Effects of KCNQ potassium channel modulation on ventral tegmental area activity and connectivity in individuals with depression and anhedonia.

Up to half of individuals with depression do not respond to first-line treatments, possibly due to a lack of treatment interventions informed by neurobiology. A novel therapeutic approach for depression has recently emerged from translational work targeting aberrant activity of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons via modulation of the KCNQ voltage-gated potassium channels. In this study, individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) with elevated anhedonia were randomized to five weeks of the KCNQ channel opener, ezogabine (up to 900 mg/day) or placebo.

Effects of the KCNQ (Kv7) Channel Opener Ezogabine on Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Striatal Brain Reward Regions, Depression, and Anhedonia in Major Depressive Disorder: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with available treatments often showing limited efficacy. Recent research suggests that targeting specific subtypes of depression and understanding the underlying brain mechanisms can improve treatment outcomes. This study investigates the potential of the potassium KCNQ (Kv7) channel opener ezogabine to modulate the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the brain's reward circuitry and alleviate depressive symptoms, including anhedonia, a core feature of MDD.

Surface Engineered MoS-Based Novel Vertical Triboelectric Nanogenerator (V-TENG) for Wireless Information Processing.

Self-sustaining mechanical energy harvesting devices are pivotal for developing durable energy-efficient systems, providing scalable and adaptable solutions to wearable technology. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) efficaciously convert ambient mechanical energy into usable electrical power to sustainably drive modern electronics. Surface and structural engineering is an avenue to boost TENGs' energy harvesting through modulating contact interfaces and charge transfer interactions between the constituent layers.

Mesoporous NiFeO@g-CN-Based p-n Heterostructures for Boosting Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Dye Degradation and Hydrogen Evolution.

Mass-fraction-optimized heterojunction composites featuring precisely engineered interfaces and mesoporous structures are crucial for improving light absorption, minimizing electron-hole recombination, and boosting overall catalytic efficiency. Herein, highly efficient mesoporous-NiFeO@g-CN heterojunctions were developed by embedding p-type NiFeO nanoparticles (NPs) within n-type porous ultrathin g-CN (p-uCN) nanosheets. The optimized NiFeO@g-CN, loaded with 20 wt % magnetic counterparts, exhibits exceptional photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) degradation, achieving the highest performance in both photocatalytic and photo-Fenton processes with rate constants of 0.

Multimodal neurophenomenology of advanced concentration absorption meditation: An intensively sampled case study of Jhana.

Using a combination of fMRI, EEG, and phenomenology ratings, we examined the neurophenomenology of advanced concentrative absorption meditation, namely jhanas (ACAM-J), in a practitioner with over 23,000 h of meditation practice. Our study shows that ACAM-J states induce reliable changes in conscious experience and that these experiences are related to neural activity. Using resting-state fMRI functional connectivity, we found that ACAM-J is associated with decreased within-network modularity, increased global functional connectivity (GFC), and desegregation of the default mode and visual networks.

Deconstructing the self and reshaping perceptions: An intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of the stages of insight during advanced investigative insight meditation.

The stages of insight (SoI) are a series of psychological realizations experienced through advanced investigative insight meditation (AIIM). SoI provide a powerful structured framework of AIIM for understanding and evaluating insight-based meditative development through changes in perception, experiences of self, cognition, and emotional processing. Yet, the neurophenomenology of SoI remains unstudied due to methodological difficulties, rarity of suitable advanced meditation practitioners, and dominant research emphasis on attention-based meditative practices.

Rational Design of Mesoporous ZnFeO@g-CN Heterojunctions for Environmental Remediation and Hydrogen Evolution.

Mesoporous catalysts with a high specific surface area, accessible pore structures, and appropriate band edges are desirable for optimal charge transfer across the interfaces, suppress electron-hole recombination, and promote redox reactions at the active sites. The present study demonstrates the rational design of mesoporous ZnFeO@g-CN magnetic nanocomposites (MNCs) with different pore sizes and pore volumes following a combination of facile thermal itching and thermal impregnation methods. The MNCs preserve the structural, morphological, and physical attributes of their counterparts while ensuring their effectiveness and superior catalytic capabilities.

Neurophenomenological Investigation of Mindfulness Meditation "Cessation" Experiences Using EEG Network Analysis in an Intensively Sampled Adept Meditator.

Mindfulness meditation is a contemplative practice that is informed by Buddhism. It has been proven effective for improving mental and physical health in clinical and non-clinical contexts. To date, mainstream dialogue and scientific research on mindfulness has focused primarily on short-term mindfulness training and applications of mindfulness for reducing stress.

Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states.

Jhanas are profound states of mind achieved through advanced meditation, offering valuable insights into the nature of consciousness and tools to enhance well-being. Yet, its neurophenomenology remains limited due to methodological difficulties and the rarity of advanced meditation practitioners. We conducted a highly exploratory study to investigate the neurophenomenology of jhanas in an intensively sampled adept meditator case study (4 hr 7T fMRI collected in 27 sessions) who performed jhana meditation and rated specific aspects of experience immediately thereafter.

The road not taken: Common and distinct neural correlates of regret and relief.

Humans anticipate and evaluate both obtained and counterfactual outcomes - outcomes that could have been had an alternate decision been taken - and experience associated emotions of regret and relief. Although many functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have examined the neural correlates of these emotions, there is substantial heterogeneity in their results. We conducted coordinate-based ALE and network-based ANM meta-analysis of fMRI studies of experienced regret and relief to examine commonalities and differences in their neural correlates.

