Modulatory effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on attentional processes

Background The modulatory effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation(taVNS)on attention has varied in previous studies.This inconsistency might be attributed to the combined influence of the modulation effect on the different attentional functions,including alerting,orienting and executive control.Aims We aimed to preliminarily examine the modulatory effectsoftaVNS on differentattentionalfunctions.Methods Fifty-nine healthy participants were recruited and were randomly assigned to taVNS(receiving taVNS for 20 minutes)or control(receiving taVNS for 30 seconds)groups.All participants underwent a dot-probe task before and after the taVNS/control intervention.Their behavioural performance and electroencephalographic signals during pre-and post-tests were recorded,and different observed variables were extracted and analysed to characterise different attentional systems.Results We observed that active taVNS applied at the left ear significantly improved the overall behavioural performance,that is,shorter reaction time(RT)and lower intra-individual reaction time variability(lIRTV)for right-hand responses when compared with the control condition.In addition,active taVNS resulted in larger P3 and movement-related cortical potential(MRCP)amplitudes associated with right-hand reactions than the control condition.Active taVNS also decreased the difference between the pre-and post-tests in the power spectral density of spontaneous high-αband oscillations at C4 electrode.Importantly,parallel mediation models for right-hand responses showed that the change of P3 amplitude mediated the effects of taVNS on RT and lIRTV.In contrast,the change of MRCP amplitude suppressed the effect of taVNS on the lIRTV.Conclusions Our results provided behavioural and brain evidence supporting the effects of taVNS on different attentional systems,and their interaction further shaped behavioural performance,suggesting a promising role of taVNS in cognitive enhancement.

Enhancing pain modulation: the efficacy of synchronous combination of virtual reality and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

Introduction Virtual reality(VR)and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation(TENS)have emerged as effective interventions for pain reduction.However,their standalone applications often yield limited analgesic effects,particularly in certain painful conditions.Aims Our hypothesis was that the combination of VR with TENS in a synchronous manner could produce the best analgesic effect among the four experimental conditions.Methods To address this challenge,we proposed a novel pain modulation strategy that synchronously combines VR and TENS,aiming to capitalise on both techniques'complementary pain modulation mechanisms.Thirty-two healthy subjects participated in the study and underwent three types of interventions:VR alone,a combination of VR with conventional TENS,and a combination of VR with synchronous TENS.Additionally,a control condition with no intervention was included.Perceived pain intensity,pain unpleasantness,positive and negativeaffect scores,and electroencephalographic(EEG)data were collected before and after the interventions.To delve into the potential moderating role of pain intensity on the analgesic efficacy of VR combined with synchronous TENS,we incorporated two distinct levels of painful stimuli:one representing mild to moderate pain(ie,low pain)and the other representing moderate to severe pain(ie,high pain).Results Our findings revealed that both combination interventions exhibited superior analgesic effects compared with the VR-alone intervention when exposed to low and high pain stimuli.Notably,the combination of VR with synchronous TENS demonstrated greater analgesic efficacy than the combination of VR with conventional TENS.EEG data further supported these results,indicating that both combination interventions elicited a greater reduction in event-related potential magnitude compared with the VR-alone intervention during exposure to low and high pain stimuli.Moreover,the synchronous combination intervention induced a more significant reduction in N2 amplitude than the VR-alone intervention during exposure to low pain stimuli.No significant differences in EEG response changes were detected between the two combination interventions.Both combination interventions resulted in a greater reduction in negative affect compared with the VR-alone intervention.Conclusions Altogether,our study highlights the effectiveness of the synchronous combination of VR and TENS in enhancing pain modulation.These findings offer valuable insights for developing innovative pain treatments,emphasising the importance of tailored and multifaceted therapeutic approaches for various painful conditions.

Pan Shuh:the founding figure of modern Chinese psychology

Entering the lobby of the Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,the first thing that catches the eye is the Pan Shuh Library.In the library,Pan Shuh’s six decades of life are displayed in the form of a life photo exhibition,representing 10 years of determination,10 years of wandering,10 years of exploration,10 years of following the path,10 years of self-improvement,and 10 years of propagation.These six decades not only reflect the life journey of Pan Shuh,the pioneer of Chinese psychology but also serve as a microcosm of the historical development of modern Chinese psychology(Qicheng Jing,Xiaolan Fu,2011).

