Email Intervention Following Traumatic Brain Injury: Two Case Reports

An email intervention for two individuals with TBI was conducted to investigate if this electronic medium would show potential as a therapeutic delivery method. Specifically, this study measured participants’ compliance to a plan that incorporated email and a reading assignment. Prior to the email intervention, a clinician and participants designed an intervention plan, which included specific guidelines for scheduled email correspondence regarding a daily reading task. After reviewing the daily emails the clinician provided therapeutic feedback. The participants’ compliance to the plan was measured by punctuality of email correspondence and completion of tasks as detailed in the plan. Over a 4-week intervention period, both participants demonstrated improvement in task completion and time adherence. With these individuals, email proved to be a feasible option as a therapeutic delivery method.      Keywords: email intervention, individuals with TBI, task completion, time adherence

Motor Learning Guided Treatment for Acquired Apraxia of Speech: Factors That Influence Treatment Outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that might influence the treatment effectiveness of motor learning guided (MLG) treatment approach for apraxia of speech (AOS). Specifically, this study examined the effects home practice and the stimuli selection on speech production. Method: This is a case study across two treatment cycles involving a 52 year-old male five months post left CVA (due to a carotid artery dissection). Each treatment cycle used three conditions of practice to investigate the influence of practice frequency on treatment outcomes. The personal relevance of stimuli within and across treatment conditions differed in the treatment cycles to investigate stimuli selection influence on treatment outcomes. Results: Changes in speech motor learning occurred in all conditions of practice only after therapy began. Phrases practiced in therapy and at home met criterion for mastery in fewer sessions than therapy only and untrained phrases. The content of the stimuli did not appear to have a direct influence on speech motor learning. Conclusion: This case study contributes to the growing evidence on the effectiveness of MLG treatment for acquired AOS. Future studies using an experimental design are needed to advance and strengthen the evidence for MLG

Reaction Time Effects of Related and Unrelated Visual and Auditory Semantic Distraction on Picture Identification in Younger and Older Adults

Models for understanding effects of distraction on linguistic processing are few. We measured semantically related and unrelated visual and auditory ambient distraction on picture identification in non-neurologically damaged younger and older adults. Comparisons were made across conditions of quiet, white noise, visual, and auditory distraction for categories of sports and vegetables. The effect of semantic relatedness varied according to modality of distraction. Visual distraction of semantically related targets hindered performance more than unrelated visual distraction. Both groups performed slower during distraction compared to quiet. Older adults demonstrated significantly longer reaction times during conditions of either auditory or visual distraction

Reaction Time Effects Of Related And Unrelated Ambient Semantic Distraction On Picture Identification

Models for understanding effects of sensory distraction on linguistic processing are few. This investigation measured semantically related and unrelated conditions of visual and auditory distraction on picture identification in non-neurologically damaged young adults. Comparisons were made across conditions of quiet, white noise, visual, and auditory distraction for categories of birds, sports, and vegetables. The effect of semantic relatedness varied according to modality of distraction. In this computerized picture identification task, visual distraction semantically related to the target hindered performance more than semantically unrelated visual distraction. Auditory semantic distraction had no significant effect on RT. White noise resulted in faster performance

Effects of a Cell Phone Conversation on Cognitive Processing Performances

Background: The ability to apportion cognitive resources to process multiple visual and auditory stimuli is essential for human communication in competing conditions. Purpose: The purpose of the current research was to examine the effects of a cell phone conversation on a battery of cognitive tests, using both timing (RT) and accuracy (A\u27) as dependent measures. Research Design: A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted. Study Sample: Forty-two college-age (mean 22 yr) adult females with normal hearing and cognitive function participated in the study. Data Collection and Analysis: In one condition (quiet), a standardized cognitive assessment battery was administered to participants in a quiet room In the (cell phone) condition, subjects were formulating and responding to specific questions about their travel experiences during administration of the same cognitive assessment battery. The computer automatically records subject performance. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted using the Bonferroni approach. The alpha level was set at .05 for all data analysis. This method of analysis was repeated for each of the dependent measures, RT, and A\u27. Results: The results revealed a consistent, significant effect on reaction time between the two conditions. The same analysis was also conducted to examine the effect of participation in a cell phone discussion on accuracy. As with FIT, results revealed a consistent, significant affect on A\u27 between the two conditions. Conclusions: Our study supports the notion that there are differential effects of auditory distracters across cognitive spheres. For simple automatic type visual cognitive tasks, the effect is minimal. However, as visual tasks increase in difficulty, the effect of the auditory distraction is magnified, particularly when the task requires extensive division of language resource

The MAPT P.G324L and P.A406G mutations are associated with progressive supranuclear palsy with atypical features

Abstract: Introduction: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an atypical parkinsonism caused by the intracerebral aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) which is encoded by MAPT gene. Although PSP is a sporadic disease, MAPT mutations have been reported in rare cases.Methods: Among 190 patients with PSP who were recruited by the Neurodegenerative Research Group at Mayo Clinic during 2009-2023, we identified two patients who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for PSP-Richardson's syndrome (PSP-RS) and harbor novel MAPT mutations. To better investigate the potential effects of these mutations, we compared the clinical, and neuroimaging characteristics of these two patients to 20 randomly selected patients with PSP-RS without a MAPT mutation.Results: MAPT c.1024G > A, p. Glu342Lys, and MAPT c.1217 G > A, p. Arg406Gln mutations were found in 2 men who developed PSP-RS with atypical features at the ages of 60 and 62 years, respectively. Glu342Lys mutation was associated with features resembling alpha-synucleinopathies (autonomic dysfunction, dream enactment behavior), while both mutations were associated with features suggestive of Alzheimer's disease with poorer performance on tests of episodic memory. Comparison of F-18-flortaucipir uptake between the two MAPT mutation cases with 20 patients without a mutation revealed increased signal on flortaucipir-PET in bilateral medial temporal lobe regions (amygdala, entorhinal cortices, hippocampus, parahippocampus) but not in PSP-related regions (globus pallidum, midbrain, superior frontal cortex and dentate nucleus of the cerebellum).Conclusion: Glu342Lys and Arg406Gln mutations appear to modify the PSP-RS phenotype by targeting the medial temporal lobe regions resulting in more memory loss and greater flortaucipir uptake