Long-interval intracortical inhibition in individuals with autism spectrum disorders: A TMS-EEG study with source estimation analyses.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate Long-interval Intracortical Inhibition (LICI) in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) with source-based estimation analyses.

Methods: We applied the LICI paradigm to the left DLPFC of 32 individuals with ASD and 34 healthy controls. First, sensor-level Local Mean Field Power (LMFP) was calculated from TMS-evoked potentials for all participants to detect the LICI effect.

Impact of brain damage on moral judgment.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effects of damage to various brain regions on moral judgment using a novel third-party punishment task with fully manipulated conditions.

Methods: We assessed 35 individuals with brain damage (26 with frontal lobe and nine with non-frontal lobe damage) and 30 healthy controls (HCs) using a moral judgment task consisting of 40 vignettes across five conditions, with varying degrees of intentionality and consequences. Participants rated the protagonist's "badness" and their aroused feelings.

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as Maintenance Treatment of Depression: The MAINT-R Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Depression relapse poses significant medical and economic challenges. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as maintenance treatment may prevent relapse of treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Objective: To compare the effectiveness between low-frequency rTMS and lithium in preventing TRD relapse.

Plasma biomarkers for early detection of alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional study in a Japanese cohort.

Background: Plasma biomarkers offer a promising alternative to amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD). This cross-sectional study assessed the utility of multiple plasma biomarkers for diagnosing and staging AD in a Japanese cohort.

Methods: The assessed plasma biomarkers included Aβ42/40, phosphorylated tau (p-tau181 and p-tau217), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light chain (NfL), individually and in combination.

Clinical characteristics and interdepartmental collaboration for patients with Anderson-Fabry disease in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

Purpose: Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) is an X-linked lysosomal-storage disease caused by pathogenic variants in the gene encoding alpha-galactosidase A (). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with AFD and the types of medical specialists necessary to manage them in a prefecture with a population of 1.48 million.

PIK3R1 mutations in individuals with insulin resistance or growth retardation: Case series and in silico functional analysis.

Aims/introduction: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) plays a key role in insulin signaling, and mutations in PIK3R1, which encodes a regulatory subunit (p85α) of this enzyme, are responsible for SHORT syndrome, which is associated with insulin-resistant diabetes. We here describe four Japanese individuals from three families with SHORT syndrome who harbor either a common or a previously unknown mutation in PIK3R1 as well as provide an in silico functional analysis of the mutant proteins.

Materials And Methods: Gene sequencing was performed to identify PIK3R1 mutations.

Prediction of postoperative delirium by blood metabolome analysis.

No established blood markers can preoperatively predict postoperative delirium. Blood concentrations of amino acid catabolites and dipeptides, including those secreted extracellularly during T-lymphocyte activation, were investigated as predictors of postoperative delirium using metabolomic analyses to ascertain whether preoperative blood metabolites could predict postoperative delirium. Eighteen and 24 participants were included in the delirium and non-delirium groups, respectively.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the characteristics of transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment protocols for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

BackgroundAlzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative condition causing dementia. Currently, there has been no established non-pharmacological treatment for cognitive decline in patients with AD. Recent evidence suggests that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be effective as a non-invasive treatment for improving cognitive function in AD.

Violet light photobiomodulation therapy for depression: A double-blind randomized crossover trial.

Background: Medication-supplemented psychotherapy is the primary treatment for mild major depressive disorder (MDD). However, limited resources and patient non-adherence present challenges, necessitating innovative and less burdensome interventions. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of active and placebo violet light irradiation goggles for treating mild MDD.

Effectiveness of sequential bilateral repetitive transcranial stimulation versus bilateral theta burst stimulation for patients with treatment-resistant depression (BEAT-D): A randomized non-inferiority clinical trial.

Background: Bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (BL-rTMS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is effective for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Owing to a shorter treatment time, bilateral theta burst stimulation (BL-TBS) can be more efficient protocol. The non-inferiority of BL-TBS to BL-rTMS was established in late-life TRD; however, this has not been determined in adults of other age groups.

Decreased prefrontal glutamatergic function is associated with a reduced astrocyte-related gene expression in treatment-resistant depression.

Glutamatergic dysfunction is involved in the pathophysiology of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, few physiological studies have evaluated its pathophysiology in vivo in individuals with TRD. Transcranial magnetic stimulation-electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) techniques can assess intracortical facilitation (ICF), which reflects glutamatergic neurophysiological function in specific cortical regions.

