Check out some of the papers that were recently published by DMCBH members:
Luke Clark: Gambling Streams and Gambling Intentions: Testing via the Theory of Planned Behaviour
Journal: Journal of Gambling Studies
This study looked at the popularity of gambling live streams on platforms such as Twitch and their potential harms for youth. Researchers tested whether watching gambling streams was associated with the three factors of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB): attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. Results showed that gambling stream consumption was associated with more positive attitudes towards gambling, stronger perceptions that gambling is socially accepted and greater intentions to gamble. From analyzing different live stream types, watching slots and Esports streams were correlated with higher intentions to gamble, while watching generic video game content was linked with lower intentions. Researchers conclude that these results link gambling stream engagement to gambling intentions among youth with no previous gambling experience, but longitudinal studies are needed for additional detail.
Brett Hilton: Protocol for induction and quantification of injury-primed axon outgrowth in adult mouse DRG neurons
Journal: STAR Protocols
Neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) are largely unable to regenerate their axons after injury, but neurons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) can regenerate their axons after injury. Adult dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons are used as a powerful model to study these differences in axon growth. Researchers have developed a protocol to assess injury-primed axon outgrowth in adult mouse DRG neurons and have provided step-by-step instructions for performing a sciatic nerve injury to condition L3-L5 DRG neurons, followed by their isolation and culture to assess injury-induced changes in axon outgrowth.
Khaled Abdelrahman: M1 muscarinic receptor modulation drives sex-specific alterations of Alzheimer’s pathophysiology in APPswe/PSEN1ΔE9 mice
Journal: The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is featured by β-amyloid build-up, which influences the activity of M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M1 mAChRs) that are essential for memory and learning. A modulator named VU0486846, which boosts the activity of M1 mAChRs, has been shown to improve cognitive function in AD mice by reducing β-amyloid build-up. However, its function and mechanism between male and female brains remains unclear. After assessing VU0486846-treated and control group male and female mice, researchers found that in female mice, the modulator increased signals involved in brain cell activity and reduced changes associated with β-amyloid build-up. In male mice, researchers found that the modulator improved a cellular waste-removal process called autophagy. Researchers conclude that VU0486846 improved AD-related changes in both male and female mice, but through different biological mechanisms.
Brian MacVicar, Haakon Nygaard: A Microglia-Astrocyte Signaling Axis Regulates Astrocyte Piezo1 Expression and Inflammatory Responses
Journal: Glia
Astrocytes are essential in maintaining brain homeostasis and are highly mechanosensitive cells, meaning they detect physical forces like touch and convert it to electrical and chemical signals. This study examined how inflammation affects Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel found in astrocytes. Researchers found that exposure of astrocytes to inflammatory stimuli had little direct impact on Piezo1 expression. However, exposure to microglia, the brain’s immune cells, increased Piezo1 expression, while reducing the number of microglia decreased Piezo1 levels. The research team concluded that astrocytic Piezo1 expression is regulated by inflammatory signals from microglia and may play a role in modulating astrocyte activity and inflammation in the brain.
Jan Lünemann: Kappa Free Light Chain for Diagnosis and Neurofilament Light Chain for Prognosis in Autoimmune Encephalitis
Journal: Neurology Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation
In this study, researchers looked for reliable biomarkers to support both early diagnosis and assessment of disease severity and prognosis for autoimmune encephalitis (AE). Researchers followed a cohort of individuals and measured three different biomarkers: Kappa free light chain (KFLC), neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and cytokines. They found that KFLC in spinal fluid was present in most people with AE, making it a potential useful early indicator of the disease. Researchers also found that NfL was useful in detecting disease severity: higher levels of NfL were associated with more severe symptoms and changes over time were associated with patients’ outcomes. Other biomarkers, including GFAP and cytokines, were less useful in disease diagnosis.
Helen Tremlett: Multiple Sclerosis Onset Preceding Epstein-Barr Virus Infection
Journal: JAMA Neurology
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is proposed to be a requisite risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the strongest evidence for this came from a predominately male and White cohort and is incredibly under-representative of the MS population. Previous cases have reported people with MS who have tested negative for EBV antibodies that show previous EBV infection. This study aimeds to identify and characterize cases of primary EBV infection after MS onset in a large population-based cohort.
Journal: Neurophotonics
This study investigates whether video-capable large language models (LLMs) can automatically identify and score animal behaviours, reducing the need for researchers to manually review videos. Researchers compared various LLMs to analyze videos of mice performing water-reaching tasks and to conduct behavioural segmentation. Gemini 2.5 Pro produced completely accurate frame-to-frame behaviour segmentation in around 50 per cent of the videos. Researchers found that providing LLMs with examples of specific behaviours improved its ability to identify them. Overall, the findings suggest that the use of LLMs in analyzing behaviours in the lab has the potential to aid researchers by reducing the time spent on manually labelling videos.
Sophia Frangou: Confabulation, Not Hallucination: Rethinking False Outputs in Generative AI
Journal: European Psychiatry
In generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs), “hallucination” is a term used to describe AI outputs that are plausible but not supported by facts. Researchers emphasize that terminology matters because it should represent the problem accurately, and that “confabulation” is a more accurate term for AI-generated falsehoods. “Hallucination” mislocates the problem and replacing it with “confabulation” is the first step toward safer use.
Helen Tremlett: Emergency department use before multiple sclerosis: Presenting complaints and discharge diagnoses
Journal: Multiple Sclerosis Journal
This study looked into emergency department (ED) use before the recognition of multiple sclerosis (MS). Those with MS are nearly twice as likely as the general population to visit the ED, but prior to MS recognition, ED use is poorly characterized. Researchers used administrative health data in BC and ED visits in the 5 years preceding the first MS disease claim were examined. Researchers found that ED use was consistently elevated in the 5 years before MS recognition, primarily involving non-neurological and non-specific reasons for visits such as gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, or mental health conditions.
Christian Schütz: Crisis within a crisis: Risk factors of overdose among those with severe concurrent disorders
Journal: General Hospital Psychiatry
Those with concurrent substance use and mental disorders (CD) experience higher risk of overdose compared to those with substance use disorder alone. However, there is a lack of studies on those with severe concurrent disorders (SCD) in tertiary care settings. In this study, researchers identify factors associated with non-fatal overdose by analyzing data from cohorts of individuals with SCD treated at three tertiary centres in British Columbia. Researchers found recent heroin or fentanyl use was the most stable predictor of frequent overdose, followed by Hepatitis C diagnosis, being single, recent crack cocaine use, and history of sexual and/or physical abuse. Researchers concluded that treatment of patients’ polysubstance use, comorbidities and social support is crucial in risk prevention for frequent overdose.
Jessica Rosin: Gestational inhibition of CSF1R signaling using PLX5622 drives musculoskeletal changes in postnatal offspring
Journal: Cells & Development
This study looks at muscle and bone embryonic development when the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF1R) is inhibited and disrupts the increase, differentiation and survival of macrophage and osteoclast. Researchers inhibited CSF1R using a drug called PLX5622 and examined the muscle and bone embryonic development under CT imaging. Results indicate that CSF1R inhibition caused significant changes in the size and shape of the skull and jaw, the muscles used for chewing, and the tongue during embryonic development.
