Evocative gene-environment correlation between genetic risk for schizophrenia and bullying victimization

Bullying exposure concerns over 10% of adolescents in Europe. Moreover, bullying victimization is heritable and victims are liable to psychotic symptoms, partly because of shared heritability with psychosis. The genetic component of bullying victimization has been proposed to involve the social reactions elicited by victims – a mechanism called “evocative gene-environment correlation”. We hypothesized that genetic risk for schizophrenia, a heritable disease also associated with social stress during childhood and adolescence, is related with social experiences during adolescence and is involved in the risk of developing psychotic symptoms. We studied 908 individuals of the TRAILS sample and found that 13-14-year-old adolescents with greater genetic risk for schizophrenia are more exposed to bullying assessed via peer nomination scores than their peers with lower genetic risk. Importantly, bullying victimization mediated the path from genetic risk to the frequency of psychotic symptoms about three years later. These findings provide evidence of a previously unreported form of gene-environment interplay that may be a mechanism of risk for psychosis and schizophrenia. To the extent that genetic risk translation into clinical symptoms is mediated by environmental risk factors, this evidence supports mental health prevention aimed at antagonizing bullying victimization in vulnerable individuals

The FoodCast research image database (FRIDa)

In recent years we have witnessed an increasing interest in food processing and eating behaviors. This is probably due to several reasons. The biological relevance of food choices, the complexity of the food-rich environment in which we presently live (making food-intake regulation difficult), and the increasing health care cost due to illness associated with food (food hazards, food contamination, and aberrant food-intake). Despite the importance of the issues and the relevance of this research, comprehensive and validated databases of stimuli are rather limited, outdated, or not available for non-commercial purposes to independent researchers who aim at developing their own research program. The FoodCast Research Image Database (FRIDa) we present here includes 877 images belonging to eight different categories: natural-food (e.g., strawberry), transformed-food (e.g., french fries), rotten-food (e.g., moldy banana), natural-non-food items (e.g., pinecone), artificial food-related objects (e.g., teacup), artificial objects (e.g., guitar), animals (e.g., camel), and scenes (e.g., airport). FRIDa has been validated on a sample of healthy participants (N = 73) on standard variables (e.g., valence, familiarity, etc.) as well as on other variables specifically related to food items (e.g., perceived calorie content); it also includes data on the visual features of the stimuli (e.g., brightness, high frequency power, etc.). FRIDa is a well-controlled, flexible, validated, and freely available (http://foodcast.sissa.it/neuroscience/) tool for researchers in a wide range of academic fields and industry. \ua9 2013 Foroni, Pergola, Argiris and Rumiati

Exact Solution of the Discrete (1+1)-dimensional RSOS Model with Field and Surface Interactions

We present the solution of a linear Restricted Solid--on--Solid (RSOS) model in a field. Aside from the origins of this model in the context of describing the phase boundary in a magnet, interest also comes from more recent work on the steady state of non-equilibrium models of molecular motors. While similar to a previously solved (non-restricted) SOS model in its physical behaviour, mathematically the solution is more complex. Involving basic hypergeometric functions ${}_3\phi_2$, it introduces a new form of solution to the lexicon of directed lattice path generating functions.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Separate and overlapping functional roles for efference copies in the human thalamus

How the perception of space is generated from the multiple maps in the brain is still an unsolved mystery in neuroscience. A neural pathway ascending from the superior colliculus through the medio-dorsal (MD) nucleus of thalamus to the frontal eye field has been identified in monkeys that conveys efference copy information about the metrics of upcoming eye movements. Information sent through this pathway stabilizes vision across saccades. We investigated whether this motor plan information might also shape spatial perception even when no saccades are performed. We studied patients with medial or lateral thalamic lesions (likely involving either the MD or the ventrolateral (VL) nuclei). Patients performed a double-step task testing motor updating, a trans-saccadic localization task testing visual updating, and a localization task during fixation testing a general role of motor signals for visual space in the absence of eye movements. Single patients with medial or lateral thalamic lesions showed deficits in the double-step task, reflecting insufficient transfer of efference copy. However, only a patient with a medial lesion showed impaired performance in the trans-saccadic localization task, suggesting that different types of efference copies contribute to motor and visual updating. During fixation, the MD patient localized stationary stimuli more accurately than healthy controls, suggesting that patients compensate the deficit in visual prediction of saccades - induced by the thalamic lesion - by relying on stationary visual references. We conclude that partially separable efference copy signals contribute to motor and visual stability in company of purely visual signals that are equally effective in supporting trans-saccadic perception

Age-related male hypogonadism and cognitive impairment in the elderly: Focus on the effects of testosterone replacement therapy on cognition

