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Background: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a major health problem, often with negative effects on behaviour and mental health as well as cognition. Prevalence of ABI is exceptionally high among offenders and increases their re‐offending risk. Information on risk factors for ABI and its outcomes among offenders that could guide effective treatment for them is, nevertheless, scarce and dispersed. However, there is a more substantial literature about the general population that could inform work with brain‐injured offenders, especially when selecting for samples or subgroups with similar relevant characteristics, such as lower socio‐economic status (SES), pre‐injury lower tested intelligence score (<85) and pre‐injury mental health problems. Aims: To explore brain injury data from non‐offender samples of otherwise similar socio‐economic and mental health and ability characteristics to offenders then, first, to describe their untreated outcomes and, secondly, outcomes after frequently used interventions in these circumstances, noting factors associated with their effectiveness. Method: Three databases were systematically searched for the years 2010–2022; first, using terms for brain injury or damage and cognitive (dys)function, mental health or quality of life. Second, in a separate search, we used these terms and terms for interventions and rehabilitation. In the second review, studies were selected for clear, distinguishable data on age, sex, SES and lifestyle factors to facilitate inferences for offenders. A narrative analytical approach was adopted for both reviews. Results: Samples with characteristics that are typical in offender groups, including lower SES, lower pre‐injury intelligence quotient (<85), prior cognitive impairments and prior mental health problems, had poorer cognitive and behavioural outcomes following ABI than those without such additional problems, together with lower treatment adherence. With respect to treatment, adequate motivation and self‐awareness were associated with better cognitive and behavioural outcomes than when these were low or absent, regardless of the outcome measured. Conclusions: More complex pre‐injury mental health problems and social disadvantages typical of offenders are associated with poorer post‐brain injury recovery. This paper adds to practical knowledge by bringing together work that follows specific outcome trajectories. Overall, succesful ABI‐interventions in the general population that aim at pre‐injury difficulties comparable to those seen among offenders, show that personalising injury‐specific treatments and taking account of these difficulties, maximised positive outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present an overview of studies that investigated associations between social cognition functions (social cue perception, empathy, understanding intentions) and social behaviour or social outcome following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: The literature search was conducted in the Medline, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases. Main criteria for selection were that the participants were adult persons with TBI, social cognition as well as social behaviour or social outcome post-TBI was assessed and correlations between social cognition and social behaviour or outcome were reported. Average correlations were calculated based on weighted summation of the correlations from the individual studies. Results: Of the 511 publications identified in the search, 13 were selected. Ten of these assessed emotion recognition, six assessed understanding of intentions and two assessed empathy. Average correlations between social cognition performance and post-injury social behaviour or outcome were significant for each of the three social cognition functions; poorer performance was associated with poorer outcome. Effect sizes varied from small to moderate (understanding intentions) to moderate (emotion recognition) to large (empathy). Conclusions: The associations were in line with models of social cognition and proposals that impairments in social cognition may underlie social behaviour difficulties and poor social outcome following TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, an estimated 36 million people worldwide are affected by Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. In the absence of a cure, non-pharmacological interventions, such as cognitive stimulation, which slow down the rate of deterioration can benefit people with dementia and their caregivers. Such interventions have shown to improve well-being and slow down the rate of cognitive decline. It has further been shown that cognitive stimulation in interaction with a computer is as effective as with a human. However, the need to operate a computer often represents a difficulty for the elderly and stands in the way of widespread adoption. A possible solution to this obstacle is to provide a spoken natural language interface that allows people with dementia to interact with the cognitive stimulation software in the same way as they would interact with a human caregiver. This makes the assistive technology accessible to users regardless of their technical skills and provides a fully intuitive user experience. This article describes a pilot study that evaluated the feasibility of computer-based cognitive stimulation through a spoken natural language interface. Prototype software was evaluated with 23 users, including healthy elderly people and people with dementia. