Cognitive Events Research Articles

Blood-Based Cardiac Biomarkers and the Risk of Cognitive Decline, Cerebrovascular Disease, and Clinical Events.

Cardiac biomarkers, NT-proBNP (N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide), hs-cTnT (high-sensitivity-cardiac troponin T), and GDF-15 (growth differentiation factor-15) have been proposed as important biomarkers of early vascular pathology. However, little is known of the longitudinal associations of these cardiac biomarkers with cerebrovascular disease and clinical events. We examine the association of blood-based cardiac biomarkers (NT-proBNP, hs-cTnT, and GDF-15) with cognitive decline, incident cerebrovascular disease, vascular events, and mortality. Four hundred thirty-four memory-clinic patients provided blood samples at baseline, underwent 3 annual neuropsychological assessments and brain magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline and follow-up. NT-proBNP and hs-cTnT concentrations were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and GDF-15 by quantitative sandwich immunoassay. Baseline and follow-up magnetic resonance imagings were graded for white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, cerebral microbleeds, cortical infarcts, and intracranial stenosis. Data on incident vascular events and mortality were obtained. Patients with higher levels of NT-proBNP, hs-cTnT, and GDF-15 showed greater decline in memory domain. Additionally, hs-cTnT was associated with decline in global cognition, executive function, and visuomotor speed. Higher levels of NT-proBNP were associated with incident cerebral microbleeds and hs-cTnT with incident cortical infarcts. During a mean follow-up of 3 years, 26 (5.9%) patients died and 35 (8.1%) developed vascular events. Patients with higher levels of NTpro-BNP and hs-cTnT were at increased risk of vascular events whereas those with higher levels of NT-proBNP and GDF-15 were at risk of mortality. Higher levels of blood-based cardiac biomarkers were associated with decline in memory and risk of vascular events and mortality. Moreover, NT-proBNP and hs-cTnT were associated with incident cerebral microbleeds and cortical infarcts. Thus, these biomarkers are potentially useful in identifying patients at risk of adverse vascular events and death.

Realization of «Victory» and «Defeat» frames in sports Internet-discourse: problem of focusing

The relevance of the problem of realization of the frames Victory and Defeat that are linguistically represented in the sports Internet-discourse is due to the fact that in the recent decades scholars both in Russia and abroad develop the theoretical grounds of discourse analysis and pay special attention to different kinds of institutional and professional discourses, and sports discourse possesses two important features aims and participants; thus, sports discourse belongs to the group of institutional discourses and is of great interest for researchers. The aim of the research became the identification of methods that are applied in order to change the focus of the frame; in the course of the study the author solves the following tasks: description of the constituents of the cognitive event model, carrying out linguistic research of sports Internet-discourse fragments and defining the pragmatic goals of the author that in turn influence the frame as a whole. The match reports which are found in the news sections of sport teams` websites were used as the research materials. The study is devoted to the headings of the reports and introductions to them. It is these parts of the articles that contain information about the match outcome that is the basis for the frames under analysis. In the article the following methods were applied: critical discourse analysis as well as quantitative and qualitative methods in the framework of content analysis. Lexical units that were singled out were analyzed from both morphological and semantic perspectives. The study of modern sports Internet-discourse has demonstrated that the authors of match reports tend not only to convey the information about the match results to the readers of the web-site but also to influence their opinion by forming a particular interpretation. The conducted analysis makes it possible to conclude that an intentional shift of focus frame is achieved with the help of various lexical units, word combinations and, especially, evaluative adjectives.

Blueprint for a Simulation Framework to Increase Driver Training Safety in North America: Case Study

Despite numerous recent advances in the classroom and in-vehicle driver training and education over the last quarter-century, traffic accidents remain a leading cause of mortality for young adults—particularly, those between the ages of 16 and 19. Obviously, despite recent advances in conventional driver training (e.g., classroom, in-vehicle, Graduated Driver Licensing programs), this remains a critical public safety and public health concern. As advanced vehicle technologies continue to evolve, so too does the unintended potential for mechanical, visual, and/or cognitive driver distraction and adverse safety events on national highways. For these reasons, a physics-based modeling and high-fidelity simulation have great potential to serve as a critical supplementary component of a near-future teen-driver training framework. Here, a case study is presented that examines the specification, development, and deployment of a “blueprint” for a simulation framework intended to increase driver training safety in North America. A multi-measure assessment of simulated driver performance was developed and instituted, including quantitative (e.g., simulator-measured), qualitative (e.g., evaluator-observed), and self-report metrics. Preliminary findings are presented, along with a summary of novel contributions through the deployment of the training framework, as well as planned improvements and suggestions for future directions.

