MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Brain and Cognition' source. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:30:24 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3350884&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20207467%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Carlson JM, Reinke KS Facial expressions are a basic form of non-verbal communication that convey important social information to others. The relevancy of this information is highlighted by findings that backward masked facial expressions facilitate spatial attention. This attention effect appears to be mediated through a neural network consisting of the amygdala, anterior cingulate, and visual cortex. However, a direct investigation of the neural time course associated with orienting to such stimuli has yet to be performed. In the current investigation, a backward masked fearful face dot-probe task was performed while ERPs were recorded. Reaction time results suggest that spatial attention is captured by backward masked fearful faces and attention is focused at the location o... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3350884 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3350884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3323392&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189281%26dopt%3DAbstract CONCLUSIONS: The improvement of time processing in children with TS-only seems specific for the over-second range of intervals, consistent with an enhancement in the 'cognitively controlled' timing system, which mainly processes longer duration intervals, and depends upon dysfunctional connectivity between the basal ganglia and the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex. The absence of between-group differences on time comparison, moreover, suggests that TS patients manifest a selective improvement of 'motor' timing abilities, rather than of perceptual time abilities. Our data also support an enhancement of cognitive control processes in TS children, probably facilitated by effortful tic suppression. PMID: 20189281 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3323392 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3323392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3323393&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20188452%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Giordano BL, McDonnell J, McAdams S The neurocognitive processing of environmental sounds and linguistic stimuli shares common semantic resources and can lead to the activation of motor programs for the generation of the passively heard sound or speech. We investigated the extent to which the cognition of environmental sounds, like that of language, relies on symbolic mental representations independent of the acoustic input. In a hierarchical sorting task, we found that evaluation of nonliving sounds is consistently biased toward a focus on acoustical information. However, the evaluation of living sounds focuses spontaneously on sound-independent semantic information, but can rely on acoustical information after exposure to a context consisting of nonliving sounds. We interpre... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3323393 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3323393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3292312&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20167412%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cohen H, Gagné MH, Hess U, Pourcher E The neuropsychological literature on the processing of emotions in Parkinson's disease (PD) reveals conflicting evidence about the role of the basal ganglia in the recognition of facial emotions. Hence, the present study had two objectives. One was to determine the extent to which the visual processing of emotions and objects differs in PD. The other was to assess the impact of cognitive load on the processing of these types of information. Thirty-one patients with idiopathic PD (IPD) under dopamine replacement therapy (DRT) were compared to 30 control subjects on emotion and object recognition tasks. Recognition of objects was more accurate and faster than recognition of facial expressions of emotion, for both groups of subjects. In ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3292312 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3292312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3292311&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20167413%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Berg WK, Byrd DL, McNamara JP, Case K The Tower of London (TOL) task has been widely used in both clinical and research realms. In the current study, 104 healthy participants attempted all possible moderate- to high-difficulty TOL problems in order to determine: (1) optimal measures of problem solving performance, (2) problem characteristics, other than the minimum moves necessary to solve the problem, that determine participants' difficulty in solving problems successfully, quickly, and efficiently, and (3) effects of increased task experience on which problem characteristics determine problem difficulty. A factor analysis of six performance measures found that, regardless of task experience, problem difficulty could be captured well either by a single factor corresponding to... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3292311 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3292311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3292310&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20167414%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stamenova V, Roy EA, Black SE The study investigated performance on pantomime and imitation of transitive and intransitive gestures in 80 stroke patients, 42 with left (LHD) and 38 with right (RHD) hemisphere damage. Patients were also categorized in two groups based on the time that has elapsed between their stroke and the apraxia assessment: acute-subacute (n=42) and chronic (n=38). In addition, patterns of performance in apraxia were examined. We expected that acute-subacute patients would be more impaired than chronic patients and that LHD patients would be more impaired than RHD patients, relative to controls. The hemisphere prediction was confirmed, replicating previous findings. The frequency of apraxia was also higher in all LHD time post-stroke groups. The most common... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3292310 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3292310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3292308&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20167415%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nielson KA, Seidenberg M, Woodard JL, Durgerian S, Zhang Q, Gross WL, Gander A, Guidotti LM, Antuono P, Rao SM Person recognition can be accomplished through several modalities (face, name, voice). Lesion, neurophysiology and neuroimaging studies have been conducted in an attempt to determine the similarities and differences in the neural networks associated with person identity via different modality inputs. The current study used event-related functional-MRI in 17 healthy participants to directly compare activation in response to randomly presented famous and non-famous names and faces (25 stimuli in each of the four categories). Findings indicated distinct areas of activation that differed for faces and names in regions typically associated with pre-semantic perceptual proc... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3292308 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3292308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3270828&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20149512%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we explored the RM effect in a sample of children born very prematurely and a sample born at term. Because preterm children are known to be at risk for problems with motion perception, we anticipated that they would show a weaker or absent RM effect. This prediction was confirmed. In addition, we found that, in both samples of children, 5-6year olds showed a reduced RM effect compared to 7-9year olds. These results demonstrate that the ability to represent motion information in memory shows continued development over this age range, and may help to elucidate factors contributing to problems with fine and gross motor planning and execution that have been observed in the preterm population. We propose that problems affecting the formation, maintenance, or use of predictive mod... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3270828 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3270828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3209016&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20097463%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mihov KM, Denzler M, Förster J In the last two decades research on the neurophysiological processes of creativity has found contradicting results. Whereas most research suggests right hemisphere dominance in creative thinking, left-hemisphere dominance has also been reported. The present research is a meta-analytic review of the literature to establish how creative thinking relates to relative hemispheric dominance. The analysis was performed on the basis of a non-parametric vote-counting approach and effect-size calculations of Cramer's phi suggest relative dominance of the right hemisphere during creative thinking. Moderator analyses revealed no difference in predominant right-hemispheric activation for verbal vs. figural tasks, holistic vs. analytical tasks, and contex... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3209016 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3209016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3209017&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20096982%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Treese AC, Johansson M, Lindgren M The emotional salience of faces has previously been shown to induce memory distortions in recognition memory tasks. This event-related potential (ERP) study used repeated runs of a continuous recognition task with emotional and neutral faces to investigate emotion-induced memory distortions. In the second and third runs, participants made more false alarms to distracters (repeated from previous runs). Emotion did not modulate the amount of errors, but the extent to which recollection was employed to maximise performance as reflected in the putative ERP correlate of recollection; the parietal old-new effect. Targets from all stimulus classes (positive, negative, neutral) were associated with parietal ERP memory effects, but this was also the c... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3209017 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3209017 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3202067&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20092923%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Strelnikov K There is increasing focus on the neurophysiological underpinnings of brain activations, giving birth to an emerging branch of neuroscience - neuroenergetics. However, no common definition of "brain activation" exists thus far. In this article, we define brain activation as the information-driven reorganization of energy flows in a population of neuroglial units that leads to an overall increase in energy utilization in this population. On the basis of this definition, the key aspects of modern biochemical and biophysical approaches to neuroenergetics are considered from the perspective of the links between these approaches within the context of the free energy minimization principle and the neurophysiological conception of deviance detection. In this light, we con... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3202067 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3202067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3198358&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20089342%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chow ML, Brambati SM, Gorno-Tempini ML, Miller BL, Johnson JK Modern cognitive neuroscientific theories and empirical evidence suggest that brain structures involved in movement may be related to action-related semantic knowledge. To test this hypothesis, we examined the naming of environmental sounds in patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), two neurodegenerative diseases associated with cognitive and motor deficits. Subjects were presented with 56 environmental sounds: 28 sounds were of objects that required manipulation when producing the sound, and 28 sounds were of objects that required no manipulation. Subjects were asked to provide the name of the object that produced the sound and also complete a sound-picture matching c... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3198358 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3198358 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3156918&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20056306%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hach S, Schütz-Bosbach S A difference in the perception of extrapersonal space has been shown to exist between dextrals and sinistrals. On the classical line bisection task, this difference is evident in a greater left bias for dextrals compared to sinistrals. Different modalities and regions of space can be affected. However, it has not yet been investigated whether a systematic bias also exists for the perception of personal or body space. We investigated this by using three tasks which assess different aspects of personal space in an implicit and explicit way. These tasks were performed by strongly right-handed (dextrals), strongly left-handed (sinistrals) and mixed-handed participants. First, a task of pointing to three areas of one's own body without the use of visua... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3156918 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3156918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3136817&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20044193%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chen KH, Chuah LY, Sim SK, Chee MW To investigate the relationship between regional hippocampal volume and memory in healthy elderly, 147 community-based volunteers, aged 55-83years, were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging, the Groton Maze Learning Test, Visual Reproduction and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Hippocampal volumes were determined by interactive volumetry. We found greater age-related reduction in the volume of the hippocampal head relative to the tail. Right hippocampal tail volume correlated with spatial memory on the Groton Maze Learning Test while left hippocampal body volume was associated with delayed verbal memory. These associations were independent of age, sex, education and speed of processing and support the notion of functional differen... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3136817 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3136817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3136816&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20044194%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Morange-Majoux F, Dellatolas G Recent theories on the evolution of language (e.g. Corballis, 2009) emphazise the interest of early manifestations of manual laterality and manual specialization in human infants. In the present study, left- and right-hand movements towards a midline object were observed in 24 infants aged 4months in a constrained condition, in which the hands were maintained closed, and in a free condition. A left-hand dominance for approach movements without contact with the object, and a right-hand dominance for reaching movements with object contact was observed in the free condition. In the constrained condition reaching movements of the right hand decreased dramatically. These results are interpreted as strong evidence of manual specialization in 4-month ol... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3136816 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3136816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3123660&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20034721%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Green S, Grierson LE, Dubrowski A, Carnahan H It is well known that sensorimotor memories are built and updated through experience with objects. These representations are useful to anticipatory and feedforward control processes that preset grip and load forces during lifting. When individuals lift objects with qualities that are not congruent with their memory-derived expectations, feedback processes adjust motor plans to achieve successful lifts and contribute to the updating of the stored representations. The two experiments presented examine motor adaptation to an illusory size-weight lifting task, and the transfer of this motor adaptation to the unexposed hand. In Experiment 1, performers acquired motor adaptation with their right hand and transfer was measured on their le... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3123660 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3123660 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3121081&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20031292%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Shimada S It is well established that several motor areas, called the mirror-neuron system (MNS), are activated when an individual observes other's actions. However, whether the MNS responds similarly to robotic actions compared with human actions is still controversial. The present study investigated whether and how the motor area activity is influenced by appearance (human vs. robot) and/or kinematics (human vs. robot) of the observed action using near-infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that there was a strong interaction between these factors, revealing strong deactivations in sensorimotor areas when the subject saw a human agent performing robotic actions, which was significantly different from responses when observing the human agent acting in a human way and the r... