Alpha Enhancement Research Articles

Application of Latent Growth Curve modeling to predict individual trajectories during neurofeedback treatment for tinnitus.

Tinnitus is a heterogeneous phenomenon indexed by various EEG oscillatory profiles. Applying neurofeedback (NFB) with the aim of changing these oscillatory patterns not only provides help for those who suffer from the phantom percept, but a promising foundation from which to probe influential factors. The reliable attribution of influential factors that potentially predict oscillatory changes during the course of NFB training may lead to the identification of subgroups of individuals that are more or less responsive to NFB training. The present study investigated oscillatory trajectories of delta (3-4Hz) and individual alpha (8.5-12Hz) during 15 NFB training sessions, based on a Latent Growth Curve framework. First, we found the desired enhancement of alpha, while delta was stable throughout the NFB training. Individual differences in tinnitus-specific variables and general-, as well as health-related quality of life predictors were largely unrelated to oscillatory change prior to and across the training. Only the predictors age and sex at baseline were clearly related to slow-wave delta, particularly so for older female individuals who showed higher delta power values from the start. Second, we confirmed a hierarchical cross-frequency association between the two frequency bands; however, in opposing directions to those anticipated in tinnitus. The establishment of individually tailored NFB protocols would boost this therapy's effectiveness in the treatment of tinnitus. In our analysis, we propose a conceptual groundwork toward this goal of developing more targeted treatment.

Vibration Alert to the Brain: Evoked and Induced MEG Responses to High-Frequency Vibrotactile Stimuli on the Index Finger of Dominant and Non-dominant Hand.

Background: In recent years, vibrotactile haptic feedback technology has been widely used for user interfaces in the mobile devices. Although functional neuroimaging studies have investigated human brain responses to different types of tactile inputs, the neural mechanisms underlying high-frequency vibrotactile perception are still relatively unknown. Our aim was to investigate neuromagnetic brain responses to high-frequency vibrotactile stimulation, using magnetoencephalography (MEG).Methods: We measured 152-channel whole-head MEG in 30 healthy, right-handed volunteers (aged 20–28 years, 15 females). A total of 300 vibrotactile stimuli were presented at the tip of either the left index finger or the right index finger in two separate sessions. Sinusoidal vibrations at 150 Hz for 200 ms were generated with random inter-stimulus intervals between 1.6 and 2.4 s. Both time-locked analysis and time-frequency analysis were performed to identify peak responses and oscillatory modulations elicited by high-frequency vibrations. The significance of the evoked and induced responses for dominant and non-dominant hand stimulation conditions was statistically tested, respectively. The difference in responses between stimulation conditions was also statistically evaluated.Results: Prominent peak responses were observed at 56 ms (M50) and at 100 ms (M100) for both stimulation conditions. The M50 response revealed clear dipolar field patterns in the contralateral side with significant cortical activations in the contralateral primary sensorimotor area, whereas the M100 response was not as prominent as the M50. Vibrotactile stimulation induced significant suppression of both alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (20–30 Hz) band activity during the mid-latency period (0.2–0.4 s), primarily in sensorimotor areas contralateral to the stimulation side. In addition, a significant alpha enhancement effect in posterior regions was accompanied with alpha suppressions in sensorimotor regions. The alpha suppression was observed in a broader distribution of cortical areas for the non-dominant hand stimulation.Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that high-frequency tactile vibrations, which is known to primarily activate Pacinian corpuscles, elicit somatosensory M50 and M100 responses in the evoked fields and induce modulations of alpha and beta band oscillations during mid-latency periods. Our study is also consistent with that the primary sensorimotor area is significantly involved in the processing of high-frequency vibrotactile information with contralateral dominance.

Effect of brain alpha oscillation on the performance in laparoscopicskills simulator training.

