Computerized structured cognitive training in patients affected by early-stage Alzheimer’s disease is feasible and effective: a randomized controlled study

Introduction. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) presents with significant neuropsychological deficits. Cognitive training in AD has recently started to demonstrate its efficacy. In this study we implemented computerized cognitive training of a large group of early-stage AD patients, to identify its effects at a neuropsychological level and to investigate whether they were stable after 6 months. Method. Eighty AD patients were randomized in two groups. Patients in the experimental group used a structured rehabilitative software three times a week for 12 consecutive weeks aimed at training memory, attention, executive function and language skills, whereas patients in the control group underwent a control intervention. Results. A Repeated Measures General Linear Model considering groups’ performance at the three assessment points (before training, after training, and at the 6-month follow-up) showed a significant interaction effect for: digit span forward (F(2,74) = 2.785, p = 0.03) and backward (F(2,74) = 3.183, p = 0.02), two-syllable words test (F(2,74) = 3.491, p = 0.004), Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test immediate (F(2,74) = 2.877, p = 0.03) and delayed (F(2,74) = 3.783, p = 0.003), Token test (F(2,74) = 4.783, p = 0.001), and Brixton test (F(2,74) = 8.783, p < 0.001). For all of them, experimental group performed better than controls. Conclusions. Patients in the experimental group showed a significant improvement in various neuropsychological domains, and their achievements were stable after 6 months. This study suggests an useful computerized training in AD, and should prompt further investigations about the generalizability of patients’ acquired skills to more ecologically-oriented tasks

EEG during memory activation: a study of early functional brain changes in Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease

Early dementias are difficult to distinguish from normal age-related memory decline. In the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease, brain functions are already changing, but this is not directly visible from the outside. Many research is aimed at discovering early disease markers. However, research using EEG registration during conventional eyes closed conditions revealed little additional information. The yield of EEG research can be improved by probing the weakest spot, which, in case of dementia, is memory. Karin van der Hiele introduced memory tests during EEG registration and found that early abnormalities in brain functioning can then be observed in Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease. An interesting finding came to light:  the EEG in dementia displays a lot of muscle activity which is normally filtered out. However, the researchers decided not to throw this activity away but to measure it. Interestingly, they found that the amount of muscle activity was related to cognition and to the number of depressive complaints. It may pay to keep an open mind regarding the nature of the parameter to be measured.     LEI Universiteit LeidenPathophysiologie van aanvalsgewijs en chronisch progressief verlopende aandoeningen van het centrale perifere zenuwstelse

Scripted collaboration in serious gaming for complex learning: Effects of multiple perspectives when acquiring water management skills

Hummel, H. G. K., Van Houcke, J., Nadolski, R. J., Van der Hiele, T., Kurvers, H., & Löhr, A. (2011). Scripted collaboration in gaming for complex learning: Effects of multiple perspectives when acquiring water management skills. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(6), 1029-1041. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01122.xThis article examines how learning outcomes from playing serious games can be enhanced by including scripted collaboration in the game play. We compared the quality of advisory reports, that students in the domain of water management had to draw up for an authentic case problem, both before and after collaborating on the problem with (virtual) peer students. Peers studied the case from either an ecological or governance perspective, and during collaboration both perspectives had to be confronted and reflected upon. This article argues why such type of workplace-based learning scenarios are important for professional development, describes how serious gaming scenarios can be designed to support such complex learning, and reports data on student satisfaction and learning effects of including scripted collaboration. Preliminary results from a pilot study with 12 students show that including scripted collaboration significantly enhances the quality of learning outcomes

Verslag studiereis aquacultuur Spanje

Zeeuwse aquacultuurondernemers zijn in januari 2013 vier dagen naar de regio Cadiz en Huelva in Spanje afgereisd om kennis te maken met de aquacultuuractiviteiten en te leren van de ervaringen daar. Deze studiereis is georganiseerd in het kader van het inmiddels afgeronde RAAK Internationaal project 'Het zoute goud', waarvan HZ University of Applied Sciences penvoerder was. De studiereis naar Spanje vormde samen met een slotsymposium de afsluiting van dit project

