Augmented Cognition

BACKGROUND: Amyloid beta protein (Aβ) is a treatment target in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Lowering production of its parent protein, APP, has benefits in preclinical models. Posiphen binds to an iron-responsive element in APP mRNA and decreases translation of APP and Aβ. To augment human data for Posiphen, we evaluated safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PD) effects on Aβ metabolism using Stable Isotope Labeling Kinetic (SILK) analysis. METHODS: Double-blind phase 1b randomized ascending dose clinical trial, at five sites, under an IRB-approved protocol...

INTRODUCTION: Plantar cutaneous augmentation is a promising approach in balance rehabilitation by enhancing motion-dependent sensory feedback. The effect of plantar cutaneous augmentation on balance has been mainly investigated in its passive form (e.g., textured insole) or on lower-limb amputees. In this study, we tested the effect of plantar cutaneous augmentation on balance in its active form (i.e., electrical stimulation) for individuals with intact limbs. METHODS: Ten healthy subjects participated in the study and were instructed to maintain their balance as long as possible on the balance board, with or without electrotactile feedback evoked on the medial side of the heel, synched with the lateral board sway...

Atypical orienting of visuospatial attention in autistic individuals or individuals with a high level of autistic-like traits (ALTs) has been well documented and viewed as a core feature underlying the development of autism. However, there has been limited testing of three alternative theoretical positions advanced to explain atypical orienting - difficulty in disengagement, cue indifference, and delay in orienting. Moreover, research commonly has not separated facilitation (reaction time difference between neutral and valid cues) and cost effects (reaction time difference between invalid and neutral cues) in orienting tasks...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the phenomenon of sexual intercourse-related fear among women utilizing assisted reproductive technology due to dyspareunia. The primary objective is to offer insights that can inform the development of targeted nursing interventions. METHODS: Employing a purposive sampling approach, a cohort of 23 female patients experiencing dyspareunia and undergoing treatment at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, between July 2022 and December 2022, were selected as participants for this research...

We investigated the potential for augmented reality (AR) as a training aid for spatial estimation skills. Though there are many tools to support spatial judgments, from measuring cups to rulers, not much is known about training spatial skills for retention and transfer. Display of AR was manipulated to train the spatial skill of portion estimation. In Experiment 1, an AR-aided strategy of creating smaller portions out of a larger example amount was compared to a no-AR control condition. This manipulation was based on previous non-AR experiments where amorphous foods were better estimated when divided into smaller portions...

OBJECTIVE: Critical thinking and accurate case analysis is difficult to quantify even within the context of routine morbidity and mortality reporting. We designed and implemented a HIPAA-compliant adverse outcome reporting system that collects weekly resident assessments of clinical care across multiple domains (case summary, complications, error analysis, Clavien-Dindo Harm, cognitive bias, standard of care, and ACGME core competencies). We hypothesized that incorporation of this system into the residency program's core curriculum would allow for identification of areas of cognitive weakness or strength and provide a longitudinal evaluation of critical thinking development...

Children's heightened susceptibility to environmental exposure arises from their underdeveloped detoxification mechanisms and augmented per-unit body-weight absorption capacity for chemical compounds. Primary teeth are an emerging biomatrix, which aid in storing crucial data on early exposure to harmful substances and developmental illnesses. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the association between environmental chemical exposure and health outcomes in children and adolescents using primary teeth as a matrix...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a personalized adaptive training program designed for stress prevention using graduated stress exposure. BACKGROUND: Astronauts in the high-risk space mission environment are prone to performance-impairing stress responses, making preemptive stress inoculation essential for their training. METHODS: This work developed an adaptive virtual reality-based system that adjusts environmental stressors based on real-time stress indicators to optimize training stress levels...

BACKGROUND: Computed tomography (CT) chest scans have become commonly used in clinical diagnosis. Image quality assessment (IQA) for CT images plays an important role in CT examination. It is worth noting that IQA is still a manual and subjective process, and even experienced radiologists make mistakes due to human limitations (fatigue, perceptual biases, and cognitive biases). There are also kinds of biases because of poor consensus among radiologists. Excellent IQA methods can reliably give an objective evaluation result and also reduce the workload of radiologists...

People with intellectual disability (ID) are often subject to motor impairments such as altered gait. As gait is a task involving motor and perceptive dimensions, perceptual-motor training is an efficient rehabilitation approach to reduce the risk of falls which grows with age. Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality are recent tools which enable interaction with 3D elements at different levels of immersion and interaction. In view of the countless possibilities that this opens, their use for therapeutic purposes is constantly increasing...

