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We aimed to examine acute trauma outcomes, specifically among those with neurotrauma (NT), in patients with preexisting cerebrovascular accident (CVA). We identified patients treated for neurotrauma or orthopedic trauma at hospitals in Pennsylvania with and without an identified history of stroke with residual deficits, aged 50–99 across four groups of N = 11,648 each. We assessed mortality, craniotomy, and total hospital, ICU, step-down, and ventilator days, functional status at discharge (FSD), and discharge destination. Stroke history did not influence mortality but was predictive of patients undergoing craniotomy (OR = 1.25, p = 0.008). There was a moderate group effect on total ICU days, with the CVA+NT group in the ICU the longest (η2 = 0.10, p < 0.001). Patients with stroke history were less likely to be discharged to home (OR = 0.65, p < 0.001) and had poorer FSD scores across the various domains assessed. Trauma patients with preexisting CVA were found to have poorer outcomes on a number of different metrics when compared to those without stroke history. While it is possible that functional differences pre-injury influenced FSD and discharge destination, given these results, clinicians should assess for possible comorbidities that may influence treatment.

Odor perception can both evoke emotional states and be shaped by emotional or hedonic states. The amygdala complex plays an important role in recognition of, and response to, hedonically valenced stimuli, and has strong, reciprocal connectivity with the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex. Here, we used differential odor-threat conditioning in rats to test the role of basolateral amygdala (BLA) input to the piriform cortex in acquisition and expression of learned olfactory threat responses. Using local field potential recordings, we demonstrated that functional connectivity (high gamma band coherence) between the BLA and posterior piriform cortex (pPCX) is enhanced after differential threat conditioning. Optogenetic suppression of activity within the BLA prevents learned threat acquisition, as do lesions of the pPCX prior to threat conditioning (without inducing anosmia), suggesting that both regions are critical for acquisition of learned odor threat responses. However, optogenetic BLA suppression during testing did not impair threat response to the CS+ , but did induce generalization to the CS−. A similar loss of stimulus control and threat generalization was induced by selective optogenetic suppression of BLA input to pPCX. These results suggest an important role for amygdala-sensory cortical connectivity in shaping responses to threatening stimuli.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between depression and cognition, genetic risk, and hippocampal differences in a sample of older adults with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHOD Participants were 85 males and 35 females (91 Caucasian, 29 African-American) with a mean age of 65.04 (±8.27) years and a history of moderate, severe, or complicated mild TBI. Participants were an average of 9.33 (±7.27) years post injury (range: 0.78-45.63). Participants underwent genetic testing, a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, surveys, and a subset underwent MRI scanning. RESULTS Apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 carrier status predicted clinically significant depressive symptomatology on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) with an odds ratio of 3.63, 95% CI [1.33, 9.29]. GDS was not associated with scores on measures of executive function, list learning recall, or retention. Although GDS score was initially associated with poorer confrontation naming scores and story memory recall, these effect sizes were small, and this variance was better accounted for by age and cognitive reserve. Higher GDS scores were also associated with decreased hippocampal volume. CONCLUSIONS APOE carrier status was predictive of depression in a sample of older adults with a history of TBI. Depressive symptoms were also associated with decreased hippocampal volume but did not predict cognitive deficits in the examined domains beyond the effects of cognitive reserve. Despite the relationship between GDS and biological risks for decline, depressive symptoms in this population showed no direct relationship with cognitive decline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

In this direct replication of Mueller and Oppenheimer’s (2014) Study 1, participants watched a lecture while taking notes with a laptop ( n = 74) or longhand ( n = 68). After a brief distraction and without the opportunity to study, they took a quiz. As in the original study, laptop participants took notes containing more words spoken verbatim by the lecturer and more words overall than did longhand participants. However, laptop participants did not perform better than longhand participants on the quiz. Exploratory meta-analyses of eight similar studies echoed this pattern. In addition, in both the original study and our replication, higher word count was associated with better quiz performance, and higher verbatim overlap was associated with worse quiz performance, but the latter finding was not robust in our replication. Overall, results do not support the idea that longhand note taking improves immediate learning via better encoding of information.

International audience; Most odors are not composed of a single volatile chemical species, but rather are mixtures of many different volatile molecules, the perception of which is dependent on the identity and relative concentrations of the components. Changing either the identity or ratio of components can lead to shifts between configural and elemental perception of the mixture. For example, a 30/70 ratio of ethyl isobutyrate (odorant A, a strawberry scent) and ethyl maltol (odorant B, a caramel scent) is perceived as pineapple by humans-a configural percept distinct from the components. In contrast, a 68/32 ratio of the same odorants is perceived elementally, and is identified as the component odors. Here, we examined single-unit responses in the anterior and posterior piriform cortex (aPCX and pPCX) of mice to these A and B mixtures. We first demonstrate that mouse behavior is consistent with a configural/elemental perceptual shift as concentration ratio varies. We then compared responses to the configural mixture to those evoked by the elemental mixture, as well as to the individual components. Hierarchical cluster analyses suggest that in the mouse aPCX, the configural mixture was coded as distinct from both components, while the elemental mixture was coded as similar to the components. In contrast, mixture perception did not predict pPCX ensemble coding. Similar electrophysiological results were also observed in rats. The results suggest similar perceptual characteristics of the AB mixture across species, and a division in the roles of aPCX and pPCX in the coding of configural and elemental odor mixtures.