BrainBlog

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Developmental Neuropsychology

2012-01-31T11:15:00.001-05:00

Brain development of very preterm and very low-birthweight children in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 2012 Jan 28;
de Kieviet JF, Zoetebier L, van Elburg RM, Vermeulen RJ, Oosterlaan J

Abstract

Aim The aim of this article was to clarify the impact and consequences of very preterm birth (born <32wks of gestation) and/or very low birthweight ([VLBW], weighing <1500g) on brain volume development throughout childhood and adolescence. Method The computerized databases PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and EMBASE were searched for studies that reported volumetric outcomes during childhood or adolescence using magnetic resonance imaging and included a term-born comparison group. Fifteen studies were identified, encompassing 818 very preterm/VLBW children and 450 term-born peers. Average reductions in the total brain volume, white matter volume, grey matter volume, and in the size of the cerebellum, hippocampus, and corpus callosum were investigated using meta-analytic methods. Results Very preterm/VLBW children were found to have a significantly smaller total brain volume than the comparison group (d=-0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.43 to -0.73; p<0.001), smaller white matter volume (d=-0.53; CI -0.40 to -0.67; p<0.001), smaller grey matter volume (d=-0.62; CI -0.48 to -0.76; p<0.001), smaller cerebellum (d=-0.74; CI -0.56 to -0.92; p<0.001), smaller hippocampus (d=-0.47; CI -0.26 to -0.69; p<0.001), and smaller corpus callosum (d=-0.71; CI -0.34 to -1.07; p<0.001). Reductions have been associated with decreased general cognitive functioning, and no relations with age at assessment were found. Interpretation Very preterm/VLBW birth is associated with an overall reduction in brain volume, which becomes evident in equally sized reductions in white and grey matter volumes, as well as in volumes of diverse brain structures throughout childhood and adolescence.

PMID: 22283622 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Continuing-Education Program About Memory Functioning

2012-01-30T10:37:00.003-05:00

I begin work this week drafting the structure of a multi-hour continuing-education (CE) program that I will be teaching several months from now on the topic of memory functioning for clinicians and clinical researchers.

I will be presenting an overview to current clinical and research findings about normal memory, memory problems in certain clinical conditions, the neurodegenerative diseases, and an overview to efforts to assess the effectiveness of trying to enhance memory and trying to prevent or slow memory decline.

If you were to attend a program like this, what would you like to hear about?

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Parkinson's and Anosmia

2012-01-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

Odor identification deficits identify Parkinson's disease patients with poor cognitive performance
Movement Disorders. 2011 Sep;26(11):2045-50
Damholdt MF, Borghammer P, Larsen L, Ostergaard K

Abstract

Olfactory dysfunction is a prodromal and prevalent nonmotor symptom of Parkinson's disease. Unlike olfactory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease, it is believed to be unrelated to cognitive impairment. However, recent research has implicated cholinergic denervation in Parkinson's disease hyposmia and linked it to verbal memory. This research hypothesized that severe odor identification deficits may identify patients with Parkinson's disease at risk for cognitive impairment. The current study tested this hypothesis by comparing 24 functionally anosmic, nondemented patients with Parkinson's disease and 39 nonanosmic, nondemented patients with Parkinson's disease with 29 healthy control participants on composite scores of memory, processing speed, executive function, and language. The functionally anosmic group had significantly poorer visual and verbal memory than the nonanosmic group, which was indistinguishable from the control group. Furthermore, the functionally anosmic group had reduced processing speed compared with the nonanosmic patients with Parkinson's disease, who, in turn, were outperformed by the control group. On the composite language score, the score of the functionally anosmic group was significantly reduced compared with that of the control group, whereas the nonanosmic group scored in the medium range. The 2 patient groups did not differ on executive functioning. These findings demonstrate co-occurrence between reduced cognitive function and olfactory deficits in functionally anosmic patients with Parkinson's disease and support the notion of more severe cognitive deficits in this group.

PMID: 21638326 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The Neuron

2012-01-25T20:22:00.003-05:00

A quick overview sheet presented by the Wellcome Trust Blog:

pdf sheet

"Dementiaville"

2012-01-24T07:31:00.001-05:00

From The Independent:

Switzerland's 'Dementiaville' designed to mirror the past
Plan to build 1950s-style village for Alzheimer's sufferers divides geriatric-care experts
TONY PATERSON
TUESDAY 24 JANUARY 2012

[snip]

"Its detractors may end up dubbing it "Dementiaville", but Switzerland is brushing aside a debate raging among geriatric-care experts with plans to build a mock-1950s village catering exclusively for elderly sufferers of Alzheimer's and other debilitating mental illnesses."

[snip]

Read the full article

The Game Brain: "Anti-Aging" Games

2012-01-24T06:50:00.001-05:00

From The New Yorker:

RE-START
by John Seabrook
30 January 2012 issue

Read the full piece

Brain Awareness Week (BAW, #BrainWeek)

2012-01-22T07:57:00.005-05:00

From the Dana Foundation Blog:

Gearing Up for Brain Awareness Week
20 January 2012

[snip]

"Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is less than two months away (March 12–18) and here at the Dana Foundation we are excited...Remember, the Dana Foundation and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives (DABI) are here to help. If you register your organization with DABI and become a BAW partner at www.dana.org/brainweek/, you’ll get access to free BAW materials. Each year hundreds of BAW partners from Texas to Morocco register events with DABI and receive fun and valuable materials and resources for free."

[snip]

Read the full blog entry

Hashtag it at #BrainWeek

FDA: progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and Tysabri (natalizumab)

2012-01-22T07:21:00.001-05:00

From the FDA:

FDA permits marketing of first test for risk of rare brain infection in some people treated with Tysabri
For Immediate Release: January 20, 2012

[snip]

"Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed marketing of the first test to help determine the risk for a rare brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in people using the drug Tysabri (natalizumab) to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) or Crohn’s disease (CD).

"The Stratify JCV Antibody ELISA test, when used with other clinical data from the patient, can help health care providers determine the risk for developing PML in MS and CD patients."

[snip]
Read the full press release

Alzheimer's: A Caregiver's Classic, Updated

2012-01-22T07:10:00.000-05:00

This blog post from the New York Times discusses "The 36-hour Day":

The Caregivers’ Bookshelf: An Alzheimer’s Classic
The New Old Age Blog
The New York Times
by Paula Span
January 20, 2012, 2:27 PM

Read the full blog entry

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Preventing Cognitive Decline

2012-01-22T05:46:00.001-05:00

Exergaming and older adult cognition a cluster randomized clinical trial
Am J Prev Med. 2012 Feb;42(2):109-19
Anderson-Hanley C, Arciero PJ, Brickman AM, Nimon JP, Okuma N, Westen SC, Merz ME, Pence BD, Woods JA, Kramer AF, Zimmerman EA

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dementia cases may reach 100 million by 2050. Interventions are sought to curb or prevent cognitive decline. Exercise yields cognitive benefits, but few older adults exercise. Virtual reality-enhanced exercise or "exergames" may elicit greater participation.

PURPOSE: To test the following hypotheses: (1) stationary cycling with virtual reality tours ("cybercycle") will enhance executive function and clinical status more than traditional exercise; (2) exercise effort will explain improvement; and (3) brain-derived neurotrophic growth factor (BDNF) will increase.

DESIGN: Multi-site cluster randomized clinical trial (RCT) of the impact of 3 months of cybercycling versus traditional exercise, on cognitive function in older adults. Data were collected in 2008-2010; analyses were conducted in 2010-2011.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: 102 older adults from eight retirement communities enrolled; 79 were randomized and 63 completed.

INTERVENTIONS: A recumbent stationary ergometer was utilized; virtual reality tours and competitors were enabled on the cybercycle.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Executive function (Color Trails Difference, Stroop C, Digits Backward); clinical status (mild cognitive impairment; MCI); exercise effort/fitness; and plasma BDNF.

RESULTS: Intent-to-treat analyses, controlling for age, education, and cluster randomization, revealed a significant group X time interaction for composite executive function (p=0.002). Cybercycling yielded a medium effect over traditional exercise (d=0.50). Cybercyclists had a 23% relative risk reduction in clinical progression to MCI. Exercise effort and fitness were comparable, suggesting another underlying mechanism. A significant group X time interaction for BDNF (p=0.05) indicated enhanced neuroplasticity among cybercyclists.

CONCLUSIONS: Cybercycling older adults achieved better cognitive function than traditional exercisers, for the same effort, suggesting that simultaneous cognitive and physical exercise has greater potential for preventing cognitive decline.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered at Clinicaltrials.govNCT01167400.

PMID: 22261206 [PubMed - in process]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Cognitive Rehabilitation

2012-01-20T07:38:00.001-05:00

Errorless learning in cognitive rehabilitation: A critical review
Neuropsychological Rehabilatation. 2012 Jan 16;
Middleton EL, Schwartz MF

Abstract

Cognitive rehabilitation research is increasingly exploring errorless learning interventions, which prioritise the avoidance of errors during treatment. The errorless learning approach was originally developed for patients with severe anterograde amnesia, who were deemed to be at particular risk for error learning. Errorless learning has since been investigated in other memory-impaired populations (e.g., Alzheimer's disease) and acquired aphasia. In typical errorless training, target information is presented to the participant for study or immediate reproduction, a method that prevents participants from attempting to retrieve target information from long-term memory (i.e., retrieval practice). However, assuring error elimination by preventing difficult (and error-permitting) retrieval practice is a potential major drawback of the errorless approach. This review begins with discussion of research in the psychology of learning and memory that demonstrates the importance of difficult (and potentially errorful) retrieval practice for robust learning and prolonged performance gains. We then review treatment research comparing errorless and errorful methods in amnesia and aphasia, where only the latter provides (difficult) retrieval practice opportunities. In each clinical domain we find the advantage of the errorless approach is limited and may be offset by the therapeutic potential of retrieval practice. Gaps in current knowledge are identified that preclude strong conclusions regarding a preference for errorless treatments over methods that prioritise difficult retrieval practice. We offer recommendations for future research aimed at a strong test of errorless learning treatments, which involves direct comparison with methods where retrieval practice effects are maximised for long-term gains.

PMID: 22247957 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Assessment

2012-01-19T17:28:00.002-05:00

This looks like a great contribution. I am looking forward to reading it.

