Memory cognition

Autosomal-recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is caused by loss-of-function mutation in the SACS gene, which encodes sacsin, a putative HSP70-HSP90 co-chaperone. Previous studies with Sacs knock-out (KO) mice and patient-derived fibroblasts suggested that SACSIN mutations inhibit the function of the mitochondrial fission enzyme dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). This in turn resulted in mitochondrial hyperfusion and dysfunction. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by genetically manipulating the mitochondrial fission/fusion equilibrium, creating double KO (DKO) mice that also lack positive (PP2A/Bβ2) and negative (PKA/AKAP1) regulators of Drp1...

Pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt (PQQ) is a red trihydrate crystal that was approved as a new food ingredient by FDA in 2008. Now, it is approved as a food in Japan and the EU. PQQ has redox properties and exerts antioxidant, neuroprotective, and mitochondrial biogenesis effects. The baseline intake level of PQQ is considered to be 20 mg/day. PQQ ingestion lowers blood lipid peroxide levels in humans, suggesting antioxidant activity. In the field of cognitive function, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have been conducted...

Reducing neuroinflammation, a key contributor to brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, is a promising strategy for improving cognitive function in these settings. The FDA-approved nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor 3TC (Lamivudine) has been reported to improve cognitive function in old wild-type mice and multiple mouse models of neurodegenerative disease, but its effects on the brain have not been comprehensively investigated. In the current study, we used transcriptomics to broadly characterize the effects of long-term supplementation with a human-equivalent therapeutic dose of 3TC on the hippocampal transcriptome in male and female rTg4510 mice (a commonly studied model of tauopathy-associated neurodegeneration)...

We used a virtual navigation paradigm in a city environment to assess neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). We studied a total of N = 36 subjects: 18 with SSD and 18 matched unaffected controls. Participants completed 10 rapid, single-trial navigation tasks within the virtual city while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). All trials tested ability to find different targets seen earlier, during the passive viewing of a path around different city blocks...

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabling neurological disease that causes cognitive impairment and mental problems that occur in all MS phenotypes but are most common in patients with secondary progressive MS. Various degrees of cognitive impairment and mental health concerns are common among patients with MS (PwMS). Virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation is an innovative approach aimed at enhancing cognitive function and mood in PwMS. This study aims to perform a meta-analysis to assess the effects of VR-based rehabilitation on cognitive function and mood in PwMS...

BACKGROUND: Cornus officinalis Sieb. Et Zucc. has the efficacy of tonifying the marrow and filling up the essence, breaking up the accumulation and opening up the orifices. Our research team found that CoS extracts were protective against Aβ25-35 -induced memory impairment in mice. However, the pharmacodynamic components and mechanisms by which CoS improves AD have yet to be thoroughly explored and investigated. PURPOSE: This study focused on exploring the bioactive components and pharmacodynamic mechanisms of CoS aqueous extract underlying mitochondrial damage and neuroinflammation to improve Aβ25-35 -induced AD...

BACKGROUND: Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) presents a significant clinical challenge, associated with increased mortality and healthcare expenses. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), involving inhaling pure or highly concentrated oxygen under pressures exceeding one atmosphere, has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in various conditions. However, the precise mechanisms underlying its protective actions against sepsis-associated brain injury remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether HBOT protects against SAE and to elucidate the impact of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) signaling pathway on SAE...

As people age, there is a natural decline in cognitive functioning and brain structure. However, the relationship between brain function and cognition in older adults is neither straightforward nor uniform. Instead, it is complex, influenced by multiple factors, and can vary considerably from one person to another. Reserve, compensation, and maintenance mechanisms may help explain why some older adults can maintain high levels of performance while others struggle. These mechanisms are often studied concerning memory and executive functions that are particularly sensitive to the effects of aging...

A 62-year-old musician-MM-developed amusia after a right middle-cerebral-artery infarction. Initially, MM showed melodic deficits while discriminating pitch-related differences in melodies, musical memory problems, and impaired sensitivity to tonal structures, but normal pitch discrimination and spectral resolution thresholds, and normal cognitive and language abilities. His rhythmic processing was intact when pitch variations were removed. After 3 months, MM showed a large improvement in his sensitivity to tonality, but persistent melodic deficits and a decline in perceiving the metric structure of rhythmic sequences...

Many human behavioral and brain imaging studies have used narratively structured stimuli (e.g., written, audio, or audiovisual stories) to better emulate real-world experience in the laboratory. However, narratives are a special class of real-world experience, largely defined by their causal connections across time. Much contemporary neuroscience research does not consider this key property. We review behavioral and neuroscientific work that speaks to how causal structure shapes comprehension of and memory for narratives...

