Improvement Of Cognitive Skills Research Articles

Pain assessment, cognitive and cortical changes with full mouth rehabilitation in a group of children

BackgroundA change in professionals’ perspectives on the value of general anesthesia (GA) for pediatric patients, including those with disabilities, medical conditions, severe oral issues, and challenging behaviors. Full-mouth rehabilitation under GA allows for the comprehensive treatment of all oral health problems in a single visit, without requiring the child’s active participation. Extensive dental problems are often associated with severe dental pain, which can impact cognitive function, including perception, attention, memory, reasoning, language, communication, and executive functions. Individuals experiencing pain tend to perform less optimally cognitively.AimThis study aimed to investigate changes in cognition, brain function, and cortical alterations in children who underwent extensive dental rehabilitation under GA.Patients andMethodsThirty uncooperative, healthy children aged 6–12 with extensive dental issues were enrolled. Pain levels were assessed using the FLACC and WBFPS scales before treatment, one week after, and three months later. Cognitive assessments, including the WCST, processing speed, digit span, and Trail Making Test, as well as EEG measurements, were also performed.ResultsThe results showed a significant improvement in pain levels reported by the children or their caregivers after the dental procedures, both at one week and three months. All cognitive measures, such as digit span, processing speed, and WCST performance, demonstrated substantial improvements after the treatment. The Trail Making Test also exhibited statistically significant variations before and after the dental procedures. Additionally, the MOCA test revealed a notable improvement in cognitive skills following the treatment. Furthermore, the EEG power ratio, an indicator of changes in the power balance within each frequency band, showed a statistically significant difference after the dental procedures.Conclusionthe findings of this study suggest that full-mouth rehabilitation under GA can lead to improved pain management, as well as enhanced cognitive and brain functions in children.Future perspectivesMore clinical studies with a longer follow-up period and a different age range of children are required to investigate the connection between brain function and oral rehabilitation involving restorations or occlusion issues.

Comparison of the effects of two amino acids, Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and L-theanine, on sedation, anxiety, and cognition in preoperative surgical patients – A randomized controlled study

Abstract Background and Aims: Preoperational anxiety affects the outcome of anesthesia and surgery. Benzodiazepines impair psychomotor performance and cause excessive sedation. L-theanine is a unique amino acid found in green tea. It prevents stress, produces anxiolysis, modulates alpha activity, and provides beneficial effects on mental state, including sleep quality. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-proteinogenic amino acid and a phytochemical that is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. It is beneficial in anxiety and stress regulation. Hence, alternative premedicants such as L-theanine and GABA will have a widespread appeal and are safer. The primary objective was to study and compare the effects of L-theanine and GABA on preoperative anxiety, sedation, and cognition in patients posted for major elective surgeries. The secondary objective was to study adverse reactions. Material and Methods: A total of 168 patients aged between 18 and 55 years, belonging to the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class I and II, and satisfying all inclusion criteria were randomly divided into three groups that received either oral L-theanine, oral GABA, or oral alprazolam 0.25 mg. The anxiety score, sedation score, and psychomotor and cognitive performance scores were noted 60 minutes before and after the administration of the drugs. Results: Alprazolam produced more sedation than GABA and L-theanine (P = 0.0001). Psychomotor and cognitive functions improved with L-theanine and GABA (P = 0.0001) and decreased with alprazolam (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: GABA and L-theanine result in effective preoperative anxiolysis with minimal sedation and improvement of cognitive skills.

