Large Between-group Differences Research Articles

Effects of a horizontal speed deceleration training programme on measures of physical fitness in youth male handball players

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of an 8-week horizontal speed deceleration training (HSDT) programme in combination with regular handball-specific training as compared with handball-specific training only in measures of physical fitness in male youth handball players. Thirty-nine players were randomly assigned to either an HSDT group (n = 18; 15.55 ± 0.24 years) or an active-control group (CG; n = 21; 14.59 ± 0.23 years). The results showed significant and large between-group differences at post-test in countermovement jump, change-of-direction speed, and repeated sprint ability (RSA) (all p < 0.01; d = 2.04 and 1.37, 1.39, 1.53, and 1.53 for the CMJ, 505 CoD, RSAbest, RSAaverage, and RSAtotal performances, respectively). The post-hoc-analysis demonstrated significant and large improvements in all measures of physical fitness in the HSDT group (∆2.49% to 16,25%; d = 1.01 to 1,70; all p < 0,01). The CG, however, failed to reach any significant difference in all measures of physical fitness ((∆0.31% to 1.98%; d = 0.15 to 0.22; p = 0.379; p > 0.05). To summarise, an 8-week in-season HSDT programme alongside regular handball-specific training yielded positive effects on various performance measures including jumping ability, CoD speed, and RSA, when compared to handball-specific training alone. These results highlight the potential benefits of integrating HSDT into the training regimen of youth handball athletes during the competitive season.

How should the margin of stability during walking be expressed to account for body size?

When expressing the margin of stability as a distance, it does not directly estimate the perturbation magnitude needed to change stability states. Additionally, it is unknown how body size may influence this measure. Therefore, we propose other expressions of stability margins, including that of an impulse, a change in center of mass velocity, and a scaled, unitless impulse. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of body size on these margin expressions using walking data from children and adults. We anticipated that margins expressed as an impulse would have strong correlations with body mass and height, as well as large between-group differences. We predicted that scaling this impulse value would result in small correlations and between-group effect sizes. We calculated each stability margin at minimum lateral values and in the anteroposterior directions at mid-swing and foot strike. In the lateral direction, margins expressed as an impulse had strong correlations with body size (r≥0.58, p<0.01) and large between-group differences (|d|≥1.07, p<0.01). The other expressions did not have strong positive correlations (|r|≤0.20) or large between-group effects (|d|≤0.44). In the anteroposterior directions, impulse margins had strong correlations with body size (|r|≥0.83, p<0.01) and large between-group differences (|d|≥1.74, p<0.01). The scaled, unitless impulse margin was the only variable that resulted in small, non-significant differences (|r|≤0.22, p≥0.24) as well as small between-group effect sizes (|d|≤0.46, p≥0.22). We propose expressing stability margins as an impulse. If scaling is needed, we encourage using the scaled, unitless impulse.

0412 Multimethod Remote Assessment of Cognition Among Older Adults with Insomnia

Abstract Introduction Cognitive complaints are common among older adults with insomnia. However, previous research is inconsistent regarding the association between insomnia and objective cognitive function. The purpose of this study was to compare subjective and objective cognitive function between older adults with insomnia and healthy sleepers. We hypothesized that relative to healthy sleepers, older adults with insomnia would display diminished subjective and objective cognitive function as measured via multiple remote assessment methods. Methods Participants were recruited from an academic medical center through multiple pathways. Cognitive assessments were administered via several approaches. First, subjective cognitive function was assessed via the 5-item Alert Cognition subscale of the psychometrically derived Daytime Insomnia Symptoms Scale (DISS), completed via smartphone 4x/day throughout a two-week study period (i.e., 56 administrations over 14 days). Second, objective cognitive function was assessed via telephone using the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT), which assesses memory, reasoning, verbal fluency, and executive function. Finally, the psychomotor vigilance task [PVT], Stroop test, and a task-switching exercise were administered remotely via participant’s home desktop computer. Results Participants included 31 older adults who met DSM-V diagnostic criteria for insomnia disorder (67.5 [sd 6.6] years) and 33 older adults without sleep disorders (70.5 [sd 5.7] years). Large between-group differences were observed in the Alert Cognition subscale of the DISS (p-values &amp;lt; 0.0001); compared to healthy sleeper controls, participants with insomnia reported worsened forgetfulness, concentration, alertness, clear-headedness, and cognitive effort. No between-groups differences were observed in any domain of the BTACT or PVT. A numeric but not statistically significant between-groups difference was observed in overall response speed (e.g., Incongruent Response Time) on the Stroop test (p-values &amp;gt; 0.125). Conclusion Remote assessment of cognition is feasible among older adults with insomnia. Significant differences in subjective but not objective cognitive function, likely due to low statistical power, as cognitive deficits in insomnia tend to have small effect sizes. Overall, findings highlight the importance of multimethod assessments of cognition in older adults with insomnia and need for large sample sizes when evaluating objective cognitive function. Support (if any) Research was supported by an investigator-initiated research award from Merck Investigator Studies Program (PI: EMW).