Epilepsy and Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive impairment is prevalent in epilepsy. Studies have revealed that up to 70%–80% of epilepsy patients have various degrees of cognitive impairment in attention, executive function, language function, and memory. Factors associated with cognitive impairment include, but are not limited to, genetic predisposition; medications (including antiepileptic drugs); structural lesions; degenerative processes; mood disorders; type, frequency and severity of seizures; age of onset; and duration of epilepsy. Antiepileptic drugs, including barbiturates and topiramate, are known to affect cognitive function. However, cognitive impairment is frequently noticed at the onset of epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs usually are not independently associated with cognitive dysfunction. In addition, caution is needed that other factors associated with cognitive impairment does not necessarily entail a causal association. The existence of a common pathomechanism underlying both cognitive impairment and epilepsy should be considered. Vascular insult and tau pathology may underlie both cognitive impairment and epilepsy. Surgery could be a good treatment option for refractory epilepsy. Potential cognitive adverse events following the surgical removal of brain tissue are limited and could be outweighed by succesful seizure control and improved quality of life. Key words: Epilepsy; Cognitive impairment; Elderly; Antiepileptic drug; Epilepsy surgery.

Catecholaminergic stimulation restores high-sucrose diet-induced hippocampal dysfunction

Increasing evidence suggests that long-term consumption of high-caloric diets increases the risk of developing cognitive dysfunctions. In the present study, we assessed the catecholaminergic activity in the hippocampus as a modulatory mechanism that is altered in rats exposed to six months of a high-sucrose diet (HSD). Male Wistar rats fed with this diet developed a metabolic disorder and showed impaired spatial memory in both water maze and object location memory (OLM) tasks. Intrahippocampal free-movement microdialysis showed a diminished dopaminergic and noradrenergic response to object exploration during OLM acquisition compared to rats fed with normal diet. In addition, electrophysiological results revealed an impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) of the perforant to dentate gyrus pathway in rats exposed to a HSD. Local administration of nomifensine, a catecholaminergic reuptake inhibitor, prior to OLM acquisition or LTP induction, improved long-term memory and electrophysiological responses, respectively. These results suggest that chronic exposure to HSD induces a hippocampal deterioration which impacts on cognitive and neural plasticity events negatively; these impairments can be ameliorated by increasing or restituting the affected catecholaminergic activity.

Learning dynamic graph embeddings for accurate detection of cognitive state changes in functional brain networks

Mounting evidence shows that brain functions and cognitive states are dynamically changing even in the resting state rather than remaining at a single constant state. Due to the relatively small changes in BOLD (blood-oxygen-level-dependent) signals across tasks, it is difficult to detect the change of cognitive status without requiring prior knowledge of the experimental design. To address this challenge, we present a dynamic graph learning approach to generate an ensemble of subject-specific dynamic graph embeddings, which allows us to use brain networks to disentangle cognitive events more accurately than using raw BOLD signals. The backbone of our method is essentially a representation learning process for projecting BOLD signals into a latent vertex-temporal domain with the greater biological underpinning of brain activities. Specifically, the learned representation domain is jointly formed by (1) a set of harmonic waves that govern the topology of whole-brain functional connectivities and (2) a set of Fourier bases that characterize the temporal dynamics of functional changes. In this regard, our dynamic graph embeddings provide a new methodology to investigate how these self-organized functional fluctuation patterns oscillate along with the evolving cognitive status. We have evaluated our proposed method on both simulated data and working memory task-based fMRI datasets, where our dynamic graph embeddings achieve higher accuracy in detecting multiple cognitive states than other state-of-the-art methods.