Progress in the “brain-derived neurotrophic factor hypothesis of depression”

The traditional ＂brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） hypothesis of depression＂ proposes that impairment of the BDNF signaling pathway in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex participates in the pathophysiology of depression, and antidepressants act by recovering/enhancing BDNF signal transduction. Recent studies have suggested that BDNF signaling pathways exert more diverse and complex effects on depression onset and antidepressant therapy than originally thought, which include： （1） inhibition of the BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway in the hippocampus and/or prefrontal cortex does not induce the depression-like behavioral phenotype, but significantly diminishes therapeutic effects, which suggests that the BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway lacks direct or key effects on occurrence of emotional disorders, whereas an intact and normal BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway is necessary for antidepressant therapy. （2） The BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway exhibits opposite regulatory effects on depressive behavior in the hippocampus-prefrontal cortex network and mesolimbic system, which suggests that BDNF regulates emotion by affecting the emotion-related neural network, but not a single brain region. （3） The BDNF-TrkB and proBDNF-p75Nm signaling pathways in the brain, respectively, enhance and suppress hippocampal neural plasticity, which demonstrated that different BDNF signaling pathways interact and restrict each other in the regulation of neural plasticity and emotional behaviors. （4） BDNF gene polymorphism might be associated with susceptibility to depression. These new findings extend our understanding of neuronal pathways and mechanisms of action of BDNF signaling and contribute to improved views to traditional ＂neurotrophic factor hypothesis of depression＂.

Role of perceived family support in psychological distress for pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has caused major public panic in China.Pregnant women may be more vulnerable to stress,which may cause them to have psychological problems.AIM To explore the effects of perceived family support on psychological distress in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS A total of 2232 subjects were recruited from three cities in China.Through the online surveys,information on demographic data and health status during pregnancy were collected.Insomnia severity index,generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale,patient health questionnaire-9,somatization subscale of the symptom check list 90 scale,and posttraumatic stress disorder checklist were used to assess the psychological distress.RESULTS A total of 1015(45.4%)women reported having at least one psychological distress.The women who reported having inadequate family support were more likely to suffer from multiple psychological distress(≥2 psychological distress)than women who received adequate family support.Among the women who reported less family support,41.8%reported depression,31.1%reported anxiety,8.2%reported insomnia,13.3%reported somatization and 8.9%reported posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD),which were significantly higher than those who received strong family support.Perceived family support level was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms(r=-0.118,P<0.001),anxiety symptoms(r=-0.111,P<0.001),and PTSD symptoms(r=-0.155,P<0.001).CONCLUSION Family support plays an important part on pregnant women’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.Better family support can help improve the mental health of pregnant women.

Morphine pre-exposure facilitates reinstatement but attenuates retention of morphine-induced place preference

