Commentary: Cerebellar atrophy and its contribution to cognition in frontotemporal dementias

Chen et al. (2018) provide unprecedented evidence of syndrome-specific changes in cerebellar gray matter integrity (mainly in lobules VI, Crus I and Crus II) across three frontotemporal dementia (FTD) subtypes, alongside specific associations with attentional, visuospatial, mnesic, and language-motor deficits. Moreover, results survived covariation with each group's distinctive atrophy pattern. These outcomes illuminate the critical role of the cerebellum in non-motor processes, while highlighting the relevance of distributed network approaches to cognitive (dys)function.Although the cerebellum has been implicated in higher-order domains (Roca et al., 2013; García et al., 2017; Sokolov et al., 2017), including executive functions, language, interoception, and social cognition, these results may prove surprising to many clinical neuroscientists. Indeed, the cerebellum remains notably underexplored within neurocognitive assessments of dementia, where it is still largely conceived as a specifically motoric region and is thus often excluded from imaging analyses seeking to map brain-behavior associations. Similarly, except for research on ataxia, systematic assessments of regional, and network-level alterations involving the cerebellum are wanting in the field. This counterproductive neglect, we believe, stems from a dissociation between dementia studies and current neurocognitive theories (Ibáñez and García, 2018).Fertile ground could be gained by anchoring neurodegeneration research on the embodied cognition approach, which has revealed multidimensional links between action-related circuits and higher-order functions. The cerebellum, as a core hub in these cortical-subcortical networks, would play an important, enactive role in several cognitive processes. While lesion and agenesia studies suggest that this role may not be causal, cerebellar circuits have been directly implicated in embodied domains (Koziol et al., 2012; Birba et al., 2017; García et al., 2017; Cervetto et al., 2018). Beyond the field's traditional focus on canonical atrophy patterns and selected cognitive skills, emerging evidence suggests that diffuse neurocognitive dysfunctions are partially overlapped across dementias. The profuse interconnectedness, functional richness, and transdiagnostic vulnerability of the cerebellum render it a key target to examine embodied cognitive deficits in FTD and other conditions.Accordingly, embodied theories of the cerebellum could become critical tools to foster relevant translational developments. First, they underscore the need to systematically report cerebellar involvement in diverse neurocognitive deficits. Also, they provide a profitable platform to track intercognitive phenomena?enactive synergies among varied psychobiological (dys)functions?from a network-based perspective (Koziol et al., 2012; Ibanez et al., 2014, 2018; García and Ibáñez, 2016; Birba et al., 2017; García et al., 2017; Cervetto et al., 2018; Ibáñez and García, 2018). Moreover, they promote a reinterpretation of symptoms from an action-grounded neurocognitive rationale (Krakauer et al., 2017). These milestones could have direct clinical implications, as the lack of proper theoretical frameworks can lead to neglecting, downplaying, or delaying the report of cerebellar disturbances across pathologies. We call for novel studies integrating embodied, intercognitive, network-based conceptualizations of the cerebellum to foster translational breakthroughs in dementia research.Fil: Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe; Colombia. Australian Research Council; Australia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt; ArgentinaFil: García, Adolfo Martín. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt; Argentin

Disarming Ex-Combatants’ Minds: Toward Situated Reintegration Process in Post-conflict Colombia

Collective violence in the context of armed conflict impacts the economy, health systems, and social stability of affected countries. This is considered a complex phenomenon with interwoven biological, psychological, social, cultural, and political factors. However, most of the research on this topic still lacks suitable established integrative approaches to assess multilevel perspectives. Social, cognitive and affective mental processes (SCAMP) are critical factors that should be considered in multilevel approaches. In this article, we critically discuss some of the classically isolated approaches used in violence research, the absence of successful interventions for ex-combatants reintegration, and the specific neglect of SCAMP in these interventions. We present the case of post-conflict Colombia as a unique opportunity to study the different roots of collective violence, and we call for a more robust and situated approach to understanding of and intervention in this multifaceted phenomenon. In addition, we suggest a two-stage approach for addressing ex-combatants’ reintegration programs, which considers the situated nature of post-conflict scenarios and the urgent need for evidence-based interventions. This approach focuses on the comprehensive scientific assessment of specific factors involved in violence exposure and the subsequent design of successful interventions. The implementation of this approach will contribute to the effective reintegration of individuals who have been exposed to extreme violence for more than 50 years

Gentilicios en la prensa de Castilla y León: ¿innovación o conservadurismo?

[Resumen] Tradicionalmente, los gentilicios se han considerado unidades de una gran disparidad derivativa carente de toda sistematicidad, algo que, unido a las motivaciones culturales e históricas que provocan su aparición, suelen hacer de ellos un grupo de unidades léxicas de difícil clasificación y estudio. El presente artículo tiene un doble objetivo: por un lado, reflexiona sobre la naturaleza de este tipo de adjetivos y las implicaciones de su análisis diacrónico y sincrónico. Por el otro, se centra en los aparecidos en una muestra de textos publicados en la prensa castellanoleonesa con el fin de intentar determinar hasta qué punto su uso y su variación pueden considerarse como marca de conservadurismo lingüístico o, por el contrario, de innovación, en el español escrito en esa comunidad autónoma.Junta de Castilla y León; SA030A10-

Evaluation of tree-based routing Ethernet

Tree-based Routing (TRE) revisits Tree-based Routing Architecture for Irregular Networks (TRAIN)—a forwarding scheme based on a spanning tree that was extended to use some shortcut links.We propose its adaptation to Ethernet, using a new type of hierarchical Ethernet addresses and a procedure to assign them to bridges. We show that compared to RSTP, TRE offers improved throughput. The impact of transient loops in TRE is lower compared to the application of the classical shortest path routing protocols to Ethernet. Finally, TRE is self-configuring and its forwarding process is simpler and more efficient than in standard Ethernet and shortest path routing proposals.Publicad

Unveiling Trail Making Test: Visual and manual trajectories indexing multiple executive processes

The Trail Making Test (TMT) is one of the most popular neuropsychological tests for executive functions (EFs) assessment. It presents several strengths: it is sensitive to executive dysfunction, it is easy to understand, and has a short administration. However, it has important limitations. First, the underlying EFs articulated during the task are not well discriminated, which makes it a test with low specificity. Second, the pen-and-paper version presents one trial per condition which introduces high variability. Third, only the total time is quantified, which does not allow for a detailed analysis. Fourth, it has a fixed spatial configuration per condition. We designed a computerised version of the TMT to overcome its main limitations and evaluated it in a group of neurotypical adults. Eye and hand positions are measured with high resolution over several trials, and spatial configuration is controlled. Our results showed a very similar performance profile compared to the traditional TMT. Moreover, it revealed differences in eye movements between parts A and B. Most importantly, based on hand and eye movements, we found an internal working memory measure that showed an association to a validated working memory task. Additionally, we proposed another internal measure as a potential marker of inhibitory control. Our results showed that EFs can be studied in more detail using traditional tests combined with powerful digital setups. The cTMT showed potential use in older adult populations and patients with EFs disorders.Fil: Linari, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación; ArgentinaFil: Juantorena, Gustavo Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación; ArgentinaFil: Ibáñez, Santiago Agustín. Trinity College Dublin; Irlanda. University of California; Estados Unidos. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Petroni, Agustín. University Goteborg; Suecia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación; ArgentinaFil: Kamienkowski, Juan Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Computación; Argentin