Altered Sensorimotor Cortical Activities During Forearm Movement in Humans With Spinal Cord Injury.

Aims: Decoding the motor intention by electroencephalography to control external devices is an effective method of helping spinal cord injury (SCI) patients to regain motor function. Still, SCI patients have much lower accuracy in the decoding of motor intentions compared to healthy individuals, which severely hampers the clinical application. However, the underlying neural mechanisms are still unknown.

Correlation between systemic inflammatory response syndrome and prognosis of patients with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy.

Background: Although systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is associated with the progression of cirrhosis, its clinical significance in patients with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) remains unclear.

Methods: Here, clinical data of 161 hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and HE were analyzed.

Results: Of these patients, 60 (37.

Stiffness-Tunable Neurotentacles for Minimally Invasive Implantation and Long-Term Neural Activity Recordings.

Flexible microelectrodes are ideal for chronic neural recordings; however, their low bending strength poses challenges during probe insertion. Here, a stiffness-tunable polyimide probe, termed Neurotentacle, is proposed for deep brain implantation. Its tunability is enabled by embedded microchannels with controllable liquid pressure.

A local de-insulation method and its application in neural microneedle array.

Silicon-based neural microneedle arrays, such as the Utah Array, have demonstrated excellent performance in chronic recordings from the cerebral cortex. Unlike planar thin-film electrodes with recording sites arranged on the surface of a silicon film, the recording sites of microneedle arrays are located at the tips of three-dimensional needles, which significantly complicates the fabrication process required for single-neuron recordings. To address this challenge, we develop a local de-insulation method for microneedle recording electrodes that eliminates the need for etching: the microneedle tips are encapsulated in a controllable-thickness protective layer, followed by deposition of a Parylene-C insulation layer.

A Novel Method for the Locomotion Control of a Rat Robot via the Electrical Stimulation of the Ventral Tegmental Area and Nigrostriatal Pathway.

Background: A rat robot can be constructed by electrically stimulating specific brain regions to control rat locomotion and behavior. The rat robot makes full use of the rat's motor function and energy supply and has significant advantages in motor flexibility, environmental adaptability, and covertness. It can be widely used in disaster search and rescue, terrain survey, anti-terrorism, and explosion-proof tasks.

Transparent, flexible graphene-ITO-based neural microelectrodes for simultaneous electrophysiology recording and calcium imaging of intracortical neural activity in freely moving mice.

To understand the complex dynamics of neural activity in the brain across various temporal and spatial scales, it is crucial to record intracortical multimodal neural activity by combining electrophysiological recording and calcium imaging techniques. This poses significant constraints on the geometrical, mechanical, and optical properties of the electrodes. Here, transparent flexible graphene-ITO-based neural microelectrodes with small feature sizes are developed and validated for simultaneous electrophysiology recording and calcium imaging in the hippocampus of freely moving mice.

Biomimetic Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Promotes the Rat Hindlimb Motion Modulation in Stepping: An Experimental Analysis.

Peripheral nerve stimulation is an effective neuromodulation method in patients with lower extremity movement disorders caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, or other diseases. However, most current studies on rehabilitation using sciatic nerve stimulation focus solely on ankle motor regulation through stimulation of common peroneal and tibial nerves. Using the electrical nerve stimulation method, we here achieved muscle control via different sciatic nerve branches to facilitate the regulation of lower limb movements during stepping and standing.

Size Control of On-Surface Self-Assembled Nanochains Using Soft Building Blocks.

Owing to their conformational flexibility, soft molecules with side chains play a crucial role in molecular self-assembly or self-organization processes toward bottom-up building of supramolecular nanostructures. However, the influence of the rotating side chains in the confined space and subsequent surface-confined supramolecular self-assembly remains rarely explored. Herein, using the spatial confinement effect between soft building blocks, we realized size control on surface-confined supramolecular coordination self-assembly through the synergy between the repulsive steric hindrance and the attractive chemical interactions.

Engineering Two-Dimensional Multilevel Supramolecular Assemblies from a Bifunctional Ligand on Au(111).

Herein, we demonstrate the supramolecular assemblies from a bifunctional ligand on Au(111), towards engineering two-dimensional (metal-) organic multilevel nanostructures. The bifunctional ligand employed, including two Br atoms and one carboxylic terminal, offers multiple bonding motifs with different configurations and binding energies. These bonding motifs are highly self-selective and self-recognizable, and thus afford the formation of subunits that contribute to engineering multilevel self-assemblies.

Liquid Metal-Based Electrode Array for Neural Signal Recording.

Neural electrodes are core devices for research in neuroscience, neurological diseases, and neural-machine interfacing. They build a bridge between the cerebral nervous system and electronic devices. Most of the neural electrodes in use are based on rigid materials that differ significantly from biological neural tissue in flexibility and tensile properties.

Liquid metal integrated PU/CNT fibrous membrane for human health monitoring.

Wearable flexible sensors are widely used in several applications such as physiological monitoring, electronic skin, and telemedicine. Typically, flexible sensors that are made of elastomeric thin-films lack sufficient permeability, which leads to skin inflammation, and more importantly, affects signal detection and consequently, reduces the sensitivity of the sensor. In this study, we designed a flexible nanofibrous membrane with a high air permeability (6.

Genetic and Pharmacological Inhibition of Astrocytic Mysm1 Alleviates Depressive-Like Disorders by Promoting ATP Production.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of this disorder is critical for the therapy of MDD. In this study, it is observed that deubiquitinase Mysm1 is induced in the brain tissues from patients with major depression and from mice with depressive behaviors.

