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Understanding how self-representation is built, maintained and updated across the lifespan is a fundamental challenge for cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Studies demonstrate that the detection of body-related multisensory congruency builds bodily and facial self-representations that are crucial to developing self-recognition. Studies showing that the bodily self is more malleable than previously believed were mainly concerned with full-bodies and non-facial body parts. Crucially, however, intriguing recent evidence indicates that simple experimental manipulations could even affect self-face representation that has long been considered a stable construct impervious to change. In this review, we discuss how Interpersonal Multisensory Stimulation (IMS) paradigms can be used to temporarily induce Enfacement, i.e., the subjective illusion of looking at oneself in the mirror when in fact looking at another person's face. We show that Enfacement is a subtle but robust phenomenon occurring in a variety of experimental conditions and assessed by multiple explicit and implicit measures. We critically discuss recent findings on i) the role of sensory extero/proprio-ceptive (visual, tactile, and motor) and interoceptive (cardiac) signals in self-face plasticity, ii) the importance of multisensory integration mechanisms for the bodily self, and iii) the neural network related to IMS-driven changes in self-other face processing, within the predictive coding theoretical framework.

Echocardiographic guidance provides an alternative method when fluoroscopy is unavailable, equipment or power failure of fluoroscopic equipment during a procedure occurs or to decrease radiation risk. Recently, transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography were reported as an alternative method to guide interventional procedures in dogs. Therefore, we hypothesized that TTE could be used as an alternative method to visualize endocardial leads during pacemaker implantation in dogs, largely avoiding the use of fluoroscopy. A prospective consecutive case series of pacemaker implantation was performed using TTE guidance. The endocardial lead was imaged by TTE during its intracardiac advancement until the lead tip was positioned at the right ventricular apex. Echocardiographic right parasternal views, optimized to visualize the pacing lead, were used, starting with a short axis image of the right atrium and ending with a long axis view of the right ventricle (RV) optimized to image the RV apex. Proper lead placement was confirmed by both capture threshold, impedance and fluoroscopy. Twenty-one pacemaker implantation procedures by TTE monitoring were successfully performed. The TTE guidance provided images of a quality sufficient to clearly monitor implantation in real-time and allowed for immediate corrections to pacing lead malpositioning or excessive looping. Fluoroscopy was used to confirm the correct placement of the lead that was guided echocardiographically in the initial three procedures, after which a single radiographic image (no cine-mode) was used to identify lead placement and redundancy in the remaining eighteen cases. Static imaging (radiography using the fluoroscope) was used to assess the proper lead redundancy in all procedures because this cannot be evaluated echocardiographically. Pacemaker leads were successfully implanted in the RV of dogs using TTE monitoring. A larger cases series is needed for validation of safety and effectiveness of TTE during this interventional procedure in dogs.

Balloon dilation was performed in two Rottweiler puppies with cor triatriatum dexter and clinical signs of ascites using transthoracic echocardiographic guidance. The dogs were positioned on a standard echocardiography table in right lateral recumbency, and guide wires and balloon catheters were imaged by echocardiographic views optimized to allow visualization of the defect. The procedures were performed successfully without complications and clinical signs were resolved completely in both cases. Guide wires and balloon catheters appeared hyperechoic on transthoracic echocardiography image and could be clearly monitored and guided in real-time. These two cases demonstrate that it is possible to perform balloon catheter dilation of cor triatriatum dexter under transthoracic guidance alone.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disease characterized by progressive muscle degeneration leading to impaired locomotion, respiratory failure and premature death. In DMD patients, inflammatory events secondary to dystrophin mutation play a major role in the progression of the pathology. Sertoli cells (SeC) have been largely used to protect xenogeneic engraftments or induce trophic effects thanks to their ability to secrete trophic, antiinflammatory, and immunomodulatory factors. Here we have purified SeC from specific pathogen-free (SPF)-certified neonatal pigs, and embedded them into clinical grade alginate microcapsules. We show that a single intraperitoneal injection of microencapsulated SPF SeC (SeC-MC) in an experimental model of DMD can rescue muscle morphology and performance in the absence of pharmacologic immunosuppressive treatments. Once i.p. injected, SeC-MC act as a drug delivery system that modulates the inflammatory response in muscle tissue, and upregulates the expression of the dystrophin paralogue, utrophin in muscles through systemic release of heregulin-β1, thus promoting sarcolemma stability. Analyses performed five months after single injection show high biocompatibility and long-term efficacy of SeC-MC. Our results might open new avenues for the treatment of patients with DMD and related diseases.

