Resting-state abnormalities in heroin-dependent individuals

Drug addiction is a major health problem worldwide. Recent neuroimaging studies have shed light into the underlying mechanisms of drug addiction as well as its consequences to the human brain. The most vulnerable, to heroin addiction, brain regions have been reported to be specific prefrontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal regions, as well as, some subcortical regions. The brain regions involved are usually linked with reward, motivation/drive, memory/learning, inhibition as well as emotional control and seem to form circuits that interact with each other. So, along with neuroimaging studies, recent advances in resting-state dynamics might allow further assessments upon the multilayer complexity of addiction. In the current manuscript, we comprehensively review and discuss existing resting-state neuroimaging findings classified into three overlapping and interconnected groups: functional connectivity alterations, structural deficits and abnormal topological properties. Moreover, behavioral traits of heroin-addicted individuals as well as the limitations of the currently available studies are also reviewed. Finally, in need of a contemporary therapy a multimodal therapeutic approach is suggested using classical treatment practices along with current neurotechonologies, such as neurofeedback and goal-oriented video-games

Clinical decision support for active and healthy ageing: An intelligent monitoring approach of daily living activities

Decision support concepts such as context awareness and trend analysis are employed in a sensor-enabled environment for monitoring Activities of Daily Living and mobility patterns. Probabilistic Event Calculus is employed for the former; statistical process control techniques are applied for the latter case. The system is tested with real senior users within a lab as well as their home settings. Accumulated results show that the implementation of the two separate components, i.e. Sensor Data Fusion and Decision Support System, works adequately well. Future work suggests ways to combine both components so that more accurate inference results are achieved. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

Physical training in‐game metrics for cognitive assessment: Evidence from extended trials with the fitforall exergaming platform

Conventional clinical cognitive assessment has its limitations, as evidenced by the environmental shortcomings of various neuropsychological tests conducted away from an older person’s everyday environment. Recent research activities have focused on transferring screening tests to computerized forms, as well as on developing short screening tests for screening large populations for cognitive impairment. The purpose of this study was to present an exergaming platform, which was widely trialed (116 participants) to collect in‐game metrics (built‐in game performance measures). The potential correlation between in‐game metrics and cognition was investigated indepth by scrutinizing different in‐game metrics. The predictive value of high‐resolution monitoring games was assessed by correlating it with classical neuropsychological tests; the area under the curve (AUC) in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was calculated to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the method for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Classification accuracy was calculated to be 73.53% when distinguishing between MCI and normal subjects, and 70.69% when subjects with mild dementia were also involved. The results revealed evidence that careful design of serious games, with respect to in‐game metrics, could potentially contribute to the early and unobtrusive detection of cognitive decline. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Wear it or fear it: exploration of drivers & barriers in smartwatch acceptance by senior citizens

The number of people with an age above 65 is increasing, and many live longer. Most seniors prefer to stay at their own home. Within the area of ambient assisted living (AAL) technology solutions have been aimed to assist seniors in the challenges that can arise when wanting to live independently. However, technology acceptance has been rather low, also due to stigmatization when using assistive systems. New technologies, such as the smartwatch, which is unobtrusive and not recognized as an assistive device by outsiders, have the potential to improve the autonomy and independence of seniors. This research aims to investigate the potential barriers and drivers of smartwatch use by seniors, by means of conducting a diary study and interviews. Results showed that the acceptance of the smartwatch depended mainly on the usability, interest and added value of the smartwatch. Additionally, the findings indicate that changes to the smartwatch need to be made in order to address the barriers that are found, and to ultimately enhance acceptance

3D printing in neurosurgery

Three-dimensional (3D) printing (3DP) has seen spectacular progress in recent years, making it widely available to consumers and researchers, but it has also been steadily expanding its capabilities while becoming more and more affordable. This progress has allowed 3DP technology to be seriously tested in various fields of Medicine and Biomedical Technology. Neurological Surgery is widely considered to be among the most demanding and intricate medical specialties, as it concerns fine and highly critical neural and vascular elements even during standard interventions or the most common pathological conditions. As such, advances in 3DP were quick to be applied to neurosurgical practice (depicting brain aneurysms), research and development (spine and disc models), and neurosurgical education. In the past years, we have seen progress in four main distinct directions for the use of 3DP technologies within the prism of Neurological Surgery, where we also envision future progress: (a)neurovascular physiological anatomy and its associated disorders, (b)complex central nervous system tumors and neuroanatomy, (c)spine instrumentation, deformities, and biomechanical implications, and (d)educational purposes, prototyping of implants, devices, and equipment. In this chapter, we critically review the progress of 3DP technology within each of these described directions and discuss the impact it can possibly have on specific diseases and on the Neurosurgical Specialty as a whole in the years to come. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