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3121081 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3121081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3101666&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20015585%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cassotti M, Moutier S Intuitive predictions and judgments under conditions of uncertainty are often mediated by judgment heuristics that sometimes lead to biases. Using the classical conjunction bias example, the present study examines the relationship between receptivity to metacognitive executive training and emotion-based learning ability indexed by Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) performance. After completing a computerised version of the IGT, participants were trained to avoid conjunction bias on a frequency judgment task derived from the works of Tversky and Kahneman. Pre- and post-test performances were assessed via another probability judgment task. Results clearly showed that participants who produced a biased answer despite the experimental training (individual patterns of ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3101666 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3101666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3101667&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20006416%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Luciana M PMID: 20006416 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3101667 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3101667 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3070974&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19963311%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Steinberg L PMID: 19963311 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3070974 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3070974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3070975&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19962813%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Munneke J, Heslenfeld DJ, Theeuwes J The present study investigated how spatial working memory recruits early visual cortex. Participants were required to maintain a location in working memory while changes in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals were measured during the retention interval in which no visual stimulation was present. We show working memory effects during the retention period in early visual cortex which were retinotopically organized in the sense that evoked BOLD responses were specific to the position of the remembered location on an imaginary clock. We demonstrate that this activity is similar to activity observed in conditions in which participants have to direct spatial attention to the same location. We suggest that during the retention interval mod... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3070975 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3070975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3053052&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19951825%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Longo MR, Lourenco SF Much evidence suggests that common posterior parietal mechanisms underlie the orientation of attention in physical space and along the mental number line. For example, the small leftward bias (pseudoneglect) found in paper-and-pencil line bisection is also found when participants "bisect" number pairs, estimating (without calculating) the number midway between two others. For bisection of physical lines, pseudoneglect has been found to shift rightward as lines are moved from near space (immediately surrounding the body) to far space. We investigated whether the presentation of stimuli in near or far space also modulated spatial attention for the mental number line. Participants bisected physical lines or number pairs presented at four distances (60, 120, ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3053052 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3053052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3045391&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19944514%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wahlstrom D, Collins P, White T, Luciana M Adolescence is characterized by increased risk-taking, novelty-seeking, and locomotor activity, all of which suggest a heightened appetitive drive. The neurotransmitter dopamine is typically associated with behavioral activation and heightened forms of appetitive behavior in mammalian species, and this pattern of activation has been described in terms of a neurobehavioral system that underlies incentive-motivated behavior. Adolescence may be a time of elevated activity within this system. This review provides a summary of changes within cortical and subcortical dopaminergic systems that may account for changes in cognition and affect that characterize adolescent behavior. Because there is a dearth of information regarding neurochemica... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3045391 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3045391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3034871&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19942334%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Forbes EE, Dahl RE Adolescence is a time of dramatic changes including rapid physical growth, the onset of sexual maturation, the activation of new drives and motivations, and a wide array of social and affective changes and challenges. This review focuses on behavioral changes in this interval and is organized by the claim that a key set of these adolescent changes are part of a more general re-orientation of social behavior. More specifically we hypothesize that pubertal maturation is associated with the activation of social and motivational tendencies, which in turn influence behavior and emotion in adolescence depending upon interactions with social context. We focus on evidence for two examples of these motivational changes: (1) increases in sensation-seeking (motivationa... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3034871 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3034871 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3034870&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19942335%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: White T, Su S, Schmidt M, Kao CY, Sapiro G Gyrification is the process by which the brain undergoes changes in surface morphology to create sulcal and gyral regions. The period of greatest development of brain gyrification is during the third trimester of pregnancy, a period of time in which the brain undergoes considerable growth. Little is known about changes in gyrification during childhood and adolescence, although considering the changes in gray matter volume and thickness during this time period, it is conceivable that alterations in the brain surface morphology could also occur during this period of development. The formation of gyri and sulci in the brain allows for compact wiring that promotes and enhances efficient neural processing. If cerebral function and form are... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3034870 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3034870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3030161&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19932550%26dopt%3DAbstract CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest differential influences of white matter development on cognition in MJ+ALC using adolescents than in non-using peers. Neuroadaptation may reflect additive and subtractive responses to substance use that are complicated by competing maturational processes. PMID: 19932550 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3030161 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3030161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3030162&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19931966%26dopt%3DAbstract This study provides evidence that visual field asymmetries in orienting attention vary across individuals, and that level of self-reported attention problems correlates with behavioral deficiencies in orienting attention to the left visual field. PMID: 19931966 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3030162 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3030162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3004946&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19917517%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Fischer MH, Mills RA, Shaki S Most theoreticians believe that reading habits explain why Western adults associate small numbers with left space and large numbers with right space (the SNARC effect). We challenge this belief by documenting, in both English and Hebrew, that SNARC changes during reading: small and large numbers in our texts appeared near the left or right ends of the lines, positioned either spatially congruent or incongruent with reading habits. In English, the congruent group showed reliable SNARC before and after reading and the incongruent group's SNARC was significantly reduced. In Hebrew the incongruent reading condition even induced a reverse SNARC. These results show that SNARC is a fleeting aspect of number representation that captures multiple spatial a... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3004946 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3004946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996366&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19914760%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Franklin RG, Adams RB We hypothesized that facial attractiveness represents a dual judgment, a combination of reward-based, sexual processes, and aesthetic, cognitive processes. Herein we describe a study that demonstrates that sexual and nonsexual processes both contribute to attractiveness judgments and that these processes can be dissociated. Female participants rated the general attractiveness of faces presented in either their left or right visual field. In order to examine sexual and nonsexual components of these judgments, general attractiveness ratings were correlated with ratings of these same faces made by two independent groups of raters in two specific contexts, one sexual and one nonsexual. Based on an items analysis, partial correlation coefficients were computed... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996366 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2996366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996365&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19914761%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Segalowitz SJ, Santesso DL, Jetha MK While psychological research has long shown that adolescence is a period of major cognitive and affective transition, recent neurophysiological research has shown that adolescence is also accompanied by observable maturational changes in the brain, both in terms of structure and neurotransmitter function. Given this situation, we would expect that there should be observable and perhaps major changes in electrocortical activity and responses. In this review, we discuss developmental reductions in EEG power and alterations in the dominant band of EEG oscillation frequency, moderated by developmental factors such as growth-related changes in grey and white matter, and in the developmental history of cognitive and sociocultural stressors. Simil... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996365 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2996365 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996364&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19914762%26dopt%3DAbstract CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the dopaminergic overstimulation of mesocorticolimbic pathways may cause a dysfunction of prefrontal-subcortical connections related to the impaired insight. PMID: 19914762 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996364 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2996364 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996363&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19914763%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Blaesi S, Wilson M Substantial evidence links perception of others' bodies and mental representation of the observer's own body; however, the overwhelming majority of this evidence is unidirectional, showing influence from perception to action. It has been proposed that the influence also runs from action to perception, but to date the evidence is scant. Here we report that ordinary motor actions performed by the subject affect concurrent psychophysical judgments of human-body stimuli. Subjects remained unaware of the connection between the action and the main task. The results show that perception can change as a result of the observer's ongoing actions. PMID: 19914763 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996363 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2996363 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996367&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19913969%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lenroot RK, Giedd JN Adolescence is a time of increased divergence between males and females in physical characteristics, behavior, and risk for psychopathology. Here we will review data regarding sex differences in brain structure and function during this period of the lifespan. The most consistent sex difference in brain morphometry is the 9-12% larger brain size that has been reported in males. Individual brain regions that have most consistently been reported as different in males and females include the basal ganglia, hippocampus, and amygdala. Diffusion tensor imaging and magnetization transfer imaging studies have also shown sex differences in white matter development during adolescence. Functional imaging studies have shown different patterns of activation without diff... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996367 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2996367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996369&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19913344%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Du F, Abrams RA The present study examined the spatial distribution of involuntary attentional capture over the two visual hemi-fields. A new experiment, and an analysis of three previous experiments showed that distractors in the left visual field that matched a sought-for target in color produced a much larger capture effect than identical distractors in the right visual field, revealing a visual field asymmetry in color-based contingent capture. On the other hand, abrupt onsets in the two hemi-fields did not differ in the magnitude of their capture effect, indicating a symmetric distribution of onset capture. The different spatial patterns for contingent capture and onset capture reveal differences between the two types of attentional capture, possibly indicating difference... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996369 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2996369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2996368&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19913345%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yechiam E, Arshavsky O, Shamay-Tsoory SG, Yaniv S, Aharon J Recent studies have recorded a tendency of individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) to continually change their choices in repeated choice tasks. In the current study we examine if this finding implies that ASC individuals have a cognitive style that facilitates exploration and discovery. Six decision tasks were administered to adolescents with ASC and matched controls. Significant differences in shifting between choice options appeared in the Iowa Gambling task (Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994). A formal cognitive modeling analysis demonstrated that for about half of the ASC participants the adaptation process did not conform to the standard reinforcement learning model. These individuals wer... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2996368 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2996368 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2989556&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19906479%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hanseeuw BJ, Seron X, Ivanoiu A Episodic memory deficit is the hallmark of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). There is, however, an overlap in performance among patients with aMCI and elderly controls (EC). The memory deficit in aMCI therefore needs to be better characterized. Studies have shown that associative memory is selectively impaired in aMCI, and recent work suggested that aMCI may be hypersensitive to semantic proactive interference (PI). It is not known whether this increased PI is related to associative or semantic impairment. EC (n=44) and patients with aMCI (n=30) performed two tasks presenting a gradually increasing PI effect across four lists. One task used semantic cueing, the other phonological cueing. We controlled for associative memory by introduci... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2989556 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2989556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2731118&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19698908%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Segalowitz SJ PMID: 19698908 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2731118 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:44:04 +0100 2731118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535609&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19356836%26dopt%3DAbstract CONCLUSIONS: Although these results were not predicted, perhaps, as suggested by Bogen and Bogen (1988), decreased callosal connectivity enhances hemispheric specialization, which benefits the incubation of ideas that are critical for the divergent-thinking component of creativity, and it is the momentary inhibition of this hemispheric independence that accounts for the illumination that is part of the innovative stage of creativity. Alternatively, decreased CC size may reflect more selective developmental pruning, thereby facilitating efficient functional connectivity. PMID: 19356836 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535609 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:36:49 +0100 2535609 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535608&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19362405%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study we investigated with a priming paradigm whether uni and bimanual actions presented as primes differently affected language processing. Animals' (self-moving entities) and plants' (not self-moving entities) names were used as targets. As prime we used grasping hands, presented both as static images and videos. The results showed an interference effect with unimanual action primes (both static and moving) with plants' names. No modulation of responses for animals' names was found. We argue that in the present task plants elicit information on unimanual grasping actions they support, while the lack of effect for animals could be due to them being better characterized as active agents. PMID: 19362405 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535608 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:36:47 +0100 2535608 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535606&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19394123%26dopt%3DAbstract This study consisted of three experiments focusing on motor and language functional lateralization in regard to schizotypal personality in the absence of mental illness: line-drawing, finger tapping, and a semantic go/no-go task. The results suggested that positive schizotypal personality might be related to functional non-lateralization in regard to at least some functions (e.g., spatial motor control and semantic processing in the present study). Subjects with high schizotypal personality traits performed equally with their right and left-hands in the line-drawing task and they reacted equally with their right and left-hands in a semantic go/no-go task involving semantic auditory stimuli presented in both ears. However, those low in schizotypal personality traits showed typical lateraliz... