Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience

Background: Depression symptoms following traumatic brain injury (TBI) are common and strongly associated with adverse overall outcomes in military service members, veterans, and civilians. Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression (CBT-D) is considered a first-line treatment for depression symptoms in many contexts. However, costs associated with CBT-D can be substantial, and there are insufficient numbers of providers trained to perform CBT-D. In contradistinction, digital therapeutic interventions such as smartphone apps have virtually unlimited availability and low per-patient costs. However, evidence for efficacy of digital interventions providing CBT-D in the context of TBI is limited. The aims of this study were to design, develop, and test a novel smartphone app to provide CBT-D intended for military service members with depression symptoms and history of mild TBI. Results: We designed a novel smartphone app featuring digital avatar coaches to provide CBT-D intended for military service members with depression symptoms and history of mild TBI. Key features and goals of the 12 weekly CBT lessons included stigma minimization, personal engagement, and 1-2 hours per week of personal challenge homework assignments. We performed a randomized controlled trial initially involving military service members and veterans. Inclusion criteria were later relaxed to allow for civilian participation due to practical constraints . The control group received an app providing educational lessons about concussions and depression which did not include the therapeutic components of CBT. There was no difference between the groups randomized to CBT-D (n=19) vs. educational app control (n=23) in self-reported depression symptoms. Nevertheless, there was a statistically significant benefit of the CBT-D intervention in self-reported insomnia severity at the 16-week follow-up (four weeks post intervention) assessment (Cohens D=0.45, p=0.0064). There were also statistically significant positive correlations (r= 0.46 to 0.76, p=0.046 to 0.001) between changes over time in depression symptoms and changes over time in both insomnia and PTSD symptoms in the CBT-D group. There were no such correlations in the control group. Participants reported higher therapeutic alliance (p=0.0001) and overall mobile application user rating (p=0.036) for the CBT-D app than for the control education app. More favorable therapeutic alliance and mobile application user ratings correlated significantly with greater improvements in depression symptoms in the CBT-D group (r=0.53 to 0.66, p=0.02 to 0.002). However, dropout was substantial (40/59 in the CBT-D group and 31/54 in the control group) and results may not be fully representative of the population at risk. Conclusions: There remains a major unmet need for widely available, low-cost, effective interventions for depression symptoms in the context of mild TBI. The challenges of designing and rigorously assessing the effects such interventions remain formidable. However, the lessons learned from this study and indications of benefit in a highly relevant secondary outcome measure (insomnia) suggest that remote app-based interventions remain therapeutically viable. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov NCT05147506, submitted 20 July 2021, posted 7 December 2021.

Musical aesthetic experience can reveal students' cognitive, aesthetic, and emotional responses to music. However, how professional vocal training alters brain functions in female college students with varying levels of musicianship to promote these is unknown. Here we applied fMRI, psychological measures and Goldsmiths musical sophistication index (Gold-MSI) assessments to study 27 non-music major female college students consisting of instrument group (normal pitch accuracy with instrumental training), general group (normal pitch accuracy without instrumental training) and poor-pitch group (poor pitch accuracy and without instrumental training). After 1 year of one-on-one instructional practice, we found that professional vocal training enhanced information processing related to musical cognition and pleasure during musical aesthetic experiences across all three groups, involving improvements in motor control of vocalization, auditory feedback processing, musical memory and attention together with musical pleasure. Specifically, instrument group showed activation of reward circuits, general group exhibited activation of laryngeal motor control circuits, and poor-pitch group displayed activation of sensory/sensorimotor/motor control circuits. Both pre- and post-training, the instrument group exhibited higher connectivity than the other two groups in the left amygdala-dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG)-left insula pathway. After professional vocal training, the general group showed higher connectivity in the left amygdala-dACC, whereas the poor-pitch group demonstrated increased connectivity in the right pSTG-left insula and dACC-nucleus accumbens pathways. Surprisingly, professional vocal training activated the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a subcortical emotion center, and connectivity with the medial prefrontal cortex associated with musical information processing. Thus, vocal training can significantly improve musical cognition and aesthetic pleasure, and facilitates neural modulation in the brain's emotional centers.