We report data about the effects of intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of specific pathogen-free (SPF) porcine Sertoli cells (SeC) encapsulated into clinical grade alginate-based microcapsules (SeC-MC) on muscles of chronic and presymptomatic dystrophic, mdx mice. Mdx mouse is the best characterized animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an X-linked lethal myopathy due to mutation in the gene of dystrophin, which is crucial for myofiber integrity during muscle contraction. Our data show that three weeks after i.p. injection of SeC-MC significantly reduced adipose and fibrous tissue deposition, reduced macrophage infiltrate, and reduced numbers of damaged myofibers are found in muscles of 12-month-old mdx mice, which reproduce chronic DMD conditions. Compared with muscles of mock-treated mdx mice muscles of SeC-MC-treated mice show upregulation of the dystrophin paralogue, utrophin which is localized to the periphery of myofibers. Moreover, our data show that i.p. injection of SeC-MC into presymptomatic, 2-week-old mdx mice, although not fully preventing myofiber degeneration, results in protection against myofiber necrosis and muscle inflammation. Extensive discussion of these data can be found in Ref. [1].

Background Because there is no detailed description of procedures and perioperative management of major pulmonary resections in swine, we reviewed our experience to delineate the most effective practice in performing left pneumonectomy. Materials and methods Analysis of 11 consecutive left pneumonectomies. Animal data, operative reports, anesthesia records, and perioperative facts were evaluated. Follow-up information until postoperative day 60, methods of care-taking, therapy administration, and all the stabling aspects were systematically assessed. The investigation was aimed at highlighting those procedural steps or details which make the difference in optimizing the available resources (animals, instruments, and personnel). No statistical analysis was performed considering data characteristics and the descriptive nature of information. Results Surgery requires a median time of 2 h and 16 min; two operators and one anesthesiologist represent the basic team. Circulators' number depends on goals to accomplish. The most straightforward procedure requires careful dissection of the pulmonary ligament (limited view), pulmonary veins (low variability), pulmonary artery (delicate), and finally bronchus (no variability observed). The key factors for good anesthesia management have been identified: sedation by caregivers, preoxygenation before induction of general anesthesia, high respiratory rates with low tidal volume after pneumonectomy, and noninvasive ventilation after extubation. Antibiotic prophylaxis has been performed. Postoperative care must be continuous until animals are able to stand up, afterward “preventive noncurative,” and always animal friendly. Ideas for minimally stressful therapy administration are helpful. Conclusions After the delineation of this methodology, the compliance to a routine practice allowed us to reduce time, stress, and cost; quality and quantity of possible research increased.

Empathy may allow interindividual sharing not only of emotions (e.g., joy, sadness, disgust) but also of sensations (e.g., touch, itching, pain). Although empathy for pain may rely upon both sensory and affective components of the pain experience, neuroimaging studies indicate that only the affective component of the pain matrix is involved in empathy for pain. By using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we highlighted the sensorimotor side of empathy for pain by showing a clear motor inhibition during the mere observation of needles penetrating body parts of a human model. Here, we explored stimulus-specific and instruction-specific influences on this inhibition by manipulating task instructions (request to adopt first- or third-person perspective vs. passive observation) and painfulness of the experimental stimuli (presentation of videos of needles deeply penetrating or simply pinpricking a hand). We found a significant reduction in amplitudes of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) specific to the muscle the subjects observed being penetrated that correlated with the intensity of the pain attributed to the model. Crucially, this motor inhibition was present during observation of penetrating but not of pinpricking needles. Moreover, no MEPs modulation contingent upon different task instructions was found. Results suggest that the motor inhibition elicited by the observation of ‘flesh and bone’ pain stimuli is more stimulus-driven than instruction-driven.