Putting the coach in the game: Current and future state of surgical coaching in pediatric urology

Surgical coaching has been proposed as a mechanism to fill gaps in proficiency and encourage continued growth following formal surgical training. Coaching benefits have been demonstrated in other surgical fields; however, have not been evaluated within pediatric urology. The aims of this study were to survey members of The Societies for Pediatric Urology (SPU) to assess the current understanding and utilization of surgical coaching while gauging interest, potential barriers and personal goals for participation in a coaching program. Following IRB approval, members of the SPU were invited to electronically complete an anonymous survey which assessed 4 domains: 1) understanding of surgical coaching principles, 2) current utilization, 3) interest and potential barriers to participation, and 4) personal surgical goals. To evaluate understanding, questions with predefined correct answers on the key principles of coaching were posed either in multiple choice or True/False format to the SPU membership. Of the 674 pediatric urologists invited, 146 completed the survey (22%). Of those, 46% correctly responded the definition of surgical coaching. Coaching utilization was reported in 27% of respondents currently or having previously participated in a surgical coaching program. Despite current participation rates, only 6 surgeons (4%) have completed training in surgical coaching, despite 79% expressing interest to participate in a surgical coaching program. The most influential barrier to participating in a coaching program was time commitment. Respondents largely prioritized technical and cognitive skill improvement as their primary goals for coaching (see figure below). While interest in surgical coaching is high among pediatric urologists, the principles of surgical coaching were not universally understood. Furthermore, formal coach training is markedly deficient, representing a gap in our profession and an opportunity for significant avenues for improvement, especially for technical and cognitive skills. Development of a coaching model based on these results would best suit the needs of pediatric urologists providing that the time commitment barrier for these endeavors can be mitigated and/or reconciled.

Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement

Background. Research has suggested that exposure to reading can act positively on vocabulary development and other cognitive skills required in the early-school years. This paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental study that analyses the relationship between exposure to reading aloud to children and the development of basic cognitive skills, which are essential from the first days of school for the acquisition of all subsequent learning. This research has two objectives: first, to highlight the benefits of reading aloud in the first years of schooling, with particular reference to cognitive skills; second, to propose the Cognitive Assessment System Second Edition (CAS-2) as an instrument able to monitor and quantify the cognitive effects of this practice. Methods. This research involved a sample of 152 children from primary schools in Italy. After thorough teacher training on the proposed method of reading aloud, the teachers undertook daily reading training for approximately 3 months. The children in the experimental and control groups underwent ex ante and ex post individual administration of the CAS-2 test. A mixed model with a 2 × 2 design was used to verify the effect of the training. Results. With regard to the first aim, this study confirmed the hypotheses by highlighting the benefits of reading aloud training. The results on the Full CAS-2 Scale show significant increases in the experimental group compared to the control group. Furthermore, the improvement of the experimental group is evident in all the sub-dimensions investigated (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive). Conclusions. These results confirm the effect of reading aloud on cognitive skills development and the sensitivity of the CAS-2 as an instrument to detect its effects. Future research could explore the use of the CAS-2 battery in student populations of higher school grades, as well as observe the stability of the benefits over time.

Improvement of cognitive skills in elderly undergoing vestibular rehabilitation

AbstractBackgroundstudies that used vestibular rehabilitation (VR) found improvement in cognitive abilities of spatial memory, visuospatial function, executive functions, attention and a decrease in psychological distress. However, these studies only used cognitive screening tests or did not include comprehensive neuropsychological assessment.Methodlongitudinal, observational, analytical and quasi‐experimental study. The sample consisted of 50 elderly people of both sexes, aged between 60 and 86 years. Elderly people with vestibular dysfunction confirmed by the Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) and Video Head Impulse Test (v‐HIT) tests were included. The Geriatric Depression Scale ‐ short version (GDS‐15) was used to assess psychological distress and cognition was assessed using the Brief Neuropsychological Battery (Neupsilin). Psychological distress and cognition were assessed before and after eight sessions of vestibular rehabilitation according to the Cawthorne and Cooksey method (customized). Pre and post VR variables were detected using the Wilcoxon test. A significance level of 5% was adopted (p< 0.05).Resultafter vestibular rehabilitation, there was improvement in general cognition ‐ Neupsilin (142/145) and its subscales orientation (8/8), attention (12/20), memory (24/26), arithmetic skills (5/7), oral language (20/21), written language (28/29), praxis (12/14.5), executive functions (5/6) and decrease in psychological distress ‐ GDS‐15 (5/3).Conclusionafter vestibular rehabilitation, the elderly showed improvement in general cognition, orientation skills, memory, arithmetic skills, oral and written language, praxis and executive functions. Also note the decrease in psychic suffering.