Sex differences in mortality after traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been inconsistently reported, even after accounting for age, injury severity, and other injury related factors. Understanding the sources of this heterogeneity is important for prognostic research and the development of data-driven clinical decision-support tools. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of sex-specific mortality after adult TBI and used explainable machine learning (ML) to investigate potential modifiers of between-study effect estimates. We searched eight databases from inception to August 25, 2025, for studies reporting mortality estimates adjusted for at least age and injury severity. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. Male-to-female mortality estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Three explainable ML algorithms were used to identify important modifiers of study-level effect estimates. Among 9,418 records identified, 21 studies comprising 899,813 participants and 98,286 deaths met the inclusion criteria. Pooled analyses showed lower mortality among females than males (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.80-0.98; HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.59-0.98). Lower mortality among females was also observed for in-hospital mortality (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.97) and overall or unspecified mortality (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.78-0.88). Substantial residual heterogeneity remained across analyses. Explainable ML identified mean age, study sex composition, and study quality as important modifiers of reported effect estimates. These findings were consistent across sensitivity analyses. Female sex was associated with lower mortality after adult TBI, although substantial between-study heterogeneity remained. Explainable ML identified demographic and methodological factors that may contribute to variation in reported associations. These findings highlight the importance of population characteristics and study context when developing, validating, and interpreting explainable digital prognostic tools for TBI. PROSPERO: CRD420251252136.

BACKGROUND: One in three adolescents with a concussion history report experiencing long-lasting somatic, sleep, emotional, and/or cognitive disturbances (persisting symptoms after concussion (PSaC)). Cognitive difficulties, such as attentional problems, are common symptoms and can interfere with ongoing development. Clinically, psychiatric symptoms also present in youth with PSaC. A concussion causes diffuse functional and microstructural alterations to neural networks. To develop targeted treatments for PSaC (e.g., neurostimulation), we need to understand how and where structural alterations and neural dysfunction intersect to cause long-lasting symptoms. OBJECTIVES: 1) Identify functional and microstructural properties in intrinsic connectivity networks, as well as neuropsychological outcomes, that differentiate adolescents with concussion with PSaC from those who do not have PSaC. 2) Determine whether neural activity within intrinsic connectivity networks mediates the relationship between network microstructure and specific neuropsychological features in adolescents with concussion. METHODS: CAMBY is a prospective study of adolescents aged 12 to 18 years with a history of concussion. Participants are allocated based on recovery status (PSaC vs. No-PSaC (recovered controls)). Advanced structural (magnetic resonance imaging; MRI) and functional (magnetoencephalography; MEG) neuroimaging and neuropsychological measures will be collected one month or more after concussion. Microstructural and functional features will be computed within intrinsic connectivity networks, then compared between PSaC and recovered control groups and related to symptom domains and neuropsychological profiles. IMPACT: This will be the first study to integrate MRI, MEG, and neuropsychology in adolescents with PSaC to identify disrupted networks underlying PSaC. This observational study is a necessary step towards future clinical trials that accurately target promising therapeutic neurostimulation protocols.

