Cognitive mediators of adaptive functioning outcomes in survivors of pediatric brain tumors treated with proton radiotherapy.

Background: Cranial radiotherapy (RT) is associated with risk for cognitive and adaptive dysfunction. Proton RT (PRT) is a technique hypothesized to spare cognition by reducing exposure to nontarget brain tissue. However, little is known regarding functional outcomes in survivors of pediatric brain tumor (BT) treated with PRT.

Cognition in older patients with multiple sclerosis compared to patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults.

Objective: Progress in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has resulted in larger numbers of patients living to an advanced age, but little is known about the cognitive status of these individuals. The primary purpose of this study was to identify differences in the cognitive performance between elderly individuals with MS and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).

Method: Three groups ranging in age from 60 to 80 were compared: patients with MS (n = 64), patients with aMCI (n = 58), and healthy adults (n = 70).

Information processing speed and attention in multiple sclerosis: Reconsidering the Attention Network Test (ANT).

Objective: The Attention Network Test (ANT) assesses attention in terms of discrepancies between response times to items that differ in the burden they place on some facet of attention. However, simple arithmetic difference scores commonly used to capture these discrepancies fail to provide adequate control for information processing speed, leading to distorted findings when patient and control groups differ markedly in the speed with which they process and respond to stimulus information. This study examined attention networks in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) using simple difference scores, proportional scores, and residualized scores that control for processing speed through statistical regression.

Incidental learning during rapid information processing on the symbol-digit modalities test.

The Symbol--Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is widely used to assess processing speed in MS patients. We developed a computerized version of the SDMT (c-SDMT) that scored participants' performance during subintervals over the course of the usual 90-s time period and also added an incidental learning test (c-ILT) to assess how well participants learned the symbol-digit associations while completing the c-SDMT. Patients with MS (n = 65) achieved lower scores than healthy controls (n = 38) on both the c-SDMT and c-ILT, and the scores on the two tests were correlated.

Dairy intake is associated with brain glutathione concentration in older adults.

Background: A reduction in key antioxidants such as glutathione has been noted in brain tissue undergoing oxidative stress in aging and neurodegeneration. To date, no dietary factor has been linked to a higher glutathione concentration. However, in an earlier pilot study, we showed evidence of a positive association between cerebral glutathione and dairy intake.

Effects of clonidine and methylphenidate on motor activity in Fmr1 knockout mice.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), a disorder caused by a mutation in the FMR1 gene, is often associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Common treatments for the hyperactivity often seen in ADHD involve the use of stimulants and α2-adrenergic agonists. The Fmr1 knockout (KO) mouse has been found to be a valid model for FXS both biologically and behaviorally.

Brief report: altered social behavior in isolation-reared Fmr1 knockout mice.

Social behavior abnormalities in Fragile X syndrome (FXS) are characterized by social withdrawal, anxiety, and deficits in social cognition. To assess these deficits, a model of FXS, the Fmr1 knockout mouse (Fmr1 KO), has been utilized. This mouse model has a null mutation in the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene (Fmr1) and displays physical and behavioral characteristics similar to humans with FXS.