Background Promoting brain health depends on sustaining healthy behaviors across the lifespan. Yet, public adoption of lifestyle behaviors and knowledge of cognitive decline (CD) prevention remains poor. Our multidisc...
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Background Promoting brain health depends on sustaining healthy behaviors across the lifespan. Yet, public adoption of lifestyle behaviors and knowledge of cognitive decline (CD) prevention remains poor. Our multidisciplinary team developed My Healthy brain (MHB) to promote a healthy lifestyle (e.g. diet, exercise, alcohol, sleep) and build cognitive reserve (e.g. memory compensatory strategies). Our objective was to demonstrate early proof-of-concept for MHB by exploring the feasibility, acceptability, and improvement in primary lifestyle outcomes as well as secondary outcomes of self-determination and subjective wellbeing. Materials and Methods Older adults with subjective (self-report only) or objective (confirmed by cognitive testing) CD, referred by neurologists to modify lifestyle risk factors (e.g. sedentary), participated in a non-randomized open pilot of MHB (N = 24). Participants completed the 8-week MHB group (90 min each) and pre-post outcome measures. Results MHB met all a-priori set benchmarks, including good feasibility of recruitment (71% of patients screened) and enrollment (75% completed baseline), and good acceptability of treatment (75% completed 6 of 8 sessions and post-testing). program satisfaction was excellent (100% of participants) and no adverse events were reported. We also observed improvements in primary lifestyle outcomes as well as secondary outcomes of self-determination and subjective well-being. Discussion While MHB demonstrated preliminary feasibility and the potential to modify lifestyle risk factors for CD, the program can be improved. Future work will explore the integration of mindfulness skills with behavioral principles to bolster multidomain lifestyle change, and the live video delivery format to bypass barriers to participation.
Nearly half of dementia cases may be explained by modifiable lifestyle risk factors. Multidomain interventions are needed to bypass cognitive decline (CD) and aging-related barriers to sustained healthy lifestyles in ...
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Nearly half of dementia cases may be explained by modifiable lifestyle risk factors. Multidomain interventions are needed to bypass cognitive decline (CD) and aging-related barriers to sustained healthy lifestyles in at-risk older adults. We iteratively developed My Healthy brain, a group-based lifestyle program (8 weeks, 90 min sessions) delivered via live video that applies behavioral principles to target multiple risk factors for dementia. We describe the program structure, virtual delivery, and outcomes for a group of older adults with subjective CD or mild cognitive impairment and lifestyle risk factors (e.g., sedentary, poor sleep or diet). We also conducted a group exit interview to qualitatively assess participant experiences and elicit feedback to improve My Healthy brain. This case report demonstrates that delivering evidence-based brain health education and behavior change skills in a group setting via live video is feasible, acceptable, and has the potential to improve lifestyle, cognitive, and psychosocial outcomes in older adults with CD.
BackgroundUsing the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) framework, we outline steps taken to implement an evidence-based cognitive training program, Club Connect, in older adults with ...
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BackgroundUsing the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) framework, we outline steps taken to implement an evidence-based cognitive training program, Club Connect, in older adults with major depressive disorder in an Older People's Mental Health Service in Sydney, Australia. The primary aim was to explore feasibility (or 'reach'), tolerability (or 'implementation'), and acceptability (or 'adoption'). The secondary aim was to explore the most sensitive clinical outcomes and measurement tools (i.e. 'effectiveness') to inform a formal randomised controlled trial, and to explore the healthcare resources used (i.e. costs) to assist decision-making by health care managers and policy-makers in relation to future resource *** a single blinded feasibility design, 40 participants (mean age: 76.13 years, SD: 7.45, range: 65-95 years) were randomised to either (a) Club Connect, a 10-week group-based multifaceted program, comprising psychoeducation and computer-based cognitive training, or (b) a waitlist control *** group-based cognitive training within a clinical setting was feasible, well tolerated and accepted by participants. Further, cognitive training, in comparison to the waiting list control, was associated with moderate to very large effect size improvements in depression, stress and inhibition (eta p2 = 0.115-0.209). We also found moderate effect size improvements on measures of daily functioning, wellbeing and cognitive flexibility. Small effect size improvements for other cognitive and psychosocial outcomes were also observed. The average cost per person participating in in the intervention was AU$*** findings support the feasibility of implementing group-based cognitive training into a specialised clinical (public health) setting. This trial was registered on the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12619000195156, 12/02/2019).