Avapritinib in Patients With Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Following at Least Three Prior Lines of Therapy.

BackgroundMost gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) driven by KIT or platelet‐derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA) mutations develop resistance to available tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatments. NAVIGATOR is a two‐part, single‐arm, dose escalation and expansion study designed to evaluate safety and antineoplastic activity of avapritinib, a selective, potent inhibitor of KIT and PDGFRA, in patients with unresectable or metastatic GIST.Materials and MethodsEligible patients were 18 years or older with histologically or cytologically confirmed unresectable GIST and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤2 and initiated avapritinib at 300 mg or 400 mg once daily. Primary endpoints were safety in patients who initiated avapritinib at 300 mg or 400 mg once daily and overall response rate (ORR) in patients in the safety population with three or more previous lines of TKI therapy.ResultsAs of November 16, 2018, in the safety population (n = 204), the most common adverse events (AEs) were nausea (131 [64%]), fatigue (113 [55%]), anemia (102 [50%]), cognitive effects (84 [41%]), and periorbital edema (83 [41%]); 17 (8%) patients discontinued due to treatment‐related AEs, most frequently confusion, encephalopathy, and fatigue. ORR in response‐evaluable patients with GIST harboring KIT or non‐D842V PDGFRA mutations and with at least three prior therapies (n = 103) was 17% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10–25). Median duration of response was 10.2 months (95% CI, 7.2–10.2), and median progression‐free survival was 3.7 months (95% CI, 2.8–4.6).ConclusionAvapritinib has manageable toxicity with meaningful clinical activity as fourth‐line or later treatment in some patients with GIST with KIT or PDGFRA mutations.Implications for PracticeIn the NAVIGATOR trial, avapritinib, an inhibitor of KIT and platelet‐derived growth factor receptor A tyrosine kinases, provided durable responses in a proportion of patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) who had received three or more prior therapies. Avapritinib had a tolerable safety profile, with cognitive adverse events manageable with dose interruptions and modification in most cases. These findings indicate that avapritinib can elicit durable treatment responses in some patients with heavily pretreated GIST, for whom limited treatment options exist.

Daidzein Pro-cognitive Effects Coincided with Changes of Brain Neurotensin1 Receptor and Interleukin-10 Expression Levels in Obese Hamsters.

At present, concerns are pointing to "tasteful" high-fat diets as a cause of conditioning physical-social states that through alterations of some key emotional- and nutritional-related limbic circuits such as hypothalamic and amygdalar areas lead to obesity states. Feeding and energetic homeostatic molecular mechanisms are part of a complex neuronal circuit accounting for this metabolic disorder. In an attempt to exclude conventional drugs for treating obesity, daidzein, a natural glycosidic isoflavone, which mimics estrogenic neuroprotective properties against increased body weight, is beginning to be preferred. In this study, evident anxiolytic-like behaviors were detected following treatment of high-fat diet hamsters with daidzein as shown by extremely evident (p < 0.001) exploration tendencies in novel object recognition test and a notably greater amount of time spent (p < 0.01) in open arms of elevated plus maze. Moreover, the isoflavone promoted a protective role against neurodegeneration processes as shown by few, if any, amino cupric silver granules in amygdalar, hypothalamic and hippocampal neuronal fields when compared with obese hamsters. Interestingly, elevated expression levels of the anorexic neuropeptide receptor neurotensin1 in the above limbic areas of obese hamsters were extremely reduced by daidzein, especially during recovery of cognitive events. Contextually, such effects were strongly paralleled by increased levels of the anti-neuroinflammatory cytokine, interleukin-10. Our results corroborate a neuroprotective ability of this natural glycosidic isoflavone, which through its interaction with the receptor neurotensin1 and interleukin-10 pathways is correlated not only to improved feeding states, and subsequently obesity conditions, but above all to cognitive performances.

Anatomical and neurochemical organization of the serotonergic system in the mammalian brain and in particular the involvement of the dorsal raphe nucleus in relation to neurological diseases.

