Men and women may use alcohol to regulate emotions differently, with corresponding differences in neural responses. We explored how the viewing of different types of emotionally salient stimuli impacted brain activity observed through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 42 long-term abstinent alcoholic (25 women) and 46 nonalcoholic (24 women) participants. Analyses revealed blunted brain responsivity in alcoholic compared to nonalcoholic groups, as well as gender differences in those activation patterns. Brain activation in alcoholic...

Objective: The objectives of this study were to measure the global impact of the pandemic on the volumes for intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), IVT transfers, and stroke hospitalizations over 4 months at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to June 30, 2020) compared with two control 4-month periods. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study across 6 continents, 70 countries, and 457 stroke centers. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes and/or classifications in...

Pod-based electronic (e-) cigarettes more efficiently deliver nicotine using a protonated formulation. The cardiovascular effects associated with these devices are poorly understood. We evaluated whether pod-based e-liquids and their individual components impair endothelial cell function. We isolated endothelial cells from people who are pod users (n=10), tobacco never users (n=7), and combustible cigarette users (n=6). After a structured use, pod users had lower acetylcholine-mediated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activation compared with never users and...

Many studies indicate a crucial role for the vitamin B12 and folate-dependent enzyme methionine synthase (MS) in brain development and function, but vitamin B12 status in the brain across the lifespan has not been previously investigated. Vitamin B12 (cobalamin, Cbl) exists in multiple forms, including methylcobalamin (MeCbl) and adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl), serving as cofactors for MS and methylmalonylCoA mutase, respectively. We measured levels of five Cbl species in postmortem human frontal cortex of 43 control subjects,...

The issue of the face specificity of recognition deficits in developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is fundamental to the organisation of high-level visual memory and has been increasingly debated in recent years. Previous DP investigations have found some evidence of object recognition impairments, but have almost exclusively used familiar objects (e.g., cars), where performance may depend on acquired object-specific experience and related visual expertise. An object recognition test not influenced by experience could provide a better, less...

The spectral composition of ambient light varies across both space and time. Many species of jawed vertebrates adapt to this variation by tuning the sensitivity of their photoreceptors via the expression of CYP27C1, an enzyme that converts vitamin A1 into vitamin A2, thereby shifting the ratio of vitamin A1-based rhodopsin to red-shifted vitamin A2-based porphyropsin in the eye. Here, we show that the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), a jawless vertebrate that diverged from jawed vertebrates...

Background: The underlying mechanisms of the association between ambient temperature and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are not well understood, particularly for daily temperature variability. We evaluated if daily mean temperature and standard deviation of temperature was associated with heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc) duration, a marker of ventricular repolarization in a prospective cohort of older men. Methods: This longitudinal analysis included 487 older men participating in the VA Normative Aging Study with up to three...

Background: South Africa has the highest tuberculosis incidence globally (781/100,000), with an estimated 4.3% of cases being rifampicin resistant (RR). Control and elimination strategies will require detailed spatial information to understand where drug-resistant tuberculosis exists and why it persists in those communities. We demonstrate a method to enable drug-resistant tuberculosis monitoring by identifying high-burden communities in the Western Cape Province using routinely collected laboratory data. Methods and findings: We retrospectively identified cases of microbiologically confirmed...

Objective: To assess the association of early morning serum cortisol with cognitive performance and brain structural integrity in community-dwelling young and middle-aged adults without dementia. Methods: We evaluated dementia-free Framingham Study (Generation 3) participants (mean age 48.5 years; 46.8% men), who underwent cognitive testing for memory, abstract reasoning, visual perception, attention, and executive function (n= 2231), and brain MRI (n=2018) to assess total white matter, lobar gray matter, and white matter hyperintensity volumes and fractional...

Objective: To develop evidence-informed, expert consensus research diagnostic criteria for Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome (TES), the clinical disorder associated with neuropathologically diagnosed Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Methods: A panel of 20 expert clinician-scientists in neurology, neuropsychology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, from 11 academic institutions, participated in a modified Delphi procedure to achieve consensus, initiated at the First NINDS Consensus Workshop to Define the Diagnostic Criteria for TES, April, 2019. Prior to consensus, panelists...