Discrimination of Tryptophan Enantiomers at Sub-pm Level by Multiparametric Analysis of a Label-Free Organic Immunosensor.

Electrolyte-gated organic transistors (EGOTs) exponentially amplify minute polarization changes at the gate electrode into the channel current. Antibodies grafted on the EGOT gate electrode enable specific recognition of target species, yet this strategy may not be sufficient per se to resolve the target from its antagonists. Here, a label-free EGOT immunosensor is functionalized with the antibody anti-L-enantiomer of Tryptophan (Trp), exhibiting sensitivity to Trp chirality.

Safety and efficacy of rotigotine in patients with frontotemporal dementia: a phase 2, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial.

Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a common form of dementia with no approved pharmacological treatment. Clinical and experimental evidence suggest that dopaminergic transmission is impaired in FTD. Here we aimed at investigating the clinical impact of treatment with dopaminergic agonists in FTD.

Bridging local and global dynamics: a biologically grounded model for cooperative and competitive interactions in the brain.

Functional brain networks exhibit both cooperative and competitive interactions, yet existing models-assuming purely excitatory long-range coupling-fail to account for the widespread anti-correlations observed in fMRI. Starting from a laminar neural mass framework, where each mass comprises distinct slow (alpha-band) and fast (gamma-band) oscillatory pyramidal subpopulations ( and ), we show how laminar-specific long-range excitatory projections across neural mass parcels can give rise to both cooperation and competition via cross-frequency envelope coupling. We demonstrate that homologous connections across parcels (e.

The neurobiological foundation of effective repetitive transcranial magnetic brain stimulation in Alzheimer's disease.

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), are promising candidate therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We review the evidence supporting the fundamental mechanisms of action of rTMS treatments in AD. rTMS exerts profound effects at different neurobiological and systems neurophysiological levels.

Multivariate empirical mode decomposition reveals markers of Alzheimer's Disease in the oscillatory response to transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Objective: To investigate EEG activity following transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients and control subjects using a data-driven characterization of brain oscillatory activity without prescribed frequency bands.

Methods: We employed multivariate empirical mode decomposition (MEMD) to analyze the TMS-EEG response of 38 AD patients and 21 control subjects. We used the distinct features of EEG oscillatory modes to train a classification algorithm, a support vector machine.

Perceptual bias in Gestalt grouping by proximity affected by visual working memory load.

Basic perceptual processes, including perceptual grouping, are subject to bias. Bias for cardinal orientations interferes with Gestalt grouping by proximity in dot lattices. A critical question is whether the bias arises in perceptual encoding or rather is conveyed in a top-down fashion, possibly mediated by visual working memory.

Bridging circuit modeling and signal analysis to understand the risk of crosstalk contamination in brain recordings.

Advancements in the field of implantable neurotechnologies have enabled the integration of hundreds of microelectrodes on ultra-thin and flexible substrates. Besides implantable components, also connectors, headstages and cables have to comply with the high-count demand, resulting in a complex and compact chain with reduced line spacing and smaller safety margins. Here, we show that epicortical recordings acquired from anesthetized rat brains with a state-of-art neural acquisition system are undoubtedly compromised by crosstalk, with signal coherence maps exhibiting a strong dependency to the routing layout.

Electrodeposited Reduced Graphene Oxide Enables Long-Term Memory in Neuromorphic Ambipolar Electrolyte-Gated Transistors.

Ambipolar transistors, capable of conducting both electrons and holes, enable the simplification of circuit design by reducing the number of constituting units in circuits and opening new possibilities for low-power electronics, reconfigurable logic circuits, and memory devices. 2D ambipolar semiconductors as graphene and its derivatives, are particularly advantageous in bioelectronics, for their high sensitivity in label-free sensors and their biocompatibility. Here, a novel method for fabricating electrolyte-gated transistors based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO-EGTs) is proposed, which enables precise control over the thickness of deposited rGO.

Magnetic diatom shells: nature's blueprint for cellular transport.

The ability to move cells in space without impairing their behavior is a critical goal in the development of functional biomaterials and devices, with applications ranging from regenerative medicine to biosensing. In this study, we describe a novel approach for simultaneously displacing multiple cells using magnetized diatom shells. Highly porous biosilica shells from diatoms are functionalized through a multi-step decoration process involving ferromagnetic nanoparticles.

Anticipatory reaching motor behavior characterizes patients within the Alzheimer's disease continuum in a virtual reality environment.

Background: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is characterized by progressive declines in cognitive and motor functions, impairing daily activities. Traditionally, AD diagnosis relies on cognitive assessments, but emerging evidence highlights motor function deficits as early indicators of AD and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). These motor declines, which often precede cognitive symptoms, include slower and less accurate reaching movements.

Effects of 52 weeks of precuneus rTMS in Alzheimer's disease patients: a randomized trial.

Background: Personalized repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the precuneus (PC) is emerging as a new non-invasive therapeutic approach in treating Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we sought to investigate the effects of 52 weeks of rTMS applied over the PC on cognitive functions in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia due to AD.

