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Nouraeinejad A. The functional and structural changes in the hippocampus of COVID-19 patients. Acta Neurol Belg 2023:10.1007/s13760-023-02291-1. [PMID: 37226033 DOI: 10.1007/s13760-023-02291-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Since the hippocampus is predominantly susceptible to injuries caused by COVID-19, there are increasing data indicating the likelihood of post-infection memory loss and quickening neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. This is due to the fact that the hippocampus has imperative functions in spatial and episodic memory as well as learning. COVID-19 activates microglia in the hippocampus and induces a CNS cytokine storm, leading to loss of hippocampal neurogenesis. The functional and structural changes in the hippocampus of COVID-19 patients can explain neuronal degeneration and reduced neurogenesis in the human hippocampus. This will open a window to explain memory and cognitive dysfunctions in "long COVID" through the resultant loss of hippocampal neurogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Nouraeinejad
- Faculty of Brain Sciences, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London (UCL), London, UK.
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2
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Alexandrov YI, Pletnikov MV. Neuronal metabolism in learning and memory: The anticipatory activity perspective. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 137:104664. [PMID: 35439520 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Current research on the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory is based on the "stimulus-response" paradigm, in which the neural circuits connecting environmental events with behavioral responses are strengthened. By contrast, cognitive and systems neuroscience emphasize the intrinsic activity of the brain that integrates information, establishes anticipatory actions, executes adaptive actions, and assesses the outcome via regulatory feedback mechanisms. We believe that the difference in the perspectives of systems and molecular studies is a major roadblock to further progress toward understanding the mechanisms of learning and memory. Here, we briefly overview the current studies in molecular mechanisms of learning and memory and propose that studying the predictive properties of neuronal metabolism will significantly advance our knowledge of how intrinsic, predictive activity of neurons shapes a new learning event. We further suggest that predictive metabolic changes in the brain may also take place in non-neuronal cells, including those of peripheral tissues. Finally, we present a path forward toward more in-depth studies of the role of cell metabolism in learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri I Alexandrov
- V. B. Shvyrkov Laboratory for the Neural Bases of the Mind, Institute of Psychology, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; Department of Psychology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia.
| | - Mikhail V Pletnikov
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
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3
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Widmann CN, Wieberneit M, Bieler L, Bernsen S, Gräfenkämper R, Brosseron F, Schmeel C, Tacik P, Skowasch D, Radbruch A, Heneka MT. Longitudinal Neurocognitive and Pulmonological Profile of Long COVID-19: Protocol for the COVIMMUNE-Clin Study. JMIR Res Protoc 2021; 10:e30259. [PMID: 34559059 PMCID: PMC8589042 DOI: 10.2196/30259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background There is a dearth of information about “brain fog,” characterized by concentration, word-finding, or memory problems, which has been listed in the new World Health Organization provisional classification “U09.9 Post-COVID-19 Condition.” Moreover, the extent to which these symptoms may be associated with neurological, pulmonary, or psychiatric difficulties is unclear. Objective This ongoing cohort study aims to carefully assess neurocognitive function in the context of the neurological, psychiatric, and pulmonary sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with asymptomatic/mild and severe cases of COVID-19 after remission, including actively recruited healthy controls. Methods A total of 150 participants will be included in this pilot study. The cohort will comprise patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection with either an asymptomatic course or a mild course defined as no symptoms except for olfactory and taste dysfunction (n=50), patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection with a severe disease course (n=50), and a healthy control group (n=50) with similar age and sex distribution based on frequency matching. A comprehensive neuropsychological assessment will be performed comprising nuanced aspects of complex attention, including language, executive function, verbal and visual learning, and memory. Psychiatric, personality, social and lifestyle factors, sleep, and fatigue will be evaluated. Brain magnetic resonance imaging, neurological and physical assessment, and pulmonological and lung function examinations (including body plethysmography, diffusion capacity, clinical assessments, and questionnaires) will also be performed. Three visits are planned with comprehensive testing at the baseline and 12-month