The brainstem is a neglected brain area in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and autonomic dysfunction. In Depression, several observations have been made in relation to changes in one particular the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus (DRN) which also points toward as key area in various age-related and neurodevelopmental diseases. The DRN is further thought to be related to stress regulated processes and cognitive events. It is involved in neurodegeneration, e.g., amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and impaired synaptic transmission in Alzheimer's disease as shown in our autopsy findings. The DRN is a phylogenetically old brain area, with projections that reach out to a large number of regions and nuclei of the central nervous system, particularly in the forebrain. These ascending projections contain multiple neurotransmitters. One of the main reasons for the past and current interest in the DRN is its involvement in depression, and its main transmitter serotonin. The DRN also points toward the increased importance and focus of the brainstem as key area in various age-related and neurodevelopmental diseases. This review describes the morphology, ascending projections and the complex neurotransmitter nature of the DRN, stressing its role as a key research target into the neural bases of depression.

Cognitive Health and Economic Benefits of Using Vitamin B Food Supplements Among the European Union’s Aging Population

Giving the ageing of its citizens, and the expected rise in cognitive impairment that is likely to follow, the need for the mitigating tools to help manage the burden and the consequences of cognitive impairment grows daily in the European Union (EU). The total annual cost of managing the consequences of cognitive impairment among those age 65 and older in the EU was €265.17 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach €530.69 billion by 2030 given that more than 17 million European Union citizens will likely be inflicted by cognitive impairment of some type by 2030. This case study found that the total potential benefits for adults age 65 and older at risk of suffering from cognitive impairment from the daily utilization of Vitamin B at an effective intake level can yield over € 25 billion in health care cost savings per year between now and 2030 if all at-risk adults age 65 and older utilised Vitamin B supplements at effective intake levels. This finding is based on the meta analysis results of the qualified set of scientific studies where it is expected that the absolute risk reduction of a prevalent cognitive impairment event, given the supportive daily use of vitamin B food supplements is 9.5% relative risk reduction. This research and related case studies show that significant healthcare cost savings could be realised through a rigorous effort to identify high risk populations, such as seniors at risk of brain diseases that causes severe cognitive impairment, and inspire them to use an vitamin B food supplement that is shown through the scientific literature to have a significant health benefit to the user.

Disorientation in Time and Place in Old Age: Longitudinal Evidence from Three Old Age Cohorts in Germany (AgeDifferent.de Platform).

Only little evidence is available on disorientation, one of the most challenging symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of disorientation in older age in association with the level of cognitive status, personal characteristics, and life events. Three longitudinal population-based cohort studies on cognitive health of elderly adults were harmonized (LEILA 75 + , AgeCoDe/AgeQualiDe, AgeMooDe). Participants who completed a baseline and at least one follow-up assessment of cognitive functioning and who did not have stroke, Parkinson's disease, atherosclerosis, kidney disease, and/or alcoholism were included in the analysis (n = 2135, 72.6% female, mean age 80.2 years). Data was collected in standardized interviews and questionnaires with the participant, a proxy informant, and the participant's general practitioner. Making three errors in the MMSE other than in the questions on orientation (MMSEwo) came with a probability of 7.8% for disorientation, making ten errors with a probability of 88.9%. A lower MMSEwo score (HR 0.75, CI 95 0.71-0.79, p < 0.001), older age (HR 1.11, CI 95 1.08-1.14, p < 0.001), and living in a nursing home (HR 1.64, CI 95 1.02-2.64, p = 0.042) were associated with incident disorientation. Impairments in walking (OR 2.41, CI 95 1.16-4.99, p = 0.018) were associated with a greater probability for prevalent disorientation. None of the life events were significant. Our findings suggest that disorientation is primarily associated with cognitive status. Regular walking activities might possibly reduce the risk for disorientation but further research is necessary.