a b s t r a c t Humans perceive continuous speech through interruptions or brief noise bursts cancelling entire phonemes. This robust phenomenon has been classically associated with mechanisms of perceptual restoration. In parallel, recent experimental evidence suggests that the motor system may actively par- ticipate in speech perception, even contributing to phoneme discrimination. In the present study we intended to verify if the motor system has a specific role in speech perceptual restoration as well. To this aim we recorded tongue corticospinal excitability during phoneme expectation induced by contextual information. Results showed that phoneme expectation determines an involvement of the individual's motor system specifically implicated in the production of the attended phoneme, exactly as it happens during actual listening of that phoneme, suggesting the presence of a speech imagery-like process. Very interestingly, this motoric phoneme expectation is also modulated by subtle coarticulation cues of which the listener is not consciously aware. Present data indicate that the rehearsal of a specific phoneme requires the contribution of the motor system exactly as it happens during the rehearsal of actions exe- cuted by the limbs, and that this process is abolished when an incongruent phonemic cue is presented, as similarly occurs during observation of anomalous hand actions. We propose that altogether these effects indicate that during speech listening an attentional-like mechanism driven by the motor system, based on a feed-forward anticipatory mechanism constantly verifying incoming information, is working allowing perceptual restoration. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Although questions may still remain regarding the use of this unique sedative-hypnotic drug with anesthetic properties in high-risk patients, our studies have provided cardiopulmonary and neurological evidence of the efficacy and safety of propofol when used as an anesthetic under normal and selected impaired conditions in the dog. 1. Propofol can be safely and effectively used for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia in normal healthy dogs. Propofol is also a reliable and safe anesthetic agent when used during induced cardiovascular and pulmonary-impaired conditions without surgery. The propofol requirements to induce the safe and prompt induction of anesthesia prior to inhalant anesthesia with and without surgery have been determined. 2. The favorable recovery profile associated with propofol offers advantages over traditional anesthetics in clinical situations in which rapid recovery is important. Also, propofol compatibility with a large variety of preanesthetics may increase its use as a safe and reliable i.v. anesthetic for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia and sedation in small animal veterinary practice. Although propofol has proven to be a valuable adjuvant during short ambulatory procedures, its use for the maintenance of general anesthesia has been questioned for surgery lasting more than 1 hour because of increased cost and marginal differences in recovery times compared with those of standard inhalant or balanced anesthetic techniques. When propofol is used for the maintenance of anesthesia in combination with a sedative/analgesic, the quality of anesthesia is improved as well as the ease with which the practitioner can titrate propofol; therefore, practitioners are able to use i.v. anesthetic techniques more effectively in their clinical practices. 3. Propofol can induce significant depression of respiratory function, characterized by a reduction in the rate of respiration. Potent alpha 2 sedative/analgesics (e.g., xylazine, medetomidine) or opioids (e.g., oxymorphone, butorphanol) increase the probability of respiratory depression during anesthesia. Appropriate consideration of dose reduction and speed of administration of propofol reduces the degree of depression. Cardiovascular changes induced by propofol administration consist of a slight decrease in arterial blood pressures (systolic, mean, diastolic) without a compensatory increase in heart rate. Selective premedicants markedly modify this characteristic response. 4. When coupled with subjective responses to painful stimuli, EEG responses during propofol anesthesia provide clear evidence that satisfactory anesthesia has been achieved in experimental dogs. When propofol is used as the only anesthetic agent, a higher dose is required to induce an equipotent level of CNS depression compared with the situation when dogs are premedicated. 5. The propofol induction dose requirement should be appropriately decreased by 20% to 80% when propofol is administered in combination with sedative or analgesic agents as part of a balanced technique as well as in elderly and debilitated patients. As a general recommendation, the dose of propofol should always be carefully titrated against the needs and responses of the individual patient, as there is considerable variability in anesthetic requirements among patients. Because propofol does not have marked analgesic effects and its metabolism is rapid, the use of local anesthetics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and opioids to provide postoperative analgesia improves the quality of recovery after propofol anesthesia. 6. The cardiovascular depressant effects of propofol are well tolerated in healthy animals, but these effects may be more problematic in high-risk patients with intrinsic cardiac disease as well as in those with systemic disease. In hypovolemic patients and those with limited cardiac reserve, even small induction doses of propofol (0.75-1.5 mg/kg i.v.) can produce profound hypotens

