2,152 research outputs found
Different patterns of white matter and immunological alterations in the various phases of bipolar disorder
No full textBipolar disorder (BD) is a prevalent recurrent and chronic mental disease, clinically characterized by
the occurrence of active phases of illness, mania and depression, alternated to asymptomatic periods
of euthymia. Considering the complex clinical presentation of BD, our work aimed to investigate the
neurobiological underpinning of the various phases of BD separately in order to detect their specific
abnormalities, thus helping clarifying the pathophysiology of this disorder.
Firstly, we investigated potential abnormalities of brain white matter (WM) in BD by using the
diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique. By using a tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) voxel-wise
approach, we found a widespread alteration in WM microstructure (as evidenced by a decrease in
fractional anisotropy (FA) and increase in mean diffusivity (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD)
parameters) in BD, showing distinct patterns of changes in the different phases of illness. In
particular, such WM abnormalities were larger in the active phases of illness (i.e., depression and
mania) with respect to euthymia. Then, by using a probabilistic tractography, we coherently detected
a reduction in the structural connectivity of the cingulum in mania.
Secondly, we explored potential factors associated with the observed pattern of WM alterations of
BD, by conducting a combined immunological-DTI study on an independent BD sample. By using a
TBSS approach, we found a widespread combined FA-RD alteration mainly in the manic phase, with
relatively specific involvement of the body of corpus callosum (BCC) and superior corona radiata
(SCR). Then, by using flow cytometry, we detected peripheral immunological alterations in the manic
phase, mainly characterized by an increase in CD4+ T cells as well as a decrease in total CD8+ T
cells and their subpopulations effector memory (CD8+CD28-CD45RA-), terminal effector memory
(CD8+CD28-CD45RA+) and CD8+IFNγ+. Finally, an association between WM and immunological
alterations was found in the whole cohort, and a correlation of FA-RD alterations in the BCC and
SCR with reduced CD8+ terminal effector memory and CD8+IFNγ+ T cells was detected in mania.
Finally, we conducted a longitudinal study, collecting both DTI and bio-humoral follow-up data of
our sample and investigating WM and immunological alterations in BD patients across their different
phases of illness. The results preliminarily confirmed our previous findings in a longitudinal
perspective, by showing increased FA/decreased RD in midline structures complemented by an
increase in the circulating activated CD8+ T cell subsets, in BD patients passing from active phases
to euthymia.
Collectively, these findings suggest a new pathophysiological model of mania. Accordingly, an acute
immune response may occur in mania, sustained by early generated CD4+ T cell compartment (likely
with T helper function), leading to activation of CD8+ effector T cell subpopulations that leave the
circulation to migrate into the brain, where exert their cytotoxic action, finally leading to WM
damage. Our model thus supports a relationship between BD and immune-inflammatory neurological
diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Moreover, our results suggest a prominent role of mania in BD
and, interestingly, seem to be in accordance with the “primacy of mania” hypothesis, where mania is
described as the fire of BD and seen as the core of the pathophysiology of the illness. Finally, our
data suggest a potential role for immunotherapy as an important future aid in the treatment of BD
Filologia editoriale, Roberto Calasso in dialogo con Paola Italia e Francisco Rico
No full textPaola Italia e Francisco Rico intervengono sul libro di Roberto Calasso, presidente e fondatore di Adelphi Edizioni, L'impronta dell'editore, e discutono di problemi di filologia delle forme editoriali, dal punto di vista dell'autore, del lettore e dell'editore.Paola Italia and Francisco Ricos interview Roberto Calasso, Publisher, Writer, and Founder of Adelphi Edizioni, about his book: L'impronta dell'editore, talking about philology, publishing and editing, from the author, the reader and the publisher's point of view
Paola Gianturco: Women Who Light the Dark