Objectives To examine the feasibility (e.g., completion rate), acceptability (e.g., satisfaction), and participant-reported impact (e.g., memory concerns, behavior change, goal attainment) of a self-guided, e-learning...
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Objectives To examine the feasibility (e.g., completion rate), acceptability (e.g., satisfaction), and participant-reported impact (e.g., memory concerns, behavior change, goal attainment) of a self-guided, e-learning adaptation of a validated, facilitator-guided, in-person memory intervention for older adults. Methods Participants were 139 healthy older adults (mean age: 73 +/- 7, 73% women). Participation tracking and pre/post questionnaires embedded within the e-learning program were used to assess feasibility, acceptability, and impact. Results Sixty-eight percent of participants completed the program. Anonymous feedback data indicated a high level of satisfaction with the program, the pace and clarity of the learning modules, and the user interface. Suggested improvements included offering more interaction with others and addressing minor platform glitches. There was a 41% decrease in the prevalence of concern about memory changes from baseline to posttest. The majority of participants reported an increase in use of memory strategies and uptake of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors. All participants reported moderate-to-high satisfaction with personal goal attainment. Conclusions The program demonstrated good feasibility, acceptability, and lead to reduction in age-related memory concerns. Clinical Implications Self-guided, e-learning programming shows promise for fostering positive adaptation to age-related memory changes and improving the uptake of evidence-based strategies to promote brain health among older adults.
The visual cortex predicts incoming sensory stimuli through internal models that are updated following unexpected events. Cortical inhibitory neurons, particularly vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) interneurons,...
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The visual cortex predicts incoming sensory stimuli through internal models that are updated following unexpected events. Cortical inhibitory neurons, particularly vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) interneurons, play a critical role in representing unexpected stimuli. Notably, this response is stimulus non-specific, raising the question of what information it conveys. Given their unique connectivity, we hypothesized that during unexpected stimuli, VIP neurons encode broad context signals, referred to here as task-independent information. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the Allen Institute Visual Behavior dataset, in which mice viewed repeated familiar images and unexpected omissions of these images, while two-photon calcium imaging was performed from distinct cell types across primary and higher-order visual areas. Using dimensionality reduction methods, we found that, in contrast to image presentations, unexpected omissions trigger task-independent signaling in VIP and excitatory neurons. This signaling may facilitate the integration of contextual and sensory information, enabling updated predictions.
A decade ago, the widespread adoption of smartphones prompted research assessing the effects of media multitasking on cognitive performance. Early findings showed that high media multitasking imposed a significant cos...
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A decade ago, the widespread adoption of smartphones prompted research assessing the effects of media multitasking on cognitive performance. Early findings showed that high media multitasking imposed a significant cost to attention and executive function. Here, we revisited whether the harmful effects of media multitasking persist in digital native undergraduates, in whom nearly all media usage involves multitasking. We investigated the relationship between media usage and working memory (WM) performance. Across six experiments, we conducted online and in-person testing, using simultaneous or sequentially presented visual or auditory stimuli in tasks with and without distractors to test for attentional filtering. We verified media usage data from participants' devices. In addition, because we previously observed WM deficits in undergraduates with a self-reported history of mild traumatic brain injury (hmTBI;> 1 year prior), we tested whether hmTBI participants were more sensitive to high media usage. In contrast to prominent earlier findings, the current results identified no significant relationship between media usage and WM performance for hmTBI or control participants. Bayes factors support the null hypothesis: in these undergraduates, media usage does not affect WM performance. The one positive finding showed that hmTBI participants exhibit less media usage. We speculate that early results captured effects in the "transitional generation," and these effects are now resolved earlier in development. Alternatively, the brief engagement required by various media notifications may benefit WM, in particular. More research, including various cohorts, is needed to understand the long-term effects of media integration across cognitive domains.