visits, along with brief neurological and neuropsychological examinations at the 6-month assessment. Blood-based biomarkers of neurodegeneration will be quantified at baseline and 12-month follow-up. Results At the time of submission, the study had begun recruitment through telephone and in-person screenings. The first patient was enrolled in the study at the beginning of April 2021. Interim data analysis of baseline information is expected to be complete by December 2021 and study completion is expected at the end of December 2022. Preliminary group comparisons indicate worse word list learning, short- and long-delayed verbal recall, and verbal recognition in both patient cohorts compared with those of the healthy control group, adjusted for age and sex. Initial volumetric comparisons show smaller grey matter, frontal, and temporal brain volumes in both patient groups compared with those of healthy controls. These results are quite robust but are neither final nor placed in the needed context intended at study completion. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to include objective and comprehensive longitudinal analyses of neurocognitive sequelae of COVID-19 in an extreme group comparison stratified by disease severity with healthy controls actively recruited during the pandemic. Results from this study will contribute to the nascent literature on the prolonged effects of COVID-19 on neurocognitive performance via our coassessment of neuroradiological, neurological, pulmonary, psychiatric, and lifestyle factors. Trial Registration International Clinical Trials Registry Platform DRKS00023806; https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=DRKS00023806 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/30259
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine N Widmann
- Section Neuropsychology, Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany
| | - Michelle Wieberneit
- Section Neuropsychology, Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Luzie Bieler
- Section Neuropsychology, Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sarah Bernsen
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Robin Gräfenkämper
- Section Neuropsychology, Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Carsten Schmeel
- Department of Neuroradiology, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Pawel Tacik
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Dirk Skowasch
- Department of Cardiology, Pneumology and Angiology, Internal Medicine II, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Alexander Radbruch
- Department of Neuroradiology, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Michael T Heneka
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany
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4
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Hadamitzky M, Lückemann L, Pacheco-López G, Schedlowski M. Pavlovian Conditioning of Immunological and Neuroendocrine Functions. Physiol Rev 2020; 100:357-405. [DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00033.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The phenomenon of behaviorally conditioned immunological and neuroendocrine functions has been investigated for the past 100 yr. The observation that associative learning processes can modify peripheral immune functions was first reported and investigated by Ivan Petrovic Pavlov and his co-workers. Their work later fell into oblivion, also because so little was known about the immune system’s function and even less about the underlying mechanisms of how learning, a central nervous system activity, could affect peripheral immune responses. With the employment of a taste-avoidance paradigm in rats, this phenomenon was rediscovered 45 yr ago as one of the most fascinating examples of the reciprocal functional interaction between behavior, the brain, and peripheral immune functions, and it established psychoneuroimmunology as a new research field. Relying on growing knowledge about efferent and afferent communication pathways between the brain, neuroendocrine system, primary and secondary immune organs, and immunocompetent cells, experimental animal studies demonstrate that cellular and humoral immune and neuroendocrine functions can be modulated via associative learning protocols. These (from the classical perspective) learned immune responses are clinically relevant, since they affect the development and progression of immune-related diseases and, more importantly, are also inducible in humans. The increased knowledge about the neuropsychological machinery steering learning and memory processes together with recent insight into the mechanisms mediating placebo responses provide fascinating perspectives to exploit these learned immune and neuroendocrine responses as supportive therapies, the aim being to reduce the amount of medication required, diminishing unwanted drug side effects while maximizing the therapeutic effect for the patient’s benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hadamitzky
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; Health Sciences Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), Campus Lerma, Mexico; and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Laura Lückemann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; Health Sciences Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), Campus Lerma, Mexico; and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gustavo Pacheco-López