Laparoscopic skill involves sensory processing and motor control, which is associated with high-level alpha oscillation of the brain. Neurofeedback (NF) has been reported effective in enhancing alpha oscillation. Our objectives were to assess the alpha oscillation during laparoscopic skills training, and to verify the usefulness of NF in improving the learning efficacy. Sixty medical students without laparoscopic experience were recruited. Multi-channel electroencephalography (EEG) signals were recorded during training of peg transfer task. Training performance was assessed based on the task completion time. All subjects participated in the first experiment comprising eight training blocks and one testing block. Subjects were ranked based on performance: the top 20 subjects were classified as the good performance group and the bottom 20 subjects as the fair performance group. In the second experiment, the fair performance group were randomly divided into the NF and control groups. Spectral analysis of EEG signals was used to calculate alpha power and alpha band coherence. Training performance and EEG alpha powers were compared between the NF and control groups. In the first experiment, the completion time was significantly faster in the good performance group (62.5 ± 2.8s) compared with the fair performance group (75.0 ± 5.6s) (P < 0.05). EEG oscillations showed strong alpha power and alpha coherence in the posterior electrode clusters in the good performance group. In the second experiment, the NF group showed much stronger alpha activity power and coherence compared with the control group. Furthermore, the NF training led to a significant performance improvement from 75.1 ± 5.9s in the first experiment to 64.3 ± 4.9s in the second experiment (P = 0.003). The learning performance of laparoscopic skills varies among individuals. Subjects with good performance results had high alpha power and strong alpha coherence. The alpha enhancement NF increased alpha oscillations, leading to improved learning efficacy.

Effect of Spirulina lipids on high-fat and high-sucrose diet induced obesity and hepatic lipid accumulation in C57BL/6J mice

Abstract Obesity is characterized by abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that impairs health. In this study, the effects of Spirulina lipids (SL) and fish oil (FO) on obesity and hepatic lipid accumulation in high-fat and high-sucrose diet induced obese C57BL/6J mice were evaluated and compared. After 12 weeks of feeding, 4% gamma-linolenic acid-enriched SL supplementation effectively reduced the gain of body weight, total white adipose tissue (WAT) weight and hepatic lipid levels in obese mice. Although dietary 4% FO also tended to suppress the increases of body weight and WAT weight in mice, no statistical difference was observed. The suppression of hepatic lipid accumulation by SL should be through regulating sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), SREBP-2-mediated triacylglycerol and cholesterol synthesis pathway as well as via enhancement of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR α)-mediated β-oxidation. These findings firstly confirmed that SL could alleviate diet-induced obesity and hepatic lipid accumulation.

Intranasal oxytocin enhances EEG mu rhythm desynchronization during execution and observation of social action: An exploratory study

Intranasal administration of oxytocin (OT) has been found to facilitate prosocial behaviors, emotion recognition and cooperation between individuals. Recent electroencephalography (EEG) investigations have reported enhanced mu rhythm (alpha: 8–13 Hz; beta: 15–25 Hz) desynchronization during the observation of biological motion and stimuli probing social synchrony after the administration of intranasal OT. This hormone may therefore target a network of cortical circuits involved in higher cognitive functions, including the mirror neuron system (MNS). Here, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subjects exploratory study, we investigated whether intranasal OT modulates the cortical activity from sensorimotor areas during the observation and the execution of social and non-social grasping actions. Participants underwent EEG testing after receiving a single dose (24 IU) of either intranasal OT or placebo. Results revealed an enhancement of alpha - but not beta - desynchronization during observation and execution of social grasps, especially over central and parietal electrodes, in participants who received OT (OT group). No differences between the social and non-social condition were found in the control group (CTRL group). Moreover, we found a significant difference over the cortical central-parietal region between the OT and CTRL group only within the social condition. These results suggest a possible action of intranasal OT on sensorimotor circuits involved in social perception and action understanding, which might contribute to facilitate the prosocial effects typically reported by behavioral studies.

Neurofeedback training with a low-priced EEG device leads to faster alpha enhancement but shows no effect on cognitive performance: A single-blind, sham-feedback study.

