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In this article, we present an argumentative analysis of Galeazzo Flavio Capra's Della Eccelenza e dignità della donna (1525), one of the least studied Renaissance treatises of the "Querelle des Femmes". The author, who was educated at the court of the Duchy of Milan, distinguished himself among the notable humanists of his time thanks to his position as secretary to Francesco II Sforza. Capra wrote his text in vernacular prose, reworking classical models and proposing a reinterpretation of Petrarch, Boccacio, and other contemporary writers. This study aims to show the originality of Capra's work in the face of traditional cultural and literary values which he managed to turn in favour of sixteenth-century women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Románicos is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Anales de Otorrinolaringología Mexicana is the property of Sociedad Mexicana de Otorrinolaringologia y Cirugia de Cabeza y Cuello and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Studies based on linguistic corpus have brought great benefits to the teaching of foreign languages. Likewise, with the aid of digital databases, they are an invaluable tool in the field of specialized translation. This paper presents an analysis of discourses on immigration (related to immigrants, refugees and control of territory) in Italian, by means the compilation of a multilingual written corpus, consisting of documents issued by public authorities of Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, between 2011 and 2013. The Ladex corpus (Administrative and Legal Language for Foreigners) has been compiled in order to analyze the cultural imprint of the foreign subject in a seemingly neutral text type. However, the data gathered from the sub-corpus in Italian show an abundance of lexical units stereotyped with a strong socio-political meaning; such constructions evolve very rapidly, according to circumstantial laws, enacted in correspondence with emergency and massive influx of immigrants. Significant examples of these units, currently mark a tendency in forming administrative terminology presented here; also we can see in them the ideological connotations and its cultural implications. The first conclusions, based on samples of actual language, offer new perspectives for teaching Italian as L2 and for the development of materials for translation and cultural mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Románicos is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Adherence and persistence to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy are key factors for positive health outcomes. Home support providers participate in the home implementation and follow-up of PAP therapy for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In Europe, home support provider service levels are country (or area) specific, resulting in differences in content and frequency of patient interactions. However, no robust evaluation of the impact of these differences on clinical and patient outcomes has been performed., Objective: The AWAIR study aims to evaluate and compare the impact of different home support provider service levels on PAP adherence and persistence in 4 European countries., Methods: This real-world, ambispective, cohort study-conducted in France, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal-will recruit adults with OSA who started PAP therapy between 2019 and 2023 and were followed by an Air Liquide Healthcare home support provider. Given the large number of eligible participants (around 150,000), the study will use a decentralized and digital approach. A patient video will present the study objectives and the participation process. A secure electronic solution will be used to manage patient information and consent, as well as to administer a web-based questionnaire. Retrospective data, collected during routine patient follow-up by home support providers, include the level of service and device data, notably PAP use. Prospective data collected using an electronic patient-reported outcome tool include health status, OSA-related factors, patient-reported outcomes including quality of life and symptoms, OSA and PAP literacy, patient-reported experience, and satisfaction with PAP therapy and service. Hierarchical models, adjusted for preidentified confounding factors, will be used to assess the net effect of home support provider services on PAP adherence and persistence while minimizing real-world study biases and considering the influence of country-level contextual factors. We hypothesize that higher levels of home support provider services will be positively associated with adherence and persistence to PAP therapy., Results: As of December 2024, the study has received approval in France, Portugal, and 2 regions of Spain. The study began enrollment in France in October 2024. Results are expected in the second quarter of 2025., Conclusions: The AWAIR study has a unique design, leveraging an unprecedented number of eligible participants, decentralized technologies, and a real-world comparative methodology across multiple countries. This approach will highlight intercountry differences in terms of patient characteristics, PAP adherence, and persistence, as well as patient-reported outcomes, patient-reported experiences, and satisfaction with the home service provider. By assessing the added value of home support provider services, the results will support best practices for patient management and for decision-making by payers and authorities., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/65840., (©Sarah Alami, Manuella Schaller, Sylvie Blais, Henry Taupin, Marta Hernández González, Frédéric Gagnadoux, Paula Pinto, Irene Cano-Pumarega, Lieven Bedert, Ben Braithwaite, Hervé Servy, Stéphane Ouary, Céline Fabre, Fabienne Bazin, Joëlle Texereau. