Evaluating art therapy processes with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders:Development and testing of two observation instruments for evaluating children’s and therapists’ behaviour

Two instruments were developed and examined to enable treatment evaluation of art therapy (AT) with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). One instrument is the OAT-A (Observation in Art Therapy with a child diagnosed ASD), the other is the EAT-A (Evaluation of actions of the Art Therapist during treatment of a child diagnosed ASD). Both scales were refined in a three round procedure. In each round raters (art therapists and students) observed and coded four videos of different AT sessions. For each round interrater reliability was tested and when necessary items were revised. In each round the first video was used for training purposes only. Both instruments showed in the third round an acceptable level of intercoder agreement. Using the OAT-A and EAT-E in clinical research requires extensive training of raters who preferably work in pairs, thereby enabling comparison of their assessments. It is concluded that important steps have been taken to enable systematic evaluation of art therapy with children diagnosed ASD including the actions of the art therapist

The Neural Correlates of the Clock-Drawing Test in Healthy Aging

Importance: The clock-drawing test (CDT) is an important neurocognitive assessment tool, widely used as a screening test for dementia. Behavioral performance on the test has been studied extensively, but there is scant literature on the underlying neural correlates.Purpose: To administer the CDT naturalistically to a healthy older aging population in an MRI environment, and characterize the brain activity associated with test completion.Main Outcome and Measure: Blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI was conducted as participants completed the CDT using novel tablet technology. Brain activity during CDT performance was contrasted to rest periods of visual fixation. Performance on the CDT was evaluated using a standardized scoring system (Rouleau score) and time to test completion. To assess convergent validity, performance during fMRI was compared to performance on a standard paper version of the task, administered in a psychometric testing room.Results: Study findings are reported for 33 cognitively healthy older participants aged 52–85. Activation was observed in the bilateral frontal, occipital and parietal lobes as well as the supplementary motor area and precentral gyri. Increased age was significantly correlated with Rouleau scores on the clock number drawing (R2) component (rho = -0.55, p < 0.001); the clock hand drawing (R3) component (rho = -0.50, p < 0.005); and the total clock (rho = -0.62, p < 0.001). Increased age was also associated with decreased activity in the bilateral parietal and occipital lobes as well as the right temporal lobe and right motor areas.Conclusion and Relevance: This imaging study characterizes the brain activity underlying performance of the CDT in a healthy older aging population using the most naturalistic version of the task to date. The results suggest that the functions of the occipital and parietal lobe are significantly altered by the normal aging process, which may lead to performance decrements

White matter during concussion recovery: Comparing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI)

Concussion pathophysiology in humans remains incompletely understood. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has identified microstructural abnormalities in otherwise normal appearing brain tissue, using measures of fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD). The results of prior DTI studies suggest that acute alterations in microstructure persist beyond medical clearance to return to play (RTP), but these measures lack specificity. To better understand the observed effects, this study combined DTI with neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), which employs a more sophisticated description of water diffusion in the brain. A total of 66 athletes were recruited, including 33 concussed athletes, scanned within 7 days after concussion and at RTP, along with 33 matched controls. Both univariate and multivariate methods identified DTI and NODDI parameters showing effects of concussion on white matter. Spatially extensive decreases in FA and increases in AD and RD were associated with reduced intra-neurite water volume, at both the symptomatic phase of injury and RTP, indicating that effects persist beyond medical clearance. Subsequent analyses also demonstrated that concussed athletes with higher symptom burden and a longer recovery time had greater reductions in FA and increased AD, RD, along with increased neurite dispersion. This study provides the first longitudinal evaluation of concussion from acute injury to RTP using combined DTI and NODDI, significantly enhancing our understanding of the effects of concussion on white matter microstructure

