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Haug M, Schwappacher R, Pollmann C, Ritter P, Michael M, Hermann HJ, Grützmann R, Mittelstädt A, Neurath MF, Zopf Y, Friedrich O. Effects of Adjuvant Exercise and Nutrition Therapy on Muscle Fibre Biomechanics in Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1608. [PMID: 38672689 PMCID: PMC11049604 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16081608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Patients with aggressive cancer, e.g., gastrointestinal cancer, are prone (≥50% chance) to developing cancer cachexia (CC). Little is known about the effects of CC on the biomechanical function of muscle. A promising prevention strategy was found in the form of a multi-modal therapy combining mild resistance exercise (e.g., whole-body electro-myostimulation, WB-EMS) and a protein-rich diet. In a previous study of ours, this was effective in counteracting the loss of muscle mass, yet a systematic and comprehensive assessment of active and passive single muscle fibre functions was so far absent. This pilot study investigated the biomechanical function of single muscle fibres (rectus abdominis) from the biopsies of conventionally treated (pre-)cachectic cancer ((pre-)CC) patients (m = 9), those receiving the multi-modal therapy comprising WB-EMS training and protein-rich nutrition (m = 3), and a control group (m = 5). Our findings not only align with previous findings showing the absolute force loss in CC that is accelerated by atrophy but also speak in favour of a different, potentially energy- and Ca2+-homeostasis-related effect that compromises muscle contraction (F ~0.9 mN vs. F ~0.6 mN in control patients). However, myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity and the quality of contraction were unaltered (pCa50: 5.6-5.8). Single fibres from the (pre-)CC patients receiving WB-EMS training and protein supplementation were significantly more compliant (p < 0.001 at ≥130% of resting length L0). Those fibres displayed a similar softness to the ones from the control patients (axial compliance ~15 m/N at ≥130% L0), while single fibres from the patients with (developing) cachexia were significantly stiffer (axial compliance ~7 m/N, p < 0.001 at ≥130% L0). Adjuvant multi-modal therapy (WB-EMS training and nutritional support) contributes to maintaining the axial compliance of single fibres and potentially improves the quality of life for patients at risk of developing CC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Haug
- Institute of Medical Biotechnology (MBT), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; (C.P.); (P.R.); (M.M.); (O.F.)
- Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 6, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Raphaela Schwappacher
- Hector-Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (R.S.); (H.J.H.); (Y.Z.)
- Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Charlotte Pollmann
- Institute of Medical Biotechnology (MBT), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; (C.P.); (P.R.); (M.M.); (O.F.)
| | - Paul Ritter
- Institute of Medical Biotechnology (MBT), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; (C.P.); (P.R.); (M.M.); (O.F.)
- Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 6, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Mena Michael
- Institute of Medical Biotechnology (MBT), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; (C.P.); (P.R.); (M.M.); (O.F.)
- Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Hans Joachim Hermann
- Hector-Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (R.S.); (H.J.H.); (Y.Z.)
- Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Robert Grützmann
- Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Krankenhausstr. 12, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (R.G.); (A.M.)
| | - Anke Mittelstädt
- Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Krankenhausstr. 12, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (R.G.); (A.M.)
| | - Markus Friedrich Neurath
- Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Yurdagül Zopf
- Hector-Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (R.S.); (H.J.H.); (Y.Z.)
- Medical Department 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Oliver Friedrich
- Institute of Medical Biotechnology (MBT), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; (C.P.); (P.R.); (M.M.); (O.F.)
- Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 6, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Wallace Wurth Building, 18 High St, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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Schilling A, Sedley W, Gerum R, Metzner C, Tziridis K, Maier A, Schulze H, Zeng FG, Friston KJ, Krauss P. Predictive coding and stochastic resonance as fundamental principles of auditory phantom perception. Brain 2023; 146:4809-4825. [PMID: 37503725 PMCID: PMC10690027 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mechanistic insight is achieved only when experiments are employed to test formal or computational models. Furthermore, in analogy to lesion studies, phantom perception may serve as a vehicle to understand the fundamental processing principles underlying healthy auditory perception. With a special focus on tinnitus-as the prime example of auditory phantom perception-we review recent work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, psychology and neuroscience. In particular, we discuss why everyone with tinnitus suffers from (at least hidden) hearing loss, but not everyone with hearing loss suffers from tinnitus. We argue that intrinsic neural noise is generated and amplified along the auditory pathway as a compensatory mechanism to restore normal hearing based on adaptive stochastic resonance. The neural noise increase can then be misinterpreted as auditory input and perceived as tinnitus. This mechanism can be formalized in the Bayesian brain framework, where the percept (posterior) assimilates a prior prediction (brain's expectations) and likelihood (bottom-up neural signal). A higher mean and lower variance (i.e. enhanced precision) of the likelihood shifts the posterior, evincing a misinterpretation of sensory evidence, which may be further confounded by plastic changes in the brain that underwrite prior predictions. Hence, two fundamental processing principles provide the most explanatory power for the emergence of auditory phantom perceptions: predictive coding as a top-down and adaptive stochastic resonance as a complementary bottom-up mechanism. We conclude that both principles also play a crucial role in healthy auditory perception. Finally, in the context of neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence, both processing principles may serve to improve contemporary machine learning techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achim Schilling
- Neuroscience Lab, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Group, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - William Sedley
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Richard Gerum
- Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Group, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Claus Metzner
- Neuroscience Lab, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Andreas Maier
- Pattern Recognition Lab, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Holger Schulze
- Neuroscience Lab, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Fan-Gang Zeng
- Center for Hearing Research, Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, Cognitive Sciences, Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Patrick Krauss
- Neuroscience Lab, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Group, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Pattern Recognition Lab, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
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Becker L, Kaltenegger HC, Nowak D, Weigl M, Rohleder N. Physiological stress in response to multitasking and work interruptions: Study protocol. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263785. [PMID: 35134093 PMCID: PMC8824354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The biopsychological response patterns to digital stress have been sparsely investigated so far. Important potential stressors in modern working environments due to increased digitalization are multitasking and work interruptions. In this study protocol, we present a protocol for a laboratory experiment, in which we will investigate the biopsychological stress response patterns to multitasking and work interruptions. METHODS In total, N = 192 healthy, adult participants will be assigned to six experimental conditions in a randomized order (one single-task, three dual-task (two in parallel and one as interruption), one multitasking, and one passive control condition). Salivary alpha-amylase as well as heart rate as markers for Sympathetic Nervous System Activity, heart rate variability as measure for Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) activity, and cortisol as measure for activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis will be assessed at six time points throughout the experimental session. Furthermore, inflammatory markers (i.e., IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and secretory immunoglobulin-A) will be assessed before and after the task as well as 24 hours after it (IL-6 and CRP only). Main outcomes will be the time course of these physiological stress markers. Reactivity of these measures will be compared between the experimental conditions (dual-tasking, work interruptions, and multitasking) with the control conditions (single-tasking and passive control). DISCUSSION With this study protocol, we present a comprehensive experiment, which will enable an extensive investigation of physiological stress-responses to multitasking and work interruptions. Our planned study will contribute to a better understanding of physiological response patterns to modern (digital) stressors. Potential risks and limitations are discussed. The findings will have important implications, especially in the context of digital health in modern working and living environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Becker
- Department of Psychology, Chair of Health Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Helena C. Kaltenegger
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, LMU University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Dennis Nowak
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, LMU University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Matthias Weigl
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, LMU University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute for Patient Safety, University Hospital, Bonn, Germany
| | - Nicolas Rohleder
- Department of Psychology, Chair of Health Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
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