Dynamical Principles of Emotion-Cognition Interaction: Mathematical Images of Mental Disorders

The key contribution of this work is to introduce a mathematical framework to understand self-organized dynamics in the brain that can explain certain aspects of itinerant behavior. Specifically, we introduce a model based upon the coupling of generalized Lotka-Volterra systems. This coupling is based upon competition for common resources. The system can be regarded as a normal or canonical form for any distributed system that shows self-organized dynamics that entail winnerless competition. Crucially, we will show that some of the fundamental instabilities that arise in these coupled systems are remarkably similar to endogenous activity seen in the brain (using EEG and fMRI). Furthermore, by changing a small subset of the system's parameters we can produce bifurcations and metastable sequential dynamics changing, which bear a remarkable similarity to pathological brain states seen in psychiatry. In what follows, we will consider the coupling of two macroscopic modes of brain activity, which, in a purely descriptive fashion, we will label as cognitive and emotional modes. Our aim is to examine the dynamical structures that emerge when coupling these two modes and relate them tentatively to brain activity in normal and non-normal states

Central Anatolia, Turkey

Objective: We investigated the causes of blindness and moderate to severe visual impairment (MSVI) in the Nigde province of Turkey using the disability health board records of the Nigde State Hospital.Materials and Methods: The disability health board reports of Nigde State Hospital recorded between 2011 and 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. The causes of blindness and MSVI were determined using the cause in the better-seeing eye, based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The overall, age-related, and gender specific causes of blindness and MSVI were identified.Results: During the study period, 335 subjects were recorded as blind and 381 subjects were recorded as having MSVI. The main causes of blindness were retinitis pigmentosa (14.6%), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (12.2%), and diabetic retinopathy (12.2%). In the MSVI group, the main causes were cataract (18.4%), AMD (16.5%), and diabetic retinopathy (13.9%).Conclusion: Retinitis pigmentosa, AMD, and diabetic retinopathy were the leading causes of blindness, and, in addition to these, cataract was a prominent cause of MSVI. The prevalence of retinitis pigmentosa was unexpectedly high in this region of Turkey, which may be due to the high frequency of consanguineous marriages that are commonly seen in Middle Eastern countries. This information is important for planning public health policies and raising public awareness of the visual impairment, given that several leading causes of visual impairment are reversible or preventable.C1 [Kucuk, Erkut; Zor, Kursad Ramazan] Nigde Omer Halisdemir Univ, Dept Ophthalmol, Fac Med, Nigde, Turkey.[Yilmaz, Ugur] Pamukkale Univ, Dept Ophthalmol, Fac Med, Denizli, Turkey

Corneal Epithelial Damage and Impaired Tear Functions in Patients with Inflamed Pinguecula.

PURPOSE: In this study, we evaluated corneal epithelial integrity and tear film parameters in patients with inflamed pinguecula and compared these findings with their fellow eyes and with healthy controls. METHODS: We evaluated the fluorescein staining properties and performed the tear break-up time (TBUT) test and Schirmer 2 test (ST2) measurements of 32 patients who had symptomatic unilateral inflamed pinguecula and compared the results with their fellow eyes and also with an age- and sex-matched control group. RESULTS: Twenty-three eyes (72%) in the inflamed pinguecula group and 1 eye (3.1%) in the fellow eyes group had punctate epithelial staining (PES) or epithelial defect on the nasal cornea (p < 0.001). There was no PES or epithelial defect in the control group. Eyes with inflamed pinguecula (n = 32) had lower TBUT and ST2 values compared to the control group (n = 32) (p < 0.001 for both). Fellow eyes (n = 32) also had lower TBUT and ST2 values compared to the control group (p=0.003 for both). There was no difference in the TBUT and ST2 results between the eyes with inflamed pinguecula and fellow eyes (p=0.286 and p=0.951, respectively). CONCLUSION: A high percentage of eyes with inflamed pinguecula had nasal corneal epithelial staining or epithelial defect. We also found lower TBUT and ST2 results in eyes with inflamed pinguecula and the fellow eyes compared to the control group. These findings may be important in pathogenesis of pinguecula and pterygium and also in uncovering their relation