantified using eye-tracking technology. Results indicate that visual attention in the autism group was more circumscribed (as indicated by the exploration of fewer images), more perseverative (as indicated by longer fixation times per image explored), and more detail oriented (as indicated by a greater number of discrete fixations on explored images). This pattern of results was similar for both social and object arrays. Within the autism group, overall severity of repetitive behavior symptoms correlated positively with exploration of object pictures and negatively with perseveration on social pictures. Results suggest that children with autism have a domain-general pattern of atypical visual attention that may represent an exaggeration of a typical attentional process and is related to a tendency to perseverate on images of interest and explore them in a more detail-oriented manner. Discrete measures of visual attention may therefore provide a reasonable means of quantifying aspects of the repetitive behavior phenotype in autism

Generativity Abilities Predict Communication Deficits but not Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often demonstrate impaired generativity that is thought to mediate repetitive behaviors in autism (Turner in J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 40(6):839–849, 1999a). The present study evaluated generativity in children with and without ASD via the use-of-objects task (Turner in J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 40(2):189–201, 1999b) and an Animals Fluency Task (Lezak in Neuropsychological assessment. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995). Groups differed significantly on two of four metrics from the Animals Fluency Task and two of seven metrics from the Use of Objects task. In the ASD sample, no significant relations were found between generativity and repetitive behaviors. Significant relations were found, however, between performance on the Animals Fluency Task and communication symptoms. Results replicate reports of generativity deficits in ASD and suggest that impaired generativity may reflect communication deficits that are characteristic of the disorder

At-home blood collection and stabilization in high temperature climates using home RNA

Expanding whole blood sample collection for transcriptome analysis beyond traditional phlebotomy clinics will open new frontiers for remote immune research and telemedicine. Determining the stability of RNA in blood samples exposed to high ambient temperatures (\u3e30°C) is necessary for deploying home-sampling in settings with elevated temperatures (e.g., studying physiological response to natural disasters that occur in warm locations or in the summer). Recently, we have develope

Channeling macrophage polarization by rocaglates increases macrophage resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Macrophages contribute to host immunity and tissue homeostasis via alternative activation programs. M1-like macrophages control intracellular bacterial pathogens and tumor progression. In contrast, M2-like macrophages shape reparative microenvironments that can be conducive for pathogen survival or tumor growth. An imbalance of these macrophages phenotypes may perpetuate sites of chronic unresolved inflammation, such as infectious granulomas and solid tumors. We have found that plant-derived and synthetic rocaglates sensitize macrophages to low concentrations of the M1-inducing cytokine IFN-gamma and inhibit their responsiveness to IL-4, a prototypical activator of the M2-like phenotype. Treatment of primary macrophages with rocaglates enhanced phagosome-lysosome fusion and control of intracellular mycobacteria. Thus, rocaglates represent a novel class of immunomodulators that can direct macrophage polarization toward the M1-like phenotype in complex microenvironments associated with hypofunction of type 1 and/or hyperactivation of type 2 immunity, e.g., chronic bacterial infections, allergies, and, possibly, certain tumors.R35 GM118173 - NIGMS NIH HHS; R01 HL126066 - NHLBI NIH HHS; R01 GM120272 - NIGMS NIH HHS; R01 CA218500 - NCI NIH HHS; R01 HL133190 - NHLBI NIH HHS; R33 AI105944 - NIAID NIH HHSPublished versio

fMRI tracks reductions in repetitive behaviors in autism: Two case studies

Autism is characterized by abnormal prefrontal brain activation during cognitive control, a potential biomarker of repetitive behaviors. In this proof-of-principle study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activity during an oddball task in two high-functioning males with autism before and after 12 weeks of treatment with citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. One participant showed marked reductions in repetitive behaviors whereas the other showed mild worsening. Brain activation in relevant prefrontal regions increased in only the participant whose repetitive behavior symptoms improved. These findings suggest that fMRI may elucidate potential mechanisms of action of targeted autism interventions