Trends In Neuroscience Research Articles

The increasing authorship trend in neuroscience: A scientometric analysis across 11 countries

Previous studies have demonstrated an increasing trend of the number of authors across various fields over the years. This trend has been attributed to the necessity for larger collaborations and, at times, to ethical issues regarding authorship attribution. Our study focuses on the evolution of authorship trends in the field of Neuroscience. We conducted our analysis based on a dataset containing 580,782 neuroscience publications produced from 2000 to 2022, focusing on the publications within the Group of ten (G10) countries. Using a matrix-based methodology, we extracted and analyzed the average number of authors per country. Our findings reveal a consistent rise in authorship across all G10 countries over the past two decades. Italy emerged with the highest average number of authors, while France stood out for experiencing the most significant increase, particularly in the last decade. The countries with the lowest number of authors per publication were the USA, UK and Canada. Differences between countries could result from variations in the size of collaboration between researchers in different countries. Additionally, these differences may depend on utilitarian considerations aimed at receiving higher scores in the individual evaluation of their own work. We propose that a normalization procedure for the number of authors should be implemented to ensure a fair evaluation of researchers.

Auditory Gamma Entrainment Leads to Theta Oscillations Asymmetric behavior in both Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Participants

AbstractBackgroundBrain oscillations known for handling various information across brain. The gamma rhythms observed in high‐level cognitive process (Fries et al., Trends in neurosciences 2018) and theta cycle observed to process sensory information and interact with gamma oscillations (Amemiya et al., Cell Reports 2018). Disruption in synchronization of gamma oscillations have been observed in Alzheimer’s disease patients (Uhlhaas et al., Neuron 2006). Gamma stimulation had been shown to reduce the mentioned dysfunction and reported to have therapeutic results (Martorell et al., Cell 2019; Suk et al. Alzheimer’s and Dementia 2020). This study examines the effect of gamma band activity induced by auditory chirp stimulation as a driver for other frequency sources. The chirp signal is designed to entrain 40Hz which had been shown to have therapeutics effects.Method33 participants were included in this study including 17 mild AD, 6 MCI and 10 healthy elderlies. A session consists of interleaved periods of forty second stimulation and twenty second silence. The stimulation is a 5kHz tone modulated by a 40Hz chirp at 0.1 duty cycle. EEG data were collected by a 10/20 system. Relative magnitude of the 40Hz oscillations with respect to neighbors’ magnitude during the stimulation was measured as an indicator of the entrained gamma oscillations. Total participants are categorized into entrained and not‐entrained group based on the indicator. Phase locking Value (PLV) is then calculated in theta frequency band.Result40Hz entrainment have been observed in healthy participants and also some Alzheimer’s disease patients. Based on the power spectral density (PSD) at forty hertz 23 entrained and 10 not‐entrained participants are separated and PLV analysis have been calculated for the two groups. Theta oscillatory asymmetry have been observed in posterior temporal cortex during auditory stimulation.ConclusionEntraining gamma oscillations using auditory stimulation results in cross frequency variation. Phase‐amplitude or phase‐phase coupling measures the simultaneous correlation between specific oscillations. This study suggests that despite the concurrent association of theta‐gamma frequencies, some brain network changes occur in response to gamma oscillation which should be more discussed in related researches.

Mapping Neuroscience in the Field of Education through a Bibliometric Analysis.

This study aimed to explore the core knowledge topics and future research trends in neuroscience in the field of education (NIE). In this study, we have explored the diffusion of neuroscience and different neuroscience methods (e.g., electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, eye tracking) through and within education fields. A total of 549 existing scholarly articles and 25,886 references on neuroscience in the field of education (NIE) from the Web of Science Core Collection databases were examined during the following two periods: 1995-2013 and 2014-2022. The science mapping software Vosviewer and Bibliometrix were employed for data analysis and visualization of relevant literature. Furthermore, performance analysis, collaboration network analysis, co-citation network analysis, and strategic diagram analysis were conducted to systematically sort out the core knowledge in NIE. The results showed that children and cognitive neuroscience, students and medical education, emotion and empathy, and education and brain are the core intellectual themes of current research in NIE. Curriculum reform and children's skill development have remained central research issues in NIE, and several topics on pediatric research are emerging. The core intellectual themes of NIE revealed in this study can help scholars to better understand NIE, save research time, and explore a new research question. To the best of our knowledge, this study is one of the earliest documents to outline the NIE core intellectual themes and identify the research opportunities emerging in the field.

Research Priority Setting: The Current Landscape of Neuroscience Nursing Research.

