There has been a long-standing interest in the assessment of the neurobehavioral integrity of the newborn infant. The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) was developed as an assessment for the at-risk infant. These are infants who are at increased risk for poor developmental outcome because of insults during prenatal development, such as substance exposure or prematurity or factors such as poverty, poor nutrition or lack of prenatal care that can have adverse effects on the intrauterine environment and affect the developing fetus. The NNNS assesses the full range of infant neurobehavioral performance including neurological integrity, behavioral functioning, and signs of stress/abstinence. The NNNS is a noninvasive neonatal assessment tool with demonstrated validity as a predictor, not only of medical outcomes such as cerebral palsy diagnosis, neurological abnormalities, and diseases with risks to the brain, but also of developmental outcomes such as mental and motor functioning, behavior problems, school readiness, and IQ. The NNNS can identify infants at high risk for abnormal developmental outcome and is an important clinical tool that enables medical researchers and health practitioners to identify these infants and develop intervention programs to optimize the development of these infants as early as possible. The video shows the NNNS procedures, shows examples of normal and abnormal performance and the various clinical populations in which the exam can be used.
24 Related JoVE Articles!
Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Institutions: McMaster University, McMaster University, University of Calgary, McMaster University.
Ruminative brooding is associated with increased vulnerability to major depression. Individuals who regularly ruminate will often try to reduce the frequency of their negative thoughts by actively suppressing them. We aim to identify the neural correlates underlying thought suppression in at-risk and depressed individuals. Three groups of women were studied; a major depressive disorder group, an at-risk group (having a first degree relative with depression) and controls. Participants performed a mixed block-event fMRI paradigm involving thought suppression, free thought and motor control periods. Participants identified the re-emergence of “to-be-suppressed” thoughts (“popping” back into conscious awareness) with a button press. During thought suppression the control group showed the greatest activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, followed by the at-risk, then depressed group. During the re-emergence of intrusive thoughts compared to successful re-suppression of those thoughts, the control group showed the greatest activation of the anterior cingulate cortices, followed by the at-risk, then depressed group. At-risk participants displayed anomalies in the neural regulation of thought suppression resembling the dysregulation found in depressed individuals. The predictive value of these changes in the onset of depression remains to be determined.
Behavior, Issue 99, Major Depressive Disorder, Risk, Thought Suppression, fMRI, Women, Rumination, Thought Intrusion
Community-based Adapted Tango Dancing for Individuals with Parkinson's Disease and Older Adults
Institutions: Emory University School of Medicine, Brigham and Woman‘s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Adapted tango dancing improves mobility and balance in older adults and additional populations with balance impairments. It is composed of very simple step elements. Adapted tango involves movement initiation and cessation, multi-directional perturbations, varied speeds and rhythms. Focus on foot placement, whole body coordination, and attention to partner, path of movement, and aesthetics likely underlie adapted tango’s demonstrated efficacy for improving mobility and balance. In this paper, we describe the methodology to disseminate the adapted tango teaching methods to dance instructor trainees and to implement the adapted tango by the trainees in the community for older adults and individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Efficacy in improving mobility (measured with the Timed Up and Go, Tandem stance, Berg Balance Scale, Gait Speed and 30 sec chair stand), safety and fidelity of the program is maximized through targeted instructor and volunteer training and a structured detailed syllabus outlining class practices and progression.
Behavior, Issue 94, Dance, tango, balance, pedagogy, dissemination, exercise, older adults, Parkinson's Disease, mobility impairments, falls
Evaluation of a Novel Laser-assisted Coronary Anastomotic Connector - the Trinity Clip - in a Porcine Off-pump Bypass Model
Institutions: University Medical Center Utrecht, Vascular Connect b.v., University Medical Center Utrecht, University Medical Center Utrecht.
To simplify and facilitate beating heart (i.e.,
off-pump), minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery, a new coronary anastomotic connector, the Trinity Clip, is developed based on the excimer laser-assisted nonocclusive anastomosis technique. The Trinity Clip connector enables simplified, sutureless, and nonocclusive connection of the graft to the coronary artery, and an excimer laser catheter laser-punches the opening of the anastomosis. Consequently, owing to the complete nonocclusive anastomosis construction, coronary conditioning (i.e.,
occluding or shunting) is not necessary, in contrast to the conventional anastomotic technique, hence simplifying the off-pump bypass procedure. Prior to clinical application in coronary artery bypass grafting, the safety and quality of this novel connector will be evaluated in a long-term experimental porcine off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) study. In this paper, we describe how to evaluate the coronary anastomosis in the porcine OPCAB model using various techniques to assess its quality. Representative results are summarized and visually demonstrated.