Significance: There is potential for generative artificial intelligence (AI) to perform "full stack" academic publishing, including comprehensive manuscript fabrication, "peer"-review, and editorial decision making. This study evaluated the benefits and cautions in using AI for full stack academic publishing in clinical research about seizures. Methods: Three epileptologists each selected 1 published manuscript in Epilepsia and produced an AI-fabricated manuscript about seizures. AI tools were then used to perform "peer"-review and make editorial decisions with minimal human supervision. The rates of identifying AI-fabricated manuscripts and editorial decisions among the epileptologists was analyzed, and epileptologists' observations on how AI differed from typical human "peer"-review and editorial decisions was collected. Results: Four of 6 (67%) pairs of AI-fabricated and human-generated manuscripts were correctly identified. Only 1 AI-fabricated manuscript was editorially rejected, whereas another had a subtle indicator of fabrication. When compared to human content, AI generated content was comprehensive, detailed, and based on the highest standard of academic publication. However, generated content was more verbose, used more structured responses, and more critical feedback. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the quality of AI-fabricated manuscripts about clinical research in seizures was sufficiently high that the current methods of peer and editorial review could not easily distinguish fabricated content compared to human-written content. Moreover, AI review and editorial decisions were high quality and appeared reasonable in many cases. AI tools have matured to the point that there should be thoughtful policies that permit AI assistance but prohibit insufficiently supervised autonomous scientific submissions, reviews, and editorial decisions.

Rehabilitation is the cornerstone of clinical care following spinal cord injury (SCI) and is frequently incorporated into preclinical studies to evaluate emerging therapies. However, the variables that influence the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions in rodent models remain poorly characterized, limiting the translational value of preclinical research. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of 150 preclinical studies comprising more than 3000 rodents and 292 effect sizes to identify such factors associated with successful rehabilitation after SCI. Rehabilitation improved functional outcomes across multiple behavioral domains, with larger effects observed in thoracic than cervical injury models. Meta-regression identified environmental enrichment as the most effective strategy, particularly when combined with task-specific training. Longer rehabilitation duration was associated with improved recovery, whereas greater daily exposure to forced rehabilitation was associated with smaller gains. In contrast, prolonged access to voluntary rehabilitation did not show this relationship. Rehabilitation improved outcomes when initiated at all time points after injury, with greater benefits when initiated during the late subacute and intermediate phases. Rehabilitation approaches associated with higher stress burden produced reduced benefits, suggesting that stress may limit rehabilitation-induced recovery. Collectively, these findings identify rehabilitation type, duration, and delivery context as important determinants of recovery after SCI and support a broad therapeutic window for intervention. Our results favor low-stress, voluntary rehabilitation strategies that promote sustained engagement and provide principles for designing effective and biologically appropriate rehabilitation strategies, potentially improving translational success for emerging SCI therapies. One Sentence SummarySustained voluntary rehabilitation promotes functional recovery across stages of experimental spinal cord injury, whereas prolonged forced training may reduce its benefits.

More than a third of women in the United States are estimated to experience abuse from an intimate partner, in which blows to the head, strangulation, and therefore brain injuries are common. Among 207 survivors of such physical violence, two-thirds reported a partner-inflicted brain injury. These women performed substantially worse than the general population across most cognitive measures, including memory and reaction time. Cognitive performance declined as injury count increased. Translated into cognitive age, survivors with the most partner-inflicted brain injuries performed over two decades older than the general population, and a decade older than survivors with no history of brain injury. Importantly, the cognitive assessment discards scores it judges unreliable, yet these came primarily from the most impaired women, suggesting that the true harm is likely greater than reported here. Such cognitive deficits may limit these women's capacity to live to their potential, including keeping safe from abuse. These findings underscore partner-inflicted brain injury as a major, under-recognized source of cognitive harm, potentially affecting more women than brain injury in professional football or the military while lacking comparable clinical recognition and care.

We used Scopus data on 243949 top-cited scientists to map scientific cosmopolitanism defined as having at least two different countries that contribute alone at least 10 percent of an author published record as indexed in Scopus. 20.4 percent of the top-cited authors were cosmopolitan based on this definition. Based on current author affiliation, rates varied widely from 9% to 76% across countries with at least 250 top-cited authors. Countries with few top-cited authors had almost always high rates of cosmopolitanism. The proportion of top-cited authors who are cosmopolitan has steadily increased over time in younger generations among those who started publishing after 1965 reaching 43% recently. Large differences were also seen across scientific subfields from 1% in General Psychology and Cognitive Sciences to 46% in Econometrics. Across the 30 country pairs that were most over-represented, countries shared borders, languages, most common religion pairs, or any of these features in 15, 19, 26, and 29 cases, respectively. The map of cosmopolitan authors reveals a large and increasing proportion of the most influential scientists who share two or more scientific homes that each has made a substantial contribution to their career. Cosmopolitanism among scientists requires better study to help facilitate its potential positive contributions not only to individual scientists but to science and society more broadly.