Background. Epidemiological data report that male hypogonadism may play a role in cognitive impairment in elderly. However, the effect of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) on cognitive abilities in this cluster of patients has not been well established. Methods. PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched by using free text words and medical subject headings terms related with “male hypogonadism”, “late-onset hypogonadism”, elderly, cognition, “mild cognitive impairment”, memory, “testosterone replacement therapy” used in various combinations according to the specific clinical questions. Original articles, reviews, and randomized controlled trials written in English were selected. Results. A long-term TRT could improve specific cognitive functions, such as verbal and spatial memory, cognitive flexibility, and physical vitality. However, randomized controlled trials do not provide positive results, and in most of the cases TRT might not induce beneficial effects on cognitive function in elderly men. Discussion and conclusions. Since the lengthening of life expectancy, the prevalence rate of cognitive decline in elderly men is expected to increase remarkably over the next decade with considerable healthcare and economical concerns. Therefore, this remains a relevant clinical topic and further investigations are needed for clarifying the role of TRT especially in elderly men with hypogonadism

Hypothesized mechanisms explaining poor prognosis in type 2 diabetes patients with COVID-19: a review

Purpose: Epidemiological data suggest that comorbid patients, mostly those with type 2 diabetes (T2D), are predisposed to poor prognosis in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), leading to serious healthcare concerns. The aim of the present manuscript is to review the main relevant mechanisms possibly contributing to worsen the clinical course of COVID-19 in T2D. Results: Poor glucose control, high glycaemic variability and diabetes-related comorbidities at baseline, particularly cardiovascular diseases and obesity, contribute in worsening the prognosis in the above-mentioned cluster of patients. Moreover, both a lower efficient innate immune system response and cytokine dysregulation predispose patients with T2D to impaired viral clearance and more serious pulmonary and systemic inflammation once the SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred. Inconclusive data are currently available for specifically indicate or contraindicate concurrent medications for managing T2D and its comorbidities in infected patients. Conclusions: T2D individuals should be considered as more vulnerable to COVID-19 than general population, and thus require adequate advices about hygienic tips to protect themselves during the pandemic. A careful management of glucose levels and diabetes-related comorbidities remains essential for avoiding further complications, and patient monitoring during the pandemic should be performed also at distance by means of telemedicine. Further studies are needed to clarify whether medications normally used for managing T2D and its associated comorbidities could have a protective or detrimental effect on COVID-19 clinical course

Physical Electronics

Contains reports on three research projects

Signal transduction of mineralocorticoid and angiotensin ii receptors in the central control of sodium appetite: A narrative review

Sodium appetite is an innate behavior occurring in response to sodium depletion that induces homeostatic responses such as the secretion of the mineralocorticoid hormone aldosterone from the zona glomerulosa of the adrenal cortex and the stimulation of the peptide hormone angiotensin II (ANG II). The synergistic action of these hormones signals to the brain the sodium appetite that represents the increased palatability for salt intake. This narrative review summarizes the main data dealing with the role of mineralocorticoid and ANG II receptors in the central control of sodium appetite. Appropriate keywords and MeSH terms were identified and searched in PubMed. References to original articles and reviews were examined, selected, and discussed. Several brain areas control sodium appetite, including the nucleus of the solitary tract, which contains aldosterone‐sensitive HSD2 neurons, and the organum vasculosum lamina terminalis (OVLT) that contains ANG II‐sensitive neurons. Furthermore, sodium appetite is under the control of signaling proteins such as mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) and inositol 1,4,5‐thriphosphate (IP3). ANG II stimulates salt intake via MAPK, while combined ANG II and aldosterone action induce sodium intake via the IP3 signaling pathway. Finally, aldosterone and ANG II stimulate OVLT neurons and suppress oxytocin secretion inhibiting the neuronal activity of the paraventricular nucleus, thus disinhibiting the OVLT activity to aldosterone and ANG II stimulation

Endocrine system dysfunction and chronic heart failure: a clinical perspective

Chronic heart failure (CHF) leads to an excess of urgent ambulatory visits, recurrent hospital admissions, morbidity, and mortality regardless of medical and non-medical management of the disease. This excess of risk may be attributable, at least in part, to comorbid conditions influencing the development and progression of CHF. In this perspective, the authors examined and described the most common endocrine disorders observed in patients with CHF, particularly in individuals with reduced ejection fraction, aiming to qualify the risks, quantify the epidemiological burden and discuss about the potential role of endocrine treatment. Thyroid dysfunction is commonly observed in patients with CHF, and sometimes it could be the consequence of certain medications (e.g., amiodarone). Male and female hypogonadism may also coexist in this clinical context, contributing to deteriorating the prognosis of these patients. Furthermore, growth hormone deficiency may affect the development of adult myocardium and predispose to CHF. Limited recommendation suggests to screen endocrine disorders in CHF patients, but it could be interesting to evaluate possible endocrine dysfunction in this setting, especially when a high suspicion coexists. Data referring to long-term safety and effectiveness of endocrine treatments in patients with CHF are limited, and their impact on several “hard” endpoints (such as hospital admission, all-cause, and cardiovascular mortality) are still poorly understood