BACKGROUND： Drug-associated conditioned stimuli are a key factor to induce morphine relapse. To date, limited evidence is available regarding the impact of drug history on propensity or vulnerability to relapse after long-term abstinence. OBJECTIVE： To determine the effect of morphine pre-exposure on acquisition, maintenance and reinstatement of morphine-induced conditioned place preference （CPP） in rats. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A randomized, controlled, animal experiment was performed at the Laboratory of Behavior Pharmacology, Institute of Psychology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, from March to September, 2006. MATERIALS： Morphine hydrochloride was purchased from Qinghai Pharmaceutical, China; CPP software was designed and developed by Taiji Software Company, Beijing, China. METHODS： A total of 64 Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to eight groups （n = 8）. Four morphine pretreatment regimens were used （subcutaneous injections, twice daily for 5 consecutive days and a total of 10 times）： （1） ＂intensive＂ （morphine injections with doses escalating from 10 to 60 mg/kg; （2） ＂moderate＂ （one morphine injection at 5 mg/kg dose and one saline injection at 1 mL/kg daily for 5 days）; and （3） ＂single＂ （nine saline injections at 1 mL/kg followed by one morphine injection at 5 mg/kg; （4） control （ten saline injections at 1 mL/kg）. At 5 days after morphine pretreatment, animals were divided into two subgroups that underwent morphine conditioned or saline conditioned training. The test for acquisition of CPP was performed 24 hours after CPP training. The retention of morphine CPP was measured by repeated tests performed weekly for 1 month after the initial test of place preference. After extinction by pairing each chamber with saline, the reinstatement of place preference by low doses of morphine （0.05, 0.15, 0.45 mg/kg） was tested. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Acquisition, maintenance, and recovery response of CPP behavior. RESULTS： The acquisition magnitude of morphine-induced CPP was not affected by prior morphine exposure （F3, 56=0.17, P 〉 0.05）. However, rats treated with moderate or intensive morphine pretreatment showed a less persistent CPP （t = -1.36, P 〉 0.05; t = -1.18, P 〉 0.05）, but their place preference was reinstated by a low dose of morphine priming （t = -2.55, P 〈 0.05; t = -2.54, P 〈 0.05）. The retention and reinstatement of morphine-induced CPP did not differ between rats with single morphine pre-exposure and control rats. CONCLUSION： Morphine pretreatment enhanced reinstatement of morphine-induced CPP but with less persistence. Individuals with heavy drug exposure are more susceptible to drug relapse when re-exposed to addictive drugs.

Neural bases of reappraisal regulatory effect on negative emotion in high reappraisers

Previous studies have reported that individual differences in reappraisal use are associated with partJcular patterns of neural activity. We hypothesized that if ＇high reappraisers＇ （individuals who use reappraisal well in a behavioral experiment） completed two training sessions, they would exhibit more reliable patterns of neural activity related to cognitive reappraisal. In the present study, 13 high reappraisers were selected from 27 healthy volunteers through an initial behavioral experiment （first training） followed by a functional MRI experiment （second training）. Emotional images selected from the International Affective Picture System were used for both the behavioral and functional MRI sessions of the experiment. The behavioral results revealed that reappraisal reduced subjective unpleasantness. The functional MRI results revealed that the cognitive reappraisal used by high reappraisers decreased the activation of emotion-responsive regions, including the amygdala, insula, and cingulate gyrus, and increased the activation of regulation-related regions, including the inferior prefrontal cortex, orbital prefrontal cortex, and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest the involvement of inferior orbital and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex in constructing reappraisal strategies that modulate activity in emotion-processing systems.

Effects of NS Series Composite Lactobacillus Prepa-ration on Performance,Plasma Biochemical Indexes and Immunity of Sows

[Objective] The study was aimed to investigate the effects of NS series composite lactobacillus preparation on production performance and some immune indexes of sows. [Method] The sows were fed on the diets supplemented with the NS series composite lactobacillus prepara- tion, and the changes of production performance, plasma biochemical indexes, levels of IgG, IgA and IgM in serum and colostrum, and T lympho- cyte subpopulations were detected. [ Result] When the NS series composite lactobacillus preparation was supplemented to the sow diet at a propor- tion of 0.2%, the average weaning litter weight at 21 days old was significantly increased. The serum contents of total protein and glucose as well as the serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase （AST）, alkaline phosphatase （ALP） and superoxide dismutase （SOD） were significantly in- creased after 30 d post delivery. Moreover, the levels of IgG, IgA and IgM in serum and colostrum of sows were significantly increased at the time of delivery and after 30 d post delivery. The antibodies in colostrum could be maintained at high levels. The percentage of CD3 ＊ and CD4~ ｜ympho- cyte subpopulations was also increased after supplementation with the NS series composite lactobacillus preparation at a proportion of 0.2%. [ （Con- des＇ion] The NS series composite lactobacillus preparation can improve performance, promote growth and metabolism, and enhance humoral and cellular immunity in sows.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of scientists

MENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on mental health not only in the general population but also in specific groups such as university students.^(1,2)For example,the prevalence of depression and anxiety increased,and sleep quality and quality of life worsened compared with prepandemic levels.Additionally,the pandemic has disrupted work schedules and affected working time among scientists.^(3)Moreover,the pandemic has had a greater impact on females and younger individuals.^(3)Despite the known effects on these groups,the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of scientists and researchers has received less attention.Scientists working in a competitive environment often experienced pressure even prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.

