Retrograde amnesia for semantic information in Alzheimer's disease

Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and normal controls were tested on a retrograde amnesia test with semantic content (Neologism and Vocabulary Test, or NVT), consisting of neologisms to be defined. Patients showed a decrement as compared to normal controls, pointing to retrograde amnesia within semantic memory. No evidence for a gradient within this amnesia was found, although one was present on an autobiographic test of retrograde amnesia that had a wider time scale. Several explanations for these results are presented, including one that suggests that extended retrograde amnesia and semantic memory deficits are in fact one and the same defici

Teaching Microscopy: A Changing Paradigm

IMPACT. 1: Integrate the technical expertise and research capabilities at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) with the curriculum at Metro High school. -- 2. Ability to provide a revolutionary learning experience in a newly designed digital theater with remote access to several million dollars worth of microscopy equipment. -- 3. No one else is able to offer a similar program because our facility at CEMAS is uniquely positioned to provide excellent on-site microscopy experiences as well as the teaching/research expertise.OSU PARTNERS: College of Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; Center for Electron Microscopy and AnalysisCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Metro High SchoolPRIMARY CONTACT: Isabel Boona ([email protected]); Frank Scheltens ([email protected])This program will be one of the first collaborations between a multidisciplinary microscopy facility and a local high school. The intent is to introduce high school students to the concept of microscopy based materials examination through the development of teaching modules that can be incorporated into a curriculum as part of an existing course or as stand-alone senior level projects. The program will make use of CEMAS developed digital theater and remote instrument access capabilities

Teaching Microscopy: A Changing Paradigm

IMPACT. 1: Integrate the technical expertise and research capabilities at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) with the curriculum at Metro High school. -- 2. Ability to provide a revolutionary learning experience in a newly designed digital theater with remote access to several million dollars worth of microscopy equipment. -- 3. No one else is able to offer a similar program because our facility at CEMAS is uniquely positioned to provide excellent on-site microscopy experiences as well as the teaching/research expertise.OSU PARTNERS: College of Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; Center for Electron Microscopy and AnalysisCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Metro High SchoolPRIMARY CONTACT: Isabel Boona ([email protected]); Frank Scheltens ([email protected])This program will be one of the first collaborations between a multidisciplinary microscopy facility and a local high school. The intent is to introduce high school students to the concept of microscopy based materials examination through the development of teaching modules that can be incorporated into a curriculum as part of an existing course or as stand-alone senior level projects. The program will make use of CEMAS developed digital theater and remote instrument access capabilities

Infratentorial Abnormalities in Vascular Dementia

Background and Purpose—Infratentorial abnormalities may cause cognitive deficits, but current research criteria for vascular dementia (VaD) do not consider them. Our purposes were to determine the prevalence of infratentorial abnormalities in VaD, their relation with supratentorial abnormalities, and whether they are relevant to cognition. Methods—We examined 182 patients (120 men, mean age 73 years, SD 8) with probable VaD at inclusion into a multicenter clinical trial. MRI scans were evaluated for infratentorial vascular abnormalities, midbrain atrophy, cerebellar atrophy, basilar artery diameter and tortuosity, and supratentorial abnormalities. Cognitive testing included the mini–mental state examination (MMSE) and the vascular dementia assessment scale (VaDAS-cog). Results—One hundred forty-one (77.5%) patients had infratentorial abnormalities: 119 (65.4%) had focal infratentorial vascular lesions, 65 (35.7%) had diffuse pontine vascular abnormalities hyperintense on T2-weighted images, 20 (11.0%) had midbrain atrophy, and 16 (8.8%) had cerebellar atrophy. Significant correlations were found between number of infratentorial vascular lesions and basilar artery diameter (rs 0.26; P 0.0001), infratentorial and basal ganglia (including thalamus) vascular abnormalities (rs 0.30; P 0.0001), as well as between midbrain atrophy and global supratentorial atrophy (rs 0.27; P 0.0001). Infratentorial vascular abnormalities and cerebellar atrophy were not significantly associated with cognitive impairment. Patients with midbrain atrophy performed worse on cognitive tests than those without midbrain atrophy. After correction for sex, age, education, supratentorial abnormalities, and center, midbrain atrophy remained significantly associated with lower MMSE scores (P 0.05). Conclusions—Infratentorial abnormalities often occur in patients with VaD, but only midbrain atrophy was found to be relevant to cognitio