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: The negative effect of changes in social behavior following traumatic brain injury (TBI) are known, but much less is known about the neuropsychological impairments that may underlie and predict these changes. The current study investigated possible associations between post-injury behavior and neuropsychological competencies of emotion recognition, understanding intentions, and response selection, that have been proposed as important for social functioning. Methods: Forty participants with TBI and 32 matched healthy participants completed a battery of tests assessing the three functions of interest. In addition, self- and proxy reports of pre- and post-injury behavior, mood, and community integration were collected. Results: The TBI group performed significantly poorer than the comparison group on all tasks of emotion recognition, understanding intention, and on one task of response selection. Ratings of current behavior suggested significant changes in the TBI group relative to before the injury and showed significantly poorer community integration and interpersonal behavior than the comparison group. Of the three functions considered, emotion recognition was associated with both post-injury behavior and community integration and this association could not be fully explained by injury severity, time since injury, or education. Conclusions: The current study confirmed earlier findings of associations between emotion recognition and post-TBI behavior, providing partial evidence for models proposing emotion recognition as one of the pre-requisites for adequate social functioning. (JINS, 2017, 23, 400–411) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In patients with depression, negative biases have been reported in various cognitive domains, but few studies have examined whether even detection is affected, i.e. are depressed patients more likely to detect the presence of negative stimuli? This study compared detection of sad and happy faces in patients (n=17) and healthy participants (n=18) using an attentional blink task. Patients with depression detected significantly fewer happy faces than matched healthy participants, but for sad faces the group difference was non-significant. The results suggest that depression may affect the detection of positive stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) plays a vital role in neuronal survival and plasticity and facilitates long-term potentiation, essential for memory. Alterations in BDNF signaling have been associated with cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Although peripheral BDNF levels are reduced in dementia patients, it is unclear whether changes in BDNF levels precede or follow dementia onset.Objective: In the present study, we examined the association between BDNF plasma levels and dementia risk over a follow-up period of up to 16 years.Methods: Plasma BDNF levels were assessed in 758 participants of the Rotterdam Study. Dementia was assessed from baseline (1997-1999) to follow-up until January 2016. Associations of plasma BDNF and incident dementia were assessed with Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age and sex. Associations between plasma BDNF and lifestyle and metabolic factors are investigated using linear regression.Results: During a follow up of 3,286 person-years, 131 participants developed dementia, of whom 104 had Alzheimer's disease. We did not find an association between plasma BDNF and risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio 0.99; 95%CI 0.84-1.16). BDNF levels were positively associated with age (B = 0.003, SD = 0.001, p = 0.002), smoking (B = 0.08, SE = 0.01, p = < 0.001), and female sex (B = 0.03, SE = 0.01, p = 0.03), but not with physical activity level (B = -0.01, SE = 0.01, p = 0.06).Conclusion: The findings suggest that peripheral BDNF levels are not associated with an increased risk of dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability, specifically among younger adults. Behavioral changes are common after moderate to severe TBI and have adverse consequences for social and vocational functioning. It is hypothesized that deficits in social cognition, including facial affect recognition, might underlie these behavioral changes. Measurement of behavioral deficits is complicated, because the rating scales used rely on subjective judgement, often lack specificity and many patients provide unrealistically positive reports of their functioning due to impaired self-awareness. Accordingly, it is important to find performance based tests that allow objective and early identification of these problems. In the present study 51 moderate to severe TBI patients in the sub-acute and chronic stage were assessed with a test for emotion recognition (FEEST) and a questionnaire for behavioral problems (DEX) with a self and proxy rated version. Patients performed worse on the total score and on the negative emotion subscores of the FEEST than a matched group of 31 healthy controls. Patients also exhibited significantly more behavioral problems on both the DEX self and proxy rated version, but proxy ratings revealed more severe problems. No significant correlation was found between FEEST scores and DEX self ratings. However, impaired emotion recognition in the patients, and in particular of Sadness and Anger, was significantly correlated with behavioral problems as rated by proxies and with impaired self-awareness. This is the first study to find these associations, strengthening the proposed recognition of social signals as a condition for adequate social functioning. Hence, deficits in emotion recognition can be conceived as markers for behavioral problems and lack of insight in TBI patients. This finding is also of clinical importance since, unlike behavioral problems, emotion recognition can be objectively measured early after injury, allowing for early detection and treatment of these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing physical activity is one of the most promising and challenging interventions to delay or prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of a physical activity intervention, aimed at increasing step count, in elderly with low levels of physical activity on measures of strength, balance, aerobic capacity, and cognition. Participants were assigned to 9 months of exercise counseling or active control. Results: The intention-to-treat analyses show that the intervention, compared to control, increases the level of physical activity, but has no significant effect on physical fitness and cognition. Those who increased their physical activity with 35% or more show significant improvements in aerobic capacity, gait speed, verbal memory, executive