Annals of Neurosciences最新文献

Background: Neurocognitive dysfunction is the most common neurological complication seen in homozygous sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, and it appears to be associated with the severity of anaemia, indicating hypoxic brain injury as a causative factor, but the studies are limited to the paediatric population.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the neurocognitive profile in adult homozygous SCD patients by subjective (Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA] questionnaire) as well as objective (P300 event-related potentials [ERPs]) cognitive tests.

Method: Thirty adult homozygous SCD patients and 30 age-matched healthy controls were recruited. The MoCA questionnaire was employed for subjective cognitive status. ERP was recorded by using a modified 3-stimulus auditory oddball paradigm, which contains frequent, rare and novel stimuli. Amplitudes and latencies of corresponding original and difference ERP components were measured and analysed independently. Source analysis was done using sLORETA for P3a and P3b ERP components and compared between healthy controls and SCD patients.

Results: We found a significant reduction in total MoCA scores as well as their domains in SCD patients as compared to controls. For ERP, we found reduced amplitudes and increased latencies of P300 in SCD patients. This phenomenon was further validated in analysis of difference P3 components (P3dT i.e. target minus standard and P3dN i.e. novel minus standard). Additionally, we also found negative correlation between P3a/P3dN latency and attention domain of MoCA. Further, we found a diminished source activity for P3a and P3b in SCD as compared to control subjects.

Conclusion: These results indicate impaired neurocognitive abilities in cognitive domains of adult homozygous SCD patients like attention, executive functions and working memory, and reduced source activities of P300 components which may be due to chronic cerebral hypoxia in these patients.

Background: Studies suggest that obesity is linked to both autonomic nervous system dysfunction and cognitive impairment, but the specific quantitative associations are not well explored.

Purpose: This study was proposed to explore the quantification of different neurocognitive signatures and heart rate variability (HRV) parameters with increasing body weight among metabolically healthy obese participants for better analytical predictors.

Methods: The present research is a cross-sectional study, including a total of 101 (n = 101) participants. Out of the total, 71 were metabolically healthy obese or overweight individuals (body mass index [BMI] = 23.0-30.0 kg/m²; age 36-55 years; both genders) and 30 participants were enrolled as the control group. All the participants completed various neurological and psychological assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cardio-autonomic tone by HRV analysis.

Results: Significant changes were observed for neurocognitive performances and HRV indices for the metabolically healthy obese group compared with the control group. With the association heatmaps, BMI was found to be significantly negatively associated with the BDNF and high-frequency band (HF band, ms²). In socio-demographic-adjusted models, the analysis showed a substantial decline (p < .05) in the HF band, ms² with an increase in BMI, emphasising its significant effect on vagal tone among the obese group. Also, a noteworthy association between BDNF levels and the standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN)-HRV indices have confirmed the robustness of the findings for obese participants when compared with the control group.

Conclusion: The findings of the present study support that HRV could be a valuable early non-invasive tool for future cognitive decline in a population with metabolically healthy obesity.

Clinical trial registry: The study was registered at Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI/2022/10/046935).

Background: Depression is a prevalent mental health disorder and a significant contributor to disability adjusted life years. It is also associated with increased cardiovascular risk, often not adequately addressed by current treatments, leading to significant gaps in the treatment. Yoga practices like Vamana Dhauti could be a potential adjunct therapy to standard treatments by balancing doshas and positively influencing vagal tone.

Objective: This pilot randomised controlled trial aimed to assess the feasibility and tolerability of Vamana Dhauti in depression patients and its effects on Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Clinical changes were evaluated using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D).

Methods: The study was conducted at the Department of Integrative Medicine, NIMHANS, Bengaluru. Patients with depression, aged 18-50 years, both genders, and no contraindications to Vamana Dhauti, were randomly assigned to Vamana Dhauti + Shavasana (n = 12) or Shavasana rest only (n = 12) groups using online software, which also included allocation concealment. Outcome measures include feasibility (acceptability, demand, practicality, adaptation, integration, perceived ease, and difficulty), tolerability (adverse events), HRV and HAM-D.

Results: Vamana Dhauti was found feasible and tolerable in patients diagnosed with depression. Vamana Dhauti was well-accepted, could be completed within the given setting and time, and was found to be easy to practice by participants (VAS = 2 ± 1.65; 0 being very easy and 10 being very difficult) with few mild adverse events (n = 2/12). Notably, a significant group × time interaction was observed in HRV, low-frequency measures [F (1,22) = 8.168; p = .009)]. Both groups saw an increase in Low-frequency during the first 10 minutes of Shavasana (control > intervention), but after 20 minutes, only the intervention group returned to baseline values, showing improved resilience. Clinical outcomes measured by HAM-D showed a significant improvement in both groups.

Conclusion: Vamana Dhauti is feasible and well-tolerated by patients diagnosed with depression, suggesting its potential integration into depression-focused Yoga modules.

