The effect of loss incentives on prospective memory in healthy older adults: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial using ultra-high field fMRI.

BACKGROUND Prospective memory is important for our health and independence but declines with age. Hence, interventions to enhance prospective memory, for example by providing an incentive, may promote healthy ageing. The neuroanatomical correlates of prospective memory and the processing of incentive-related prospective memory changes in older adults are not fully understood. In an fMRI study, we will therefore test whether incentives improve prospective memory in older adults and how prospective memory is processed in the brain in general, and when incentives are provided. Since goals and interests change across adulthood, avoiding losses is becoming more important for older adults than achieving gains. We therefore posit that loss-related incentives will enhance prospective memory, which will be subserved by increased prefrontal and midbrain activity. METHODS We will include n = 60 healthy older adults (60-75 years of age) in a randomized, single-blind, and parallel-group study. We will acquire 7T fMRI data in an incentive group and a control group (n = 30 each, stratified by education, age, and sex). Before and after fMRI, all participants will complete questionnaires and cognitive tests to assess possible confounders (e.g., income, personality traits, sensitivity to reward or punishment). DISCUSSION The results of this study will clarify whether loss-related incentives can enhance prospective memory and how any enhancement is processed in the brain. In addition, we will determine how prospective memory is processed in the brain in general. The results of our study will be an important step towards a better understanding of how prospective memory changes when we get older and for developing interventions to counteract cognitive decline

Transcranial Electric Current Stimulation During Associative Memory Encoding: Comparing tACS and tDCS Effects in Healthy Aging

Associative memory is one of the first cognitive functions negatively affected by healthy and pathological aging processes. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques are easily administrable tools to support memory. However, the optimal stimulation parameters inducing a reliable positive effect on older adult’s memory performance remain mostly unclear. In our randomized, double-blind, cross-over study, 28 healthy older adults (16 females; 71.18 + 6.42 years of age) received anodal transcranial direct (tDCS), alternating current in the theta range (tACS), and sham stimulation over the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) each once during encoding. We tested associative memory performance with cued recall and recognition tasks after a retention period and again on the following day. Overall, neither tDCS nor tACS showed effects on associative memory performance. Further analysis revealed a significant difference for performance on the cued recall task under tACS compared to sham when accounting for age. Our results suggest that tACS might be more effective to improve associative memory performance than tDCS in higher aged samples

The Modulation of Cognitive Performance with Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: A Systematic Review of Frequency-Specific Effects

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that allows the manipulation of intrinsic brain oscillations. Numerous studies have applied tACS in the laboratory to enhance cognitive performance. With this systematic review, we aim to provide an overview of frequency-specific tACS effects on a range of cognitive functions in healthy adults. This may help to transfer stimulation protocols to real-world applications. We conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed and Cochrane databases and considered tACS studies in healthy adults (age > 18 years) that focused on cognitive performance. The search yielded n = 109 studies, of which n = 57 met the inclusion criteria. The results indicate that theta-tACS was beneficial for several cognitive functions, including working memory, executive functions, and declarative memory. Gamma-tACS enhanced performance in both auditory and visual perception but it did not change performance in tasks of executive functions. For attention, the results were less consistent but point to an improvement in performance with alpha- or gamma-tACS. We discuss these findings and point to important considerations that would precede a transfer to real-world applications. Keywords: cognitive performance; systematic review; tACS; transcranial alternating current stimulation

Wie fit sind ERP-Systeme für die Industrie 4.0?: Fraunhofer-Studie

Fraunhofer IML Studie: Die ERP-Hersteller arbeiten daran, ihre Systeme für das aufziehende Industrie-4.0-Zeitalter vorzubereiten. Dabei stehen vor allem BI- und Analytics-Funktionen im Fokus. Für die Integration werden standardisierte Schnittstellen ausschlaggebend sein. Gut sieben von zehn ERP-Herstellern und -Resellern entwickeln ihre Softwarelösungen in Hinblick auf Industrie 4.0-Anwendungen weiter. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine aktuelle Studie des Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrums Dortmund in Kooperation mit dem Team ERP LOGISTICS des Fraunhofer-Instituts für Materialfluss und Logistik IML. Das Ergebnis basiert auf der Befragung 40 deutscher, vorwiegend mittelständischer ERP-Anbieter zu dem Thema ihrer aktuellen Aktivitäten im Kontext von Industrie 4.0