Medicine, Issue 93, Anastomosis, coronary, anastomotic connector, anastomotic coupler, excimer laser-assisted nonocclusive anastomosis (ELANA), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB), beating heart surgery, excimer laser, porcine model, experimental, medical device
A Technical Perspective in Modern Tree-ring Research - How to Overcome Dendroecological and Wood Anatomical Challenges
Institutions: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.
Dendroecological research uses information stored in tree rings to understand how single trees and even entire forest ecosystems responded to environmental changes and to finally reconstruct such changes. This is done by analyzing growth variations back in time and correlating various plant-specific parameters to (for example) temperature records. Integrating wood anatomical parameters in these analyses would strengthen reconstructions, even down to intra-annual resolution. We therefore present a protocol on how to sample, prepare, and analyze wooden specimen for common macroscopic analyses, but also for subsequent microscopic analyses. Furthermore we introduce a potential solution for analyzing digital images generated from common small and large specimens to support time-series analyses. The protocol presents the basic steps as they currently can be used. Beyond this, there is an ongoing need for the improvement of existing techniques, and development of new techniques, to record and quantify past and ongoing environmental processes. Traditional wood anatomical research needs to be expanded to include ecological information to this field of research. This would support dendro-scientists who intend to analyze new parameters and develop new methodologies to understand the short and long term effects of specific environmental factors on the anatomy of woody plants.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 97, Cell parameters, dendroecology, image analysis, micro sectioning, microtomes, sample preparation, wood anatomy
Mindfulness in Motion (MIM): An Onsite Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) for Chronically High Stress Work Environments to Increase Resiliency and Work Engagement
Institutions: The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
A pragmatic mindfulness intervention to benefit personnel working in chronically high-stress environments, delivered onsite during the workday, is timely and valuable to employee and employer alike. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) is a Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) offered as a modified, less time intensive method (compared to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), delivered onsite, during work, and intends to enable busy working adults to experience the benefits of mindfulness. It teaches mindful awareness principles, rehearses mindfulness as a group, emphasizes the use of gentle yoga stretches, and utilizes relaxing music in the background of both the group sessions and individual mindfulness practice. MIM is delivered in a group format, for 1 hr/week/8 weeks. CDs and a DVD are provided to facilitate individual practice. The yoga movement is emphasized in the protocol to facilitate a quieting of the mind. The music is included for participants to associate the relaxed state experienced in the group session with their individual practice. To determine the intervention feasibility/efficacy we conducted a randomized wait-list control group in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). ICUs represent a high-stress work environment where personnel experience chronic exposure to catastrophic situations as they care for seriously injured/ill patients. Despite high levels of work-related stress, few interventions have been developed and delivered onsite for such environments. The intervention is delivered on site in the ICU, during work hours, with participants receiving time release to attend sessions. The intervention is well received with 97% retention rate. Work engagement and resiliency increase significantly in the intervention group, compared to the wait-list control group, while participant respiration rates decrease significantly pre-post in 6/8 of the weekly sessions. Participants value institutional support, relaxing music, and the instructor as pivotal to program success. This provides evidence that MIM is feasible, well accepted, and can be effectively implemented in a chronically high-stress work environment.
Behavior, Issue 101, Mindfulness, resiliency, work-engagement, stress-reduction, workplace, non-reactivity, Intensive-care, chronic stress, work environment
Gibberella zeae Ascospore Production and Collection for Microarray Experiments.
Institutions: USDA, University of Minnesota/ Agroinnova, University of Torino, University of Minnesota.
Fusarium graminearum Schwabe (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) is a plant pathogen causing scab disease on wheat and barley that reduces crop yield and grain quality. F. graminearum also causes stalk and ear rots of maize and is a producer of mycotoxins such as the trichothecenes that contaminate grain and are harmful to humans and livestock (Goswami and Kistler, 2004).
The fungus produces two types of spores. Ascospores, the propagules resulting from sexual reproduction, are the main source of primary infection. These spores are forcibly discharged from mature perithecia and dispersed by wind (Francl et al 1999). Secondary infections are mainly caused by macroconidia which are produced by asexual means on the plant surface. To study the developmental processes of ascospores in this fungus, a procedure for their collection in large quantity under sterile conditions was required. Our protocol was filmed in order to generate the highest level of information for understanding and reproducibility; crucial aspects when full genome gene expression profiles are generated and interpreted. In particular, the variability of ascospore germination and biological activity are dependent on the prior manipulation of the material. The use of video for documenting every step in ascospore production is proposed in order to increase standardization, complying with the increasingly stringent requirements for microarray analysis. The procedure requires only standard laboratory equipment. Steps are shown to prevent contamination and favor time synchronization of ascospores.