The brain enables adaptive behavior via the dynamic coordination of diverse neuronal signals across spatial and temporal scales: from fast action potential patterns in microcircuits to slower patterns of distributed a...
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The brain enables adaptive behavior via the dynamic coordination of diverse neuronal signals across spatial and temporal scales: from fast action potential patterns in microcircuits to slower patterns of distributed activity in brain-wide networks. Understanding principles of multiscale dynamics requires simultaneous monitoring of signals in multiple, distributed network nodes. Combining optical and electrical recordings of brain activity is promising for collecting data across multiple scales and can reveal aspects of coordinated dynamics invisible to standard, single-modality approaches. We review recent progress in combining opto- and electrophysiology, focusing on mouse studies that shed new light on the function of single neurons by embedding their activity in the context of brain-wide activity patterns. Optical and electrical readouts can be tailored to desired scales to tackle specific questions. For example, fast dynamics in single cells or local populations recorded with multi-electrode arrays can be related to simultaneously acquired optical signals that report activity in specified subpopulations of neurons, in non-neuronal cells, or in neuromodulatory pathways. Conversely, two-photon imaging can be used to densely monitor activity in local circuits while sampling electrical activity in distant brain areas at the same time. The refinement of combined approaches will continue to reveal previously inaccessible and under-appreciated aspects of coordinated brain activity.
Social search has stably evolved across various species and is often used by humans to search for resources (such as food, information, social partners). In turn, these resources frequently come distributed in patches...
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Social search has stably evolved across various species and is often used by humans to search for resources (such as food, information, social partners). In turn, these resources frequently come distributed in patches or clusters. In the current work, we use an ecologically inspired agent-based model to investigate whether social search and clustering are stable outcomes of the dynamical mutual interactions between the two. While previous research has studied unidirectional influences of social search on resource clustering and vice versa, the current work investigates the consequential patterns emerging from their two-way interactions over time. In our model, consumers evolved search strategies (ranging from competitive to social) as adaptations to their environmental resource structures, and resources varied in distributions (ranging from random to clustered) that were shaped by agents' consumption patterns. Across four experiments, we systematically analyzed the patterns of influence that search strategies and environment structure have on each other to identify stable attractor states of both. In Experiment 1, we fixed resource clustering at various levels and observed its influence on social search, and in Experiment 2, we observed the influence of social search on resource distribution. In both these experiments we found that increasing levels of one variable produced increases in the other;however, at very high levels of the manipulated variable, the dependent variable tended to fall. Finally in Experiments 3 and 4, we studied the dynamics that arose when resource clustering and social search could both change and mutually influence each other, finding that low levels of social search and clustering were stable attractor states. Our simple 2D model yielded results that qualitatively resemble those across a wide range of search domains (from physical search for food to abstract search for information), highlighting some stable outcomes of mutually interacting
This paper discusses the relationship between monitoring, control, conscious awareness, and attention in language production. Instead of focusing on a specific theory, I will examine these relationships within a frame...
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This paper discusses the relationship between monitoring, control, conscious awareness, and attention in language production. Instead of focusing on a specific theory, I will examine these relationships within a framework that accommodates multiple (complementary) monitoring views, and discuss key differences between situations where competition is resolved internally vs. those that recruit external control. The takeaway message is that production performance is optimized by self-regulating monitoring-control loops, which operate largely subconsciously, but conscious awareness can be -and often is- triggered by the monitor. When triggered, in conjunction with the control system, such awareness can lead to attentional control of both the primary production process, as well as the monitoring process. I will also touch upon the repair process and its relation to these issues, and end by discussing some of the open questions as possible avenues for future research.
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