No full textPaola Gianturco is a photographer, author, and advocate for women\u27s rights world-wide. For the past thirteen years, she has worked as a photojournalist, documenting women’s lives in forty countries. She has published four acclaimed photo books which bring together inspiring stories with gorgeous photographs to motivate her readers to engage with, learn from and support women around the world. All of Gianturco’s books are philanthropic projects, for which she donates her royalties to carefully selected nonprofit organizations that relate to each book\u27s content. Paola\u27s most recent book, Women Who Light the Dark, tells the story of local women around the world who are helping one another tackle the problems that darken their lives—including violence, poverty, illiteracy and disease. Gianturco is giving 100% of her author royalties for this book to The Global Fund for Women.https://thekeep.eiu.edu/humanitiescenter_meaningfulwork1011/1002/thumbnail.jp
«Yo soy de Destierrolandia»: Fernando Arrabal y el límite
No full textFernando Arrabal is a Spanish author - actually, no, he isn't. He is a francophone writer, or, more accurately, a Spanish expatriate. Or, on the contrary, he is a traitor, an «afrancesado». In this paper Fernando Arrabal's case will be used as an example of the difficulties that an author has to face when he leaves his own country and moves to another different from a spatial, cultural, and linguistic point of view. Besides, I will analyze the unusual position of the critic in the reception and interpretation of a corpus that, while being obviously connected to its author, cannot refer to a precise national context
Opposing Changes in the Functional Architecture of Large-Scale Networks in Bipolar Mania and Depression
No full textManic and depressive phases of bipolar disorder (BD) show opposite symptoms in psychomotor, thought, and affective dimensions. Neuronally, these may depend on distinct patterns of alterations in the functional architecture of brain intrinsic activity. Therefore, the study aimed to characterize the spatial and temporal changes of resting-state activity in mania and depression, by investigating the regional homogeneity (ReHo) and degree of centrality (DC), in different frequency bands
Introduzione, a Mario Tobino, Il Clandestino
No full textL'introduzione presenta il libro più ambizioso di Mario Tobino, Il Clandestino, dedicato al racconto della sua esperienza con i gruppi clandestini della Resistenza Viareggina, libro con cui l'autore vinse il Premio Strega, nel 1962, imponendosi all'attenzione del grande pubblico dopo il successo dei libri manicomiali. Una nuova edizione in cui Paola Italia valorizza i materiali inediti dell'Archivio Tobino conservato presso l'Archivio Contemporaneo A. Bonsanti del Gabinetto GP Vieusseux di Firenze,Paola Italia presents an Introduction to the new edtion of Il Clandestino, the most ambitious of Mario Tobino's novels, dedicated to the story of his experience with the groups of the Tuscan Resistance when he was a psichiatric doctor ar Lucca. With this book the author won the Strega Prize, in 1962, attracting the attention of a wide public after the success of his psichiatric books. A new edition where Paola Italia enhances the unpublished material of Tobino Archive preserved in A. Bonsanti Contemporary Archive of G.P. Vieusseux Cabinet of Florence
BASSANI E FERRARA
No full textNel decimo numero della rivista di Georgetown University dedicato al rapporto tra gli autori del Novecento e le più importanti città d'Italia, Paola Italia si occupa del rapporto tra Giorgio Bassani e Ferrara, città a cui l'autore dedica tutta la sua opera narrativa e che diventa un vero e proprio personaggio letterario. In particolare, grazie al lavoro compiuto durante la curatela del Meridiano dedicato a Giorgio Bassani, pubblicato nel 1998, Paola Italia mette in risalto il ruolo della città natale nel rapporto con il primo abbozzo del "Giardino dei Finzi Contini", intitolato "Primo appunto" e pubblicato sul "Caffè" sette anni prima della versione a stampa del celebre romanzo. Abbozzo in cui si chiarisce, nel diaframma dantesco, la sostanza simbolica della narrazione bassaniana e la sua rappresentazione di Ferrara.In the tenth issue of the journal of Georgetown University dedicated to the relationship between the authors of the twentieth century and the most important cities in Italy, Italian Paola deals with the relationship between Giorgio Bassani and Ferrara, a city to which the author devotes all her fiction and that becomes a real literary character. In particular, thanks to the work done during the curatorship of the Meridian dedicated to Giorgio Bassani, published in 1998, Paola Italian emphasizes the role of the town in the relationship with the first draft of "" The Garden of the Finzi Contini "," titled "" First note the "" and published in the "" Coffee "" seven years before the print version of the famous novel. Sketch in which it is specified in the diaphragm Dante, the symbolic substance of the narrative bassaniana and its representation in Ferrara