IntroductionFindings of recent studies indicate that it is possible to enhance cognitive capacities of healthy individuals by means of individual upper alpha neurofeedback training (NFT). Although these results are promising, most of this research was conducted based on high-priced EEG systems developed for clinical and research purposes. This study addresses the question whether such effects can also be shown with an easy to use and comparably low-priced Emotiv Epoc EEG headset available for the average consumer. In addition, critical voices were raised regarding the control group designs of studies addressing the link between neurofeedback training and cognitive performance. Based on an extensive literature review revealing considerable methodological issues in an important part of the existing research, the present study addressed the question whether individual upper alpha neurofeedback has a positive effect on alpha amplitudes (i.e. increases alpha amplitudes) and short-term memory performance focussing on a methodologically sound, single-blinded, sham controlled design.MethodParticipants (N = 33) took part in four test sessions over four consecutive days of either neurofeedback training (NFT group) or sham feedback (SF group). In the NFT group, five three-minute periods of visual neurofeedback training were administered each day whereas in the SF group (control group), the same amount of sham feedback was presented. Performance on eight digit-span tests as well as participants’ affective states were assessed before and after each of the daily training sessions.ResultsNFT did not show an effect on individual upper alpha and cognitive performance. While performance increased in both groups over the course of time, this effect could not be explained by changes in individual upper alpha. Additional analyses however revealed that participants in the NFT group showed faster and larger increase in alpha compared to the SF group. Surprisingly, exploratory analyses showed a significant correlation between the initial alpha level and the alpha improvement during the course of the study. This finding suggests that participants with high initial alpha levels benefit more from alpha NFT interventions. In the discussion, the appearance of the alpha enhancement in the SF group and possible reasons for the absence of a connection between NFT and short-term memory are addressed.

Pulsed radiofrequency to the dorsal root ganglion or the sciatic nerve reduces neuropathic pain behavior, decreases peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokines and spinal β-catenin in chronic constriction injury rats

Background and objectivesPulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is a minimal neurodestructive interventional pain therapy. However, its analgesic mechanism remains largely unclear. We aimed to investigate the peripheral and spinal mechanisms of PRF...

HERBS I: Metallicity and alpha enhancement along the Galactic bulge minor axis

ABSTRACT To better understand the origin and evolution of the Milky Way bulge, we have conducted a survey of bulge red giant branch and clump stars using the High Efficiency and Resolution Multi-Element Spectrograph on the Anglo–Australian Telescope. We targeted ARGOS survey stars with predetermined bulge memberships, covering the full metallicity distribution function. The spectra have signal-to-noise ratios comparable to, and were analysed using the same methods as the GALAH survey. In this work, we present the survey design, stellar parameters, distribution of metallicity, and alpha-element abundances along the minor bulge axis at latitudes b = −10°, − 7.5°, and −5°. Our analysis of ARGOS stars indicates that the centroids of ARGOS metallicity components should be located ≈0.09 dex closer together. The vertical distribution of α-element abundances is consistent with the varying contributions of the different metallicity components. Closer to the plane, alpha abundance ratios are lower as the metal-rich population dominates. At higher latitudes, the alpha abundance ratios increase as the number of metal-poor stars increases. However, we find that the trend of alpha-enrichment with respect to metallicity is independent of latitude. Comparison of our results with those of GALAH DR2 revealed that for [Fe/H] ≈ −0.8, the bulge shares the same abundance trend as the high-α disc population. However, the metal-poor bulge population ([Fe/H] ≲ −0.8) show enhanced alpha abundance ratios compared to the disc/halo. These observations point to fairly rapid chemical evolution in the bulge, and that the metal-poor bulge population does not share the same similarity with the disc as the more metal-rich populations.