Age group and sex differences in performance on a computerized neurocognitive battery in children age 8-21
Neuropsychology. 2012 Jan 16;
Gur RC, Richard J, Calkins ME, Chiavacci R, Hansen JA, Bilker WB, Loughead J, Connolly JJ, Qiu H, Mentch FD, Abou-Sleiman PM, Hakonarson H, Gur RE

Abstract

Objective: Examine age group effects and sex differences by applying a comprehensive computerized battery of identical behavioral measures linked to brain systems in youths that were already genotyped. Such information is needed to incorporate behavioral data as neuropsychological "biomarkers" in large-scale genomic studies. Method: We developed and applied a brief computerized neurocognitive battery that provides measures of performance accuracy and response time for executive-control, episodic memory, complex cognition, social cognition, and sensorimotor speed domains. We tested a population-based sample of 3,500 genotyped youths ages 8-21 years. Results: Substantial improvement with age occurred for both accuracy and speed, but the rates varied by domain. The most pronounced improvement was noted in executive control functions, specifically attention, and in motor speed, with some effect sizes exceeding 1.8 standard deviation units. The least pronounced age group effect was in memory, where only face memory showed a large effect size on improved accuracy. Sex differences had much smaller effect sizes but were evident, with females outperforming males on attention, word and face memory, reasoning speed, and all social cognition tests and males outperforming females in spatial processing and sensorimotor and motor speed. These sex differences in most domains were seen already at the youngest age groups, and age group × sex interactions indicated divergence at the oldest groups with females becoming faster but less accurate than males. Conclusions: The results indicate that cognitive performance improves substantially in this age span, with large effect sizes that differ by domain. The more pronounced improvement for executive and reasoning domains than for memory suggests that memory capacities have reached their apex before age 8. Performance was sexually modulated and most sex differences were apparent by early adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID: 22251308 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Concussion in Sport

2012-01-19T15:34:00.003-05:00

From the CBC:

Concussion prevention effort features mobile app
Four sports organizations partner with government on new education programs
CBC News
Posted: Jan 19, 2012 11:27 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 19, 2012 3:19 PM ET

[snip]

Four sports organizations will receive $1.5 million in federal funding for new education programs designed to reduce concussions and other brain injuries in children and youth who play team sports.

The Public Health Agency of Canada's "Active and Safe" program is supporting a joint project of ThinkFirst Canada, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the Coaching Association of Canada, and Hockey Canada to help coachers, trainers, parents, and athletes recognize and prevent serious brain injuries.

In announcing the funding in Ottawa Thursday, Minister of State for Amateur Sport Bal Gosal noted that an estimated 90 per cent of severe brain injuries were preventable if parents, coaches and the kids themselves knew more about the risks.

"We can't eliminate all injuries," Gosal said, "but we want to help parents and coaches predict the predictable and prevent what is preventable."

[snip]
Read full article

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Assessment

2012-01-18T14:45:00.001-05:00

N-backer: An auditory n-back task with automatic scoring of spoken responses
Behav Res Methods. 2011 Sep;43(3):888-96
Monk AF, Jackson D, Nielsen D, Jefferies E, Olivier P

Abstract

The n-back task is commonly used to load working memory (WM) in dual-task and neuroimaging experiments. However, it typically involves visual presentation and buttonpress responses, making it unsuitable for combination with primary tasks that involve vision and action, such as sequential object use and other tasks of daily living. The N-backer software presented here will automatically present and score auditory-verbal n-back sequences utilising the standard speech synthesis and recognition facilities that come with Microsoft Windows. Data are presented from an experiment in which 12 student participants carried out three tasks from the Naturalistic Action Test (NAT) while their attention was divided between the primary task and a continuous auditory-verbal 2-back secondary task. The participants' 2-back performance was scored in two ways: by hand, from video recordings, and automatically, using the software, allowing us to evaluate the accuracy of N-backer. There was an extremely high correlation between these scores (.933). The videos were also used to obtain a comprehensive error score for the NAT. Significantly more errors were made in the more complex NAT tasks when participants were 2-backing, as compared with when they were not, showing that the auditory-verbal n-back task can be used to disrupt sequential object use. This dual-task method may simulate the attentional deficits of patients with brain injury, providing insights into the difficulties they face in tasks of daily living.

PMID: 21424186 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Learning Disabilities

2012-01-17T23:05:00.003-05:00

A press release from the NIH:

NIH announces funding for new learning disabilities research centers
Centers in Boulder, Houston, Tallahassee, and Seattle
17 January 2012

"Funding for four centers to conduct research on the causes and treatment of learning disabilities in children and adolescents has been provided by the National Institutes of Health."

Read the full press release

Call for "Neurology Tsar"

2012-01-17T08:15:00.001-05:00

From the Guardian:

NHS warned of 'neurology timebomb'
Call for 'neurology tsar' as growing numbers are diagnosed with Parkinson's, motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis
The Guardian
Tuesday 17 January 2012

Read full article

"Head Start: Use Your Head in 2012"

2012-01-15T11:28:00.002-05:00

A special features section of the Guardian and the Observer:
Homepage

"Just Trial and Error" Art and Neuroscience Take on Consciousness

2012-01-11T11:42:00.002-05:00

Brainwave 2012

2012-01-11T11:16:00.004-05:00

Thank you Dana Foundation Blog for posting about this series at the Rubin Museum of Art, the homepage for which follows:

Brainwave 2012

From the homepage:

"Now in its fifth year, Brainwave brings people from diverse walks of life together to engage with neuroscientists in one-on-one conversations in order to better understand the workings of our minds. Starting February 2012 we will focus on how memory is processed in the brain."

The Rubin is located in Chelsea (NYC). Information about the schedule and the museum are available on the homepage.

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Route Navigation and Route Knowledge

2012-01-11T10:06:00.000-05:00

Landmark sequencing and route knowledge: An fMRI study
Cortex. 2011 Dec 16;
Nemmi F, Piras F, Péran P, Incoccia C, Sabatini U, Guariglia C

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The ability to navigate in a familiar environment mainly relies on route knowledge, that is, a mental representation of relevant locations along a way, sequenced according to a navigational goal. Despite the clear ecological validity of this issue, route navigation and route knowledge have been scarcely investigated and little is known about the neural and cognitive bases of this navigational strategy. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we tested the validity of the predictions based on the main cognitive models of spatial knowledge acquisition about route-based navigation. METHODS: An order judgment task was used with two conditions (route and activity). Subjects were required to detect potential mismatches between a current sensory input and expectations deriving from route and activity knowledge. RESULTS: A medial occipto-temporal (e.g., lingual gyrus, calcarine cortex, fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal cortex) network was found activated during the route task, whereas a temporo-parietal (temporo-parietal junction) and frontal (e.g., Broca's area) network was related to the activity task. CONCLUSIONS: Functional data are congruent with cognitive models of route-based navigation. The route task activated areas related to both landmark identity and landmark order. Data are discussed in view of route-based navigation models.

PMID: 22225882 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Traumatic Brain Injury

2012-01-11T10:05:00.001-05:00

From the Mind Hacks blog:

A Relationship Through Brain Injury

The Guardian/Observer Memory Week

2012-01-10T10:50:00.001-05:00

The Guardian/Observer Memory Week
Read the article

"The free 'Making the Most of your Memory' 24-page booklets, are available with the Guardian this Saturday 14 January and the Observer on Sunday 15 January."

It's a Free Download: Today's News About Cognitive Decline

2012-01-06T07:55:00.003-05:00

An open-access free download of the research paper upon which today's news in based:

Archana Singh-Manoux, Mika Kivimaki, M Maria Glymour, Alexis Elbaz, Claudine Berr, Klaus P Ebmeier, Jane E Ferrie, &
Aline Dugravot (2012). Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study. British Medical Journal.

Article

Cognitive Decline

2012-01-06T07:39:00.005-05:00

A report from the BBC:

Brain function can start declining 'as early as age 45'
BBC
5 January 2012
Last updated at 20:08 ET

[snip]

"The brain's ability to function can start to deteriorate as early as 45, suggests a study in the British Medical Journal.

"University College London researchers found a 3.6% decline in mental reasoning in women and men aged 45-49.

"They assessed the memory, vocabulary and comprehension skills of 7,000 men and women aged 45 to 70 over 10 years."

[snip]

Read the full article

Related report from the CBC:

Brain may start decline at age 45
Cognitive function may begin deteriorating earlier than previously believed
CBC News
Posted: Jan 5, 2012 6:45 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 6, 2012 7:14 AM ET

[snip]

"Memory, reasoning and comprehension skills can start to decline at age 45, research published Thursday suggests.

"The findings go against previous research that had found cognitive decline starts after age 60 — and highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle in protecting the brain from dementia, researchers say."

[snip]

Read full article

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Aphasia and Communication

2012-01-05T13:51:00.004-05:00

Rehabilitation targeted at everyday communication: can we change the talk of people with aphasia and their significant others within conversation?
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilation. 2012 Jan;93(1 Suppl):S70-6
Wilkinson R, Wielaert S

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether aphasia therapy can change the talk of speakers with aphasia and/or their significant others within conversation.

DESIGN: Small number of intervention studies targeting conversations involving speakers with aphasia are reviewed. All are single case studies.

SETTING: Key assessment in the studies was an audio or video recording of 1 or more conversations between the dyad, usually made in the home setting. Intervention in these studies took place in the participants' home or another setting, such as a therapy room.

PARTICIPANTS: In all of the studies reviewed, the participants consisted of a person with aphasia (PWA) and a significant other, usually the PWA's spouse.

INTERVENTIONS: In all studies, therapy took the form of a behavioral intervention involving the provision of feedback to the significant other and/or PWA on their conversational behaviors uncovered by a conversation analysis assessment. Handouts, transcripts, discussion, and video feedback were used. Suggestions to permit participants to cope better with the effects of aphasia within conversation were given, and opportunities for practicing these strategies within conversation were provided.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postintervention, 1 or more conversations involving the PWA and significant other were recorded in the same manner as the preintervention. Conversations were analyzed in relation to changes in the behaviors targeted in intervention, such as those involved in topic initiation or repair of linguistic errors.

RESULTS: Each of the studies reviewed presented evidence that the talk of people with aphasia and/or their significant others can be changed in conversation. In some studies the evidence is primarily qualitative, in the form of observed changes to conversational behaviors postintervention. Some studies produce stronger evidence by combining qualitative and quantitative analyses of change.

CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that intervention targeting conversations involving an aphasic speaker can achieve change. Future studies should move beyond single case designs, include more robust, quantifiable evidence of change, and provide evidence of maintenance of change.

PMID: 22202194 [PubMed - in process]

Congratulations Dr. Trevor Robbins!

2012-01-03T10:08:00.002-05:00

Cambridge University figures in New Year Honours list
The Cambridge Student Online
31 December 2011

[snip]

"A CBE is awarded to another medical man, Professor Trevor Robbins, "for services to Medical Research". Professor Robbins is Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology, and Director of Cambridge University's Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute. His research interests focus on the brain systems relevant to neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. Professor Robbins is a Fellow of Downing College, and of the Royal Society."

