فصلنامه علوم اعصاب شفای خاتم
سال دهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 51، بهار 1401)

Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a debilitating mental illness. Silymarin (SM) is a flavonoid with antioxidant properties found in Silybum marianum. However, the bioavailability of SM is rather low due to poor water solubility. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of neuroprotective of silymarin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (SM-CS-NPs) on ketamine-induced cognitive disorders and hippocampal oxidative damages.

In this study, 35 male mice were divided into five groups; control and four ketamin groups treated with saline, aripiprazole, SM, and SM-CS-NPs at doses of 20 mg/kg/30 days, respectively. In the experimental groups, animals received ketamine (20 mg/kg/day) from the 16th to the 30th day intraperitoneally. Cognitive deficits were evaluated employing a novel object recognition test (NORT). Furthermore, various oxidative stress markers in the hippocampal area were assessed.

Our results revealed that ketamine significantly reduced the discrimination index and catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione reductase enzyme activity compared with the control group. Moreover, treatment with SM and SM-CS-NPs reduced cognitive impairments, increased the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase as well as glutathione reductase, and reduced malondialdehyde levels in the treatment groups.

SM-CS-NPs may improve SM bioavailability and exert stronger neuroprotective effects against ketamine-induced cognitive deficits and hippocampal oxidative damages.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of self-determination theory (SDT) training and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on anxiety and cyberbullying in male students with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) with and without comorbidity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This study was a quasi-experimental study with a control group including pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test procedures. The statistical population consisted of all students aged 12 to 14 years with IGD in Khorramabad, Iran; from which 42 children were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. The instruments used included IGD-20 Test, the Child Symptom Inventory-4, the Beck anxiety inventory, and the Cyber-bullying/victimization experiences questionnaire. The intervention groups underwent 9 two-hour sessions of SDT training (intervention group 1) and ACT (intervention group 2). The intervention groups also underwent 9 sessions of two-hour of SDT training (intervention group 1) and ACT (intervention group 2).

The results of the data analysis showed no significant difference between the effect of two intervention programs with SDT and ACT training on anxiety and cyberbullying. Moreover, the interaction of the two variables of group membership and comorbidity of ADHD groups on cyberbullying was significant.

Both methods of SDT training and ACT can equally benefit students with IGD with a significant impact on anxiety and cyberbullying.

Infertility is one of the most common problems in the world that can expose affected people to various psychological disorders. Therefore, the present study was performed to develop structural equations for marital relationship distress based on facial emotion recognition: the mediating role of relational aggression in infertile women.

The research method was descriptive and structural equations. The statistical population of the study included all infertile women who were referred to infertility centers and obstetrics and gynecology medical centers in Tehran in the summer of 2021. 300 subjects were selected via a convenient sampling method and participated in the research through online questionnaires. Data were collected using the Marital Self-Report Questionnaire of Taxon Wisman et al. (2009), the Facial Emotion Recognition Test of Ekman and Friesen (1976), and the Covert Relational Aggression Questionnaire of Nelson-Carroll (2006). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.

The results showed that the causal model of the relationship between facial emotion recognition, relational aggression, and marital relationship distress in infertile women was confirmed based on different fit indices. Facial emotion recognition and relational aggression have a direct effect on marital distress. Moreover, facial emotion recognition through relational aggression has an indirect effect on marital distress in infertile women.

Facial emotion recognition and relational aggression play an important role in marital distress in infertile women, and targeting these two components in psychological therapies can be effective in reducing marital distress.

Monoamine oxidase A-enzyme (MAO-A) and MAO-B inhibitors are involved in the treatment of some diseases of the nervous system and regulate the expression of cytokine genes associated with inflammation and various diseases.

After selecting the inhibitory reference compound of MAO-A with the help of bioinformatic tools, such as ZINC15 and ZINCPHARMER, for virtual search through the structural and pharmacophoric properties of the reference inhibitory compound, several new ligands were obtained. Then, compariosn between the ligands with MAO-A docking process was performed and the selected top ligands in terms of toxicity, allergy, toxicity, and ADME prediction with tools, such as molsoft, PKCSM, way2drug swiss MADE, were examined.

Among the top four final ligands obtained, LIG52 had the highest interaction with different residues and with higher docking binding energy (vina score = -9.7) than the others, followed by IG48 and LIG54. Among the effective interacting residues, Trp128, ASN125, and GLU492 were bound to MAO-A in superior ligands, such as the reference compound. They also had the desired ability to interact with residues involved in substrate selectivity and catalytic activity, inhibition, and disruption of MAO-A activity.

