Abstract figure legend Schematic of Swarm-Contrastive Decomposition. A set of separation vectors are initialised to the same vector, with zero-mean and unitary standard deviation. Each separation vector is associated with a specific particle, the value of the exponent in the contrast function. This value tunes the sensitivity of the contrast function to outliers. Each separation vector is updated independently given a measure of sparsity of the produced source vector. The exponents are updated based on the optimal value with a particle swarm optimisation algorithm. The final outputs are the peaks of the source vector, which represent the firing times of the current motor unit. The process is repeated in an iterative fashion until all motor units are decomposed. Created in BioRender. Grison, A. (2025) https://BioRender.com/y04h318

Abstract figure legendInterictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) indicate irritable cortex and may arise from brain lesions such as cortical tubers in tuberous sclerosis. Here, we identify IEDs in intracranial recordings in patients undergoing evaluation for epilepsy surgery, and demonstrate that they behave like a travelling wave arising from the tuber core. Using a neural mass model, we then demonstrate that recurrently coupled networks allow for the fast spread of IEDs along the tuber and perituberal cortical areas (left). Simulating a reduction of inhibitory connectivity, the fully parameterised network model then indicates that these recurrent networks, but not other types of network architectures, are capable of generating interictal epileptiform discharges, as well as seizure-like dynamics (right)

Abstract figure legend This figure summarises the study of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) changes in 10 older males following a 10 day bed rest period. Baseline (BR0) and post-bed rest (BR10) assessments were conducted using intramuscular EMG (iEMG) to measure NMJ transmission. At BR0 and BR10, muscle biopsies were obtained to analyse NMJ morphology, and blood samples were collected to evaluate C-terminal agrin fragment (CAF) levels, a biomarker of NMJ instability and acetylcholine receptor (AChR) remodelling. After the bed rest period, NMJ morphology showed reduced overlap between presynaptic and postsynaptic terminals and an increase in AChR area. Elevated CAF levels biochemically confirmed this AChR remodelling. Additionally, NMJ transmission properties were impaired, suggesting that this NMJ morphological remodelling is associated with functional alterations.

Abstract figure legend Optical mapping studies in Langendorff perfused rabbit hearts showed that isoproterenol (ISO) significantly increased the number of phase singularities (PSs) per ventricular fibrillation episode in females and the dominant frequency (DF) in both sexes. Mirabegron, a β-3 adrenoceptor agonist, significantly decreased the PSs in both sexes and significantly decreased DF in females. It also reduced conduction velocity (CV) in females not in males. Without ISO, females showed significantly lower PSs than males at mirabegron concentrations of 750 nm and 1000 nm. RT-quantitative PCR analysis showed no sex difference in β-3 adrenoceptor RNA expression. Mirabegron did not inhibit I_KAS in human embryonal kidney 293 cells. These findings suggest that mirabegron, a β-3 AR agonist, is antiarrhythmic, and its antiarrhythmic properties are more commonly observed in females than males.

Abstract figure legend The intrinsic cardiac nervous system regulates the beat-to-beat function of the heart. Hodgkin–Huxley ion channel models from literature were selected based on the ion channels found in single-neuron transcriptomic data. The transcriptomic data were binarized to confer combinations of ion channel presence or absence for each neuron in a library of parallel conductance models. The model-predicted electrophysiological behaviour reflects the distribution of firing patterns observed experimentally. These models are a first step towards bridging the gap between single-cell transcriptomic data and predictive models of physiology.