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Showing posts from July, 2013

Mouse Hippocampus and Memory

The cover of this week's Science : About the research study represented by the cover: here
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Photoreceptors from Embryonic Stem Cells

From The Guardian : Embryonic stem cells could help restore sight to blind Photoreceptors grown from embryonic stem cells have been successfully implanted in the retinas of blind mice Alok Jha, Science Correspondent The Guardian Sunday 21 July 2013 18.00 BST Read the article
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Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Aging

Physical Activity and Risk of Cognitive Impairment Among Oldest-Old Women. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2013 Jul 3; Wang S, Luo X, Barnes D, Sano M, & Yaffe K. Abstract OBJECTIVES: Physical activity may reduce the risk of cognitive decline in the elderly, but its effects among the oldest-old (i.e., those aged 85 years and older) are not well known. Our study assessed the association between very late-life physical activity and 5-year risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia and neuropsychological test performance among oldest-old women. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted at three sites. Participants included 1,249 women (mean [standard deviation] age: 83.3 [2.8] years). Baseline physical activity was measured by self-reported blocks walked per week and analyzed according to tertile. Five years later, surviving participants who were 85 years and older (oldest-old) completed neuropsychological testing and underwent adjudication of clinical cog...
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Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Neuropsychological Assessment

A pilot evaluation of a brief non-verbal executive function assessment in Parkinson's disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2013 Jul 4; Hobson PJ, Meara RJ, & Evans R Abstract OBJECTIVE: Screening for cognitive impairment in the clinical or community setting is often hampered by the lack of a suitable assessment that is not overburdened with complex administration and scoring methods. We have developed non-verbal cognitive screening instrument: the Weigl Token Test (WTT) from two existing instruments, the Weigl's Colour-Form Sorting Test (WCFST) and the Token Test. The aim of this investigation is to compare the modified WTT with a battery of 'Gold Standard' cognitive assessments, to determine its utility, sensitivity and specificity as a brief cognitive screen in a cohort of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. METHODS: A total of 50 PD patients consented to participate in this investigation. All participants were assessed with a battery o...
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Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Suicidal Behavior and Semantic Dementia

Suicidal Behavior in Dementia: A Special Risk in Semantic Dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. 2013 Jul 1; Sabodash V, Mendez MF, Fong S, & Hsiao JJ Abstract Background: Some studies report a low suicide risk in general dementia and in Alzheimer's disease (AD).Objective:To evaluate suicidal behavior among patients with semantic dementia (SD), a disorder that impairs semantic knowledge. Methods: We reviewed the presence of active suicidal behavior and related factors among 25 patients with SD compared to 111 age-matched patients with early-onset AD. Results: In all, 5 (20%) patients with SD had suicidal behavior (2 successfully killed themselves) compared to 1 (0.9%) with AD (P PMID: 23821774 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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alpha-synuclein

From the NIH: Altered protein shapes may explain differences in some brain diseases Wednesday, July 3, 2013, Noon EDT NIH-funded study finds that various strains of alpha-synuclein have diverse effects in neurons Read the press release
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Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day: Computerized Cognitive Testing

The relationship between computer experience and computerized cognitive test performance among older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2013, 68(3), 337-346 Fazeli PL, Ross LA, Vance DE, & Ball K Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study compared the relationship between computer experience and performance on computerized cognitive tests and a traditional paper-and-pencil cognitive test in a sample of older adults (N = 634). METHOD: Participants completed computer experience and computer attitudes questionnaires, three computerized cognitive tests (Useful Field of View (UFOV) Test, Road Sign Test, and Stroop task) and a paper-and-pencil cognitive measure (Trail Making Test). Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to examine differences in cognitive performance across the four measures between those with and without computer experience after adjusting for confounding variables. RESULTS: Although computer experience had a significant main effect across all cognitive measures,...
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Patient H.M.: The Guardian's Book Review of Corkin's "Permanent Present Tense"

From The Guardian : Permanent Present Tense: The man with no memory, and what he taught the world by Suzanne Corkin – review This fine and moving book reveals as much about the limitations of neuropsychology as about the scope of human memory A review by Jonathan Rée The Guardian , Thursday 27 June 2013 08.00 BST Read the book review
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MOOC: Duke's "Medical Neuroscience" Comes To A Grand End on Coursera

Today is the formal end of a MOOC course on Coursera that was as good an introduction to neuroscience as can be found online, anywhere. Dr. Leonard White at Duke did an incredible job bringing neuroscience alive to thousands of interested students from secondary education on through persons with advanced degrees in, I believe, over 40 countries. A course that forewarned the need to devote 16 to 20 hours a week to attend to lecture material and text (the fifth edition of Purves and colleagues) proceeded with surprising ease (made so by an excellent TA for the course) and sustained interest. Run, don't walk, to enroll should a second offering of the course be announced over the next year!
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