Background Training in grant proposal writing is an essential component of professional development for academic scientists in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Despite the expansion of inter- and intra-institutional grant writing coaching groups as an approach to honing these skills, specific features that enhance or limit coaching group effectiveness have not been rigorously studied. Methods Qualitative inerviews were conducted with a subset of early-career investigators (n=204 and coaches (n=36) engaged in a national, U.S. based, group-randomized trial of grant writing coaching groups to test the effects of two variables on submission and funding of national-level proposals: (1) coaching duration (regular/extended dose) and (2) mode of engaging a scientific advisor (someone with content-aligned expertise) in the coaching process. This report focuses on interviews conducted upon completion of the regular coaching dose - 5 months of biweekly, group-based coaching sessions to support active proposal writing. Interviews were designed to identify which coaching group elements were perceived to be the most critical. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using deductive (participants) or open (coaches) coding to identify themes. Results Triangulation of results from participant and coach interviews showed strong concordance that coaches, peers, and scientific advisors all played key roles in supporting intervention efficacy. Sufficient alignment of scientific fields and/or methodologies among group members was important, although breadth of perspectives was also valued. Other critical group features were skilled and well-organized coaches, detailed feedback, peer-to-peer support (technical and psychosocial), and clear expectations for group functioning. Factors attenuating impact included variation in participants' engagement and "readiness to write," within-group mismatches of expertise or grant mechanisms, and limited research support at some participants' home institutions. Conclusion This study identified key elements of successful grant writing coaching groups and potential barriers to their effectiveness, while yielding insights about tailoring this approach for individuals at different stages of proposal development.

Background: Neuroanatomy poses a significant challenge for Psychology students due to its spatial and conceptual complexity. Educational approaches that enhance the relevance and visualization of neuroanatomical content may improve students learning experiences. This study implemented a tractography-based activity focused on the virtual dissection of the arcuate fasciculus, a major white matter pathway, in undergraduate Psychology students and examined the relationships between perceived learning and students perceptions of utility, difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects of the activity. Methods: First-year undergraduate Psychology students participated in a two-session tractography-based activity combining instruction on white matter anatomy and diffusion tractography with a hands-on virtual dissection of the arcuate fasciculus using research-grade software routinely employed in neuroscience research. Following the activity, students completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing perceived learning, utility, difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects of the activity. Pearson correlations, multiple regression analyses, and relative importance analyses were performed. Results: Sixty-eight students completed the questionnaire. Students reported generally positive perceptions of the activity across the evaluated dimensions, with perceived learning receiving the highest mean score (M = 3.44, SD = .85). Perceived utility showed the strongest association with perceived learning (r = .64, p < .001). The regression model explained 41% of the variance in perceived learning (R2 = .41, adjusted R2 = .38, p < .001). Perceived utility was the only significant predictor in the model ({beta} = .59, p = .001), accounting for 67.9% of the explained variance. Conclusions: The findings support the feasibility of integrating authentic neuroimaging tools into undergraduate neuroanatomy teaching. Students who perceived the activity as more useful also reported higher perceived learning outcomes, with perceived utility emerging as the strongest predictor of perceived learning. In contrast, perceived difficulty and handling, and organizational aspects did not make significant independent contributions. These results suggest that students perceptions of educational relevance may play an important role in technology-enhanced STEM learning experiences.