Polonizmy wśród białoruskich nazw procesów kognitywnych

&lt;p&gt;Badanie semantyki czasowników – nazw procesów kognitywnych – na materiale języka białoruskiego nie było dotychczas podejmowane. Jako specjalny podsystem leksykalno-semantyczny czasowniki w znaczeniu „procesy mentalne” na materiale innych języków również nie był wcześniej poddany badaniu. Aktualność tego artykułu wynika z braku kompleksowego opisu niniejszego zagadnienia leksykalno-semantycznego. Celem artykułu jest całościowy opis nazw procesów kognitywnych w języku białoruskim. Badaniu poddane zostały cechy semantyczne i składniowe każdego czasownika oraz rodzaje relacji między nimi. Zgodnie z czym definiowane są znaczenia leksykalne, typ każdego leksemu według rodzaju czynności; aktantnу typ czasownika oraz jego związki syntagmatyczne. W artykle zwraca się również uwagę, które czasowniki zapożyczono z języka polskiego i które przez jego pośrednictwo. Nazwy procesów kognitywnych zostały podzielone na kilka grup z semantyką ‘decydować, wnioskować’, ‘zgadnąć’, ‘zrozumieć’, ‘dowiedzieć się’, ‘zapamiętać’, ‘przypomnieć’. Spośród czterdziestu jednostek siedem zapożyczono z języka polskiego lub język polski pełnił rolę pośrednika w ich zapożyczeniu. W podgrupie semantycznej ‘decydować, wnioskować’ za pośrednictwem języka polskiego do białoruszczyzny zapożyczono leksemy &lt;em&gt;дэдукаваць&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;разважыць&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;размеркаваць&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;разрахаваць&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;. &lt;/em&gt;Trzy kolejne polonizmy mają semantykę ‘zrozumieć’, ‘dowiedzieć się’. Z języka polskiego zapożyczono wyrazy &lt;em&gt;дапяць&lt;/em&gt; i &lt;em&gt;распрацаваць&lt;/em&gt;. Brus. &lt;em&gt;асэнсаваць&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;ma korzenie łacińskie, ale do białoruszczyzny został zapożyczony przez polskie pośrednictwo. Wszystkie te leksemy, z wyjątkiem niedawnego zapożyczenia &lt;em&gt;дапяць&lt;/em&gt;, były używane już w okresie starobiałoruskim. Są one przechodnie – taka sama rekcja była typowa dla tych czasowników w języku polskim. Czasownik &lt;em&gt;дапяць&lt;/em&gt; używany jest bez obiektu lub ze zdaniem podrzędnym dopełnieniowym.&lt;/p&gt;

Blood‐based cardiac biomarkers and the risk of cognitive decline, vascular events and mortality

AbstractBackgroundVascular pathology plays an important role in the development of cognitive decline, stroke and mortality. In this context, amino terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide (NTpro‐BNP), high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs‐cTnT) and growth differentiation factor‐15 (GDF‐15) have been proposed as important biomarkers of early vascular pathology due to their up‐regulation in inflammatory and trophic responses during tissue injury. However, little is known on the longitudinal effects of these cardiac biomarkers and their potential clinical implications. We examine the association of blood‐based cardiac biomarkers (NTpro‐BNP, hs‐cTnT and GDF‐15) with cognitive decline and risk of vascular events and mortality in a memory clinic study.MethodA total of 414 (mean age:72.7± 9.1years, 56% women) patients with blood samples, neuropsychological assessment (baseline and at least two neuropsychological assessments obtained a minimum of one year apart), 3T neuroimaging and detailed clinical assessment were recruited. NTpro‐BNP and hs‐cTnT concentrations were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and GDF‐15 by quantitative sandwich immunoassay technique. Data on incident clinical outcomes and mortality were obtained until June 2018.ResultPatients with higher levels of NTpro‐BNP, hs‐cTnT and GDF‐15 showed a greater decline in memory domain per year with a stronger decline observed for hs‐cTnT (p for interaction, &lt;0.001) followed by NTpro‐BNP (p for interaction, 0.001) and GDF‐15 (p for interaction, 0.006). Additionally, hs‐cTnT was associated with accelerated decline in global cognition, executive function and visuomotor speed. During a mean follow‐up of 3 years, 26 (6.2%) patients died and 43 (10.4%) developed vascular events (heart disease and stroke). Patients with higher levels of NTpro‐BNP and hs‐cTnT were at increased risk of vascular events (OR for NTpro‐BNP:2.40, 95%CI: 1.15‐4.98 and OR for hs‐cTnT:5.59, 95%CI: 1.38‐22.72) whereas those with higher levels of NTpro‐BNP and GDF‐15 were at risk of mortality (OR for NTpro‐BNP: 4.48, 95%CI:1.59‐12.58 and OR for GDF‐15: 44.27, 95%CI:5.36‐363.46).ConclusionWe showed that the higher levels of blood‐based cardiac biomarkers were associated with worse decline in memory. This suggests that cardiac biomarkers may be useful indicators of vascular brain damage and to identify patients at risk of adverse vascular events and death and could warrant consideration of treatment trials.