Differences in Cognitive Abilities between Monolingual and Bilingual People: A Two digital experimental approach

Due to educational requirements, a growing number of people in contemporary society are starting to learn languages other than their mother tongue. For a very long time, numerous viewpoints have been used to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of this occurrence. This study evaluates the variations in attention and task switching performance between monolinguals and bilinguals from the standpoint of cognitive ability to decide whether a bilingual study is required. The experiment was designed to answer the following research question: How does bilingualism assist in the improvement of cognitive skills in young adults? According to the study, bilinguals are more attentive and switch tasks more efficiently than monolinguals. Two digital experiments, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Test of Variables of Attention, are utilized to look into the cognitive differences between bilingual and monolingual participants. The expected outcomes should support the hypothesis. Once the data is accessible, it will be further evaluated using a t-test to investigate the differences and correlations between the data sets to reach conclusions.

Effects of the self-perceived sensorimotor demand and immersion during video gaming on visual-attention skills.

Playing specific genres of video games (e.g., action video games) has been linked to improvements in cognitive skills mostly related to attentional phenomena. Nonetheless, do video games have features or dimensions in common that impact cognitive improvements beyond the game genre? Here, we argue that the sensorimotor demand-the amount of demand for precise coordination between movement and perception-is a key element in the improvements associated with playing video games. We conducted a two-part study to test this hypothesis: a self-report online gaming instrument development and validation and an in-lab behavioural and electrophysiological study. In the first study, data from 209 participants were used to devise the sensorimotor demand instrument (SMDI). The SMDI was split into three dimensions of video game playing: sensorimotor contingency, immersion and unfocused gaming. Criterion validity related to video gamers' characteristics supported that the SMDI is sensitive to the input device (e.g., keyboard or touchscreens), and the most recent experience gained during gaming sessions while not being sensitive to the game genre. In the second study, data from 20 participants who performed four visual-attentional tasks previously reported in the literature showed that the SMDI's dimensions were associated with behavioural performance measures and the latency and amplitude of event-related potentials (N1, P2 and P3). Despite the challenge of studying the video gamer population, our study remarks on the relevance of sensorimotor demands in the performance of attentional tasks and its potential use as a dimension to characterize the experience of playing video games beyond the game genre.

Supplemental Material for Effects of action video game play on cognitive skills: A meta-analysis.

The possibility that playing action video games is associated with enhancements in certain aspects of cognitive function has attracted significant interest from researchers in education, psychology, and neuroscience. Previous meta-analyses indicated an overall positive relationship between action video game play and cognitive skills. However, follow-up to this previous work is warranted, not only because the amount of data has grown significantly since previous meta-analyses were conducted, but also because previous work left several issues unresolved (e.g., certain meta-analytic procedures). We conducted a literature search using predefined keywords and inclusion criteria to identify studies that examined the relationship between action video game play and cognitive skills. Data from (a) 105 cross-sectional studies (221 effect sizes) and (b) 28 intervention studies with an active control group (91 effect sizes) were analyzed separately via meta-analytic models for dependent effect sizes with robust variance estimates for correlated and hierarchical effects (CHE) and small-sample corrections. Consistent with our hypotheses, action video game players outperformed nonvideo game players in the cross-sectional meta-analysis (large effect, g = 0.64, 95% CI [0.53, 0.74]). Action video game play was causally related to improvements in cognitive skills in the intervention meta-analysis (small effect, g = 0.30, 95% CI [0.11, 0.50]). Publication bias was detected in the cross-sectional data set, with sensitivity analysis showing high heterogeneous estimates of the average unbiased effect. Publication bias was not detected in the intervention data set, but sensitivity analyses also point to heterogeneity. No significant moderators were found for either data set; however, this may be limited by small sample sizes.