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 31.01.2025.)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental affliction characterized by compulsive behaviors often manifested in intrusive thoughts and repetitive actions. The quinpirole model has been used with rats to replicate compulsive behaviors and study the neurophysiological processes associated with this pathology. Several changes in the dendritic spines of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS) have been related to the occurrence of compulsive behaviors. Dendritic spines regulate excitatory synaptic contacts, and their morphology is associated with various brain pathologies. The present study was designed to correlate the occurrence of compulsive behaviors (generated by administering the drug quinpirole) with the morphology of the different types of dendritic spines in the mPFC and DLS. A total of 18 male rats were used. Half were assigned to the experimental group, the other half to the control group. The former received injections of quinpirole, while the latter rats were injected with physiological saline solution, for 10 days in both cases. After the experimental treatment, the quinpirole rats exhibited all the parameters indicative of compulsive behavior and a significant correlation with the density of stubby and wide neckless spines in both the mPFC and DLS. Dendritic spines from both mPFC and DLS neurons showed plastic changes correlatively with the expression of compulsive behavior induced by quinpirole. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the involvement of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the neurobiology of OCD., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: To assess 20-year time trends in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) among inpatients with heart failure (HF) and the influence of coexisting DM and kidney disease (KD) on outcomes., Research Design and Methods: A retrospective study of patients was admitted due to HF, during the period 2000/2019. The period of follow-up was divided into three intervals according to the European Medical Agency approval of newer hypoglycemic drugs. We analyzed in-hospital mortality and outcomes during the follow-up period., Results: A total of 4959 patients were included. Over time, prevalence of DM was significantly raising among women with HF (50 to 53.2%) and descending among men (50% to 46.8%, p  = 0.02). Total mortality and readmissions were higher in patients with DM during the and second periods. However, no significant differences were found in the third-one (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.94-1.39, p  = 0.181). A protector role of oral hypoglycemic medications was observed in this last period. According to the presence of KD, the patients with both DM and KD were who presented most of the events., Conclusions: Over the time analyzed, the prevalence of DM raised among women and decreased among men. DM influenced the prognosis of HF except in the third period when more protective hypoglycemic drugs started to be used.

To determine the readmissions trends and the comorbidities of patients with heart failure that most influence hospital readmission rates. Heart failure (HF) is one of the most prevalent health problems as it causes loss of quality of life and increased health-care costs. Its prevalence increases with age and is a major cause of re-hospitalisation within 30 days after discharge. INCA study had observational and ambispective design, including 4,959 patients from 2000 to 2019, with main diagnosis of HF in Extremadura (Spain). The variables examined were collected from discharge reports. To develop the readmission index, capable of discriminating the population with higher probability of re-hospitalisation, a Competing-risk model was generated. Readmission rate have increased over the period under investigation. The main predictors of readmission were: age, diabetes mellitus, presence of neoplasia, HF without previous hospitalisation, atrial fibrillation, anaemia, previous myocardial infarction, obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). These variables were assigned values with balanced weights, our INCA index showed that the population with values greater than 2 for men and women were more likely to be re-admitted. Previous HF without hospital admission, CKD, and COPD appear to have the greatest effect on readmission. Our index allowed us to identify patients with different risks of readmission., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The study of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals in nonhuman primates has led to important discoveries in neurophysiology and sleep behavior. Several studies have analyzed digital EEG data from primate species with prehensile tails, like the spider monkey, and principal component analysis has led to the identification of new EEG bands and their spatial distribution during sleep and wakefulness in these monkeys. However, the spatial location of the EEG correlations of these new bands during the sleep-wake cycle in the spider monkey has not yet been explored. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the spatial distribution of EEG correlations in the new bands during wakefulness, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-REM sleep in this species. EEG signals were obtained from the scalp of six monkeys housed in experimental conditions in a laboratory setting. Regarding the 1-21 Hz band, a significant correlation between left frontal and central regions was recorded during non-REM 2 sleep. In the REM sleep, a significant correlation between these cortical areas was seen in two bands: 1-3 and 3-13 Hz. This reflects a modification of the degree of coupling between the cortical areas studied, associated with the distinct stages of sleep. The intrahemispheric EEG correlation found between left perceptual and motor regions during sleep in the spider monkey could indicate activation of a neural circuit for the processing of environmental information that plays a critical role in monitoring the danger of nocturnal predation., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

There are numerous evidence showing that cadmium (Cd) is an endocrine disruptor that exerts multiple toxic effects at different reproductive levels, including male sexual behavior (MSB). The effect of early exposure to Cd on sexual incentive motivation (SIM) and MSB in adult stage, and the immunoreactivity of receptors for hormones such as estrogens and androgens in brain regions that are relevant for the SIM and MSB display, have not been studied until now. The present study evaluated the effects of 0.5 and 1 mg/kg CdCl 2 from day 1-56 of postnatal life on SIM and MSB in adults rats, as well as serum testosterone concentrations, Cd concentration in blood, testis, and brain areas, and the immunoreactivity in estrogen receptors (ER-α and -β), and androgen receptor (AR) in the olfactory bulbs (OB), medial preoptic area (mPOA), and medial amygdala (MeA). Our results showed that both doses of Cd decreased SIM and MSB, accompanied by low serum concentrations of testosterone. Also, there was a significant reduction in immunoreactivity of ER-α and AR in mPOA, and a significant reduction in AR in MeA on male rats treated with Cd 1 mg/kg. These results show that exposure to high doses of Cd in early postnatal life could alter the correct integration of hormonal signals in the brain areas that regulate and display SIM and MSB in adult male rats., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The ability to modulate the host immune response has allowed some parasites to establish themselves in the tissues of an immunocompetent organism. While some parasite excretion/secretion products (ESPs) were recently reported to induce differentiation of regulatory T cells (Tregs), their identity is not known. This work is aimed to identify and characterize ESPs of Taenia crassiceps cysticerci linked with Treg induction in vivo. ESPs were obtained from cultures of T. crassiceps cysticerci and inoculated in mice, measuring Treg levels by flow cytometry. Proteins in ESPs were analyzed by electrophoresis; then, ESPs were classified as either differential or conserved. Differentially included proteins were MS-sequenced and functionally characterized. Only 4 of 10 ESPs induced Tregs. Proteins with catalytic activity and those involved in immunological processes predominated, supporting the idea that these molecules could play an important role in the induction of Tregs., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Sexual experience improves copulatory performance in male rats. Copulatory performance has been associated with dendritic spines density in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc), structures involved in the processing of sexual stimuli and the manifestation of sexual behavior. Dendritic spines modulate excitatory synaptic contacts, and their morphology is associated with the ability to learn from experience. This study was designed to determine the effect of sexual experience on the density of different types or shapes of dendritic spines in the mPFC and NAcc of male rats. A total of 16 male rats were used, half of them were sexually experienced while the other half were sexually inexperienced. After three sessions of sexual interaction to ejaculation, the sexually-experienced males presented shorter mount, intromission, and ejaculation latencies. Those rats presented a higher total dendritic density in the mPFC, and a higher numerical density of thin, mushroom, stubby, and wide spines. Sexual experience also increased the numerical density of mushroom spines in the NAcc. In both the mPFC and NAcc of the sexually experienced rats, there was a lower proportional density of thin spines and a higher proportional density of mushroom spines. Results show that the improvement in copulatory efficiency resulting from prior sexual experience in male rats is associated with changes in the proportional density of thin and mushroom dendritic spines in the mPFC and NAcc. This could represent the consolidation of afferent synaptic information in these brain regions, derived from the stimulus-sexual reward association., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