A review of physical and cognitive interventions in aging

Maintaining a healthy brain is a critical factor for the quality of life of elderly individuals and the preservation of their independence. Challenging aging brains through cognitive training and physical exercises has shown to be effective against age-related cognitive decline and disease. But how effective are such training interventions? What is the optimal combination/strategy? Is there enough evidence from neuropsychological observations, animal studies, as well as, structural and functional neuroimaging investigations to interpret the underlying neurobiological mechanisms responsible for the observed neuroplasticity of the aging brain? This piece of work summarizes recent findings toward these questions, but also highlights the role of functional brain connectivity work, an emerging discipline for future research in healthy aging and the study of the underlying mechanisms across the life span. The ultimate aim is to conclude on recommended multimodal training, in light of contemporary trends in the design of exergaming interventions. The latter issue is discussed in conjunction with building up neuroscientific knowledge and envisaged future research challenges in mapping, understanding and training the aging brain. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

Maladaptive alterations of resting state cortical network in Tinnitus: A directed functional connectivity analysis of a larger MEG data set

The present study used resting state MEG whole-head recordings to identify how chronic tonal tinnitus relates to altered functional connectivity of brain’s intrinsic cortical networks. Resting state MEG activity of 40 chronic tinnitus patients and 40 matched human controls was compared identifying significant alterations in intrinsic networks of the tinnitus population. Directed functional connectivity of the resting brain, at a whole cortex level, was estimated by means of a statistical comparison of the estimated phase Transfer Entropy (pTE) between the time-series of cortical activations, as reconstructed by LORETA. As pTE identifies the direction of the information flow, a detailed analysis of the connectivity differences between tinnitus patients and controls was possible. Results indicate that the group of tinnitus patients show increased connectivity from right dorsal prefrontal to right medial temporal areas. Our results go beyond previous findings by indicating that the role of the left para-hippocampal area is dictated by a modulation from dmPFC; a region that is part of the dorsal attention network (DAN), as well as implicated in the regulation of emotional processing. Additionally, this whole cortex analysis showed a crucial role of the left inferior parietal cortex, which modulated the activity of the right superior temporal gyrus, providing new hypotheses for the role of this area within the context of current tinnitus models. Overall, these maladaptive alterations of the structure of intrinsic cortical networks show a decrease in efficiency and small worldness of the resting state network of tinnitus patients, which is correlated to tinnitus distress

Not Available

Not AvailableThe aim of this article was to provide the efficient protocol for two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) suitable for the seed proteome of rice. Sample preparation is a crucial step in 2D-PAGE because it directly affects the quality of protein profiles. We investigated the two different methods to extract the proteins viz., direct lysis buffer method and trichloroacetic acid/acetone (TCA/ acetone) method. The effectiveness was evaluated by the protein profing quality, number of protein spots, consistency and distribution of protein spots over the gels. The protein extracted by TCA/ acetone method had the highest number of protein spots and the good resolution of the gels. Two different IEF focusing were tested in which, the protein run at 50000 Volt hours showed the clear protein pattern and more number of proteins than 35000 Volt hours. Compared to the Coomassie brilliant blue (CBB) G-250 staining, silver nitrate staining produced the more number of proteins spots. The protocol using TCA/Acetone extraction with 50000 Volt-hour IEF conditions followed by the silver staining resulted in the best extraction efficiency, greater protein separation and less horizontal streaking in 2DE gels. This works could principally provide the useful information and technical support for the rice seed proteomic research.Not Availabl

Gains in cognition through combined cognitive and physical training: The role of training dosage and severity of neurocognitive disorder

Physical as well as cognitive training interventions improve specific cognitive functions but effects barely generalize on global cognition. Combined physical and cognitive training may overcome this shortcoming as physical training may facilitate the neuroplastic potential which, in turn, may be guided by cognitive training. This study aimed at investigating the benefits of combined training on global cognition while assessing the effect of training dosage and exploring the role of several potential effect modifiers. In this multi-center study, 322 older adults with or without neurocognitive disorders were allocated to a computerized, game-based, combined physical and cognitive training group (n=237) or a passive control group (n=85). Training group participants were allocated to different training dosages ranging from 24 to 110 potential sessions. In a pre-posttest design, global cognition was assessed by averaging standardized performance in working memory, episodic memory and executive function tests. The intervention group increased in global cognition compared to the control group, p=.002, Cohen's d=0.31. Exploratory analysis revealed a trend for less benefits in participants with more severe neurocognitive disorder, p=.08 (cognitively healthy: d=0.54; mild cognitive impairment: d=0.19; dementia: d=0.04). In participants without dementia, we found a dose-response effect of the potential number and of the completed number of training sessions on global cognition, p=.008 and p=.04, respectively. The results indicate that combined physical and cognitive training improves global cognition in a dose-responsive manner but these benefits may be less pronounced in older adults with more severe neurocognitive disorder. The long-lasting impact of combined training on the incidence and trajectory of neurocognitive disorders in relation to its severity should be assessed in future long-term trials. © 2015 Bamidis, Fissler, Papageorgiou, Zilidou, Konstantinidis, Billis, Romanopoulou, Karagianni, Bearatis, Tsapanou, Tsilikopoulou, Grigoriadou, Ladas, Kyrillidou, Tsolaki, Frantzidis, Sidiropoulos, Siountas, Matsi, Papatriantafyllou, Margioti, Nika, Schlee, Elbert, Tsolaki, Vivas and Kolassa