Effects of action video game play on cognitive skills: A meta-analysis.

The possibility that playing action video games is associated with enhancements in certain aspects of cognitive function has attracted significant interest from researchers in education, psychology, and neuroscience. Previous meta-analyses indicated an overall positive relationship between action video game play and cognitive skills. However, follow-up to this previous work is warranted, not only because the amount of data has grown significantly since previous meta-analyses were conducted, but also because previous work left several issues unresolved (e.g., certain meta-analytic procedures). We conducted a literature search using predefined keywords and inclusion criteria to identify studies that examined the relationship between action video game play and cognitive skills. Data from (a) 105 cross-sectional studies (221 effect sizes) and (b) 28 intervention studies with an active control group (91 effect sizes) were analyzed separately via meta-analytic models for dependent effect sizes with robust variance estimates for correlated and hierarchical effects (CHE) and small-sample corrections. Consistent with our hypotheses, action video game players outperformed nonvideo game players in the cross-sectional meta-analysis (large effect, g = 0.64, 95% CI [0.53, 0.74]). Action video game play was causally related to improvements in cognitive skills in the intervention meta-analysis (small effect, g = 0.30, 95% CI [0.11, 0.50]). Publication bias was detected in the cross-sectional data set, with sensitivity analysis showing high heterogeneous estimates of the average unbiased effect. Publication bias was not detected in the intervention data set, but sensitivity analyses also point to heterogeneity. No significant moderators were found for either data set; however, this may be limited by small sample sizes.

A profile of Senaptec strobe in young elite university athletes

Background: Stroboscopic visual training has shown improvement in cognitive skills and perceptual performance by performing motor tasks under situations of intermittent vision. Aim: The aim of this study to compare the improvement of visuomotor skills in athletes after the Stroboscopic visual Training. Methods: Thirty male Athletes were assigned for strobe group (EG n=15), and for control group (CG n=15). 15 Strobe group (SG) took part in SVT programme, and their performance on 6 measures of visual and perceptual skills was compared with 15 Control group (CG) Athletes. Whilst the EG wore Senaptec Strobe and control group CG continued to train with unimpaired vision. Post Training assessment were administered after 10 mins of SVT. Reaction test, Eye Hand coordination was administered pre and post SVT. This involves the Laptop for EHC and iPhone 6S for Reaction test using Reaction Test pro and PT Balance is used to evaluate balance. Results: The strobic effect were absorbed at each time. Baseline performance was significant was significantly related to Post performance immediately 10 min, visual response time (p = 0.001), Reaction time (p = 0.01), Eye hand coordination (p = 0.02). No significant differences were found for NPA, NPC, Balance measures. Conclusion: The analysis of the SVT programme in SG Athletes show consistent improvements in the visual response time at post-test, were the CG Athletes did not. The present research on Stroboscopic Visual Training has the potential to improve the visuomotor skills in the young athletes.

Upaya Guru Dalam Meningkatkan Kemampuan Kognitif Di Abad Ke-21 Pada Siswa Kelas V Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Daarul Hikmah Tangerang

Education is one of stages that must be passed in sharping the owned skill. Moreover in the 21st century, where every human is required to have the skill in their field, thus it is must be anticipated started from the childhood namely through primary education level. The main problem of this research how was the teachers’ effort in improving students’ cognitive skill through the basics of 21st century skill and how was the result of students’ cognitive skill improvement after the learning process was done. The purpose of this research was to find out what efforts done by teachers in improving the cognitive understanding skill of grade V students during teaching and learning process activity and to find out the result of students’ cognitive skill improvement. The method used in this research was qualitative descriptive where all problems existed would be discussed clearly. The techniques of data collection were observation, interview, and documentation. The subjects of this research were teachers of grade V MI Daarul Hikmah Tangerang. The results of this research showed that the effort done by teacher in overcoming the development occurred was by focusing on the three aspects of learning namely utilization of technology, usage of PAIKEM method in the KBM process and problem based learning. While the result obtained in the students’ cognitive improvement was increased from the previous score namely 1.840 to be 2.070.Keywords: Teacher, Students, Cognitive, The 21st Century

