Default mode network maturation and environmental adversities during childhood

Default mode network (DMN) plays a central role in cognition and brain disorders. It has been shown that adverse environmental conditions impact neurodevelopment, but how these conditions impact in DMN maturation is still poorly understood. This article reviews representative neuroimaging functional studies addressing the interactions between DMN development and environmental factors, focusing on early life adversities, a critical period for brain changes. Studies focused on this period of life offer a special challenge: to disentangle the neurodevelopmental connectivity changes from those related to environmental conditions. We first summarized the literature on DMN maturation, providing an overview of both typical and atypical development patterns in childhood and early adolescence. Afterward, we focused on DMN changes associated with chronic exposure to environmental adversities during childhood. This summary suggests that changes in DMN development could be a potential allostatic neural feature associated with an embodiment of environmental circumstances. Finally, we discuss about some key methodological issues that should be considered in paradigms addressing environmental adversities and open questions for future investigations

Regional dynamics of the resting brain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using fALFF and ReHo analyses

Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has been playing an important role in the study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although functional connectivity is widely studied, the patterns of spontaneous neural activity of the resting brain are important mechanisms that have been used recently to study a variety of conditions but remain less explored in ALS. Here we have used fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) to study the regional dynamics of the resting brain of non-demented ALS patients compared with healthy controls. As expected, we found the sensorimotor network (SMN) with changes in fALFF and ReHo but also found the default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), salience (SN) networks altered and the cerebellum, although no structural changes between ALS patients and controls were reported in the regions with fALFF and ReHo changes. We show an altered pattern in the spontaneous low frequency oscillations that is not confined to the motor areas and reveal a more widespread involvement of non-motor regions, including those responsible for cognition

Quality of the marital relationship: an evaluation of couples living in the For Pará

We investigated perceptions of couples on their own marital relationships. According to Evolutionary Psychology, an evolutionary framework which supports this study, those perceptions are part of monitoring mechanisms of relationship satisfaction. Specifically, we aimed to investigate how couples hosted in the metropolitan region of Belém evaluate the quality of their current marital relationships, through the comparison between responses of each husband and wife. We used the MARQ questionnaire to assess their marital satisfaction, thus we found length of relationship was 12,62 years on average. Most couples were from middle class, 86% of them reported satisfaction in their relationships. Among the 12 scales of MARQ, scales of jealous, partnership, and love were more important for relationship satisfaction than others. When we analyzed participants’ responses divided by sex, both husbands and wives evaluated sexual jealous, reconcilement and problems with partner as the most important factor for their satisfaction with relationship. Between those who have satisfaction in their relationships, we were able to find homogamy in their age, income range, and level of education. Results found support Evolutionary Psychology hypothesis about the omnipresence of love and jealous as mechanisms of pair bonding since our ancestors and nowadays. Among Northern Brazilians couples, it seems the jealous mechanisms are underlying their mating behavior. The small differences on evaluation of relationships between sexes did not impacted significantly on the satisfaction of wives and husbands in their relationships.Neste estudo investigamos as percepções que os casais têm de seus relacionamentos conjugais. Estas percepções seriam parte dos mecanismos de monitoramento da satisfação com o relacionamento, de acordo com a Psicologia Evolucionista, referencial téorico utilizado neste trabalho, que se baseia fundamentalmente na teoria evolutiva darwinista. Especificamente, nosso objetivo foi verificar de que forma os casais residentes na região metropolitana de Belém avaliam a qualidade de seus relacionamentos conjugais atuais, comparando as respostas dos membros da díade entre si e separadamente, por sexo. Utilizando a escala MARQ como instrumento de medida de satisfação conjugal, encontramos 86% dos casais satisfeitos com seus relacionamentos, cuja duração média foi 12,62 anos, a maioria oriundos da classe média. Analisada as respostas do casal, encontramos nas escalas de ciúme, parceria e amor os principais fatores para a satisfação conjugal. Analisadas separadamente, estas respostas indicaram que homens e mulheres avaliaram o ciúme sexual, conciliação e problemas com o relacionamento como fatores mais importantes para a satisfação conjugal. Analisando características sociodemográficas como faixa etária, renda e escolaridade, encontramos homogamia entre os casais mais satisfeitos. Os resultados encontrados fortalecem os pressupostos da Psicologia Evolucionista a respeito da onipresença do amor e do ciúme, como fatores de coesão dos hominíneos, especialmente na formação de pares, desde nossos ancestrais até a atualidade. Especialmente o mecanismo do ciúme estaria influenciando o comportamento amoroso de homens e mulheres paraenses. As pequenas diferenças na avaliação do relacionamento entre sexos não afetaram significativamente a satisfação de ambos com o relacionamento

Default mode network maturation and environmental adversities during childhood

Default mode network (DMN) plays a central role in cognition and brain disorders. It has been shown that adverse environmental conditions impact neurodevelopment, but how these conditions impact in DMN maturation is still poorly understood. This article reviews representative neuroimaging functional studies addressing the interactions between DMN development and environmental factors, focusing on early life adversities, a critical period for brain changes. Studies focused on this period of life offer a special challenge: to disentangle the neurodevelopmental connectivity changes from those related to environmental conditions. We first summarized the literature on DMN maturation, providing an overview of both typical and atypical development patterns in childhood and early adolescence. Afterward, we focused on DMN changes associated with chronic exposure to environmental adversities during childhood. This summary suggests that changes in DMN development could be a potential allostatic neural feature associated with an embodiment of environmental circumstances. Finally, we discuss about some key methodological issues that should be considered in paradigms addressing environmental adversities and open questions for future investigations