Galaxies with monstrous black holes in galaxy cluster environments

Massive early-type galaxies follow a tight relation between the mass of their central supermassive black hole ($\rm M_{BH}$) and their stellar mass ($\rm M_{\star}$). The origin of observed positive outliers from this relation with extremely high $\rm M_{BH}$ ($> 10^{9} M_{\odot}$) remains unclear. We present a study of such outliers in the Hydrangea/C-EAGLE cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, designed to enable the study of high-mass galaxy formation and evolution in cluster environments. We find 69 $M_{\rm BH}(M_{\star})$ outliers at $z=0$, defined as those with $ \rm M_{BH} >10^{7} M_{\odot}$ and $\rm M_{BH}/\rm M_{\star}> 0.01$. This paper focusses on a sample of 5 extreme outliers, that have been selected based on their $\rm M_{BH}$ and $\rm M_{\star}$ values, which are comparable to the most recent estimates of observed positive outliers. This sample of 5 outliers, classified as `Black hole monster galaxies' (BMGs), was traced back in time to study their origin and evolution. In agreement with the results of previous simulations for lower-mass $\rm M_{BH}(\rm M_{\star})$ outliers, we find that these galaxies became outliers due to a combination of their early formation times and tidal stripping. For BMGs with $\rm M_{BH} > 10^9 M_{\odot}$, major mergers (with a stellar mass ratio of $\mu > 0.25$) at early times ($z>2$) precede the rapid growth of their supermassive BHs. Furthermore, the scatter in the relation between $\rm M_{BH}$ and stellar velocity dispersion, $\sigma$, correlates positively with the scatter in [Mg/Fe]($\sigma$). This indicates that the alpha enhancement of these galaxies, which is closely related to their star formation history, is related to the growth of their central BHs.

Simulating a metallicity-dependent initial mass function: consequences for feedback and chemical abundances

Observational and theoretical arguments increasingly suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) of stars may depend systematically on environment, yet most galaxy formation models to date assume a universal IMF. Here we investigate simulations of the formation of Milky Way analogues run with an empirically derived metallicity-dependent IMF and the moving-mesh code AREPO in order to characterize the associated uncertainties. In particular, we compare a constant Chabrier and a varying metallicity-dependent IMF in cosmological, magneto-hydrodynamical zoom-in simulations of Milky Way-sized halos. We find that the non-linear effects due to IMF variations typically have a limited impact on the morphology and the star formation histories of the formed galaxies. Our results support the view that constraints on stellar-to-halo mass ratios, feedback strength, metallicity evolution and metallicity distributions are in part degenerate with the effects of a non-universal, metallicity-dependent IMF. Interestingly, the empirical relation we use between metallicity and the high mass slope of the IMF does not aid in the quenching process. It actually produces up to a factor of 2-3 more stellar mass if feedback is kept constant. Additionally, the enrichment history and the z = 0 metallicity distribution are significantly affected. In particular, the alpha enhancement pattern shows a steeper dependence on iron abundance in the metallicity-dependent model, in better agreement with observational constraints.

The Role of Expression of Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor-1 (LEF-1) in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

AbstractBackground: Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding factor-1 (LEF-1) is a 48-kD nuclear protein that is expressed in pro-B cells and mature T cells but not in mature B cell. LEF-1 binds to a functionally important site in the T-cell receptor alpha (TCR.t) enhancer and confers maximal enhancer activity; LEF-1 belongs to a family of regulatory proteins that share homology with high mobility group protein-1 (HMG1). Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding factor-1 LEF-1 is sufficient to differentiate CLL/SLL from other small B-cell lymphomas and may serve as a useful tool in the diagnosis of CLL/SLL, LEF-1 is highly associated with CLL/SLL among small B-cell lymphomas and therefore can serve as a useful immune-histo-chemistry (IHC) marker for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of CLL/SLL.Aim of the Study: Our aim is to evaluate the role of Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding factor-1 (LEF-1) expression by flow cytometry in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Methods and Material: This study was carried out on 45 newly diagnosed B-CLL patients attending the hematology oncology clinic of Tanta University Hospitals. The patients were selected for the study on the basis of standard clinical, hematological and immune phenotypic criteria for diagnosis of CLL, In addition to 15 apparently healthy subjects serving as healthy control group.Subjects included in this study were classified into the following groups:Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Group I: Included 45 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Group I: Healthy Control Group.This group included 15 apparently healthy subjects.Results: There was no significant correlation between LEF-1 expression and age and sex, there was a significant negative correlation between LEF1 expression and Hb and platelet count, there was a significant positive correlation between LEF-1 expression and TLC, ALC and LDH, According to LEF1 expression, there was 100% of patients positively expressed LEF-1 and negative in control cases and there was significant positive correlation between LEF-1 expression and Zap 70 expression.Conclusions: LEF-1expression on CLL cells represent an important adverse diagnostic marker and therefore its expres-sion should be routinely investigated for a better diagnostic and prognostic assessment of CLL patients and showed be taken in consideration in designing further therapeutic strategies based on patient-specific risk factors.