Non pharmacological intervention for the improvement of cognitive skills of adults with Intellectual Disabilities (Mild and Moderate Intellectual Disability, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome): mixed method study protocol for Game4CoSkills project (Preprint)

Non pharmacological intervention for the improvement of cognitive skills of adults with Intellectual Disabilities (Mild and Moderate Intellectual Disability, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome): mixed method study protocol for Game4CoSkills project (Preprint)

Exploring nursing students' learning experiences and attitudes toward older persons in a gerontological nursing course using self-regulated online enquiry-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, universities adopted online teaching as the primary teaching and learning method. Most of the online teaching, however, has been limited to the broadcasting of asynchronous lectures and sharing of teaching materials. ObjectivesTo explore undergraduate nursing students' self-regulated learning experiences, satisfaction, and attitudes toward older persons in a gerontological nursing course using online self-regulated enquiry-based learning (EBL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. DesignA mixed-methods design was adopted. SettingA university in Hong Kong providing pre-registration nursing programmes. Participants155 students studying in the fourth year in a five-year Bachelor of Nursing programme participated in the quantitative study in which 18 joined the focus groups (4 groups with group size of 4–5). MethodsFive video-based scenarios along with two interactive online workshops, a mind-map development exercise, gamified assessments, reading materials, group discussions, and presentations were adopted in a gerontological nursing course offered in 2019–2020 to enhance the students' learning, driven by a process of enquiry. Attitudes toward older people were measured at baseline and one week after the course (post-test). Information on self-regulated learning experiences, satisfaction, and confidence were collected at post-test only. Paired t-tests and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Focus groups were conducted through semi-structured interviews and transcribed verbatim for inductive content analysis. ResultsA significant improvement was demonstrated in the students' attitude toward older people. The students appreciated the opportunities provided by the online EBL to apply key concepts of gerontology in the teaching and learning activities and to enhance their critical thinking skills. Three major themes were revealed from the focus group: Perception of the teaching pedagogy, Improvement of cognitive skills, and Positive and negative aspects of the learning experience. ConclusionsThe online self-regulated EBL improved the students' online learning experience in a gerontological nursing course during the pandemic and improved their attitudes toward older people.

You may point, but do not touch: Impact of gesture-types and cognition on language in typical and atypical development.

Evidence shows that the relation with the referent (object manipulation, contact/no contact pointing) and the different hand features (index finger/open palm) when pointing indicate different levels of cognitive and linguistic attainment in typical development (TD). This evidences the close link between pointing, cognition and language in TD, but this relation is understudied in autism. Moreover, the longitudinal pathway these abilities follow remains unexplored and it is unclear what specific role (predictor or mediator) pointing and cognition have in both typical and atypical language development. The first aim was to investigate whether pointing hand features (index finger/open palm) and relation with the referent (manipulation, contact and no contact pointing) similarly predict language in children with and without autism. The second aim was to explore whether cognition mediates the longitudinal relationship between pointing and language development. Sixteen children with autism, 13 children at high risk (HR) for autism and 18 TD children participated in an interactive gesture-elicitation task and were tested on standardised cognitive and expressive language batteries in a longitudinal design. A two-step analysis consisted of a stepwise linear regression and mediation analyses. First, the linear regression identified which hand features and types of relation with the referent predicted expressive language in all groups. Second, three mediation analyses (one per group) assessed the predictor/mediator role of the variables that met significance in the regression analysis. Both cognition and index finger pointing were direct longitudinal predictors of further expressive language skills in the autism group. In TD and HR groups this relation was mediated by age. Findings highlight the role of age in communicative development, but suggest a key role of cognition and index finger use in the longitudinal relationship between pointing gestures and expressive language development in children with autism. This has important clinical implications and supports the view that index finger pointing production might be a useful tool in the intervention for communicative and language abilities in autism. What is already known on the subject There is evidence that no contact pointing is associated with complex socio-cognitive abilities that underpin communication in TD. Similarly, studies in TD show that index finger pointing is closely linked with language acquisition. However, it is unclear whether these associations are present in autism. In addition, the mediating (or predictive) role of cognition in the pointing-language relation has not yet been explored neither in typical nor in atypical development. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This paper shows that index finger pointing and cognition are direct longitudinal predictors of expressive language in the autism group. In the other groups this relation is mediated by age. This suggests that there is a window of opportunity for pointing to predict expressive language whereas the predictive value of cognition expands in development. Based on this, children with autism would share the same language predictors as TD children, but with delays. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study reveals that index finger, age and cognition reliably predict spoken language in autism, which may indicate that early prelinguistic intervention based on pointing production and the improvement of cognitive skills might have a positive impact on spoken language in this population.