(1) Background: Cognitive decline (CD), considered a precursory state of dementia, is frequently encountered in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM-2) and might even have a higher prevalence in those with associated atrial fibrillation (AF). In this study, we aimed to research if the association of DM-2 and AF favors a precocious onset of CD. (2) Methods: This study was conducted on 160 patients, featuring 50 with DM-2, 54 with DM-2 and AF, and 56 subjects without DM-2 and AF, all evaluated clinically and with five neuropsychiatric scales...

Novelty detection, crucial to episodic memory formation, is impaired in epileptic patients with mesial temporal lobe resection. Mismatch novelty detection, that activates the hippocampal CA1 area in humans and is vital for memory reformulation and reconsolidation, is also impaired in patients with hippocampal lesions. In this work, we investigated the response to mismatch novelty, as occurs with the new location of known objects in a familiar environment, in the Li2+ -pilocarpine rat model of TLE and its correlation with hippocampal monoaminergic markers...

Millions of people around the world are exposed to air pollutants, such as particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5 ) and ozone (O3 ). Such exposure usually does not exclude these two types of pollutants and their harmful effects could be additive or synergistic. O3 is a highly oxidizing gas that reacts with the cellular environment just as PM2.5 , triggering nitrooxidative damage. Once nitrooxidative stress overcomes the endogenous antioxidant system, an acute neuroinflammatory process is generated, and once it becomes chronic, it favors the formation of neurodegenerative disease markers...

Sensory processing is a fundamental aspect of the nervous system that plays a pivotal role in the cognitive decline observed in older individuals with dementia. The "sensory diet", derived from sensory integration theory, may provide a tailored approach to modulating sensory experiences and triggering neuroplastic changes in the brain in individuals with dementia. Therefore, this review aimed to investigate the current knowledge regarding the sensory diet and its potential application to dementia. This review encompassed an extensive search across multiple databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, covering articles published from 2010 to 2023...

Cancer survivors are at a high risk for treatment-related late effects, particularly neurocognitive impairment in the attention and executive function domains. These can be compounded in pediatric populations still undergoing neural development, which has increased interest in survivorship studies and neurorehabilitation approaches to mitigate these effects. Cognitive training regimens have shown promise as a therapeutic intervention for improving cognitive function. Therapist-guided and computerized training programs with adaptive paradigms have been successfully implemented in pediatric populations, with positive outcomes on attention and working memory...

The Voiceitt app is designed for people with dysarthric speech, to support vocal communication and access to voice-driven technologies. Sixty-six participants were recruited to test the Voiceitt app and share feedback with developers. Most had physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments in addition to atypical speech. The project team liaised with individuals, their families and local support teams to provide access to the app and associated equipment. Testing was user-led, with participants asked to identify and test use cases most relevant to their daily lives over three months or more...

People often fail to notice unexpected stimuli when their attention is directed elsewhere. Most studies of this "inattentional blindness" have been conducted using laboratory tasks with little connection to real-world performance. Medical case reports document examples of missed findings in radiographs and CT images, unintentionally retained guidewires following surgery, and additional conditions being overlooked after making initial diagnoses. These cases suggest that inattentional blindness might contribute to medical errors, but relatively few studies have directly examined inattentional blindness in realistic medical contexts...

This study rigorously examines Project-Based Learning's (PBL) efficacy in augmenting creative thinking within educational frameworks. It investigates PBL's alignment with psychological tenets and cognitive processes to bolster creative capacities. Employing an extensive literature review, the research scrutinizes PBL's psychological and educational merits, project design, student engagement, cognitive growth, and the amalgamation of intellectual and affective elements. Findings reveal PBL's adaptability to cognitive rhythms, its role in amplifying information intake and motivation, and its enhancement of cognitive engagement and dynamic thought application...

BACKGROUND: Depression ranks as the foremost mental health concern among childbearing women. Within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), between 20 and 25% of women encounter depression during pregnancy or soon after delivery. This condition impacts not only the mothers but also their offspring. Offspring of women suffering from postnatal depression (PND) exhibit suboptimal cognitive development and increased emotional and behavioural issues throughout their growth. This scenario becomes more pronounced in LMICs, where numerous adversities further jeopardise children's developmental progress...

INTRODUCTION: Owing to the heterogenic picture of bipolar disorder, it takes approximately 8.8 years to reach a correct diagnosis. Early recognition and early intervention might not only increase quality of life, but also increase life expectancy as a whole in individuals with bipolar disorder. Therefore, we hypothesize that implementing machine learning techniques can be used to support the diagnostic process of bipolar disorder and minimize misdiagnosis rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To test this hypothesis, a de-identified data set of only demographic information and the results of cognitive tests of 196 patients with bipolar disorder and 145 healthy controls was used to train and compare five different machine learning algorithms...