BACKGROUND: The American Association of Neuroscience Nurses established a 6-member Research Agenda Task Force in 2019 to identify neuroscience nursing research priorities to lead the field for the next 3 to 5 years. An early step in the process was a literature search to gain an understanding of the current landscape of neuroscience nursing research. METHODS: A search strategy was developed to locate relevant neuroscience nursing research. An experienced medical librarian performed a comprehensive systematic search of multiple databases. Task force members then further refined the search. A separate search was conducted to locate published research by 21 known neuroscience nurse researchers. RESULTS: An initial search located 466 qualitative articles and 1243 quantitative articles, with a further 655 articles published by known neuroscience nurse researchers. All 2364 citations were reviewed by task force members of the working in pairs to screen titles and abstracts for relevance. Nine categories of neuroscience nursing research were identified: quality of life, nursing practice, biomarkers, health promotion, professional development, technology, nursing care outcomes, assessment, and caregivers. Most of the research used descriptive methods, including both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry, providing a foundation for more rigorous investigation and interventional research. Research following stroke and the critical care setting were most prevalent. DISCUSSION: New and emerging trends in neuroscience nursing research include the use of technology, biomarkers, lay caregivers, strategies, and tools, including measure development for neurological assessment, and the evaluation of nursing practice including the practice environment and advanced practice nurse providers. Gaps were also evident. CONCLUSION: There is a significant need to expand neuroscience nursing in areas of emerging trends and to use rigorous methods to evaluate nursing practice effects on patient outcomes. The results of this search were used to revise the neuroscience nursing priorities last determined in 2011.

Theta‐gamma phase‐amplitude coupling explains the advantage of auditory plus visual gamma entrainment in Alzheimer’s therapy

AbstractBackgroundImpairment of gamma oscillations has been observed in cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Gamma entrainment using 40Hz auditory or visual stimulation has been proposed as a potential treatment for AD (Adaikkan et al., Trends in Neuroscience 2020; Sedghizadeh et al. Alzheimer’s and Dementia 2020), while simultaneous use of both modalities has been reported to show superior therapeutic results (Martorell et al., Cell 2019; Suk et al. Alzheimer’s and Dementia 2020). Gamma and theta oscillations are both produced in the hippocampal area and interact with each other. Evidence shows that the interaction between these bands leads to their phase‐amplitude coupling (PAC) in the frontal cortex (Amemiya et al., Cell Reports 2018). The current study assesses the effects of 40Hz auditory and visual stimulation on the theta‐gamma PAC, and suggests that the superior performance of multimodal entrainment can be explained by this marker.Method10 cognitively healthy participants were included in this study. Each participant was seated in a dark and quiet room and underwent three sessions of sensory stimulation (visual, auditory, and simultaneous (multimodal) visual and auditory) in a randomized order. Each session consisted of 60 trials of 5s stimulation and 5s rest. The auditory stimulation consisted of a 40Hz clicking sound modulated with a career frequency of 5kHz. The visual stimulation was generated using white LEDs flickering at 40Hz. EEG data were acquired and the theta‐gamma PAC was calculated using the time‐frequency mean vector length (tf‐MVL) method (Munia et al., Scientific Reports 2019).ResultThe PAC value for theta (4‐8Hz) and gamma oscillations near the stimulation frequency (39‐41Hz) on the Fz channel showed a significant increase during the multimodal stimulation intervals compared to the resting state, whereas the increase was not significant during the single‐modal stimulations compared to rest. The multimodal stimulation also involved more brain areas and resulted in a higher PAC compared to single‐modal stimulation.ConclusionEntraining gamma oscillations using simultaneous auditory and visual stimulation results in markedly superior theta‐gamma PAC compared to entrainment with single modalities. This superiority can explain the advantages reported for multimodal entrainment in AD therapy experiments.

A natural stimulus for entraining brain oscillations in Alzheimer's disease therapy: Canary song