Vascular Care in Patients With Alzheimer Disease With Cerebrovascular Lesions Slows Progression of White Matter Lesions on MRI The Evaluation of Vascular Care in Alzheimer's Disease (EVA) Study

Background and Purpose-White matter lesions (WMLs) and cerebral infarcts are common findings in Alzheimer disease and may contribute to dementia severity. WMLs and lacunar infarcts may provide a potential target for intervention strategies. This study assessed whether multicomponent vascular care in patients with Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular lesions slows progression of WMLs and prevents occurrence of new infarcts. Methods-A randomized controlled clinical trial, including 123 subjects, compared vascular care with standard care in patients with Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular lesions on MRI. Progression of WMLs, lacunes, medial temporal lobe atrophy, and global cortical atrophy were semiquantitatively scored after 2-year follow-up. Results-Sixty-five subjects (36 vascular care, 29 standard care) had a baseline and a follow-up MRI and in 58 subjects, a follow-up scan could not be obtained due to advanced dementia or death. Subjects in the vascular care group had less progression of WMLs as measured with the WML change score (1.4 versus 2.3, P = 0.03). There was no difference in the number of new lacunes or change in global cortical atrophy or medial temporal lobe atrophy between the 2 groups. Conclusions-Vascular care in patients with Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular lesions slows progression of WMLs. Treatment aimed at vascular risk factors in patients with early Alzheimer disease may be beneficial, possibly in an even earlier stage of the disease. (Stroke. 2010;41:554-556.

Navigocorpus: A Database for Shipping Information - A Methodological and Technical Introduction

International audienceNavigocorpus is a database which stores information about shipping information from the XVIth century on. Each travel is stored as a list of chronologically ordered points (ports and high-sea points). Any kind of information items (taxes paid, cargo items loaded and unloaded, commercial operations, sea hazards, characterization of the point or of the ship, etc.) can be linked to any point. The result is a highly flexible and powerful tool. Any kind of extra information can be inserted at any moment, from original sources or existing databases. Navigocorpus is based on FileMaker. Any kind of data processing is allowed. It was elaborated as part of a French ANR research project, and is based on FileMaker.Navigocorpus est un système de bases de données qui recueille des informations relatives aux mouvements de navires à partir du XVIe siècle. Chaque voyage de chaque navire est stocké sous la forme d'une suite de points rangés par ordre chronologique. A chaque point, tout type d'information peut être lié (cargaisons, caractéristiques du point ou de l'étape, opérations commerciales, taxes versées, intervention de tout acteur, événements de mer, etc.). Il en résulte un instrument très puissant, qui permet tout type de traitement et surtout l'insertion, à tout instant, de toute donnée provenant de sources originales ou d'autres bases de données. Navigocorpus a été développé dans le cadre de l'ANR du même nom, sous FileMaker

Attention modulates hemispheric differences in functional connectivity: Evidence from MEG recordings

The present study examined intrahemispheric functional connectivity during rest and dichotic listening in 8 male and 9 female healthy young adults measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG). Generalized synchronization within the separate hemispheres was estimated by means of the synchronization likelihood that is sensitive to linear as well as non-linear coupling of MEG signals. We found higher functional intrahemispheric connectivity of frontal and temporal areas within the right as compared to the left hemisphere in the lower and higher theta band during rest, and in the lower theta band during dichotic listening. In addition, higher synchronization in the lower theta band correlated with better task performance. In the upper alpha band, hemispheric differences in intrahemispheric connectivity of the frontal regions were found to be modulated by focused attention instructions. That is, attention to the right ear exaggerates the pattern of higher synchroniza