Biology subjects

Carlson, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Carlson, E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Trait empathy modulates music-related functional connectivity.

It has been well established through behavioural studies that empathy significantly influences music perception. Such individual differences typically manifest as variability in whole brain functional connectivity patterns. To date, nobody has examined the modulatory effect of empathy on functional connectivity patterns during continuous music listening. In the present study, we seek to investigate the global and local connectivity patterns of 36 participants whose fMRI scanning was done by employing the naturalistic paradigm wherein they listened to a continuous piece of music. We used graph-based measures of functional connectivity to identify how cognitive and affective components of empathy modulate functional connectivity. Partial correlation between Eigenvector centrality and measures of empathy showed that cognitive empathy is associated with higher centrality in the sensorimotor regions responsible for motor mimicry while affective empathy showed higher centrality in regions related to auditory affect processing. We furthermore identified a left-hemispheric dominance in the modulatory effect of affective empathy particularly in the Orbitofrontal cortex and the temporal pole. Results are discussed in relation to various theoretical models of empathy and music cognition.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Varenicline Prevents SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro and in Rhesus Macaques

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 infections have resulted in a global pandemic, but an antiviral therapy for this novel strain of coronavirus does not currently exist. The objective of our study was to investigate the antiviral potential of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nACHR) agonist varenicline tartrate against SARS-CoV-2. MethodsWe assessed antiviral activity using in vitro human cell assays and we assessed in vivo efficacy in a rhesus macaque model. ResultsIn vitro studies found that varenicline tartrate, over a range of concentrations, reduced the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 wildtype, alpha, and beta variants in Calu-3 cells and Caco-2 cells, with maintenance of cell viability. In vivo studies found that varenicline tartrate, administered as a nasal spray to rhesus macaques, reduced SARS-CoV-2 wildtype viral load and inhibited viral replication in the nasal mucosa and upper airway. ConclusionAlthough the study reported here was exploratory, we have confirmed that the nAChR agonist varenicline has the potential to interact with and inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2020

CSPα reduces aggregates and rescues striatal dopamine release in αsynuclein transgenic mice

Synuclein aggregation at the synapse is an early event in Parkinsons disease and is associated with impaired striatal synaptic function and dopaminergic neuronal death. The cysteine string protein (CSP) and synuclein have partially overlapping roles in maintaining synaptic function and mutations in each cause neurodegenerative diseases. CSP is a member of the DNAJ/HSP40 family of co-chaperones and like synuclein, chaperones the SNARE complex assembly and neurotransmitter release. Synuclein can rescue neurodegeneration in CSPKO mice. However, whether synuclein aggregation alters CSP expression and function is unknown. Here we show that synuclein aggregation at the synapse induces a decrease in synaptic CSP and a reduction in the complexes that CSP forms with HSC70 and STGa. We further show that viral delivery of CSP rescues in vitro the impaired vesicle recycling in PC12 cells with synuclein aggregates and in vivo reduces synaptic synuclein aggregates restoring normal dopamine release in 1-120hsyn mice. These novel findings reveal a mechanism by which synuclein aggregation alters CSP at the synapse, and show that CSP rescues synuclein aggregation-related phenotype in 1-120hsyn mice similar to the effect of synuclein in CSPKO mice. These results implicate CSP as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of early-stage PD.

neuroscience↗