AbstractBackgroundThe potential therapeutic effects of 40Hz gamma stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has recently been under study (Suk et al. Alzheimer’s and Dementia 2020; Adaikkan et al., Trends in Neuroscience 2020; Sedghizadeh et al. Alzheimer’s and Dementia 2020). While measuring the gamma power as a marker for brain entrainment is well established in the literature, some studies have focused on theta‐gamma coupling (TGC) (Etter, Guillaume, et al., Nature Communications 2019; Munia & Aviyente, Scientific Reports 2019) as TGC is known to play a critical role in working/spatial memory tasks. Synthetic 40Hz amplitude‐modulated auditory chirp sounds have been used to entrain gamma oscillations. As a natural alternative, we propose the canary song, which is innate, pleasant, and includes diverse modulating sounds with chirp frequencies up to 20Hz. Since harmonic components are present in entrained response of the brain (Jones et al., Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 2019) albeit at lower powers, entrainment with the 20Hz canary chirp song can be a substitute for the commonly used synthetic 40Hz sounds.MethodWe observed the entrainment characteristics for the complete course of a canary’s singing as well as for selective 20Hz chirp segments of the song on eight young adults with simultaneous EEG recording. We measured the power spectrum and TGC strength during the stimulus and rest intervals on selective independent components (IC) of the recorded response.ResultCanary song’s 20Hz chirp increases the theta band and 20Hz oscillation activity. During the stimuli intervals, ICs were found in the response close to the midbrain area that were entrained by the 20Hz stimuli while also showing high power in the theta band. TGC with high values around 40 Hz was also observed during the 20 Hz chirp intervals.ConclusionEmploying natural sounds for AD therapy campaigns offers a more pleasant and serene alternative to artificial sounds. We selected segments of canary’s natural song which can produce entrainment effects similar to those of the synthetic 40Hz auditory tones commonly used for brain entrainment. Other natural sounds such as those of cricket and woodpecker can also be good candidates for entraining the brain in AD therapy.

Partial repetition between action plans delays responses to ideomotor compatible stimuli.

Often one must depart from an intended course of events to react to sudden situational demands before resuming his or her original action retained in working memory. Retaining an action plan in working memory (WM) can delay or facilitate the execution of an intervening action when the action features of the two action plans partly overlap (partial repetition) compared to when they do not overlap. We investigated whether partial repetition costs (PRCs) or benefits (PRBs) occur when the intervening event is an ideomotor-compatible stimulus that is a biological representation of the response required by the participant. Participants viewed two visual events and retained an action plan to the first event (A) while executing a speeded response to the second, intervening event (B). In Experiment 1A, the two visual events were ideomotor compatible, non-ideomotor compatible (abstract), or one was ideomotor compatible, and the other abstract. Results showed PRCs for all event A-B stimulus combinations with reduced PRCs for intervening, ideomotor compatible events. In contrast to previous research, there was no evidence that ideomotor-compatible actions were automatic and bypassed the selection bottleneck. Experiment 1B confirmed PRCs for ideomotor compatible stimuli that more accurately mimicked the required response. Findings suggest that mechanisms for activating, selecting, and retaining action plans are similar between ideomotor compatible and abstract visual events. We conclude that PRCs occur in response to intervening events when action plans are generated offline and rely on WM, including those for ideomotor-compatible stimuli; but PRBs may be restricted to actions generated online. This conclusion is consistent with the perceptual-motor framework by Goodale and Milner (Trends in Neuroscience 15:22-25, 1992).

The fabric of agency: Navigating human potentialities through introspection

Building on new trends in neuroscience and philosophy of mind, this article provides a roadmap for incorporating consciousness into social research. Drawing upon Alexander Wendt’s Quantum Mind and Social Science, it is argued that one of the greatest obstacles encountered by social research when approaching social reality is that it provides neither an epistemological nor an ontological place for consciousness. The present article intends to address that problem by introducing a sophisticated method of guided introspection that has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of agency. This method, whose epistemological situation is isomorphic to that of quantum physics, enables researchers to gain insight into the structures of decisionmaking processes. Such an endeavor is extremely relevant for security studies: the consideration of consciousness could lead to a radical new understanding of the dynamics of conflict, cooperation, strategic defense, political polarization, radicalization, violent extremism, and terrorism, as well as of the processes of social transformation required to cope with climate change. Moreover, bringing consciousness into social research could foster ongoing biological, evolutionary, and neuroscientific approaches to international relations. Thus, through the introduction of the ‘phenomenal consciousness’ of actors, it is shown how we can dive into the fountainhead of human agency and map mental processes.