Rapid Unconscious Acquisition of Conditioned Fear with Low-Spatial-Frequency but Emotionally Neutral Stimuli

It has long been proposed that emotionally“prepared”(i.e.,fear-related)stimuli are privileged in the unconscious acquisition of conditioned fear.However,as fear processing is suggested to highly depend on the coarse,low-spatial-frequency(LSF)components of the fear-related stimuli,it is plausible that LSF may play a unique role in the unconscious fear conditioning even with emotionally neutral stimuli.Here,we provided empirical evidence that,following classical fear conditioning,an invisible,emotionally neutral conditioned stimulus(CS+)with LSF,but not with high spatial frequency(HSF),can rapidly elicit stronger skin conductance responses(SCRs)and larger pupil diameters than its CS−counterpart.In comparison,consciously perceived emotionally neutral CS+with LSF and HSF elicited comparable SCRs.Taken together,these results support that the unconscious fear conditioning does not necessarily entail emotionally prepared stimuli but prioritizes LSF information processing and highlight the crucial distinctions between the unconscious and the conscious fear learning.These findings not only coincide with the postulation that a rapid,spatial-frequency-dependent subcortical route is engaged in unconscious fear processing but also suggest the existence of multiple routes for conscious fear processing.

Is there an anatomical endophenotype for neurodevelopmental disorders? A review of dual disorder anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses of grey matter volumes

The term "neurodevelopmental disorder" broadly encompasses conditions thought to arise early in development and includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism among others. These conditions share a number of genetic and environmental risk factors postulated to lead to common difficulties in socio-emotional processing, communication and cognitive function. The alternative position is that, while the same traits are affected across these conditions, the nature or direction in which they are modified may be distinct. MRI studies provide a rapidly expanding and rich database which we propose can be used to contribute to this debate. Anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) is a method of meta-analysis applied to voxel-based MRI studies. We have adapted this method to explore the extent to which schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and autism share a common brain structural phenotype. We will review this work here and discuss whether there is sufficient other evidence to justify a common framework for further research into the inter-relatedness of such conditions.

Differences in Non-suicidal Self-injury Behaviors between Unipolar Depression and Bipolar Depression in Adolescent Outpatients

Objective Non-suicidal self-injury(NSSI)has a higher prevalence in adolescents with depressive disorders than in community adolescents.This study examined the differences in NSSI behaviors between adolescents with unipolar depression(UD)and those with bipolar depression(BD).Methods Adolescents with UD or BD were recruited from 20 general or psychiatric hospitals across China.The methods,frequency,and function of NSSI were assessed by Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation.The Beck Suicide Ideation Scale was used to evaluate adolescents’suicidal ideation,and the 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale to estimate the anxiety and depression symptoms.Results The UD group had higher levels of depression(19.16 vs.17.37,F=15.23,P<0.001)and anxiety symptoms(17.73 vs.16.70,F=5.00,P=0.026)than the BD group.Adolescents with BD had a longer course of NSSI than those with UD(2.00 vs.1.00 year,Z=−3.39,P=0.001).There were no statistical differences in the frequency and the number of methods of NSSI between the UD and BD groups.Depression(r=0.408,P<0.01)and anxiety(r=0.391,P<0.01)were significantly and positively related to NSSI frequency.Conclusion Adolescents with BD had a longer course of NSSI than those with UD.More importantly,NSSI frequency were positively and strongly correlated with depression and anxiety symptoms,indicating the importance of adequate treatment of depression and anxiety in preventing and intervening adolescents’NSSI behaviors.

Temporal dynamics of mental impasses underlying insight-like problem solving

Insight problem solving is characterized by mental impasses,states of mind in which the problem solver does not know what to do next.Although many studies have investigated the neural correlates of insight problem solving,however,the question when mental impasses occur during insight problem solving has been rarely studied.The present study adopted high temporal resolution ERPs to investigate the temporal dynamics of an impasse underlying insight problem solving.Time locked ERPs were recorded associated with problems with impasses(PWI) and problems without impasses(POI).The problem types were determined by participants' subjective responses.The results revealed an early frontocentral P2 was linked with the preconscious awareness of mental impasses and a P3a was associated with fixed attention when the impasse formed.These findings suggest the impasse may occur initially at a relatively early stage and metacognition plays an important role in insight problem solving.

