Functional Neuroimaging—Can It Contribute to Our Understanding of Processes of Change?

Preliminary studies have shown that psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments of psychiatric disorders lead to measurable changes in the activity of the brain, particularly when they successfully reduce depression, fears, or obsessions. The purpose of this paper is to review the potential of functional neuroimaging in the understanding and evaluation of psychotherapy. Following an overview of basic neuroimaging concepts and procedures, promising neuroimaging paradigms probing mind–brain function are presented together with selected results on psychiatric patients and control subjects. Neuroimaging studies conducted pre- and post-psychotherapy are reviewed. Conclusions are formulated …

Investigation into mechanisms mediating the inhibitory effect of 1,4-benzodiazepines on mast cells by gene expression profiling.

Abstract Aims This study aims to identify by a molecular genetic approach potential targets in mast cells at which 1,4-benzodiazepines may cause their inhibitory effect on mast cell activity. Main methods Gene expression analyses with microarray gene chip and/or quantitative PCR were performed using 1,4-benzodiazepine-treated human mast cell leukemia HMC-1.2 cells, promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells and human mast cells from healthy volunteers and patients with mast cell activation disease (MCAD). Pathway analysis was applied to search for enriched biological functions and canonical pathways within differentially regulated genes. Key findings Both neoplastic and normal human mast cells expr…

Benchmark of thirteen bioinformatic pipelines for metagenomic virus diagnostics using datasets from clinical samples

AbstractMetagenomic sequencing is increasingly being used in clinical settings for difficult to diagnose cases. The performance of viral metagenomic protocols relies to a large extent on the bioinformatic analysis. In this study, the European Society for Clinical Virology (ESCV) Network on NGS (ENNGS) initiated a benchmark of metagenomic pipelines currently used in clinical virological laboratories.MethodsMetagenomic datasets from 13 clinical samples from patients with encephalitis or viral respiratory infections characterized by PCR were selected. The datasets were analysed with 13 different pipelines currently used in virological diagnostic laboratories of participating ENNGS members. The…

Baer cones in finite projective spaces

Let R and V be two skew subspaces with dimensions r and v of P=PG(d,q). If q is a square, then there is a Baer subspace V* of V, i.e. a subspace of dimension v and order √q. We call the set C(R,V*)=\(\mathop \cup \limits_p \), where the union is taken over all PeV*, aBaer cone oftype (r,v).

„Eine Medizin der menschlichen Beziehungen” revisited - Aktuelle neurobiologische und psychosomatische Entwicklungen

In his programmatic paper published 1989 in this journal, Herbert Weiner held the view that psychosomatic medicine has become a medicine of human relations. The aim of this review is TO reflect if current scientific evidence supports his view. Evidence from animal studies suggests that early infant-mother separation or neglect not only has a lasting influence on attachment behaviour, but also on brain development and the ability for stress regulation mediated by environmental as well as genetic factors. Neuronal networks processing affective components of physical pain play a role in signalling painful emotional experiences due to social isolation and separation. A consistent finding across…

A characterization of Baer cones in finite projective spaces