Optimizing the identification of long-interval intracortical inhibition from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Objective: This study aimed to optimally evaluate the effect of the long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) through transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) by eliminating the volume conductance with signal source estimation and using a realistic sham coil as a control.

Methods: We compared the LICI effects from the DLPFC between the active and sham stimulation conditions in 27 healthy participants. Evoked responses between the two conditions were evaluated at the sensor and source levels.

Can the clinical sign "head-turning sign" and simple questions in "Neucop-Q" predict amyloid β pathology?

Background: To establish simple screening tests to suspect Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, the clinical sign "head-turning sign" (HTS), which is a patient's behavior of turning their head towards their partner to seek assistance with questions posed by the examiner during the interview, and the simple screening questionnaire for dementia named "Neucop-Q" were validated in participants diagnosed with amyloid and tau positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods: We enrolled 155 patients: 47 cognitive normal, 36 with mild cognitive impairment, 64 with dementia, and 8 with psychiatric disorders. All participants underwent Neucop-Q [three questions: Consciousness/self-awareness of cognitive disabilities (C) normal/impaired (nor/imp), Pleasure/pastime (P) nor/imp, and News/knowledge on current topics (N) nor/imp] and amyloid/tau PET.

Validation of the number of pulses required for TMS-EEG in the prefrontal cortex considering test feasibility.

Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with electroencephalography (EEG), TMS-EEG, is a useful neuroscientific tool for the assessment of neurophysiology in the human cerebral cortex. Theoretically, TMS-EEG data is expected to have a better data quality as the number of stimulation pulses increases. However, since TMS-EEG testing is a modality that is examined on human subjects, the burden on the subject and tolerability of the test must also be carefully considered.

Decreased short-latency afferent inhibition in individuals with mild cognitive impairment: A TMS-EEG study.

TMS combined with EEG (TMS-EEG) is a tool to characterize the neurophysiological dynamics of the cortex. Among the TMS paradigms, short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) allows the investigation of inhibitory effects mediated by the cholinergic system. The aim of this study was to compare cholinergic function in the DLPFC between individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls (HC) using TMS-EEG with the SAI paradigm.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation neurophysiology in patients with non-Alzheimer's neurodegenerative diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Non-Alzheimer's dementia (NAD) accounts for 30% of all neurodegenerative conditions and is characterized by cognitive decline beyond mere memory dysfunction. Diagnosing NAD remains challenging due to the lack of established biomarkers. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive neurophysiological tool that enables the investigation of cortical excitability in the human brain.

Performance of plasma Aβ42/40, measured using a fully automated immunoassay, across a broad patient population in identifying amyloid status.

Background: Plasma biomarkers have emerged as promising screening tools for Alzheimer's disease (AD) because of their potential to detect amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation in the brain. One such candidate is the plasma Aβ42/40 ratio (Aβ42/40). Unlike previous research that used traditional immunoassay, recent studies that measured plasma Aβ42/40 using fully automated platforms reported promising results.

Pneumonia Risk Increased by Dementia-Related Daily Living Difficulties: Poor Oral Hygiene and Dysphagia as Contributing Factors.

Objective: Although pneumonia is the leading cause of death among patients with dementia, the specific underlying causes remain unclear. In particular, the potential connection between pneumonia risk and dementia-related daily living difficulties, such as oral hygiene practice and mobility impairment, and the use of physical restraint as a management practice, has not been extensively studied.

Methods: In our retrospective study, we included 454 admissions corresponding to 336 individual patients with dementia who were admitted to a neuropsychiatric unit due to behavioral and psychological symptoms.

A Case Series of Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation Treatment for Depressive Symptoms in Individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Real World TMS Study in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. While the symptoms of ASD are present from early childhood, there has been an increase in the number of adults with ASD in recent years who visit healthcare professionals to seek the treatment of depression due to maladjustment resulting from the core symptoms and are eventually diagnosed with ASD. Currently, no treatment is available for the core symptoms of ASD, and pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy are often provided mainly for secondary disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Investigation of Spatiotemporal Profiles of Single-Pulse TMS-Evoked Potentials with Active Stimulation Compared with a Novel Sham Condition.

Identifying genuine cortical stimulation-elicited electroencephalography (EEG) is crucial for improving the validity and reliability of neurophysiology using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with EEG. In this study, we evaluated the spatiotemporal profiles of single-pulse TMS-elicited EEG response administered to the left dorsal prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in 28 healthy participants, employing active and sham stimulation conditions. We hypothesized that the early component of TEP would be activated in active stimulation compared with sham stimulation.