The expression of morphine-induced behavioral sensitization depends more on treatment regimen and environmental novelty than on conditioned drug effects

Both conditioned responses(CRs) and sensitized behaviors induced by addictive drugs are considered to reflect drug-seeking motivation.Based on an excitatory conditioning model of behavioral sensitization,this work hypothesizes that conditioned locomotor activity and locomotor sensitization concomitantly occur using different drug treatment regimens.In the present study,conditioned locomotor activity and sensitized locomotion and stereotypy are assessed with pretreatment of two doses of morphine in a familiar or novel environment.When rats are trained with morphine(3 or 5 mg/kg) in an environment to which the animals are habituated,a CR but not contextual sensitization is induced when tested after 1 week of abstinence.When rats receive the 5 mg/kg dose of morphine immediately after placement into a novel environment,the same results are obtained,but when the drug dose is decreased to 3 mg/kg,both the CR and contextual sensitization are observed.Therefore,the sensitized behaviors,rather than the CR produced by morphine pretreatment,appear to be dependent on the drug treatment regimen and environmental novelty,suggesting that different mechanisms may be involved in the expression of the CR and contextual sensitization.

Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain reduces anxiety and improves cognitive function in the hyperammonemia rat

Evidence suggests that the hyperammonemia(HA)-induced neuroinflammation and alterations in the serotonin(5-HT)system may contribute to cognitive decline and anxiety disorder during hepatic encephalopathy(HE).Probiotics that maintain immune system homeostasis and regulate the 5-HT system may be potential treatment for HA-mediated neurological disorders in HE.In this study,we tested the efficacy of probiotic Lactobacillus helveticus strain NS8 in preventing cognitive decline and anxiety-like behavior in HA rats.Chronic HA was induced by intraperitoneal injection of ammonium acetate for four weeks in male Sprague-Dawley rats.HA rats were then given Lactobacillus helveticus strain NS8(109 CFU mL?1)in drinking water as a daily supplementation.The Morris water maze task assessed cognitive function,and the elevated plus maze test evaluated anxiety-like behavior.Neuroinflammation was assessed by measuring the inflammatory markers:inducible nitric oxide synthase,prostaglandin E2,and interleukin-1βin the brain.5-HT system activity was evaluated by measuring 5-HT and its metabolite,5-HIAA,and the 5-HT precursor,tryptophan.Probiotic treatment of HA rats significantly reduced the level of inflammatory markers,decreased 5-HT metabolism,restored cognitive function and improved anxiety-like behavior.These results indicate that probiotic L.helveticus strain NS8 is beneficial for the treatment of cognitive decline and anxiety-like behavior in HA rats.

Structural changes of gut microbiota in Parkinson's disease and its correlation with clinical features

The aim of this study was to compare the structure of gut microbiota in Parkinson's disease(PD) patients and healthy controls;and to explore correlations between gut microbiota and PD clinical features. We analyzed fecal bacterial composition of 24 PD patients and 14 healthy volunteers by using 16 S rRNA sequencing. There were significant differences between PD and healthy controls, as well as among different PD stages. The putative cellulose degrading bacteria from the genera Blautia(P=0.018),Faecalibacterium(P=0.048) and Ruminococcus(P=0.019) were significantly decreased in PD compared to healthy controls.The putative pathobionts from the genera Escherichia-Shigella(P=0.038), Streptococcus(P=0.01), Proteus(P=0.022), and Enterococcus(P=0.006) were significantly increased in PD subjects. Correlation analysis indicated that disease severity and PD duration negatively correlated with the putative cellulose degraders, and positively correlated with the putative pathobionts. The results suggest that structural changes of gut microbiota in PD are characterized by the decreases of putative cellulose degraders and the increases of putative pathobionts, which may potentially reduce the production of short chain fatty acids, and produce more endotoxins and neurotoxins; and these changes is potentially associated with the development of PD pathology.