The relation between cognitive functioning and work outcomes in patients with Multiple Sclerosis: a systematic literature review

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is increasingly being recognized as an important limiting factor in work participation in patients with multiple sclerosis. This literature review provides a description, synthesis and interpretation of the existing literature and identifies gaps in current knowledge.Methods: Papers published between 1970 and April 2017 were included. Clinical trials, randomized controlled trials or observational quantitative studies in which data on cognitive factors associated with employment, work functioning or work-related problems were reported. Papers were manually double checked by two blinded reviewers.Results: A total of 41 papers were included of which 4 described prospective, longitudinal studies. The majority of studies reported positive associations between cognitive functioning and work outcomes (38/41 studies; 93%). Positive associations were found between work outcomes and global cognitive functioning (8/9 studies; 89%), language (8/17 studies; 47%), processing speed/ working memory (23/26 studies; 88%),new learning and memory (12/22 studies; 55%), executive functioning (10/17; 59%), intelligence (1/6; 17%) and self-reported cognitive functioning (14/15; 93%). None of the reviewed studies found a relation between visuospatial processing and work outcomes (0/8; 0%). Models including cognitive measures as well as demographic (age, education), neurological (disability, fine motor coordination, disease course), and psychological variables (depression, personality, fatigue) best predicted work outcomes.Conclusion: By conducting this review we found ample evidence that objective cognitive functioning (specifically processing speed/ working memory and executive functioning) and self-reported cognitive functioning are important independent associates of work outcomes and these factors should be addressed by healthcare professionals. Future research could benefit from a focus on longitudinal changes in cognition and its relation to work outcomes.Health and self-regulatio

“Always looking for a new balance”: toward an understanding of what it takes to continue working while being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Background: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the meaning of work in the everyday lives of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, and the barriers and facilitators to staying in work.Methods: Nineteen employed adults diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis participated in narrative interviews. All interviews were transcribed and coded for thematic analysis.Results: For people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, continuing to work was a precarious balancing act. Five themes influenced this balance: becoming familiar with the disease, adjusting expectations, having an understanding and realistic line manager, seeing work as meaningful life activity and strategic considerations.Conclusions: People receiving a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis have to refamiliarize themselves with their own body in a meaningful way to be able to continue their work. Rehabilitation professionals can support them herein by taking into account not merely functional capabilities but also identity aspects of the body. Medication that stabilizes symptoms supports making the necessary adjustments. A trusting relationship with the line manager is vital for this adaptation process. Additionally, a match between being adequately challenged by work, while still having the capacity to meet those work demands, is needed, as is long-term financial stability.Implications for rehabilitationRehabilitation professionals can support employees with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis by taking into account not merely functional capabilities but also identity aspects of the body.A trusting relationship with the line manager, including a timely disclosure of the diagnosis, is vital for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis to remain at work.For people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, there is a delicate balance between being adequately challenged by work while still having the capacity to meet work demands.FSW - Self-regulation models for health behavior and psychopathology - ou

Gender differences in cognitive functioning in older alcohol-dependent patients

FSW - Self-regulation models for health behavior and psychopathology - ou

Identifying the task characteristics that predict children's construction task performance

Construction tasks form a major part of children’s play and can be linked to achievement in maths and science. However there is a lack of understanding of construction task ability and development. Therefore, there is little foundation for the applied use of construction tasks, such as in teaching or research, as there are no apparent methods for assessing difficulty. This empirical research identifies four construction task characteristics that impact on cognition and predict construction task difficulty in children aged 7-8 and 10-11 years and adults. The results also reveal a developmental trajectory in construction ability. The research provides a method to quantify, predict and control the complexity of construction tasks for future research and to inform applied use