Underlying Mechanisms of Psychological Interventions in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Image-Guided Radiology Procedures.

Positive patient care and healthcare facility outcomes are associated with using various psychological interventions during magnetic resonance imaging and interventional radiology procedures. Interventions such as hypnosis, relaxation, guided imagery, and empathic communication can improve anxiety, pain, and hemodynamic stability during procedures, as well as improve claustrophobia and anxiety during magnetic resonance imaging. Little is understood as to the potential underlying mechanisms of how these interventions operate and contribute to positive outcomes.

Relationship of Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Nonmotor Symptoms to Cognitive Functioning in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Few studies assess the relationships between nonmotor aspects of experiences of daily living and cognitive functioning in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Objective: To evaluate the relationships among the Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) part I items and neuropsychological tests in PD.Methods: We assessed 151 PD patients with the MDS-UPDRS part I and a battery of cognitive tests focused on the following 5 cognitive domains: attention/working memory, executive functioning, recent memory, language, visuoperception.

Cognitive function impacts gait, functional mobility and falls in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome.

Background: Executive function and information processing speed deficits occur in fragile X premutation carriers (PMC) with and without fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). Gait is negatively impacted by cognitive deficits in many patient populations resulting in increased morbidity and falls but these relationships have not been studied in FXTAS.

Research Question: We sought to investigate the associations between executive function and information processing speed and gait, turning and falls in PMC with and without FXTAS compared to healthy controls.