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; Health Sciences Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), Campus Lerma, Mexico; and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Manfred Schedlowski
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; Health Sciences Department, Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), Campus Lerma, Mexico; and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Wen J, Doerner J, Chalmers S, Stock A, Wang H, Gullinello M, Shlomchik MJ, Putterman C. B cell and/or autoantibody deficiency do not prevent neuropsychiatric disease in murine systemic lupus erythematosus. J Neuroinflammation 2016; 13:73. [PMID: 27055816 PMCID: PMC4823887 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-016-0537-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Accepted: 03/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) can be one of the earliest clinical manifestations in human lupus. However, its mechanisms are not fully understood. In lupus, a compromised blood-brain barrier may allow for the passage of circulating autoantibodies into the brain, where they can induce neuropsychiatric abnormalities including depression-like behavior and cognitive abnormalities. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of B cells and/or autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of murine NPSLE. Methods We evaluated neuropsychiatric manifestations, brain pathology, and cytokine expression in constitutively (JhD/MRL/lpr) and conditionally (hCD20-DTA/MRL/lpr, inducible by tamoxifen) B cell-depleted mice as compared to MRL/lpr lupus mice. Results We found that autoantibody levels were negligible (JhD/MRL/lpr) or significantly reduced (hCD20-DTA/MRL/lpr) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid, respectively. Nevertheless, both JhD/MRL/lpr and hCD20-DTA/MRL/lpr mice showed profound depression-like behavior, which was no different from MRL/lpr mice. Cognitive deficits were also observed in both JhD/MRL/lpr and hCD20-DTA/MRL/lpr mice, similar to those exhibited by MRL/lpr mice. Furthermore, although some differences were dependent on the timing of depletion, central features of NPSLE in the MRL/lpr strain including increased blood-brain barrier permeability, brain cell apoptosis, and upregulated cytokine expression persisted in B cell-deficient and B cell-depleted mice. Conclusions Our study surprisingly found that B cells and/or autoantibodies are not required for key features of neuropsychiatric disease in murine NPSLE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Wen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Jessica Doerner
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Samantha Chalmers
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Ariel Stock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Haowei Wang
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Maria Gullinello
- Behavioral Core Facility, Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Mark J Shlomchik
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Chaim Putterman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. .,Division of Rheumatology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, F701N, 1300 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.
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Pacheco-López G, Engler H, Niemi MB, Schedlowski M. Expectations and associations that heal: Immunomodulatory placebo effects and its neurobiology. Brain Behav Immun 2006; 20:430-46. [PMID: 16887325 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2006.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2006] [Revised: 05/29/2006] [Accepted: 05/29/2006] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of placebo may have accompanied healing and medical practices since their origins (Plato; Charmides, 155-156). Recent experimental data indicate that we would be well advised to further consider placebo effects in future therapeutic strategies, with a better knowledge of their potency, psychological basis and underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Current research in the areas of pain, depression and Parkinson's disease has uncovered some of the potential neurobiological mechanisms of placebo effects. These data indicate that conscious expectation and unconscious behavioral conditioning processes appear to be the major neurobiological mechanisms capable of releasing endogenous neurotransmitters and/or neurohormones that mimic the expected or conditioned pharmacological effects. To date, research on placebo responses affecting immune-related diseases is scarce, but there are consistent indications that skin and mucosal inflammatory diseases, in particular, are strongly modulated by placebo treatments. However, the brain's capability to modulate peripheral immune reactivity has been impressively demonstrated by paradigms of behavioral conditioning in animal experiments and human studies. Thus, placebo effects can benefit end organ functioning and the overall health of the individual through positive expectations and behavioral conditioning processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Pacheco-López