Associations between Family Functioning and Maternal Behavior on Default Mode Network Connectivity in School-Age Children

Background: Most early children’s experiences will occur in a family context; therefore, the quality of this environment is critical for development outcomes. Not many studies have assessed the correlations between brain functional connectivity (FC) in important areas such as the default mode network (DMN) and the quality of parent-child relationships in school-age children and early adolescence. The quality of family relationships and maternal behavior have been suggested to modulate DMN FC once they act as external regulators of children’s affect and behavior. Objective: We aimed to test the associations between the quality of family environment/maternal behavior and FC within the DMN of school-age children. Method: Resting-state, functional magnetic resonance imaging data, were collected from 615 children (6–12 age range) enrolled in the Brazilian High-Risk Cohort (HRC) study. We assessed DMN intra-connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL-bilateral) regions. The family functioning was assessed by levels of family cohesiveness and conflict and by maternal behavior styles such as maternal responsiveness, maternal stimulus to the child’s autonomy, and maternal overprotection. The family environment was assessed with the Family Environment Scale (FES), and maternal behavior was assessed by the mother’s self-report. Results: We found that the quality of the family environment was correlated with intra-DMN FC. The more conflicting the family environment was, the greater the FC between the mPFC-left IPL (lIPL), while a more cohesive family functioning was negatively correlated with FC between the PCC-lIPL. On the other hand, when moderated by a positive maternal behavior, cohesive family functioning was associated with increased FC in both regions of the DMN (mPFC-lIPL and PCC-lIPL). Conclusions: Our results highlight that the quality of the family environment might be associated with differences in the intrinsic DMN FC

Search for CPCP violation in D0^0→\to KS0^0_\mathrm{S}KS0^0_\mathrm{S} decays in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

International audienceA search is reported for charge-parity D$^0$$\to$ K$^0_\mathrm{S}$K$^0_\mathrm{S}$$CP$ violation in D$^0$$\to$ K$^0_\mathrm{S}$K$^0_\mathrm{S}$ decays, using data collected in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment in 2018. The analysis uses a dedicated data set that corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 41.6 fb$^{-1}$, which consists of about 10 billion events containing a pair of ẖadrons, nearly all of which decay to charm hadrons. The flavor of the neutral D meson is determined by the pion charge in the reconstructed decays D$^{*+}$$\to$ D$^0\pi^+$ and D$^{*-}$$\to$ D$^0\pi^-$. The D$^0$$\to$ K$^0_\mathrm{S}$K$^0_\mathrm{S}$$CP$ asymmetry in D$^0$$\to$ K$^0_\mathrm{S}$K$^0_\mathrm{S}$ is measured to be $A_{CP}$( K$^0_\mathrm{S}$K$^0_\mathrm{S}$) = (6.2 $\pm$ 3.0 $\pm$ 0.2 $\pm$ 0.8)%, where the three uncertainties represent the statistical uncertainty, the systematic uncertainty, and the uncertainty in the measurement of the D$^0$ $\to$ K$^0_\mathrm{S}$K$^0_\mathrm{S}$ $CP$ asymmetry in the D$^0$ $\to$ K$^0_\mathrm{S}\pi^+\pi^-$ decay. This is the first D$^0$ $\to$ K$^0_\mathrm{S}$K$^0_\mathrm{S}$ $CP$ asymmetry measurement by CMS in the charm sector as well as the first to utilize a fully hadronic final state

Searches for Higgs boson production through decays of heavy resonances

International audienceThe discovery of the Higgs boson has led to new possible signatures for heavy resonance searches at the LHC. Since then, search channels including at least one Higgs boson plus another particle have formed an important part of the program of new physics searches. In this report, the status of these searches by the CMS Collaboration is reviewed. Searches are discussed for resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons, a Higgs and a vector boson, or a Higgs boson and another new resonance, with proton-proton collision data collected at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV in the years 2016-2018. A combination of the results of these searches is presented together with constraints on different beyond-the-standard model scenarios, including scenarios with extended Higgs sectors, heavy vector bosons and extra dimensions. Studies are shown for the first time by CMS on the validity of the narrow-width approximation in searches for the resonant production of a pair of Higgs bosons. The potential for a discovery at the High Luminosity LHC is also discussed

Search for the Z boson decay to ττμμ\tau\tau\mu\mu in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

International audienceThe first search for the Z boson decay to $\tau\tau\mu\mu$ at the CERN LHC is presented, based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The data are compatible with the predicted background. For the first time, an upper limit at the 95% confidence level of 6.9 times the standard model expectation is placed on the ratio of the Z $\to$ $\tau\tau\mu\mu$ to Z $\to$ 4$\mu$ branching fractions. Limits are also placed on the six flavor-conserving four-lepton effective-field-theory operators involving two muons and two tau leptons, for the first time testing all such operators