Background music is one of the most frequently encountered contextual factors that

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Introduction:The practicality of the idea whether the laughter-involved large-scale brain networks can be stimulated to remediate affective symptoms, namely depression, has remained elusive. Methods:In this study, 25 healthy individuals were tested through 21-channel quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) setup upon resting state and while submitted to standardized funny video clips (corated by two behavioral neuroscientists and a verified expert comedian, into neutral and mildly to highly funny). We evaluated the individuals' facial expressions against the valence and intensity of each stimulus through the Nuldos face analysis software. The study also employed an eye-tracking setup to examine fixations, gaze, and saccadic movements upon each task. In addition, changes in polygraphic parameters were monitored upon resting state and exposure to clips using the 4-channel Nexus polygraphy setup. Results:The happy facial expression analysis, as a function of rated funny clips, showed a significant difference against neutral videos (p < 0.001). In terms of the polygraphic changes, heart rate variability and the trapezius muscle surface electromyography measures were significantly higher upon exposure to funny vs. neutral videos (p < 0.5). The average pupil size and fixation drifts were significantly higher and lower, respectively, upon exposure to funny videos (p < 0.01). The qEEG data revealed the highest current source density (CSD) for the alpha frequency band localized in the left frontotemporal network (FTN) upon exposure to funny clips. Additionally, left FTN acquired the highest value for theta coherence z-score, while the beta CSD predominantly fell upon the salience network (SN).Conclusions: These preliminary data support the notion that left FTN may be targeted as a cortical hub for noninvasive neuromodulation as a single or adjunct therapy in remediating affective disorders in the clinical setting. Further studies are needed to test the hypotheses derived from the present report.

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B-vitamins have been evaluated as a useful adjuvant therapy to treat pain. In spite of clinical and experimental evidence indicating the analgesic effect of B-vitamins, few studies have investigated their effect on aspects of the inflammatory pain response. In the present study, we investigated the analgesic effect of chronic application of B-complex vitamins (Neurobion) using an inflammatory experimental pain model in rats. Nociceptive behavioral responses were evaluated in male Wistar rats after plantar injection of formalin, comparing groups with (TG) and without (CG) Neurobion pretreatment. In addition, neuronal activity in the central pain pathway was evaluated using c-Fos immunohistochemical reactivity and NADPH-d histochemistry. A highly significant reduction of painful behaviors such as licking and flinching were observed in TG, especially during the secondary phase of the formalin test compared to CG. Results suggest that long-term pre-treatment using Neurobion can have a beneficial effect in reducing the chronic phase of pain. In addition, we observed a downregulation of c-Fos and NADPH-d in dorsal spinal neurons, suggesting that the antinociceptive effect induced by Neurobion could be due to a suppression of nociceptive transmission at the spinal level, particularly in the afferent regions of the dorsal spinal horn, which these neurons utilizing nitric oxide at least as one of their pain neurotransmitters.

Studies have indicated that oxytocin has an influence on cognitive functions such as attention, memory and emotional regulation, particularly in the context of social and communicative behavior. There is a growing interest in the use of oxytocin as a treatment for memory-related psychological disorders and social cognitive disorders. The ease of access to the brain intranasally, numerous positive evidences and widely advertised as a wonder drug, foster this interest. However, recent studies also have shown that the effect of oxytocin could varied, even leading to reverse results. The factors that lead to the effects of oxytocin and its underlying processes on such variables are still uncertain. The inconsistent evidence of general oxytocin effects on memory and neuropsychological conditions is an important issue in considering oxytocin as an adjunct therapy. Therefore, understanding the effects of oxytocin, within various emotional and social context, is important before oxytocin could be efficiently used for improving learning and communication impairment or managing neuropsychological disorders. Here, we intend to review various theories regarding the effect of oxytocin on memory, accompanied by its mechanisms which are proposed in human and animal experiments. Based on evidence from these studies, we explore the potentials and limitations of oxytocin’s pharmacotherapeutic applications as a treatment to improve neuropsychological disorders.