[snip]

Read full article

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Aging and Cognition

2011-12-27T08:09:00.000-05:00

Subjective Cognitive Complaints of Older Adults at the Population Level: An Item Response Theory Analysis
Alzheimers Disease and Associated Disorders. 2011 Dec 20;
Snitz BE, Yu L, Crane PK, Chang CC, Hughes TF, Ganguli M

Abstract

Subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) are increasingly a focus in studies on prodromal Alzheimer disease (AD) and risk for dementia. Little is known about the optimal approach to measure SCCs. We used item response theory (IRT) to examine the characteristics of 24 SCC items in a sample of 3495 older adults pooled from 4 community-based studies. We investigated the potential advantages of IRT scoring over conventional scoring on the basis of participants' item response patterns. Items most likely endorsed by individuals low in SCC severity relate to word retrieval and general subjective memory decline. Items likely endorsed only by individuals high in SCC severity relate to nonepisodic memory changes, such as decline in comprehension, judgment and executive functions, praxis and procedural memory, and social behavior changes. Above and beyond conventional total score, IRT scoring of SCCs was associated with performance on objective cognitive tests, and was associated with cognitive test performance among participants endorsing only 1 SCC item. Thus, IRT scoring captures additional information beyond a simple sum of SCC symptoms. Modern psychometric approaches including IRT may be useful in developing: (1) brief community screening questionnaires; and (2) more sensitive measures of very subtle subjective decline for use in prodromal Alzheimer disease research.

PMID: 22193355 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: Meet Your Brain

2011-12-26T13:37:00.003-05:00

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2011
Meet Your Brain
Homepage

Guardian article about the lectures:
Read full article here

Clinical Trials in England

2011-12-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

The BBC's "Newspod" podcast from the 22nd of December includes an item looking at contemporary issues in performing pharma clinical trials in England. Comparison is made to what is considered to be the more-successful Scotland model.

Approx 7 minutes into the podcast; lasting several minutes.

University of Iowa College of Law to Hold Colloquium on Aging Population

2011-12-23T08:59:00.002-05:00

UI College of Law to hold colloquium on aging population
5:23 PM, Dec. 21, 2011
press-citizen.com

[snip]

"The 13 weekly sessions start Jan. 12 and will be available online to the public through live-streaming and podcasts, law professor and organizer Josephine Gittler said. Nationally-recognized experts in the field of public policy and aging, including Charles Sabatino, director of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Law and Aging; Robert Egge, vice president of public policy and advocacy for the Alzheimer’s Association, and Daniel Marson, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will attend some of the sessions."

[snip]

Read the full article

It's a Free Download!

2011-12-22T18:31:00.001-05:00

Executive deficits are related to the inferior frontal junction in early dementia
Brain. 2011 Dec 19;
Schroeter ML, Vogt B, Frisch S, Becker G, Barthel H, Mueller K, Villringer A, Sabri O

Access article here

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Alzheimer's Disease Progression

2011-12-20T16:46:00.000-05:00

Measuring Alzheimer disease progression with transition probabilities: Estimates from NACC-UDS
Curr Alzheimer Res. 2011 Nov 28;
Spackman DE, Kadiyala S, Neumann PJ, Veenstra DL, Sullivan SD

Abstract

Objectives: Estimate the probabilities, for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, of transitioning between stages of disease severity (mild, moderate, severe, dead) and care settings (community, institutional). Methods: Data were compiled by the National Alzheimer Coordinating Center. The main analyses were limited to 3,852 patients who were >50 years old, diagnosed with possible/probable AD and had at least two center visits. A multinomial logistic model accounting for patient and center level correlation was used to calculate transition probabilities between stages of the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). Separately we calculated the probabilities of being institutionalized based on CDR stage. Both analyses controlled for baseline age, time between visits, sex, marital status, whether white, whether Hispanic and number of years of education. Results: The annual probabilities of dying for patients in mild, moderate and severe health states were 5.5%, 21.5% and 48.0%, respectively, while the annual probabilities for institutionalization were 1.2%, 3.4% and 6.6%, respectively. The majority of mild and moderate patients remain in the same health state after one year, 77.4% and 50.1% respectively. Progressing patients are most likely to transition one stage, but 1.3% of mild patients become severe in one year. Some patients revert to lower severity stages, 7% from moderate to mild. Conclusions: Transition probabilities to higher CDR stages and to institutionalization are lower than those published previously, but the probability of death is higher. These results are useful for understanding AD progression and can be used in simulation models to evaluate costs and compare new treatments or policies.

PMID: 22175655 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Epilepsy

2011-12-19T08:43:00.001-05:00

The cognitive impact of antiepileptic drugs
Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2011 Nov; 4(6): 385-407
Eddy CM, Rickards HE, Cavanna AE

Abstract

Effective treatment of epilepsy depends on medication compliance across a lifetime, and studies indicate that drug tolerability is a significant limiting factor in medication maintenance. Available antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have the potential to exert detrimental effects on cognitive function and therefore compromise patient wellbeing. On the other hand, some agents may serve to enhance cognitive function. In this review paper, we highlight the range of effects on cognition linked to a variety of newer and older AEDs, encompassing key alterations in both specific executive abilities and broader neuropsychological functions. Importantly, the data reviewed suggest that the effects exerted by an AED could vary depending on both patient characteristics and drug-related variables. However, there are considerable difficulties in evaluating the available evidence. Many studies have failed to investigate the influence of patient and treatment variables on cognitive functioning. Other difficulties include variation across studies in relation to design, treatment group and assessment tools, poor reporting of methodology and poor specification of the cognitive abilities assessed. Focused and rigorous experimental designs including a range of cognitive measures assessing more precisely defined abilities are needed to fill the gaps in our knowledge and follow up reported patterns in the literature. Longitudinal studies are needed to improve our understanding of the influence of factors such as age, tolerance and the stability of cognitive effects. Future trials comparing the effects of commonly prescribed agents across patient subgroups will offer critical insight into the role of patient characteristics in determining the cognitive impact of particular AEDs.

PMID: 22164192 [PubMed - in process]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Sports-Related Concussion

2011-12-18T17:57:00.001-05:00

Role of Neuropsychologists in the Evaluation and Management of Sport-related Concussion: An Inter-Organization Position Statement
Clin Neuropsychol. 2011 Nov; 25(8): 1289-1294
Echemendia RJ, Iverson GL, McCrea M, Broshek DK, Gioia GA, Sautter SW, Macciocchi SN, Barr WB

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, clinical neuropsychologists have been at the forefront of both scientific and clinical initiatives aimed at developing evidence-based approaches to the evaluation and management of sport-related concussion. These efforts have directly impacted current policy on strategies for injury assessment and return-to-play by athletes after concussion. Many states are considering legislation requiring (a) education of athletes, parents, coaches, and school/organization officials on the recognition, evaluation, and management of sport-related concussions; (b) removal from play of any youth athlete that is suspected of having sustained a concussion; and (c) not allowing the student to return to participation until the student is evaluated and cleared for return to participation in writing by an appropriate healthcare professional. It is the official position of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN), American Board of Neuropsychology (ABN), Division 40 (Neuropsychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) that neuropsychologists should be included among the licensed health care professionals authorized to evaluate, clinically manage, and provide return to play clearance for athletes who sustain a sport-related concussion.

PMID: 22171535 [PubMed - in process]

From MindHacks: The Pavement Dance!

2011-12-18T16:26:00.002-05:00

From the MindHacks blog, with a link to the piece in The Economist:

The crowd dynamics of the city safari
18 December 2011
Read the blog post

From Pharmalot: Informed Consent Form Readibility

2011-12-13T22:10:00.002-05:00

An interesting read. I always aimed for 6th-grade reading level myself, so it surprised me to read of this finding:

Informed Consent Forms Target 11th Grade Readers
By Ed Silverman
Pharmalot
December 12th, 2011 // 9:29 am
Read the full blog post

Vegetative States

2011-12-09T07:46:00.003-05:00

From last Sunday's New York Times Sunday Magazine:

A Drug That Wakes the Near Dead
By JENEEN INTERLANDI
04 December 2011

"A surprising drug has brought a kind of consciousness to patients once considered vegetative — and changed the debate over pulling the plug."

Read the article

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Orbitofrontal Cortex

2011-12-08T16:05:00.001-05:00

Balkanizing the primate orbitofrontal cortex: distinct subregions for comparing and contrasting values
Annals of the New York Academy of Science. 2011 Dec; 1239(1): 1-13
Rudebeck PH, Murray EA

Abstract

The primate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is often treated as a single entity, but architectonic and connectional neuroanatomy indicate that it has distinguishable parts. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to dissociate the functions of its subregions. Here we review findings from recent neuropsychological and neurophysiological studies that do so. The lateral OFC seems to be important for learning, representing, and updating specific object-reward associations. The medial OFC seems to be important for value comparisons and choosing among objects on that basis. Rather than viewing this dissociation of function in terms of learning versus choosing, however, we suggest that it reflects the distinction between contrasts and comparisons: differences versus similarities. Making use of high-dimensional representations that arise from the convergence of several sensory modalities, the lateral OFC encodes contrasts among outcomes. The medial OFC reduces these contrasting representations of value to a single dimension, a common currency, in order to compare alternative choices.

PMID: 22145870 [PubMed - in process]

From the In The Pipeline Blog: Novartis and Neuroscience

2011-12-07T14:16:00.003-05:00

Read the In The Pipeline blog entry (06 December 2011).

Clinical Trials: Solanezumab in Alzheimer's Disease

2011-12-07T13:48:00.001-05:00

From Bloomberg:

Eli Lilly Shares Rise on Alzheimer’s Drug Hopes
By Drew Armstrong and Robert Langreth
Dec 6, 2011

[snip]

"Solanezumab is an antibody designed to clear protein fragments called beta amyloid that clutter the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Pfizer Inc. (PFE), Johnson & Johnson and Elan are testing bapineuzumab, a similar drug."

[snip]

Read the article

Clinical Trials: EVP-6124 Phase 2b Clinical Trial in Schizophrenia

2011-12-06T08:16:00.003-05:00

From Drug Discovery & Development:

Positive Study Results for Schizophrenia Drug
Drug Discovery & Development
December 05, 2011

"EnVivo Pharmaceuticals announced the analysis of a completed Phase 2b clinical trial of EVP-6124, a novel, orally bioavailable nicotinic alpha-7 agonist, in schizophrenia."

Read the full report

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Week: First-Person Narrative

2011-12-06T06:51:00.001-05:00

Narrative accounts like this are not common, but still excellent reading for students of neuropsychology:

A Mind "Surrounded by a Moat": A First-person Account of Cognitive Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis
Cogn Behav Neurol. 2011 Nov 29;
Anonymous , Stern EB

Abstract

This is a first-person account of the cognitive impairments-in speaking, writing, and thinking-caused by multiple sclerosis in a professional writer. The patient explains how she has worked around her deficits in rebuilding her life over the 18 years since her diagnosis. Her personal account is woven together with her clinical history, including her neuropsychological testing and magnetic resonance imaging results. A companion article giving perspectives on the case was written by a cognitive neuroscientist who has been studying some of the types of deficits reported by the patient.