Posterior alpha and frontal delta oscillations interactively support priority switches within visual working memory.

Visual search is assumed to be guided by an active visual working memory representation of what we are currently looking for. This attentional template can be dissociated from accessory memory representations that are only needed prospectively, for a future task, and that until then should be prevented from guiding attention. Little is known about how the brain sequentially prioritizes, and switches between memory representations for successive task goals. We measured EEG while human observers performed two consecutive working memory-guided visual search tasks. Prior to the first search task, a cue instructed observers which item to look for first (current template), and which second (prospective template). During the first delay, leading up to the first of the two searches, posterior alpha power (8-14 Hz) was more suppressed contralateral to the memory item. These lateralized alpha dynamics were stronger if the lateralized item was the imminent search target (current template), than when it was the subsequent search target (prospective template). To investigate the electrophysiological mechanisms underlying the switch in priority, on 40% of the trials an auditory cue replaced the first search, telling observers that at this point the first template could be dropped, in favor of now prioritizing the second, prospective template. Dropping the first template resulted in clear alpha enhancement, while turning the former prospective template into the current search target resulted in alpha suppression. Furthermore, this switch in posterior alpha lateralization was predicted by an increase in frontal delta/low theta (2–6 Hz) power. This increase in low-frequency power in frontal regions also predicted faster response times on the second search task. We thus obtained evidence for large-scale network interactions during the flexible "juggling" between priority states of multiple memory items in between search tasks. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2018

FSTL3 Inhibition Restores Glucose Responsive Insulin Secretion in Nonfunctional Human Islets

Type 2 diabetes results from inadequate insulin production to control blood glucose. To address this need for replacing lost insulin-producing beta cells, most therapeutic development strategies are focused on enhancing functional beta cell number. Fairbanks Pharmaceuticals is pursuing therapies that enhance beta cell function and regeneration and is based on prior research in which inactivation of follistatin-like-3 (FSTL3) resulted in enlarged islets, increased beta cell number, and enhanced insulin secretion. At least some of these new beta cells arose from alpha to beta cell transdifferentiation in FSTL3 knockout mice. Fairbanks has produced a monoclonal antibody (FP-101) that can completely block FSTL3 from binding activin A and B, GDF11, and myostatin that could also disrupt pre-formed and otherwise irreversible complexes. FP-101 was also able to restore glucose-responsive insulin secretion in otherwise non-functional islets taken from HFD-fed mice. To determine if FSTL3 neutralization could be effective in humans, human islets from normal donors were first exposed to elevated glucose (25 nM) for 48-72 hours, a commonly utilized model for glucotoxicity. As expected, this caused loss of glucose response to subsequent GSIS. However, when treated for 24 hours with FP-101, GSIS was restored, indicating that neutralization of FSTL3 might be an effective strategy for restoring function to human non-functional islets. This observation agrees with previous research in which activin treatment directly restored GSIS in human islets from diabetic donors. Taken together with the potential for induction of alpha to beta cell transdifferentiation, these results suggest that neutralization of FSTL3 may have a dual benefit with acute restoration of GSIS in non-functional islets and chronic treatment leading to restoration of beta cell number through enhancement of alpha to beta cell transdifferentiation. In vivo studies will be initiated shortly. Disclosure A. Schneyer: Stock/Shareholder; Self; Fairbanks Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Stock/Shareholder; Spouse/Partner; Fairbanks Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Employee; Self; Fairbanks Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. M. Brown: None.

Suppression of no-longer relevant information in Working Memory: An alpha-power related mechanism?