Background/Aims: Pre-stroke depression has been shown to be associated with worse functional outcomes and depression after stroke. However, it is not currently well understood whether pre-stroke mood disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, mood and psychotic disorders, substance use disorder) are associated with withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WOLST) after a severe stroke. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study within the Tufts Vascular Neurology Registry of patients hospitalized with severe acute ischemic stroke (AIS, defined as NIHSS [&ge;]10) or severe nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, defined as ICH score [&ge;]2) between 2018 and 2022. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of WOLST. Results: This study included 405 patients with severe stroke. Patients who opted for WOLST were more likely to be older, female, have AIS, and experience more severe strokes. In an adjusted analysis (basic demographics, stroke type), a pre-stroke mood disorder was associated with WOLST (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.11-4.15). In models stratified by stroke type (AIS vs. ICH) and adjusted for stroke severity, WOLST was associated with age in both groups and with mood disorder in patients with ICH. The WOLST event rate was higher in the ICH group (19% vs 11%). Conclusion: Pre-stroke mood disorder was associated with increased rates of withdrawal of care after severe stroke in this patient population. Opportunities to actively treat depression may be useful to include in goals of care discussions to mitigate the potential impact of this factor in decision-making. Consistent with prior studies, we observed a higher proportion of WOLST in older, female, and ICH patients. Future studies regarding the quality and content of goals of care discussions may help elucidate the differing effects of pre-stroke mood disorders on WOLST by stroke type seen in this study.

Vocal communication depends on the biomechanical integrity of the vocal folds, yet how impairment alters vocal behavior remains poorly understood. We used the California mouse (Peromyscus californicus), a highly vocal species that produces songs through airflow-induced vocal fold vibration, to experimentally examine how defined vocal fold injury alters vocal production. Longitudinal recordings were combined with histological assessment to track changes in vocal function after impairment. Injury produced acute edema of the lamina propria and thyroarytenoid muscle. Despite stable levels of vocal activity, the vocal phenotype shifted characteristically following injury. Thus, vocal behavior can persist despite substantial alteration of the biomechanical tissues underlying sound production, demonstrating that maintenance of behavioral output does not necessarily indicate preservation of the physiological system that generates it. More broadly, these findings establish an experimental link between vocal fold injury and vocal phenotype and provide a framework for understanding how tissue damage and remodeling can reshape acoustic communication even when vocal behavior is maintained. Because repeated vocalization can impose substantial mechanical demands on vocal folds, this framework may have broad relevance for understanding how vocal use, injury, and tissue remodeling interact to shape vocal communication.

Background: Head acceleration events (HAEs) are common in contact sports, but season-long exposure and its relationship with cognitive performance in amateur British American football remain poorly characterised. Methods: Thirty male players were recruited from three British American football teams. Cognitive performance was assessed pre-season, mid-season, and post-season using the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 6 and computerised Stroop, 2-back, Go/No-go, and visual-search tasks. Seasonal cognitive analyses included 23 participants with available data. HAEs were quantified using helmet-mounted accelerometers; exposure-linked analyses were restricted to 19 participants who provided sufficiently complete sensor recordings across contact training sessions and competitive matches. Seasonal cognitive changes were assessed using mixed-effects models. Associations of in-season HAE metrics and previous contact-sport seasons with global cognitive change were examined using simple linear regression and elastic-net regression. Results: In the 19-participant exposure-linked cohort, prior contact-sport exposure showed the strongest nominal univariate association with worse global cognitive change (r squared = 0.337, p = 0.009), although this did not remain significant after correction for multiple comparisons (Benjamini-Hochberg-adjusted p = 0.055). Corrected nested cross-validation indicated little out-of-sample performance for the multivariable elastic-net model (r = 0.144, predictive R squared = -0.008). Although previous contact-sport seasons had the largest standardised coefficient in the final full-cohort fit, predictor retention varied substantially across resamples. Conclusion: Prior contact-sport exposure showed the strongest exploratory association with relatively worse global cognitive change, whereas in-season HAE metrics showed weaker associations. However, the multivariable model did not demonstrate useful out-of-sample predictive performance, and the small exposure-linked cohort precludes firm conclusions regarding the relative importance of individual predictors.