PMID: 22134193 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Congratulations Dr. Patricia Kuhl!

2011-12-02T12:07:00.000-05:00

The 20th Jean-Louis Signoret Neuropsychology Prize of the Fondation Ipsen is Awarded to Prof. Patricia K. Kuhl (University of Washington, Seattle, USA)

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 2, 2011 - The international jury under the presidency of Prof. Albert Galaburda (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA) awarded on November 29th, 2011 the 20th Jean-Louis Signoret Neuropsychology Prize of the Fondation Ipsen (Paris:IPN) (20.000€) to Prof. Prof. Patricia K. Kuhl (University of Washington, Seattle, USA) for her work that played a major role in the understanding of language acquisition and the neural bases of language.

Infants are born with innate abilities to easily identify every sound of every language, however, by the end of the first year of life, infants show a perceptual narrowing of their language skills. Their ability to discern differences in the sounds that make up words in the world’s languages shrinks. Nonnative sounds are no longer differentiated. This developmental transition is caused by two interacting factors: the child’s computational skills and their social brains. Computational skills allow rapid statistical learning and social interaction is necessary for this computational learning process to occur. Neuroimaging using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) may help explain the neuroplasticity of the child’s mind versus the more expert (but less open) mind of the adult, and account for the “critical period” for language. She also studied the early development of the brain of bilingual children. By 10 to 12 months bilingual infants do not show the perceptual narrowing of the monolingual children. This is another piece of evidence that experiences shape the brain.

Patricia Kuhl is a Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the Institute for Brain and Learning Sciences at the University of Washington since 1977 and co-director of the Institute. Prof. Kuhl is a member of the National Academy of Science USA, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been elected a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the Association for Psychological Science. Prof. Kuhl was awarded the Silver Medal of the Acoustical Society of America in 1997, the Kenneth Craik Research Award from Cambridge University in 2005, and the Gold Medal from the acoustics branch of the American Institute of Physics in 2008.

About the Jean-Louis Signoret Neuropsychology Prize

Launched in 1992, this prize has been awarded by the Fondation Ipsen to many renowned specialists: Eric Kandel (1992), Jacques Paillard (1993), Rodolfo Llinas (1994), Stephen Kosslyn (1995), Alfonso Caramazza (1996), Jean-Pierre Changeux (1997), Edoardo Bisiach (1998), Joseph LeDoux (1999), Joaquin Fuster (2000), Stanislas Dehaene (2001), Deepak Pandya (2002), Uta Frith (2003), Hanna and Antonio Damasio (2004), Marc Jeannerod (2005), Faraneh Vargha-Khadem (2006), Alvaro Pascual Leone (2007), Elizabeth Warrington (2008), Pierre Maquet (2009) and Giacomo Rizzolati (2010).

The jury members are: Albert Galaburda (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA), President, Jocelyne Bachevalier (Emory University, Atlanta, USA), Laurent Cohen (Hôpital de la Salpétrière, Paris, France), Branch Coslett (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA), Richard Frackowiak (CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland), Didier Hannequin (Hôpital Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France), Kenneth Heilman (University of Florida, Gainesville, USA), Bernard Laurent (Hôpital Bellevue, Saint-Etienne, France), Kimford Meador (Emory University, Atlanta, USA), Michel Poncet (C.H.U. Hôpital Timone, Marseille, France), Donald Stuss (The Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Canada).

La Fondation Ipsen

Established in 1983 under the aegis of the Fondation de France, the mission of the Fondation Ipsen is to contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge. The long-standing action of the Fondation Ipsen aims at fostering the interaction between researchers and clinical practitioners, which is indispensable due to the extreme specialisation of these professions. The ambition of the Fondation Ipsen is to initiate a reflection about the major scientific issues of the forthcoming years. It has developed an important international network of scientific experts who meet regularly at meetings known as Colloques Médecine et Recherche, dedicated to six main themes: Alzheimer's disease, neurosciences, longevity, endocrinology, the vascular system and cancer science. Moreover, in 2007, the Fondation Ipsen started three new series of meetings. The first series is an annual meeting organized in partnership with the Salk Institute and Nature and focuses on Biological Complexity; the second series is the “Emergence and Convergence” series with Nature, and the third with Cell and the Massachusetts General Hospital entitled “Exciting Biologies”. Since its beginning, the Fondation Ipsen as organised more than 100 international conferences, published 72 volumes with renowned publishers and 219 issues of a widely distributed bimonthly newsletter Alzheimer Actualités. It has also awarded more than 100 prizes and grants.

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Hippocampal Function and Alzheimer's Disease

2011-12-02T11:48:00.001-05:00

Hippocampal hyperactivation associated with cortical thinning in Alzheimer's disease signature regions in non-demented elderly adults
Journal of Neuroscience. 2011 Nov 30; 31(48): 17680-17688
Putcha D, Brickhouse M, O'Keefe K, Sullivan C, Rentz D, Marshall G, Dickerson B, Sperling R

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with functional and structural alterations in a distributed network of brain regions supporting memory and other cognitive domains. Functional abnormalities are present in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with evidence of early hyperactivity in medial temporal lobe regions, followed by failure of hippocampal activation as dementia develops. Atrophy in a consistent set of cortical regions, the "cortical signature of AD," has been reported at the stage of dementia, MCI, and even in clinically normal (CN) older individuals predicted to develop AD. Despite multiple lines of evidence for each of these findings, the relationship between this structural marker of AD-related neurodegeneration and this functional marker of the integrity of the episodic memory system has not yet been elucidated. We investigated this relationship in 34 nondemented older humans (CN, N = 18; MCI, N = 16). Consistent with previous studies, we found evidence of hippocampal hyperactivation in MCI compared with CN. Additionally, within this MCI group, increased hippocampal activation correlated with cortical thinning in AD-signature regions. Even within the CN group, increased hippocampal activity was negatively correlated with cortical thinning in a subset of regions, including the superior parietal lobule (r = -0.66; p < 0.01). These findings, across a continuum of nondemented and mildly impaired older adults, support the hypothesis that paradoxically increased hippocampal activity may be an early indicator of AD-related neurodegeneration in a distributed network.

PMID: 22131428 [PubMed - in process]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Olfaction and Neurodegenerative Disease

2011-11-30T16:29:00.002-05:00

Just noticeable difference in olfaction: A discriminative tool between healthy elderly and patients with cognitive disorders associated with dementia
Rhinology. 2011 15 1; 49(5): 513-518.
Chopard G, Galmiche J, Jacquot L, Brand G

Abstract

Olfactory dysfunction appears to be one of the earliest signs of several age-related neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer`s disease (AD) or Parkinson`s disease (PD). To rate performance and olfactory deficits in patients with cognitive disorders, various olfactory tasks have been used such as odor detection, discrimination, recognition memory, identification and naming but no study has been focused on just noticeable difference (JND), a sensitive tool of detection. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare variations in JNDs in healthy elderly and in patients with cognitive disorders associated with dementia. The results showed significantly higher olfactory JNDs in a population with cognitive disorders associated with dementia - i.e. a lower olfactory detection performance - compared to a control population paired in age, gender and education level. Additionally, the findings of the present study showed strong correlations between cognitive performances and JND scores in the control population contrary to the patient population. These findings are discussed in relation to the relevance of using olfactory JNDs in the diagnosis of dementias.

PMID: 22125780 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Anthony Risser
BrainBlog
http://neuropsychological.blogspot.com

WNYC: "Free Will and the Science of the Brain"

2011-11-30T05:56:00.001-05:00

Today on WYNC's Leonard Lopate show, Dr. Michael Gazzaniga.

Listen and/or download here

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Moyamoya

2011-11-29T14:05:00.001-05:00

Intellectual ability and executive function in pediatric moyamoya vasculopathy
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 2011 Nov 24;
Williams TS, Westmacott R, Dlamini N, Granite L, Dirks P, Askalan R, Macgregor D, Moharir M, Deveber G

Abstract

Aim Moyamoya vasculopathy is characterized by progressive stenosis of the major arteries of the Circle of Willis, resulting in compromised cerebral blood flow and increased risk of stroke. The objectives of the current study were to examine intellectual and executive functioning of children with moyamoya and to evaluate the impact of moyamoya type, stroke (clinical or silent), vasculopathy laterality, and disease duration on neurocognitive abilities. Method Thirty pediatric participants (mean age 10y 10mo, SD 4y; 18 females, 12 males) completed age-appropriate Wechsler Intelligence Scales before any therapeutic revascularization procedures. Reports of executive function were obtained from parents and teachers using the Behavior Rating Index of Executive Function. Results Children with moyamoya scored significantly lower than the test standardization samples on all indices of intelligence and ratings of executive functioning (p<0.001). Patients did not differ by type of moyamoya or history of stroke. Patients with bilateral disease and stroke scored significantly lower than those with unilateral disease on measures of overall intellectual function (p=0.035) and verbal comprehension (p=0.04). Deficits in metacognitive executive functions were also more pronounced in bilateral patients according to teacher ratings. Interpretation Children with moyamoya are at risk for intellectual and executive problems, exacerbated by bilateral disease and clinical stroke history.

PMID: 22117564 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Clinical Trials: Moscow Rules

2011-11-29T12:38:00.001-05:00

An interesting posting on the Pharmalot blog today:

Russian Trial Rules Are A ‘Serious Blow’ To Pharma
By Ed Silverman
November 29th, 2011 // 9:56 am

Read the blog post

Controversy over US Military Traumatic Brain Injury Cognitive Assessment

2011-11-28T14:49:00.005-05:00

Today, NPR's All Things Considered will be airing a report it prepared with ProPublica about problems with the US military's approach to testing the cognitive function of individuals.

Here is a link to a ProPublica article about the issue:

Testing Program Fails Soldiers

An audio link and a transcript of the report will likely be made available by NPR on the All Things Considered website after it airs.

The ProPublica report includes links to a number of documents about the issue, for those interested in looking deeper into the controversy.

ADDENDUM: The NPR story can be listened to and/or downloaded at this link: Listen here.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Leadership Council

2011-11-28T14:29:00.002-05:00

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Leadership Council Holds Inaugural Meeting
Council convenes at the New York Academy of Sciences to discuss strategies for tackling barriers to translation in dementia.
Posted 11/28/2011

"NEW YORK, November 23, 2011- The newly created Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Leadership Council gathered for its inaugural meeting at the New York Academy of Sciences on Tuesday, November 15. The leadership council, consisting of key opinion leaders in industry, academia, and government, is charged with creating strategic objectives for the Academy's Translational Science Initiative, which aims to accelerate the transfer of basic scientific discoveries into new methods for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, initially focused on Alzheimer's disease and dementia."