According to the different stages of the estrous cycle, female rats exhibit behavioral changes associated with variations in sex hormone levels that affect the functionality of certain brain regions. In this study, we characterized the attention that female rats paid to a sexually-experienced male and the degree of electroencephalographic (EEG) activation and coupling between the medial prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices during antagonistic phases of the estrous cycle (proestrus-estrus vs. diestrous). The degree of attention paid to the stimulus was measured by the number of nose pokes performed while the rats were in a sexual incentive motivation box. EEGs were recorded in two conditions: a) awake-quiet state with no male rat present; and b) awake-quiet state in the presence of a male. Only during proestrus-estrus did the females show lower latency with a higher frequency and duration of nose pokes. In both cortices, the receptive females presented higher absolute power in all EEG bands recorded in the presence of the male, regardless of the phase of the estrous cycle. They also had greater EEG coupling between the medial prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices of the left hemisphere in all EEG bands regardless of the presence of a male. The higher synchronization between prefronto-parietal areas could be associated with the greater attention paid to, and adequate processing of, the sexual stimuli emitted by the male. Hence, it is probable that manifesting the proceptivity and receptivity behaviors characteristic of the proestrus-estrus phase requires a higher functional coupling between the prefrontal and parietal cortices., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The heuristic approach to decision-making holds that the selection process becomes more efficient when part of the information available is ignored. One element involved in selecting information is emotional valence. If emotional congruency is related to simplified decision-making strategies, then the interaction of this factor with task complexity should exist. The present study explored how factors of this nature influence decision-making efficiency. We hypothesized that emotional congruency would have a positive effect on task execution and that the magnitude of that effect would increase with greater task complexity because in that condition the amount of information to be processed is greater, meaning that a heuristic approach to the problem would be more efficient. We design a decision in browser decision-making task in which participants had to select emotional images to gain points. Depending on the correlation between emotional valence and in-task image value, we defined three emotional congruency conditions: direct, null, and inverse. Our results show that distinct types of emotional congruency have differential effects on behavior. While direct congruency-enhanced overall decision-making performance, inverse congruency interacted with task complexity to modify the pace at which task feedback affected behavior., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Marta Olivetti Belardinelli.)

Introduction: Nowadays, proinflammatory factors are considered to play an important role in the pathophysiology of threatened preterm labor or chorioamnionitis. The aim of this study was to establish the normal reference range for interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in the amniotic fluid and to identify factors which may alter this value., Material and Methods: Prospective study in a tertiary-level center including asymptomatic pregnant women undergoing amniocentesis for genetic studies from October 2016 to September 2019. IL-6 measurements in amniotic fluid were performed using a fluorescence immunoassay with microfluidic technology (ELLA Proteinsimple, Bio Techne). Maternal history and pregnancy data were also recorded., Results: This study included 140 pregnant women. Of those, women who underwent termination of pregnancy were excluded. Therefore, a total of 98 pregnancies were included in the final statistical analysis. The mean gestational age was 21.86 weeks (range: 15-38.7) at the time of amniocentesis, and 38.6 weeks (range: 30.9-41.4) at delivery. No cases of chorioamnionitis were reported. The log 10 IL-6 values follow a normal distribution (W = 0.990, p = 0.692). The median, and the 5th, 10th, 90th, and 95th percentiles for IL-6 levels were 573, 105, 130, 1645, and 2260 pg/mL, respectively. The log 10 IL-6 values were not affected by gestational age (p = 0.395), maternal age (p = 0.376), body mass index (p = 0.551), ethnicity (p = 0.467), smoking status (p = 0.933), parity (p = 0.557), method of conception (p = 0.322), or diabetes mellitus (p = 0.381)., Conclusions: The log 10 IL-6 values follow a normal distribution. IL-6 values are independent of gestational age, maternal age, body mass index, ethnicity, smoking status, parity and method of conception. Our study provides a normal reference range for IL-6 levels in the amniotic fluid that can be used in future studies. We also observed that normal IL-6 values were higher in the amniotic fluid than in serum., (© 2023 The Authors. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NFOG).)

