Neurocognitive functioning

Accumulating evidence suggests that the brain exhibits a remarkable capacity for functional compensation in response to neurological damage, a resilience potential that is deeply rooted in the malleable features of its underlying anatomo-functional architecture. This propensity is particularly exemplified by diffuse low-grade gliomas (DLGGs), a subtype of primary brain tumour. However, functional plasticity is not boundless, and surgical resections directed at structures with limited neuroplasticity may lead to incapacitating impairments...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess the possible brain abnormalities in adult patients with moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using the mean kurtosis (MK) from diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and analyze the correlation between MK and cognitive function. METHODS: A total of 30 patients with moderate and severe OSA and 30 healthy controls (HCs) evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale were enrolled. All subjects underwent DKI and 3D T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) on a 3...

INTRODUCTION: We investigated cognitive profiles among diverse, middle-aged and older Hispanic/Latino adults in the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA) cohort using a cross-sectional observational study design. METHODS: Based on weighted descriptive statistics, the average baseline age of the target population was 56.4 years, slightly more than half were women (54.6%), and 38.4% reported less than a high school education. We used latent profile analysis of demographically adjusted z scores on SOL-INCA neurocognitive tests spanning domains of verbal memory, language, processing speed, and executive function...

INTRODUCTION: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common neurological issue following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)-assisted heart surgery. Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) increases the tolerance of vital organs to ischemia/reperfusion injury, leading to reduced brain injury biomarkers and improved cognitive control. However, the exact mechanisms underlying RIPC's neuroprotective effects remain unclear. This systematic review aimed to explore the hypothesis that RIPC lowers neurocognitive dysfunction in patients undergoing CPB surgery...

Supporting ageing in place, quality of life, and activity engagement are public health priorities for people with dementia. The importance of maintaining opportunities for meaningful activities has been widely acknowledged for those with dementia in long-term care, but little is known about what makes activities meaningful for, and how they are experienced by, people with different types of dementia in their own homes. This study used focussed ethnographic methods to explore the motivations and meanings of everyday activity engagement within the homes of 10 people with memory-led Alzheimer's disease and 10 people with posterior cortical atrophy...

Our previous findings demonstrated that astrocytic HIF-1α plays a major role in HIV-1 Tat-mediated amyloidosis which can lead to Alzheimer's-like pathology-a comorbidity of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND). These amyloids can be shuttled in extracellular vesicles, and we sought to assess whether HIV-1 Tat stimulated astrocyte-derived EVs (ADEVs) containing the toxic amyloids could result in neuronal injury in vitro and in vivo. We thus hypothesized that blocking HIF-1α could likely mitigate HIV-1 Tat-ADEV-mediated neuronal injury...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Neurocognitive deficits in bipolar disorder (BD) have a negative impact on the quality of life, even during the euthymic phase. And many studies conducted to improve cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder. This systematic review aims to summarize studies on cognitive rehabilitation (CR) conducted in bipolar patients and evaluate its impact on neurocognitive deficits. The primary objective is to explore how CR interventions can enhance cognitive functioning, treatment outcomes, and overall quality of life in this population...

BACKGROUND: Changes in the hippocampus after brain metastases radiotherapy can significantly impact neurocognitive functions. Numerous studies document hippocampal atrophy correlating with the radiation dose. This study aims to elucidate volumetric changes in patients undergoing whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) or targeted stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) and to explore volumetric changes in the individual subregions of the hippocampus. METHOD: Ten patients indicated to WBRT and 18 to SRT underwent brain magnetic resonance before radiotherapy and after 4 months...

INTRODUCTION: It is unclear whether neurotoxicity due to the antiretroviral drug efavirenz (EFV) results in neurocognitive impairment in people living with HIV (PLWH). Previously, we found that discontinuing EFV was associated with improved processing speed and attention on neuropsychological assessment. In this imaging study, we investigate potential neural mechanisms underlying this cognitive improvement using a BOLD fMRI task assessing cortical and subcortical functioning. METHODS: Asymptomatic adult PLWH stable on emtricitabine/tenofovirdisoproxil/efavirenz were randomly (1:2) assigned to continue their regimen (n = 12) or to switch to emtricitabine/tenofovirdisoproxil/rilpivirine (n = 28)...

Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with significant morbidity. Treatment options that address the spectrum of symptoms are limited, highlighting the need for innovative therapeutic approaches. Gamma Entrainment Using Sensory Stimulation (GENUS) is an emerging treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders that uses sensory stimulation to entrain impaired oscillatory network activity and restore brain function. Aberrant oscillatory activity often underlies the symptoms experienced by patients with schizophrenia...