Read the full NYAS press release

From the One Mind for Research organization: Read the press release

Elan and University of Cambridge to Create Neurodegenerative Research Institute

2011-11-27T11:33:00.005-05:00

Elan to create research centre with Cambridge University
DUBLIN
Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:14am EST

"(Reuters) - Elan Corp Plc has signed an agreement with Britain's Cambridge University to create a research center focused on therapies for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, the Dublin-headquartered biotech group said on Sunday."

Read the full article

Addendum (28 November 2011):

From Cambirdge Business Media:
28 November 2011 12:32
$10m neuroscience drug discovery centre for Cambridge
Lautaro Vargas
Read the full article

Mind Wandering, Creativity, and Brain Function

2011-11-25T21:55:00.002-05:00

CBC Radio's "Spark" show's Nora Young discusses this topic on its 30 October 2011 show.

Dr. Kalina Christoff, an assistant professor in the Psychology department and the Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, is interviewed.

Available as a podcast from the show's webpage.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

2011-11-24T12:28:00.003-05:00

A new post at the New York Times blog, "The New Old Age":

November 23, 2011, 12:18 PM
It’s Mild Cognitive Impairment. Now What?
By PAULA SPAN

"How would you react to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment — memory problems that allow you to continue normal daily activities, but presage an increased likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease within a few years?"

Read the full post

FDA: Insomnia Drug Approval

2011-11-24T12:10:00.002-05:00

From the FDA:

For Immediate Release: Nov. 23, 2011

FDA approves first insomnia drug for middle-of-the-night waking followed by difficulty returning to sleep

[snippet]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Intermezzo (zolpidem tartrate sublingual tablets) for use as needed to treat insomnia characterized by middle-of-the-night waking followed by difficulty returning to sleep.

This is the first time the FDA has approved a drug for this condition. Intermezzo should only be used when a person has at least four hours of bedtime remaining. It should not be taken if alcohol has been consumed or with any other sleep aid.

Insomnia is a common condition in which a person has trouble falling or staying asleep. It can range from mild to severe, depending on how often it occurs and for how long. Insomnia can cause excessive daytime sleepiness and lack of energy. It also can make a person feel anxious, depressed, or irritable. People with insomnia may have trouble focusing on tasks, paying attention, learning, and remembering.

Zolpidem tartrate was first approved in the United States in 1992 as the drug Ambien. Intermezzo is a lower dose formulation of zolpidem. The recommended and maximum dose of Intermezzo is 1.75 milligrams for women and 3.5 mg for men, taken once per night. The recommended dose for women is lower because women clear zolpidem from the body at a lower rate than men.

“For people whose insomnia causes them to wake in middle of the night with difficulty returning to sleep, this new medication offers a safer choice than taking a higher dose of zolpidem upon waking,” said Robert Temple, M.D., deputy center director for clinical science in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “With this lower dose there is less risk of a person having too much drug in the body upon waking, which can cause dangerous drowsiness and impair driving.”

Intermezzo was studied in two clinical trials involving more than 370 patients. In the studies, patients taking the drug had a shorter time to fall back asleep after waking compared to people taking an inactive pill (placebo). The most commonly reported adverse reactions in the clinical trials were headache, nausea and fatigue.

Like other sleep medicines, Intermezzo may cause serious side effects, including getting out of bed while not fully awake and doing an activity that you do not know you are doing or do not remember having done. Reported activities while under the influence of sleep medicines include driving a car, making and eating food, having sex, talking on the phone, and sleep walking—without knowing at the time or remembering later. Chances of such activity increase if a person has consumed alcohol or taken other medicines that make them sleepy.

Intermezzo is a federally controlled substance because it can be abused or lead to dependence.

Intermezzo is made by Transcept Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Port Richmond, Calif.

[snippet]

Read the full press release

Science Weekly Podcast: Understanding the Brain

2011-11-21T12:36:00.002-05:00

This week's Science Weekly podcast from The Guardian includes a report about the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual conference ("the brainiest science conference on the planet") and a report about dementia.

Listen to the podcast here

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Hippocampal Atrophy

2011-11-19T09:52:00.001-05:00

Hippocampal Subregions are Differentially Affected in the Progression to Alzheimer's Disease
Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2011 Nov 18;
Greene SJ, Killiany RJ,

Abstract

Atrophy within the hippocampus (HP) as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising biomarker for the progression to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Subregions of the HP along the longitudinal axis have been found to demonstrate unique function, as well as undergo differential changes in the progression to AD. Little is known of relationships between such HP subregions and other potential biomarkers, such as neuropsychological (NP), genetic, and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) beta amyloid and tau measures. The purpose of this study was to subdivide the hippocampus to determine how the head, body, and tail were affected in normal control, mild cognitively impaired, and AD subjects, and investigate relationships with HP subregions and other potential biomarkers. MRI scans of 120 participants of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were processed using FreeSurfer, and the HP was subdivided using 3D Slicer. Each subregion was compared among groups, and correlations were used to determine relationships with NP, genetic, and CSF measures. Results suggest that HP subregions are undergoing differential atrophy in AD, and demonstrate unique relationships with NP and CSF data. Discriminant function analyses revealed that these regions, when combined with NP and CSF measures, were able to classify by diagnostic group, and classify MCI subjects who would and would not progress to AD within 12 months. Anat Rec,, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PMID: 22095921 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Wellcome Trust Blog: "What I Learned at the BBC"

2011-11-19T08:46:00.003-05:00

An interesting post on the Wellcome Trust Blog:

What I Learned at the BBC
By Johanna Hoog
18 November 2011

A look at how science gets on television.

Read the post

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Alzheimer's Disease

2011-11-18T14:56:00.002-05:00

Increasing the diagnostic accuracy of medial temporal lobe atrophy in Alzheimer's disease
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 2011;25(3):477-90
Jacobs HI, Van Boxtel MP, van der Elst W, Burgmans S, Smeets F, Gronenschild EH, Verhey FR, Uylings HB, Jolles J

Abstract

Medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy is considered to be one of the most important predictors of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigates whether atrophy in parietal and prefrontal areas increases the predictive value of MTL atrophy in three groups of different cognitive status. Seventy-five older adults were classified as cognitively stable (n = 38) or cognitively declining (n = 37) after three years follow-up. At follow-up, the grey matter of the MTL, inferior prefrontal cortex (IPC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was delineated on MRI scans. Six years later, a dementia assessment resulted in distinguishing and separating a third group (n = 9) who can be considered as preclinical AD cases at scan time. Ordinal logistic regressions analysis showed that the left and right MTL, as well as the right IPC and IPL accurately predicted group membership. Receiver Operating Curves showed that the MTL was best in distinguishing cognitively stable from cognitively declining individuals. The accuracy of the differentiation between preclinical AD and cognitively stable participants improved when MTL and IPL volumes were combined, while differentiating preclinical AD and cognitively declined participants was accomplished most accurately by the combined volume of all three areas. We conclude that depending on the current cognitive status of an individual, adding IPL or IPC atrophy improved the accuracy of predicting conversion to AD by up to 22%. Diagnosis of preclinical AD may lead to more false positive outcomes if only the MTL atrophy is considered.

PMID: 21471642 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Cognition in Depression

2011-11-17T20:41:00.000-05:00

A meta-analysis of cognitive deficits in first-episode Major Depressive Disorder
Journal of Affective Disorders. 2011 Nov 14;
Lee RS, Hermens DF, Porter MA, Redoblado-Hodge MA

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recurrent-episode Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is associated with a number of neuropsychological deficits. To date, less is known about whether these are present in the first-episode. The current aim was to systematically evaluate the literature on first-episode MDD to determine whether cognition may be a feasible target for early identification and intervention. METHODS: Electronic database searches were conducted to examine neuropsychological studies in adults (mean age greater than 18years old) with a first-episode of MDD. Effect sizes were pooled by cognitive domain. Using meta-regression techniques, demographic and clinical factors potentially influencing heterogeneity of neuropsychological outcome were also investigated. RESULTS: The 15 independent samples reviewed yielded data for 644 patients with a mean age of 39.36years (SD=10.21). Significant cognitive deficits were identified (small to medium effect sizes) for psychomotor speed, attention, visual learning and memory, and all aspects of executive functioning. Symptom remission, inpatient status, antidepressant use, age and educational attainment, each significantly contributed to heterogeneity in effect sizes in at least one cognitive domain. LIMITATIONS: Reviewed studies were limited by small sample sizes and often did not report important demographic and clinical characteristics of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The current meta-analysis was the first to systematically demonstrate reduced neuropsychological functioning in first-episode MDD. Psychomotor speed and memory functioning were associated with clinical state, whereas attention and executive functioning were more likely trait-markers. Demographic factors were also associated with heterogeneity across studies. Overall, cognitive deficits appear to be feasible early markers and targets for early intervention in MDD.PMID: 22088608

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Carl Zimmer on the Blood-Brain Barrier

2011-11-17T15:33:00.003-05:00

On the Discover Magazine website:

Maybe You Do Need a Hole in Your Head—to Let the Medicine In
Carl Zimmer
November 2011
Read the article

Upcoming Event: National Academy of Neuropsychology (16-19 Nov 2011, Florida)

2011-11-15T19:02:00.004-05:00

Here is the conference homepage to the National Academy of Neuropsychology's (NAN) annual conference, taking place this week in Florida:

Conference Homepage

Epilepsy News

2011-11-14T15:25:00.002-05:00

A press release from the NIH:

Ultrathin flexible brain implant offers unique look at seizures in NIH-funded research
13 November 2011

[snippet]

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a flexible brain implant that could one day be used to treat epileptic seizures. In animal studies, the researchers used the device — a type of electrode array that conforms to the brain's surface — to take an unprecedented look at the brain activity underlying seizures.

"Someday, these flexible arrays could be used to pinpoint where seizures start in the brain and perhaps to shut them down," said Brian Litt, M.D., the principal investigator and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The findings appear in this month's Nature Neuroscience. The team will also discuss their findings at the 2011 Society for Neuroscience meeting, Nov. 12-16 in Washington, D.C.

"This group's work reflects a confluence of skills and advances in electrical engineering, materials science and neurosurgery," said Story Landis, Ph.D., director of NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which helped fund the work. "These flexible electrode arrays could significantly expand surgical options for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy."

[snippet]

Read the full press release

Podcast: The Guardian's Science Weekly: "The Inscrutable Brain"

2011-11-14T14:44:00.002-05:00

This week's Science Weekly podcast from The Guardian includes a segment called The Inscrutable Brain.

[snippet]

"On this week's show Alok Jha meets science writer Bryan Appleyard to discuss his new book The Brain is Wider than the Sky: Why Simple Solutions Don't Work in a Complex World. It's "part memoir and part reportage" on what he sees as our tendency to oversimplify the complexity of the human experience – particularly in the field of neuroscience – and misunderstand the limits of science."

