Teenagers and Alcohol
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
Alcohol use is seen as a rite of passage into adulthood by adolescents, and peer pressure might induce them to show off their capacity for drinking. The danger in heavy alcohol use during adolescence is that it can damage the frontal lobe, which is responsible for development of social skills and judgment. The question before adolescents is thus whether to succumb to peer pressure or let these critical skills develop; few might want to forego social skills that make them popular.
Adolescence is a period of significant development in the brain. A study into effects of alcohol and other drugs by adolescents indicate that heavy use of alcohol and marijuana can have seriously adverse impact on the development of their minds. Findings of the study is to be published in January 2011 as Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
“Heavy drinking may disrupt normal neurodevelopmental processes that hone and sharpen attention and executive function during adolescence in that alcohol may selectively target the frontal lobes,” said Robert J. Thoma, a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
The research involved studying a number of adolescents who have been diagnosed with substance abuse/dependence, as well as a control group of 15 individuals plus a number of persons with no personal use but a family history of substance abuse.
Read the report at Science News
Tags: adolescent development, alcohol impact, brain development, cognitive science
Posted in cognitive development, cognitive impairment, cognitive science | No Comments »
Cognitive Health of the Elderly: The Long Lasting Memories Project
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
A European Commission funded project with a memorable name, Long Lasting Memories Project, seeks to find an innovative solution to the cognitive health problems of the elderly. With a growing population of the elderly, the issue of helping them maintain their cognitive abilities is becoming a major one for society. The basic aim of the project is to find innovative solutions that enable the elderly to pursue an independent and healthy lifestyle.
The project is funded under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (ICT PSP/2008/1) of the European Commission. A workshop is planned for May 20, 2010 at Athens to present the preliminary results of the development, integration, and pilot planning efforts of the consortium that is executing the project. It will look at the full range of issues related to the LLM service, from policy matters such as ethics, to technical and scientific concerns, to logistical and commercialization issues.
The LLM consortium includes the project coordinator, Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis/Medical School (GR), and project partners, Athena Research and Innovation Center in Information Communication & Knowledge Technologies / Institute for Language and Speech Processing (GR), CEIT RALTEC gemeinnuetzige GmbH (AT), E-SENIORS: INITIATION DES SENIORS AUX NTIC ASSOCIATION (FR), Fundacion INTRAS (ES), GENIKO NOSOKOMEIO ATHINAS IPPOKRATEIO / Health Centre Vyronas (GR), Global Security Intelligence (UK), Investigacion y Desarrollo Informatico EIKON SL (ES), Tero Ltd (GR), and Universitat Konstanz (DE).
Read the full news release at PRWeb.
Tags: cognitive health, elderly cognitive problems, elderly population
Posted in cognitive impairment, cognitive science | 1 Comment »
Pregnant Mothers, Influenza and Schizophrenia Risk for Babies
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
A study of Rhesus monkeys shows that if a mother had an influenza attack while pregnant, its babies were born with smaller brains and other brain changes associated with Schizophrenia in humans. Earlier studies with mice has also indicated such a relationship.
In the study, even a relatively mild flu infection had a significant impact on the brains of the babies. While such a relationship has not been confirmed in humans, it is a good idea for pregnant women to take flu shots to prevent flu attacks during pregnancy.
The study involved infecting pregnant macaque monkeys with a mild flu virus one month before their babies were due. There was a control group of other pregnant monkeys who were not infected.
MRI scans of the brains of babies one year after birth showed no signs of direct viral attack, and no significant difference in birth weight, gestation length and different responses.
However, significant reductions were noticed in brain sizes, and the gray and white matter in specific areas of the brain of the babies born to flu infected mothers. These were changes that are typical in the MRI scans of Schizophrenia patients.
Read the details of the study at: ScienceBlog.
Tags: brain change, flu, pregnancy, schizophrenia
Posted in cognitive impairment, cognitive science | No Comments »
Ritalin and Brain Performance
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Doctors treat children who have difficulty in focusing on tasks with the drug Ritalin. It now turns out that Ritalin can enhance the speed of learning.
Animal studies show that Ritalin enhances the focusing ability and learning speed by increasing the activity of dopamine, a neurotransmitter deep inside the brain. Neurotransmitters are the messengers, chemical in nature, that neurons in the brain use to communicate with each other. It is the firing of neurons that underlie brain activity.
Ritalin does this by increasing brain plasticity, the ability to form new connections. Scientists had recognized that our brains remain plastic throughout our lives. Two specific types of dopamine receptors, D2 and D1, helps with focus and learning, which Ritalin affects.
With this knowledge, scientists consider that it is possible to develop better targeted drugs with fewer side effects. Such drugs can enhance our ability to focus and learn.
Read more at machineslikeus blog.
Tags: brain plasticity, cognitive functions, dopamine, focus, learning, neurotransmitter
Posted in cognitive impairment, cognitive science, learning | No Comments »
Language Hope for Victims of ASD
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
ASD – Autistic Spectrum Disorder – is a range of autism related problems that prevents affected persons from:
* Using verbal and non-verbal communications
* Interacting appropriately with children and adults
* Behaving apppropriately and flexibly instead of obsessively and repetitively
Traditionally, it had been assumed that if a child does not learn to speak by the age of 5, language skills cannot be acquired after that critical period. The years up to 5 are considered to be critical for language.
Researchers seeking to verify this assumption set out on a program to identify children who used speech for the first time after the age of 5, and identified 167 ASD affected individuals who began to speak only after that critical age. These children had the benefit of language intervention in different forms based on different approaches.
Speech developed in these children between 6 and 12 years of age. Once they began to speak, subsequent progress was often quite rapid, indicating that the initial sound and word production had a major significance.
Read the relevant blog post at Autism Speaks.
Tags: ASD, autism, cognition, language skills, speech acquisition
Posted in cognitive impairment, cognitive science | No Comments »
Alcohol and Alzheimer’s: A Confusing Issue
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
There is no confusion on one issue: Excessive drinking is bad, period. However, opinion is not so definite about moderate drinking defined as 8 to 14 drinks a week. Observational studies (not controlled experiments) seem to indicate that moderate drinking can reduce incidence of such health problems as heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s.
A study presented at Alzheimer’s Association Conference confirms that moderate drinking can reduce the risk of dementia in ageing persons. The study observed over 3000 persons over a period of six years and found that moderate drinkers were 37% less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s compared to non-drinkers.
The effect was similar to that observed earlier for exercising three times a week.
However, in persons already suffering from the mild cognitive impairment preceding Alzheimer’s, even moderate drinking accelerated the decline to dementia. It seems that once the disease has started, the benefits from alcohol are not strong enough to stop it.
Some factors add to the confusion about these findings. Even in small quanitities, alcohol is toxic to brain cells and some say it leads to shrinkage of the brain. Also, it is possible that it is not the alcohol but certain lifestyle factors of moderate drinkers that provide the real benefit. Observational studies cannot lead to definite conclusions on a cause-and-effect relationship.
Doctors have not yet started prescribing alcohol and might never will.
Read fuller details at: JSOnline
Tags: alcohol and health, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's risk, brain, cognitive impairment
Posted in cognitive impairment, cognitive science | No Comments »