Real‐time prediction of working memory performance: A machine learning‐based approach towards dementia prevention

AbstractBackgroundMCI is a clinical state that typically precedes Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). Working memory deficits are common in MCI and affect routine activities. Thus, developing an intervention that enhances working memory could enhance day‐to‐day function in these patients and, in turn, prevention progression to dementia. Towards this goal, a model that predicts individual‐specific working memory performance in this population could be instrumental for personalized interventions. Electroencephalography (EEG) captures the time dimension of cognitive events that happen during working memory performance and could predict individual‐specific performance. EEG predictive markers can then be targeted by interventions to enhance performance.MethodWe propose a single‐trial classification process that predicts individuals’ responses i.e. target correct (TC) vs. target noncorrect (TNC) responses during a working memory task, N‐back. We applied this process to EEG data of 15 healthy participants (mean age (SD) = 29.8 (7.6)) while performing the 3‐back task. We used event related (de‐)synchronization (ERD/ERS) from EEG signals 600 milliseconds prior to stimulus presentation as input features to a support vector machine classifier. To avoid overfitting of the model, we applied recursive feature elimination and cross validation to the first two‐thirds of the task. A trained classifier was then tested on the last third of the session. Non‐parametric permutation testing was used to ensure that the extracted pattern is associated with the original data rather than a random pattern.ResultOur model identified the brain regions where ERD/ERS predicted each individual’s working memory performance. Mean (SD) prediction accuracy across 15 participants was 70.1% (5.9). Accuracy was significantly above chance in 12 out of the 15 participants. The total number of the predictive EEG features across all participants ranged between 4 and 9. The mode was 6. As an example, in one participant, we achieved 69.2% accuracy based on 6 features: decreased parietal theta ERS; increased prefrontal theta ERS; decreased right temporal and occipital gamma ERS; and increased frontal and right temporal alpha ERD.ConclusionThis pilot study could lead to a machine‐learning based approach to increase the efficacy of personalized AD preventative interventions by individualizing the targets for these interventions.

Brain functional connectivity dynamics at rest in the aftermath of affective and cognitive challenges.

Carry‐over effects on brain states have been reported following emotional and cognitive events, persisting even during subsequent rest. Here, we investigated such effects by identifying recurring co‐activation patterns (CAPs) in neural networks at rest with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We compared carry‐over effects on brain‐wide CAPs at rest and their modulation after both affective and cognitive challenges. Healthy participants underwent fMRI scanning during emotional induction with negative valence and performed cognitive control tasks, each followed by resting periods. Several CAPs, overlapping with the default‐mode (DMN), salience, dorsal attention, and social cognition networks were impacted by both the preceding events (movie or task) and the emotional valence of the experimental contexts (neutral or negative), with differential dynamic fluctuations over time. Temporal metrics of DMN‐related CAPs were altered after exposure to negative emotional content (compared to neutral) and predicted changes in subjective affect on self‐reported scores. In parallel, duration rates of another attention‐related CAP increased with greater task difficulty during the preceding cognitive control condition, specifically in the negative context. These findings provide new insights on the anatomical organization and temporal inertia of functional brain networks, whose expression is differentially shaped by emotional states, presumably mediating adaptive homeostatic processes subsequent to behaviorally challenging events.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning, in people after stroke.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning, in people after stroke.

