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Abstract: Psychological research increasingly indicates that emotional processes interact with other aspects of cognition. Studies have demonstrated both the ability of emotional stimuli to influence a broad range of cognitive operations, and the ability of humans to use top-down cognitive control mechanisms to regulate emotional responses. Portions of the prefrontal cortex appear to play a significant role in these interactions. However, the manner in which these interactions are implemented remains only partially elucidated. In the present review we describe the anatomical connections between ventral and dorsal prefrontal areas as well as their connections with limbic regions. Only a subset of prefrontal areas are likely to directly influence amygdalar processing, and as such models of prefrontal control of emotions and models of emotional regulation should be constrained to plausible pathways of influence. We also focus on how the specific pattern of feedforward and feedback connections between these regions may dictate the nature of information flow between ventral and dorsal prefrontal areas and the amygdala. These patterns of connections are inconsistent with several commonly expressed assumptions about the nature of communications between emotion and cognition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate validity evidence using idle time as a performance measure in open surgical skills assessment. METHODS: This pilot study tested psychomotor planning skills of surgical attendings (n 56), residents (n 54) and medical students (n 55) during suturing tasks of varying difficulty. Performance data were collected with a motion tracking system. Participants' hand movements were analyzed for idle time, total operative time, and path length. We hypothesized that there will be shorter idle times for more experienced individuals and on the easier tasks. RESULTS: A total of 365 idle periods were identified across all participants. Attendings had fewer idle periods during 3 specific procedure steps (P, .001). All participants had longer idle time on friable tissue (P, .005). CONCLUSIONS: Using an experimental model, idle time was found to correlate with experience and motor planning when operating on increasingly difficult tissue types. Further work exploring idle time as a valid psychomotor measure is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additional information on basal cortisol levels in children exposed to trauma and experiencing PTSD symptoms may contribute to the understanding of the role of this axis in PTSD.Methods: Fifty-one children (30 boys and 21 girls, mean age 10.7 years) with a history of exposure to trauma and PTSD symptoms were compared with 31 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Salivary cortisol was obtained from participants during home measurements and was collected four times a day (prebreakfast, prelunch, predinner, and prebed) for up to 3 consecutive days.Results: The clinical group demonstrated significantly elevated cortisol levels when compared with the control group. In addition, exploratory analyses revealed that girls with PTSD symptoms had significantly elevated cortisol levels when compared with boys with PTSD symptoms.Conclusions: The physiologic response of children with history of trauma and with PTSD symptoms may be characterized by heightened adrenal activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regional relationships between tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain uncertain. We examined cross-sectional associations between cognitive performance, cerebral uptake of the novel tau PET tracer [18F]GTP1, and other neuroimaging indices ([18F]florbetapir amyloid PET, magnetic resonance imaging) in 71 participants with normal cognition, prodromal AD, or AD dementia. Greater [18F]GTP1 uptake was seen with increasing clinical severity and correlated with poorer cognition. [18F]GTP1 uptake and cortical volume (but not [18F]florbetapir uptake) were independently associated with cognitive performance, particularly within the temporal lobe. Delayed memory was more specifically associated with temporal [18F]GTP1 uptake; other domains correlated with a broader range of regional [18F]GTP1 uptake. These data confirm that [18F]GTP1 tau PET uptake significantly correlates with cognitive performance in AD, but regional correlations between performance in non-memory cognitive domains were less specific than reported by tau PET imaging studies that included participants with atypical focal cortical AD syndromes. Tau PET imaging may have utility as a surrogate biomarker for clinical AD progression in therapeutic trials of disease-modifying interventions. • Brain [18F]GTP1 tau positron emission tomography (PET) correlates with cognition in Alzheimer's disease (AD). • [18F]GTP1 uptake progressively increases with worsening clinical AD severity. • Temporal lobe [18F]GTP1 uptake strongly correlates with delayed memory performance. • Our [18F]GTP1 analyses are similar to prior work with [18F]flortaucipir tau PET. • In amnestic AD, weaker regional correlations of tau PET seen with nonmemory tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]