by Ryan Sweeney  , Alvaro J La Rosa  , Nina Sheade  , Rachael C. Olson-Marszewski  , Ryan Bergren  and Edwin Meresh

Received: 12 January 2020;  Published: 01 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002054

Case studies have associated catatonia with withdrawal from benzodiazepines and clozapine, both of which have been shown to increase GABA activity. Long-term use of GABAergic medications could result in GABAA downregulation and sudden discontinuation of the GABAergic drug could lead to a GABA hypoactive state which could predispose the patient to catatonia5. The anticonvulsant topiramate, is known to increase brain GABA activity6. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic imprinting disorder characterized by lack of [...]

by Sasha Gorrell  , Anne G.E. Collins  , Daniel Le Grange  and Tony T. Yang

Received: 03 December 2019;  Published: 23 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2001053

Driven exercise (i.e., the tendency to exercise in excess to influence weight/shape or regulate emotion) is difficult to manage in the context of anorexia nervosa, and is associated with poorer treatment outcomes, and psychological and medical severity. Driven exercise is observed in a considerable number of those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa; however, to date, this hallmark symptom remains poorly understood. Dopamine signaling is implicated in motivating and maintaining appetitive behavior among patients with e [...]

by Sarah Kölling  and Annika Hof zum Berge

Received: 22 November 2019;  Published: 11 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2001052

Self-reports and actigraphy are common methods of sleep monitoring. Portable polysomnography (p-PSG) may serve as a screening tool in natural environments. Common concerns with its use are that sleep and compliance might be affected. Further, dysfunctional beliefs of the subjects may contribute to sleep disturbances, which might manifest throughout sleep monitoring. This study examined the effect of monitoring sleep patterns and attitudes among healthy individuals. Sixty-eight physically active university students [...]

by Jessica Scher Lisa  and Eric Shyman

Received: 24 October 2019;  Published: 02 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2001051

With an increasing prevalence of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in schools, teachers are in need of different effective ways to educate these individuals who have distinctly different needs and modalities of experience. One area that has been explored is neuroeducation, or using findings from neuroscientific research to inform classroom practice. Neuroscientific findings appear to center on two main themes of neurological differences among children with ASD: sensory processing and emotional processing [...]

by C. Lange-Küttner  and Donna S. Martinez-Claras

Received: 21 August 2019;  Published: 26 February 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2001050

We investigated whether healthy older adults who live in female-dominated old age care homes can identify the gender of male and female faces of people from different ethnicities in the same way as young adults. We hypothesized that this mainly female environment would lead by exposure to a female-gender bias. A sample of 40 participants aged 20-30 and 70-80 years identified the sex-of-face of 120 images of young and old adults, male and female faces, black and white faces, presented in a randomized sequence in a s [...]

by Kim Lawson

Received: 05 November 2019;  Published: 20 January 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2001049

Fibromyalgia, characterised by persistent pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue and cognitive dysfunction, is a central sensitivity syndrome that also involves abnormality in peripheral generators and in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. Heterogeneity of clinical expression of fibromyalgia with a multifactorial aetiology has made the development of effective therapeutic strategies challenging. Non-restorative sleep associated with poor sleep quality is a characteristic of fibromyalgia which is linked to symptom s [...]

by Edwin Meresh  , David Daniels  , Jack H. Owens  , David Thompson  , Sarah Mennella  , Michael Levy  and Brenda Swartz

Received: 10 November 2019;  Published: 10 January 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2001048

Agitation is a common manifestation of acute brain injury. When not addressed, agitation can lead to slower recovery rates, including delayed admission to acute rehabilitation programs. Antipsychotics are commonly used to control agitation in acute brain injury in the ICU. However, there is no current consensus on the most "efficacious and safest strategy" for use of antipsychotics in acute TBI. Haloperidol is arguably the commonly used antipsychotic for agitation in ICU setting at present. Interestingly, there are [...]

by Maryanna D. Klatt  , Emaline Wise  , Olivia Gabram  , Megan Huber  , Lai Wei  and Mira Katz

Received: 02 April 2019;  Published: 11 December 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.1904047

(1) Background: The global principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) have led to the creation of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs), which are interventions that retrain the mind to modify its usual stress response to increase coping and resilience. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) is an educational MBI that has shown significant biologic and positive psychosocial outcomes with adult working populations but had not previously been tested in oncology populations and caregivers. Utilizing MIM to increase [...]

by Arnold De Loof  and Liliane Schoofs

Received: 03 October 2019;  Published: 29 November 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.1904046

The awareness is growing that the proteins amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau are rather a result of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) than its cause. Similarly, doubt reigns about the degree of causality of high plasma cholesterol/lipids (the fat connection) and of prenylation. An important conceptual addition to the current lines of thinking is advanced here. It emerged from a comparative analysis, in evolutionary retrospect, of the characteristics of the mevalonate biosynthetic pathways in insects versus in vertebrates/mammals [...]

by Francisco J Alvarez  , Antonia A. Alvarez  , Hector Lafuente  , Daniel Alonso-Alconada  , Jose L. Blanco-Bruned  , Francisco Santaolalla  and Enrique Hilario

Received: 24 June 2019;  Published: 15 November 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.1904045

(1) Background: Newborn affected by hypoxic-ischemic brain injury can die and the survivors suffer neurodevelopmental handicaps. Biomarkers are needed to identify the severity of hypoxic-ischemic insult in order to early determine the rescue treatment. The aim of this study was to correlate the pathophysiological process and the severity degree of the hypoxic-ischemic brain injury with relevant biomarkers in a piglet model at short and medium term. (2) Methods: Hypoxia-ischemia was induced by clamping of both carot [...]