functioning, and global cognition, compared to those who did not achieve a 35% increase. Limitations: The number of participants that achieved the intended improvement was lower than expected. Conclusion: Responder analyses suggest an improvement of physical fitness and cognition in those who achieved an increase in physical activity of at least 35%. Trial registration: The trial protocol is registered at the Dutch Trial Register NL5675, August 1, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although abnormalities in emotion recognition during a depressed episode have frequently been reported in patients with depression, less is known about the stability of these abnormalities. To examine the stability of emotion recognition abnormalities, this longitudinal study assessed patients with unipolar depression on three separate occasions at 3-monthly intervals. Recognition of sad, angry, fearful, disgusted, happy and neutral facial expressions was assessed in a matching task and a labelling task. Patients performed as well as matched healthy controls on the matching task. On the labelling task, patients showed higher accuracy and higher response bias than controls for sad expressions only, which remained stable over a 6-month interval. Over the same period, symptom severity, as measured with the Beck Depression Inventory and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, decreased significantly in the patient group. Furthermore, labelling performance for sad expressions was not associated with symptom severity or with changes in severity over time. This stable bias for sad expressions might signal a vulnerability factor for depression, as proposed by cognitive theories of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared the speed of discrimination for emotional and neutral faces in four experiments, using a forced-choice saccadic and manual reaction time task. Unmasked, brief (20 ms) bilateral presentation of schematic (Exp. 1) or naturalistic (Exp. 2) emotional/neutral face pairs, led to shorter discrimination of emotional stimuli in saccadic localisation task. When the effect of interference from emotional stimuli is ruled out by showing a pairing of the emotional or neutral face with an outline face, faster saccadic discrimination was obtained for fearful facial expression only (Exp. 3). The manual discrimination reaction time was not significantly different for emotional versus neutral stimuli. To explore the absence of a manual RT effect we manipulated the stimulus duration (20 ms vs. 500 ms: Exp. 4). Faster saccadic discrimination of emotional stimuli was observed at both durations. For manual responses, emotional bias was observed only at the longest duration (500 ms). Overall, comparison of saccadic and manual responses shows that faster discrimination of emotional/neutral stimuli can be carried out within the oculomotor system. In addition, emotional stimuli are processed preferentially to neutral face stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three experiments investigated whether emotional information influences perceptual dominance during binocular rivalry. In Experiment 1, rival emotional and neutral faces in the background were coupled with grating stimuli in the foreground. Results showed that gratings paired with emotional faces dominated over those paired with neutral faces. In Experiment 2, emotional and neutral faces were presented dichoptically, without being paired with other stimuli. Dominance of emotional faces was observed. Fusion and low-level image differences were ruled out by examining dominance periods of upright and inverted emotional and neutral faces presented as face-house pairs (Experiment 3). Here, face stimuli dominated over house stimuli only for upright face conditions. In addition, upright emotional faces were perceived for significantly longer durations than upright neutral faces. The results provide further support for the influence of emotional meaning on binocular rivalry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backward masking is a popular method of preventing awareness of facial expressions, but concerns have been expressed as to the effectiveness of masking in previous research, which may have resulted in unjustified claims of unconscious processing. We examined the minimum presentation time for discrimination of fearful, angry, happy and neutral faces in a backward masking task using both objective sensitivity measures, based on signal detection analysis, and subjective awareness ratings. Results from two experiments showed for all expressions the mean sensitivity and the sensitivity scores of most individual participants were above chance at presentation times of 20 ms. Awareness ratings for happy, fearful and angry also exceeded baseline ratings from 20 ms onwards. Overall sensitivity in both experiments was greatest for happy expressions, which is an agreement with previous reports. The results support the possibility of incomplete masking in earlier studies that used masking to prevent awareness of facial expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Changes in emotional and social behaviour are relatively common following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Impairments in recognising the emotional state of others may underlie some of the problems in social relationships that these patients experience. The few previous studies examining emotion recognition in TBI typically assessed patients once, long after the onset of brain injury, making it difficult to distinguish the direct effect of brain injury from the effects of environmental changes. This study examined 30 patients with TBI shortly after brain injury and 32 orthopaedic control patients on their recognition of emotions expressed in the face and the voice using discrimination and labelling tasks. These patients were followed up 1 year later to examine the longitudinal development of emotion recognition deficits. TBI patients were found to be impaired on emotion recognition compared to the control patients both early after injury and 1 year later. The fact that impairments in emotion recognition were evident early after TBI and no evidence of recovery over time was found, suggests a direct effect of brain injury. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent visual marking studies have shown that the carry-over of distractor inhibition can impair the ability of singletons to capture attention if the singleton and distractors share features. The current study extends this finding to first-order motion targets and distractors, clearly separated in time by a visual cue (the letter X). Target motion discrimination was significantly impaired, a result attributed to the carry-over of distractor inhibition. Increasing the difficulty of cue detection increased the motion target impairment, as distractor inhibition is thought to increase under demanding (high load) conditions in order to maximize selection efficiency. The apparent conflict with studies reporting reduced distractor inhibition under high load conditions was resolved by distinguishing between the effects of ‘cognitive’ and ‘perceptual’ load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional abnormalities in emotion-related brain systems have been implicated in depression, and depressed patients may therefore attribute emotional valence to stimuli that are normally interpreted as emotionally neutral. The present study examined this hypothesis by comparing recognition of different facial expressions in patients with moderate to severe depression. Eighteen depressed patients and 18 matched healthy controls made a forced-choice response to briefly presented neutral, happy, and sad faces. Recognition accuracy and response time were measured. Twelve patients were retested after showing signs of symptom remission. Depressed patients and controls were equally accurate at recognizing happy and sad faces. Controls also recognized neutral faces as accurately as happy and sad faces, but depressed patients recognized neutral faces less accurately than either happy or sad faces. Depressed patients were also particularly slow to recognize neutral faces. The impairment in processing of neutral faces was still evident after symptom remission. Error analyses showed that depressed patients attributed not only sadness, but also happiness (in remission), to neutral faces. These results suggest that, unlike healthy subjects, depression-prone individuals do not seem to perceive neutral faces as unambiguous signals of emotional neutrality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Changes in emotional and social behavior are relatively common following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite the serious consequences of these changes, little is known about the underlying neuropsychological deficits. In this study, we investigated which deficits might underlie these behavioral changes. The emotional and social behavior of 17 patients with severe TBI was assessed with questionnaires, completed by the patient and a relative. Neuropsychological tests assessed recognition of emotional expressions, understanding of other people's mental states and cognitive fluency. Ratings from patients and relatives revealed changes in emotional and social behavior after injury. COmpared to matched healthy controls, the patients were impaired at recognizing facial and vocal expressions of emotions, detecting social faux pas and nonverbal fluency. None of these impairments was significantly associated with the relatives' ratings of behavioral problems following TBI, although the correlation with detecting social faux pas was relatively high (r = -.61). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with closed-head injury frequently complain about difficulties with retrieving the names of familiar people, but very few studies have investigated these complaints by objective measurements. Three experiments are reported that compared personal name retrieval in patients with severe closed-head injuries and normal controls. The patients more frequently failed to produce the names of famous persons, and had longer naming latencies than the controls. Accuracy of recognizing familiar persons was normal in the patients, even though they were slower in this task than the controls. The patients' main problem appeared to involve a disturbance in activating the stored name information. The patients' response pattern shows clear resemblance with simulations of the effects of brain damage in models for person naming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a training study, memory-impaired patients were taught strategies to improve the learning of new names and the retrieval of familiar people's names. To improve new name learning, the patients were encouraged to give more meaning to a person's name, without requiring an explicit association between the face and the name. Strategies to improve retrieval of familiar names mainly concerned ways to resolve tip-of-the-tongue states. Learning names to faces improved following training on one of the two target tests and this improvement was maintained six months following training. Retrieval of familiar people's names also improved immediately following the training, although the improvement disappeared at the six-month follow-up. Two control memory tests and a group of normal subjects, who received no training, were used to discriminate an effect of training from the effects of repeated testing and the extensive attention received by the trained group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although problems remembering people's names rank highly among the subjective complaints of patients with closed-head injuries, very few studies have examined their memory for people's names by objective measurements. An experiment is reported in which patients with severe closed-head injuries and normal controls learned the same set of words, either as names or as possessions, for unfamiliar faces. Name learning proved to be impaired in the patients. Patient recall of meaningless names and possessions which were described by nonwords was equally poor. The patients, but not the controls, recalled significantly fewer names than possessions if these items were described by concrete nouns. This last finding