The following is a summary of “A Regulatory Pathway Model of Neuropsychological Disruption in Havana Syndrome,” published in the October 2023 issue of Psychiatry by Chacko et al.
US diplomats in Havana, Cuba, reported hearing strange noises and then developing neurological symptoms in 2016. The cause of these Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI) is unknown.
Researchers performed a retrospective study to investigate the possible causes of Havana Syndrome symptoms by developing a network model of bio-behavioral pathways and comparing it to data on mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
The study employed automated text mining to examine over 9,000 publications. This analysis led to the establishment of a network containing 273 documented regulatory interactions, which linked 29 neurochemical markers with 9 neuropsychological constructs sourced from the Brief Mood Survey, PTSD Checklist, and the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale. By scrutinizing information flow within this network, a set of regulatory rules was derived, demonstrating alignment with known mechanistic pathways with a margin of up to 6%. These rules were subsequently applied to investigate the neuropsychological profiles of 6 subjects.
The predicted expression of neuro-chemical markers that align with documented pathways and observed symptom profiles indicates elevated levels of IL-1B, IL-10, NGF, and norepinephrine. This is accompanied by decreased expression of BDNF, GDNF, IGF1, and glutamate (FDR < 5%). Elevated levels of CRH and IL-6 were consistently predicted in all subjects. Simulations of neurological regulatory dynamics suggest that the subjects are not stuck in persistent illness but are on a gradual path toward recovery.
The study found that Havana Syndrome symptoms may be caused by disruptions in brain networks also involved in mTBI.
Source: frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1180929/full
