Behavioural Neurology
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Acceptance rate16%
Submission to final decision113 days
Acceptance to publication21 days
CiteScore4.800
Journal Citation Indicator0.690
Impact Factor3.112

Cucurbita maxima Seeds Reduce Anxiety and Depression and Improve Memory

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Behavioural Neurology provides a platform for researchers and clinicians working in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, and neuropsychiatry.

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Review Article

Acupuncture in the Treatment of Abnormal Muscle Tone in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Meta-Analysis

Objective. To analyse the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and routine treatment in improving dystonia in children with cerebral palsy. Method. The randomized controlled trials published from the establishment of the databases to August 2022 on acupuncture in the treatment of dystonia in children with cerebral palsy were collected and comprehensively searched in China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), weipu (VIP), Wanfang, SinoMed, PubMed, Excerpta medica database (EMBASE), and Cochrane Library. The literature was selected according to the established standards, the quality of the included studies was evaluated, the heterogeneity of the included studies was evaluated with the I2 test, and the appropriate model was selected for analysis. Sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the reliability of the results, and a funnel plot was used to evaluate the publication bias. Results. Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. The control group was treated with routine treatment and acupuncture combined with routine treatment. The outcome index showed that the effect in the treatment group was better: Modified Ashworth Scale score: −0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) (−0.62 to −0.41), . The treatment group showed reduced muscle tension to a greater extent (integral eletromyographic (iEMG) score: standard mean square deviation = −2.97, 95% CI (−4.87 to −1.06), ). The effective rate in the control group was 74.2% and that in the treatment group was 91.5%, odds ratio = 3.70, 95% CI (2.02–6.78), . The funnel plot showed publication bias. Conclusion. Acupuncture combined with routine training could improve muscle tension abnormalities and improve the efficiency of clinical treatment.

Research Article

Attenuation of Strychnine-Induced Epilepsy Employing Amaranthus viridis L. Leaves Extract in Experimental Rats

Objective. Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological illnesses defined by periodic seizures with or without loss of consciousness caused by aberrant neural activity. There are many allopathic medications available for the treatment of epilepsy such as phenytoin (PHY), but the side effects are a major concern. Therefore, the present study involved the evaluation of the pharmacological significance of Amaranthus viridis L. extract (EAV) in the management of strychnine (STR)-induced epilepsy. Method. STR (3.5 mg/kg, i.p.) was injected into male rats 30 minutes after the pre-treatment of a standard drug (PHY: 20 mg/kg) and the two doses of EAV (EAV-200 and EAV-400 mg/kg, p.o.) to the respective groups to cause the convulsions. The anti-convulsant effect of EAV-200 and EAV-400 against STR-induced convulsion in rats was investigated in terms of convulsion onset, duration of convulsions, number of convulsions, and convulsion score. Furthermore, the mitochondrial function and integrity in the brain’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) were also estimated. Results. EAV-400 significantly increased the onset of convulsion from to and reduced the STR-induced duration of convulsions from to , number of convulsions from to , and convulsion score from to in rats. EAV-400 significantly attenuated the STR-induced decrease in the mitochondrial function and integrity of the rat PFC. In rats, EAV-400 significantly accelerated the onset of convulsions while decreasing the STR-induced duration, frequency, and score. Conclusion. Based on investigational findings, EAV-400 could be inferred to be a possible anti-epileptic option for the treatment of epilepsy of this plan in preclinical research.

Research Article

Naringin Protects against Tau Hyperphosphorylation in Aβ25–35-Injured PC12 Cells through Modulation of ER, PI3K/AKT, and GSK-3β Signaling Pathways