Plant Biology, Issue 1, sexual cross, spore separation, MIAME standards
The Mesenteric Lymph Duct Cannulated Rat Model: Application to the Assessment of Intestinal Lymphatic Drug Transport
Institutions: Monash University (Parkville Campus).
The intestinal lymphatic system plays key roles in fluid transport, lipid absorption and immune function. Lymph flows directly from the small intestine via a series of lymphatic vessels and nodes that converge at the superior mesenteric lymph duct. Cannulation of the mesenteric lymph duct thus enables the collection of mesenteric lymph flowing from the intestine. Mesenteric lymph consists of a cellular fraction of immune cells (99% lymphocytes), aqueous fraction (fluid, peptides and proteins such as cytokines and gut hormones) and lipoprotein fraction (lipids, lipophilic molecules and apo-proteins). The mesenteric lymph duct cannulation model can therefore be used to measure the concentration and rate of transport of a range of factors from the intestine via the lymphatic system. Changes to these factors in response to different challenges (e.g.,
diets, antigens, drugs) and in disease (e.g.,
inflammatory bowel disease, HIV, diabetes) can also be determined. An area of expanding interest is the role of lymphatic transport in the absorption of orally administered lipophilic drugs and prodrugs that associate with intestinal lipid absorption pathways. Here we describe, in detail, a mesenteric lymph duct cannulated rat model which enables evaluation of the rate and extent of lipid and drug transport via the lymphatic system for several hours following intestinal delivery. The method is easily adaptable to the measurement of other parameters in lymph. We provide detailed descriptions of the difficulties that may be encountered when establishing this complex surgical method, as well as representative data from failed and successful experiments to provide instruction on how to confirm experimental success and interpret the data obtained.
Immunology, Issue 97, Intestine, Mesenteric, Lymphatic, Lymph, Carotid artery, Cannulation, Cannula, Rat, Drug, Lipid, Absorption, Surgery
Ultrasound Based Assessment of Coronary Artery Flow and Coronary Flow Reserve Using the Pressure Overload Model in Mice
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan.
Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) is a clinically useful, noninvasive tool for studying coronary artery flow velocity and coronary flow reserve (CFR) in humans. Reduced CFR is accompanied by marked intramyocardial and pericoronary fibrosis and is used as an indication of the severity of dysfunction. This study explores, step-by-step, the real-time changes measured in the coronary flow velocity, CFR and systolic to diastolic peak velocity (S/D) ratio in the setting of an aortic banding model in mice. By using a Doppler transthoracic imaging technique that yields reproducible and reliable data, the method assesses changes in flow in the septal coronary artery (SCA), for a period of over two weeks in mice, that previously either underwent aortic banding or thoracotomy.
During imaging, hyperemia in all mice was induced by isoflurane, an anesthetic that increased coronary flow velocity when compared with resting flow. All images were acquired by a single imager. Two ratios, (1) CFR, the ratio between hyperemic and baseline flow velocities, and (2) systolic (S) to diastolic (D) flow were determined, using a proprietary software and by two independent observers. Importantly, the observed changes in coronary flow preceded LV dysfunction as evidenced by normal LV mass and fractional shortening (FS).
The method was benchmarked against the current gold standard of coronary assessment, histopathology. The latter technique showed clear pathologic changes in the coronary artery in the form of peri-coronary fibrosis that correlated to the flow changes as assessed by echocardiography.
The study underscores the value of using a non-invasive technique to monitor coronary circulation in mouse hearts. The method minimizes redundant use of research animals and demonstrates that advanced ultrasound-based indices, such as CFR and S/D ratios, can serve as viable diagnostic tools in a variety of investigational protocols including drug studies and the study of genetically modified strains.
Medicine, Issue 98, Coronary flow reserve, Doppler echocardiography, non-invasive methodology, use of animals in research, pressure overload, aortic banding
Testing for Odor Discrimination and Habituation in Mice
Institutions: Baylor University, Baylor University.
This video demonstrates a technique to establish the presence of a normally functioning olfactory system in a mouse. The test helps determine whether the mouse can discriminate between non-social odors and social odors, whether the mouse habituates to a repeatedly presented odor, and whether the mouse demonstrates dishabituation when presented with a novel odor. Since many social behavior tests measure the experimental animal’s response to a familiar or novel mouse, false positives can be avoided by establishing that the animals can detect and discriminate between social odors. There are similar considerations in learning tests such as fear conditioning that use odor to create a novel environment or olfactory cues as an associative stimulus. Deficits in the olfactory system would impair the ability to distinguish between contexts and to form an association with an olfactory cue during fear conditioning.
