So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

Human biochemical genetics

I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Principles of Neural Science

https://bic.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Rossi_09_TMS%20safety%20review.pdf

Safety, ethical considerations, and application guidelines for the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical practice and research

The reference human genome sequence set the stage for studies of genetic variation and its association with human disease, but epigenomic studies lack a similar reference. To address this need, the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Consortium generated the largest collection so far of human epigenomes for primary cells and tissues. Here we describe the integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes generated as part of the programme, profiled for histone modification patterns, DNA accessibility, DNA methylation and RNA expression. We establish global maps of regulatory elements, define regulatory modules of coordinated activity, and their likely activators and repressors. We show that disease- and trait-associated genetic variants are enriched in tissue-specific epigenomic marks, revealing biologically relevant cell types for diverse human traits, and providing a resource for interpreting the molecular basis of human disease. Our results demonstrate the central role of epigenomic information for understanding gene regulation, cellular differentiation and human disease.

Integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes

The insula is a brain structure implicated in disparate cognitive, affective, and regulatory functions, including interoceptive awareness, emotional responses, and empathic processes. While classically considered a limbic region, recent evidence from network analysis suggests a critical role for the insula, particularly the anterior division, in high-level cognitive control and attentional processes. The crucial insight and view we present here is of the anterior insula as an integral hub in mediating dynamic interactions between other large-scale brain networks involved in externally oriented attention and internally oriented or self-related cognition. The model we present postulates that the insula is sensitive to salient events, and that its core function is to mark such events for additional processing and initiate appropriate control signals. The anterior insula and the anterior cingulate cortex form a “salience network” that functions to segregate the most relevant among internal and extrapersonal stimuli in order to guide behavior. Within the framework of our network model, the disparate functions ascribed to the insula can be conceptualized by a few basic mechanisms: (1) bottom–up detection of salient events, (2) switching between other large-scale networks to facilitate access to attention and working memory resources when a salient event is detected, (3) interaction of the anterior and posterior insula to modulate autonomic reactivity to salient stimuli, and (4) strong functional coupling with the anterior cingulate cortex that facilitates rapid access to the motor system. In this manner, with the insula as its integral hub, the salience network assists target brain regions in the generation of appropriate behavioral responses to salient stimuli. We suggest that this framework provides a parsimonious account of insula function in neurotypical adults, and may provide novel insights into the neural basis of disorders of affective and social cognition.

/pdf/saliency-switching-attention-and-control-a-network-model-of-4nzu8lqybn.pdf

Saliency, switching, attention and control: a network model of insula function

Spontaneous dyskinesia is associated with non-affective psychosis. Few studies investigated dyskinesia in individuals with subclinical psychotic experiences. We examined dyskinesia using instrumental measurements of force variability in 34 individuals with frequent auditory verbal hallucinations but without a clinical psychotic disorder and 31 matched healthy controls. Schizotypy was assessed using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. We found a positive correlation between dyskinesia and schizotypy in the total group. In addition, when using a cut-off point based on the 95th percentile of force variability in the control group, we found a greater proportion of subjects with dyskinesia in the group with auditory verbal hallucinations than in the control subjects. Current findings are in agreement with the concept of psychosis as a continuous phenomenon and with movement disorders being an integral part of psychosis.

Instrumental measurements of spontaneous dyskinesia and schizotypy in subjects with auditory verbal hallucinations and healthy controls

The umbrella term “bodily hallucination” refers to a group of widely divergent and only rudimentarily understood corporeal sensations, such as tactile hallucinations, somatic hallucinations, sexual hallucinations, the coenesthesiopathies, proprioceptive hallucinations, kinesthetic hallucinations, vestibular hallucinations, hallucinated pain, and thermal hallucinations. This chapter provides a classification of those various phenomena and highlights what is known about their neurobiological underpinnings. In clinical practice, it may be helpful to let the diagnosis of bodily hallucination depend on the co-occurrence of a delusional explanation by the patient, but even this procedure is not airtight. Future studies seeking to enhance our understanding of these phenomena will have to address – as always, in biomedicine – neurobiological as well as conceptual issues.

Hallucinations of Bodily Sensation

Pancytopenia--a rare complication of miliary tuberculosis.

https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2974884/view

Draining the pond and catching the fish: Uncovering the ecosystem of auditory verbal hallucinations

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a global public health priority as with aging populations, its prevalence is expected to rise even further in the future. The brain and gut are in close communication through immunological, nervous and hormonal routes, and therefore, probiotics are examined as an option to influence AD hallmarks, such as plaques, tangles, and low grade inflammation. This study aimed to provide an overview of the available animal evidence on the effect of different probiotics on gut microbiota composition, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), inflammatory markers, Amyloid-β (Aβ), and cognitive functioning in AD animal models. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, SCOPUS, and APA PsychInfo. Articles were included up to May 2021. Inclusion criteria included a controlled animal study on probiotic supplementation and at least one of the abovementioned outcome variables. Of the eighteen studies, most were conducted in AD male mice models (n = 9). Probiotics of the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were used most frequently. Probiotic administration increased species richness and/or bacterial richness in the gut microbiota, increased SCFAs levels, reduced inflammatory markers, and improved cognitive functioning in AD models in multiple studies. The effect of probiotic administration on Aβ remains ambiguous. B. longum (NK46), C. butyricum, and the mixture SLAB51 are the most promising probiotics, as positive improvements were found on almost all outcomes. The results of this animal review underline the potential of probiotic therapy as a treatment option in AD.

/pdf/a-systematic-review-on-the-effects-of-different-types-of-3v4ilhnp.pdf

Iris E. C. Sommer

Papers

Instrumental measurements of spontaneous dyskinesia and schizotypy in subjects with auditory verbal hallucinations and healthy controls

Hallucinations of Bodily Sensation

Pancytopenia--a rare complication of miliary tuberculosis.

Draining the pond and catching the fish: Uncovering the ecosystem of auditory verbal hallucinations

A Systematic Review on the Effects of Different Types of Probiotics in Animal Alzheimer's Disease Studies