We evaluated whether participant-separated within-cohort discrimination was retained when electroencephalography (EEG) classifiers for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were applied to a different population and recording task. This exploratory reanalysis included 121 children performing a visual task and 79 adults recorded during eyes-open rest after basic channel screening. Both cohorts used Cz/F4, 128 Hz, and the first fifteen non-overlapping 2-second epochs per participant. Fixed logistic regression and random forest classifiers used spectral, amplitude-derived, and combined features. Internal evaluation used five repetitions of five-fold participant-grouped cross-validation; bidirectional transfer fitted transformations and classifiers only on the source cohort. Adult spectral balanced accuracy (BA) was 0.9519-0.9546, compared with 0.5504-0.5664 in children. Adult spectral logistic regression exceeded all 999 internal label permutations (Monte Carlo p=0.001; within-family Holm-adjusted p=0.002). Paired spectral-minus-amplitude conditional intervals excluded zero in adults but spanned zero in children. Cross-cohort spectral BA was 0.3584-0.4675, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.0309-0.3857 in the unchanged score direction. Increasing pediatric source-epoch budgets moved random-forest AUC toward 0.5, whereas logistic-regression AUC remained below 0.1. Strong adult internal discrimination thus coexisted with reverse cross-cohort ranking. These findings characterize the evaluated pipelines, not clinical diagnostic utility or a unique mechanism: age, task, and acquisition differences were not separated, target results had previously been inspected, and conditional intervals excluded model-refitting uncertainty.

Computer mouse weight has been proposed to influence human motor performance, but existing evidence comes largely from small, short-duration controlled studies, leaving its relationship to performance during naturalistic gameplay unresolved. We analyzed one-week skill improvement in Aimlabs, a popular first-person shooter aim-training and assessment platform, among 9,067 players whose telemetry recorded a mouse-model change (switchers) during self-directed game use, using a 21-day baseline and 7-day follow-up; 4,991 players with a single mouse model (non-switchers) observed over matched pseudo-anchor intervals provided a secondary contextual comparison. Post-switch mouse weight was represented by eight bands spanning 35-124 g. The primary multivariable generalized additive regression model accounted for baseline skill, pre- and post-switch practice intensity, and pre- and post-switch mouse sensitivity, and allowed the association between weight band and improvement to vary with baseline skill, post-switch practice, and post-switch sensitivity. For each weight band, predicted mean one-week improvement was standardized to the observed distribution of these covariates among switchers and reported in percentile-rank points. Statistical significance was evaluated using 1,000 permutations in which observed mouse weights were randomly reassigned among switchers without replacement and the model was refitted to generate empirical null distributions for the weight-related test statistics. Predicted improvement differed significantly across the eight weight bands (p = 0.001). Pairwise comparisons identified significant differences between bands (p < 0.05), but no single band was associated with significantly greater predicted improvement than all seven others. In this large naturalistic cohort, predicted improvement was highest for players with 35-44 g mice, followed by 45-54 and 55-64 g, and several pairwise comparisons showed significantly greater improvement in lighter than in heavier weight bands. Across the examined baseline-skill profiles, the lowest predicted improvements occurred in either the 85-99 or 115-124 g band. Predicted improvement differed across weight bands at the 25th-percentile and median baseline-skill values (p = 0.002 and p = 0.003) but not at the 75th percentile (p = 0.153). However, the weight-band x baseline-skill interaction was not significant (p = 0.181), indicating that the analysis did not establish that weight-related differences varied by skill level.