Influence of Transport Stress on the Adaptation Potential of Chickens

Influence of Transport Stress on the Adaptation Potential of Chickens

Multispectral estimation of retinal photoreceptoral inputs

Integrated multispectral devices provide convenient means for assessing the inputs to the five known photoreceptors present in the human retina. These photoreceptors drive relevant visual and non-visual pathways that control key aspects of human physiology. In this Letter we show that standard metrics of retinal photoreceptoral exposure can be quantitatively estimated, to within a 5%, by means of 12 multispectral channels, 20 nm wide (FWHM), distributed across the visible range. Full Text: PDF ReferencesD.M. Berson, F.A. Dunn, M. Takao, "Phototransduction by Retinal Ganglion Cells That Set the Circadian Clock", Science 295, 1070 (2002). CrossRef R.J. Lucas et al. "Measuring and using light in the melanopsin age", Trends in Neurosciences 37, 1 (2014). CrossRef Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. TN 003:2015 Report on the First International Workshop on Circadian and Neurophysiological Photometry, 2013. CIE, 2015. DirectLink A. Sánchez de Miguel et al, "Evaluating Human Photoreceptoral Inputs from Night-Time Lights Using RGB Imaging Photometry", Journal of Imaging 5(4), 49 (2019). CrossRef M.S. Rea, M.G. Figueiro, A. Bierman, R. Hamner. "Modelling the spectral sensitivity of the human circadian system", Lighting Research and Technology 44, 386 (2012). CrossRef D. Cao, P.A. Barrionuevo, "Estimating photoreceptor excitations from spectral outputs of a personal light exposure measurement device", Chronobiology International 32(2), 270 (2015). CrossRef P.B. Liebelt, An Introduction to Optimal Estimation (Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley, 1967). CrossRef J. Escofet, S. Bará, "Reducing the circadian input from self-luminous devices using hardware filters and software applications", Lighting Research and Technology 49, 481 (2017). CrossRef

Ten Years of BrainAGE as a Neuroimaging Biomarker of Brain Aging: What Insights Have We Gained?

With the aging population, prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is increasing, thus placing a growing burden on individuals and the whole society. However, individual rates of aging are shaped by a great variety of and the interactions between environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors. Establishing biomarkers of the neuroanatomical aging processes exemplifies a new trend in neuroscience in order to provide risk-assessments and predictions for age-associated neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases at a single-subject level. The “Brain Age Gap Estimation (BrainAGE)” method constitutes the first and actually most widely applied concept for predicting and evaluating individual brain age based on structural MRI. This review summarizes all studies published within the last 10 years that have established and utilized the BrainAGE method to evaluate the effects of interaction of genes, environment, life burden, diseases, or life time on individual neuroanatomical aging. In future, BrainAGE and other brain age prediction approaches based on structural or functional markers may improve the assessment of individual risks for neurological, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases as well as aid in developing personalized neuroprotective treatments and interventions.

SAT-460 Perceived Well-Being and Light-Reactive Hormones: An Exploratory Study

Light can impact psychobiological processes in a healthy or harmful way, challenging designers to better understand the resources they are manipulating. The present exploratory study compared two forms of office lighting which differed in correlated colour temperatures and light level. A holistic approach, comprising visual, emotional and biological dimensions, was used to assess the lighting conditions that could favour productivity and well-being by means of the identification of congruent relationships between objective and subjective measurements in response to light stimuli. The former included analyses of melatonin and cortisol, and the latter were psychological instruments for measuring transitory mood, somnolence, and visual comfort. Controlled experiments were run in a laboratory with a repeated measures design, which yielded fifty-six evaluations. Although no extreme ranges of correlated colour temperatures were used in this study, the spectral blue component present in the correlated colour temperature of approximately 4000 K, and also provided by the light-emitting diodes system at a higher light level, could have contributed to render most of the strong effects on the inter and intra correlations among the psychobiological responses. The mediator role of the psychological profile of the individuals was demonstrated by the significant predictive value of the perceived stress measures. References Brainard GC, Hanifin JP, Greeson JM, Byrne B, Glickman G, Gerner E, Rollag MD. Action spectrum for melatonin regulation in humans: Evidence for a novel circadian photoreceptor. Journal of Neuroscience 2001; 21: 6405–6412. Lucas RJ, Peirson SN, Berson DM, Brown TM, Cooper HM, Czeisler CA, Figueiro MG, Gamlin PD, Lockley SW, O’Hagan HB, Price LLA, Provencio I, Skene DJ, Brainard GC. Measuring and using light in the melanopsin age. Trends in Neurosciences 2014; 37: 1–9. Rea MS, Figueiro MG. A working threshold for acute nocturnal melatonin suppression from ‘white’ light sources used in architectural applications. Journal of Carcinogenesis and Mutagenesis 2013. DOI: 10.4172/2157-2518- 1000150. Rea MS, Figueiro MG. Light as a circadian stimulus for architectural lighting. Lighting Research and Technology First published 6 December 2016. DOI: 1477153516682368. Rea MS. The lumen seen in a new light: Making distinctions between light, lighting and neuroscience. Lighting Research and Technology 2015; 47: 259–280

A practical metric for melanopic metrology

Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in lighting research on the effects of the recently discovered melanopsin receptor (also referred to as the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell) and its impacts on health and vision. Presently, there is not a generally accepted metrology for dealing with the spectral response of the melanopsin receptor as applied to both lighting and vision research. A proposition to handle this issue from a vision science perspective has been presented in 2014 in the journal Trends in Neurosciences and from a more lighting perspective in 2017 in Lighting Research and Technology. These propositions are complex, and do not retain the CIE standard definition of a lumen. In this paper, we propose an approach based on effective watts and melanopic/photopic ratios that is both simpler and more closely aligned with CIE standard unit definitions. In addition, we include some practical examples of how such ratios are accessible now, and can be used for both lighting and vision research as well as applications.