Who benefits most from a prenatal HEPA filter air cleaner intervention on childhood cognitive development? The UGAAR randomized controlled trial

BackgroundAir pollution exposure during pregnancy affects children's brain function. Maternal stress and nutrition, socioeconomic status, and the child's sex may modify this relationship. ObjectiveTo identify characteristics of children with the largest increases in full-scale IQ (FSIQ) after their mothers used HEPA filter air cleaners during pregnancy. MethodsIn this randomized controlled trial we randomly assigned women to receive 1–2 air cleaners or no air cleaners during pregnancy. We analyzed maternal hair samples for cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). When the children were 48 months old, we measured FSIQ with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. We evaluated ten potential modifiers of the intervention-FSIQ relationship using interaction terms in separate regression models. To account for correlations between modifiers, we also used a single regression model containing main effects and intervention x modifier terms for all potential modifiers. ResultsAmong 242 mother-child dyads with complete data, the intervention was associated with a 2.3-point increase (95% CI: −1.5, 6.0 points) in mean FSIQ. The intervention improved mean FSIQ among children of mothers in the bottom (5.4 points; 95% CI: −0.8, 11.5) and top (6.1 points; 95% CI: 0.5, 11.8) cortisol tertiles, but not among those whose mothers were in the middle tertile. The largest between-group difference in the intervention's effect was a 7.5-point (95% CI: −0.7, 15.7) larger increase in mean FSIQ among children whose mothers did not take vitamins than among children whose mothers did take vitamins (interaction p-value = 0.07). We also observed larger benefits among children whose mothers did not complete university, and those with lower hair DHEA concentrations, hair cortisol concentrations outside the middle tertile, or more perceived stress. ConclusionThe benefits of reducing air pollution during pregnancy on brain development may be greatest for children whose mothers who do not take vitamins, experience more stress, or have less education.

The detrimental association between fear of falling and motor performance in older cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) are at increased risk of falls and developing fear of falling (FoF). Although FoF may continue to impair motor performance and increase the risk of falling even further, this association remains unexplored in CIPN. Does high FoF in patients with CIPN further deteriorate motor performance beyond the impairment from CIPN-related sensory deficits? In this secondary analysis of data collected from two clinical trials, gait parameters during habitual walking condition and postural sway parameters during 30-second quiet standing (eye-open and eyes-closed) were compared among older participants (≥ 65 years) with CIPN and high FoF (CIPN FoF+; n=16), older participants with CIPN and low FoF (CIPN FoF-; n=19) and normal older controls (i.e., non-cancer, non-diabetic, non-neurologic, and non-orthopedic; n=16). We measured gait and postural sway parameters using wearable sensors (BioSensics, Newton, MA, USA), and FoF severity using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International. The largest between-group differences were found in gait speed. The CIPN FoF + group had significantly slower gait speed (0.78 ± 0.21 m/s) than the CIPN FoF- (0.93 ± 0.17 m/s) and normal control groups (1.17 ± 0.13 m/s) (all p < .05; effect sizes = 0.79 and 2.23, respectively). We found a significant association between gait speed and FoF severity (R2 = 0.356; p < .001) across all participants with CIPN. Among participants with CIPN, no significant differences in postural sway parameters were found between the CIPN FoF+and CIPN FoF- groups. Our results suggest that gait performance further deteriorates in patients with CIPN and high FoF beyond the impairment from CIPN-related sensory deficits. Our results also suggest further research is needed regarding FoF, and fall risk, as FoF is a simple tool that healthcare providers can use in clinical practice.