Autistic individuals with intellectual disability (ASD+ID) and profound autism are rarely studied in neuroscience research due to barriers including communication challenges, sensory sensitivities, anxiety, and elevated behavioral support needs. Consequently, biomarker development in autism fails to include the portion of the autistic population with highest support needs and greatest potential to benefit from treatments derived from imminent advances in personalized medicine. Here we present a multimodal, participant-centered protocol for simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking (ET) acquisition to advance clinical trial readiness research in this underserved population. The protocol combines individualized behavioral supports and an adaptive EEG-ET acquisition platform. Pre-visit caregiver interviews informed participant-specific research plans, including customized visual supports, reinforcement strategies, and EEG net desensitization procedures. A gaze-contingent stimulus presentation system used participant-preferred videos to support attention to experimental stimuli and behavior consistent with data acquisition (e.g., refraining from movement) while dynamically adapting stimulus delivery based on visual engagement with the assay and real-time assessment of data quality. By quantifying attended trials in real time and prioritizing unattended stimulus classes, the paradigm maximizes acquisition efficiency to minimize participant burden. This approach was utilized to deploy candidate biomarkers with demonstrated replicability in the Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT): the N170 event-related potential to faces, resting-state EEG, and visual attention to human faces (measured with ET). Feasibility was evaluated in 76 children with ASD+ID (M age = 8.76 years; IQ = 32.4) and a small comparison sample of 8 children with intellectual disability without autism (M age = 8.91 years; IQ = 45.9). Usable EEG data (>7 minutes) were acquired in 61% (ASD+ID) and 88% (ID) of participants, respectively. Sufficient ET data were obtained from 67% (ASD+ID) and 63% (ID) of participants, respectively. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of inclusive biomarker acquisition and provide a framework for expanding participation of individuals with ASD+ID and profound autism in neuroscience research. Ongoing research seeks to evaluate this approach in larger samples and to demonstrate feasibility in multisite research studies.

Introduction: With global warming, heatwaves are increasing in severity, affecting species worldwide. Recent studies show associations between heat exposure in pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth, low birthweight and stillbirth across multiple species. This suggests potentially conserved mechanisms such as maternal inflammation, dehydration and changes in placental physiology in response to heat exposure. Moreover, the gestational timing of antenatal heat likely impacts the type and severity of outcome, yet this is not fully understood. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of studies on heat exposure and pregnancy outcomes in humans and other animals, to identify common mechanisms and temporal dynamics of effects. Temperature-, trimester- and species- specific patterns were reviewed across 197 studies and ten species (human, cow, sheep, pig, goat, rat, mouse, guinea pig, lizard and rabbit). Results: Qualitative trends indicate that high temperatures are associated with adverse birth outcomes. In particular, third trimester exposure increases risk of preterm birth and low birthweight. Many studies emphasise placental involvement in adverse outcomes and point to potential aberrations in placental physiology or cortisol signaling pathways. Conclusions: Overall, literature presents that heat exposure increases risk of adverse birth outcomes across studies, and taxa. Understanding the relationship between heat exposure and adverse birth outcomes, as well as the mechanisms and timing, is vital for informing public health policies and creating mitigating strategies for expecting mothers.