Heart Rate Variability Indices May Change Accompanying Cognitive Skills Improvement in eSports Tasks

Heart Rate Variability Indices May Change Accompanying Cognitive Skills Improvement in eSports Tasks

L’efficacia della musica a scuola: una rassegna delle evidenze

The Italian school legislation supports the educational use of music from preschool to lower secondary school for the improvement of skills included in the student’s profile at the end of the first cycle of education. In the framework of inclusive education, musical teaching is part of the school’s commitment to promote the development of academic skills, executive functions, self-regulation as well as emotional, affective, and social dimensions. All those elements are needed for improving learning and developing attitudes towards the consideration of the differences. This work presents an umbrella review of the evidence on the effectiveness of educational musical activities for the improvement of cognitive skills, socio-emotional skills, and school performance from pupils attending K-12 as well as the factors that are relevant for improving the quality of music interventions in school. The review includes meta-analyses already conducted on the effectiveness of music and presents the method adopted for searching, selecting, and coding the studies. By reviewing the evidence, it emerges the need to carry out new research in the field of music teaching that should be more rigorous in the method than the ones included in this umbrella review.

Could G6PD overexpression play a role in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common type of dementia in the elderly. AD is characterized by the beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptide and neurofibrillary tangles accumulation in the brain, accompanied by a progressive neuronal dysfunction and neurodegeneration. Along with these phenomena, it should be noticed that alterations in energy metabolism and an increased production of free radicals leading to an increased in the oxidative stress, are also characteristics of AD. Against these reactive oxygen species (ROS), the cellular antioxidant defences use NADPH as reducing agent, mainly produced by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme. The proposal of this study was to look into if G6PD overexpression had any effect on the onset of AD. To this end, we used three mouse cohorts: wild-type (WT) mice, double APPswe/PSEN1dE9 transgenic (2xTg) mice and a new triple APPswe/PSEN1dE9/G6PD transgenic (3xTg) mice that we generated by crossing between simple G6PD transgenic mice and the AD-like pathology model (2xTg mice). We compared the three groups at a functional, cognitive, biochemical and metabolic level. We compare a 3xTg mouse cohort (n=12 males, 14 females) with a WT mouse cohort (n=9 males, 13 females) and a 2xTg mouse cohort (n= 13 males, 11 females). We evaluated different functional parameters (grip strength, motor coordination and endurance) through grip strength test, rotarod test and incremental-speed test on a treadmill; cognitive parameters (implicit memory, learning) through passive avoidance test and Hebb Williams mazes; biochemical measurements (G6PD activity, oxidative stress markers such as malondialdehyde, protein carbonylation); and metabolic changes through indirect calorimetry. All tests were performed in 12-14-month-old mice. 3xTg female mice showed a better functional performance than WT and 2xTg females, while male mice showed no significant differences between the three groups of mice. The 3xTg mouse cohort also exhibited significant improvements in cognitive skills over 2xTg and WT groups. Preliminary results show a significantly higher respiratory quotient (RQ) in 3xTg females compared to 2xTg females. At the biochemical level, we did not find differences in the oxidative state between the 3 genotypes. G6PD overexpression could play a role in the onset delay of Alzheimer's disease in murine models.