Physical activity in later life and risk of dementia: Findings from a population-based cohort study.

Dementia is the second leading cause of death in the United Kingdom, affecting 7.1% of older adults. One in five dementia cases in Europe can be attributable to physical inactivity. We examined the association between physical activity at age 50 or older and risk of dementia over 15years. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) comprises a national population-based cohort that began in 2002-03 (baseline) with 9275 individuals aged ≥50years. Dementia diagnosis was followed over 15years. Physical activity in daily life and at work was measured at baseline and at two yearly intervals and participants were categorized as inactive, low, or moderate-to-high active. Cumulative incidence of dementia during follow-up was calculated; hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using survival analysis. At baseline, 69% of the sample were categorized as moderate-to-high active. The inactive, low, and moderate-to-high active groups had a cumulative incidence of dementia of 4.8% (95%CI: 4.4 to 5.4), 0.9% (95%CI:0.8 to 1.1), and 0.2% (95%CI: 0.1 to 0.5), respectively. In adjusted analyses, participants in the low and moderate-to-high active groups had, respectively, 60% and 78% lower risk of developing dementia than the inactive group. Survival analyses showed large between-group differences in the cumulative incidence of dementia over 15years based on the physical activity categories. In people aged 50 or more, there is an inverse dose-response association between physical activity and incidence of dementia over 15years. Even low levels of physical activity have beneficial effects.

Symptomatic knee osteoarthritis is associated with worse but stable quality of life and physical function regardless of the compartmental involvement: Data from the OAI

ObjectiveTo test whether combined patellofemoral and tibiofemoral osteoarthritis (OA), in addition to symptoms, is associated with greater changes in quality of life and objective physical function measures when compared with asymptomatic isolated tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. DesignOf the 4796 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative, 577 were categorized into four groups based on the presence of symptoms (asymptomatic and symptomatic) and the structural involvement within the knee, where tibiofemoral OA was graded with the Kellgren and Lawrence scale, while patellofemoral OA was based on the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Osteoarthritis Knee Scoring cartilage loss feature. Knee-related quality of life was examined using the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale quality of life subscale, and objective physical function was examined by the 20 m Walk Test, 30-s Chair Stand Test, and isometric knee strength. These outcomes were measured at Baseline, Year 2, and Year 4. Mixed effects models were fit to test whether the change in outcome, and the Baseline scores, differed based on group. ResultsQuality of life worsened for the asymptomatic combined group but improved for the symptomatic combined group. However, these quality of life changes and changes in other outcomes were all within measurement error. Large between-group differences were found at Baseline, whereby individuals with symptoms had worse quality of life and physical function test scores. ConclusionsQuality of life and physical function are largely stable over four years. However, having symptoms is strongly associated with worse quality of life and physical function, regardless of structural disease distribution within the knee.

Protocol and Feasibility-Randomized Trial of Telehealth Delivery for a Multicomponent Upper Extremity Intervention in Infants With Asymmetric Cerebral Palsy.

Background:Past work showed that an in-person, therapist-guided, parent-implemented multicomponent intervention increased the motor functioning of the more affected upper extremity (UE) in infants with asymmetric cerebral palsy. The authors document treatment fidelity and provide initial testing of telehealth intervention delivery in a new subject sample.Methods:The authors adapted the intervention manual used in the previous trial for telehealth. Infants (6-24 months) were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 7) or waitlist (n = 6). The intervention prescribed soft-constraint wear on the less affected UE for 6 hours, 5 d/wk, and exercises. After an initial in-person training session, three 15- to 45-minute telehealth sessions were performed.Results:Median weekly constraint wear was 21 hours (interquartile range = 10.3-29.7); average parent-treatment fidelity was 95.7% (SD 11.2). A significant large (Cohen d = 0.92) between-group differences occurred on fine motor functioning of more affected UEs.Conclusion:The telehealth intervention was feasible and potentially effective, but a larger trial is needed to evaluate efficacy.

