MSTPublications September 2026

The embodied self in psychosis: Relationships among insula functional connectivity and emotional embodiment in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

Kittleson AR, Chatterjee A, Lebovitz J, Rogers BP, Alexis K, Park S, Sheffield JM.

Schizophr Res. 2026 Aug 27;297:241-253. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2026.08.013. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 42660028 Free article.

Abstract

Background: Disturbances in the self are central to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SZ) and may arise from abnormalities in emotional embodiment, or the representation of emotions through bodily sensations. The insular cortex plays a central role in interoception and emotional awareness, yet the relationship between emotional embodiment and insular functional connectivity (FC) remains unclear. We tested whether reduced differentiation of bodily emotion representations is associated with reduced differentiation of insular subregional FC profiles in SZ.

Methods: Resting-state fMRI and emotional embodiment data were analyzed in 31 SZ and 40 healthy comparison (HC) participants. Emotional embodiment was assessed using the EMBODY task, in which participants mapped bodily sensation associated with a range of emotions. Seed-to-voxel FC analyses were performed for posterior, dorsal anterior, and ventral anterior insular subregions, and differentiation of their FC profiles was quantified using η2.

Results: SZ participants exhibited significantly less differentiated bodily representations of emotions than HC participants. Insular subregional differentiation was statistically similar between groups, although SZ participants demonstrated reduced FC between the posterior insula and primary motor cortex and between the dorsal anterior insula and Broca’s area. Lower differentiation of posterior and dorsal anterior insular FC profiles was associated with lower embodied activation for anger and depression.

Conclusions: Schizophrenia is characterized by less differentiated bodily representations of emotion, but these alterations showed only limited associations with insular subregional FC differentiation. These findings suggest that altered emotional embodiment in schizophrenia cannot be explained solely by reduced differentiation of insular functional connectivity and motivate further investigation using task-based neuroimaging paradigms.

Nucleus basalis functional connectivity aberrations in temporal lobe epilepsy and improvements after successful epilepsy surgery.

Cavender AC, Doss DJ, Makhoul GS, Lerma BHM, Reda A, Withers CP, Liao E, Wang K, González HFJ, Goodale SE, Johnson GW, Cutting LE, Bick SK, Chang C, Morgan VL, Englot DJ. Epilepsia. 2026 Aug 19. doi: 10.1002/epi.70451. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 42615230

Hypotension during adult spinal deformity surgery: a risk factor for postoperative complications?

Jain H, Okonkwo DD, Sarikonda A, Zakieh O, Krishna S, De Oliveira N, Ahluwalia R, Montgomery A, Navid W, Younus I, Chanbour H, Wilson B, Abtahi AM, Stephens BF, Zuckerman SL.

J Neurosurg Spine. 2026 Aug 28:1-9. doi: 10.3171/2026.4.SPINE26173. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 42664517

Is systemic anticoagulation necessary during intraoperative venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for bilateral lung transplantation? A feasibility study comparing zero-, low-, and high-intensity heparin strategies.

Adjei E, Stokes JW, Dereshgi AT, Sklar BM, Petrovic M, Gannon WD, Kemp C, Eid AM, Trindade AJ, Demarest CT, Lombard FW, Bacchetta M, Hoetzenecker K.

JTCVS Open. 2026 May 4;32:101840. doi: 10.1016/j.xjon.2026.101840. eCollection 2026 Aug.

PMID: 42604300 Free PMC article.

Donor Right Ventricular Oversizing Is Independently Associated With Severe Primary Graft Dysfunction After Heart Transplantation: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.

Ahmad A, Wang CC, Petrovic M, Williams AM, Trahanas J, Bommareddi S, Absi T, Quintana E, McGann K, Thaivalappil A, Eidson C, Navid W, Siddiqi H, Brinkley M, Tsai S, Rali AS, Menachem JN, Pedrotty D, Sacks S, Zalawadiya S, Bacchetta M, Lindenfeld J, Schlendorf K, Shah AS, Lima B.

Clin Transplant. 2026 Sep;40(9):e70675. doi: 10.1111/ctr.70675.

PMID: 42717645 Free PMC article.

Paying the toll: Transfusion and outcomes of patients bridged with mechanical circulatory support to heart transplantation.

Bommareddi S, Wang CC, Navid W, Chawla E, Trahanas J, Lima B, Ahmad A, McGann KC, Petrovic M, Devries S, Lowman J, Absi T, Quintana E, Schlendorf K, Bacchetta M, Shah AS, Williams AM.

JTCVS Open. 2026 May 2;32:101851. doi: 10.1016/j.xjon.2026.101851. eCollection 2026 Aug.

PMID: 42604197 Free PMC article.

Airway Complications Following Lung Transplantation Using Prolonged 10°C Controlled Graft Preservation.

Cerullo M, Petrovic M, Wilkins AG, Boyce W, Le L, Shaver CM, Trindade A, Toporek A, Combs MP, Erasmus D, Stokes JW 4th, Demarest CT, Bacchetta M, Hoetzenecker K.

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2026 Aug 27:S0022-5223(26)01229-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2026.08.011. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 42660444 Free article.

Optimized perfusate in the dynamic organ storage system improves liver graft preservation in a porcine donation after circulatory death model.

Shishido Y, Cortelli M, Kumpfbeck A, Adesanya T, Simonds E, Petrovic M, Woo Y, Tracy KM, Peters JK, Crannell WC, Ukita R, Demarest CT, Rizzari MD, Montenovo M, Rauf MA, Liang J, Lee YA, Magliocca JF, Karp SJ, Shaver C, Bacchetta M.

Curr Probl Surg. 2026 Sep;82:102139. doi: 10.1016/j.cpsurg.2026.102139. Epub 2026 Aug 1.

PMID: 42701012 Free article. No abstract available.

To Reanimate or Not: Rapid Recovery Versus Thoraco-abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Donation after Circulatory Death Heart Transplantation.

Williams AM, Wang CC, Ahmad A, Bommareddi S, McGann KC, Trahanas J, Lima B, Petrovic M, Devries S, Lowman J, Absi T, Quintana E, Siddiqi H, Amancherla K, Brinkley M, Tsai S, Menachem JN, Pedrotty D, Rali AS, Sacks S, Zalawadiya S, Lepore J, Schlendorf K, Beckerman Z, Bacchetta M, Shah AS.

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2026 Aug 25:S0022-5223(26)01232-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2026.08.013. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 42641780

Bayesian Reasoning in Radiology: A Practical Approach for Interpretation and Reporting.

Rafiei Alavi N, Witt A, Ramasamy SK, Arunachalam VS, Mittal A.

Radiographics. 2026 Oct;46(10):e260151. doi: 10.1148/rg.260151.

PMID: 42721042 No abstract available.