Network Models in Neuroimaging: A Survey of Multimodal Applications

Mapping the brain structure and function is one of the hardest problems in science. Different image modalities, in particular the ones based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can shed more light on how it is organised and how its functions unfold, but a theoretical framework is needed. In the last years, using network models and graph theory to represent the brain structure and function has become a major trend in neuroscience. In this review, we outline how network modelling has been used in neuroimaging, clarifying what are the underlying mathematical concepts and the consequent methodological choices. The major findings are then presented for structural, functional and multimodal applications. We conclude outlining what are still the current issues and the perspective for the immediate future.

Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative: aging with grace

With the aging of the population, diseases related to cognitive impairment have caused great harm to society and families. Objective evaluation of the level of cognitive aging and clarification of the process and neural mechanism of cognitive aging would provide a basis for forewarning and treatment in the early stages of disease. Thus, there is a necessity to establish large-scale, high-standard community-based elderly brain health cohorts. Detailed in this paper, the Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative (BABRI) project, which launched in 2008 by Beijing Normal University and aimed to build a database focusing on cognitive aging and brain health, encompasses 10000 samples from elderly individuals in local communities and over 5000 multimodal neuroimaging cases. After ten years of unremitting efforts, the BABRI database has taken shape with more than 7000 community-based cases for individuals above 50 years of age. Ever since, BABRI has been used to preliminarily establish cognitive aging norms for native Chinese senior citizens, revealing the incidence and risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and systematically identifying their specific neural characteristics that may potentially serve as biomarkers for early detection before the onset of disease. Based on social needs and international trends in neuroscience, the implementation of large community-based elderly brain health cohort studies and the establishment of a multidimensional database to document the patterns of cognitive aging would provide high quality and innovative resources for elderly brain health promotion, major brain disease prevention and development of related researches, and play a key role in the implementation of new projects related to brain science in China.

How the Opioid Addiction Crisis Was Rendered ‘White’

The opioid crisis and its effect on suburban and rural white populations has focused attention on socioeconomic factors. Yet the fastest rising rate of opioid deaths is in African-American communities where the response to addiction has largely been punitive.

Towards Neuroadaptive Personal Learning Environments: Using fNIRS to Detect Changes in Attentional State

Towards Neuroadaptive Personal Learning Environments: Using fNIRS to Detect Changes in Attentional State

Validation of a new double-coil TMS method to assess corticospinal excitability bilaterally

Validation of a new double-coil TMS method to assess corticospinal excitability bilaterally

Quantitative evaluation of functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy measurements with different source-detector separations using Monte Carlo simulation

Quantitative evaluation of functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy measurements with different source-detector separations using Monte Carlo simulation

Abstract TP438: Nanoparticulate Matter Exposure Mediates White Matter Changes in a Murine Model

Background: Clinical and epidemiologic studies suggest a relationship between long-term nano-particulate matter (nPM) exposure and white matter injury 1 . Accumulating laboratory evidence suggests that nPM exposure causes inflammation in multiple brain regions 2 . Objective: We sought to study the effects nano-particulate matter exposure on microglia activation and complement upregulation within the corpus callosum in a murine model. Methods: C57 black 6J mice were randomized to re-aerosolized nPM (n=18, nPM <200 nm) or filtered air (n=18) cohorts. Exposures were conducted for a total of 150 cumulative hours. Post-exposure, brains were harvested and immunohistochemical analysis performed. Reactive microglia (IBA-1), reactive astrocytes (GFAP) and C5α deposition (C5α antibody) were quantified in the medial corpus callosum. Results: There were significant differences in IBA-1 cell count staining between the groups (filtered air- 94.7± 18.87; nPM- 158.5 ± 41.69, p<0.05). No differences in GFAP cell count staining existed between the filtered air (677.5 ± 96.09) and nPM mice (656.6 ± 120.3, p=ns). There were significant differences in C5α density staining between filtered air (8.181 ± 3.863) and nPM mice (14.77 ± 5.989, p<0.01). Conclusion: Chronic particulate matter exposure is associated with white matter changes in a murine model. Regional increases in microglia number and C5α deposition suggest an inflammatory mechanism.