[snippet]

Listen to the podcast

Delirium

2011-11-11T17:32:00.002-05:00

From a New York Times blog:

Preventing Hospital Delirium
By SUSAN SELIGER
November 11, 2011, 4:09 PM

Read the full blog entry

TC-5214 Depression Phase III Results

2011-11-11T09:18:00.002-05:00

From Fierce Biotech:

Key AZ/Targacept depression drug flunks first Phase III test
By John Carroll
November 8, 2011 — 6:49am ET

[snippet]

"The high-profile depression drug TC-5214 has failed the first in a string of Phase III studies, dealing AstraZeneca's struggling R&D operation another stinging setback and walloping Targacept with a meltdown in its share value this morning."

[snippet]

Read the full article

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Neuropsychological Rehabilitation for Multiple Sclerosis

2011-11-11T07:26:00.002-05:00

Neuropsychological rehabilitation for multiple sclerosis
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;11:CD009131
Rosti-Otajärvi EM, Hämäläinen PI

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cognitive deficits are a common manifestation in multiple sclerosis (MS) and have a wide effect on the patient's quality of life. Alleviation of the harmful effects caused by these deficits should be a major goal of MS research and practice.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to evaluate the effects of neuropsychological/cognitive rehabilitation in MS by conducting a systematic review.

SEARCH STRATEGY: A systematic literature search was carried out on reports drawn from Cochrane MS Group Specialised Register (To October 2010), Evidence-based medicine (EBM) reviews (To September 2010), MEDLINE (January 1950 to September 2010), EMBASE (1974 to September 2010), PsycINFO (January 1806 to September 2010), WEB OF SCIENCE (WOS) (January 1986 to September 2010), CINAHL (1982 to September 2010), and identified from the references in these reports.

SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) and quasi-randomised trials evaluating the effects of neuropsychological rehabilitation in MS compared to other interventions or no intervention at all and employing neuropsychological rehabilitation methods and outcome measures were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors individually judged the relevance, risk of bias, and content of the included studies. Results were combined quantitatively with meta-analyses according to the intervention type: 1) Cognitive training and 2) Cognitive training combined with other neuropsychological rehabilitation methods. In addition, narrative presentation was used in reporting the results of those studies which were inappropriate to be included in the meta-analysis.

MAIN RESULTS: Fourteen studies (770 MS patients) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. On the basis of these studies, low level evidence was found that neuropsychological rehabilitation reduces cognitive symptoms in MS. Cognitive training was found to improve memory span (standardised mean difference 0.54 (95% confidence interval 0.2 to 0.88, P = 0.002)), working memory (standardised mean difference 0.33 (95% confidence interval 0.09 to 0.57, P = 0.006)), and immediate visual memory (standardised mean difference 0.32 (95% confidence interval 0.04 to 0.6, P = 0.02)). There was no evidence of an effect of cognitive training combined with other neuropsychological rehabilitation methods on cognitive or emotional functions. The overall quality as well as the comparability of the included studies were relatively low due to methodological limitations and heterogeneity of outcome measures. Although most of the pooled results in the meta-analyses yielded no significant findings, twelve of the fourteen studies showed some evidence of positive effects when the studies were individually analysed.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The review indicates low level evidence for the positive effects of neuropsychological rehabilitation in MS. Interventions included in the review were heterogeneous. Consequently, clinical inferences can basically be drawn from single studies. Therefore, new trials may change the strength and direction of the evidence. To further strengthen the evidence, well-designed high quality studies are needed. In this systematic review, recommendations are given for improving the quality of future studies on the effects of neuropsychological rehabilitation in MS.

PMID: 22071863 [PubMed - in process]

Dr. Brenda Milner

2011-11-11T06:50:00.004-05:00

A new interview with Dr. Milner:

The Daily talks to McGill researcher Brenda Milner
Canadian neuroscientist honoured with Greengard Prize for achievements of women in science
LAURENT BASTIEN CORBEIL
The McGill Daily
Published on November 10, 2011

Read the full interview

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: A Curious Dual-Task Study

2011-11-10T07:13:00.000-05:00

Decrease in gait variability while counting backward: a marker of "magnet effect"?
Journal of Neural Transmission. 2010 Oct; 117(10): 1171-1176
Beauchet O, Allali G, Poujol L, Barthelemy JC, Roche F, Annweiler C

Abstract

Counting backward (CB) and walking are both rhythmic tasks. An improvement of CB performance has been reported while walking, and has been interpreted as a "magnet effect" which is the tendency of biological oscillators to attract each other. The objective of this study was to compare the coefficient of variation (CoV) of stride time (ST) and the number of enumerated figures while single- and dual-tasking between older adults who increased and decreased their CoV of ST while CB. The number of enumerated figures and the CoV of ST under single-task (i.e., CB while sitting or walking alone) and dual-task (i.e., CB while walking) were measured among 100 community-dwelling older subjects (mean, 69.8 ± 0.07 years). Subjects were separated into two groups according to the dual-task-related changes in CoV of ST (i.e., either above or below the mean value of CoV of ST under single-task). Seventeen participants decreased their CoV of ST while CB compared to usual walking (2.6 ± 1.6% vs. 2.0 ± 1.3%, P < 0.001), while 83 increased their CoV of ST (1.7 ± 0.6% vs 3.4 ± 2.3%, P < 0.001). The subjects who decreased their CoV of ST had a tendency to enumerate more figures while walking compared to sitting (20.9 ± 6.3 vs 19.4 ± 4.7, P = 0.046) unlike those who increased their CoV of ST (20.3 ± 5.0 vs 21.8 ± 6.0 while sitting, P = 0.001). We found that most of subjects had worse gait and CB performance while dual-tasking. Conversely, a limited number of subjects improved significantly their gait performance and simultaneously had a tendency to improve their CB performance while walking compared to sitting. This behavior was observed only among subjects with the highest gait variability and could be interpreted as an implicit strategy based on the "magnet effect".

PMID: 20809070 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Assessment

2011-11-09T16:14:00.002-05:00

The measurement of everyday cognition: Development and validation of a short form of the Everyday Cognition scales
Alzheimers Dement. 2011 Nov; 7(6): 593-601.
Tomaszewski Farias S, Mungas D, Harvey DJ, Simmons A, Reed BR, Decarli C

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study describes the development and validation of a shortened version of the Everyday Cognition (ECog) scales [Tomaszewski Farias et al. Neuropsychology 2008;22:531-44], an informant-rated questionnaire designed to detect cognitive and functional decline.

METHODS: External, convergent, and divergent validities and internal consistency were examined. Data were derived from informant ratings of 907 participants who were either cognitively normal, had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or had dementia.

RESULTS: Twelve items were included in the shortened version (ECog-12). The ECog-12 strongly correlated with established functional measures and neuropsychological scores, only weakly with age and education, and demonstrated high internal consistency. The ECog-12 showed excellent discrimination between the dementia and normal groups (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve = 0.95, CI = 0.94-0.97), and showed promise in discriminating normal older adults from those with any cognitive impairment (i.e., MCI or dementia). Discrimination between the MCI and normal groups was poor.

CONCLUSIONS: The ECog-12 shows promise as a clinical tool for assisting clinicians in identifying individuals with dementia.

PMID: 22055976 [PubMed - in process]

SfN Neuroscience 2011: Free Wireless

2011-11-08T08:16:00.001-05:00

From the Society for Neuroscience:

Wireless Internet Access

Clinical Trials in the UK

2011-11-08T08:01:00.001-05:00

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
POSTNote
October 2011

POSTNote: Clinical Trials (pdf).

Tractometry and The Psychology Dept at Cardiff University

2011-11-07T20:10:00.006-05:00

A new word (for me, at least) for a new discipline of study in neuropsychology and neuroscience. Best wishes, Prof. Jones!

Investigating the brain’s white matter
Cardiff University News Centre
07 November 2011

[snippet]

"Pioneering brain research at Cardiff has received a major boost with the winning of the University’s first prestigious Investigator Award from the Wellcome Trust.

"Professor Derek Jones, Director of Cardiff University Brain Repair Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), has received the Award to develop the new discipline of Tractometry."

[snippet]

Read the full article

Dear Reader

2011-11-05T21:57:00.002-04:00

Dear Reader,

If you are reading this blog and find that there are pop-up ads or framed ads around the edges or in a different format than you see if you were to use the blog's direct URL, then you might be viewing the blog through some cookie-directed third-party vendor (especially if you first accessed this blog via a third party not of the scope of a Google or a Twitter or a Yahoo. etc.).

If this happens to you at this blog (or, indeed, at other websites that you visit), you might want to try cleaning your collection of cookies and re-entering the site directly from the BrainBlog URL.

Hopefully, this hasn't happened. However, I have heard from some other bloggers that their readers have had recent problems of this type.

Best wishes,

BrainBlog

The Cerebellum and Neuropsychological Function

2011-11-05T20:08:00.001-04:00

This sounds like a good read:

O'Halloran CJ, Kinsella GJ, & Storey E. (2011). The cerebellum and neuropsychological functioning: A critical review Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology..

Upcoming Event: SfN's Neuroscience 2011 (12-16 Nov, Washington, DC)

2011-11-04T15:30:00.001-04:00

Here is the website, chock full of information, for the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting, Neuroscience 2011:

Neuroscience 2011

Computerized Cognitive Testing: A New CogState Paper

2011-11-04T15:11:00.001-04:00

Reliability of repeated cognitive assessment of dementia using a brief computerized battery
American Journal of Alzheimers Disease and Other Dementias. 2011 Jun; 26(4): 326-333.
Hammers D, Spurgeon E, Ryan K, Persad C, Heidebrink J, Barbas N, Albin R, Frey K, Darby D, Giordani B

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term stability and reliability of a brief computerized cognitive battery in established dementia types.
METHOD: Patients were administered the computerized battery twice with administrations approximately 2 hours apart, with intervening conventional neuropsychological tests. Patients were classified clinically, via consensus conference, as healthy controls (n = 23), mild cognitive impairment (n = 20), Alzheimer's disease (n = 52), dementia with Lewy Bodies ([DLB], n = 10), or frontotemporal dementia (n = 9).
RESULTS: Minimal practice effects were evident across Cog-State test administrations. Small magnitude improvements were seen across all groups on a working memory task, and healthy controls showed a mild practice effect on the accuracy of associative learning.
CONCLUSIONS: In established dementia, administration of the CogState tasks appears sensitive to cognitive impairment in dementia. Repeat administration also provided acceptable stability and test-retest reliability with minimal practice effects at short test-retest intervals despite intervening cognitive challenges.

PMID: 21636581 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The Purpose of the Brain

2011-11-04T15:01:00.005-04:00

A TEDtalk by University of Cambridge neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert:

TEDtalk

From the webpage:

"Neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert starts from a surprising premise: the brain evolved, not to think or feel, but to control movement. In this entertaining, data-rich talk he gives us a glimpse into how the brain creates the grace and agility of human motion."