It has been reported that melatonin diminishes rapid eye movement (REM) sleep latency in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Pharmacological studies suggest that melatonin promotes prompt sleep installation through interaction with GABA receptors, and that it is associated with acute suppression of neural electrical activity. Nevertheless, melatonin's effects on electroencephalographic (EEG) activity related to REM sleep onset in AD patients have not been analyzed. Thus, in this pilot study we analyzed the effects of melatonin on EEG activity during the first episode of REM sleep in eight patients treated with 5-mg of fast-release melatonin., During a single-blind, placebo-controlled study, polysomnographic recordings were obtained from frontal, central, temporal, and occipital scalp derivations. REM sleep latency, as well as the relative power (RP) and EEG coherences of six EEG bands, were compared between the placebo and melatonin conditions., Results showed that melatonin intake in AD patients decreased REM sleep onset, and that this was associated with lower RP and coherence of the β and γ EEG bands., The possibility that the inhibitory GABAergic pathways related to REM sleep generation are well-preserved in mild-to-moderate AD is discussed. We conclude that the short REM sleep onset related to melatonin intake in AD patients is associated with a significant decrease in both RP and EEG coherence, mainly in the fast frequencies.

Stress induces diverse effects on sexual behavior, ranging from enhanced execution to the complete abolishment of sexual interaction. However, it is not clear whether some characteristics intrinsic to the individual that experiences stress could also explain this differential effect. This study seeks to relate sexual execution to susceptibility to stress (as post-stress sexual motivation). To this end, we designed a three-session experimental paradigm. In the first session, male rats were allowed to copulate with a female. In the second, the male rats received electric foot shocks as they attempted to approach the female. The third and final session was used to determine the effects of stress on sexual behavior by separating the rats into two groups: a motivation-impaired group (rats that did not cross to achieve copulation), and an unimpaired group (rats that did cross). Mount latency was affected immediately by stress in both groups, though only the non-crossing group presented a reduced number of copulatory events. The rats that did not cross showed slower-paced sexual execution even before stress was applied compared to the rats that crossed. These results show that rats that are more susceptible to stress present higher ejaculation latency even before the application of stress., Competing Interests: Declarations The authors have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) blocks the inhibitory action of GABA, triggering a Glu-mediated hyperexcitation of the dendritic spines in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons that leads to the generation of epileptiform seizures. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of PTZ on the electrical activity of the hippocampal pyramidal neurons in male rats. Bipolar electrodes were implanted stereotaxically in the right and left hippocampal CA1 fields of adults, and PTZ (65 mg/kg) was administered i.p. Simultaneous recordings of the field activity and the firing rate (multiunitary activity, MUA) were analyzed at 10, 20, and 30 min post-administration of PTZ. Only rats that presented tonic-clonic seizures during the first 1-5 min after PTZ treatment were included in the study. The recordings of the field activity were analyzed in 4 frequency bands. In both the right and left hippocampal CA1 fields, the relative power corresponding to the slow waves (4-7 Hz) increased, while in the bands 13-30 Hz and 31-50 Hz, it decreased at 10, 20, and 30 min post-PTZ. MUA recordings were analyzed at four levels. The highest levels corresponded to larger amplitudes of the action potentials in the pyramidal neurons. The firing rates of the PTZ-treated rats did not differ from baseline but presented a significant decrement at 10, 20, and 30 min post-PTZ. The decreased firing rate of the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons after PTZ treatment could be associated with plastic changes of dendritic spines along with some microenvironmental adaptations at synaptic level, after neuronal PTZ-mediated hyperexcitation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Intrathecal production of kappa free light chains occurs in multiple sclerosis and can be measured using the kappa free light chain