suggests that the patients' problems with learning people's names can not be fully explained by a general verbal learning impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most people with dementia live at home and depend on informal caregivers for care. Both caregivers and persons with dementia can experience negative psychological and behavioural effects as the disease progresses. Non-pharmacological interventions can alleviate these effects and dyadic interventions, involving both caregiver and person with dementia, may be particularly effective. In this systematic review, the effect of dyadic interventions involving community-dwelling persons with dementia and their informal caregivers was researched. This article is an update of a review of dyadic interventions up to 2012 (Van't Leven et al., 2013). Twenty-two randomized controlled trials published between January 2012 and March 2023 met eligibility criteria, representing 3857 dyads. Results of a meta-analysis showed no overall intervention effect. Thirteen studies reported positive intervention effects, 9 studies reported no intervention effects. Intervention content and participant characteristics and knowledge of the disease varied widely between the studies reviewed. Effective interventions were those that matched activities for the person with dementia to their interests and abilities and educating the caregiver about dementia and communication. Interventions of moderate length (3–4 months) tended to be more effective than longer or shorter interventions. Future studies should further explore the factors contributing to the effects of dyadic interventions. • Effective interventions adapt activities to preferences of the person with dementia. • Interventions most frequently improved quality of life and neuropsychiatric symptoms. • Interventions with a duration of 3–4 months were most effective. • Symptom severities and specific needs influence the efficacy of dyadic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Impaired motion perception can be induced in normal observers in a rapid serial visual presentation task. Essential for this effect is the presence of motion distractors prior to the motion target, and we proposed that this attention-induced motion blindness results from high-level inhibition produced by the distractors. To investigate this, we compared the extent of the attention-induced motion blindness effect with performance on central inhibition tasks: Stroop colour naming and negative priming. A negative correlation between Stroop interference and motion performance reflected that low Stroop scores, indicative of strong inhibition ability, was associated with more severe impairments in motion perception. This association could not be explained by individual differences in fluid intelligence, task switching or response speed. Negative priming was not specifically associated with attention-induced motion blindness. The results confirm that attention can modulate motion perception and suggest that the processes involved may be shared with high-level cognitive abilities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

AbstractImpairments in social behavior are frequently found in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and are associated with an unfavorable outcome with regard to return to work and social reintegration. Neuropsychological tests measuring aspects of social cognition are thought to be sensitive to these problems. However, little is known about the effect of general cognitive problems on these tests, nor about their sensitivity to injury severity and frontal lesions. In the present study 28 chronic TBI patients with a moderate to severe TBI were assessed with tests for social cognition (emotion recognition, Theory of Mind, and empathy), and for general, non-social cognition (memory, mental speed, attention, and executive function). The patients performed significantly worse than healthy controls on all measures, with the highest effect size for the emotion recognition test, the Facial Expressions of Emotion-Stimuli and Tests (FEEST). Correlation analyses yielded no significant (partial) correlations between social and non-social cognition tests. Consequently, poor performance on social cognition tests was not due to general cognitive deficits. In addition, the emotion recognition test was the only measure that was significantly related to post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) duration, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and the presence of prefrontal lesions. Hence, we conclude that social cognition tests are a valuable supplement to a standard neuropsychological examination, and we strongly recommend the incorporation of measurements of social cognition in clinical practice. Preferably, a broader range of social cognition tests would be applied, since our study demonstrated that each of the measures represents a unique aspect of social cognition, but if capacity is limited, at least a test for emotion recognition should be included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Disrupted sleep-wake cycles might be associated with an exacerbation of behavioural disturbances and accelerate disease progression in dementia. The effect of sensory stimulation for improving sleep quality is unclear. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed and all studies examining the effects of a sensory stimulation intervention (i.e. bright light, massage, acupuncture, animal-assisted interventions) on rest-activity rhythm (RAR) and/or nocturnal restlessness in nursing-home residents with dementia were included. Results: Sensory stimulation was shown to improve nocturnal behavioural restlessness as well as sleep duration and continuation, but the effect on the number of awakenings, RAR, and daytime sleep was negligible. Notable was the high heterogeneity between studies regarding treatments and patients' characteristics and sleep parameters. Conclusion: Sleep quality and nocturnal restlessness in nursing-home residents with dementia may benefit from sensory stimulation. An environment with sensory stimulation may prevent or improve sleep disturbances in nursing homes, and thereby contribute to a better quality of life for their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Nursing home residents with dementia show a rapid decline in their ability to perform activities of daily living. This decline is linked to a greater care dependency, which is associated with a reduced quality of life. Care dependency is influenced by multiple predictors, yet current research often focuses on the contribution of a single or a small number of predictors of care dependency. Objectives To examine the contribution of multiple predictors in predicting care dependency. Design The present study analyzed baseline data from a 6-month double-parallel randomized controlled trial which examined the effect of three physical activity interventions on multiple outcomes. Setting This study was conducted in eleven nursing homes in Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands. Participants In total, 85 nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia were included in the study, of which 75 were included for analysis. Methods Predictors considered were cognitive, physical, neuropsychiatric, demographic, and disease related factors. The outcome measure care dependency was assessed with the Care Dependency Scale and the Erlangen Test of Activities of Daily Living. Linear multilevel regression analyses were used to identify the most important predictors of care dependency. Results Apathy, physical endurance, number of comorbidities, and global cognition were significant predictors of care dependency. The model explained 66% of the variance in care dependency. Global cognition was a significant predictor of ability to perform activities of daily living and explained 60% percent of its variance. Conclusion The present study shows that multiple predictors (i.e., apathy, cognitive and physical abilities, and disease-related factors) contribute to predicting care dependency. Future research could focus on the effectiveness of multifactorial interventions to maintain the highest possible level of independence in nursing home residents with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Being a part of community is critical for survival and individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) have a greater sensitivity to interpersonal stress that makes them vulnerable to future episodes. Social rejection is a critical risk factor for depression and it is said to increase interpersonal stress and thereby impairing social functioning. It is therefore critical to understand the neural correlates of social rejection in MDD.Methods: To this end, we scanned 15 medicated MDD and 17 healthy individuals during a modified cyberball passing game, where participants were exposed to increasing levels of social exclusion. Neural responses to increasing social exclusion were investigated and compared between groups.Results: We showed that compared to controls, MDD individuals exhibited greater amygdala, insula, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation to increasing social exclusion and this correlated negatively with hedonic tone and self-esteem scores across all participants.Conclusions: These preliminary results support the hypothesis that depression is associated with hyperactive response to social rejection. These findings highlight the importance of studying social interactions in depression, as they often lead to social withdrawal and isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social exclusion is an influential concept in politics, mental health and social psychology. Studies on healthy subjects have implicated the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a region involved in emotional and social information processing, in neural responses to social exclusion. Impairments in social interactions are common in schizophrenia and are associated with reduced quality of life. Core symptoms such as delusions usually have a social content. However little is known about the neural underpinnings of social abnormalities. The aim of this study was to investigate the neural substrates of social exclusion in schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls underwent fMRI while participating in a popular social exclusion paradigm. This task involves passing a 'ball' between the participant and two cartoon representations of other subjects. The extent of social exclusion (ball not being passed to the participant) was parametrically varied throughout the task. Replicating previous findings, increasing social exclusion activated the mPFC in controls. In contrast, patients with schizophrenia failed to modulate mPFC responses with increasing exclusion. Furthermore, the blunted response to exclusion correlated with increased severity of positive symptoms. These data support the hypothesis that the neural response to social exclusion differs in schizophrenia, highlighting the mPFC as a potential substrate of impaired social interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: : The neuroanatomical substrate underlying Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is incompletely understood. Recent reports have implicated the insular cortex. Methods: : Two cohorts of participants with MDD were tested. In the first MDD cohort, we used standardised facial expression recognition tasks. In the second cohort, we focused on facial disgust recognition, a function associated with the insular cortex. T1 weighted MR imaging was used in the second cohort to test the hypothesis of abnormal insular volume being associated with impaired disgust recognition. Results: : Disgust recognition was particularly impaired in both cohorts. In the second cohort, the magnitude of the disgust recognition deficit correlated with reduced insula grey matter volume. Exploring the idea of insula involvement in MDD further, we identified the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex as key neural correlates of core symptoms, in that scores of 3 clinical scales (the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and the Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale) correlated with grey matter volume