In the odor habitation/dishabituation test, the mouse is repeatedly presented with several odors. Each odor is presented three times for two minutes. The investigator records the sniffing time directed towards the odor as the measurement of olfactory responsiveness. A typical mouse shows a decrease in response to the odor over repeated presentations (habituation). The experimenter then presents a novel odor that elicits increased sniffing towards the new odor (dishabituation). After repeated presentation of the novel odor the animal again shows habituation. This protocol involves the presentation of water, two or more non-social odors, and two social odors. In addition to reducing experimental confounds, this test can provide information on the function of the olfactory systems of new knockout, knock-in, and conditional knockout mouse lines.
Behavior, Issue 99, Odor discrimination, anosmia, odor habituation, mouse olfactory testing, social behavior, autism, ASD
Dyeing Insects for Behavioral Assays: the Mating Behavior of Anesthetized Drosophila
Institutions: University of Liverpool.
Mating experiments using Drosophila
have contributed greatly to the understanding of sexual selection and behavior. Experiments often require simple, easy and cheap methods to distinguish between individuals in a trial. A standard technique for this is CO2
anaesthesia and then labelling or wing clipping each fly. However, this is invasive and has been shown to affect behavior. Other techniques have used coloration to identify flies. This article presents a simple and non-invasive method for labelling Drosophila
that allows them to be individually identified within experiments, using food coloring. This method is used in trials where two males compete to mate with a female. Dyeing allowed quick and easy identification. There was, however, some difference in the strength of the coloration across the three species tested. Data is presented showing the dye has a lower impact on mating behavior than CO2
in Drosophila melanogaster
. The impact of CO2
anaesthesia is shown to depend on the species of Drosophila
, with D. pseudoobscura
and D. subobscura
showing no impact, whereas D. melanogaster
males had reduced mating success. The dye method presented is applicable to a wide range of experimental designs.
Neuroscience, Issue 98, Anesthesia, courtship, fruit fly, individual marking, individual tagging, male-male competition, mate choice, mate competition, mating latency, wing clipping
Vision Training Methods for Sports Concussion Mitigation and Management
Institutions: University of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
There is emerging evidence supporting the use vision training, including light board training tools, as a concussion baseline and neuro-diagnostic tool and potentially as a supportive component to concussion prevention strategies. This paper is focused on providing detailed methods for select vision training tools and reporting normative data for comparison when vision training is a part of a sports management program. The overall program includes standard vision training methods including tachistoscope, Brock’s string, and strobe glasses, as well as specialized light board training algorithms. Stereopsis is measured as a means to monitor vision training affects. In addition, quantitative results for vision training methods as well as baseline and post-testing *A and Reaction Test measures with progressive scores are reported. Collegiate athletes consistently improve after six weeks of training in their stereopsis, *A and Reaction Test scores. When vision training is initiated as a team wide exercise, the incidence of concussion decreases in players who participate in training compared to players who do not receive the vision training. Vision training produces functional and performance changes that, when monitored, can be used to assess the success of the vision training and can be initiated as part of a sports medical intervention for concussion prevention.
Behavior, Issue 99, Vision training, peripheral vision, functional peripheral vision, concussion, concussion management, diagnosis, rehabilitation, eyes, sight, seeing, sight
Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Institutions: NeuroCog Trials, Inc., Duke-NUS Graduate Medical Center, Duke University Medical Center, Fox Evaluation and Consulting, PLLC, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Cognitive impairments affect the majority of patients with schizophrenia and these impairments predict poor long term psychosocial outcomes. Treatment studies aimed at cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia not only require demonstration of improvements on cognitive tests, but also evidence that any cognitive changes lead to clinically meaningful improvements. Measures of “functional capacity” index the extent to which individuals have the potential to perform skills required for real world functioning. Current data do not support the recommendation of any single instrument for measurement of functional capacity. The Virtual Reality Functional Capacity Assessment Tool (VRFCAT) is a novel, interactive gaming based measure of functional capacity that uses a realistic simulated environment to recreate routine activities of daily living. Studies are currently underway to evaluate and establish the VRFCAT’s sensitivity, reliability, validity, and practicality. This new measure of functional capacity is practical, relevant, easy to use, and has several features that improve validity and sensitivity of measurement of function in clinical trials of patients with CNS disorders.
