Search results for "SENSORY"
showing 10 items of 2427 documents
An increase in visceral fat is associated with a decrease in the taste and olfactory capacity
2017
Introduction Sensory factors may play an important role in the determination of appetite and food choices. Also, some adipokines may alter or predict the perception and pleasantness of specific odors. We aimed to analyze differences in smell–taste capacity between females with different weights and relate them with fat and fat-free mass, visceral fat, and several adipokines. Materials and methods 179 females with different weights (from low weight to morbid obesity) were studied. We analyzed the relation between fat, fat-free mass, visceral fat (indirectly estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis with visceral fat rating (VFR)), leptin, adiponectin and visfatin. The smell and taste ass…
Unexpected diversity in socially synchronized rhythms of shorebirds.
2016
The behavioural rhythms of organisms are thought to be under strong selection, influenced by the rhythmicity of the environment1,2,3,4. Such behavioural rhythms are well studied in isolated individuals under laboratory conditions1,5, but free-living individuals have to temporally synchronize their activities with those of others, including potential mates, competitors, prey and predators6,7,8,9,10. Individuals can temporally segregate their daily activities (for example, prey avoiding predators, subordinates avoiding dominants) or synchronize their activities (for example, group foraging, communal defence, pairs reproducing or caring for offspring)6,7,8,9,11. The behavioural rhythms that em…
Cerebello-cortical network fingerprints differ between essential, Parkinson's and mimicked tremors.
2017
Cerebello-thalamo-cortical loops play a major role in the emergence of pathological tremors and voluntary rhythmic movements. It is unclear whether these loops differ anatomically or functionally in different types of tremor. We compared age- and sex-matched groups of patients with Parkinson's disease or essential tremor and healthy controls (n = 34 per group). High-density 256-channel EEG and multi-channel EMG from extensor and flexor muscles of both wrists were recorded simultaneously while extending the hands against gravity with the forearms supported. Tremor was thereby recorded from patients, and voluntarily mimicked tremor was recorded from healthy controls. Tomographic maps of EEG-E…
Activation of Corticothalamic Layer 6 Cells Decreases Angular Tuning in Mouse Barrel Cortex.
2019
In the mouse whisker system, the contribution of L6 corticothalamic cells (L6 CT) to cortical and thalamic processing of the whisker deflection direction was investigated. A genetically defined population of L6 CT cells project to infragranular GABAergic interneurons that hyperpolarize neurons in somatosensory barrel cortex (BC). Optogenetic activation of these neurons switched BC to an adapted mode in which excitatory cells lost their angular tuning. In contrast, however, this was not the case with a general activation of inhibitory interneurons via optogenetic activation of Gad2-expressing cells. The decrease in angular tuning, when L6 CT cells were activated, was due to changes in cortic…
Assessment of Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing as a Tool for the Diagnosis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease and Hereditary Motor Neuropathy
2016
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is characterized by broad genetic heterogeneity with >50 known disease-associated genes. Mutations in some of these genes can cause a pure motor form of hereditary motor neuropathy, the genetics of which are poorly characterized. We designed a panel comprising 56 genes associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease/hereditary motor neuropathy. We validated this diagnostic tool by first testing 11 patients with pathological mutations. A cohort of 33 affected subjects was selected for this study. The DNAJB2 c.352+1G>A mutation was detected in two cases; novel changes and/or variants with low frequency (50 known disease-associated genes. Mutations in some of these gene…
Benign nocturnal alternating hemiplegia of childhood
2018
Objective: To describe the clinical spectrum of benign nocturnal alternating hemiplegia of childhood (BNAHC) including long-term follow-up data of previously published cases and to propose an underlying genetic cause of this disorder. Methods: We studied the medical data of two novel patients, reviewed the literature on BNAHC, and gathered information of the most recent follow-up of published cases regarding the course of episodes, further development, attempted drugs, ancillary investigations, and sequelae. Results: All patients, i.e. two novel cases and twelve patients identified in the literature (13 boys, 1 girl, age at onset four months to three years), experienced episodes of hemipleg…
Somatosensory Brain Function and Gray Matter Regional Volumes Differ According to Exercise History : Evidence from Monozygotic Twins
2017
Associations between long-term physical activity and cortical function and brain structure are poorly known. Our aim was to assess whether brain functional and/or structural modulation associated with long-term physical activity is detectable using a discordant monozygotic male twin pair design. Nine monozygotic male twin pairs were carefully selected for an intrapair difference in their leisure-time physical activity of at least three years duration (mean age 34 ± 1 years). We registered somatosensory mismatch response (SMMR) in EEG to electrical stimulation of fingers and whole brain MR images. We obtained exercise history and measured physical fitness and body composition. Equivalent ele…
Transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR‐FAP): Parameters for early diagnosis
2017
Abstract Background Familial transthyretin amyloidosis is a life‐threatening disease presenting with sensorimotor and autonomic polyneuropathy. Delayed diagnosis has a detrimental effect on treatment and prognosis. To facilitate diagnosis, we analyzed data patterns of patients with transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR‐FAP) and compared them to polyneuropathies of different etiology for clinical and electrophysiological discriminators. Methods Twenty‐four patients with TTR‐FAP and 48 patients with diabetic polyneuropathy (dPNP) were investigated (neurological impairment score NIS; neurological disability score NDS) in a cross‐sectional design. Both groups were matched for gende…
New insights into the genetics of primary open-angle glaucoma based on meta-analyses of intraocular pressure and optic disc characteristics
2017
Item does not contain fulltext Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common optic neuropathy, is a heritable disease. Siblings of POAG cases have a ten-fold increased risk of developing the disease. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and optic nerve head characteristics are used clinically to predict POAG risk. We conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of IOP and optic disc parameters and validated our findings in multiple sets of POAG cases and controls. Using imputation to the 1000 genomes (1000G) reference set, we identified 9 new genomic regions associated with vertical cup-disc ratio (VCDR) and 1 new region associated with IOP. Additionally, we found 5 novel loci for optic ne…
Oestrus ovis external ophtalmomyiasis : a case report in Burgundy France
2018
Background External ophtalmomyiasis (EOM) is a zoonosis related to the presence of Oestrus ovis larvae at the ocular level in small ruminants (i.e. ovine, caprine). In humans, EOM is a rare cosmopolitan disorder, mostly described in warm and dry rural areas in patients living close to livestock areas. In metropolitan France (excluding Corsica), EOM is an exceptional disease with less than 25 cases recorded since 1917. Case presentation We report a case of EOM in a 19-years old man in the last week of September 2016 in Burgundy. Conclusion The diagnosis of an EOM in Burgundy, a French region described as cold and humid, is surprising and could be due to a more marked climatic warming during …