BrainBlog

Peter Huttenlocher, Explorer of the Brain, Dies at 82 By WILLIAM YARDLEY The New York Times August 26, 2013 Read here

Information about The ADAMS study: click here for homepage

Visit the website of the Pacific Northwest Udall Center (PANUC) . This is the location for today's Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day.

Cholerton BA, Zabetian CP, Quinn JF, Chung KA, Peterson A, Espay AJ, Revilla FJ, Devoto J, Watson GS, Hu SC, Edwards KL, Montine TJ, & Leverenz JB. (2013). Pacific northwest udall center of excellence clinical consortium: study design and baseline cohort characteristics. Journal of Parkinsons Disease, 3(2), 205-214. doi: 10.3233/JPD-130189. Geriatric Research, Education, & Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA. Background: The substantial proportion of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) who have or are expected to develop concomitant cognitive impairment emphasizes the need for large, well-characterized participant cohorts to serve as a basis for research into the causes, manifestations, and potential treatments of cognitive decline in those with PD. Objective: To establish a multi-site clinical core tha...

A Multidimensional Approach to Apathy after Traumatic Brain Injury. Neuropsycholology Review 2013 Aug 7; Arnould A, Rochat L, Azouvi P, & Van der Linden M Abstract Apathy is commonly described following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is associated with serious consequences, notably for patients' participation in rehabilitation, family life and later social reintegration. There is strong evidence in the literature of the multidimensional nature of apathy (behavioural, cognitive and emotional), but the processes underlying each dimension are still unclear. The purpose of this article is first, to provide a critical review of the current definitions and instruments used to measure apathy in neurological and psychiatric disorders, and second, to review the prevalence, characteristics, neuroanatomical correlates, relationships with other neurobehavioural disorders and mechanisms of apathy in the TBI population. In this context, we propose a new multidimensional framework that...

Oversight of Clinical Investigations — A Risk-Based Approach to Monitoring (Guidance for Industry) FDA August 2013 Read the document here

Andrew Marr, after the stroke: 'I'm going to be sweeter all round' The TV presenter suffered a severe stroke after a strenuous workout in January. On the eve of his return to our screens he talks of his fight back to health Robert McCrum The Observer Saturday 3 August 2013 Read the article

From the Scientific American website: The Era of Memory Engineering Has Arrived How neuroscientists can call up and change a memory By Jason Castro Tuesday, July 30, 2013 Read the posting

From The Atlantic: Cities : How Memory Alters Our Perception of Place by EMILY BADGER Aug 01, 2013 Read the article

Graduate Admissions in Clinical Neuropsychology: The Importance of Undergraduate Training. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 2013 Jul 23; Karazsia BT, Stavnezer AJ, Reeves JW Abstract Discussions of and recommendations for the training of clinical neuropsychologists exist at the doctoral, internship, and post-doctoral level. With few exceptions, the literature on undergraduate preparations in clinical neuropsychology is sparse and lacks empirical evidence. In the present study, graduate-level faculty and current trainees completed surveys about graduate school preparations. Faculty expectations of minimum and ideal undergraduate training were highest for research methods, statistics, and assessment. Preferences for "goodness of fit" also emerged as important admissions factors. These results offer evidence for desirable undergraduate preparations for advanced study in clinical neuropsychology. Although undergraduate training in psychology is intentionally broad, resul...

The July edition of "Neuropod" includes a discussion of risk factors in Alzheimer's disease. Access the podcast here

From the NIH: NIH launches neurological drug development projects Wednesday, July 31, 2013, 8 a.m. EDT Read the press release

The cover of this week's Science : About the research study represented by the cover: here

Lost in the Forest Ian Hacking London Review of Books 08 August 2013 Read the article

Proposed Decision Memo for Beta Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography in Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease CMS.gov 03 July 2013 Read the memo

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

Alzheimer's roundup: Investigators carve out small gains against a brutal disease Fierce Biotech By John Carroll July 18, 2013 Read the article

From The New York Times blog "The New Old Age": When Aggression Follows Dementia By PAULA SPAN July 12, 2013, 4:38 pm Read the article

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...

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...