BACKGROUND: The main data available on the safety of radiation during pregnancy originate from animal studies and from studies of survivors of atomic or nuclear disasters. The effect of radiotherapy to treat maternal cancer on fetal development is uncertain. This report presents a unique cohort and aims to determine the long-term neurocognitive, psychosocial and physical outcomes of offspring of mothers treated with radiotherapy during pregnancy. METHODS: In this international, multicentre, mixed retrospective-prospective cohort study, we recruited participants between Aug 5, 2006, and Aug 24, 2023, aged between 1·5 and 46 years, at three referral centres in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the USA...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of total sleep deprivation (TSD) on spontaneous brain activity in medical staff during routine clinical practice. METHODS: A total of 36 medical staff members underwent resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) scans and neuropsychological tests twice, corresponding to rested wakefulness (RW) after normal sleep and 24 h of acute TSD. The rs-fMRI features, including the mean fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (mfALFF), z-score transformed regional homogeneity (zReHo), and functional connectivity (zFC), were compared between RW and TSD...

INTRODUCTION: Many studies have shown that the functional adaptation of immigrants to high-altitude is closely related to oxygen transport, inflammatory response and autonomic nervous system. However, it remains unclear how human attention changes in response to hypoxia-induced neurophysiological activity during high-altitude exposure. METHODS: In the present study, we analyzed the relationship between hypoxic-induced neurophysiological responses and attention networks in 116 immigrants (3,680 m) using an attention network test to simultaneously record electroencephalogram and electrocardiogram in combination with specific routine blood markers...

Cognitive aging widely varies among individuals due to different stress experiences throughout the lifespan and vulnerability of neurocognitive mechanisms. To understand the heterogeneity of cognitive aging, we investigated the effect of early adulthood stress (EAS) on three different hippocampus-dependent memory tasks: the novel object recognition test (assessing recognition memory: RM), the paired association test (assessing episodic-like memory: EM), and trace fear conditioning (assessing trace memory: TM)...

INTRODUCTION: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder that combines hypomania or mania and depression. The study aims to investigate the research areas associated with cognitive function in bipolar disorder and identify current research hotspots and frontier areas in this field. METHODOLOGY: Publications related to cognitive function in BD from 2012 to 2022 were searched on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Scimago Graphica were used to conduct this bibliometric analysis...

BACKGROUND: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (NCD) are poorly characterized in terms of their risk factor profiles. Leptin and adiponectin are adipose-tissue-derived hormones with a role in inflammation and atherosclerosis whose function in perioperative NCD is unclear. Here, we used a cohort of older adults to examine the association of preoperative plasma concentrations of these biomarkers with the risk of perioperative NCD. METHODS: Prospective analysis of 768 participants aged ≥ 65 years of the BioCog study...

BACKGROUND: Cortical thickness (CT) alterations, mismatch negativity (MMN) reductions, and cognitive deficits are robust findings in first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, most studies focused on medicated patients, leaving gaps in our understanding of the interrelationships between CT, MMN, neurocognition, and psychosocial functioning in unmedicated FEP. This study aimed to employ multiple mediation analysis to investigate potential pathways among these variables in unmedicated drug-naïve FEP...

BACKGROUND: Digital neuropsychological tests reliably capture real-time, process-based behavior that traditional paper/pencil tests cannot detect, enabling earlier detection of neurodegenerative illness. We assessed relations between informant-based subtle and mild functional decline and process-based features extracted from the digital Trail Making Test-Part B (dTMT-B). METHODS: A total of 321 community-dwelling participants (56.0% female) were assessed with the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and the dTMT-B...

The intestinal microbiota community is a fundamental component of the human body and plays a significant regulatory role in maintaining overall health and in the management disease states.The intestinal microbiota-gut-brain axis represents a vital connection in the cognitive regulation of the central nervous system by the intestinal microbiota.The impact of intestinal microbiota on cognitive function is hypothesized to manifest through both the nervous system and circulatory system. Imbalances in intestinal microbiota during the perioperative period could potentially contribute to perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction...

COVID-19 has a wide range of clinical manifestations. Apart from respiratory symptoms, neurological manifestations and cognitive impairment are commonly seen. Due to lack of a clear consensus on the definition of long COVID a pragmatic approach of assessing change from neurological baseline has become prevalent. We present the case of a high functioning woman in her late 40s who had a mild course of acute illness but developed cognitive difficulties. No organic causes for her cognitive difficulties were found...