In-Season Weightlifting Training Exercise in Healthy Male Handball Players: Effects on Body Composition, Muscle Volume, Maximal Strength, and Ball-Throwing Velocity.

This study assessed the impact of 8 weeks biweekly in-season weightlifting training on the strength, throwing ability, and body composition of healthy male handball players. Twenty players (age: 21.2 ± 0.7 years, height: 1.83 ± 0.08 m, body mass: 83.3 ± 7.5 kg, body fat: 13.2 ± 1.4%, upper limb muscle volume: 3.16 ± 0.16 L) were randomly allocated between experimental (EG) and control (CG) groups. Measures of one-repetition maximal strength included bench press, pull-over, snatch, and clean and jerk. Throwing velocity was investigated by standing, running, and jump throws, and the power of the upper limbs was estimated from the total distance of a 3-kg medicine ball overhead throw. Muscle volumes were estimated anthropometrically. Training sessions comprised 3–4 sets of explosive weightlifting exercise at 75%–90% of 1RM (repetition maximum). Significant interaction effects (time x group) were found for all strength and throwing variables, ranging from ηp2 = 0.595 (pull-over) to ηp2 = 0.887 (medicine ball throw), with the largest between-group difference (more than 40%, Δd = 6.65) and effect size (d = 6.44) for the medicine ball throw, and the smallest (about 23%, Δd = 1.61) for the standing shot performance. Significant interaction effects were also detected for all anthropometric parameters (body mass: ηp2 = 0.433; body fat: ηp2 = 0.391; upper limb muscle volume: ηp2 = 0.920, with an almost 20% gain of muscle volume). It can be concluded that 8 weeks of biweekly in-season weightlifting training yielded substantial increases of muscle volume, maximal strength of the upper limbs, and ball throwing velocity in healthy handball players relative to their standard training program.

Frequency and network analysis of depressive symptoms in patients with cancer compared to the general population

BackgroundThe use of sum scores of depressive symptoms has been increasingly criticized and may be particularly problematic in oncological settings. Frameworks analyzing individual symptoms and their interrelationships such as network analysis represent an emerging alternative. MethodsWe aimed to assess frequencies and interrelationships of 9 DSM-5 symptom criteria of major depression reported in the PHQ-9 questionnaire by 4020 patients with cancer and 4020 controls from the general population. We estimated unregularized Gaussian graphical models for both samples and compared network structures as well as predictability and centrality of individual symptoms. ResultsDepressive symptoms were more frequent, but less strongly intercorrelated in patients with cancer than in the general population. The overall network structure differed significantly between samples (correlation of adjacency matrices: rho=0.73, largest between-group difference in any edge weight: 0.20, p < 0.0001). Post-hoc tests showed significant differences in interrelationships for four symptom pairs. The mean variance of symptoms explained by all other symptoms in the same network was lower among cancer patients than in the general population (29% vs. 43%). LimitationsCross-sectional data do not allow for temporal or causal inferences about the directions of associations and results from population-based samples may not apply to clinical psychiatric populations. ConclusionsIn patients with cancer, both somatic and cognitive/affective depression symptoms are less likely to be explained by other depressive symptoms than in the general population. Rather than assuming a consistent depression construct, future research should study individual depressive symptom patterns and their potential causes in patients with cancer.