Behavior, Issue 86, Virtual Reality, Cognitive Assessment, Functional Capacity, Computer Based Assessment, Schizophrenia, Neuropsychology, Aging, Dementia
The Multiple Sclerosis Performance Test (MSPT): An iPad-Based Disability Assessment Tool
Institutions: Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Precise measurement of neurological and neuropsychological impairment and disability in multiple sclerosis is challenging. We report a new test, the Multiple Sclerosis Performance Test (MSPT), which represents a new approach to quantifying MS related disability. The MSPT takes advantage of advances in computer technology, information technology, biomechanics, and clinical measurement science. The resulting MSPT represents a computer-based platform for precise, valid measurement of MS severity. Based on, but extending the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC), the MSPT provides precise, quantitative data on walking speed, balance, manual dexterity, visual function, and cognitive processing speed. The MSPT was tested by 51 MS patients and 49 healthy controls (HC). MSPT scores were highly reproducible, correlated strongly with technician-administered test scores, discriminated MS from HC and severe from mild MS, and correlated with patient reported outcomes. Measures of reliability, sensitivity, and clinical meaning for MSPT scores were favorable compared with technician-based testing. The MSPT is a potentially transformative approach for collecting MS disability outcome data for patient care and research. Because the testing is computer-based, test performance can be analyzed in traditional or novel ways and data can be directly entered into research or clinical databases. The MSPT could be widely disseminated to clinicians in practice settings who are not connected to clinical trial performance sites or who are practicing in rural settings, drastically improving access to clinical trials for clinicians and patients. The MSPT could be adapted to out of clinic settings, like the patient’s home, thereby providing more meaningful real world data. The MSPT represents a new paradigm for neuroperformance testing. This method could have the same transformative effect on clinical care and research in MS as standardized computer-adapted testing has had in the education field, with clear potential to accelerate progress in clinical care and research.
Medicine, Issue 88, Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite, computer-based testing, 25-foot walk test, 9-hole peg test, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Low Contrast Visual Acuity, Clinical Outcome Measure
Experimental Approaches to Tissue Engineering
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Issue 7, Cell Biology, tissue engineering, microfluidics, stem cells
Using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) to Develop Diagnostic Tools
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Cellular Biology, Issue 8, microfluidics, diagnostics, capture, blood, HIV, bioengineering
An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain (PPOP)
Institutions: University of Washington School of Medicine.
Many women undergo cesarean delivery without problems, however some experience significant pain after cesarean section. Pain is associated with negative short-term and long-term effects on the mother. Prior to women undergoing surgery, can we predict who is at risk for developing significant postoperative pain and potentially prevent or minimize its negative consequences? These are the fundamental questions that a team from the University of Washington, Stanford University, the Catholic University in Brussels, Belgium, Santa Joana Women's Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, and Rambam Medical Center in Israel is currently evaluating in an international research collaboration. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide optimal pain relief during and after cesarean section by offering individualized anesthetic care to women who appear to be more 'susceptible' to pain after surgery.
A significant number of women experience moderate or severe acute post-partum pain after vaginal and cesarean deliveries. 1
Furthermore, 10-15% of women suffer chronic persistent pain after cesarean section. 2
With constant increase in cesarean rates in the US 3
and the already high rate in Brazil, this is bound to create a significant public health problem. When questioning women's fears and expectations from cesarean section, pain during and after it is their greatest concern. 4
Individual variability in severity of pain after vaginal or operative delivery is influenced by multiple factors including sensitivity to pain, psychological factors, age, and genetics. The unique birth experience leads to unpredictable requirements for analgesics, from 'none at all' to 'very high' doses of pain medication. Pain after cesarean section is an excellent model to study post-operative pain because it is performed on otherwise young and healthy women. Therefore, it is recommended to attenuate the pain during the acute phase because this may lead to chronic pain disorders. The impact of developing persistent pain is immense, since it may impair not only the ability of women to care for their child in the immediate postpartum period, but also their own well being for a long period of time.
In a series of projects, an international research network is currently investigating the effect of pregnancy on pain modulation and ways to predict who will suffer acute severe pain and potentially chronic pain, by using simple pain tests and questionnaires in combination with genetic analysis. A relatively recent approach to investigate pain modulation is via the psychophysical measure of Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Control (DNIC). This pain-modulating process is the neurophysiological basis for the well-known phenomenon of 'pain inhibits pain' from remote areas of the body. The DNIC paradigm has evolved recently into a clinical tool and simple test and has been shown to be a predictor of post-operative pain.5
Since pregnancy is associated with decreased pain sensitivity and/or enhanced processes of pain modulation, using tests that investigate pain modulation should provide a better understanding of the pathways involved with pregnancy-induced analgesia and may help predict pain outcomes during labor and delivery. For those women delivering by cesarean section, a DNIC test performed prior to surgery along with psychosocial questionnaires and genetic tests should enable one to identify women prone to suffer severe post-cesarean pain and persistent pain. These clinical tests should allow anesthesiologists to offer not only personalized medicine to women with the promise to improve well-being and satisfaction, but also a reduction in the overall cost of perioperative and long term care due to pain and suffering. On a larger scale, these tests that explore pain modulation may become bedside screening tests to predict the development of pain disorders following surgery.
JoVE Medicine, Issue 35, diffuse noxious inhibitory control, DNIC, temporal summation, TS, psychophysical testing, endogenous analgesia, pain modulation, pregnancy-induced analgesia, cesarean section, post-operative pain, prediction
Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Institutions: University of Zurich, Royal Holloway, University of London.