Cognitive Predictors of Depressive Symptoms: Cognitive Reactivity, Mood Reactivity, and Dysfunctional Attitudes

Cognitive vulnerability-stress models explain depression as the result of an interaction between negative cognitive styles and stressful life events; however, the specific content of the cognitive diathesis varies by model. This study examined three cognitive diatheses (i.e., unprimed cognitions, cognitive reactivity, and mood reactivity) in a prospective longitudinal design assessing currently non-depressed college students (N = 322) at the start of the semester with follow-up at the end of the semester, approximately 3 months later. At baseline, depressive symptoms, major depression history, negative life events in the past year, unprimed dysfunctional attitudes, and both cognitive reactivity and mood reactivity over a dysphoric mood induction were assessed. Depressive symptoms and negative life events in the interim were assessed at follow-up. After controlling for gender, past year negative life events, and baseline depression severity; unprimed dysfunctional attitudes significantly predicted subsequent depression severity, whereas cognitive reactivity and mood reactivity did not. None of the cognitive vulnerabilities interacted with negative life events over the interim to predict later depression. After controlling for gender, past year negative life events, baseline depression severity, and history of depression; mood reactivity and the mood reactivity × depression history interaction significantly predicted later depressive symptoms. Greater levels of mood reactivity predicted higher depressive symptoms in those with a history of depression and lower depressive symptoms in those without history of depression. Results suggest that different vulnerabilities may be relevant to predicting increases in depressive symptoms over time in those individuals who have not previously been depressed vs. those who have.

Household interventions for secondary prevention of domestic lead exposure in children.

Household interventions for secondary prevention of domestic lead exposure in children.

EEG based dementia diagnosis using multi-class support vector machine with motor speed cognitive test

Dementia is the most burdensome disorder in elders. The Dementia diagnosis is the challenging task at the earliest stages of a neurodegenerative disease when cognitive decline does not interfere with daily life activities. This work focuses on the detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by classifying dementia, MCI and age-matched normal subjects. The classification is based on a different set of EEG features. The multi-class support vector machine (SVM) used to classify EEG features during resting-state, relaxing-state, and motor speed test (MST) events. This work investigated the efficient set of EEG features to calculate maximum classification accuracy for each cognitive event. The motor speed of subjects evaluated and correlated the difference between the dominant and non-dominant hand reactivity with ageing in MST event. The proposed work achieved the highest overall accuracy of 87.59% of MST event after 85.09% in relaxing-state and 80.10% in resting-state. The diagnostic accuracy of MCI group achieved 87.22% in resting-state, 89.72% in relaxing state, and 91.23% in MST. Similarly, dementia achieved 88.72% accuracy in the resting state, 90.23% in relaxing state, and 92.36% in MST event. The normal group achieved 94.66% accuracy in the resting state, 90.23% in relaxing state, and 91.60% in MST event. These findings are comparatively higher than the latest research in this area, and MST findings are novel using multi-class SVM. Thus, MST is the most reliable tool for dementia diagnosis in the clinical setting.

Assessing 2- and 3-year-olds’ executive function during pediatric well-child visits: Feasibility and implications

Increasing evidence suggests that long-term consumption of high-caloric diets increases the risk of developing cognitive dysfunctions. In the present study, we assessed the catecholaminergic activity in the hippocampus as a modulatory mechanism that is altered in rats exposed to six months of a high-sucrose diet (HSD). Male Wistar rats fed with this diet developed a metabolic disorder and showed impaired spatial memory in both water maze and object location memory (OLM) tasks. Intrahippocampal free-movement microdialysis showed a diminished dopaminergic and noradrenergic response to object exploration during OLM acquisition compared to rats fed with normal diet. In addition, electrophysiological results revealed an impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) of the perforant to dentate gyrus pathway in rats exposed to a HSD. Local administration of nomifensine, a catecholaminergic reuptake inhibitor, prior to OLM acquisition or LTP induction, improved long-term memory and electrophysiological responses, respectively. These results suggest that chronic exposure to HSD induces a hippocampal deterioration which impacts on cognitive and neural plasticity events negatively; these impairments can be ameliorated by increasing or restituting the affected catecholaminergic activity.