Background: Orphan adolescents face multiple vulnerabilities, including a lack of parental guidance, poor educational opportunities, socio-economic disadvantages and peer pressure, making them prone to unhealthy behaviours, risk-taking, anxiety and depression. Despite these challenges, they often exhibit resilience, though forming stable social bonds remains difficult. The use of Anapanasati meditation in orphanages is a low-cost, easy and convenient solution to facilitating holistic growth, encouraging positive psychosocial performance and enhancing internal locus of control.

Purpose: The objective of the current study was to find the effectiveness of Anapanasati meditation on the internal locus of control, psychological well-being, resilience and altruism among orphan adolescents.

Method: A sample of 108 adolescents (54 orphan and 54 non-orphan adolescents) comprising of equal number of male and female participants in the age group of 13-17 years was included in the study. Data was collected from orphan adolescents residing in institutions in Pune, Maharashtra.

Results: For the present study, t-test and Bonferroni and Holm's (post-hoc) were calculated. Cohen's d was also calculated to find the effect size of the intervention. There were significant changes in the experimental group compared to the control group. The three-month intervention was found to be effective from the second month onwards.

Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that meditation programmes can be practically applied in schools, orphanages and residential care facilities. Anapanasati meditation, which is relatively simple, economically and culturally non-intensive, seems particularly suitable in resource-restrained settings.

Background: The human body is a highly integrated biological system in which the gut flora wields regulatory control beyond simple digestion. Intestinal bacteria control neuronal and behavioral processes via the gut-brain axis; microbial gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) synthesis seems to be an essential controller of sleep and central nervous system activity. Increasing data show that neuroactive substances produced from bacteria influence mental health results, circadian rhythm, and sleep structure.

Summary: This review investigates the function of gut-derived GABA in sleep control, the part that particular bacterial taxa play, and the translational value of salivary GABA as a non-invasive indicator. Literature discussing microbial pathways for GABA production, gut-brain signalling mechanisms, food modulation, and ELISA-based salivary GABA determination was reviewed. Important GABA-producing genera including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii were investigated. Available data indicates that gut bacteria may contribute up to thirty percent of systemic GABA; metabolites of gut microbes like butyrate improve GABAergic signalling via epigenetic and receptor-mediated pathways. Diets high in probiotics and fermentable fibre are continuously linked to better sleep quality, less sleep latency, and greater sleep continuity. Using ELISA, salivary GABA levels between 0.1 and 1 µmol/L can be measured and show circadian fluctuation, thereby favoring saliva as a useful substitute for total neurochemical activity.

Key message: Salivary GABA is a promising, drug-free biomarker connecting CNS performance, sleep regulation, and gut microbial activity. Its non-invasive character permits extensive clinical and community-based study, therefore supporting longitudinal monitoring of gut-brain interactions. Integration of psychobiotic treatments, AI-guided diet, and point-of-care biosensors may eventually change the stomach to be an organ.

Background: Emotions are crucial in advertising by shaping consumer attention, memory, and decision-making. Love and excitement are popular emotional themes used in marketing communications, and while they are leveraged by marketers, other underlying neural responses to these stimuli have not been well studied. It is important to map how various emotional appeals are processed in the brain for valuable contributions to consumer neuroscience and neuromarketing.

Purpose: This research seeks to investigate and compare the neural responses elicited by love-based and excitement-based advertisements through electroencephalography (EEG) and thus assess their unique cognitive and emotional engagement patterns.

Methods: During this pilot study, EEG was recorded from adult viewers when they watched a series of advertisements sorted according to two emotional themes: love and excitement. Parameters in the EEG measured were amplitude fluctuation, levels of arousal, cognitive load, and frontal lobe activation patterns. Real-time neural activity was examined to establish the engagement provoked by each of the emotional themes.

Results: Emotion-based ads produced fast, sharp EEG waveforms, indicative of increased arousal, cognitive load, and strong reward expectation. Such responses were largely lateralised to the left frontal cortex and implicated in goal-directed motivation. Love-based ads, by contrast, produced smooth, stable neural activity implicated in empathy, affective resonance, and introspection. Interestingly, this condition also engaged the medial prefrontal cortex, a region involved in emotional attachment and trust.

Conclusion: The results indicate that excitement-peddling advertisements elicit instant attention and strong cognitive activation, while love-themed content invokes more profound emotional involvement and enduring affective influence. EEG is a valuable method for cracking open unconscious consumer responses, which provides strategic implications for marketing content optimisation. Based on the small sample size, this initial study offers a basis for further research in emotionally intelligent advertising and neuromarketing interventions.

Background: Analysing the relationship between early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) and developmental crises is critical for advancing targeted interventions; however, the psychological mechanisms underpinning these processes remain largely unexplored. Growing evidence indicates that cognitive flexibility potentially acts as a mediator in this relationship.

Purpose: Grounded in the schema therapy conceptual model by Young et al. (2003), the present study investigates the mediating effect of cognitive flexibility between EMS and developmental crisis, offering insights for cognitive-based interventions.