Selective attention can enhance Working Memory (WM) performance by selecting relevant information, while preventing distracting items from encoding or from further maintenance. Alpha oscillatory modulations are a correlate of visuospatial attention. Specifically, an enhancement of alpha power is observed in the ipsilateral posterior cortex to the locus of attention, along with a suppression in the contralateral hemisphere. An influential model proposes that the alpha enhancement is functionally related to the suppression of information. However, whether ipsilateral alpha power represents a mechanism through which no longer relevant WM representations are inhibited has yet not been explored. Here we examined whether the amount of distractors to be suppressed during WM maintenance is functionally related to alpha power lateralized activity. We measure EEG activity while participants (N = 36) performed a retro-cue task in which the WM load was varied across the relevant/irrelevant post-cue hemifield. We found that alpha activity was lateralized respect to the locus of attention, but did not track post-cue irrelevant load. Additionally, non-lateralized alpha activity increased with post-cue relevant load. We propose that alpha lateralization associated to retro-cuing might be related to a general orienting mechanism toward relevant representation.

New parsec data base of α-enhanced stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones – I. Calibration with 47 Tuc (NGC 104) and the improvement on RGB bump

Precise studies on the Galactic bulge, globular cluster, Galactic halo and Galactic thick disk require stellar models with alpha enhancement and various values of helium content. These models are also important for extra-Galactic population synthesis studies. For this purpose, we complement the existing PARSEC models, which are based on the solar partition of heavy elements, with alpha-enhanced partitions. We collect detailed measurements on the metal mixture and helium abundance for the two populations of 47 Tuc (NGC 104) from the literature, and calculate stellar tracks and isochrones with these alpha-enhanced compositions. By fitting the precise color-magnitude diagram with HST ACS/WFC data, from low main sequence till horizontal branch, we calibrate some free parameters that are important for the evolution of low mass stars like the mixing at the bottom of the convective envelope. This new calibration significantly improves the prediction of the RGB bump brightness. Comparison with the observed RGB and HB luminosity functions also shows that the evolutionary lifetimes are correctly predicted. As a further result of this calibration process, we derive the age, distance modulus, reddening, and the red giant branch mass loss for 47 Tuc. We apply the new calibration and alpha-enhanced mixtures of the two 47 Tuc populations ( [alpha/Fe] ~0.4 and 0.2) to other metallicities. The new models reproduce the RGB bump observations much better than previous models. This new PARSEC database, with the newly updated alpha-enhanced stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones, will also be part of the new stellar products for Gaia.

Sustained frontal midline theta enhancements during effortful listening track working memory demands

Recent studies demonstrate that frontal midline theta power (4–8 Hz) enhancements in the electroencephalogram (EEG) relate to effortful listening. It has been proposed that these enhancements reflect working memory demands. Here, the need to retain auditory information in working memory was manipulated in a 2-interval 2-alternative forced-choice delayed pitch discrimination task (“Which interval contained the higher pitch?”). On each trial, two square wave stimuli differing in pitch at an individual's ∼70.7% correct threshold were separated by a 3-second ISI. In a ‘Roving’ condition, the lowest pitch stimulus was randomly selected on each trial (uniform distribution from 840 to 1160 Hz). In a ‘Fixed’ condition, the lowest pitch was always 979 Hz. Critically, the ‘Fixed’ condition allowed one to know the correct response immediately following the first stimulus (e.g., if the first stimulus is 979 Hz, the second must be higher). In contrast, the ‘Roving’ condition required retention of the first tone for comparison to the second. Frontal midline theta enhancements during the ISI were only observed for the ‘Roving’ condition. Alpha (8–13 Hz) enhancements were apparent during the ISI, but did not differ significantly between conditions. Since conditions were matched for accuracy at threshold, results suggest that frontal midline theta enhancements will not always accompany difficult listening. Mixed results in the literature regarding frontal midline theta enhancements may be related to differences between tasks in regards to working memory demands. Alpha enhancements may reflect task general effortful listening processes.

Control of Alpha Rhythm (8–13 Hz) Using Neurofeedback

Alpha is a prominent rhythm occurring between 8 and 13 Hz in brain signals that is often linked to a relaxed mental state. Some studies have shown that individuals can learn to control their own alpha rhythm if provided with a contingent feedback. However, investigations till date in alpha neurofeedback have provided contrasting views regarding the enhancement of alpha power. In this review, we discuss various aspects of this controversy and highlight some issues with past approaches of neurofeedback driven alpha enhancement. In particular, we discuss possible modifications in future investigations which would address some of the concerns.