D-ribose increases triglyceride via upregulation of DGAT in the liver

Dear Editor, Fatty liver disease or hepatic steatosis, recognized as the hepatic component of metabolic syndrome, can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (Youngwanichsetha, 2018).

Shielding of the geomagnetic field reduces hydrogen peroxide production in human neuroblastoma cell and inhibits the activity of CuZn superoxide dismutase

Accumulative evidence has shown the adverse effects of a geomagnetic field shielded condition, so called a hypomagnetic field （HMF）, on the metabolic processes and oxidative stress in animals and cells. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we evaluate the role of HMF on the regulation of cellular reactive oxygen species （ROS） in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. We found that HMF exposure led to ROS decrease, and that restoring the decrease by additional H2O2 rescued the HMF-enhanced cell proliferation. The measurements on ROS related indexes, including total anti-oxidant capacity, H2O2 and superoxide anion levels, and superoxide dismutase （SOD） activity and expres- sion, indicated that the HMF reduced H2O2 production and inhibited the activity of CuZn-SOD. Moreover, the HMF accelerated the denaturation of CuZn-SOD as well as enhanced aggregation of CuZn-SOD protein, in vitro. Our findings indicate that CuZn-SOD is able to response to the HMF stress and suggest it a mediator of the HMF effect.

Pathway-based analysis for genome-wide association studies of schizophrenia to provide new insight in schizophrenia study

Schizophrenia (SZ) is an inheritable complex mental disease. There have been several genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of SZ to identify novel genetic susceptibility factors. To further interpret SZ GWASs, pathway-based analysis (PBA), which considers the combined effect of variants and identifies pathways associated with traits, provides a feasible solution to discover the biological function and mechanism of SZ. Furthermore, to investigate the common pathways between SZ and bipolar disorder (BD) will help explore common mechanism between psychiatric phenotypes. We performed a PBA, called improved gene set enrichment analysis (i-GSEA), on 3 independent GWASs of SZ to identify pathways associated with SZ. The results were further compared to the BD-associated pathways identified by i-GSEA for 2 BD GWASs and from literature reports. Our analysis identified a highly statistically significant association between SZ and pathway 'substrate specific channel activity' in all 3 SZ GWASs (false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05). This association has not been reported elsewhere before. This pathway was also identified by PBA for 2 independent BD GWASs. Our results suggest that pathway 'substrate specific channel activity' is statistically significantly associated with SZ, and SZ and BD share the common biological function and mechanism represented by this pathway.

Reactive carbonyl compounds(RCCs) cause aggregation and dysfunction of fibrinogen

Fibrinogen is a key protein involved in coagulation and its deposition on blood vessel walls plays an important role in the pathology of atherosclerosis.Although the causes of fibrinogen(fibrin)deposition have been studied in depth,little is known about the relationship between fibrinogen deposition and reactive carbonyl compounds(RCCs),compounds which are produced and released into the blood and react with plasma protein especially under conditions of oxidative stress and inflammation.Here,we investigated the effect of glycolaldehyde on the activity and deposition of fibrinogen compared with the common RCCs acrolein,methylglyoxal,glyoxal and malondialdehyde.At the same concentration(1 mmol/L),glycolaldehyde and acrolein had a stronger suppressive effect on fibrinogen activation than the other three RCCs.Fibrinogen aggregated when it was respectively incubated with glycolaldehyde and the other RCCs,as demonstrated by SDS-PAGE,electron microscopy and intrinsic fluorescence intensity measurements.Staining with Congo Red showed that glycolaldehyde-and acrolein-fibrinogen distinctly formed amyloid-like aggregations.Furthermore,the five RCCs,particularly glycolaldehyde and acrolein,delayed human plasma coagulation.Only glycolaldehyde showed a markedly suppressive effect on fibrinogenesis,none did the other four RCCs when their physiological blood concentrations were employyed,respectively.Taken together,it is glycolaldehyde that suppresses fibrinogenesis and induces protein aggregation most effectively,suggesting a putative pathological process for fibrinogen(fibrin)deposition in the blood.