GAD-Specific Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) designed to target generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in youth was examined in a pilot feasibility trial. Participants (aged 10–18 years) were randomized to either 10 weeks of individual CBT (n = 20) or supported wait-list (n = 20). Diagnostic status (primary outcome) was assessed blindly at post-treatment for both groups, and at a 3-month follow-up for treated participants. Two participants failed to complete CBT and retained their GAD during the trial. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed large between-group differences in favor of CBT at post-treatment for remission from GAD (80% vs 0%) and comorbid disorders (83% vs 0%), and for all secondary outcomes (child and parent-reported). All gains were maintained at 3-month follow-up in the CBT group. Consistent with the treatment model, significant pre- to post-treatment reductions in several cognitive processes were found for CBT but not wait-listed participants, with these gains maintained at follow-up. Further investigations are warranted. Trial registry: ISRCTN.com Identifier ISRCTN50951795

A Person-Centered Prehabilitation Program Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Physical Therapy for Patients Scheduled for Lumbar Fusion Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundPrehabilitation programs have led to improved postoperative outcomes in several surgical contexts, but there are presently no guidelines for the prehabilitation phase before lumbar fusion surgery.ObjectiveThe objective was to investigate whether a person-centered physical therapy prehabilitation program, based on a cognitive-behavioral approach, is more effective than conventional care in reducing disability and improving functioning after lumbar fusion surgery in patients with degenerative disk disease.DesignThis study was a randomized controlled trial.SettingThe study took place at 2 private spine clinics and 1 university hospital.PatientsWe prospectively enrolled 118 patients scheduled for lumbar fusion surgery.InterventionThe active intervention used a person-centered perspective and focused on promoting physical activity and targeting psychological risk factors before surgery. The control group received conventional preoperative care.MeasurementsThe primary outcome was the Oswestry Disability Index score. Secondary outcomes were back and leg pain intensity, catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, self-efficacy, anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life, and patient-specific functioning, physical activity, and physical capacity. Data were collected on 6 occasions up to 6 months postoperatively. A linear mixed model was used to analyze the change scores of each outcome.ResultsNo statistically significant between-group difference was found on the primary outcome (disability) over time (baseline to 6 months). Among secondary outcome measures, a statistically significant interaction effect (“Group × Time”) was seen for the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions Questionnaire. The largest between-group difference on the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions Questionnaire index was seen 1 week prior to surgery and favored the active intervention. The largest between-group effect sizes at the 6-month follow-up favored the active intervention, and were seen for physical activity intensity, steps per day, and the One Leg Stand Test. Both groups reached the minimal important change for the primary outcome and, in several secondary outcomes (pain intensity, back and leg; pain catastrophizing; anxiety; health-related quality of life [EQ5D VAS]), already at 8-week follow-up.LimitationsThe participants’ preoperative level of disability was lower than normative values, which suggests selection bias.ConclusionsBoth interventions led to clinically important changes, but it is not clear what kind of prehabilitation program is the most effective.

Tracking Children’s Print-Processing Skill Across Grades 1–3: Implications for Reading Assessment and Instruction

Grounded in the simple view of reading, this study tracked the development of print-processing skill in high-, average-, and low-achieving readers at six time points across grades 1–3. Results showed large between-group differences in sight vocabulary, oral reading accuracy, and oral reading rate that remained stable from beginning of first grade to end of third grade. While the average group consistently met pre-set instructional-level criteria for oral reading accuracy and rate, the low group did not. Implications for assessment and instruction are provided.

Published estimates of group differences in multisensory integration are inflated.

A common measure of multisensory integration is the McGurk effect, an illusion in which incongruent auditory and visual speech are integrated to produce an entirely different percept. Published studies report that participants who differ in age, gender, culture, native language, or traits related to neurological or psychiatric disorders also differ in their susceptibility to the McGurk effect. These group-level differences are used as evidence for fundamental alterations in sensory processing between populations. Using empirical data and statistical simulations tested under a range of conditions, we show that published estimates of group differences in the McGurk effect are inflated when only statistically significant (p < 0.05) results are published. With a sample size typical of published studies, a group difference of 10% would be reported as 31%. As a consequence of this inflation, follow-up studies often fail to replicate published reports of large between-group differences. Inaccurate estimates of effect sizes and replication failures are especially problematic in studies of clinical populations involving expensive and time-consuming interventions, such as training paradigms to improve sensory processing. Reducing effect size inflation and increasing replicability requires increasing the number of participants by an order of magnitude compared with current practice.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 binding in male patients with alcohol use disorder