More on Dr. Brenda Milner's Newest Award

2011-11-04T13:31:00.005-04:00

Pearl Meister Greengard Prize website

From the Montreal Gazette:

Montreal scientist wins Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
Montreal Gazette
November 3, 2011

"Neuropsychologist Dr. Brenda Milner was presented the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize at an award ceremony at Rockefeller University in New York on Thursday."

Read the full article

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Alzheimer's Disease

2011-11-03T15:08:00.000-04:00

Relationships Between Behavioral Syndromes and Cognitive Domains in Alzheimer Disease: The Impact of Mood and Psychosis
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2011 Nov 1;
Koppel J, Goldberg TE, Gordon ML, Huey E, Davies P, Keehlisen L, Huet S, Christen E, Greenwald BS

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:: Behavioral disturbances occur in nearly all Alzheimer disease (AD) patients together with an array of cognitive impairments. Prior investigations have failed to demonstrate specific associations between them, suggesting an independent, rather than shared, pathophysiology. The objective of this study was to reexamine this issue using an extensive cognitive battery together with a sensitive neurobehavioral and functional rating scale to correlate behavioral syndromes and cognitive domains across the spectrum of impairment in dementia. DESIGN:: Cross-sectional study of comprehensive cognitive and behavioral ratings in subjects with AD and mild cognitive impairment. SETTING:: Memory disorders research center. PARTICIPANTS:: Fifty subjects with AD and 26 subjects with mild cognitive impairment; and their caregivers. MEASUREMENTS:: Cognitive rating scales administered included the Mini-Mental State Examination; the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination; the Boston Naming Test; the Benton Visual Retention Test; the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Neuropsychology Assessment; the Controlled Oral Word Test; the Wechsler Memory Scale logical memory I and logical memory II task; the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised digit span; the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised digit symbol task; and the Clock Drawing Task together with the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. RESULTS:: Stepwise regression of cognitive domains with symptom domains revealed significant associations of mood with impaired executive function/speed of processing (Δr = 0.22); impaired working memory (Δr = 0.05); impaired visual memory (Δr = 0.07); and worsened Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (Δr = 0.08). Psychosis was significantly associated with impaired working memory (Δr = 0.13). CONCLUSIONS:: Mood symptoms appear to impact diverse cognitive realms and to compromise functional performance.

PMID: 22048323 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Schizophrenia

2011-11-03T11:30:00.000-04:00

The BBC Newspod podcast of the 1st of November discusses schizophrenia a hundred years on.

It occurs in the final four minutes of the podcast, available from the BBC website and from iTunes as a free download.

Society for Neuroscience (SfN): Official Conference Neurobloggers

2011-11-02T18:24:00.002-04:00

List of official neurobloggers

The conference begins on the 12th of November.

Delirium

2011-11-02T07:23:00.000-04:00

From the New York Times blog, The New Old Age:

Another Hospital Hazard for the Elderly
By SUSAN SELIGER
November 2, 2011, 12:37 PM

Read the blog entry

Science Communication Conference 2012

2011-11-01T16:55:00.003-04:00

Science Communication Conference 2012
Wellcome Trust Blog
31 October 2011
by Mun-Keat Looi

[snippet]

"The British Science Association, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, have opened a call for proposals to run sessions at the 2012 Science Communication Conference.

"The conference will again be held at Kings Place, London, on Mon 14 & Tues 15 May 2012 and address key issues facing science communicators. It’s always a good opportunity to network, share ideas and good practice."

[snippet]

Read the full blog entry

Cognitive Enhancing Drugs

2011-11-01T16:27:00.004-04:00

From The University of Cambridge:

The Ethics of Smart Drugs
31 October 2011
Read the full article here

Upcoming Videocast: The Neuroimaging of Pain (07 Nov 2011)

2011-11-01T16:11:00.003-04:00

From a press release from the NIH:

Stanford researcher to speak at NIH on the role of neuroimaging in understanding pain

NCCAM presents Opening Windows to the Brain: Lessons Learned in the Neuroimaging of Pain

[snippet]

What:
Sean Mackey, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Pain Management Division and associate professor of anesthesia and pain management at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., will be the featured speaker for the third annual Stephen E. Straus Distinguished Lecture in the Science of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dr. Mackey’s lecture is entitled Opening Windows to the Brain: Lessons Learned in the Neuroimaging of Pain.

Why:
Millions of Americans suffer from pain that is chronic, severe, and not easily managed. People who suffer from chronic pain may take various prescription and non-prescription medications; these do not always provide adequate relief and may have unwanted side effects. As a result, people sometimes turn to non-pharmacological strategies for pain management. Dr. Mackey will discuss the role of neuroimaging and how it provides a picture for the principal mechanisms involved in pain processing, perception, and plasticity. He will also discuss the role of neural (brain) reward systems in regulating pain, and the potential future for non-pharmacological strategies to reduce the experience of pain.

When:
Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. EST

Where:
National Institutes of Health, Building 10, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, Md. Lecture: Lipsett Amphitheater. It will also be videocast at http://videocast.nih.gov when the event is live.

[snippet]

Read the full release

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Alzheimer's Disease Pharmacologic Strategies

2011-10-31T07:13:00.000-04:00

New pharmacological strategies for treatment of Alzheimer's disease: focus on disease-modifying drugs
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2011 Oct 28;
Salomone S, Caraci F, Leggio GM, Fedotova J, Drago F

Abstract

Current approved drug treatments for Alzheimer disease (AD) include cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine) and the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine. These drugs provide symptomatic relief but poorly affect the progression of the disease. Drug discovery has been directed, in the last ten years, to develop "disease-modifying drugs" hopefully able to counteract the progression of AD. Because in a chronic, slow progressing pathological process, such as AD, an early start of treatment enhances the chance of success, it is crucial to have biomarkers for early detection of AD-related brain dysfunction, usable before clinical onset. Reliable early biomarkers need therefore to be prospectively tested for predictive accuracy, with specific cutoff values validated in clinical practice. Disease-modifying drugs developed so far include drugs to reduce β amyloid (Aβ) production, drugs to prevent Aβ aggregation, drugs to promote Aβ clearance, drugs targeting tau phosphorylation and assembly, and other approaches. Unfortunately none of these drugs has demonstrated efficacy in phase 3 studies. The failure of clinical trials with disease-modifying drugs rises a number of questions, spanning from methodological flaws to fundamental understanding of AD patho-physiology and biology. Recently, new diagnostic criteria applicable to presymptomatic stages of AD have been published. These new criteria may impact drug development, such that future trials on disease-modifying drugs will include populations susceptible to AD, before clinical onset. Specific problems with completed trials and hopes with ongoing trials are discussed in this review.

PMID: 22035455 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: MCI

2011-10-30T16:17:00.000-04:00

Predictive value of APOE-ε4 allele for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia: A meta-analysis
Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2011 Oct; 82(10): 1149-1156.
Elias-Sonnenschein LS, Viechtbauer W, Ramakers IH, Verhey FR, Visser PJ

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The identification of subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is important for prognosis and early intervention. The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest known genetic risk factor for AD. The authors performed a meta-analysis to establish the predictive accuracy of the APOE-ε4 allele for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia.

METHODS: The authors included 35 prospective cohort studies of subjects with MCI, including 6095 subjects, of whom 1236 progressed to AD-type dementia after 2.9 years of follow-up. Pooled estimates of the OR, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-) were obtained using random-effects models.

RESULTS: The OR for subjects with MCI who are carriers of APOE-ε4 allele to progress to AD-type dementia was 2.29 (95% CI 1.88 to 2.80), the sensitivity was 0.53 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.61), the specificity was 0.67 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.71), the PPV was 0.57 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.66), the NPV was 0.75 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.80), the LR+ was 1.60 (95% CI 1.48 to 1.72), and the LR- was 0.75 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.82). Meta-regression showed that sensitivity, specificity and NPV were dependent on age, APOE-ε4 allele background prevalence or follow-up length.

CONCLUSIONS: The APOE-ε4 allele is associated with a moderately increased risk for progression from MCI to AD-type dementia. The low sensitivity and PPV makes genotyping of limited value for predicting AD-type dementia in clinical practice. For trials aiming to prevent progression from MCI to AD-type dementia, APOE genotyping may be useful in selecting subjects with a higher risk for progression to AD-type dementia.

PMID: 21493755 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Amyloid

2011-10-29T07:26:00.001-04:00

Nitration of tyrosine 10 critically enhances amyloid β aggregation and plaque formation
Neuron. 2011 Sep 8; 71(5): 833-844.
Kummer MP, Hermes M, Delekarte A, Hammerschmidt T, Kumar S, Terwel D, Walter J, Pape HC, König S, Roeber S, Jessen F, Klockgether T, Korte M, Heneka MT

Abstract

Part of the inflammatory response in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the upregulation of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) resulting in increased NO production. NO contributes to cell signaling by inducing posttranslational protein modifications. Under pathological conditions there is a shift from the signal transducing actions to the formation of protein tyrosine nitration by secondary products like peroxynitrite and nitrogen dioxide. We identified amyloid β (Aβ) as an NO target, which is nitrated at tyrosine 10 (3NTyr(10)-Aβ). Nitration of Aβ accelerated its aggregation and was detected in the core of Aβ plaques of APP/PS1 mice and AD brains. NOS2 deficiency or oral treatment with the NOS2 inhibitor L-NIL strongly decreased 3NTyr(10)-Aβ, overall Aβ deposition and cognitive dysfunction in APP/PS1 mice. Further, injection of 3NTyr(10)-Aβ into the brain of young APP/PS1 mice induced β-amyloidosis. This suggests a disease modifying role for NOS2 in AD and therefore represents a potential therapeutic target.

PMID: 21903077 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Mild Cognitive Impairment

2011-10-28T15:40:00.005-04:00

There have been a number of excellent papers published over the past month in a number of different journals on the topic of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Looking forward to reading this new paper:

An exploration of subgroups of mild cognitive impairment based on cognitive, neuropsychiatric and functional features: analysis of data from the national Alzheimer's coordinating center
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2011 Nov; 19(11): 940-950.
Hanfelt JJ, Wuu J, Sollinger AB, Greenaway MC, Lah JJ, Levey AI, Goldstein FC

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: : To empirically expand the existing subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by incorporating information on neuropsychiatric and functional features, and to assess whether cerebrovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are associated with any of these subgroups.

DESIGN: : Latent class analysis using 1,655 patients with MCI.

SETTING: : Participants in the Uniform Data Set (UDS) from 29 National Institutes of Health-supported Alzheimer's Disease Centers.

PARTICIPANTS: : Patients with a consensus diagnosis of MCI from each center and with a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 22 or greater.