ERP-Marktstudie 2016: Auswirkungen von Industrie 4.0 auf die Anforderungen an ERP-Systeme

Das Thema Industrie 4.0 gewinnt für ERP-Anbieter an Bedeutung. 71 Prozent der befragten ERP-Hersteller und –Reseller entwickeln ihre Softwarelösungen für Industrie 4.0-Anwendungen bereits weiter. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt die aktuelle Studie, die das Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Dortmund in Kooperation mit dem Team ERP LOGISTICS des Fraunhofer-Instituts für Materialfluss und Logistik (IML) erstellt hat. Im Rahmen der Marktstudie wurden 40 deutsche, vorwiegend mittelständische ERP-Hersteller und –Partnerunternehmen befragt. Die Flexibilität des ERP-Systems zur Einbindung von Daten von Cyber-Physischen Systemen (CPS) in das ERP-Umfeld schätzen 46 Prozent der Studienteilnehmer als ausreichend ein. Nahezu die Mehrheit der ERP-Anbieter halten es für wichtig, die von CPS erzeugten Daten der Produktionsebene zu erfassen und zu verarbeiten. Als problematisch wird jedoch das hohe Datenvolumen wahrgenommen, welches mit Industrie 4.0-Anwendungen verbunden ist. Die Anbieter reagieren auf diese Herausforderung mit dem Ausbau ihrer BI und BA-Funktionen. Die Marktstudie des Fraunhofer IML zeigt, dass ERP-Systeme als Datendrehscheibe und Integrationszentrum von Unternehmen auch weiterhin eine zentrale Rolle spielen werden. Die Untersuchung gibt einen aufschlussreichen Überblick über die aktuelle Einschätzung von ERP-Anbietern bezüglich der zukünftigen Funktionen und Eigenschaften, der Rolle und Relevanz von ERP-Systemen sowie der Entwicklung des ERP-Marktes

Effects of tDCS and tACS on Associative Memory Performance in Healthy Elderly

Sustaining memory performance up to high ages supports independent functioning in activities of daily living and preserves quality of life. However, especially associative memory, the ability to form lasting item-context or item-item associations, is one of the first cognitive functions negatively affected by healthy and pathological aging processes. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques are a promising tool to support associative memory function in the elderly

The effect of loss incentives on prospective memory in healthy older adults: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial using ultra-high field fMRI

Background Prospective memory is important for our health and independence but declines with age. Hence, interventions to enhance prospective memory, for example by providing an incentive, may promote healthy ageing. The neuroanatomical correlates of prospective memory and the processing of incentive-related prospective memory changes in older adults are not fully understood. In an fMRI study, we will therefore test whether incentives improve prospective memory in older adults and how prospective memory is processed in the brain in general, and when incentives are provided. Since goals and interests change across adulthood, avoiding losses is becoming more important for older adults than achieving gains. We therefore posit that loss-related incentives will enhance prospective memory, which will be subserved by increased prefrontal and midbrain activity. Methods We will include n = 60 healthy older adults (60–75 years of age) in a randomized, single-blind, and parallel-group study. We will acquire 7T fMRI data in an incentive group and a control group (n = 30 each, stratified by education, age, and sex). Before and after fMRI, all participants will complete questionnaires and cognitive tests to assess possible confounders (e.g., income, personality traits, sensitivity to reward or punishment). Discussion The results of this study will clarify whether loss-related incentives can enhance prospective memory and how any enhancement is processed in the brain. In addition, we will determine how prospective memory is processed in the brain in general. The results of our study will be an important step towards a better understanding of how prospective memory changes when we get older and for developing interventions to counteract cognitive decline