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, where the Hippocampus (HPC) is affected. HPC organizes memory, which is a cognitive domain compromised after a stroke, where cerebrolysin (CBL) and Nicotinamide (NAM) have been recognized as potentially therapeutic. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a combined administration of CBL and NAM in a rat stroke model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 36) were divided into four groups: saline (pMCAO - Saline), CBL (pMCAO + CBL), NAM (pMCAO + NAM), and experimental (pMCAO + CBL-NAM) (n = 9 per group)...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder that causes severe dementia and memory loss. Surface functionalized poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles have been reported for better transport through the blood-brain barrier for AD therapy. This study investigated the improved therapeutic potential of berberine-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/Tet-1 peptide nanoparticles (BBR/PLGA-Tet NPs) in a rat model of sporadic AD. BBR was loaded into the PLGA-Tet conjugate. BBR/PLGA-Tet NPs were physicochemically and morphologically characterized...

Agrochemicals play a vital role in protecting crops and enhancing agricultural production by reducing threats from pests, pathogens and weeds. The toxicological status of honey bees can be influenced by a number of factors, including pesticides. While extensive research has focused on the lethal and sublethal effects of insecticides on individual bees and colonies, it is important to recognise that fungicides and herbicides can also affect bee health. Unfortunately, in the field, honey bees are exposed to mixtures of compounds rather than single substances...

Chronic restraint stress induces cognitive abnormalities through changes in synapses and oxidant levels in the amygdala and hippocampus. Given the neuroprotective effects of fruit of Terminalia chebula (Halileh) in different experimental models, the present investigation aimed to address whether Terminalia chebula is able to reduce chronic restraint stress-induced behavioral, synaptic and oxidant markers in the rat model. Thirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups as follows: control (did not receive any treatment and were not exposed to stress), stress (restraint stress for 2 h a day for 14 consecutive days), Terminalia chebula (received 200 mg/kg hydroalcoholic extract of Terminalia chebula), and stress + Terminalia chebula groups (received 200 mg/kg extract of Terminalia chebula twenty minutes before stress) (n = 8 in each group)...

OBJECTIVE: To assess processing speed, fine motor function, attention, and executive function (EF) impairments in adolescents with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) who underwent open-heart surgery during infancy. STUDY DESIGN: We administered a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery evaluating 5 EF domains: working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, fluency, and planning and primary neurodevelopmental processes (PNPs): processing speed, fine motor function, and attention...

OBJECT: The relationship between sleep duration trajectories and cognitive decline remains uncertain. This study aims to examine the connections between various patterns of sleep duration and cognitive function. METHODS: Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was employed to identify longitudinal trajectories of sleep duration over four-year follow-up period, while considering age, sex and nap duration as adjustments. Logistic regression was utilized to analyze the association between sleep trajectories and cognition, with odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) reported...

We tested if cognitive and brain reserve and maintenance explain individual differences in episodic memory and other cognitive domains from late middle to early older adulthood. We used The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging data (n=1604 men) with episodic memory measured at mean ages of 56, 62 and 68 years, and magnetic resonance imaging data for a subsample of participants (n=321). Cognitive reserve -young adult general cognitive ability at a mean age of 20 years and, to a lesser degree, educational attainment- was positively related to episodic memory performance at each assessment, but not to memory change...

Human observers often exhibit remarkable consistency in remembering specific visual details, such as certain face images. This phenomenon is commonly attributed to visual memorability, a collection of stimulus attributes that enhance the long-term retention of visual information. However, the exact contributions of visual memorability to visual memory formation remain elusive as these effects could emerge anywhere from early perceptual encoding to post-perceptual memory consolidation processes. To clarify this, we tested three key predictions from the hypothesis that visual memorability facilitates early perceptual encoding that supports the formation of visual short-term memory (VSTM) and the retention of visual long-term memory (VLTM)...

BACKGROUND: Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is a genetic multisystemic disorder affecting the nervous system. Data on neurocognitive functioning in AT are limited and focused on patients at various stages of disease. Because of the genetic nature of the disorder, parents of patients may also display subtle neurological problems. This study aimed to evaluate neurocognitive functioning in patients with AT and their unaffected parents. METHODS: The study included 26 patients with AT and 41 parents among which 13 patients and 18 parents were evaluated with neurocognitive tests...

BACKGROUND: Dementia is assumed to alter mental capacity, which may necessitate legal guardianship. However, only limited research exists on how dementia affects mental capacity, and most studies have focused solely on a medical perspective and concentrate on memory functions. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate physicians' and legal experts' perceptions on a broad range of cognitive and neuropsychiatric domains potentially affecting mental capacity and the need for guardianship in people with dementia...