- Chair of Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, Institute for Behavioral Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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Goebel MU, Hübell D, Kou W, Janssen OE, Katsarava Z, Limmroth V, Schedlowski M. Behavioral conditioning with interferon beta-1a in humans. Physiol Behav 2005; 84:807-14. [PMID: 15885259 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2004] [Revised: 01/22/2005] [Accepted: 03/30/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral conditioning is one of the most impressive demonstrations of brain-immune system interaction. Numerous animal studies have demonstrated behavioral conditioned effects on immune functions, however, human studies are rare. We investigated whether it is possible to behaviorally condition the acute response to interferon (IFN)beta-1a. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, 30 healthy subjects received a single injection of IFN(beta)-1a (6MIU of REBIF, Serono International) (unconditioned stimulus, UCS) together with a novel drink (conditioned stimulus, CS). Blood was drawn at baseline, 4, 8, and 24 h after drug administration. Within the first 8 h peripheral granulocytes significantly increased, while monocytes, lymphocytes, T-, B- and natural killer (NK) cell numbers were significantly reduced. In parallel, body temperature, heart rate, norepinephrine and interleukin (IL)-6 plasma levels were heightened within 8 h after injection. 8 days later, all previously IFN(beta)-treated subjects received a subcutaneous placebo (NaCl) injection, but only 15 subjects were re-exposed to the CS (experimental group), while a control group (N=15) drank water and an additional group of subjects (n=8) remained untreated (untreated group). Blood sampling was performed at baseline and at 4, 8, and 24 h. Re-exposition to the CS did not elicit conditioned responses in the experimental group. Moreover, no differences were observed between groups. These data provide negative findings regarding behavioral conditioning of cytokine effects in humans employing a one-trial learning paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion U Goebel
- Department of Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, Germany
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Chen J, Lin W, Wang W, Shao F, Yang J, Wang B, Kuang F, Duan X, Ju G. Enhancement of antibody production and expression of c-Fos in the insular cortex in response to a conditioned stimulus after a single-trial learning paradigm. Behav Brain Res 2004; 154:557-65. [PMID: 15313045 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2004.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2003] [Revised: 03/25/2004] [Accepted: 03/26/2004] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Immune responses can be modulated by Pavlovian conditioning techniques. In this study, to evaluate the conditionability of antibody response via a single-trial conditioning paradigm, we used a protein antigen ovalbumin as an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that was paired with a novel taste of saccharin in a single-trial learning protocol. A significant enhancement of anti-ovalbumin antibody production was observed in the conditioned rats at Days 15, 20 and 25 after re-exposure to the conditioned stimulus. The pattern of conditioned antibody response is similar to that of antigen-induced antibody response. Furthermore, to identify the involvement of a limbic brain structure in the expression of conditioned antibody response, immediate-early gene c-fos expression was used as a marker of neuronal activation to detect the functional activation in the insular cortex (IC) in response to the conditioned stimulus. The re-exposure of conditioned rats to the conditioned stimulus resulted in a significant increase of c-Fos immunoreactivity in all three areas of the IC including the agranular, dysgranular, and granular areas, suggesting that IC is involved in the neural mechanism of expression of conditioned immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihuan Chen
- Brain-Behavior Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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Mormède C, Castanon N, Médina C, Dantzer R. Conditioned place aversion with interleukin-1beta in mice is not associated with activation of the cytokine network. Brain Behav Immun 2003; 17:110-20. [PMID: 12676573 DOI: 10.1016/s0889-1591(02)00054-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Several distinct findings argue in favor of conditioning of some components of the acute phase reaction. However, the possibility of a conditioned cytokine response has not been assessed. In the present study, this possibility was tested by submitting mice to place aversion conditioning with interleukin-1beta (2 microgram/mouse, ip) as the unconditioned stimulus and an odorous compartment of a two-compartment cage as the conditioned stimulus. After two pairings, conditioned mice developed place aversion towards the odorous compartment. However, this behavioral conditioning was not accompanied by any alteration in peripheral (spleen) and brain (hypothalamus) cytokine levels (interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and interleukin-10). These data do not support the possibility of conditioned alterations in the cytokine network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Mormède
- INRA-INSERM U394; Neurobiologie Intégrative, Institut François Magendie, Rue Camille Saint-Saëns, 33077, Bordeaux Cedex, France
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