The ligands obtained in this study were able to have different interactions with the appropriate number of rotatable bonds on physicochemical properties and spatial orientation at the site of binding to MAO-A. Furthermore, the results obtained from different servers that investigated the molecular properties and drug similarity of toxicity and absorption of metabolism, secretion, and release of inhibitory ligand compounds were obtained. Therefore, they can be considered as possible drug compounds in biological systems after further studies in laboratory and clinical conditions.

Using deep frying oil (DFO) in preparing various foods. High temperature alter the constituents of DFO, which mav be harmful for different cells, paerticularly neural cells.  It seems that physical activity and phytochemical compounds can reduce the negative effects of consuming DFO. However, their definite effect is not known. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aerobic exercise and octopamine on gene expression of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, 5-HT, and dopamine, as well as the number of Purkinje cells and the percentage of apoptotic cells in the cerebellum of rats fed with DFO.

Thirty male Wistar rats with a mean age of 20 weeks and weight of 300-350 g were divided into five groups: healthy control, DFO, DFO + exercise, DFO + octopamine, and DFO + exercise + octopamine. At the beginning of the first week, rats were fed with DFO. The rats received the intraperitoneal injection of octopamine for 4 weeks, 5 days per week.  The training was done for 4 weeks, 5 days a week, and 20 minutes per day at a speed of 26 m/minute aerobic exercises. After 4 weeks, chemical analyzes were performed by Real-time PCR to measure gene expression and Western blot to measure protein expression on samples fixed cerebellum.

The results showed that DFO uptake significantly decreased the expression of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, 5-HT, dopamine, and cerebellar Purkinje cells and increased the percentage of apoptotic cells. Octopamine intake or exercise increased the expression of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, 5-HT, dopamine, and the number of Purkinje cells and decreased the percentage of apoptotic cells. The co-application of  of octopamine and exercise had no significant effect on increasing the expression of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, 5-HT, dopamine protein, and number of Purkinje cells, but significantly reduced the percentage of apoptotic cells.

Consumption of high-fat food disrupts dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways. Aerobic exercise and octopamine protective effect against DFO toxic effects on cerebellum tissue.

Recognition of mental activities in brain-computer interface systems based on motor imagery has attracted the attention of many researchers. A visibility graph is a powerful method for analyzing the function and connectivity of different areas of the brain. The aim of this study is to improve and develop the visibility graph method for analyzing brain behavior and detecting motor imagery.

First, brain signals including four motor imagery classes of left-handed, right-handed, foot, and tongue were transformed into three types of visibility graphs, and important features of these graphs were extracted. Then, to reduce features, the method of analysis of variance was used. To classify the motor imagery classes, the support vector machine was used. In most investigations, graph degree distribution has been used to extract information and graph weighting. In the present study, amplitude difference distribution has been used so shorter time series are required. To analyze the function and connectivity of different areas of the brain and to obtain the direction of information flow, a new method called weighted horizontal visibility graph-transfer entropy has been proposed.

Increasing the kappa value compared to other studies showed that a weighted horizontal visibility graph is a suitable method for processing brain signals based on motor imagery. A comparison of brain graphs and the direction of information flow in the four classes of motor imagery showed a significant difference between them.

Temporal networks provide a better understanding of brain dynamics in brain-computer interface systems based on motor imagery.

The aim of this study was to develop a model of loneliness as well as death anxiety based on personality traits and emotional cognitive regulation with the mediating role of coronavirus anxiety.

The present study was a correlational study and the statistical population included all citizens of Qom province. 400 people were selected through the case-sampling method and questionnaire on the Five Factors of Personality, Emotional Cognitive Regulation, Coronavirus Anxiety, and loneliness and death anxiety questionnaire.

Our findings indicated that personality traits and cognitive emotion regulation account for 14% of the variance in getting coronavirus anxiety. Furthermore, personality traits, cognitive-emotional regulation, and patients with additional viral diseases account for 40% of the variance of feeling lonely and 29% of the variance of the death anxiety.

Coronavirus anxiety could mediate personality traits (neuroticism), cognitive regulation (adaptive strategies), loneliness, and death anxiety.

Neuromotor Immaturity is one of the childhood disorders that has been associated with behavioral disorders and its adverse effects can continue into adulthood. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between neuromotor immaturity with the severity of hyperactivity and autism in children.