index. Kappa free light chain index values can be determined more easily than oligoclonal bands detection and seem more sensitive than the immunoglobulin (Ig)G index to diagnose multiple sclerosis. We assessed the value of oligoclonal bands, kappa free light chain index cut-offs 5.9, 6.6 and 10.61, and IgG index to diagnose multiple sclerosis with prospectively acquired data from a clinically isolated syndrome inception cohort. We selected patients with sufficient data to determine oligoclonal bands positivity, MRI dissemination in space and time, IgG index and sufficient quantities of paired CSF and blood samples to determine kappa free light chain indexes (n = 214). We used Kendall's Tau coefficient to estimate concordance, calculated the number of additional diagnoses when adding each positive index to dissemination in space and positive oligoclonal bands, performed survival analyses for oligoclonal bands and each index with the outcomes second attack and 2017 MRI dissemination in space and time and estimated the diagnostic properties of oligoclonal bands and the different indexes for the previously mentioned outcomes at 5 years. Oligoclonal bands were positive in 138 patients (64.5%), kappa free light chain-5.9 in 136 (63.6%), kappa free light chain-6.6 in 135 (63.1%), kappa free light chain-10.61 in 126 (58.9%) and IgG index in 101 (47.2%). The highest concordance was between oligoclonal bands and kappa free light chain-6.6 (τ = 0.727) followed by oligoclonal bands and kappa free light chain-5.9 (τ = 0.716). Combining dissemination in space plus oligoclonal bands or kappa free light chain-5.9 increased the number of diagnosed patients by 11 (5.1%), with kappa free light chain-6.6 by 10 (4.7%), with kappa free light chain-10.61 by 9 (4.2%) and with IgG index by 3 (1.4%). Patients with positive oligoclonal bands or indexes reached second attack and MRI dissemination in space and time faster than patients with negative results (P < 0.0001 except IgG index in second attack: P = 0.016). In multivariable Cox models [adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval)], the risk for second attack was very similar between kappa free light chain-5.9 [2.0 (0.9-4.3), P = 0.068] and kappa free light chain-6.6 [2.1 (1.1-4.2), P = 0.035]. The highest risk for MRI dissemination in space and time was demonstrated with kappa free light chain-5.9 [4.9 (2.5-9.6), P < 0.0001], followed by kappa free light chain-6.6 [3.4 (1.9-6.3), P < 0.0001]. Kappa free light chains-5.9 and -6.6 had a slightly higher diagnostic accuracy than oligoclonal bands for second attack (70.5, 71.1 and 67.8) and MRI dissemination in space and time (85.7, 85.1 and 81.0). Kappa free light chain indexes 5.9 and 6.6 performed slightly better than oligoclonal bands to assess multiple sclerosis risk and in terms of diagnostic accuracy. Given the concordance between oligoclonal bands and these indexes, we suggest using dissemination in space plus positive oligoclonal bands or positive kappa free light chain index as a modified criterion to diagnose multiple sclerosis., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Sexual motivation (SM) is a physiological state generated by the adequate processing of sexually-relevant stimuli. Induction and maintenance of this state requires the coordinated functioning of various cortical and subcortical areas. The medial prefrontal (mPFC, the prelimbic area in rats) and posterior parietal cortices (pPC) form an attentional network involved in processing incentive stimuli. Given that the sexual incentive stimuli emitted by a receptive female are highly relevant for the male rat, it is probable that these cortices interact functionally in processing the sexual stimuli that produce SM. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize the cortical activation and degree of electroencephalographic coupling (coherence, hEEG) between the mPFC and pPC during a sexually-motivated state in male rats. Only rats that reached this state after 1 intromission prior to EEG recording, presented a higher frequency and duration of nose pokes, and showed higher prefronto-parietal activation and EEG synchronization while close to an inaccessible receptive female. Results show that both cortices are activated and that they are functionally coupled during the processing of sexually-relevant stimuli mainly in the right hemisphere, a key condition for inducing SM. We conclude that the attentional network made up of the prefrontal and parietal cortices participates in the adequate attention to, and processing of, sexual incentive stimuli and, hence, in inducing SM in male rats., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)