(C) 2010 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Electrocortical activity is increasingly being used to study emotion regulation and the impact of cognitive control on neural response to visual stimuli. In the current study, we used direct epidural cortical stimulation (EpCS) to examine regional specificity of PFC stimulation on the parietally-maximal late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential (ERP) biomarker of visual attention to salient stimuli. Five patients with treatment-resistant mood disorders were stereotactically implanted with stimulating paddles over frontopolar

(FP) and dorsolateral (DL) prefrontal cortex bilaterally. On their first day of activation, patients underwent sham-controlled EpCS coupled with 64-channel electroencephalograph (EEG) click here recordings

and passive viewing of aversive and neutral images. In addition to sham, patients had either FP or DL prefrontal cortex stimulated at 2 or 4 V while they viewed neutral and aversive pictures. As expected during the sham condition, LPP was larger for aversive compared to neutral stimuli (F(1,4)=232.07, P<.001). Stimulation of DL compared to FP prefrontal cortex resulted in a reduction of APR-246 the LPP (F(1,4)=8.15, P=.048). These data provide additional and unique support to the role of the DL prefrontal cortex in regulating measures of neural activity that have been linked to emotional

arousal and attention. Future studies with EpCS can help directly map out various prefrontal functions in treatment-resistant mood disorder. (C) 2010 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“The identification of biomarkers represents a fundamental medical advance that can lead to an improved understanding of disease pathogenesis, and holds the potential to define surrogate diagnostic and prognostic endpoints. Because of the inherent difficulties in assessing brain function in patients and objectively identifying neurological and cognitive/emotional symptoms, future application of biomarkers to neurological and psychiatric disorders is extremely desirable. This article discusses the biomarker potential of the granin family, a group of acidic ZD1839 proteins present in the secretory granules of a wide variety of endocrine, neuronal and neuroendocrine cells: chromogranin A (CgA), CgB, Secretogranin II (SgII), SgIII, HISL-19 antigen, 7B2, NESP55, VGF and ProSAAS. Their relative abundance, functional significance, and secretion into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), saliva, and the general circulation have made granins tractable targets as biomarkers for many diseases of neuronal and endocrine origin, recently impacting diagnosis of a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and schizophrenia.