in these structures. Limitations: : MDD participants were clinically representative of specialist and academic psychiatric practice in the UK and presented with robust primary diagnoses; we did not exclude common co-morbidities such as anxiety and personality disorders. Conclusions: : We propose that cognitive and emotional functions assumed to be associated with the insula are adversely affected in patients with MDD and that this may, therefore, represent the substrate for some core clinical features of MDD. Further exploration of the involvement of the insular cortex in MDD is warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A striking effect of selective attention on perception of first- and second-order motion has been termed 'attention-induced motion blindness' or AMB (Sahraie et al., 2001). The AMB paradigm is based on a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task and causes a severe transient impairment of the detection of coherent motion in a random dot kinematogram (RDK). The effect crucially depends on irrelevant motion intervals (distractors) prior to the motion target. To account for this phenomenon, both psychophysical and electrophysiological studies point to the existence of a post-perceptual gate operated by attentional mechanisms that limits access to the encoded motion signals by higher cortical areas. Here, we report in a first experiment that the presentation of motion distractors reduces motion sensitivity (operationalised as motion coherence threshold) which is in line with the assumption of a temporal carry-over effect of distractor inhibition. In a second experiment, we show that the rate of recovery of AMB is independent of target salience. The results of the third experiment provide evidence against the assumption that AMB is due to a shift or expansion of the 'attentional spotlight'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial experimental evidence supports the theory that the dopaminergic system codes a phasic (short duration) signal predicting the delivery of primary reinforcers, such as water when thirsty, during Pavlovian learning. This signal is described by the temporal difference (TD) model. Recently, it has been suggested that the human dopaminergic system also codes more complex cognitive goal states, including those required for human social interaction. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with 18 healthy subjects, we tested the hypothesis that TD signals would be present during a Pavlovian learning task, and during a social motor response learning task. Using an identical model, TD signals were present in both tasks, although in different brain regions. Specifically, signals were present in the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum, amygdala, and thalamus with Pavlovian learning, and the dorsal anterior cingulate and bilateral frontal operculum with social motor response learning. The frontal operculum is believed to be the human homologue of the monkey mirror neuron system, and there is evidence which links the region with inference about other peoples' intentions and goals. The results support the contention that the human dopaminergic system predicts both primary reinforcers, and more complex cognitive goal states, such as motor responses required for human social group interaction. Dysfunction of such a mechanism might be associated with abnormal affective responses and incorrect social predictions, as occur in psychiatric disorders. Hum Brain Mapp 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In contrast to the visual spatial domain, the effect of attention on sensory processing and stimulus appearance in temporal selection tasks is still controversial. Using a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) procedure, we examined whether the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between a color cue and a motion target affects the appearance of the latter. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) recorded simultaneously allowed us to test whether a change in the targets'' appearance is associated with a modulation of the sensory ERP components. In the experimental condition ‘SOA’, the temporal interval between the cue and the target was varied between 0 and 300 ms. In a control condition, the physical appearance of the motion target was varied (level of coherence: 25–100%) while holding the cue–target SOA constant (300 ms). In trials when the participant detected the target motion, his/her task was to report the strength of the perceived motion on a 5-point scale. In both conditions, the mean rating of the target''s appearance increased monotonically with increasing SOA and the level of coherence, respectively. The psychophysical ratings were associated with an increase of a negative deflection about 200 ms (N200) related to the sensory processing of visual motion. The physical variation of motion coherence and the variation of the cue–target SOA affected the N200 response in similar fashion. These results indicate that sensory processing is also modulated by attentional resources in temporal selection tasks which – in turn – affect the appearance of the relevant target stimulus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is growing evidence that motion perception is modulated by visual selective attention. In the ‘attention-induced motion blindness’ paradigm the detection of coherent motion in a random dot kinematogram (RDK) is impaired in a rapid serial presentation task [Sahraie, A., Milders, M., & Niedeggen, M. (2001). Attention induced motion blindness. Vision Research, 41, 1613–1617]. The effect depends on irrelevant motion episodes (distractors) prior to the target. In this study, we show that both the number and timing of distractors affect detection performance, allowing for implications on the build-up and release of inhibition. Furthermore, we rule out the possibility that subjects falsely classify targets as distractors due to uncertainty of temporal order. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Neurobiological studies of visual awareness usually focus on the neural events elicited by perceived or nonperceived stimuli but neglect the preexisting conditions that allow (or prevent) conscious perception. We have examined the conditions that lead to temporary motion blindness in a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm, in which subjects have to detect coherent motion in the peripheral stream after a cue (a red fixation point) in the central stream. The failure of awareness depends critically on the occurrence of similar coherent motion events (probes) before the cue. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded to track the processing of motion distractors, which determine the prerequisites for this transient deficit. Analysis of motion-evoked responses revealed that there is no progressive reduction in sensitivity in early visual processing. There is, however, a progressive increase in amplitude of a negative wave over the frontal cortex at approximately 250 msec after motion onset and a corresponding reduction of a centro-parietal positivity at approximately 350 msec with an increasing number of distractors. We propose that these nonsensory ERP components reflect a postperceptual frontal gating mechanism that controls the access of visual stimuli to higher order evaluation and conscious detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent psychophysical studies have revealed attentional modulation of visual motion perception and interest now focuses on the locus of this interaction. Using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) we examined whether transient motion blindness evoked in a dual task [Vision Res. 41 (2001) 1613–1617] is related to a selection process occurring at the stage of sensory processing or at a higher level. In our paradigm, a particular change of colour of the fixation point cued the subject to detect a brief episode of coherent random dot motion embedded in a succession of episodes of incoherent motion. Detection of the coherent motion was significantly impaired when it occurred simultaneously with the colour cue, and recovered over the subsequent 300 ms. This functional relationship was reflected in the amplitude of a sensory, motion-evoked component (N200), and in a late positive complex (P300). However, a direct comparison of ERPs produced by stimuli that were detected or missed revealed differences only in the P300 component. These results indicate that attenuation of sensory motion processing does not account for this transient, attention-induced deficit in visual motion perception. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To examine the predictors associated with quality of life of nursing home residents with dementia, in order to identify which predictors are most important and hold most promise for future intervention studies. Methods/Design: This cross-sectional analysis of data collected in two intervention trials included 143 participants with moderate to severe dementia who resided in 40 psychogeriatric wards in 13 nursing homes. The outcome measure quality of life was assessed with the Qualidem. Predictors examined were demographic factors, cognition, mood, behavioral problems, and comorbid conditions. Results: Linear mixed regression analyses showed that all nine domains of quality of life showed independent (negative) associations with either depression, agitation, apathy, or a combination of these predictors. Agitation, apathy, depression, and the presence of neurological disease explained 50% of the variance in total quality of life. Male gender, psychiatric/mood disorders, and having one or more comorbid conditions was associated with worse social relations, while the presence of comorbid neurological diseases was associated with more social isolation and a worse care relationship. The presence of endocrine/metabolic disorders and pulmonary disorders was associated with less restless tense behavior. Conclusions: Different domains of quality of life showed different associations, confirming the multidimensionality of quality of life in nursing home residents with dementia. Quality of life is independently associated with mood and behavioral problems, comorbid conditions, and gender. This knowledge may help to identify older persons at risk of a lower quality of life, and to offer targeted interventions to improve quality of life. Trial registration: Dutch Trial registration NTR5641 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Various computational models such as Temporal-Difference (TD) [1] and Kalman filter [2] have been developed to study the behaviour of animals during learning about rewards and punishments. Recent studies have shown TD related prediction error (PE) signals in the ventral striatum (VS), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and anterior cingulate [3]. These brain regions are repeatedly reported to be both structurally and functionally abnormal in depressive illness [4]. Consequently, it was hypothesised that such abnormalities may be associated with abnormal PE signals in depressed patients. Materials and methods 15 healthy controls and 15 depressed patients matched for sex and age were scanned using event-related fMRI and appetitive Pavlovian conditioning. To explore the potential confound, as to whether the abnormal signals if any, found in the patients are due to the illness or antidepressant medication they receive, controls were given 20 mg of citalopram for 3 days and re-scanned Results Activations in the VS, mid cingulate and OFC, correlated significantly with PE signals predicted by the TD model. Consistent with our hypothesis, error signals were decreased in the ventral striatum and increased in the subgenual cingulate and hippocampus in patients when compared to unmedicated healthy controls. When medicated controls were compared with patients, decreased activation in the VS disappeared, suggesting a medication effect. However, increased hippocampus and subgenual cingulate activity in patients survived, suggesting an effect due to illness and not medication. Conclusions These results suggest that both depressive illness, and the anti-depressant medication used to treat the illness, alters PE signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]