Prolonged cholinergic enrichment influences regional cortical activation in early Alzheimer's disease

Neuroimaging studies of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) treatment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) indicate that the short and long term actions of ChEIs are dissimilar. fMRI studies of the ChEI rivastigmine have focused on its short term action. In this exploratory study the effect of prolonged (20 weeks) rivastigmine treatment on regional brain activity was measured with fMRI in patients with mild AD. Eleven patients with probable AD and nine age-matched controls were assessed with a Pyramids and Palm Trees semantic association and an n-back working memory fMRI paradigm. In the patient group only, the assessment was repeated after 20 weeks of treatment. There was an increase in task-related brain activity after treatment with activations more like those of normal healthy elderly. Behaviorally, however, there were no significant differences between baseline and retest scores, with a range of performance probably reflecting variation in drug efficacy across patients. Variable patient response and drug dynamic/kinetic factors in small patient groups will inevitably bias (either way) the effect size of any relevant drug related changes in activation. Future studies should take drug response into account to provide more insight into the benefits of ChEI drugs at the individual level

An investigation of gender and age differences in academic motivation and classroom behaviour in adolescents

This study investigated gender- and age-related differences in academic motivation and classroom behaviour in adolescents. Eight hundred and fifty-five students (415 girls and 440 boys) aged 11–16 (M age = 13.96, SD = 1.47) filled in a questionnaire that examined student academic motivation and teachers completed a questionnaire reporting student classroom behaviour. Interestingly, early adolescent boys’ (11–12 years) self-reported academic motivation was significantly more closely associated with reports of student classroom behaviour completed by teachers. However, a surprising result was the significant drop in girls’ adaptive motivation from early to mid-adolescence (13–14 years) and a significant increase in mid-adolescence (13–14 years). Furthermore, teachers reported a significant increase in negative classroom behaviour in mid-adolescent and late adolescent girls (15–16 years). The need to further understand the association between academic motivation and classroom behaviour at different stages in adolescence, and to design interventions to improve classroom behaviour, is deliberated

Gender differences in adolescents' academic motivation and classroom behaviour

© 2013 Taylor & Francis. The present study investigated gender differences in adolescents’ academic motivation and classroom behaviour and gender differences in the extent to which motivation was associated with, and predicted, classroom behaviour. Seven hundred and fifty students (384 boys and 366 girls) aged 11–16 (M age = 14.0, 1.59 SD) completed a questionnaire examining academic motivation and teachers completed assessments of their classroom behaviour. Girls generally reported higher levels of academic motivation, whilst teacher reports of behaviour were poorer for boys. Interestingly, boys’ reported levels of academic motivation were significantly more closely associated with teacher reports of their classroom behaviour. Furthermore, cognitive aspects of boys’ motivation were better predictors of their classroom behaviour than behavioural aspects. On the other hand, behavioural aspects of girls’ motivation were better predictors of their behaviour. Implications for understanding the relationship between motivation and behaviour among adolescent boys and girls are discussed, in addition to interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ classroom behaviour

IMPLICATIONS FOR BIOMECHANISTS: RESEARCH NEEDED TO HELP ADDRESS MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Sports-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a growing area of concern to the public, media, clinicians, and researchers. There are still a wide array of unanswered questions within the mTBI literature. A number of these questions could potentially be answered using biomechanical techniques to understand how the brain responds to impacts, how characteristics of impacts may influence individuals uniquely, and how impacts may influence recovery outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to highlight gaps in the mTBI literature that are relevant to biomechanists, and to propose how the application of biomechanics may help answer these questions in the future

Hypnosis, hypnotic suggestibility, and meditation : an integrative review of the associated brain regions and networks

The number of neuroimaging studies on hypnosis and meditation has multiplied rapidly in recent years. The methods and analytic techniques that are being applied are becoming increasingly sophisticated and approaches focusing on connectomics have offered novel ways to investigate the practices, enabling brain function to be investigated like never before. This chapter provides a review of the literature on the effects of hypnosis and meditation on brain network functional connectivity. Numerous cross-sectional as well as longitudinal studies have also reported enduring transformations in brain structure and function in practitioners of meditation, while evidence is mounting which demonstrates a relationship between hypnotic suggestibility and variations in neuroanatomy/functional connectivity that may facilitate hypnosis. The similarities (and differences) between the brain regions and networks associated with each type of practice are highlighted, while links are tentatively made between these and the reported phenomenology