Glutamate signaling plays a major role in addiction. Preclinical research strongly suggests an implication of G-protein-coupled metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5) in nicotine addiction and alcohol use disorder. In humans, smoking is related to a global reduction in mGluR5 availability. In the present study, we investigated mGluR5 in vivo in patients with alcohol use disorder without the confounding effects of smoking. A total of 14 male subjects with alcohol use disorder and at least a 25-day abstinence and 14 matched male non-smoking healthy controls were included in the study. We employed positron emission tomography (PET) with the mGluR5-specific radiotracer [11C]ABP688, using a bolus/infusion protocol. We found increased mGluR5 DVR in several regions within the temporal lobe in patients, as compared to controls. The largest between-group difference was in the amygdala. There was a marked positive relation between mGluR5 DVR in the anterior cingulate and mGluR5 DVR in the orbitofrontal cortex in patients, but not in controls. In patients, lower temptation to drink was related to higher amygdala mGluR5 DVR. We did not find altered mGluR5 DVR in the basal ganglia of subjects recovering from alcohol use disorder. In conclusion, our study provides clinical evidence for altered mGluR5 signaling in the amygdala in alcohol use disorder. This alteration was associated with the temptation to drink. In addition, this study suggests abnormal mGluR5 signaling in a network underlying reward-related behavioral flexibility. These findings strengthen the case for pharmacological agents acting on mGluR5 as promising candidates for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.

Evaluation of Antistigma Interventions With Sixth-Grade Students: A School-Based Field Experiment.

School-based interventions for preadolescents provide the opportunity, in a ubiquitous institutional setting, to attack stigmatizing attitudes before they are firmly entrenched, and thus they may reduce mental illness stigma in the overall population. This study evaluated the effectiveness of classroom-based interventions in reducing stigma and increasing understanding of mental illness and positive attitudes toward treatment seeking among sixth-grade students. In an ethnically and racially diverse sample (N=721), 40% of participants were Latino, 26% were white, and 24% were African American; the mean age was 11.5. In a fully crossed design, classrooms from a school district in Texas were randomly assigned to receive all three, two, one, or none of the following interventions: a PowerPoint- and discussion-based curriculum, contact with two college students who described their experiences with mental illness, and exposure to antistigma printed materials. Standard and vignette-based quantitative measures of mental health knowledge and attitudes, social distance, and help-seeking attitudes were assessed pre- and postintervention. Printed materials had no significant effects on outcomes and were grouped with the control condition for analysis. For eight of 13 outcomes, the curriculum-only group reported significantly more positive outcomes than the control group; the largest between-group differences were for stigma awareness and action, recognition of mental illness in the vignettes, and positive orientation to treatment. The contact-alone group reported significantly more positive outcomes on three vignette-based measures. Results were most promising for a classroom-based curriculum that can be relatively easily disseminated to and delivered by teachers, offering the potential for broad application in the population.

A pilot study to evaluate multi-dimensional effects of dance for people with Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with deficits in motor, cognitive, and emotion/quality of life (QOL) domains, yet most pharmacologic and behavioral interventions focus only on motor function. Our goal was to perform a pilot study of Dance for Parkinson's—a community-based program that is growing in popularity—in order to compare effect sizes across multiple outcomes and to inform selection of primary and secondary outcomes for a larger trial. Study participants were people with PD who self-enrolled in either Dance for Parkinson's classes (intervention group, N=8) or PD support groups (control group, N=7). Assessments of motor function (Timed-Up-and-Go, Gait Speed, Standing Balance Test), cognitive function (Test of Everyday Attention, Verbal Fluency, Alternate Uses, Digit Span Forward and Backward), and emotion/QOL (Geriatric Depression Scale, Falls Efficacy Scale-International, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (total score and Activities of Daily Living subscale)) were performed in both groups at baseline and follow-up. Standardized effect sizes were calculated within each group and between groups for all 12 measures. Effect sizes were positive (suggesting improvement) for all 12 measures within the intervention group and 7 of 12 measures within the control group. The largest between-group differences were observed for the Test of Everyday Attention (a measure of cognitive switching), gait speed and falls efficacy. Our findings suggest that dance has potential to improve multiple outcomes in people with PD. Future trials should consider co-primary outcomes given potential benefits in motor, cognitive and emotion/QOL domains.