SUMMARY Propofol, administered as the sole anaesthetic agent, was evaluated when given alone and to dogs premed-icated with acepromazine or medetomidine. Both preanaesthetic agents reduced the dose of propofol required for induction of anaesthesia. Medetomidine significantly reduced the dose of propofol required for the maintenance of anaesthesia for a 30-minute period. An equivalent depth of anaesthesia was established in each protocol as judged by lack of response to mechanical noxious stimuli and total amplitude reduction of brain wave activity. Differences in physiological responses between propofol and acepromazine/propofol were not significant. The dogs in the medetomidine/propofol group had a significantly higher blood pressure and longer duration of anaesthesia and recovery. Oxygen saturation was maintained above 90% by the administration of supplemental oxygen. The study demonstrated the comparative responses to a biologically equivalent depth of anaesthesia, as confirmed by brain wave analysis, using three different techniques using propofol.

Corrigendum Corrigendum to “Stimulus-driven modulation of motor-evoked potentials during observation of others' pain” [NeuroImage 32 (2006) 316–324] Alessio Avenanti, Ilaria Minio-Paluello, Ilaria Bufalari, Salvatore M. Aglioti ⁎ Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Via dei Marsi 78, I-00185 Rome, Italy Centro Ricerche Neuropsicologia, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, I-00179 Rome, Italy

WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY described a method for fabrication of alginate/polyaminoacidic CM. Thereafter, we completed assessment of either morphological properties of structural as well as ultrastructural level, or in vitro immunoselectivity, or in vivo post-transplant (Tx) functional performance in diabetic rodents of these new biomembranes for islet Tx immunoprotection in full absence of the recipient’s pharmacological immunosuppression. Because CM, unlike conventional-size microcapsules (CSM), measuring an average 600 to 800 mm in equatorial diameter, hold the unique advantage of occupying a volume which is almost coincident with that of naked islets, these new microimmunobarriers could address a number of unsolved problems with regard to encapsulated islet cell Tx in diabetic large mammalians. One of the most formidable hurdles to this approach for the therapy of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus has consisted of inadequacy of implant sites for encapsulated islets. Because of the final excessive CSM’s Tx size, these capsules had been only implanted in the peritoneal cavity. Unfortunately, even if highly biocompatible, intraperitoneally grafted, islet-containing microcapsules had often provoked severe, possibly mass-related (60 to 80 mL/diabetic dog) inflammatory cell reaction. Dense connective tissue infiltration invariably resulted in impairment of biochemical exchange, ultimately leading to Tx failure. After testing the new CM in either in vitro functional and immunological or in vivo rodent diabetes-correction studies, we had embarked on assessment of CM biocompatibility, after multiple-site transplantation into adult pigs. Preliminarily, we have shown that empty CM, per se, indeed were biocompatible in this large-size mammal animal model, with a very low degree of sensitization being induced by repeated CM-Tx booster. In an attempt to determine whether CM, because of their minimal size, would permit access to Tx sites so far interdicted to CSM, including parenchymatous organs, with full retention of the encapsulated allogeneic/xenogeneic islet cell viability, we have transplanted porcine or canine islet containing CM into multiple Tx sites, and examined them histologically, at 30 days post-Tx, in normal, adult pigs. MATERIALS AND METHODS Animals