Neurobiology of delusions in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with cognitive and functional impairment as well as neuropsychiatric sequelae, including psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. Strong evidence supports the need to study delusions separate from hallucinations. Integrating the epidemiology, clinical correlates, and neuropathological and genetic literature for delusions in AD allows us to speculate on etiology and mechanisms. Plaque and tangle deposition in individuals with susceptible alleles of serotonergic, muscarinic, nicotinic, or Apoε4 genes appears to result in disruption of cortical circuitry, culminating in delusions. While delusions in AD correspond to a phenotype distinct from AD without delusions, subtypes of delusions may also define further distinct clinical entities. Persecutory delusions may occur earlier in the illness and have a more significant genetic component than misidentification delusions, which are associated with increased cognitive impairment and advanced dementia. Clearly distinguishing between these two syndromes is essential to making progress in the area of delusions in AD.peer-reviewe

Hipermemória, sinestesia, savants: Luria e Borges revisitados

In this paper, we investigated two subjects with superior memory, or hyper memory: Solomon Shereshevsky, who was followed clinically for years by A. R. Luria, and Funes the Memorious, a fictional character created by J. L. Borges. The subjects possessed hyper memory, synaesthesia and symptoms of what we now call autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). We will discuss interactions of these characteristics and their possible role in hyper memory. Our study suggests that the hyper memory in our synaesthetes may have been due to their ASD-savant syndrome characteristics. However, this talent was markedly diminished by their severe deficit in categorization, abstraction and metaphorical functions. As investigated by previous studies, we suggest that there is altered connectivity between the medial temporal lobe and its connections to the prefrontal cingulate and amygdala, either due to lack of specific neurons or to a more general neuronal dysfunction.Neste artigo, investigamos dois sujeitos com memória superior ou hipermemória: Solomon Shereshevsky, que foi seguido clinicamente por anos por A. R. Luria, e Funes o memorioso, um personagem fictício criado por J. L. Borges. Os sujeitos possuem hipermemória, sinestesia e sintomas do que hoje chamamos de transtorno do espectro autista (TEA). Vamos discutir interações dessas características e seu possível papel na memória hiper. Nosso estudo sugere que a hipermemória em nossos sujeitos sinestésicos pode ser devido às suas características de síndrome do DSA-savant. No entanto, esse talento foi acentuadamente diminuído pelo profundo déficit de categorização, abstração e funções metafóricas. Conforme investigado por estudos anteriores, sugerimos que há conectividade alterada entre o lobo temporal medial e suas conexões com o cingulado e a amígdala pré-frontal, devido à falta de neurônios específicos ou a uma disfunção neuronal mais geral.Fil: Fornazzari, Luis. University of Toronto; CanadáFil: Leggieri, Melissa. University of Toronto; CanadáFil: Schweizer, Tom A.. University of Toronto; CanadáFil: Arizaga, Raúl Luciano. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Allegri, Ricardo Francisco. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fischer, Corinne E.. University of Toronto; Canad

Hipermemória, sinestesia, savants: Luria e Borges revisitados

In this paper, we investigated two subjects with superior memory, or hyper memory: Solomon Shereshevsky, who was followed clinically for years by A. R. Luria, and Funes the Memorious, a fictional character created by J. L. Borges. The subjects possessed hyper memory, synaesthesia and symptoms of what we now call autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). We will discuss interactions of these characteristics and their possible role in hyper memory. Our study suggests that the hyper memory in our synaesthetes may have been due to their ASD-savant syndrome characteristics. However, this talent was markedly diminished by their severe deficit in categorization, abstraction and metaphorical functions. As investigated by previous studies, we suggest that there is altered connectivity between the medial temporal lobe and its connections to the prefrontal cingulate and amygdala, either due to lack of specific neurons or to a more general neuronal dysfunction

Music Intervention Approaches for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Review of the Literature