MEASUREMENTS: : UDS cognitive battery, Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire, and Functional Assessment Questionnaire administered at initial visit.

RESULTS: : Seven empirically based subgroups of MCI were identified: 1) minimally impaired (relative frequency, 12%); 2) amnestic only (16%); 3) amnestic with functional and neuropsychiatric features (16%); 4) amnestic multidomain (12%); 5) amnestic multidomain with functional and neuropsychiatric features (12%); 6) functional and neuropsychiatric features (15%); and 7) executive function and language impairments (18%). Two of these subgroups with functional and neuropsychiatric features were at least 3.8 times more likely than the minimally impaired subgroup to have a Rosen-Hachinski score of 4 or greater, an indicator of probable CVD.

CONCLUSIONS: : Findings suggest that there are several distinct phenotypes of MCI characterized by prominent cognitive features, prominent functional features, and neuropsychiatric features or a combination of all three. Subgroups with functional and neuropsychiatric features are significantly more likely to have CVD, which suggests that there may be distinct differences in disease etiology from the other phenotypes.

PMID: 22024618 [PubMed - in process]

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Pediatric Epilepsy and Memory Assessment

2011-10-27T15:31:00.000-04:00

Everyday verbal memory and pediatric epilepsy
Epilepsy and Behavior. 2011 Jul; 21(3): 285-290.
Chapieski L, Evankovich K, Hiscock M, Collins R

Abstract

This study addressed the reliability and validity of reports of everyday verbal memory with a sample of 132 pediatric patients with epilepsy. Each patient and one parent completed a questionnaire on everyday verbal memory comprising two scales assessing learning/retrieval and prospective memory. Each patient was also administered tests of memory, attention, and academic skills. Information about attention, mood, and academic performance was obtained from parent and teacher report, as well as self-report. Memory test scores were correlated with children's reports of learning and retrieval in everyday activities, but were not significantly associated with reports of prospective memory. Reports of everyday memory were found to be reliable and predictive of academic performance. Performance on tests of memory, conversely, was unrelated to reports of academic performance. Reports of everyday memory may, therefore, provide more useful information than tests when evaluating the effects of epilepsy and its treatments.

PMID: 21620770 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Temporal Integration

2011-10-27T07:22:00.003-04:00

A paper about temporal integration and the psychological present, available as a free download:

Wittmann, M. (2011). Moments in time. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience.
published: 18 October 2011
doi: 10.3389/fnint.2011.00066

Free download pdf

Book Review: "Kraken" by Wendy Williams

2011-10-26T18:15:00.007-04:00

This post, and all others on BrainBlog, are written by Anthony Risser for his blog BrainBlog. The appearance of this entry, and others, on different websites, framed under different websites, or not at the BrainBlog URL do not have my permission. All rights retained.

Wendy Williams
Kraken: The curious, exciting, and slightly disturbing science of squid
NY: Abrams Image (2011)
ISBN 978-0-8109-8465-3

My guess is that, unlike biology students, many psychology students exposed to their first courses in biopsychology and neuroscience have little idea about cephalopods and their role played in our knowledge about the nervous system and behavior. (Hint: You are likely to have found squid in your textbook, in that diagram which shows the recording of electrical activity from a generic single neuron and its axon.)

Wendy Williams’ new book, Kraken, is a curious book that gives credit to the cephalopods and to the scientists who respect them and learn from them. It is a brief book with a nicely moving narrative. It is accessible to a general audience. It introduces the reader to a community of scientists (professional and amateur) who search for and study squid, cuttlefish, and octopus. People like Julie Taylor and Bill Gilly who work with the Humboldt squid. People like Bruce Andersen who teach neurosurgeons how to remove the single giant axon of Loligo pealei in a manner that will allow it to function for several hours after its removal. The book’s photographs are notably lo-tech; it is easy to imagine the subjects of the pictures posing for (or trying to avoid) the author’s pocket cam.

Collections of Loligo pealei offered up their giant axons to allow Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley to appreciate the action potential and the movement of ions across the cell membrane. Nobel-award winning work that, though the author believes that cephalopods themselves deserve a Nobel for their overall contributions to medicine and science (not entirely tongue-in-cheek!).

Neuroscience is an important part of the story, but it certainly not the only part. Cephalopods have survived several mass extinctions on Earth and their story takes on many different elements. Simply advancing knowledge from mythology was an important part of cephalopod investigations in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The so-called ‘Monsters of the Deep’ are still part of B-movie plots, but we thrill more in the 21st century to their bioluminescence (which has been translated into a methodology to study functioning neurons), their response to their environment, their problem-solving abilities, and rises and falls in their numbers. Returning to the nervous system and behavior, the final pages of the book are a fascinating look at the intelligence of cephalopods or, more clearly, how could one determine the "intelligence" of animals other than humans. There are volumes and volumes available about this issue, but the coverage here is succinct and creative.

In all, a charming book.

Ahoy! A lagniappe for the curious: Many of the topics portrayed in the book (and other things about cephalopods) are available by others who have posted videos on YouTube. Like any salty 19th century seafarer, just search for cephalopods.

UC San Francisco-Pfizer Drug Development Partnership

2011-10-26T18:05:00.001-04:00

From EurekaAlert:

UCSF-Pfizer partnership yields projects aimed at clinical trials
26 October 2011

Read the full article

An Award for Dr. Brenda Milner

2011-10-26T18:03:00.000-04:00

From the Scientific American blog:

The 2011 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize: Honoring Dr. Brenda Milner for her pioneering work in cognitive neuroscience
By Jeanne Garbarino
October 26, 2011 |

Read the blog post about the award

Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing and Alzheimer’s Disease

2011-10-26T12:32:00.003-04:00

An NIH Public Access Author Manuscript:

Richard J. O’Brien and Philip C. Wong
Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing and Alzheimer’s Disease
Published in final edited form as:
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2011 ; 34: 185–204. doi:10.1146/annurev-neuro-061010-113613.

Download the free-access pdf here

This looks like a fine overview of our current knowledge.

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Visual Memory Assessment

2011-10-26T12:26:00.002-04:00

Landscape test for assessing visual memory in Alzheimer's disease
Rev Neurol. 2011 Jul 1; 53(1): 1-7
Valls-Pedret C, Olives J, Bosch B, Caprile C, Castellví M, Molinuevo JL, Rami L

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Visual episodic memory is affected in the early phases of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

AIMS: To design a visual memory test free of any verbal content, to offer its normative values in the elderly population in Spain, to validate the test in a group of patients with mild AD and to determine its capacity to discriminate between subjects with AD and controls.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study involved a sample of 263 subjects (137 controls and 126 patients with AD) over 50 years of age. The landscape test consists of a first part in which participants are shown 25 photographs of landscapes. Five minutes later, the previous 25 photos are shown again together with 25 new pictures, and the subject must recognise the ones that have already been seen. The statistical analysis was performed using the Student t test for independent measures, ANCOVA, linear regression, Pearson's correlation and the ROC curve.

RESULTS: In the control group, sex and schooling did not have any significant effect on the results, although differences were found between the youngest group (50-59 years) and the oldest age group (equal to or above 80 years). Findings show that there is a significant difference between the mean scores on the landscape test obtained by the two groups (control: 44.06 ± 3.2; AD: 34.25 ± 6.6; p < 0.001). The area under the curve from the landscape test was 0.904, with a sensitivity of 0.82 and a specificity of 0.85.

CONCLUSIONS: The landscapes test is a simple, sensitive and novel instrument for assessing visual memory in early AD.

PMID: 21678318 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

From the Wellcome Trust Blog

2011-10-26T11:51:00.002-04:00

A good read from today, an entry at the Wellcome Trust blog:

Craters, blisters and Pringles: Do small irregularities on the brain surface give us clues about its functions?
26 October 2011
Read the blog post

This Week's All in the Mind from BBC Radio 4

2011-10-26T10:17:00.005-04:00

This week's All in the Mind podcast from BBC Radio 4:

Visit the show's webpage to listen or to download the episode

From the webpage:

"How can a good night's sleep improve your memory? Why does the answer to a crossword clue suddenly appear first thing in the morning after a night's rest? In this week's programme Claudia Hammond talks to psychologist, Kimberly Fenn about what happens in the brain when we sleep and why it can significantly improve our memory. Hysteria or conversion disorder is surprisingly, not confined to medical history. Nearly 1 in 5 patients seen by neurologists will have symptoms like paralysis, fits or loss of vision which can't be explained neurologically. Claudia talks to neurologist, Mark Edwards and psychiatrist, Richard Kanaan about the history of conversion disorder, how common it is today, the best way to treat it and its complex causes. Also in the programme, Claudia meets the carers getting involved in mental health research and why their input is making a a difference to research projects exploring mental health across the country."

(Running length = 30 mins.)

Parliamentary Private Members' Debate on Medication Use in ADHD

2011-10-25T09:09:00.006-04:00

A discussion about ADHD and medication was held today as a Private Members' Debate at Westminster. Set by Pat McFadden MP (pictured above), the debate includes response by the Minister of State, Department of Health.

Available for streaming at Parliament TV Go to the 25th of October, Westminster Hall at advance to 1330 hrs.

Background resource: The 2008 NICE guideline about ADHD.

Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Cortical Neuroanatomy of Neuropsychological Deficits

2011-10-25T06:29:00.000-04:00

The cortical neuroanatomy of neuropsychological deficits in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: A surface-based morphometric analysis
Neuropsychologia. 2011 Oct 15;
Ahn HJ, Seo SW, Chin J, Suh MK, Lee BH, Kim ST, Im K, Lee JM, Lee JH, Heilman KM, Na DL

Abstract

Patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the amnesic form of mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) often demonstrate several types of neuropsychological deficits. These deficits are often related to cortical atrophy, induced by neuronal degradation. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether different anatomic patterns of cortical atrophy are associated with specific neuropsychological deficits. The participants were 170 patients with AD and 99 patients with aMCI. All participants underwent the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB), which includes tests that assess attention, language, visuospatial functions, verbal and visual memory, and frontal/executive functions. Cortical atrophy (thinning) was quantified by measuring the thickness of the cortical mantle across the entire brain using automated, three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging. The relationship between cortical thickness and neuropsychological performance was analysed using stepwise multiple linear regression analyses. These analyses (corrected P<.001) showed that several specific brain regions with cortical thinning were associated with cognitive dysfunction including: digit span backward, verbal and picture recall, naming and fluency, drawing-copying, response inhibition and selective attention. Some of the other functions, however, were not associated with specific foci of cortical atrophy (digit span forward, the word reading portion of the Stroop test, word and picture recognition). Our study, involving a large sample of participants with aMCI and AD, provides support for the postulate that cortical thinning-atrophy in specific anatomic loci are pathological markers for specific forms of cognitive dysfunction.

PMID: 22019776 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]