Method: A total sample of 200 participants (male = 87, female = 113), aged 18-25 years (M = 20.4, SD = 1.84), were recruited using purposive sampling. The Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-S2), the Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ) and the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS) were administered.

Result: Pearson product-moment correlation revealed a positive association between EMS and developmental crises, with the most robust relationship observed for the Disconnection and Rejection domain of EMS. Mediation analysis revealed that cognitive flexibility partially mediates the relationship between EMS 1 and developmental crises, while fully mediates the relationship for EMS 2 and 5 with developmental crises, buffering their impact, thereby reducing developmental crises among young adults.

Conclusion: These findings deepen our knowledge of how cognitive patterns influence developmental challenges, delivering practical implications for creating targeted, schema incorporated interventions to strengthen resilience and support mental health in young adults.

Background: The evolution of the marketing environment has been influenced primarily by two factors: the increasing relevance of digital technologies and the ever-increasing importance of social media.

Purpose: This investigation seeks to identify the neuroscientific mechanisms that contribute to how social media marketing (SMM) can influence purchase intention, specifically through the mechanism of consumer engagement (i.e., emotional attention and cognitive appraisal). This research also investigates the extent to which different types of engagement may have a greater or lesser effect, and whether the effects differ amongst different subgroups of users.

Methods: This research is survey-based, collecting data from 485 respondents who actively use social media in India, utilising standardised questionnaires. Statistical analyses were employed to analyse the quantitative data collected in this study using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and mediation testing with the PROCESS macro. A set of hypotheses was proposed to investigate the direct and indirect relationships among the variables examined.

Results: The results indicate a statistically significant positive relationship between SMM and purchase intention. Additionally, it was demonstrated that consumer engagement serves as a significant mediator for this relationship. It is posited that when consumers view persuasive content online, the corresponding neural pathways are related to the processing of rewards, motivation, and memory activation. These activated neural pathways increase the level of consumer engagement and ultimately influence the development of purchase intentions.

Conclusion: The findings of this study provide an integration of existing knowledge and theory regarding digital marketing, consumer psychology, and neuroscience.

Background: Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) aid in the diagnosis of probable neurologic disorders of the VIIIth cranial nerve, the associated auditory pathways, and an estimation of hearing sensitivity, for those who are unable to reliably provide information through behavioural hearing evaluations. BAEPs exhibit variabilities due to numerous pathologic and non-pathologic factors. One of the factors that may have a significant impact on typical BAEPs is gender. Although there are numerous studies documenting gender as an influencing factor on auditory evoked potentials in older subjects, there are few comparable studies among subjects who are just entering adulthood.

Objective: The current study aimed to understand the pattern of gender-based differences in BAEPs among emerging adults of Northern India.

Methods: The present study was conducted on 120 normal subjects (70 females, 50 males) who were relatives (second degree) of the patients belonging to Northern India aged between 19 and 25 years old, at the Institute of Medical Sciences. Absolute latencies I, III, V and Inter-peak latencies I-III, I-V, III-V were measured separately for both ears. Statistical analysis was done by using the independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test based on normality through SPSS version 20.0.

Results: Results revealed a statistically significant difference in absolute latency of Wave I and inter-peak latency (IPL) of I-III, I-V in the right ear and in the left ear. Wave III and IPL III-V were found to be significant. Females showed shorter absolute latencies and IPLs as compared to males.

Conclusion: Significant alterations in BAEPs provide evidence for the potential contribution of gender as an influencing factor in emerging adulthood.

Background: Hypertension (HTN) is associated with lower heart rate variability (HRV) and multiple psychological and sleep disturbances. OM chanting, a scriptural form of meditation, has been shown to improve multiple cardiac, psychological, and autonomic factors in different cohorts.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of listening to OM chanting composed at 528Hz on heart rate, blood pressure, HRV, psychological general wellbeing, and quality of sleep in patients with HTN.

Methods: Sixty patients with diagnosed Stage 1 HTN were randomised into control and intervention groups. Patients in the experimental group listened to an audio recording of OM chanting daily for one month. Patients in the control group received standard care. Outcome measures were assessed immediately after the first session and at the end of one month.

Results: After one month of intervention, a significant (p < .05) reduction in the pulse, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), a significant increase in RMSSD, SDNN, PNN50, HF, Total power, and LF/HF ratio was observed at the end of the first session and at the end of the intervention. No adverse events were reported during the trial period. Repeated-measures two-way ANOVA results indicate that significant time-dependent effects of OM chanting on pulse and SBP, and a marginal positive trend of effects on SDNN and RMSSD. Pearson correlation analysis indicates that the intervention group showed decoupling of the BP-sleep link, hinting at a beneficial effect.

Conclusion: Listening to 528 Hz frequency OM chanting for one month reduces pulse and blood pressure, and enhances parasympathetic dominance on HRV analysis. It also improves psychological wellbeing, reduces perceived stress, and improves the quality of sleep. OM can be considered an important non-pharmacologic therapy in HTN. It is convenient, socially, and culturally acceptable, harmless, and in sync with deeply rooted religious/spiritual practices of the community.