Music interventions have been widely adopted as a potential non-pharmacological therapy for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to treat cognitive and/or behavioral symptoms of the disease. In spite of the prevalence of such therapies, evidence for their effectiveness report mixed results in the literature. The purpose of this narrative review is to investigate the effectiveness of various intervention strategies (music therapy vs. music listening techniques) and music type used in the intervention (individualized vs. non-individualized music) on cognitive and behavioral outcomes for persons with AD. Databases were searched for studies using either active music therapy or music listening techniques over the last 10 years. These studies were in English, included persons with AD dementia, and whose protocol gathered pre- and post-intervention outcome measures. We initially identified 206 papers which were then reduced to 167 after removing duplicates. Further review yielded 13 papers which were extensively reviewed, resulting in a final sample of six papers. Our analysis of these papers suggested that, regardless of the music intervention approach, individualized music regimens provided the best outcomes for the patient. Furthermore, music listening may act as a relaxation technique and therefore provide a long-term impact for the patient, while active music therapy may acts to engage participants through social interaction and provide acute benefits. Our findings suggest that music techniques can be utilized in various ways to improve behavior and cognition

The ATLAS3D project - XXIX : The new look of early-type galaxies and surrounding fields disclosed by extremely deep optical images

Date of Acceptance: 25/09/2014Galactic archaeology based on star counts is instrumental to reconstruct the past mass assembly of Local Group galaxies. The development of new observing techniques and data reduction, coupled with the use of sensitive large field of view cameras, now allows us to pursue this technique in more distant galaxies exploiting their diffuse low surface brightness (LSB) light. As part of the ATLAS3D project, we have obtained with the MegaCam camera at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope extremely deep, multiband images of nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs). We present here a catalogue of 92 galaxies from the ATLAS3D sample, which are located in low- to medium-density environments. The observing strategy and data reduction pipeline, which achieve a gain of several magnitudes in the limiting surface brightness with respect to classical imaging surveys, are presented. The size and depth of the survey are compared to other recent deep imaging projects. The paper highlights the capability of LSB-optimized surveys at detecting new prominent structures that change the apparent morphology of galaxies. The intrinsic limitations of deep imaging observations are also discussed, among those, the contamination of the stellar haloes of galaxies by extended ghost reflections, and the cirrus emission from Galactic dust. The detection and systematic census of fine structures that trace the present and past mass assembly of ETGs are one of the prime goals of the project. We provide specific examples of each type of observed structures - tidal tails, stellar streams and shells - and explain how they were identified and classified. We give an overview of the initial results. The detailed statistical analysis will be presented in future papers.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Determining the association of medical co-morbidity with subjective and objective cognitive performance in an inner city memory disorders clinic: a retrospective chart review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medical co-morbidity may be associated with impaired cognitive function based on prior studies. However, no studies to date have determined to what extent this association is linked to medical illness or other factors that may be linked to medical illness (such as education, income levels, depression or subjective memory loss). The present study examined how medical co-morbidity, socioeconomic status (defined as residential SES), education and depression are associated with subjective and objective memory function in a sample of patients recruited from a university affiliated Memory Disorders Clinic located in a large Canadian inner city teaching hospital.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data was collected from 85 consecutive referrals to an Inner City Memory Disorders Clinic including socio-demographic characteristics, cognitive status and medical co-morbidity. Descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Impaired objective cognitive function correlated significantly with increased medical co-morbidity and partially with education but not with residential SES or depression. Elevated memory complaints correlated significantly with depression, inversely with residential SES and not at all with medical co-morbidity or education.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Increased medical co-morbidity is significantly associated with impaired cognitive performance but not with subjective memory complaints in an Inner City Memory Clinic sample.</p

From meta-studies to modeling: Using synthesis knowledge to build broadly applicable process-based land change models

International audienceThis paper explores how meta-studies can support the development of process-based land change models (LCMs) that can be applied across locations and scales. We describe a multi-step framework for model development and provide descriptions and examples of how meta-studies can be used in each step. We conclude that meta-studies best support the conceptualization and experimentation phases of the model development cycle, but cannot typically provide full model parameterizations. Moreover, meta-studies are particularly useful for developing agent-based LCMs that can be applied across a wide range of contexts, locations, and/or scales, because meta-studies provide both quantitative and qualitativedata needed to derive agent behaviors more readily than from case study or aggregate data sources alone. Recent land change synthesis studies provide sufficient topical breadth and depth to support the development of broadly applicable process-based LCMs, as well as the potential to accelerate the production of generalized knowledge through model-driven synthesis