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and a significant social and economic burden. Estrogens can exert neuroprotective effects and may contribute to the prevention, attenuation, or even delay in the onset of AD; however, long-term estrogen therapy is associated with harmful side effects. Thus, estrogen alternatives are of interest for countering AD. Naringin, a phytoestrogen, is a key active ingredient in the traditional Chinese medicine Drynaria. Naringin is known to protect against nerve injury induced by amyloid beta-protein (Aβ) 25–35, but the underlying mechanisms of this protection are unclear. To investigate the mechanisms of naringin neuroprotection, we observed the protective effect on Aβ25–35-injured C57BL/6J mice’s learning and memory ability and hippocampal neurons. Then, an Aβ25–35 injury model was established with adrenal phaeochromocytoma (PC12) cells. We examined the effect of naringin treatment on Aβ25–35-injured PC12 cells and its relationship with estrogen receptor (ER), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT), and glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β signaling pathways. Estradiol (E2) was used as a positive control for neuroprotection. Naringin treatment resulted in improved learning and memory ability, the morphology of hippocampal neurons, increased cell viability, and reduced apoptosis. We next examined the expression of ERβ, p-AKT (Ser473, Thr308), AKT, p-GSK-3β (Ser9), GSK-3β, p-Tau (Thr231, Ser396), and Tau in PC12 cells treated with Aβ25–35 and either naringin or E2, with and without inhibitors of the ER, PI3K/AKT, and GSK-3β pathways. Our results demonstrated that naringin inhibits Aβ25–35-induced Tau hyperphosphorylation by modulating the ER, PI3K/AKT, and GSK-3β signaling pathways. Furthermore, the neuroprotective effects of naringin were comparable to those of E2 in all treatment groups. Thus, our results have furthered our understanding of naringin’s neuroprotective mechanisms and indicate that naringin may comprise a viable alternative to estrogen therapy.

Review Article

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinically Relevant Executive Functions Tests Performance after COVID-19

It is widely known that COVID-19 has a number of prolonged effects on general health, wellbeing, and cognitive functioning. However, studies using differentiated performance measures of cognitive functions are still not widely spread making it hard to assess the exact functions that get impaired. Taking into account the similarities between post-COVID ‘brain fog’ and chemofog, we hypothesized that executive functions (EF) would be impaired. Literature search yielded six studies with 14 effect sizes of interest; pooled effect size was small to medium (). Combined with a narrative synthesis of six studies without a comparison group, these results show that EF get impaired after COVID-19; although, in most cases the impairment is transient and does not seem to be severe. These results specify the picture of ‘brain fog’ and may help to discover its mechanisms and ways of helping people with long COVID.

Research Article

Cognitive Functioning in Adults with Phenylketonuria in a Cohort of Spanish Patients

The early introduction of a low phenylalanine (Phe) diet has been demonstrated to be the most successful treatment in subjects with phenylketonuria (PKU), especially for preventing severe cognitive and neurological damages. However, it still concerns that even if treated in the first months of life with supplements and following a diet, they can show slight scores below people without PKU in neuropsychological assignments. We investigated 20 adults with classical PKU aged 19–48 years (mean age 29 years) and 20 heathy controls matched by age, gender, and years of education. Patients and controls were assessed with an extended neuropsychological battery, as well as psychological aspects and quality of life, also the last Phe level result was obtained. Results showed that the most affected cognitive domains are processing speed, executive functioning, memory, and also theory of mind, but very well-preserved verbal fluency, language, and visuospatial functioning. In quality of life, some significant results were seen specially in anxiety of Phe levels, anxiety of Phe levels during pregnancy, guilt if poor adherence to supplements, and if dietary protein restriction not followed. No significant results were obtained for the psychological variables. In conclusion, it has been shown that a combination of a low Phe diet, supplement intake, and keeping Phe levels in a low range seems appropriate to have the most normal and alike cognitive performance to persons without PKU.

Research Article

Long Non-coding RNA KTN1-AS1 Targets miR-505 to Promote Glioblastoma Progression

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly malignant cancer, the prognosis of which is pretty poor. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs, which play important roles in carcinogenesis process of many cancers including GBM. In this study, we want to clarify the expression, biological function, and molecular mechanism of lncRNA KTN1 antisense RNA 1 (KTN1-AS1) in GBM tumor progression. We found that KTN1-AS1 expression was upregulated in GBM tissues and cell lines. KTN1-AS1 played oncogenic roles to facilitate proliferation, migration, and invasion of GBM cells. Then, we revealed that miR-505 was a target of KTN1-AS1, and its expression was decreased in GBM. KTN1-AS1 contributed to GBM progression by mediating miR-505. Finally, we demonstrated that KTN1-AS1 upregulated some target oncogenes of miR-505 including ZEB2, HMGB1, and RUNX2 in GBM cells. All in all, we concluded that the highly expressed KTN1-AS1 in GBM played oncogenic roles to facilitate GBM progression by targeting miR-505.

Behavioural Neurology
 Journal metrics
See full report
Acceptance rate16%
Submission to final decision113 days
Acceptance to publication21 days
CiteScore4.800
Journal Citation Indicator0.690
Impact Factor3.112
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