Investigation of advanced mindfulness meditation "cessation" experiences using EEG spectral analysis in an intensively sampled case study.

Mindfulness meditation is a contemplative practice informed by Buddhism that targets the development of present-focused awareness and non-judgment of experience. Interest in mindfulness is burgeoning, and it has been shown to be effective in improving mental and physical health in clinical and non-clinical contexts. In this report, for the first time, we used electroencephalography (EEG) combined with a neurophenomenological approach to examine the neural signature of "cessation" events, which are dramatic experiences of complete discontinuation in awareness similar to the loss of consciousness, which are reported to be experienced by very experienced meditators, and are proposed to be evidence of mastery of mindfulness meditation.

Cessations of consciousness in meditation: Advancing a scientific understanding of nirodha samāpatti.

Absence of consciousness can occur due to a concussion, anesthetization, intoxication, epileptic seizure, or other fainting/syncope episode caused by lack of blood flow to the brain. However, some meditation practitioners also report that it is possible to undergo a total absence of consciousness during meditation, lasting up to 7 days, and that these "cessations" can be consistently induced. One form of extended cessation (i.

The dominating mode of two competing massive modes of quadratic gravity.

Over the last two decades, motivations for modified gravity have emerged from both theoretical and observational levels. f(R) and Chern-Simons gravity have received more attention as they are the simplest generalization. However, f(R) and Chern-Simons gravity contain only an additional scalar (spin-0) degree of freedom and, as a result, do not include other modes of modified theories of gravity.

The neuroscience of spirituality, religion, and mental health: A systematic review and synthesis.

Prior research highlights the importance of spirituality/religion (S/R) as it relates to several aspects of mental health and clinical interventions. This research has been expanded to include the concurrent examination of neurobiological correlates of S/R to elucidate potential biological mechanisms. However, the majority of neurobiological research on S/R has neglected mental health, and the relationship across all three of these domains (S/R, mental health, and neurobiology) remains unclear.

Recent advancements of g-CN-based magnetic photocatalysts towards the degradation of organic pollutants: a review.

Heterogeneous photocatalysis premised on advanced oxidation processes has witnessed a broad application perspective, including water purification and environmental remediation. In particular, the graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN), an earth-abundant metal-free conjugated polymer, has acquired extensive application scope and interdisciplinary consideration owing to its outstanding structural and physicochemical properties. However, several issues such as the high recombination rate of the photo-generated electron-hole pairs, smaller specific surface area, and lower electrical conductivity curtail the catalytic efficacy of bulk g-CN.

Structural, electronic and optical properties of lead free Rb based triiodide for photovoltaic application: anstudy.

The instability of organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites due to light, heat, and moisture restricts them for practical use despite having most suitable photovoltaic properties and higher power conversion efficiency. Several methods such as surface engineering, carbon electrode utilization, and optimization of the components are applied to increase the stability; still, it is far from the practical implementation. Moreover, the toxicity of Pb in most of the efficient hybrid halide perovskites is another major issue.

The neural underpinnings of allocentric thinking in a novel signaling task.

The ability to adopt the perspectives of others is fundamental to effective communication in social interactions. However, the neural correlates of allocentric thinking in communicative signaling remain unclear. We adapted a novel signaling task in which the signaler was given the target word and must choose a one-word signal to help the receiver guess the target.

The neural correlates of reaching focal points.

In pure-coordination games where there are multiple Nash equilibria, the selection of coordinated responses is inexplicable by rational-choice theory - yet coordination is ubiquitous in daily interactions. The psychological game theory therefore evokes the idea of focal-points: some equilibria being chosen due to its salience, as well as through predicting (i.e.

The impact on health status in short- and long-terms of a novel and non-orthodox real-world COPD rehabilitation effort in rural India: an appraisal.

Background: Rehabilitation has been an integral part of management of COPD. Since the implementation of the standard rehabilitation protocol is hardly possible in the rural developing world, aiming to make a feasible alternate effort may be worthwhile.

Methods: COPD patients diagnosed through spirometry were first stabilized with 6 weeks of uniform pharmacotherapy.

Teleological explanation and positive emotion serially mediate the effect of religion on well-being.

Objective: Previous research has demonstrated a robust relationship between religion and well-being, and it has been proposed that positive emotions are important mediators of this effect. Yet the mechanism via which religion promotes positive emotions has not been widely studied. We sought to examine whether teleological explanations of daily events and resulting positive emotions serially mediated the effects of religion on well-being.

Fear of economic policies may be domain-specific, and social emotions can explain why.

People are social animals who value social goods uniquely. In discussions about how economic policies are evaluated by the layperson, it is essential to consider how they may evoke repulsive social emotions such as disgust and anger. We propose that fear of economic policies is not general and that it is specific to items where markets tend to assault certain social values.

Social Discounting in the Elderly: Senior Citizens are Good Samaritans to Strangers.

Objectives: People tend to become more generous as they grow older, which may reflect an increase in their ego-transcending motives (i.e., concern more for the benefit of recipients than of the benefactors).

Spectroscopic Studies on the Effect of Some Ferrocene Derivatives in the Formation of Silver Nanoparticles.

Silver nanoparticles were prepared by microwave assisted method using silver nitrate as precursor in the presence of some ferrocene derivatives. The formation of the silver nanoparticles was monitored using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed the formation of silver nanoparticles by exhibiting typical surface plasmon absorption band.