Behavioral endocrinological research in humans as well as in animals suggests that testosterone plays a key role in social interactions. Studies in rodents have shown a direct link between testosterone and aggressive behavior1
and folk wisdom adapts these findings to humans, suggesting that testosterone induces antisocial, egoistic or even aggressive behavior2
. However, many researchers doubt a direct testosterone-aggression link in humans, arguing instead that testosterone is primarily involved in status-related behavior3,4
. As a high status can also be achieved by aggressive and antisocial means it can be difficult to distinguish between anti-social and status seeking behavior.
We therefore set up an experimental environment, in which status can only be achieved by prosocial means. In a double-blind and placebo-controlled experiment, we administered a single sublingual dose of 0.5 mg of testosterone (with a hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin carrier) to 121 women and investigated their social interaction behavior in an economic bargaining paradigm. Real monetary incentives are at stake in this paradigm; every player A receives a certain amount of money and has to make an offer to another player B on how to share the money. If B accepts, she gets what was offered and player A keeps the rest. If B refuses the offer, nobody gets anything. A status seeking player A is expected to avoid being rejected by behaving in a prosocial way, i.e. by making higher offers.
The results show that if expectations about the hormone are controlled for, testosterone administration leads to a significant increase in fair bargaining offers compared to placebo. The role of expectations is reflected in the fact that subjects who report that they believe to have received testosterone make lower offers than those who say they believe that they were treated with a placebo. These findings suggest that the experimental economics approach is sensitive for detecting neurobiological effects as subtle as those achieved by administration of hormones. Moreover, the findings point towards the importance of both psychosocial as well as neuroendocrine factors in determining the influence of testosterone on human social behavior.
Neuroscience, Issue 49, behavioral endocrinology, testosterone, social status, decision making
Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Institutions: Brandeis University, Brandeis University.
The Institute of Medicine has targeted patient-centeredness as an important area of quality improvement. A major dimension of patient-centeredness is respect for patient's values, preferences, and expressed needs. Yet specific approaches to gaining this understanding and translating it to quality care in the clinical setting are lacking. From a patient perspective quality is not a simple concept but is best understood in terms of five dimensions: technical outcomes; decision-making efficiency; amenities and convenience; information and emotional support; and overall patient satisfaction. Failure to consider quality from this five-pronged perspective results in a focus on medical outcomes, without considering the processes central to quality from the patient's perspective and vital to achieving good outcomes. In this paper, we argue for applying the concept of fair process in clinical settings. Fair process involves using a collaborative approach to exploring diagnostic issues and treatments with patients, explaining the rationale for decisions, setting expectations about roles and responsibilities, and implementing a core plan and ongoing evaluation. Fair process opens the door to bringing patient expertise into the clinical setting and the work of developing health care goals and strategies. This paper provides a step by step illustration of an innovative visual approach, called photovoice or photo-elicitation, to achieve fair process in clinical work with acquired brain injury survivors and others living with chronic health conditions. Applying this visual tool and methodology in the clinical setting will enhance patient-provider communication; engage patients as partners in identifying challenges, strengths, goals, and strategies; and support evaluation of progress over time. Asking patients to bring visuals of their lives into the clinical interaction can help to illuminate gaps in clinical knowledge, forge better therapeutic relationships with patients living with chronic conditions such as brain injury, and identify patient-centered goals and possibilities for healing. The process illustrated here can be used by clinicians, (primary care physicians, rehabilitation therapists, neurologists, neuropsychologists, psychologists, and others) working with people living with chronic conditions such as acquired brain injury, mental illness, physical disabilities, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, or post-traumatic stress, and by leaders of support groups for the types of patients described above and their family members or caregivers.
Medicine, Issue 48, person-centered care, participatory visual methods, photovoice, photo-elicitation, narrative medicine, acquired brain injury, disability, rehabilitation, palliative care
Sexual Development and Ascospore Discharge in Fusarium graminearum
Institutions: Michigan State University, Michigan State University, Michigan State University, Michigan State University.
has become a model system for studies in development and pathogenicity of filamentous fungi. F. graminearum
most easily produces fruiting bodies, called perithecia, on carrot agar. Perithecia contain numerous tissue types, produced at specific stages of perithecium development. These include (in order of appearance) formation of the perithecium initials (which give rise to the ascogenous hyphae), the outer wall, paraphyses (sterile mycelia which occupy the center of the perithecium until the asci develop), the asci, and the ascospores within the asci14
. The development of each of these tissues is separated by approximately 24 hours and has been the basis of transcriptomic studies during sexual development12,8
. Refer to Hallen et al.
