Annals of Neurosciences最新文献

Background: Nerve conduction studies are a common clinical investigation for evaluating peripheral nerve abnormalities. Various sets of normal values exist; ideally, each laboratory should establish its own set of normal values.

Purpose: Develop normative data of nerve conduction study (NCS) studies for upper and lower limbs.

Methods: Nerve conduction studies were conducted on the upper and lower extremities of meticulously screened, healthy participants of both genders, among the Himachal and Punjab population, using Natus Synergy on Nicolet TM EDX EMG/NCV/EP system. They were all within the age range of 20-60 years. Velocities were calculated by onset latencies, and amplitudes were measured from baseline to the negative peak. Descriptive statistics were computed. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to look for the effect of gender. Linear regression was used to evaluate the effect of age and height.

Results: The study population include 50 males and 50 females. The age and body mass index (BMI) of subjects were similar across gender. Proximal motor latency (Right (R) & Left (L) Median and Ulnar, R tibial, R Peroneal), Distal motor latency (L median, peroneal), sensory onset and peak latencies (R&L ulnar nerves) were significantly longer in males as compared to females. Motor NCV (L Median, R Ulnar, R&L Tibial and Peroneal), compound muscle action potential (CMAP) Amplitude (R&L Median, Tibial, Peroneal and R ulnar), Sensory NCV (R Median, L Ulnar), sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude (R&L median and ulnar) were significantly decreasing with age.

Conclusion: This study established normative conduction parameters of commonly tested nerves of the upper and lower limbs. investigated the effects of age, gender and height for our clinical neurophysiology laboratory.

Background: Prolonged exposure to biomass smoke is a leading cause of respiratory morbidity among women living in low and middle-income countries, resulting in progressive lung damage and increased risk for chronic respiratory diseases.

Purpose: To develop, validate, and evaluate the feasibility of a Pranayama-based voluntarily regulated breathing technique (VRBT) module specifically tailored for women exposed to biomass smoke.

Methods: The VRBT module was developed through a yoga literature review and scientific evidence, and then evaluated for content validity by 22 yoga experts using Lawshe's CVR method. One month pre-post feasibility trial of the module was conducted among 12 rural non-smoking women mean age of 50.42 ± 8.05 years; Biomass Exposure Index ≥ 60 hour-years. Pulmonary function was measured at baseline and post-intervention using Spirometer RMS Helios 401. Statistical analyses were conducted using paired t-tests (p < .05).

Results: Fourteen practices met the CVR threshold of 0.45; the final module duration is 40 minutes. After one month, significant improvements were observed in FVC (1.43 ± 0.41 L to 1.94 ± 0.37 L, p < .001), FEV1 (1.31 ± 0.40 L to 1.57 ± 0.34 L, p = .037), FEV1/FVC ratio (91.7 ± 7.96 to 80.6 ± 1.63, p < .001), and PEFR (2.83 ± 0.97 to 3.60 ± 0.96 L/s, p = .040). FEF25-75_% did not show any significant change (p = .554). Pranayama was found to be a safe intervention with no adverse effects observed.

Conclusion: The module was designed for simplicity and ease of adoption by women, ensuring its accessibility. Hence, the VRBT module can be administered to the women exposed to biomass smoke.

Background: When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress, written by Dr Gabor Maté, is an influential book illuminating the mind-body relationship. The book reflects upon the precarious role of prolonged stress, adverse childhood experiences and emotional repression in producing neurodegenerative and chronic diseases.

Summary: Based on the author's clinical case studies, autobiographies and empirical evidence, this book review critically opines on the prominent themes-childhood trauma, parentification, emotional repression, people-pleasing, lack of assertiveness and repression of anger-signifying the biopsychosocial milieu from an Indian experience through existing knowledge. Further, the importance of the biopsychosocial model of health in illness prevention has been emphasised. Strengths and practical implications have also been presented.

Key message: This book review implicates the effects of the holistic healing and wellness framework through the process of upholding one's own needs and wants before others. Nevertheless, the applicability of the insights is immensely relevant in the field of psychology, medicine, psychotherapy and healthcare.