Reduced global functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder is a disabling neuropsychiatric condition that is associated with disrupted functional connectivity across brain networks. The precise nature of altered connectivity, however, remains incompletely understood. The current study was designed to examine the coherence of large-scale connectivity in depression using a recently developed technique termed global brain connectivity. A total of 82 subjects, including medication-free patients with major depression (n = 57) and healthy volunteers (n = 25) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging with resting data acquisition for functional connectivity analysis. Global brain connectivity was computed as the mean of each voxel's time series correlation with every other voxel and compared between study groups. Relationships between global connectivity and depressive symptom severity measured using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale were examined by means of linear correlation. Relative to the healthy group, patients with depression evidenced reduced global connectivity bilaterally within multiple regions of medial and lateral prefrontal cortex. The largest between-group difference was observed within the right subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, extending into ventromedial prefrontal cortex bilaterally (Hedges' g = -1.48, P < 0.000001). Within the depressed group, patients with the lowest connectivity evidenced the highest symptom severity within ventromedial prefrontal cortex (r = -0.47, P = 0.0005). Patients with major depressive evidenced abnormal large-scale functional coherence in the brain that was centered within the subgenual cingulate cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex more broadly. These data extend prior studies of connectivity in depression and demonstrate that functional disconnection of the medial prefrontal cortex is a key pathological feature of the disorder. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3214-3223, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Working-memory training: effects on delay discounting in male Long Evans rats.

Delay discounting describes the devaluation of a reward as the delay to the receipt of the reward increases. Because steep delay discounting is robustly correlated with a number of behavioral problems (e.g., substance dependence, gambling) and some evidence suggests steep discounting precedes and predicts drug-taking in humans and rats, this study sought to experimentally reduce rats' delay discounting. Human stimulant-dependent participants given working-memory training reportedly decreased their rates of discounting relative to a sham-training group (Bickel, Yi, Landes, Hill, & Baxter, 2011). To evaluate the cross-species generality of this effect, 38 male Long-Evans rats, matched on pretraining delay-discounting rates, were randomly assigned to receive 140 sessions of working-memory training or sham training (which required no memory of the sample stimulus). Large between-group differences in working memory were observed after training; however, posttraining delay-discounting rates were undifferentiated across groups. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.

Inconsistent emotion recognition deficits across stimulus modalities in Huntington׳s disease

BackgroundRecognition of negative emotions is impaired in Huntington׳s Disease (HD). It is unclear whether these emotion-specific problems are driven by dissociable cognitive deficits, emotion complexity, test cue difficulty, or visuoperceptual impairments. This study set out to further characterise emotion recognition in HD by comparing patterns of deficits across stimulus modalities; notably including for the first time in HD, the more ecologically and clinically relevant modality of film clips portraying dynamic facial expressions. MethodsFifteen early HD and 17 control participants were tested on emotion recognition from static facial photographs, non-verbal vocal expressions and one second dynamic film clips, all depicting different emotions. ResultsStatistically significant evidence of impairment of anger, disgust and fear recognition was seen in HD participants compared with healthy controls across multiple stimulus modalities. The extent of the impairment, as measured by the difference in the number of errors made between HD participants and controls, differed according to the combination of emotion and modality (p=0.013, interaction test). The largest between-group difference was seen in the recognition of anger from film clips. ConclusionsConsistent with previous reports, anger, disgust and fear were the most poorly recognised emotions by the HD group. This impairment did not appear to be due to task demands or expression complexity as the pattern of between-group differences did not correspond to the pattern of errors made by either group; implicating emotion-specific cognitive processing pathology. There was however evidence that the extent of emotion recognition deficits significantly differed between stimulus modalities. The implications in terms of designing future tests of emotion recognition and care giving are discussed.