(2007) for a more thorough description of development, including photographs of each stage. Here, we present the methods for generating and harvesting synchronously developing lawns of perithecia for temporal studies of gene regulation, development, and physiological processes. Although these methods are written specifically to be used with F. graminearum
, the techniques can be used for a variety of other fungi, provided that fruiting can be induced in culture and there is some synchrony to development. We have recently adapted this protocol to study the sexual development of F. verticillioides
. Although individual perithecia must be hand picked in this species, because a lawn of developing perithecia could not be induced, the process worked well for studying development (Sikhakolli and Trail, unpublished).
The most important function of fungal fruiting bodies is the dispersal of spores. In many of the species of Ascomycota (ascus producing fungi), spores are shot from the ascus, due to the generation of turgor pressure within the ascus, driving ejection of spores (and epiplasmic fluid) through the pore in the ascus tip2,7
. Our studies of forcible ascospore discharge have resulted in development of a "spore discharge assay", which we use to screen for mutations in the process. Here we present the details of this assay.
is homothallic, and thus can form fruiting bodies in the absence of a compatible partner. The advantage of homothallism is that crossing is not necessary to generate offspring homozygous for a particular trait, a facet that has facilitated the study of sexual development in this species14,7
. However, heterothallic strains have been generated that can be used for crossing5,9
. It is also possible to cross homothallic strains to obtain mutants for several genes in one strain1
. This is done by coinoculating one Petri dish with 2 strains. Along the meeting point, the majority of perithecia will be recombinant (provided a mutation in one of the parent strains does not inhibit outcrossing). As perithecia age, they exude ascospores en masse instead of forcibly discharging them. The resulting spore exudate (called a cirrhus) sits at the tip of the perithecium and can easily be removed for recovery of individual spores. Here we present a protocol to facilitate the identification of recombinant perithecia and the recovery of recombinant progeny.
Plant Biology, Issue 61, Ascospores, perithecia, forcible discharge, mycotoxin, conidia, development
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Institutions: University of Zurich.
Mori's Uncanny Valley Hypothesis1,2
proposes that the perception of humanlike characters such as robots and, by extension, avatars (computer-generated characters) can evoke negative or positive affect (valence) depending on the object's degree of visual and behavioral realism along a dimension of human likeness
) (Figure 1
). But studies of affective valence of subjective responses to variously realistic non-human characters have produced inconsistent findings 3, 4, 5, 6
. One of a number of reasons for this is that human likeness is not perceived as the hypothesis assumes. While the DHL can be defined following Mori's description as a smooth linear change in the degree of physical humanlike similarity, subjective perception of objects along the DHL can be understood in terms of the psychological effects of categorical perception (CP) 7
. Further behavioral and neuroimaging investigations of category processing and CP along the DHL and of the potential influence of the dimension's underlying category structure on affective experience are needed. This protocol therefore focuses on the DHL and allows examination of CP. Based on the protocol presented in the video as an example, issues surrounding the methodology in the protocol and the use in "uncanny" research of stimuli drawn from morph continua to represent the DHL are discussed in the article that accompanies the video. The use of neuroimaging and morph stimuli to represent the DHL in order to disentangle brain regions neurally responsive to physical human-like similarity from those responsive to category change and category processing is briefly illustrated.
Behavior, Issue 76, Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Molecular Biology, Psychology, Neuropsychology, uncanny valley, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, categorical perception, virtual reality, avatar, human likeness, Mori, uncanny valley hypothesis, perception, magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, imaging, clinical techniques
Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach
Institutions: Freie Universität Berlin, Charité Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich.
The main goal of this study was to assess the usability of a tablet-computer-based application (EmoCogMeter) in investigating the effects of age on cognitive functions across the lifespan in a sample of 378 healthy subjects (age range 18-89 years). Consistent with previous findings we found an age-related cognitive decline across a wide range of neuropsychological domains (memory, attention, executive functions), thereby proving the usability of our tablet-based application. Regardless of prior computer experience, subjects of all age groups were able to perform the tasks without instruction or feedback from an experimenter. Increased motivation and compliance proved to be beneficial for task performance, thereby potentially increasing the validity of the results. Our promising findings underline the great clinical and practical potential of a tablet-based application for detection and monitoring of cognitive dysfunction.
Behavior, Issue 84, Neuropsychological Testing, cognitive decline, age, tablet-computer, memory, attention, executive functions
High-throughput Fluorometric Measurement of Potential Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities
Institutions: Colorado State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Colorado.