Background: Stress is a major problem in today's culture, especially for expectant mothers. Newer therapies that show promising avenues for the reduction of stress include sound therapy, yoga, mantra chanting, and meditation (M). Electroencephalography (EEG) electroencephalography plays an important role in understanding the relaxation effects caused by these practices.

Purpose: This study looks at the immediate neuro-physiological effects of brief auditory stimuli on pregnant participants, focusing on EEG responses during and after meditation (AM). Unlike the literature that has focused on AM, the significance of EEG readings during M is emphasised.

Methods: The new classification model, namely REA (R-score, EEG and Artificial Neural Network [ANN]) was employed for the analysis against the conventional approach of ANN.

Results: The statistical feature analysis showed in M EEG more significant than AM EEG. The results indicated that short audio interventions can be used to induce relaxation, and the identified EEG channels of CFz (frontal midline), F8 (right frontal lobe), and CP2 (parietal lobe) resulted in 100% accuracy in recognising meditative states during M. This accuracy underlines the importance of these regions for the differentiation of the relaxation states.

Conclusion: The present study offers novel insights into trimester-specific responses to brief M audio stimuli and highly underscores the crucial role of EEG monitoring in M. These results point out that short auditory interventions might serve as a useful tool in the realm of stress reduction in prenatal care and offer a future direction of research into the neuro-physiological effects of M.

Background: Alcohol abuse continues to be a major concern among young adults aged 18-25, contributing to a range of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural impairments. One critical area of cognitive functioning affected by alcohol is prospective memory, the ability to remember and execute intended future actions. Individuals with a history of childhood trauma are at increased risk for alcohol misuse and associated cognitive challenges. Psychological inflexibility, defined as difficulty adapting to distressing internal experiences, may further exacerbate these effects but remains underexplored as a moderating variable.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the moderating role of psychological inflexibility in the relationship between alcohol abuse and prospective memory in young adults with and without childhood trauma.

Methods: A total of 250 young adults (125 with childhood trauma and 125 without), aged 18-25, were selected using purposive sampling from educational institutions and community centres in Delhi NCR. Participants completed standardised self-report instruments, including the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II). Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, independent samples t-tests, multiple regression, and moderation analysis using the PROCESS macro in SPSS.

Results: Analyses revealed significant associations among alcohol abuse, psychological inflexibility, and prospective memory difficulties. Notable group differences emerged between trauma and non-trauma participants. Psychological inflexibility moderated the relationship between alcohol abuse and prospective memory, with higher inflexibility linked to greater impairment.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that psychological inflexibility intensifies alcohol-related cognitive difficulties, highlighting its importance as a target for interventions aimed at the vulnerable youth population.

Background: Thyroid hormones tend to regulate the metabolic rate of the body. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is involved in the regulation of cardiovascular functions, and its dysfunction increases cardiovascular risk. About 65% of overt hypothyroid patients have autonomic dysfunction, which is due to sympathetic overactivity and parasympathetic withdrawal leading to a state of sympathovagal imbalance. Also, hypothyroidism is stated to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Purpose: Yoga practice helps in better modulation of the ANS and has been shown to improve autonomic function in diabetes and heart failure patients. Pranayama has been shown to improve cardiac autonomic function in hypothyroidism. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effect of three months of yoga therapy on autonomic functions in female hypothyroid patients on levothyroxine supplementation.

Methods: In this randomised open-label study, 99 hypothyroid women between the age groups of 18-50 years were recruited from the Endocrinology OPD in JIPMER and were randomly allocated to two groups. The study group subjects (n = 51) were administered three months of yoga therapy in addition to levothyroxine supplementation and a control group subjects (n = 48) received levothyroxine supplementation only. Autonomic function test parameters such as heart rate variability (HRV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) were recorded at the baseline and after three months of study period in all the participants, and the parameters were compared between the groups and within the groups. HRV was measured from RR tachogram using Biopac MP150 and BRS was assessed using Finapres.

