Extracting Attempted Hand Movements from EEGs in People with Complete Hand Paralysis Following Stroke

This study examines the feasibility of using electroencephalograms (EEGs) to rapidly detect the intent to open one's hand in individuals with complete hand paralysis following a subcortical ischemic stroke. If detectable, this motor-planning activity could be used in real time to trigger a motorized hand exoskeleton or an electrical stimulation device that opens/closes the hand. While EEG-triggered movement-assist devices could restore function, they may also promote recovery by reinforcing the use of remaining cortical circuits. EEGs were recorded while participants were cued to either relax or attempt to extend their fingers. Linear-discriminant analysis was used to detect onset of finger-extension from the EEGs in a leave-one-trial-out cross-validation process. In each testing trial, the classifier was applied in pseudo-real-time starting from an initial hand-relaxed phase, through movement planning, and into the initial attempted-finger-extension phase (finger-extension phase estimated from typical time-to-movement-onset measured in the unaffected hand). The classifiers detected attempted-finger-extension at a significantly higher rate during both motor-planning and early attempted execution compared to rest. To reduce inappropriate triggering of a movement-assist device during rest, the classification threshold could be adjusted to require more certainty about one's intent to move before triggering a device. Additionally, a device could be set to activate only after multiple time samples in a row were classified as finger-extension events. These options resulted in some sessions with no false triggers while the person was resting, but moderate-to-high true trigger rates during attempted-movements

Impact of Ergot Alkaloid and Estradiol 17B on Whole-Body Protein Turnover and Expression of mTOR Pathway Proteins in Muscle of Cattle

Beef cattle consuming endophyte infected tall fescue typically exhibit reduced performance in terms of both decreased dry matter intake (DMI) and growth rates. It has been suggested that lower concentrations of circulating IGF-1 (an important stimulator of the mTOR pathway and ultimately protein synthesis), as observed with consumption of ergot alkaloids, contribute to reduced growth rates. The objective of the current study was to determine if fescue-derived alkaloids decrease muscle protein synthesis though inhibitory action on the mTOR pathway via a direct effect on signal proteins, and if these negative effects can be alleviated by implantation with anabolic agents. Thirty-two Holstein steers were used in a 2x2 factorial design, and treatments consisted of intramuscular administration of bromocriptine (vehicle or 0.1 mg/kg BW) and a subdermal estradiol implant (with or without). Throughout the 35-day experiment, steers were fed a corn silage-based diet, with intake restricted to 1.5 times maintenance energy requirement. Bromocriptine injections were given every three days for 34 days. On days 27 through 32, steers were moved to metabolism stalls for urine collection and whole-body protein turnover was determined using a single pulse dose of [15N] glycine into the jugular vein on day 28. On day 35, muscle samples were collected from the musculus obliquus externus abdominis before (basal state) and 60 mins after (stimulated state) an i.v. glucose challenge (0.25 g glucose/kg). Blood samples were collected at regular intervals before and after glucose infusion for determination of circulating concentrations of glucose and insulin. Bromocriptine reduced insulin and glucose clearance following the glucose challenge, indicating decreased insulin sensitivity and possible disruption of glucose uptake and metabolism in the skeletal muscle. This suggests that fescue-derived alkaloids are detrimental to growing cattle in terms of overall glucose homeostasis and energy metabolism. Conversely, analysis of whole-body protein turnover demonstrated that bromocriptine does not appear to affect protein synthesis or N retention and western immunoblot analysis of skeletal muscle showed that it did not affect abundance of S6K1 or 4E-BP1, so does not appear to inhibit activation of the mTOR pathway or protein synthesis. Implantation improved N retention, decreased protein turnover, and had no effect on protein synthesis, suggesting that steroidal implants promote protein accretion through unchanged rates of synthesis and decreased degradation, even in the presence of bromocriptine, resulting in improved daily gains. Implanted steers likely experienced increased IGF-1 signaling, but downstream activation of mTOR, S6K and 4E-BP1, and thus increased protein synthesis did not occur as expected. Overall, this data suggests that fescue derived alkaloids do not have a negative impact on muscle protein synthetic pathways, independent of DMI

Understanding the Absence of Female Coaches in Sport and the Value of Same-Sex Role Models for Female Athletes in Their Coaching Pursuits

Like many leadership positions, women hold very few head coaching positions in sport. This does not mean that women are not involved in sport; in most cases, they take on smaller roles like assistant coach, trainer or executive/board positions. Previous research suggests that same-sex role models can aid in increasing the number of females that take on coaching as a career. Utilizing an online survey and focus group sessions with CIS level female athletes, the current study examined the influence of coaches, both male and female on these athletes and their desires or aspirations to coach as a career and/or as a volunteer. Fifteen of the 20 participants (75%) have never been a head coach but 14 (70%) had coached in a different capacity (i.e., assistant coach). Based on the data collected, participants felt they had the necessary skills and self-efficacy to coach however, due to various reasons, a majority did not identify coaching as a career aspiration but instead stated that they were more likely to volunteer as a coach. Additionally, participants did not identify females as their sole role models. It was often a combination of males and females and, in cases where they had male coaches, they expressed that these males had influenced their career and/or coaching desires

Dopamine, time perception, and future time perspective.

RationaleImpairment in time perception, a critical component of decision-making, represents a risk factor for psychiatric conditions including substance abuse. A therapeutic that ameliorates this impairment could be advantageous in the treatment of impulsivity and decision-making disorders.ObjectivesHere we hypothesize that the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor tolcapone, which increases dopamine tone in frontal cortex (Ceravolo et al Synapse 43:201-207, 2002), improves time perception, with predictive behavioral, genetic, and neurobiological components.MethodsSubjects (n = 66) completed a duration estimation task and other behavioral testing in each of two sessions after receiving a single oral dose of tolcapone (200 mg) or placebo in randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced, crossover fashion. Resting state fMRI data were obtained in a subset of subjects (n = 40). Subjects were also genotyped for the COMT (rs4680) polymorphism.ResultsTime perception was significantly improved across four proximal time points ranging from 5 to 60 s (T(524) = 2.04, p = 0.042). The degree of this improvement positively correlated with subjective measures of stress, depression, and alcohol consumption and was most robust in carriers of the COMT Val158 allele. Using seed regions defined by a previous meta-analysis (Wiener et al Neuroimage 49:1728-1740, 2010), we found not only that a connection from right inferior frontal gyrus (RIFG) to right putamen decreases in strength on tolcapone versus placebo (p < 0.05, corrected), but also that the strength of this decrease correlates inversely with the increase in duration estimation on tolcapone versus placebo (r = - 0.37, p = 0.02).ConclusionsCompressed time perception can be ameliorated by administration of tolcapone. Additional studies should be conducted to determine whether COMT inhibitors may be effective in treating decision-making disorders and addictive behaviors