Microbes in soils and other environments produce extracellular enzymes to depolymerize and hydrolyze organic macromolecules so that they can be assimilated for energy and nutrients. Measuring soil microbial enzyme activity is crucial in understanding soil ecosystem functional dynamics. The general concept of the fluorescence enzyme assay is that synthetic C-, N-, or P-rich substrates bound with a fluorescent dye are added to soil samples. When intact, the labeled substrates do not fluoresce. Enzyme activity is measured as the increase in fluorescence as the fluorescent dyes are cleaved from their substrates, which allows them to fluoresce. Enzyme measurements can be expressed in units of molarity or activity. To perform this assay, soil slurries are prepared by combining soil with a pH buffer. The pH buffer (typically a 50 mM sodium acetate or 50 mM Tris buffer), is chosen for the buffer's particular acid dissociation constant (pKa) to best match the soil sample pH. The soil slurries are inoculated with a nonlimiting amount of fluorescently labeled (i.e.
C-, N-, or P-rich) substrate. Using soil slurries in the assay serves to minimize limitations on enzyme and substrate diffusion. Therefore, this assay controls for differences in substrate limitation, diffusion rates, and soil pH conditions; thus detecting potential enzyme activity rates as a function of the difference in enzyme concentrations (per sample).
Fluorescence enzyme assays are typically more sensitive than spectrophotometric (i.e.
colorimetric) assays, but can suffer from interference caused by impurities and the instability of many fluorescent compounds when exposed to light; so caution is required when handling fluorescent substrates. Likewise, this method only assesses potential enzyme activities under laboratory conditions when substrates are not limiting. Caution should be used when interpreting the data representing cross-site comparisons with differing temperatures or soil types, as in situ
soil type and temperature can influence enzyme kinetics.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 81, Ecological and Environmental Phenomena, Environment, Biochemistry, Environmental Microbiology, Soil Microbiology, Ecology, Eukaryota, Archaea, Bacteria, Soil extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs), fluorometric enzyme assays, substrate degradation, 4-methylumbelliferone (MUB), 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (MUC), enzyme temperature kinetics, soil
A Method to Study the Impact of Chemically-induced Ovarian Failure on Exercise Capacity and Cardiac Adaptation in Mice
Institutions: University of Arizona.
The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases in post-menopausal women, yet, the role of exercise, as a preventative measure for CVD risk in post-menopausal women has not been adequately studied. Accordingly, we investigated the impact of voluntary cage-wheel exercise and forced treadmill exercise on cardiac adaptation in menopausal mice. The most commonly used inducible model for mimicking menopause in women is the ovariectomized (OVX) rodent. However, the OVX model has a few dissimilarities from menopause in humans. In this study, we administered 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) to female mice, which accelerates ovarian failure as an alternative menopause model to study the impact of exercise in menopausal mice. VCD selectively accelerates the loss of primary and primordial follicles resulting in an endocrine state that closely mimics the natural progression from pre- to peri- to post-menopause in humans. To determine the impact of exercise on exercise capacity and cardiac adaptation in VCD-treated female mice, two methods were used. First, we exposed a group of VCD-treated and untreated mice to a voluntary cage wheel. Second, we used forced treadmill exercise to determine exercise capacity in a separate group VCD-treated and untreated mice measured as a tolerance to exercise intensity and endurance.
Medicine, Issue 86, VCD, menopause, voluntary wheel running, forced treadmill exercise, exercise capacity, adaptive cardiac adaptation
Establishment and Characterization of UTI and CAUTI in a Mouse Model
Institutions: Washington University School of Medicine.
Urinary tract infections (UTI) are highly prevalent, a significant cause of morbidity and are increasingly resistant to treatment with antibiotics. Females are disproportionately afflicted by UTI: 50% of all women will have a UTI in their lifetime. Additionally, 20-40% of these women who have an initial UTI will suffer a recurrence with some suffering frequent recurrences with serious deterioration in the quality of life, pain and discomfort, disruption of daily activities, increased healthcare costs, and few treatment options other than long-term antibiotic prophylaxis. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli
(UPEC) is the primary causative agent of community acquired UTI. Catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI) is the most common hospital acquired infection accounting for a million occurrences in the US annually and dramatic healthcare costs. While UPEC is also the primary cause of CAUTI, other causative agents are of increased significance including Enterococcus faecalis
. Here we utilize two well-established mouse models that recapitulate many of the clinical characteristics of these human diseases. For UTI, a C3H/HeN model recapitulates many of the features of UPEC virulence observed in humans including host responses, IBC formation and filamentation. For CAUTI, a model using C57BL/6 mice, which retain catheter bladder implants, has been shown to be susceptible to E. faecalis
bladder infection. These representative models are being used to gain striking new insights into the pathogenesis of UTI disease, which is leading to the development of novel therapeutics and management or prevention strategies.
Medicine, Issue 100, Escherichia coli, UPEC, Enterococcus faecalis, uropathogenic, catheter, urinary tract infection, IBC, chronic cystitis