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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]

Background: (Physical) inactivity and disturbances in the rest‐activity rhythm (e.g. more daytime sleeping and more night‐time restlessness) are common in institutionalised persons living with dementia (iPwD). Both are associated with worse quality of life (QoL), which underlines the need for non‐pharmacological interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine if the implementation of personalised activity cards (PACs) could enhance the amount of time spent on goal‐directed daily (physical) activities and improve the rest‐activity rhythm in iPwD. Method: This prospective longitudinal quasi‐experimental multicentre study was conducted on 11 wards in 8 nursing homes in the Netherlands. The intervention consisted of PACs, a structured method for offering personalised activities based on input from (professional) caregivers. The PACs were implemented on 5 wards. The other 6 wards received care as usual (control group). Intervention compliance was checked every two weeks with an online survey. Outcome variables included minutes spent on goal‐directed daily (physical) activity as measured with an adjusted version of the Physical Activity Survey in Long‐Term Care (PAS‐LTC; observations by researchers), and rest‐activity rhythm was assessed using Actiwatch activity monitors. Outcomes were assessed at baseline (T0), and after 12‐15 weeks (T1). Result: We analysed the data of 84 iPwD; intervention group: n = 35, control group: n = 49 (Table 1). Intention‐to‐treat mixed model analyses showed no significant interaction effects of the intervention (group × time) on goal‐directed daily (physical) activity and rest‐activity rhythm variables (Table 2). One ward in the intervention group did not implement the PACs. The four wards that did implement the PACs reported diverging percentages of the execution of planned activities, even as low as 33.5% (range 33.5‐74.2%). The most reported reason for not executing activities on the PACs was that employees were too busy. Conclusion: Contrary to our expectations, implementing PACs did not show any effect on goal‐directed daily (physical) activity in iPwD. The lack of improvement in activity level might be an explanation for the lack of improvement in rest‐activity rhythm. These findings support previous research that it can be difficult to implement new methods in the nursing home environment, and underline the importance of more implementation research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.

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.

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]

Background and Aims: The prevalence of acquired brain injury (ABI) in offender populations appears much higher than in the general population, being estimated at 50% compared to 12%, respectively. Taking into account ABI-related cognitive and social impairments or behavioral changes in forensic treatments might be relevant and may improve treatment outcomes. The aim of the current review is to summarize and integrate the literature on psychological interventions or treatments for consequences of ABI in the forensic setting. Reviewing this literature could provide crucial information for improving treatment options for offenders with ABI, which may contribute to reducing recidivism. Methods: The PubMed/MEDLINE, PsychInfo, CINAHL, COCHRANE, and Web of Science databases were searched for studies in adult offenders with ABI that evaluated the effect of psychological interventions with a focus on ABI-related impairments and recidivism. Results: This review identified four intervention studies that met the inclusion criteria. These included an adult population (≥18-year-old) in a forensic setting (given the focus of the current review on treatment, defined here as an environment in which offenders are treated while being incarcerated or as outpatients), non-pharmacological treatments and were published in English or Dutch between 2005 and 2020. All studies reported some positive effects of the intervention on interpersonal behavior, cognition and recidivism. The aspects of the interventions that seemed most beneficial included personalized treatment and re-entry plans, support for the individual and their environment and psychoeducation about the effects of ABI. Discussion: Although positive effects were reported in the studies reviewed, all studies had methodological limitations in terms of sample size, study design and outcome measures which affects the strength of the evidence. This limits strong conclusions and generalizability to the entire offender population. Conclusion: Despite high prevalence of ABI in offender populations, interventions in forensic settings seldom address the effect of ABI. The few studies that did take ABI into account reported positive effects, but those results should be interpreted with caution. Future studies are warranted, since this does seem an important venue to improve treatment, which could eventually contribute to reducing recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the evidence that disrupted sleep‐wake cycles are associated with an exacerbation of behavioural disturbances and an acceleration of the disease progression in dementia, the effect of sensory stimulation for improving sleep quality and rest‐activity rhythm is unclear. The aim of the current meta‐analysis is to give an overview of the effectiveness of sensory stimulation interventions on reduction and prevention of sleep disturbances in nursing homes residents with dementia. Method: A systematic literature search and meta‐analysis were performed on December 3, 2019. Twenty‐seven studies examining the effects of a sensory stimulation intervention on rest‐activity rhythm and/or nocturnal restlessness in nursing home residents with dementia were included. Outcomes were measured with Actiwatches and/or standardized observation scales. Extensive subgroup meta‐analyses were performed to adjust for varying characteristics of included studies. Result: Uni‐sensory stimulation including tactile and visual stimulation (i.e. light therapy, massage, acupuncture, animal‐assisted interventions) seemed effective for improving sleep quality and strengthen the rest‐activity rhythm (Hedges g=.47, p ≤.01, Figure 1). More specifically, visual and tactile stimulation with a minimum of 30 minutes/day for two weeks have effectively reduced the duration of nocturnal awakenings (g=‐.29, p≤.05), sleep onset latency (g=‐.25, p≤.05), and nocturnal behaviour disturbances (g=‐.57, p≤.01), and have improved nocturnal sleep duration (g =.38, p ≤.01), and sleep efficiency (g=.48, p≤.01). The heterogeneity within the majority of outcomes varied between medium and large. The majority of studies were of poor quality (59%, Figure 2). Dementia type and severity, gender, treatment duration and intensity (light levels in lux values) were not related to the effectiveness of sensory stimulation in all outcomes. Conclusion: Although the methodological quality of the studies was limited, we found indications that sleep quality and nocturnal restlessness in nursing home residents with dementia may benefit from sensory stimulation. Recommended is to use a sensory stimulating environment in nursing homes which may prevent or improve sleep disturbances, and therefore can contribute to higher quality of life of their patients. Future research should conduct RCTs, while using comparable interventions, measuring instruments and procure, so the quality of dementia can be further improved. [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]

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]

Due to the increasing social and economic costs of dementia, there are urgent calls to develop accessible and sustainable care for people with dementia and their caregivers. Multi-component non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) appear effective in improving or maintaining daily functioning and well-being, but are typically labour-intensive for health care professionals, thus hindering access. The current study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptability of a novel approach to widen access to NPI by involving caregivers to present part of the intervention and with staff from local support organizations instructed to train the caregivers. Trainers and caregivers were shown to comply with training instructions and the direct intervention costs were low. Feedback from trainers and caregivers was positive and well-being ratings from people with dementia and caregivers remained stable over time and caregivers' sense of competence improved. The findings suggest that involving caregivers and trained non-professionals to provide the intervention is feasible and acceptable and could be a cost-effective solution to improve access to care. [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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]