Funding and publishing scientific research has become increasingly competitive, highlighting a growing need for clear and accurate scientific communication. Scientific editors are professionals who help ensure that grant proposals and research manuscripts meet the standards of funding agencies and peer-reviewed journals while effectively communicating research significance to diverse audiences. However, detailed information characterizing the scientific editing profession is scarce. While some organizations have conducted salary surveys, to our knowledge, no comprehensive survey of the scientific editing field has been conducted. Here, we report findings from a 2024 comprehensive survey of 132 scientific editors. We collected data on demographics and education, career experience and current employment, skills and types of editing, and outcomes and satisfaction. Our data reveal that scientific editors have homogenous demographic characteristics but considerable variability in job titles, employment mechanisms, and career pathways. As the responsibilities of many scientific editors, including supporting proposal development, applying best practices in grantsmanship, and identifying strategies to enhance competitiveness for research funding, overlap with those of research development professionals, our findings provide considerations for further incorporating or defining the role of scientific editors within research development offices. Our results also suggest avenues for scientific editors to start or advance their careers. We anticipate that our results will serve as a foundation for discussions on the future directions of the scientific editing profession as well as areas for future research and professional development.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of long-term neurological disability, affecting 50-60 million people annually. Cascading secondary injury mechanisms, including oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, impair motor and cognitive function, while current therapies often manage symptoms rather than restore lost neurological function. This study investigated an ultrasound-activated piezoelectric hydrogel scaffold composed of barium titanate nanoparticles (BTNPs), sodium alginate (SA), and polyethylene oxide (PEO). The hypothesis was that TBI flies receiving the scaffold and ultrasound would display a higher climbing assay pass rate than TBI flies receiving no treatment or BTNPs alone. TBI was induced in Drosophila melanogaster with a high-impact trauma (HIT) apparatus. Treatments were applied by opening and resealing the fly head cuticle, followed by ultrasound stimulation. Motor recovery was quantified with a climbing assay across four groups (N=10 flies per group), which measured the percentage of flies that could cross a 5 cm mark within 30 seconds. Assay validity was supported by a statistically significant difference between flies without TBI and those with TBI using Mann-Whitney U testing (p=0.0035). Although TBI treatment groups did not differ significantly (p>0.05), median pass rates increased from injury control (35%) to BTNPs (45%) to scaffold (50%). However, high inter-trial variation, a 45.2% procedural mortality rate, and small sample size limited statistical power. These results suggest that piezoelectric electrospun hydrogel scaffolds may be a pathway for safer and more biocompatible restoration after TBI, but provide insufficient evidence to conclude that the scaffold significantly improved motor recovery.

BackgroundPersistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic functional dizziness disorder characterized by unsteadiness, hypersensitivity to motion and visually complex environments. Although increasingly investigated, the role of the different factors involved remains unclear. This study aims to comprehensively characterize PPPD across clinical, biological, and behavioral domains. MethodsData from 18 PPPD patients and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy control volunteers (HC) were analyzed, including clinical and psychological questionnaires, a neuropsychological battery, salivary markers, posturography under different conditions, and gait analysis under single- and dual-task demands. ResultsPatients reported greater depressive symptoms, higher perceived stress, and reduced quality of life than HC, but showed no neuropsychological deficits and comparable past psychological trauma and personality traits. Salivary stress marker levels were similar to HC. Gait analysis revealed a slower, cautious gait in patients, which worsened without vision, with no differences in automaticity (stride time variability). Postural assessments showed greater sway and enhanced low-frequency oscillations, exacerbated by absence of visual input in PPPD. Visual reliance for postural control correlated negatively with subjective symptom severity, but not other symptom-related measures. ConclusionPPPD patients have lower mood and increased perceived stress, with no increase in biological stress markers compared to HC. Cognition, personality, and exposure to past trauma might be less relevant than previously hypothesized. Patients show visual dependence for gait and postural control, likely a maladaptive compensatory mechanism. These findings support interventions targeted at reducing visual dependence and at improving mood, rather than interventions focusing on psychological trauma. SummaryO_LIWhat is already known on this topic - PPPD (Persistent Perceptual Postural Dizziness) is a functional dizziness disorder characterized by different biopsychosocial factors, often investigated in isolation. C_LIO_LIWhat this study adds - PPPD patients have higher depression and perceived stress scores, lower quality of life, but show no differences in past trauma, personality traits, and biological stress markers, compared to healthy controls. They also show a reliance on vision both for gait and for postural control, with increased low-frequency oscillations in the anteroposterior direction. Visual dependence is likely maintained by its perceived role in symptom reduction. C_LIO_LIHow this study might affect research, practice or policy - These findings support rehabilitation strategies aimed at reducing reliance on vision and increasing reliance on vestibular inputs, but not interventions focusing on past traumatic experiences. C_LI