A spoonful of L-fucose-an efficient therapy for GFUS-CDG, a new glycosylation disorder.

Congenital disorders of glycosylation are a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous family of diseases affecting the co‐ and posttranslational modification of proteins. Using exome sequencing, we detected biallelic variants in GFUS (NM_003313.4) c.[632G>A];[659C>T] (p.[Gly211Glu];[Ser220Leu]) in a patient presenting with global developmental delay, mild coarse facial features and faltering growth. GFUS encodes GDP‐L‐fucose synthase, the terminal enzyme in de novo synthesis of GDP‐L‐fucose, required for fucosylation of N‐ and O‐glycans. We found reduced GFUS protein and decreased GDP‐L‐fucose levels leading to a general hypofucosylation determined in patient's glycoproteins in serum, leukocytes, thrombocytes and fibroblasts. Complementation of patient fibroblasts with wild‐type GFUS cDNA restored fucosylation. Making use of the GDP‐L‐fucose salvage pathway, oral fucose supplementation normalized fucosylation of proteins within 4 weeks as measured in serum and leukocytes. During the follow‐up of 19 months, a moderate improvement of growth was seen, as well as a clear improvement of cognitive skills as measured by the Kaufmann ABC and the Nijmegen Pediatric CDG Rating Scale. In conclusion, GFUS‐CDG is a new glycosylation disorder for which oral L‐fucose supplementation is promising.

Symbol relations training improves cognitive functioning in students with neurodevelopmental disorders

Students with neurodevelopmental disorders [Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)] often experience learning challenges due to underlying weaknesses in cognitive processes. As these are some of the most common conditions to impact functioning, the development of effective treatments is a priority for neuropsychologists. However, the task of designing effective cognitive interventions has proven one of the most difficult challenges for our field. The Arrowsmith Program uses a novel approach compared to other cognitive intervention programs. We hypothesized that intensive practice of one aspect of this program would lead to improved cognitive functions in students with neurodevelopmental disorders. Twenty-seven students with neurodevelopmental disorders (ages 9.4–18.4 years) were recruited from Arrowsmith schools. Cognitive baseline and post-intervention data were gathered using components of the Woodcock–Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities. The intervention consisted of 6 weeks of intensive practice of the Symbol Relations Task. W-scores were used in a paired sample t-test analysis to determine if cognitive skill improvement occurred. Significant improvements were found in several measures of neuropsychological assessment, in particular in the Cattell–Horn–Carroll broad abilities These results provide a foundation for further work examining the utility of this novel approach to cognitive intervention.

Third-Age Learners and Approaches to Language Teaching

Foreign language learning in the third age is one of the popular activities among the elderly. The question remains as to how to teach a foreign language to older adults properly. The first objective of this review was to identify suitable pedagogical approaches, teaching methods, or strategies for teaching foreign languages to third-age learners. The second objective was to determine whether foreign language learning later in life is beneficial. The authors used a method of literature review to achieve these goals. The former objective was not fully achieved as there is no clear outcome, although some generalizations based on other review studies can be made. Namely, foreign language teaching among the older generation should be student-centred and a communicative method should be implemented with a special focus on talking about familiar topics and listening comprehension to facilitate a senior’s foreign language learning. In addition, the teaching methods ought to incorporate real life experiences and provide relevant content. Respect should also be paid to the fact that older adults have intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation to learn a foreign language. The latter objective was attained since older people can benefit from learning a foreign language at a later age in many ways, including areas like travelling, social inclusiveness, improvement of cognitive skills, and overall well-being.