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535606 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:36:43 +0100 2535606 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535605&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19398148%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ménard MC, Belleville S Musical memory was tested in Alzheimer patients and in healthy older adults using long-term and short-term memory tasks. Long-term memory (LTM) was tested with a recognition procedure using unfamiliar melodies. Short-term memory (STM) was evaluated with same/different judgment tasks on short series of notes. Musical memory was compared to verbal memory using a task that used pseudowords (LTM) or syllables (STM). Results indicated impaired musical memory in AD patients relative to healthy controls. The deficit was found for both long-term and short-term memory. Furthermore, it was of the same magnitude for both musical and verbal domains whether tested with short-term or long-term memory tasks. No correlation was found between musical and verbal LTM... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535605 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:36:41 +0100 2535605 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535604&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19403218%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Saetrevik B, Specht K In previous behavioral studies, a prime syllable was presented just prior to a dichotic syllable pair, with instructions to ignore the prime and report one syllable from the dichotic pair. When the prime matched one of the syllables in the dichotic pair, response selection was biased towards selecting the unprimed target. The suggested mechanism was that the prime was inhibited to reduce conflict between task-irrelevant prime processing and task-relevant dichotic target processing, and a residual effect of the prime inhibition biased the resolution of the conflict between the two targets. The current experiment repeated the primed dichotic listening task in an event-related fMRI setting. The fMRI data showed that when the task-irrelevant prime matched the... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535604 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:36:39 +0100 2535604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535593&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19428166%26dopt%3DAbstract The objective of the present study was to examine whether the pattern of cognitive deficits in patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS), a disorder characterized by chronic exposure to elevated levels of glucocorticoids (GC), is similar to that observed in older individuals. Ten subjects with CS were compared to sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls and older subjects (age of CS subjects+15 yr). All participants were administered tests to assess attention, visuospatial processing, learning and memory, reasoning, concept formation and verbal fluency. MANCOVAs with depression scores as covariate and polynomial contrasts revealed that the age-matched control group performed better than the CS and older subject groups in visual target detection, trail making test, stroop task, digit ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535593 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:36:29 +0100 2535593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535589&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19446944%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Desjardins S, Braun CM, Achim A, Roberge C Tachistoscopically presented bilateral stimulus pairs not parallel to the meridian produced significantly longer RTs on a task requiring discrimination of shapes (Go/no-Go) than pairs emplaced symmetrically on each side of the meridian in Desjardins and Braun [Desjardins, S., & Braun, C. M. J. (2006). Homotopy and heterotopy and the bilateral field advantage in the Dimond paradigm. Acta Psychologica, 121, 125-136]. This was explained by the fact that there are more homotopic than heterotopic fibers in the corpus callosum. However: (1) different parts of the visual field were not equiprobably stimulated, possibly causing subtle biases, (2) the predicted cost of vertical asymmetry was tested only with bilateral stimuli, and (3) inte... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535589 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:36:22 +0100 2535589 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535578&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19556048%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Van Hooff JC, Whitaker TA, Ford RM We investigated whether directed forgetting as elicited by the item-cueing method results solely from differential rehearsal of to-be-remembered vs. to-be-forgotten words or, additionally, from inhibitory processes that actively impair retrieval of to-be-forgotten words. During study, participants (N=24) were instructed to remember half of a series of presented words (TBR) and to forget the other half (TBF), as indicated by an instruction cue shown shortly after each word. During test, accuracy and reaction time measures from lexical decisions (indirect memory test) followed by recognition-memory judgements (direct memory test) were supplemented with event-related potential (ERP) recordings. Results from the behavioural measures revealed dire... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535578 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535580&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19520476%26dopt%3DAbstract This study aims to investigate the types of difficulty encountered by children with nonverbal (visuospatial) learning disabilities (NLD) during the processing of spatial information derived from descriptions. Two spatial descriptions - one in survey, one in route perspective - and one nonspatial description were orally presented to children aged 9-12 divided in three groups: (i) with NLD (N=12), (ii) with reading disability (RD) (N=11), and (iii) without learning disabilities who served as controls (N=16). Children performed two tasks: sentence verification and location. In the verification task, NLD performed worse in survey text than control and RD groups. Moreover, in the location task NLD were worse than controls in both survey and route descriptions, but significantly poorer than the ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535580 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535582&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19501943%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hernández OH, Vogel-Sprott M This within-subjects experiment tested the relationship between the premotor (cognitive) component of reaction time (RT) to a missing stimulus and parameters of the omitted stimulus potential (OSP) brain wave. Healthy young men (N=28) completed trials with an auditory stimulus that recurred at 2s intervals and ceased unpredictably. Premotor RT and Motor RT were measured on active trials that required an immediate response to a missing stimulus. Passive trials required no response in order to measure the complete set of OSP parameters (i.e., onset, rate of rise, amplitude and peak latency). The results showed that faster Premotor RT was strongly associated with a faster rate of rise in the OSP wave. Motor RT was unrelated the OSP parameters. Th... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535582 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535582 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535584&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19501444%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Clifford A, Franklin A, Davies IR, Holmes A The origin of color categories has been debated by psychologists, linguists and cognitive scientists for many decades. Here, we present the first electrophysiological evidence for categorical responding to color before color terms are acquired. Event-related potentials were recorded on a visual oddball task in 7-month old infants. Infants were shown frequent presentations of one color (standard) interspersed with infrequent presentations of a color that was either from the same category (within-category deviant) or from a different category (between-category deviant) to the standard. Differences in the event-related potentials elicited by the stimuli were found that were related to the categorical relationship of the standard and the... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535584 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535584 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535585&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19500893%26dopt%3DAbstract CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the motor preparation system in children is less mature than the sensory preparatory system. The children may have used strategies and brain areas different from those of the young adults to prepare for stimuli and responses. PMID: 19500893 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535585 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535585 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535586&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19481324%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Arentoft A, Sweat V, Starr V, Oliver S, Hassenstab J, Bruehl H, Tirsi A, Javier E, McHugh PF, Convit A Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a regulatory role in neuronal differentiation and synaptic plasticity and has been linked to glucose regulation and cognition. Associations among plasma BDNF, cognition, and insulin function were explored. Forty-one participants with impaired insulin function (IIF), ranging from insulin resistance to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), were matched with 41 healthy controls on gender, age, education, and IQ. Participants received complete medical, neurological, psychiatric, and neuropsychological evaluations. IIF individuals had significantly lower plasma BDNF levels than controls, particularly females, and higher BDNF levels were as... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535586 Tue, 26 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535587&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19473740%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gravenhorst RM, Walter CB When we observe a movement and then reproduce it, how is this visual input transformed into motor output? Studies on stroke patients with apraxia suggest that there may be two distinct routes used for gesture imitation; an indirect route that recruits stored movement memories (motor programs) and a direct route that bypasses them. The present study examined 30 healthy adults ages 18-80 (mean age=44.0years, SD=19.5) to learn how motor programs are recruited or bypassed in movement imitation depending upon task conditions (whether familiar letters or novel shapes are imitated) and perceptual factors (whether shapes or letters are perceived). Subjects were asked to imitate the movements of a model who formed shapes and letters on a sheer mesh screen, and... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535587 Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535588&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19457603%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hill EL, Khanem F Lateralisation of hand preference and manual dexterity are known to develop over childhood, while in adulthood strength of hand preference has been shown to interact with extrinsic task demands. Some evidence exists to suggest that strength of hand preference and motor skill may be related. In the current study a handedness inventory, midline crossing (QHP) and peg-moving tasks were used to investigate: (1) the development of hand preference between 4 and 11years; (2) whether extrinsic task demands affect strength of hand preference, and (3) whether strength of hand preference was associated with manual dexterity. Younger children (4-5years) showed weak hand preference in comparison to older children (8-11years), and extrinsic task demands influenced willingn... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535588 Sun, 17 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535588 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535591&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19442427%26dopt%3DAbstract CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the detrimental effects of dopaminergic therapy may be dose-related and that the interaction between monetary reward and dopaminergic therapy can affect and improve some cognitive abilities, such as working memory. PMID: 19442427 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535591 Sun, 10 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535591 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535592&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19428167%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Duarte LR, Marquié L, Marquié JC, Terrier P, Ousset PJ The conceptual structure account (CSA) is a model specifying the role of the living and non-living domain dichotomy in the structure of semantic memory. According to this model, feature distinctiveness and the perceptual-functional inter-correlation of concepts are assumed to play a major role in impairing the ability to discriminate between living and non-living concepts in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The hypothesis was tested in this study by using naming and sorting tasks traditionally considered as assessing distinctiveness, and a property verification task where distinctiveness and perceptual-functional inter-correlation were objectively controlled against norms especially created for this purpose. Alzheimer's... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535592 Thu, 07 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535592 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535601&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19427089%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Goghari VM, Macdonald AW The functional neuroanatomy of tasks that recruit different forms of response selection and inhibition has to our knowledge, never been directly addressed in a single fMRI study using similar stimulus-response paradigms where differences between scanning time and sequence, stimuli, and experimenter instructions were minimized. Twelve right-handed participants were scanned on two standard cognitive control tasks, a stimulus-response incompatibility task, and a response inhibition task. A compound trial design allowed comparison of preparing to inhibit an upcoming automatic response to wholly inhibiting an automatic response. Furthermore, inhibiting an automatic response to perform an alternative task-relevant response was compared to wholly inhibiting a... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535601 Tue, 05 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535602&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19423206%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tops M, Russo S, Boksem MA, Tucker DM Serotonin is a fundamental neuromodulator in both vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems, with a suspected role in many human mental disorders. Yet, because of the complexity of serotonergic function, researchers have been unable to agree on a general theory. One function suggested for serotonin systems is the avoidance of threat. We propose and review evidence for an alternative hypothesis, that a phylogenetically primitive of function of serotonin is to oppose the activating neuromodulators (particularly noradrenalin and dopamine). The functional effect of this opposition can be seen as applying a drive to withdraw from dangerous, aversive or high stimulation environments. Proposing that serotonin is involved in a drive to withdraw ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535602 Mon, 04 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535602 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535603&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19406547%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Welsh TN, McDougall LM, Weeks DJ The observation of other people's actions plays an important role in shaping the perceptual, cognitive, and motor processes of the observer. It has been suggested that these social influences occur because the observation of action evokes a representation of that response in the observer and that these codes are subsequently accessed by other cognitive systems to modify future behaviour. In the case of social search and movement tasks, the observation-evoked response code is thought to activate the same mechanisms that are activated following internally-generated response codes. In support of this hypothesis, the present study revealed that the magnitudes of the between-person inhibition of return (IOR) effects were correlated with within-perso... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535603 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2535607&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19375839%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nyhus E, Barceló F For over four decades the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) has been one of the most distinctive tests of prefrontal function. Clinical research and recent brain imaging have brought into question the validity and specificity of this test as a marker of frontal dysfunction. Clinical studies with neurological patients have confirmed that, in its traditional form, the WCST fails to discriminate between frontal and non-frontal lesions. In addition, functional brain imaging studies show rapid and widespread activation across frontal and non-frontal brain regions during WCST performance. These studies suggest that the concept of an anatomically pure test of prefrontal function is not only empirically unattainable, but also theoretically inaccurate. The aim ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2535607 Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2535607 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2311353&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19346049%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Joyce J, Graydon J, McMorris T, Davranche K This research aimed to investigate the time course effect of a moderate steady-state exercise session on response execution and response inhibition using a stop-task paradigm. Ten participants performed a stop-signal task whilst cycling at a carefully controlled workload intensity (40% of maximal aerobic power), immediately following exercise and 30min after exercise cessation. Results showed that moderate exercise enhances a subjects' ability to execute responses under time pressure (shorter Go reaction time, RT without a change in accuracy) but also enhances a subjects' ability to withhold ongoing motor responses (shorter stop-signal RT). The present outcomes reveal that the beneficial effect of exercise is neither limited to motor... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2311353 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2311353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2311349&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19346050%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Brunyé TT, Mahoney CR, Augustyn JS, Taylor HA Recent work has demonstrated that horizontal saccadic eye movements enhance verbal episodic memory retrieval, particularly in strongly right-handed individuals. The present experiments test three primary assumptions derived from this research. First, horizontal eye movements should facilitate episodic memory for both verbal and non-verbal information. Second, the benefits of horizontal eye movements should only be seen when they immediately precede tasks that demand right and left-hemisphere processing towards successful performance. Third, the benefits of horizontal eye movements should be most pronounced in the strongly right-handed. Two experiments confirmed these hypotheses: horizontal eye movements increased recognition s... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2311349 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2311349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2311360&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19342141%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Coderre EL, Filippi CG, Newhouse PA, Dumas JA The Japanese language represents numbers in kana digit words (a syllabic notation), kanji numbers and Arabic numbers (logographic notations). Kanji and Arabic numbers have previously shown similar patterns of numerical processing, and because of their shared logographic properties may exhibit similar brain areas of numerical representation. Kana digit words require a larger phonetic component, and therefore may show different areas of numerical representation as compared to kanji or Arabic numbers. The present study investigated behavioral reaction times and brain activation with fMRI during the numerical processing of kana digit words, kanji numbers and Arabic numbers. No differences in behavioral reaction time were found between ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2311360 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2311360 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2311368&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19339096%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we examined two different aspects of these abilities in a patient with semantic dementia (SD), a variant of FTLD. The first aspect was the assessment of the cognitive and emotional components of empathy through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. The second was the naming and comprehension of emotions using the Ekman 60 Faces Test. The patient's emotion word knowledge was spared and the emotional aspects of empathy preserved. Conversely, the patient performed below average for all of the basic emotions when an emotion word had to be matched with a picture. When picture-to-picture matching was tested, however, the patient was able to recognize happiness. This case is a good example of a dissociation of covert and overt emotional functioning in SD. Results are discussed in ter... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2311368 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2311368 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2311372&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19332361%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bednarek D, Saldaña D, García I Phonological and visual theories propose different primary deficits as part of the explanation for dyslexia. Both theories were put to test in a sample of Spanish dyslexic readers. Twenty-one dyslexic and 22 typically-developing children matched on chronological age were administered phonological discrimination and awareness tasks and coherent motion perception tasks. No differences were found between groups on the coherent motion tasks, whereas dyslexic readers were impaired relative to controls on phonological discrimination tasks. Gender differences followed the opposite pattern, with no differences on phonological tasks, and dyslexic girls performing significantly worse than dyslexic boys in coherent motion perception. These result... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2311372 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2311372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2311375&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19329239%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Helton WS, Hayrynen L, Schaeffer D Vision researchers have investigated the differences between global and local feature perception. No one has, however, examined the role of global and local feature discrimination in sustained attention tasks. In this experiment participants performed a sustained attention task requiring either global or local letter target discriminations or watched the same displays without any work imperative. Reaction time to targets was slower when global feature discriminations were required than when local feature discriminations were required. Tympanic membrane temperature (TMT) was utilized in this study as an index of cerebral activation. Participants in the global letter detection condition had elevated post-task right TMT, indicative of reduced ce... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2311375 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2311375 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2311377&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19324486%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Shahin AJ, Picton TW, Miller LM Changes in oscillatory brain activity have been related to perceptual and cognitive processes such as selective attention and memory matching. Here we examined brain oscillations, measured with electroencephalography (EEG), during a semantic speech processing task that required both lexically mediated memory matching and selective attention. Participants listened to nouns spoken in male and female voices, and detected an animate target (p=20%) in a train of inanimate standards or vice versa. For a control task, subjects listened to the same words and detected a target male voice in standards of a female voice or vice versa. The standard trials of the semantic task showed enhanced upper beta (25-30Hz) and gamma band (GBA, 30-60Hz) activity compar... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2311377 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2311377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2289589&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19307049%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Guerra S, Ibáñez A, Martín M, Bobes MA, Reyes A, Mendoza R, Bravo T, Domínguez M, Sosa MV Endophenotypes is one emerging strategy in schizophrenia research that is being used to identify the functional importance of genetically transmitted, brain-based deficits present in this disease. Currently, event-related potentials (ERPs) are timely used in this search. Several ERPs, including N400, present deficits in relation to schizophrenia. In order to assess the genetic liability of N400 as a possible endophenotype, a picture semantic matching task (congruent and incongruent pairs of pictures) was performed by 21 unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia, 21 DSM-IV diagnosed schizophrenia probands, and 21 control subjects, matched by age, ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2289589 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2289589 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2289588&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19307050%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Assaf M, Jagannathan K, Calhoun V, Kraut M, Hart J, Pearlson G To explore the temporal sequence of, and the relationship between, the left and right hemispheres (LH and RH) during semantic memory (SM) processing we identified the neural networks involved in the performance of functional MRI semantic object retrieval task (SORT) using group independent component analysis (ICA) in 47 healthy individuals. SORT requires participants to determine whether word pairs describing object features combine to retrieve an object. Functional network connectivity (FNC) was used to assess the correlations between components' time courses. Results showed that semantic left and right hemisphere networks comprise two independent ICA components. The components' time courses were highly correlated... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2289588 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2289588 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2289590&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19303185%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Techentin C, Voyer D, Klein RM The present study investigated the influence of within- and between-ear congruency on interference and laterality effects in an auditory semantic/prosodic conflict task. Participants were presented dichotically with words (e.g., mad, sad, glad) pronounced in either congruent or incongruent emotional tones (e.g., angry, happy, or sad) and identified a target word or emotion under one of two conditions. In the within-ear condition, the congruent or incongruent dimensions were bound within a single stimulus and therefore, presented to the same ear. In the between-ear condition, the two dimensions were split between two stimuli and, therefore, presented in separate ears. Findings indicated interference in both conditions. However, the expected right ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2289590 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2289590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2289591&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19299062%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Thirioux B, Jorland G, Bret M, Tramus MH, Berthoz A Researchers have recently reintroduced the own-body in the center of the social interaction theory. From the discovery of the mirror neurons in the ventral premotor cortex of the monkey's brain, a human embodied model of interindividual relationship based on simulation processes has been advanced, according to which we tend to embody spontaneously the other individuals' behavior when interacting. Although the neurocognitive mechanisms of the embodiment process have started being described, the mechanisms of self-location during embodiment are still less known. Here, we designed a motor paradigm which allows investigating in ecologically more valid conditions whether we embody another person's intransitive action with an embod... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2289591 Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2289591 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2278762&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19286295%26dopt%3DAbstract We describe Bartholow's career up to 1874, review the theoretical and empirical background for the experiment, and present Bartholow's own account of the experiment as well as those of his supporters and critics. We then present our own analysis, assess the experiment's influence on contemporaneous scientific opinion about cortical excitability, and trace its citation record into our own time. We also review and assess ethical criticisms of Bartholow and their effects on his career, and we close by discussing the role we think the experiment deserves to play in the history of theory and research on cortical excitability. PMID: 19286295 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2278762 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2278762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2278765&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19285772%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Calabria M, Miniussi C, Bisiacchi PS, Zanetti O, Cotelli M Repetition priming (RP) has been employed as a measure of implicit processing in patients suffering from a breakdown of semantic memory, as in the case of semantic dementia (SD), a subtype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Here, we investigated face-name representation in a case of SD using a paradigm of within- and cross-domain repetition priming. Compared to ten healthy participants, SD patient did not show any facilitation when a famous name was primed by its own face (cross-domain) or when the prime was the same proper name (within-domain). Results are discussed within the hypothesis of a degradation of face and name representation, one of the most consistent accounts explaining semantic deficits in SD. ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2278765 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2278765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2265026&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19282081%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Robinson JL, Demaree HA No prior study has examined the two most prominent response-focused regulation strategies (suppression and exaggeration) using a within-subjects design. Utilizing this design allows for a direct comparison of physiological patterns and cognitive impairment associated with such efforts. One hundred and nine participants were asked to view a series of three films, each preceded by a 10-second instructional slide which indicated the regulation strategy they were to perform (natural-watch, exaggerate, or suppress). Exaggeration was associated with increased sympathetic activation as indicated by an increase in galvanic skin conductance level (GSL) and shortened pre-ejection period (PEP). Suppression, much like the natural-watch condition, was associated wit... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2265026 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2265026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2265025&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19282082%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Carroll CA, O'Donnell BF, Shekhar A, Hetrick WP Schizophrenia may be associated with a fundamental disturbance in the temporal coordination of information processing in the brain, leading to classic symptoms of schizophrenia such as thought disorder and disorganized and contextually inappropriate behavior. However, the majority of studies that have examined timing behavior in schizophrenia have employed temporal durations in the range of several seconds, which requires higher cognitive processes beyond initial sensory registration for temporal encoding. Accordingly, the present study assessed both millisecond and several-second duration estimates in schizophrenia using a well-established task of time perception. Twenty-eight individuals with schizophrenia and 31 non-psychiatri... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2265025 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2265025 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2252568&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19269079%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we aimed to characterize possible behavioral interaction and integration in healthy adult volunteers using a revised attention network test (ANT-R) with cue-target interval and cue validity manipulations. We found that whereas alerting improves overall response speed, it exerts negative influence on executive control under certain conditions. A valid orienting cue enhances but an invalid cue diminishes the ability of executive control to overcome conflict. The results support the hypothesis of functional integration and interaction of these brain networks. PMID: 19269079 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2252568 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2252568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2240419&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19261365%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, drawing impairment correlates with depressed sympathetic modulation in patients with COPD, and both might be indexes of COPD severity. PMID: 19261365 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2240419 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2240419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232139&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19254820%26dopt%3DAbstract This study investigated preparatory processes involved in adapting to changing episodic memory retrieval demands. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants performed a general old/new recognition task and a specific task that also required retrieval of perceptual details. The relevant task remained either constant or changed (predictably or randomly) across trials. Responses were slowed when participants switched from the specific to the general task but not vice versa. Hence, asymmetrical switch costs were observed, suggesting that retrieval preparation is dependent not only on the current retrieval goal but also influenced by recent retrieval attempts. Consistently, over posterior scalp regions ERPs associated with advance preparation were modulated by the precedin... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232139 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2232139 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232140&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19250730%26dopt%3DAbstract This study used the Remember/Know (R/K) procedure combined with signal detection analyses to assess recognition memory in 20 elders with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), 10 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) as well as matched healthy older adults. Signal detection analyses first indicated that aMCI and control participants were comparable on general recognition performance. As regards AD patients, they were impaired relative to both aMCI and healthy elders. When assessing Remember and Know responses the aMCI group showed diminished sensitivity for Remember responses but intact Know responses compared to healthy elders. In contrast, AD patients showed decreased sensitivity for both Remember and Know responses compared to control and aMCI participants. The response bi... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232140 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2232140 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232141&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19249146%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Peleg O, Eviatar Z The present study investigated cerebral asymmetries in accessing multiple meanings of two types of homographs: homophonic homographs (e.g., bank) and heterophonic homographs (e.g., tear). Participants read homographs preceded by either a biasing or a non-biasing sentential context and performed a lexical decision on lateralized targets presented 150ms after onset of the sentence-final ambiguous prime. Targets were either related to the dominant or the subordinate meaning of the preceding homograph or were unrelated to it. In the case of homophonic homographs - our results converge with previous findings: both activation and selection processes are faster in the LH than in the RH. Importantly, however, in the case of heterophonic homographs - opposite asymmet... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232141 Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2232141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222266&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19243871%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jester JM, Nigg JT, Puttler LI, Long JC, Fitzgerald HE, Zucker RA Relationships between parent and child executive functioning were examined, controlling for the critical potential confound of IQ, in a family study involving 434 children (130 girls and 304 boys) and 376 parents from 204 community recruited families at high risk for the development of substance use disorder. Structural equation modeling found evidence of separate executive functioning and intelligence (IQ) latent variables. Mother's and father's executive functioning were associated with child's executive functioning (beta=0.34 for father-child and 0.51 for mother-child), independently of parental IQ, which as expected was associated with child's IQ (beta=0.52 for father-child and 0.54 for mother-child). Famili... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222266 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2222266 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2209888&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19231057%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Schütz-Bosbach S, Tausche P, Weiss C Watching a rubber hand being stroked by a paintbrush while feeling identical stroking of one's own occluded hand can create a compelling illusion that the seen hand becomes part of one's own body. It has been suggested that this so-called rubber hand illusion (RHI) does not simply reflect a bottom-up multisensory integration process but that the illusion is also modulated by top-down, cognitive factors. Here we investigated for the first time whether the conceptual interpretation of the sensory quality of the visuotactile stimulation in terms of roughness can influence the occurrence of the illusion and vice versa, whether the presence of the RHI can modulate the perceived sensory quality of a given tactile stimulus (i.e., in terms of ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2209888 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2209888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2209887&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19231058%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Palomares M, Landau B, Egeth H Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, which stems from a genetic deletion on chromosome 7 and causes a profound weakness in visuospatial cognition. Our current study explores how orientation perception may contribute to the visuospatial deficits in WS. In Experiment 1, we found that WS individuals and normal 3-4 year olds had similar orientation discrimination thresholds and had similar prevalence of mirror-reversal errors for diagonal targets (+/-45deg). In Experiment 2, we asked whether this immaturity in orientation discrimination would also be reflected in a task requiring integration of oriented elements. We found that sensitivities of WS individuals for detecting orientation-defined contours were higher than sensitiv... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2209887 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2209887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2200268&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19223099%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cupchik GC, Vartanian O, Crawley A, Mikulis DJ When we view visual images in everyday life, our perception is oriented toward object identification. In contrast, when viewing visual images as artworks, we also tend to experience subjective reactions to their stylistic and structural properties. This experiment sought to determine how cognitive control and perceptual facilitation contribute to aesthetic perception along with the experience of emotion. Using functional MRI, we show that aesthetic perception activated bilateral insula which we attribute to the experience of emotion. Moreover, while adopting the aesthetic orientation activated the left lateral prefrontal cortex, paintings that facilitated visuospatial exploration activated the left superior parietal lobule. The re... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2200268 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2200268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2200267&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19223100%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Huggenberger HJ, Suter SE, Reijnen E, Schachinger H Women's cradling side preference has been related to contralateral hemispheric specialization of processing emotional signals; but not of processing baby's facial expression. Therefore, 46 nulliparous female volunteers were characterized as left or non-left holders (HG) during a doll holding task. During a signal detection task they were then asked to detect the emotional baby faces in a series of baby portraits with neutral and emotional facial expressions, presented either to the left or the right visual field (VFP). ANOVA revealed a significant HGxVFP interaction on response bias data (p<.05). Response bias was lowest when emotional baby faces were presented in the visual field of cradling side preference, suggesting th... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2200267 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2200267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2187467&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19216017%26dopt%3DAbstract This study examined the temporal characteristics of event-related brain electrical activity associated with the processing of spatial memories derived from linguistic and tactile information. Participants learned a map by (1) reading a text description of the map, (2) touching a wooden topological representation of the map (hidden from view), or (3) both. Subsequently, the participants' ability to use their spatial knowledge was tested in a spatial orientation task. Differential patterns of brain activity as a function of encoding modality were found at the very early (preconscious) stages of processing. In contrast, an analysis of behavioral performance revealed no differences between the encoding groups. A model of spatial memory retrieval is presented to account for the findings. PM... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2187467 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2187467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2172572&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19201515%26dopt%3DAbstract The objective of this study was to examine response inhibition- and feedback-related neural activity in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using event-related functional MRI. Sixteen male adults with ADHD and 13 healthy/normal controls participated in this study and performed a modified Go/NoGo task. Behaviourally, attention and inhibition problems in the ADHD group were observed; no feedback-related differences between the groups were detected. The neuroimaging data showed that the ADHD group displayed more activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and putamen during response inhibition. During feedback-related processes, the ADHD group displayed less activation in the inferior frontal/orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus/nucleus accumbens, and caudate nucleus, but mo... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2172572 Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2172572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2172573&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19200632%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cornejo C, Simonetti F, Ibáñez A, Aldunate N, Ceric F, López V, Núñez RE In recent years, studies have suggested that gestures influence comprehension of linguistic expressions, for example, eliciting an N400 component in response to a speech/gesture mismatch. In this paper, we investigate the role of gestural information in the understanding of metaphors. Event related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants viewed video clips of an actor uttering metaphorical expressions and producing bodily gestures that were congruent or incongruent with the metaphorical meaning of such expressions. This modality of stimuli presentation allows a more ecological approach to meaning integration. When ERPs were calculated using gesture stroke as time-lock e... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2172573 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2172573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2156204&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19185406%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stevens MC Developmental cognitive neuroscience is a rapidly growing field that examines the relationships between biological development and cognitive ability. In the past decade, there has been ongoing refinement of concepts and methodology related to the study of 'functional connectivity' among distributed brain regions believed to underlie cognition and behavioral control. Due to the recent availability of relatively easy-to-use tools for functional connectivity analysis, there has been a sharp upsurge of studies that seek to characterize normal and psychopathologically abnormal brain functional integration. However, relatively few studies have applied functional and effective connectivity analysis techniques to developmental cognitive neuroscience. Functional and effectiv... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2156204 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2156204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2156203&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19185407%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: van Deursen JA, Vuurman EF, Smits LL, Verhey FR, Riedel WJ BACKGROUND: Decreased speed of information processing is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Recent studies suggest that response speed (RS) measures are very sensitive indicators of changes in longitudinal follow-up studies. Insight into the psycho-physiological underpinnings of slowed RS can be provided by measuring the associated event-related potentials (ERP). AIMS: The current study aims to investigate the relation between RS and its psycho-physiological correlates in AD and MCI. METHODS: Fifteen psychoactive drug-naïve AD patients, 20 MCI patients and twenty age-matched, healthy control subjects participated. Response speed was measured during a simple (SRT) and choice... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2156203 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2156203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2137311&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19168272%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Boden C, Giaschi D Spatial frequency filtering was used to test the hypotheses that low-spatial frequency information in printed text can: (1) lead to a rapid lexical decision or (2) facilitate word recognition. Adult proficient readers made lexical decisions in unprimed and masked repetition priming experiments with unfiltered, low-pass, high-pass and notch filtered letter strings. In the unprimed experiments, a filtered target was presented for 105 or 400ms followed by a pattern mask. Sensitivity (d') was lowest for the low-pass filtered targets at both durations with a bias towards a 'non-word' response. Sensitivity was higher in the high-pass and notch filter conditions. In the priming experiments, a forward mask was followed by a filtered prime then an unfiltered target. ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2137311 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2137311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2137312&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19167145%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gandini D, Lemaire P, Michel BF Forty young adults, 40 healthy older adults, and 39 probable AD patients were asked to estimate small (e.g., 25) and large (e.g., 60) collections of dots in a choice condition and in two no-choice conditions. Participants could choose between benchmark and anchoring strategies on each collection of dots in the choice condition and were required to use either benchmark or anchoring on all configurations in the no-choice conditions (one per strategy). The benchmark strategy involves visual estimation processes whereas the anchoring strategy involves both enumeration and estimation processes. Results showed that strategy use was influenced by collection, participant, and strategy characteristics. Age-related and dementia-related differences were fo... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2137312 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2137312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2131157&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19162388%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Piquard A, Lacomblez L, Derouesné C, Siéroff E We studied the role of the frontal lobes in orienting spatial attention and inhibiting attentional capture by goal-irrelevant stimuli, using a spatial cueing method in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Two blocks of trials were presented, one with non-predictive cues and the other with counter-predictive cues. FTD patients showed a global orienting deficit, with a greater difference between invalid and valid trials than age-matched controls. However, they were able to use the (counter-) predictiveness of the cue to reduce the invalid/valid difference when targets occurred most often in the location opposite the cue. Thus, endogenous control of attention in our FTD patients was sufficient to reorient attention ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2131157 Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2131157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2131156&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19162389%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Brown S, Laird AR, Pfordresher PQ, Thelen SM, Turkeltaub P, Liotti M A sizable literature on the neuroimaging of speech production has reliably shown activations in the orofacial region of the primary motor cortex. These activations have invariably been interpreted as reflecting "mouth" functioning and thus articulation. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare an overt speech task with tongue movement, lip movement, and vowel phonation. The results showed that the strongest motor activation for speech was the somatotopic larynx area of the motor cortex, thus reflecting the significant contribution of phonation to speech production. In order to analyze further the phonatory component of speech, we performed a voxel-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies of... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2131156 Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2131156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2104322&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19138814%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Davranche K, McMorris T The main issue of this study was to determine whether cognitive control is affected by acute moderate exercise. Twelve participants [4 females (VO(2 max)=42 ml/kg/min) and 8 males (VO(2 max) = 48 ml/kg/min)] performed a Simon task while cycling at a carefully controlled workload intensity corresponding to their individual ventilatory threshold. The distribution-analytical technique and the delta plot analysis [Ridderinkhof, K. R. (2002). Activation and suppression in conflict tasks: Empirical clarification through distributional analyses. In W. Prinz & B. Hommel (Eds.), Common mechanisms in perception and action. Attention and performance (Vol. 19, pp. 494-519). Oxford: Oxford University Press.] were used to assess the role of selective response inh... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2104322 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2104322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2100707&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19135766%26dopt%3DAbstract This study investigated age-associated changes in the steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) amplitude and latency associated with memory performance. Participants were 15 older (59-67 years) and 14 younger (20-30 years) adults who performed an object working memory (OWM) task and a contextual recognition memory (CRM) task, whilst the SSVEP was recorded from 64 electrode sites. Retention of a single object in the low demand OWM task was characterised by smaller frontal SSVEP amplitude and latency differences in older adults than in younger adults, indicative of an age-associated reduction in neural processes. Recognition of visual images in the more difficult CRM task was accompanied by larger, more sustained SSVEP amplitude and latency decreases over temporal parietal regions in o... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2100707 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2100707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2100706&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19135767%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gruber O, Melcher T, Diekhof EK, Karch S, Falkai P, Goschke T Background monitoring is a necessary prerequisite to detect unexpected changes in the environment, while being involved in a primary task. Here, we used fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms that underlie adaptive goal-directed behavior in a cued task switching paradigm during real response conflict or, more generally, when expectations on the repetitive features of the environment were violated. Unexpected changes in sensory stimulus attributes in the currently unattended stimulus dimension thereby led to activations in a bilateral network comprising inferior lateral frontal, intraparietal, and posterior medial frontal brain regions, independent of whether these attributes elicited a factual response conflict o... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2100706 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2100706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2073590&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19114290%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cornish KM, Kogan CS, Li L, Turk J, Jacquemont S, Hagerman RJ Fragile X syndrome is the world's most common hereditary cause of developmental delay in males and is now well characterized at the biological, brain and cognitive levels. The disorder is caused by the silencing of a single gene on the X chromosome, the FMR1 gene. The premutation (carrier) status, however, is less well documented but has an emerging literature that highlights a more subtle profile of executive cognitive deficiencies that mirror those reported in fully affected males. Rarely, however, has the issue of age-related declines in cognitive performance in premutation males been addressed. In the present study, we focus specifically on the cognitive domain of working memory and its subcomponents (verbal, sp... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2073590 Sat, 27 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2073590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2060707&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19097677%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Schacht A, Sommer W Recent research suggests that emotion effects in word processing resemble those in other stimulus domains such as pictures or faces. The present study aims to provide more direct evidence for this notion by comparing emotion effects in word and face processing in a within-subject design. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded as participants made decisions on the lexicality of emotionally positive, negative, and neutral German verbs or pseudowords, and on the integrity of intact happy, angry, and neutral faces or slightly distorted faces. Relative to neutral and negative stimuli both positive verbs and happy faces elicited posterior ERP negativities that were indistinguishable in scalp distribution and resembled the early posterior negativities... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2060707 Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2060707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2060705&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19101064%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ally BA, Gold CA, Budson AE There is a need to investigate exactly how memory breaks down in the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Examining what aspects of memorial processing remain relatively intact early in the disease process will allow us to develop behavioral interventions and possible drug therapies focused on these intact processes. Several recent studies have worked to understand the processes of recollection and familiarity in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and very mild AD. Although there is general agreement that these patient groups are relatively unable to use recollection to support veridical recognition decisions, there has been some question as to how well these patients can use familiarity. The current study used receiver operating character... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2060705 Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2060705 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2060704&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19101065%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we analyzed the ERP correlates of negative priming by using an experimental global context which, similar to the NP standard context, included Attended repetition trials. In addition, we presented relevant stimuli in separate blocks instead of the more usual randomized design. The NP effect can be biased by strategies adopted by participants when attended and ignored repetition trials are presented randomly. Specifically, we observed an enhanced N2 when a distractor from the previous trial became the target in the next trial. It is supposed that this finding reflects the involvement of additional attentional resources in the selection of a previously inhibited distractor as the new target stimuli. PMID: 19101065 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cogn... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2060704 Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2060704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2060706&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19100673%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chiarello C, Welcome SE, Halderman LK, Leonard CM Is it advantageous to be strongly lateralized? The current study investigated this question by examining the relationship between visual field asymmetries for lexical tasks and reading performance in a sample of 200 young adults. Larger visual field asymmetries were associated with better reading performance, but this relationship was obtained primarily in those with strong and consistent hand preferences. Among mixed handers, variation in visual field asymmetry accounted for little or no variance in reading skill. In addition, correlations between visual field asymmetry and reading performance were observed for word recognition tasks, but not for tasks requiring controlled semantic retrieval. The results are consistent with th... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2060706 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2060706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2046386&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19070951%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Iachini T, Ruggiero G, Conson M, Trojano L The purpose of this paper was to verify whether left and right parietal brain lesions may selectively impair egocentric and allocentric processing of spatial information in near/far spaces. Two Right-Brain-Damaged (RBD), 2 Left-Brain-Damaged (LBD) patients (not affected by neglect or language disturbances) and eight normal controls were submitted to the Ego-Allo Task requiring distance judgments computed according to egocentric or allocentric frames of reference in near/far spaces. Subjects also completed a general neuropsychological assessment and the following visuospatial tasks: reproduction of the Rey-Osterreith figure, line length judgement, point position identification, mental rotation, mental construction, line length memory, ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2046386 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2046386 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2046384&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19084315%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: O'Hearn K, Courtney S, Street W, Landau B Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with impaired visuospatial representations subserved by the dorsal stream and relatively strong object recognition abilities subserved by the ventral stream. There is conflicting evidence on whether this uneven pattern in WS extends to working memory (WM). The present studies provide a new perspective, testing WM for a single stimulus using a delayed recognition paradigm in individuals with WS and typically developing children matched for mental age (MA matches). In three experiments, participants judged whether a second stimulus 'matched' an initial sample, either in location or identity. We first examined memory for faces, houses and locations using a 5s delay (Experi... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2046384 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2046384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2046385&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19081169%26dopt%3DAbstract This study investigates the impact of preterm birth on later dorsal- and ventral-stream functioning. An atypical pattern of performance was found for preterm children relative to full-term controls, but in the dorsal-drawing task only. These findings suggest that the number of gestational weeks does affect dorsal-stream functioning, even after more than 6 years of favorable environmental conditions in healthy preterm children. PMID: 19081169 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2046385 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2046385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990276&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19028265%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hutton SB The saccadic eye movement system provides researchers with a powerful tool with which to explore the cognitive control of behaviour. It is a behavioural system whose limited output can be measured with exceptional precision, and whose input can be controlled and manipulated in subtle ways. A range of cognitive processes (notably those involved in working memory and attention) have been shown to influence saccade parameters. Researchers interested in the relationship between cognitive function and psychiatric disorders have made extensive use of saccadic eye movement tasks to draw inferences as to the cognitive deficits associated with particular psychopathologies. The purpose of this review is to provide researchers with an overview of the research literature documen... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990276 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:43:09 +0100 1990276 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990275&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19028266%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Reilly JL, Lencer R, Bishop JR, Keedy S, Sweeney JA The increasing use of eye movement paradigms to assess the functional integrity of brain systems involved in sensorimotor and cognitive processing in clinical disorders requires greater attention to effects of pharmacological treatments on these systems. This is needed to better differentiate disease and medication effects in clinical samples, to learn about neurochemical systems relevant for identified disturbances, and to facilitate identification of oculomotor biomarkers of pharmacological effects. In this review, studies of pharmacologic treatment effects on eye movements in healthy individuals are summarized and the sensitivity of eye movements to a variety of pharmacological manipulations is established. Primary finding... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990275 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:43:04 +0100 1990275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980403&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19019523%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cousin E, Perrone M, Baciu M This behavioral study aimed at assessing the effect of two variables on the degree of hemispheric specialization for language. One of them was the grapho-phonemic translation (transformation) (letter-sound mapping) and the other was the participants'gender. The experiment was conducted with healthy volunteers. A divided visual field procedure has been used to perform a phoneme detection task implying either regular (transparent) grapho-phonemic translation (letter-sound mapping consistency) or irregular (non-transparent) grapho-phonemic translation (letter-sound mapping inconsistency). Our results reveal a significant effect of grapho-phonemic translation on the degree of hemispheric dominance for language. The phoneme detection on items with trans... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980403 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1980403 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1960312&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19004537%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sharpe JA Smooth pursuit impairment is recognized clinically by the presence of saccadic tracking of a small object and quantified by reduction in pursuit gain, the ratio of smooth eye movement velocity to the velocity of a foveal target. Correlation of the site of brain lesions, identified by imaging or neuropathological examination, with defective smooth pursuit determines brain structures that are necessary for smooth pursuit. Paretic, low gain, pursuit occurs toward the side of lesions at the junction of the parietal, occipital and temporal lobes (area V5), the frontal eye field and their subcortical projections, including the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the midbrain and the basal pontine nuclei. Paresis of ipsiversive pursuit also results from damage to the ve... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1960312 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1960312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1960311&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19006643%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tanaka K, Quadros AC, Santos RF, Stella F, Gobbi LT, Gobbi S The benefits of physical exercise on cognitive functioning have been reported in the literature, but the potential benefits to slow the eventual decline in executive functioning (EF) caused by neurodegeneration from Parkinson's Disease (PD) have rarely been studied. Thus the objective of this study was to analyze the effects of a multimodal physical exercise program on EF in older people with Parkinson's disease. The EF of the older people was evaluated by neuropsychological testing, and for confounding variables such as attention, depressive symptoms and anxiety, before and after intervention. The 20 participants were assigned into Control (CG) and Trained (TG) Groups. The TG participated in generalized physical tra... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1960311 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1960311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951509&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18996634%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Holmes A, Franklin A, Clifford A, Davies I The aim of this investigation was to examine the time course and the relative contributions of perceptual and post-perceptual processes to categorical perception (CP) of color. A visual oddball task was used with standard and deviant stimuli from same (within-category) or different (between-category) categories, with chromatic separations for within- and between-category stimuli equated in Munsell Hue. CP was found on a behavioral version of the task, with faster RTs and greater accuracy for between- compared to within-category stimuli. On a neurophysiological version of the task, event-related potentials (ERPs) showed earlier latencies for P1 and N1 components at posterior locations to between- relative to within-category deviants, p... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951509 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1951509 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1938751&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18980790%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Koscik T, O'Leary D, Moser DJ, Andreasen NC, Nopoulos P Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of the human brain have reported evidence for sexual dimorphism. In addition to sex differences in overall cerebral volume, differences in the proportion of gray matter (GM) to white matter (WM) volume have been observed, particularly in the parietal lobe. To our knowledge there have been no studies examining the relationship between the sex differences in parietal lobe structure and function. The parietal lobe is thought to be involved in spatial ability, and particularly involved in mental rotation. The purpose of this study is to examine whether sex differences in parietal lobe structure are present, and if present to relate these differences to performance on the men... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1938751 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1938751 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933858&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18977578%26dopt%3DAbstract This study examined factors influencing motor overflow in 17 children (8-11 years), and 17 adults (18-35 years). Participants performed a finger pressing task by exerting either 33% or 66% of their maximal force output using their dominant or non-dominant hand. Attention was manipulated by tactile stimulation to one or both hands. Overflow relative to the target force was greater in children compared to adults, and at the lower target force for both groups, but was not influenced by attentional stimulation. Childhood overflow was greater when the left-hand performed the task. Although an immature motor system may underlie an inability to suppress involuntary movement, childhood overflow may provide motor stabilization. PMID: 18977578 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain a... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933858 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1933858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933859&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18977064%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Vladeanu M, Bourne VJ The way in which the semantic information associated with people is organised in the brain is still unclear. Most evidence suggests either bilateral or left hemisphere lateralisation. In this paper we use a lateralised semantic priming paradigm to further examine this neuropsychological organisation. A clear semantic priming effect was found with greater priming occurring when semantically related prime faces were presented to the left visual field than when presented to the right visual field. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed in terms of the bilateral distribution of different classes of semantic information, a possible role of associative processes within semantic priming and interhemispheric transfer. PMID: 18977064 [PubMed - as... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933859 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1933859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933860&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18976850%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study we tested whether neurologically healthy participants had greater difficulties in imitating transitive actions with respect to intransitive actions. Consistent with the prediction, subjects imitated intransitive better than transitive gestures. The ease of imitation of intransitive actions supports the complexity account of apraxic impairments. PMID: 18976850 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933860 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1933860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1914303&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18951674%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Knox L, Douglas J There is considerable evidence that individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience problems interpreting the emotional state of others. However, the functional implications of these changes have not been fully investigated. A study of 13 individuals with severe TBI and an equal number of matched controls found that TBI participants had significantly more difficulty interpreting facial expression and matching emotions to social situations. A significant relationship was also established between social integration and ability to interpret facial expression for TBI participants. These results support the inclusion of therapy targeting this area within rehabilitation programs for individuals with TBI. PMID: 18951674 [PubMed - as supplied by publishe... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1914303 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1914303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1914304&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18950928%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Geday J, Gjedde A Attention deactivates the inferior medial prefrontal cortex (IMPC), but it is uncertain if emotions can attenuate this deactivation. To test the extent to which common emotions interfere with attention, we measured changes of a blood flow index of brain activity in key areas of the IMPC with positron emission tomography (PET) of labeled water (H(2)(15)O) uptake in brain of 14 healthy subjects. The subjects performed either a less demanding or a more demanding task of attention while they watched neutral and emotive images of people in realistic indoor or outdoor situations. In the less demanding task, subjects used the index finger to press any key when a new image appeared. In the more demanding task, subjects chose the index or middle finger to press separa... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1914304 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1914304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1901182&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18940273%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Johnston K, Everling S A multitude of cognitive functions can easily be tested by a number of relatively simple saccadic eye movement tasks. This approach has been employed extensively with patient populations to investigate the functional deficits associated with psychiatric disorders. Neurophysiological studies in non-human primates performing the same tasks have begun to provide us with insights into the neural mechanisms underlying many cognitive functions. Here, we review studies that have investigated single neuron activity in the superior colliculus (see glossary), frontal eye field, supplementary eye field, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate (see glossary) cortex and lateral intraparietal area associated with the performance of visually guided saccades,... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1901182 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1901182 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1894581&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18938008%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee TM, Au RK, Liu HL, Ting KH, Huang CM, Chan CC Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested that the neural activity associated with truthful recall, with false memory, and with feigned memory impairment are different from one another. Here, we report a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that addressed an important but yet unanswered question: Is the neural activity associated with intentional faked responses and with errors differentiable? Using a word list learning recognition paradigm, the findings of this mixed event-related fMRI study clearly indicated that the brain activity associated with intentional faked responses was different to the activity associated with errors committed unintentionally. For intentional faked responses, significant activation ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894581 Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1894581 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1894580&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18938009%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Luna B, Velanova K, Geier CF Cognitive control of behavior continues to improve through adolescence in parallel with important brain maturational processes including synaptic pruning and myelination, which allow for efficient neuronal computations and the functional integration of widely distributed circuitries supporting top-down control of behavior. This is also a time when psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and mood disorders, emerge reflecting a particularly vulnerability to impairments in development during adolescence. Oculomotor studies provide a unique neuroscientific approach to make precise associations between cognitive control and brain circuitry during development that can inform us of impaired systems in psychopathology. In this review, we first describ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894580 Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1894580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1894582&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18930572%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Calkins ME, Iacono WG, Ones DS Several forms of eye movement dysfunction (EMD) are regarded as promising candidate endophenotypes of schizophrenia. Discrepancies in individual study results have led to inconsistent conclusions regarding particular aspects of EMD in relatives of schizophrenia patients. To quantitatively evaluate and compare the candidacy of smooth pursuit, saccade and fixation deficits in first-degree biological relatives, we conducted a set of meta-analytic investigations. Among 18 measures of EMD, memory-guided saccade accuracy and error rate, global smooth pursuit dysfunction, intrusive saccades during fixation, antisaccade error rate and smooth pursuit closed-loop gain emerged as best differentiating relatives from controls (standardized mean differences ra... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894582 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1894582 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1894583&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18929439%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Klein E, Nuerk HC, Wood G, Knops A, Willmes K Two types of calculation processes have been distinguished in the literature: approximate processes are supposed to rely heavily on the non-verbal quantity system, whereas exact processes are assumed to crucially involve the verbal system. These two calculation processes were commonly distinguished by manipulation of two factors in addition problems: the identity of the target and the distance of the distractor. However, in all previous studies, these two factors were not manipulated independently. In this fMRI study, we could disentangle the two factors by using a different (two-digit) number stimulus set. Both behavioral and neurofunctional data suggest that the cognitive processes involved could be best explained by the (indepen... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894583 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1894583 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1875803&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18848742%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, 18 subjects were instructed during an fMRI "line-up" task to either conceal (lie) or reveal (truth) the identities of individuals seen in study sets in order to determine the neural correlates of intentionally misidentifying previously known faces (lying about recognition). A repeated measures ANOVA (lie vs. truth and familiar vs. unfamiliar) and two paired t-tests (familiar vs. unfamiliar and familiar lie vs. familiar truth) revealed areas of activation associated with deception in the right MGF, red nucleus, IFG, SMG, SFG (with ACC), DLPFC, and bilateral precuneus. The areas activated in the present study may be involved in the suppression of truth, working and visuospatial memories, and imagery when providing misleading (deceptive) responses to facial identification promp... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1875803 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1875803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1875802&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18848743%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kwon YJ, Lee JK, Shin DH, Jeong JS The aim of the present study is to investigate the learning-related changes in brain activation induced by the training of hypothesis generation skills regarding biological phenomena. Eighteen undergraduate participants were scanned twice with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after training over a period of 2 months. The experimental group underwent eight biological hypothesis generation training programs, but the control group was not given any during the 2-month period. The results showed that the left frontal gyri, the cingulate gyrus, and the cuneus were activated during hypothesis generation. In addition, the brain activation of the trained group increased in the left inferior and the superior frontal gyri, which a... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1875802 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1875802 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1875801&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18848744%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Barnes GR Ocular pursuit movements allow moving objects to be tracked with a combination of smooth movements and saccades. The principal objective is to maintain smooth eye velocity close to object velocity, thus minimising retinal image motion and maintaining acuity. Saccadic movements serve to realign the image if it falls outside the fovea, the area of highest acuity. Pursuit movements are often portrayed as voluntary but their basis lies in processes that sense retinal motion and can induce eye movements without active participation. The factor distinguishing pursuit from such reflexive movements is the ability to select and track a single object when presented with multiple stimuli. The selective process requires attention, which appears to raise the gain for the selected... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1875801 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1875801 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1870458&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18845372%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: O'Driscoll GA, Callahan BL Abnormal smooth pursuit eye-tracking is one of the most replicated deficits in the psychophysiological literature in schizophrenia [Levy, D. L., Holzman, P. S., Matthysse, S., & Mendell, N. R. (1993). Eye tracking dysfunction and schizophrenia: A critical perspective. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 19, 461-505]. We used meta-analytic procedures to quantify patient-control differences in eye-tracking and to evaluate potential moderators of effect size including patient and target characteristics and characteristics of the control population (matched or not). The magnitude of patient-control differences in pursuit depended on the measure. Global measures had large effect sizes. Among specific measures, maintenance gain and leading saccades yielded large e... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870458 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1870458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1870457&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18845373%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Müri RM, Nyffeler T This review discusses the neurophysiology and neuroanatomy of the cortical control of reflexive and volitional saccades in humans. The main focus is on classical lesion studies and studies using the interference method of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). To understand the behavioural function of a region, it is essential to assess oculomotor deficits after a focal lesion using a variety of oculomotor paradigms, and to study the oculomotor consequences of the lesion in the chronic phase. Saccades are controlled by different cortical regions, which could be partially specialised in the triggering of a specific type of saccade. The division of saccades into reflexive visually guided saccades and intentional or volitional saccades corresponds to di... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870457 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1870457 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1865296&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18842328%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Smyrnis N This review provides a description of the measurement methods, task definitions and measurement parameters in the study of smooth eye pursuit and saccade-antisaccade tasks in psychiatry. The large heterogeneity in task definitions and definitions of parameters and its potential impact on the large variability of the parameter measures is presented. Finally issues relating to data aggregation, practice effects and reliability of these smooth eye pursuit and saccade-antisaccade task performance measures are also discussed. The main conclusion of this review is that oculomotor function testing is still lacking standardization of methods, tasks and parameters affecting its usefulness in certain areas of psychiatric research. A future research program could derive a set o... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1865296 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1865296 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1865295&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18842329%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Levy DL, Bowman EA, Abel L, Krastoshevsky O, Krause V, Mendell NR The "co-familiality" criterion for an endophenotype has two requirements: (1) clinically unaffected relatives as a group should show both a shift in mean performance and an increase in variance compared with controls; (2) performance scores should be heritable. Performance on the antisaccade task is one of several candidate endophenotypes for schizophrenia. In this paper we examine whether the various measures of performance on the standard version of the antisaccade task meet the co-familiality criterion for an endophenotype. The three measures of performance-reflexive saccade errors, latency of correct antisaccades, and gain-show a wide range of effect sizes and variance ratios as well as evidence of significa... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1865295 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1865295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859254&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18835655%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Debarnot U, Creveaux T, Collet C, Gemignani A, Massarelli R, Doyon J, Guillot A A wide range of experimental studies have provided evidence that a night of sleep may enhance motor performance following physical practice (PP), but little is known, however, about its effect after motor imagery (MI). Using an explicitly learned pointing task paradigm, thirty participants were assigned to one of three groups that differed in the training method (PP, MI, and control groups). The physical performance was measured before training (pre-test), as well as before (post-test 1) and after a night of sleep (post-test 2). The time taken to complete the pointing tasks, the number of errors and the kinematic trajectories were the dependent variables. As expected, both the PP and the MI groups ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859254 Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859254 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859253&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18835656%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: McDowell JE, Dyckman KA, Austin BP, Clementz BA This review provides a summary of the contributions made by human functional neuroimaging studies to the understanding of neural correlates of saccadic control. The generation of simple visually guided saccades (redirections of gaze to a visual stimulus or pro-saccades) and more complex volitional saccades require similar basic neural circuitry with additional neural regions supporting requisite higher level processes. The saccadic system has been studied extensively in non-human (e.g., single-unit recordings) and human (e.g., lesions and neuroimaging) primates. Considerable knowledge of this system's functional neuroanatomy makes it useful for investigating models of cognitive control. The network involved in pro-saccade generat... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859253 Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859253 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859259&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18835075%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Eslinger PJ, Blair C, Wang J, Lipovsky B, Realmuto J, Baker D, Thorne S, Gamson D, Zimmerman E, Rohrer L, Yang QX To investigate maturational plasticity of fluid cognition systems, functional brain imaging was undertaken in healthy 8-19 year old participants while completing visuospatial relational reasoning problems similar to Raven's matrices and current elementary grade math textbooks. Analyses revealed that visuospatial relational reasoning across this developmental age range recruited activations in the superior parietal cortices most prominently, the dorsolateral prefrontal, occipital-temporal, and premotor/supplementary cortices, the basal ganglia, and insula. There were comparable activity volumes in left and right hemispheres for nearly all of these regions. Regressio... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859259 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859258&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18835076%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lencer R, Trillenberg P Smooth pursuit eye movements enable us to focus our eyes on moving objects by utilizing well-established mechanisms of visual motion processing, sensorimotor transformation and cognition. Novel smooth pursuit tasks and quantitative measurement techniques can help unravel the different smooth pursuit components and complex neural systems involved in its control. The maintenance of smooth pursuit is driven by a combination of the prediction of target velocity and visual feedback about performance quality, thus a combination of retinal and extraretinal information that has to be integrated in various networks. Different models of smooth pursuit with specific in- and output parameters have been developed for a better understanding of the underlying neurophy... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859258 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859257&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18835077%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ilg UJ, Thier P Smooth pursuit eye movements are performed in order to prevent retinal image blur of a moving object. Rhesus monkeys are able to perform smooth pursuit eye movements quite similar as humans, even if the pursuit target does not consist in a simple moving dot. Therefore, the study of the neuronal responses as well as the consequences of micro-stimulation and lesions in trained monkeys performing smooth pursuit is a powerful approach to understand the human pursuit system. The processing of visual motion is achieved in the primary visual cortex and the middle temporal area. Further processing including the combination of retinal image motion signals with extra-retinal signals such as the ongoing eye and head movement occurs in subsequent cortical areas as the medi... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859257 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859256&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18835078%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Klein C, Ettinger U PMID: 18835078 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859256 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859255&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18835079%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rommelse NN, Van der Stigchel S, Sergeant JA The neural substrates of eye movement measures are largely known. Therefore, measurement of eye movements in psychiatric disorders may provide insight into the underlying neuropathology of these disorders. Visually guided saccades, antisaccades, memory guided saccades, and smooth pursuit eye movements will be reviewed in various childhood psychiatric disorders. The four aims of this review are (1) to give a thorough overview of eye movement studies in a wide array of psychiatric disorders occurring during childhood and adolescence (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional deviant disorder and conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorders, reading disorder, childhood-onset schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, obsessive com... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859255 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859261&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18834653%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Noy L, Rumiati RI, Flash T The aim of this study was to pinpoint the nature of the visual features used in the automatic mapping of perceived movements into similar executed movements, following the direct matching hypothesis. In Experiment 1 subjects imitated the lifting of one of two fingers, presented with different orientations. As predicted, stimuli which were further rotated away from the posture of the executing hand elicited slower reaction times. In Experiment 2, we verified that this orientation effect was not a purely perceptual effect by presenting the same stimuli but asking subjects to respond verbally. No orientation effect was found using a verbal response. In Experiment 3, we replaced the moving fingers by two arbitrary objects moving with the trajectories of ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859261 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859261 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859260&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18834654%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Segalowitz SJ PMID: 18834654 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859260 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1859260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1844482&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18823689%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Soinne L, Helenius J, Tikkala I, Saimanen E, Salonen O, Hietanen M, Lindsberg PJ, Kaste M, Tatlisumak T Surgery of a high-grade carotid stenosis is evidence-based stroke prevention. Also cognitive effects are reported after carotid endarterectomy (CEA): both deterioration and improvement, the former attributed to perioperative complications and the latter often to learning effect. By imaging, brain perfusion and diffusion changes were shown in subjects with a high-grade stenosis undergoing CEA. We wanted to find out if the cognition of patients undergoing CEA display postoperative worsening or true improvement in association with findings in serial MR imaging. The patients had a poorer overall cognition than healthy matched controls. The cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to the ... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844482 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1844482 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1840771&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18819739%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stephan BC, Caine D Visual scanpath recording was used to investigate the information processing strategies used by a prosopagnosic patient, SC, when viewing faces. Compared to controls, SC showed an aberrant pattern of scanning, directing attention away from the internal configuration of facial features (eyes, nose) towards peripheral regions (hair, forehead) of the face. The results suggest that SC's face recognition deficit can be linked to an inability to assemble an accurate and unified face percept due to an abnormal allocation of attention away from the internal face region. Extraction of stimulus attributes necessary for face identity recognition is compromised by an aberrant face scanning pattern. PMID: 18819739 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain a... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1840771 Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1840771 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1834492&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18818007%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we investigated the scalp recorded event-related potential (ERP) responses related to visual awareness. A backward masking procedure was performed while high-density EEG recordings were carried out. Subjects were asked to detect a familiar face, presented at durations that varied parametrically between 16 and 266ms. ERPs were computed and awareness was assessed using a sensitivity measure from signal detection theory (d'). Modifications in the electrical scalp topographies were found to reflect visual awareness of the stimulus. In particular, an early map topography was found to emerge progressively around 230ms, showing a pattern of increase similar to the measure of visual awareness. This was followed by an increase in duration of a second, P300-like map. Source localisati... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1834492 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1834492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1825219&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18809233%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Woo SH, Kim KH, Lee KM Perceived order of two consecutive stimuli may not correspond to the order of their physical onsets. Such a disagreement presumably results from a difference in the speed of stimulus processing toward central decision mechanisms. Since previous evidence suggests that the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) plays a role in modulating the processing speed of a visual target, we applied single-pulse TMS over the region in 14 normal subjects, while they judged the temporal order of two consecutive visual stimuli. Stimulus-onset-asynchrony (SOA) randomly varied between -100 and 100ms in 20-ms steps (with a positive SOA when a target appeared on the right hemi-field before the other on the left), and a point of subjective simultaneity was measured for indivi... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825219 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1825219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1825218&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18809234%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Robins DL, Hunyadi E, Schultz RT Perception of emotion is critical for successful social interaction, yet the neural mechanisms underlying the perception of dynamic, audio-visual emotional cues are poorly understood. Evidence from language and sensory paradigms suggests that the superior temporal sulcus and gyrus (STS/STG) play a key role in the integration of auditory and visual cues. Emotion perception research has focused on static facial cues; however, dynamic audio-visual (AV) cues mimic real-world social cues more accurately than static and/or unimodal stimuli. Novel dynamic AV stimuli were presented using a block design in two fMRI studies, comparing bimodal stimuli to unimodal conditions, and emotional to neutral stimuli. Results suggest that the bilateral superior tem... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825218 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1825218 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1806114&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18796346%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kuchinke L, Meer EV, Krueger F Conceptual knowledge of our world is represented in semantic memory in terms of concepts and semantic relations between concepts. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the cortical regions underlying the processing of sequential and taxonomic relations. Participants were presented verbal cues and performed three tasks: (1) a sequential relation judgement task judging the sequential relation between two script events, (2) a taxonomic relation judgement task judging the taxonomic relation between two objects, and (3) a grammatical judgement task (control condition) judging whether a presented word was a verb or a noun. We hypothesized that the processing of sequential and taxonomic relations were supported by dissociable c... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1806114 Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1806114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1802548&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18793819%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Brand M, Pawlikowski M, Labudda K, Laier C, Rothkirch NV, Markowitsch HJ We investigated the role of feedback processing in decision making under risk conditions in 50 patients with amnesia in the course of alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome (KS). Half of the patients were administered the Game of Dice Task (GDT) and the remaining 25 patients were examined with a modified version of the GDT in which no feedback was provided. Patients' results in the GDT and in the modified version were compared with that of 50 healthy subjects of whom 25 subjects performed the original GDT and 25 performed the modified version. While performance on the original GDT was superior to performance on the modified GDT in healthy subjects, KS patients performed similarly on both the GDT with and GDT with... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1802548 Sat, 13 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1802548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1797872&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18789568%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we assessed M and P pathways in 22 female fragile X premutation carriers with normal intelligence and in 20 healthy non-carrier controls. Testing procedure included visual contrast sensitivity and vernier threshold measurements. Results revealed that carriers were selectively impaired on tests of M pathways (low spatial/high temporal frequency contrast sensitivity and frequency-doubling vernier), whereas they showed intact performance on P pathway tests. These results suggest that the deficit of the M pathway is an endophenotype of fragile X syndrome. PMID: 18789568 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Brain and Cognition) Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1797872 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1797872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1790112&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18786754%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Price A, Shin JC The current study examined the contribution of brain areas affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) to sequence learning, with a specific focus on response-related processes, spatial attentional control, and executive functioning. Patients with mild PD, patients with moderate PD, and healthy age-matched participants performed three tasks-a sequence learning task with a spatial pattern that was incidental to response selection, a spatial cuing task, and neuropsychological tests of executive function. Whereas moderate PD patients failed to show significant sequence learning, mild PD patients performed comparably with controls. Neither group of PD patients was impaired in the control of spatial attention. Sequence learning was correlated with neuropsychological measu... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1790112 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1790112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1788560&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18783864%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kirk U, Skov M, Christensen MS, Nygaard N Several studies have demonstrated that acquired expertise influences aesthetic judgments. In this paradigm we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study aesthetic judgments of visually presented architectural stimuli and control-stimuli (faces) for a group of architects and a group of non-architects. This design allowed us to test whether level of expertise modulates neural activity in brain areas associated with either perceptual processing, memory, or reward processing. We show that experts and non-experts recruit bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and subcallosal cingulate gyrus differentially during aesthetic judgment, even in the absence of behavioural aesthetic rating differences between experts and non-e... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1788560 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1788560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1785758&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18782649%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tieges Z, Snel J, Kok A, Richard Ridderinkhof K The effects of a 3mg/kg body weight (BW) dose of caffeine were assessed on behavioral indices of response inhibition. To meet these aims, we selected a modified AX version of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the stop task, and the flanker task. In three double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects experiments, these tasks were administered to healthy participants. While the results for the AX-CPT were indicative of improved response inhibition after caffeine, they might also reflect caffeine-induced changes in mechanisms other than response inhibition (e.g., attentional processes). The results for the stop task and flanker task were more straightforward. That is, the effects of caffeine on overall flanker performance a... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1785758 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1785758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1782432&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18778882%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rabinowicz T, Petetot JM, Khoury JC, de Courten-Myers GM During adolescence, cognitive abilities increase robustly. To search for possible related structural alterations of the cerebral cortex, we measured neuronal soma dimension (NSD=width times height), cortical thickness and neuronal densities in different types of neocortex in post-mortem brains of five 12-16 and five 17-24 year-olds (each 2F, 3M). Using a generalized mixed model analysis, mean normalized NSD comparing the age groups shows layer-specific change for layer 2 (p<.0001) and age-related differences between categorized type of cortex: primary/primary association cortex (BA 1, 3, 4, and 44) shows a generalized increase; higher-order regions (BA 9, 21, 39, and 45) also show increase in layers 2 and 5 but decrea... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1782432 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1782432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1778890&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18774212%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Oleksiak A, Postma A, van der Ham IJ, van Wezel RJ It has been proposed that spatial relations can be encoded in two different ways: categorically, where the relative position of objects can be described in prepositional terms (to the left/right, above/below, etc.) and coordinately, where a precise distance between the objects is assessed. Processing of categorical and coordinate spatial relations is believed to rely on the parvo- and magnocellular pathways or small and large receptive fields, respectively. We employed the response signal speed-accuracy trade-off procedure to obtain a description of temporal dynamics of information transfer for categorical and coordinate spatial decisions. In the two tasks the same procedure and stimuli were used, while the instructions called... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1778890 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1778890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1759705&cid=s_34573_25_f&fid=34573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18762360%26dopt%3DAbstract This study was designed to investigate separately the inhibitory response capacity and the lateralization effect in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in the endogenous and exogenous modes of orienting attention. Children with DCD on the lower extremities (DCD-LEs), along with age-matched controls, completed four tasks that involved various applications of asynchronous stimuli to the feet or hands at various intervals. The results demonstrated that children with DCD-LEs had a significantly longer reaction time than the controls for all tasks, and were not alert to the appearance of the target. However, they displayed a deficit in volitional shifts of attention (endogenous mode), but not in automatic dislocation of attention (exogenous mode), whenever they performed the... Brain and Cognition journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1759705 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1759705