Two channels of supermassive black hole growth as seen on the galaxies mass–size plane

We investigate the variation of black hole masses (Mbh) as a function of their host galaxy stellar mass (Mstar) and half-light radius (Re). We confirm that the scatter in Mbh within this plane is essentially the same as that in the Mbh - sigma relation, as expected from the negligible scatter reported in the virial mass estimator sigma_v^2=GxMstar/(5xRe). All variation in Mbh happens along lines of constant sigma_v on the (Mstar, Re) plane, or Mstar $\propto$ Re for Mstar <2x10^11 Msun. This trend is qualitatively the same as those previously reported for galaxy properties related to stellar populations, like age, metallicity, alpha enhancement, mass-to-light ratio and gas content. We find evidence for a change in the Mbh variation above the critical mass of Mcrit ~ 2x10^11 Msun. This behaviour can be explained assuming that Mbh in galaxies less massive than Mcrit can be predicted by the Mbh - sigma relation, while Mbh in more massive galaxies follow a modified relation which is also dependent on Mstar once Mstar >Mcrit. This is consistent with the scenario where the majority of galaxies grow through star formation, while the most massive galaxies undergo a sequence of dissipation-less mergers. In both channels black holes and galaxies grow synchronously, giving rise to the black hole - host galaxy scaling relations, but there is no underlying single relation that is universal across the full range of galaxy masses.

Short-term Beneficial Effects of 12 Sessions of Neurofeedback on Avoidant Personality Accentuation in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

This study evaluated the effects of alpha/theta neurofeedback on Clinical Personality Accentuations in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Twenty-five males were investigated using a pre-test/post-test design with a waiting-list control group. Participants were randomly assigned either to an experimental group (n = 13) receiving 12 sessions of neurofeedback twice a week as a treatment adjunct over a period of 6 weeks, or to a control group (n = 12) receiving treatment as usual. The Inventory of Clinical Personality Accentuations and the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory were applied at pre- and post-test. The neurofeedback protocol focused on enhancement of the EEG alpha (8–12 Hz) and theta (4–7 Hz) and used a visual feedback paradigm. Analyses of covariance showed improvements in Avoidant Personality Accentuation within the experimental group. Our data suggest that 12 sessions of this neurofeedback intervention might be effective in reducing avoidant and stress-related personality traits in patients with alcohol use disorder.

BET-bromodomain inhibitors modulate epigenetic patterns at the diacylglycerol kinase alpha enhancer associated with radiation-induced fibrosis

Background and purposeFibrosis is a frequent adverse effect of radiotherapy and no effective treatments are currently available to prevent or reverse fibrotic disease. We have previously identified altered epigenetic patterns at a gene enhancer of the diacylglycerol kinase alpha (DGKA) locus in normal skin fibroblasts derived from fibrosis patients. An open chromatin pattern related to radiation-inducibility of DGKA is associated with onset of radiation-induced fibrosis. Here, we explore epigenetic modulation of DGKA as a way to mitigate predisposition to fibrosis. Material and methodsWe studied the effect of the BET-bromodomain inhibitors (JQ1, PFI-1) on DGKA inducibility in primary fibroblasts. Hence, DGKA transcription was additionally induced by the radiomimetic drug bleomycin, and DGKA mRNA expression, histone H3K27 acetylation and downstream markers of profibrotic fibroblast activation after BET-bromodomain inhibition were determined. ResultsBET-bromodomain inhibition suppressed induction of DGKA in bleomycin-treated fibroblasts, reduced H3K27ac at the DGKA enhancer and repressed collagen marker gene expression. Alterations in fibroblast morphology and reduction of collagen deposition were observed. ConclusionFor the DGKA enhancer, we show that BET-bromodomain inhibitors can alter the epigenetic landscape of fibroblasts, thus counteracting profibrotic transcriptional events. Interference with epigenetic patterns of fibrosis predisposition may provide novel preventive therapies that improve radiotherapy.