Towards an artificial peripheral nerve: Liquid metal-based fluidic cuff electrodes for long-term nerve stimulation and recording.

Nerve cuff electrodes have been used for decades as peripheral nerve interfacing devices in the fields of neural science, neural disease, and brain-machine interfacing. The currently-used cuff electrode is commonly based on rigid materials whose flexibility and tensile properties are far different from those of biological nervous tissue. Herein, a fluidic cuff electrode using a gallium-based liquid metal (LM) conductor is developed as a prototype artificial peripheral nerve.

Effect of neuromorphic transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (nTENS) of cortical functional networks on tactile perceptions: an event-related electroencephalogram study.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is generally applied for tactile feedback in the field of prosthetics. The distinct mechanisms of evoked tactile perception between stimulus patterns in conventional TENS (cTENS) and neuromorphic TENS (nTENS) are relatively unknown. This is the first study to investigate the neurobiological effect of nTENS for cortical functional mechanism in evoked tactile perception.

Unexpected Terrain Induced Changes in Cortical Activity in Bipedal-Walking Rats.

Humans and other animals can quickly respond to unexpected terrains during walking, but little is known about the cortical dynamics in this process. To study the impact of unexpected terrains on brain activity, we allowed rats with blocked vision to walk on a treadmill in a bipedal posture and then walk on an uneven area at a random position on the treadmill belt. Whole brain EEG signals and hind limb kinematics of bipedal-walking rats were recorded.

Multisite Simultaneous Neural Recording of Motor Pathway in Free-Moving Rats.

Neural interfaces typically focus on one or two sites in the motoneuron system simultaneously due to the limitation of the recording technique, which restricts the scope of observation and discovery of this system. Herein, we built a system with various electrodes capable of recording a large spectrum of electrophysiological signals from the cortex, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and muscles of freely moving animals. The system integrates adjustable microarrays, floating microarrays, and microwires to a commercial connector and cuff electrode on a wireless transmitter.

Different Modes of Low-Frequency Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Attenuation of Epilepsy Based on the Topological Theory.

Epilepsy is common brain dysfunction, where abnormal synchronized activities can be observed across multiple brain regions. Low-frequency focused pulsed ultrasound has been proven to modulate the epileptic brain network. In this study, we used two modes of low-intensity focused ultrasound (pulsed-wave and continuous-wave) to sonicate the brains of KA-induced epileptic rats, analyzed the EEG functional brain connections to explore their respective effect on the epileptic brain network, and discuss the mechanism of ultrasound neuromodulation.

Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Attenuation of Acute Seizure Activity Based on EEG Brain Functional Connectivity.

(1) Background: Ultrasound has been used for noninvasive stimulation and is a promising technique for treating neurological diseases. Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, that is attributed to uncontrollable abnormal neuronal hyperexcitability. Abnormal synchronized activities can be observed across multiple brain regions during a seizure.

A Multi-DoF Prosthetic Hand Finger Joint Controller for Wearable sEMG Sensors by Nonlinear Autoregressive Exogenous Model.

The loss of mobility function and sensory information from the arm, hand, and fingertips hampers the activities of daily living (ADL) of patients. A modern bionic prosthetic hand can compensate for the lost functions and realize multiple degree of freedom (DoF) movements. However, the commercially available prosthetic hands usually have limited DoFs due to limited sensors and lack of stable classification algorithms.

Association between cortical thickness and distinct vascular cognitive impairment and dementia in patients with white matter lesions.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? White matter lesions (WMLs) are a brain disease characterized by altered brain structural and functional connectivity, but findings have shown an inconsistent pattern: are there distinct cortical thickness changes in patients with WMLs subtypes? What is the main finding and its importance? Patients with WMLs with non-dementia vascular cognitive impairment and WMLs with vascular dementia showed distinct pathophysiology in cortical thickness. These neural correlates of WMLs should be considered in future treatment.

Abstract: The effect of cortical thickness on white matter lesions (WMLs) in patients with distinct vascular cognitive impairments is relatively unknown.

Rat Locomotion Detection Based on Brain Functional Directed Connectivity from Implanted Electroencephalography Signals.

Previous findings have suggested that the cortex involved in walking control in freely locomotion rats. Moreover, the spectral characteristics of cortical activity showed significant differences in different walking conditions. However, whether brain connectivity presents a significant difference during rats walking under different behavior conditions has yet to be verified.

Electrocortical activity in freely walking rats varies with environmental conditions.

Longstanding theories in the field of neurophysiology have held that walking in rats is an unconscious, rhythmic locomotion that does not require cortical involvement. However, recent studies have suggested that the extent of cortical involvement during walking actually varies depending on the environmental conditions. To determine the impact of environmental conditions on cortical engagement in freely walking rats, we recorded limb kinematics and signals from implanted electroencephalography arrays in rats performing a series of natural behaviors.

Poor bladder compliance due to malacoplakia with xanthogranulomatous cystitis: A case report.

Rationale: Either malacoplakia or xanthogranulomatous cystitis (XC) is a rare chronic infection disease of urinary bladder, which often mimics bladder masses undifferentiated from malignance and results in severe lower urinary tract symptoms. The malacoplakia combined with XC is even rarer in the literature.

Patient Concerns: A 64-year-old female, who presented with nocturia, frequency of micturition, severe urgency with occasional urinary incontinence, and recurrent hematuria for >2 years, was diagnosed with azotemia and anemia.