Il gioco complesso dei modelli: l'ecl. 10 di Virgilio tra Teocrito e Gallo
No full textThe complex game of the models : Virgil’s 10th Eclogue between Theocrit and Gallus – The structure of Virgil’s ecl. 10 is openly and purposely founded on its two models, Theocritean bucolic and Gallan elegy ; constantly comparing them and referring to them with allusions and quotations, the author reflects on the sense of poetry and on its relationship with the reader.La struttura dell’ecl. 10 di Virgilio appare chiaramente e volutamente basata sui suoi due modelli, la bucolica teocritea e l’elegia galliana : ponendoli continuamente a confronto e richiamandole con allusioni e citazioni, il poeta riflette sul senso della poesia e sul suo rapporto con il lettore.Gagliardi Paola. Il gioco complesso dei modelli : l’ecl. 10 di Virgilio tra Teocrito e Gallo. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 82, 2013. pp. 29-43
Opioidergic System and Functional Architecture of Intrinsic Brain Activity: Implications for Psychiatric Disorders
No full textThe opioidergic system and intrinsic brain activity, as organized in large-scale networks such as the salience network (SN), sensorimotor network (SMN), and default-mode network (DMN), play core roles in healthy behavior and psychiatric disorders. This work aimed to investigate how opioidergic signaling affects intrinsic brain activity in healthy individuals by reviewing relevant neuroanatomical, molecular, functional, and pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging studies in order to clarify their physiological links and changes in psychiatric disorders. The SN shows dense opioidergic innervations of subcortical structures and high expression levels of opioid receptors in subcortical-cortical areas, with enhanced or reduced activity with low or very high doses of opioids, respectively. The SMN shows high levels of opioid receptors in subcortical areas and functional disconnection caused by opioids. The DMN shows low levels of opioid receptors in cortical areas and inhibited or enhanced activity with low or high doses of opioids, respectively. Finally, we proposed a working model. Opioidergic signaling enhances SN and suppresses SMN (and DMN) activity, resulting in affective excitation with psychomotor inhibition; stronger increases in opioidergic signaling attenuate the SN and SMN while disinhibiting the DMN, dissociating affective and psychomotor functions from the internal states; the opposite occurs with a deficit of opioidergic signaling
Microstructural white‐matter abnormalities and their relationship with cognitive dysfunction in obsessive–compulsive disorder
No full textBackground: In recent years, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have detected subtle microstructural abnormalities of white matter (WM) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, findings have been inconsistent, and it is unclear whether WM abnormalities are related to cognitive processes. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of WM alterations with cognitive variables in OCD in order to investigate the structural correlates of behaviorally relevant features of the disorder. Methods: We compared DTI-derived fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) measures between OCD patients (n = 16) and healthy controls (n = 18) using a whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) approach. We also explored the correlations of WM alterations with clinical and cognitive variables. Results: Patients with OCD demonstrated increases in MD in the bilateral posterior corona radiata; left anterior corona radiata; bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus; genu, body, and splenium of the corpus callosum; and left posterior limb of the internal capsule. An increase in RD values was also found in some of the same tracts (right posterior corona radiata, right superior longitudinal fasciculus, left anterior corona radiata, and corpus callosum). Furthermore, increased MD value in the internal capsule was correlated with the percentage of errors made during a target detection task, which was greater in the OCD group overall. Conclusions: These findings indicate that OCD patients show greater diffusivity in several white-matter regions. The correlation between cognitive performance and diffusivity in the internal capsule suggests that microstructural WM alternations may have functional consequences for the disorder
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