Results: After three months of yoga therapy in female hypothyroid patients on levothyroxine supplementation, HRV parameters showed a significant increase in parasympathetic tone (SDNN: p = .002, RMSSD: p = .021, NN50: p < .001, pNN50: p < .001, TP: p = .001, HF: p < .001, HFnu: p = .002) along with a decline in resting sympathetic activity (LF: p = .002, LFnu: p < .001, LF:HF ratio: p = .022) and a significant improvement in BRS (p < .001). Additionally, cardiovascular parameters also showed improvement in the yoga group (SBP: p < .001, DBP: p = .010, PP: p < .001, MAP: p < .001, RPP: p < .001) compared to the control group.

Conclusion: Three months of yoga practice in female hypothyroid patients in addition to routine levothyroxine therapy, it is effective in enhancing cardiac autonomic function with a shift towards parasympathetic predominance, and significant improvements in cardiovascular parameters. Yoga therapy may be suggested for hypothyroid patients to improve their cardiovascular health.

Background: Genetic polymorphisms significantly influence individual responses to antidepressant medications. Among these, variations in the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP2C19, particularly the *2 allele, are known to affect drug metabolism, with implications for both efficacy and safety. South Indian populations exhibit a relatively high prevalence of this polymorphism, yet data specific to psychiatric cohorts remain limited.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of the CYP2C19*2 polymorphism among South Indian psychiatric patients and to classify the corresponding metaboliser phenotypes to inform precision prescribing strategies for psychotropic medications.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving 140 psychiatric patients of South Indian ancestry across two tertiary psychiatric centres. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples and genotyped for the CYP2C19*2 (681G>A) variant using TaqMan-based real-time PCR. Participants were categorised into metaboliser phenotypes based on CPIC guidelines: normal (*1/*1), intermediate (*1/*2) and poor (*2/*2) metabolisers. Genotype frequencies were assessed for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and descriptive statistics were used to summarise allele and phenotype distributions.

Results: The CYP2C19*2 allele frequency was 27.5%. Genotype distribution was as follows: *1/*1 in 55.7%, *1/*2 in 33.6% and *2/*2 in 10.7% of participants. Accordingly, 44.3% of patients were classified as non-normal metabolisers (NMs) (intermediate or poor). The genotype distribution did not deviate significantly from HWE (p = .0614), indicating population stability.

Conclusion: A substantial proportion of South Indian psychiatric patients exhibit reduced CYP2C19 enzyme activity due to the presence of the *2 allele. These findings highlight the clinical utility of pre-emptive pharmacogenetic testing to guide antidepressant selection and dosing in this population, supporting the implementation of precision psychiatry in routine mental health care.

Background: Acute heart rate variability (HRV) is used for assessment of functional autonomic profile in awake resting state in humans subjects. Evaluation of 24-h variations in the sympatho-vagal balance across sleep stages through HRV are valuable to understand the basis of various lifestyles diseases, however, such studies are uncommon.

Purpose: The present study modelled the sleep-wake associated cardiac autonomic changes in freely moving female Wistar rats across light and dark phase using HRV as a tool.

Methods: Sleep states (non-rapid eye movement [NREM] and rapid eye movement [REM] sleep) were estimated through electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG), while the ECG signal was acquired simultaneously for HRV analysis. To understand circadian dynamics, HRV was analysed for noise-free distinct and transitional state segments of sleep-wakefulness.

Results: In time domain parameters, RR intervals during NREM sleep were longer in comparison to wake and REM sleep. In the frequency domain, reductions in LF and an increase in HF power during NREM sleep were evident compared to other states. RR interval during wakefulness in the dark phase was significantly decreased compared to the light phase. The RR interval was the longest during the early phase of the light period (6-10 am) in all three states.

Conclusion: Parasympathetic predominance during NREM sleep was similar to a human having a monophasic pattern, while a higher sympathetic tone during the majority of transitional states in rats, which are polyphasic in nature, indicated risk of dysregulated sympatho-vagal balance with fragmented sleep. Further, the highest parasympathetic activity during the early light phase and the highest sympathetic drive during the dark phase may serve as an adaptive mechanism for survival in nocturnal life.