Methods: Forty-eight patients with mild-to-moderate dementia due to AD were enrolled for the study.

The Interplay Between Experimental Heat Pain and Noninvasive Stimulation of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex on Reinforcement Learning With Manipulated Outcome Contingencies.

Pain negatively affects several cognitive abilities, but knowledge about its effect on reinforcement learning (RL) is limited. During RL, instrumental choices can be influenced by heuristic tendencies to approach rewards or inhibit actions when facing potentially aversive events, introducing "Pavlovian bias" in behavior. Recent studies suggest that compromised outcome controllability enhances Pavlovian bias, a phenomenon that may be linked to suboptimal decision-making in learned helplessness (LH).

Brain health services for the secondary prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia: Opportunities, challenges, and the business case for existing and future facilities.

A European Task Force has recently developed and published the concept and protocols for the setup of the innovative health offer of Brain Health Services for the secondary prevention of dementia and cognitive impairment (dBHS). dBHS are outpatient health care facilities where adult persons can find an assessment of their risk of developing cognitive impairment and dementia, have their risk level and contributing factors communicated using appropriate language supported by adequate communication tools, can decide to participate to programs for personalized risk reduction if at higher risk, and benefit from cognitive enhancement interventions. This health offer is distinct from that of currently active memory clinics.

A quantitative assessment of the hand kinematic features estimated by the oculus Quest 2.

In the past decade, immersive virtual reality (VR) has garnered significant interest due to its capacity to ability a strong sense of presence and allow users to act in virtual environments. In particular, VR has been increasingly used in clinical settings to present scenarios for motor rehabilitation purposes. Existing research efforts mostly focus on investigating the clinical effectiveness of different routines.

Phase 2 study of palmitoylethanolamide combined with luteoline in frontotemporal dementia patients.

Frontotemporal dementia is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder for which no pharmacological treatments have been approved. Neuroinflammation plays a central role in driving the pathogenic mechanisms underlying frontotemporal dementia. In the last few years, co-ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide combined with luteoline has emerged as a potential therapeutic molecule in neurodegenerative disorders pathogenically related to frontotemporal dementia, for its demonstrated strong anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.

Frontotemporal dementia. How to deal with its diagnostic complexity?

Introduction: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) encompasses a group of heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders. Aside from genetic cases, its diagnosis is challenging, particularly in the early stages when symptoms are ambiguous, and structural neuroimaging does not reveal characteristic patterns.

Areas Covered: The authors performed a comprehensive literature search through MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases to gather evidence to aid the diagnostic process for suspected FTD patients, particularly in early phases, even in sporadic cases, ranging from established to promising tools.

Dual-compartment-gate organic transistors for monitoring biogenic amines from food.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) more than 14% of the world's food production is lost every year before reaching retail, and another 17% is lost during the retail stage. The use of the expiration date as the main estimator of the life-end of food products creates unjustified food waste. Sensors capable of quantifying the effective food freshness and quality could substantially reduce food waste and enable more effective management of the food chain.

The emerging field of non-invasive brain stimulation in Alzheimer's disease.

Treating cognitive impairment is a holy grail of modern clinical neuroscience. In the past few years, non-invasive brain stimulation is increasingly emerging as a therapeutic approach to ameliorate performance in patients with cognitive impairment and as an augmentation approach in persons whose cognitive performance is within normal limits. In patients with Alzheimer's disease, better understanding of brain connectivity and function has allowed for the development of different non-invasive brain stimulation protocols.

Making sense together: dance improvisation as a framework for a collaborative interdisciplinary learning processes.

This editorial outlines the outcome of an interdisciplinary session on collective sense-making through dance improvisation, which took place during the 'Neural and Social Bases of Creative Movement' workshop. We argue that joint improvisation practices place the scientist in a privileged position to reveal the nature of cognitive and creative behaviors.

Charge Carrier Density in Organic Semiconductors Modulates the Effective Capacitance: A Unified View of Electrolyte Gated Organic Transistors.

A framework for electrolyte-gated organic transistors (EGOTs) that unifies the view of interfacial capacitive coupling of electrolyte-gated organic field-effect transistors (EGOFETs) with the volumetric capacitive coupling in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) is proposed. The EGOT effective capacitance arises from in-series capacitances of the electrolyte/gate electrode and electrolyte/channel interfaces, and the chemical capacitance of the organic semiconductor channel whose weight with respect to the interfacial capacitance is modulated by the charge carrier density, hence by the gate voltage. The expression for chemical capacitance is derived from the DOS of the organic semiconductor, which it is assumed to exhibit exponential energy disorder in the HOMO-LUMO gap.

Posture-dependent modulation of marmoset cortical motor maps detected via rapid multichannel epidural stimulation.

Recent neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies have suggested substantial short-term plasticity in the topographic maps of the primary motor cortex (M1). However, previous methods lack the temporal resolution to detect rapid modulation of these maps, particularly in naturalistic conditions. To address this limitation, we previously developed a rapid stimulation mapping procedure with implanted cortical surface electrodes.