The study included 388 children aged between eight to fifteen. The severity of autism and hyperactivity were assessed using the Conners Parents Questionnaire and Scale Questionnaire, Asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR), Symmetric tonic neck reflex (STNR), Labyrinthine reflex (TLR), and Moro reflex. In order to examine the relationship between neuromotor immaturity and hyperactivity as well as autism disorders, the linear correlation between variables was measured. Multiple regression analysis was used in order to investigate the effects of neuromotor immaturity on hyperactivity and autism disorders.

There was a significant association between the reflections of STNR, ATNR, and MORO tests with the symptoms of hyperactivity. Furthermore, STNR, Moro, and TLR responses were associated with the symptoms of autism.

The results suggest that the reflections sustainability measurement in the present study can be considered as a diagnostic approach for beneficial early interventions.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a range of neurologic conditions associated with neuron death, mostly with no effective treatment. The early and accurate diagnosis of NDs is very important. Late and/or inaccurate diagnosis of NDs leads to making a mistake in treatment and increasing the patient’s cost. The clinical challenge of NDs includes the inability to make a definitive diagnosis in the early stages of the disease and difficulties in predicting disease progression. In recent years, several attempts have been made to identify and confirm the biomarkers of NDs, including genetic, biofluid, and imaging-based variants. Most often employed genetic biomarkers are genetic mutations that induce a specific neurological illness. DNA and RNA biomarkers are associated with detecting familial forms of NDs. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid indicators are commonly utilized to diagnose NDs. It is noteworthy that imaging-based biomarkers have made significant advances and can be enormously useful for early diagnosis.

Choosing several suitable biomarkers concurrently in pharmaceutical research and clinical trials for NDs help to accelerate the identification and evaluation of treatment efficacy in NDs. The present study has focused on the types and applications of biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which neuronal hyperexcitability causes seizures. This neurological disorder occurs in the hippocampus or cerebral cortex, and the neuronal network excitability affect the CA1 region of the hippocampus more than any other areas. Accordingly, studies have been conducted on the use of new methods of prescribing drugs to treat this disease. Novel methods increase effectiveness and reduce toxicity compared to oral antiepileptic drugs. The purpose of these new methods is to bring the optimal concentration of the drug to the epileptogenic zone.

People with epilepsy need long-term drug treatment. Therefore, it is important to identify safe, tolerable, and effective drugs.

Central nervous system (CNS) lesions are created by the destruction of nerve cells and neural tissue following trauma, bleeding, and inflammation, which can lead to permanent paralysis disability, or death. Many researchers are trying to find effective approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease (ND) through the application of various stem cells. Although they have recently made important advancements in treating CNS injuries, no definite cure has been found for ND. In the present study, the role of stem cells in the treatment of ND has been reviewed. An overview is provided of the types and characteristics of various stem cells as well as their advantages and disadvantages in treating ND.

Different types of stem cells with high potential for resolving neural system problems are currently increasing the hope of using new therapies to treat ND. Despite the high cost of treatment and potential side effects, stem cell treatments face numerous challenges, and further research is needed to improve stem cell efficiency in clinical environments.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting more than 50 million people, and more than 80% of these patients live in developing countries. There has been significant progress in pharmacological and surgical treatments of epilepsy in recent years. However, epilepsy poses a unique challenge to patients and their families. Stigma is a major issue for patients with epilepsy, which can discourage subjects from seeking therapies and lead to shame and frustration. To compensate for this discrimination, patients try to protect themselves through social withdrawal, resulting in the deprivation of many social and citizenship rights.

It is the great responsibility of those who provide services to people with epilepsy, especially physicians, nurses, and public health workers, to understand the importance of the devastating effect of stigma on the progression and recovery of epileptic patients. Increasing public awareness and strengthening self-esteem and confidence in patients with epilepsy is an essential and undeniable necessity in dealing with stigma.

The detection of protein expression in tissues and nerve cells is necessary for the modern neuroscience research laboratory and laboratories making diagnostic approaches. To this point, we collected a comprehensive review article on steps and troubleshooting of Western blotting (WB). WB provides good qualitative results for determining a sample containing a target protein and is particularly useful for analyzing insoluble proteins. This process basically can be divided into five steps: (I) the protein extraction, (II) electrophoresis, (III) membrane transfer, (IV) immunodetection, and (V) visualization and analysis. These processes involve the transfer of protein patterns from gel to microporous membrane. Protein transfer with subsequent immunodetection is a great tool to identify a multitude of proteins, especially those proteins that are of low abundance. The efficient transfer of proteins from a gel to a solid membrane and specific immunodetection depend greatly on different parameters.

For reducing the troubleshooting and enhancing awareness of the new developments in WB, this review summaries a representative of methods, reagents, and devices in the WB procedure.