Situating language in a minimal social context: how seeing a picture of the speaker’s face affects language comprehension

Natural use of language involves at least two individuals. Some studies have focused on the interaction between senders in communicative situations and how the knowledge about the speaker can bias language comprehension. However, the mere effect of a face as a social context on language processing remains unknown. In the present study, we used event-related potentials to investigate the semantic and morphosyntactic processing of speech in the presence of a photographic portrait of the speaker. In Experiment 1, we show that the N400, a component related to semantic comprehension, increased its amplitude when processed within this minimal social context compared to a scrambled face control condition. Hence, the semantic neural processing of speech is sensitive to the concomitant perception of a picture of the speaker’s face, even if irrelevant to the content of the sentences. Moreover, a late posterior negativity effect was found to the presentation of the speaker’s face compared to control stimuli. In contrast, in Experiment 2, we found that morphosyntactic processing, as reflected in left anterior negativity and P600 effects, is not notably affected by the presence of the speaker’s portrait. Overall, the present findings suggest that the mere presence of the speaker’s image seems to trigger a minimal communicative context, increasing processing resources for language comprehension at the semantic level.     

Secretory products from human adipocytes impair endothelial function via nuclear factor kappaB

Hyperplasia and hypertrophy of fat cells can be found in obesity, and increased adiposity is associated with endothelial dysfunction as an early event of atherosclerosis. However, it is unclear whether human adipocytes directly influence endothelial function. To study the crosstalk between fat and endothelial cells, human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs), and human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were cultured in infranatants (Adipo) of primary differentiated human adipocytes. Interestingly, incubation of HUVECs and HCAECs with Adipo significantly increased monocyte adhesion 7.3 and 2.2-fold, respectively. VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and E-selectin in HUVECs were upregulated 3.9, 3.0, and 9.5-fold, respectively, under these conditions. Furthermore, Adipo significantly stimulated NFkappaB activity 1.9-fold. The NFkappaB inhibitor MG-132 and heat inactivation significantly reversed Adipo-stimulated monocyte adhesion. TNFalpha-neutralizing antibodies partly reversed Adipo-induced monocyte adhesion. In contrast, thiazolidinedione-pretreatment of human adipocytes did not alter the effects of Adipo. Adipo did not show cytotoxic effects. Taken together, we demonstrate that endothelial dysfunction is induced by adipocyte-secreted factors via NFkappaB partly dependent on TNFalpha.     

Opioide bei chronischem Arthroseschmerz

Background

The efficacy, tolerability and safety of opioid therapy in chronic osteoarthritis (OA) pain is under debate. We updated a Cochrane systematic review on the efficacy and safety of opioids in chronic OA pain published in 2009.

Methods

We screened MEDLINE, Scopus and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) up until October 2013, as well as reference sections of original studies and systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of opioids in chronic osteoarthritis (OA) pain. We included double-blind randomized placebo-controlled studies lasting ≥?4 weeks. Using a random effects model, absolute risk differences (RD) were calculated for categorical data and standardized mean differences (SMD) for continuous variables.

Results

We included 20 RCTs with 33 treatment arms and 8545 participants. Median study duration was 12 (4–24) weeks. Oxycodone and tramadol were each tested in six studies; buprenorphine, hydromorphone, morphine and tapentadol each in two studies and codeine, fentanyl and oxymorphone in one study each. Results are reported with 95?% confidence intervals (CIs). Opioids were superior to placebo in reducing pain intensity (SMD ??0.22 [??0.28, ??0.17], p?<?0.00001; 16 studies with 6743 participants). Opioids were not superior to placebo in 50?% pain reduction (RD ??0.00 [??0.07, 0.07], p?=?0.96; two studies with 2684 participants). Opioids were superior to placebo in terms of reports of much or very much global improvement (RD 0.13 [0.05, 0.21], p?=?0.002; three studies with 2251 participants). Opioids were superior to placebo in improving physical functioning (SMD ??0.22 [??0.28, ??0.17], p?<?0.00001; 14 studies with 5887 participants). Patients dropped out more frequently with opioids than with placebo (RD 0.17 [0.14, 0.21], p?<?0.00001; 15 studies with 6834 participants; number needed to harm 5 [4–6]. There was no significant difference between opioids and placebo in the frequency of serious adverse events (SAE) or deaths over the respective observation periods.

Conclusion

Opioids were superior to placebo in terms of efficacy and inferior in terms of tolerability. The effect sizes of average reduction in pain intensity and physical disability were small. Opioids and placebo did not differ in terms of safety. The conclusion on the safety of opioids compared to placebo is limited by the low number of SAE and deaths. Short-term opioid therapy may be considered in selected chronic OA pain patients. No current evidence-based guideline recommends opioids as first-line treatment option for chronic OA pain. To provide superior evidence for future treatment guidelines, RCTs must directly compare existing pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies and administer these in various combinations and sequences.The English full-text version of this article is freely available at SpringerLink (under “Supplemental”).

     

Motivation for and adherence to growth hormone replacement therapy in adults with hypopituitarism: the patients‘ perspective

Pituitary - While reasons for non-adherence in children requiring growth hormone (GH) replacement (GH-Rx) are well researched, few studies have investigated adherence in adult GH deficient...     

Prenatal exposure to PCBs in Cyp1a2 knock‐out mice interferes with F1 fertility,impairs long‐term potentiation,reduces acoustic startle and impairs conditioned freezing contextual memory with minimal transgenerational effects

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are toxic environmental pollutants. Humans are exposed to PCB mixtures via contaminated food or water. PCB exposure causes adverse effects in adults and after exposure in utero. PCB toxicity depends on the congener mixture and CYP1A2 gene activity. For coplanar PCBs, toxicity depends on ligand affinity for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). Previously, we found that perinatal exposure of mice to a three‐coplanar/five‐noncoplanar PCB mixture induced deficits in novel object recognition and trial failures in the Morris water maze in Cyp1a2^?/?::Ahr^b1 C57BL6/J mice compared with wild‐type mice (Ahr^b1 = high AHR affinity). Here we exposed gravid Cyp1a2^?/?::Ahr^b1 mice to a PCB mixture on embryonic day 10.5 by gavage and examined the F₁ and F₃ offspring (not F₂). PCB‐exposed F₁ mice exhibited increased open‐field central time, reduced acoustic startle, greater conditioned contextual freezing and reduced CA1 hippocampal long‐term potentiation with no change in spatial learning or memory. F₁ mice also had inhibited growth, decreased heart rate and cardiac output, and impaired fertility. F₃ mice showed few effects. Gene expression changes were primarily in F₁ PCB males compared with wild‐type males. There were minimal RNA and DNA methylation changes in the hippocampus from F₁ to F₃ with no clear relevance to the functional effects. F₀ PCB exposure during a period of rapid DNA de‐/remethylation in a susceptible genotype produced clear F₁ effects with little evidence of transgenerational effects in the F₃ generation. While PCBs show clear developmental neurotoxicity, their effects do not persist across generations for effects assessed herein.