Genome-wide association analyses using machine learning-based phenotyping reveal genetic architecture of occupational creativity and overlap with psychiatric disorders.

Creativity is known to be heritable and exhibits familial aggregation with psychiatric disorders; however, the complex nature of their relationship has not been well-established. In the present study, we demonstrate that using an expanded and validated machine learning (ML)-based phenotyping of occupational creativity (OC) can allow us to further understand the trait of creativity, which was previously difficult to define and study. We conducted the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) on OC with 241,736 participants from the UK Biobank and identified 25 lead variants that have not yet been reported and three candidate causal genes that were previously associated with educational attainment and psychiatric disorders.

Facial Expressions Track Depressive Symptoms in Old Age.

Facial expressions play a crucial role in the diagnosis of mental illnesses characterized by mood changes. The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) is a comprehensive framework that systematically categorizes and captures even subtle changes in facial appearance, enabling the examination of emotional expressions. In this study, we investigated the association between facial expressions and depressive symptoms in a sample of 59 older adults without cognitive impairment.

3D Printing-Enabled Design and Manufacturing Strategies for Batteries: A Review.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have significantly impacted the daily lives, finding broad applications in various industries such as consumer electronics, electric vehicles, medical devices, aerospace, and power tools. However, they still face issues (i.e.

The efficacy of memory load on speech-based detection of Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The study aims to test whether an increase in memory load could improve the efficacy in detection of Alzheimer's disease and prediction of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score.

Methods: Speech from 45 mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease patients and 44 healthy older adults were collected using three speech tasks with varying memory loads. We investigated and compared speech characteristics of Alzheimer's disease across speech tasks to examine the effect of memory load on speech characteristics.

Leveraging genetic overlap between irritability and psychiatric disorders to identify genetic variants of major psychiatric disorders.

Irritability is a heritable core mental trait associated with several psychiatric illnesses. However, the genomic basis of irritability is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to 1) identify the genetic variants associated with irritability and investigate the associated biological pathways, genes, and tissues as well as single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability; 2) explore the relationships between irritability and various traits, including psychiatric disorders; and 3) identify additional and shared genetic variants for irritability and psychiatric disorders.

Erratum: A Comparison Between the Performances of Verbal and Nonverbal Fluency Tests in Discriminating Between Mild Cognitive Impairments and Alzheimer's Disease Patients and Their Brain Morphological Correlates.

[This corrects the article on p. 17 in vol. 21, PMID: 35154337.

Shared genetic architectures of subjective well-being in East Asian and European ancestry populations.

Subjective well-being (SWB) has been explored in European ancestral populations; however, whether the SWB genetic architecture is shared across populations remains unclear. We conducted a cross-population genome-wide association study for SWB using samples from Korean (n = 110,919) and European (n = 563,176) ancestries. Five ancestry-specific loci and twelve cross-ancestry significant genomic loci were identified.

Effect of active learning and online discussions on the academic performances of dental students.

Background: COVID-19 caused significant confusion around the world, and dental education was no exception. Therefore, in line with the demands of the times, this study sought to determine the applicability of online active learning to dental education.

Methods: This study was conducted in the second semester of 2020 at a school of dentistry in a selective university in Korea.

Association between Residential Greenness and Incidence of Parkinson's Disease: A Population-Based Cohort Study in South Korea.

It is widely known that exposure to residential greenness is beneficial for health. However, few studies have analyzed the association between greenery and Parkinson's disease (PD). We selected 313,355 participants who matched the inclusion criteria from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort, followed up from 2007 to 2015.

A Comparison Between the Performances of Verbal and Nonverbal Fluency Tests in Discriminating Between Mild Cognitive Impairments and Alzheimer's Disease Patients and Their Brain Morphological Correlates.

Background And Purpose: Verbal and nonverbal fluency tests are the conventional methods for examining executive function in the elderly population. However, differences in impairments result in fluency tests in patients with mild cognitive impairments (MCIs) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in neural correlates underlying the tests still necessitate concrete evidence.

Methods: We compared the test performances in 27 normal controls, 28 patients with MCI, and 20 with AD, and investigated morphological changes in association with the test performances using structural magnetic imaging.

Genome-wide association study of occupational attainment as a proxy for cognitive reserve.

Occupational attainment, which represents middle-age cognitive activities, is a known proxy marker of cognitive reserve for Alzheimer's disease. Previous genome-wide association studies have identified numerous genetic variants and revealed the genetic architecture of educational attainment, another marker of cognitive reserve. However, the genetic architecture and heritability for occupational attainment remain elusive.

Multiple Cognitive and Behavioral Factors Link Association Between Brain Structure and Functional Impairment of Daily Instrumental Activities in Older Adults.

Objective: Functional impairment in daily activity is a cornerstone in distinguishing the clinical progression of dementia. Multiple indicators based on neuroimaging and neuropsychological instruments are used to assess the levels of impairment and disease severity; however, it remains unclear how multivariate patterns of predictors uniquely predict the functional ability and how the relative importance of various predictors differs.

Method: In this study, 881 older adults with subjective cognitive complaints, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia with Alzheimer's type completed brain structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuropsychological assessment, and a survey of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL).

Changes in Computer-Analyzed Facial Expressions with Age.

Facial expressions are well known to change with age, but the quantitative properties of facial aging remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the differences in the intensity of facial expressions between older ( = 56) and younger adults ( = 113). In laboratory experiments, the posed facial expressions of the participants were obtained based on six basic emotions and neutral facial expression stimuli, and the intensities of their faces were analyzed using a computer vision tool, OpenFace software.

Exploring a Cost-Efficient Model for Predicting Cerebral Aβ Burden Using MRI and Neuropsychological Markers in the ADNI-2 Cohort.

Many studies have focused on the early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cerebral amyloid beta (Aβ) is a hallmark of AD and can be observed in vivo via positron emission tomography imaging using an amyloid tracer or cerebrospinal fluid assessment. However, these methods are expensive.

Analyzing Facial and Eye Movements to Screen for Alzheimer's Disease.

Brain disease can be screened using eye movements. Degenerative brain disorders change eye movement because they affect not only memory and cognition but also the cranial nervous system involved in eye movement. We compared the facial and eye movement patterns of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease and cognitively normal people to analyze the neurological signs of dementia.

Differences in Facial Expressions between Spontaneous and Posed Smiles: Automated Method by Action Units and Three-Dimensional Facial Landmarks.

Research on emotion recognition from facial expressions has found evidence of different muscle movements between genuine and posed smiles. To further confirm discrete movement intensities of each facial segment, we explored differences in facial expressions between spontaneous and posed smiles with three-dimensional facial landmarks. Advanced machine analysis was adopted to measure changes in the dynamics of 68 segmented facial regions.

Active learning through discussion: ICAP framework for education in health professions.

Background: The ICAP framework based on cognitive science posits four modes of cognitive engagement: Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive. Focusing on the wide applicability of discussion as interactive engagement in medical education, we investigated the effect of discussion when it was preceded by self-study and further investigated the effect of generating questions before discussions.

Methods: This study was conducted in the second semester of 2018 and was participated in by 129 students majoring in health professions, including medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and nursing.

Cognitive Profiling Related to Cerebral Amyloid Beta Burden Using Machine Learning Approaches.

Cerebral amyloid beta (Aβ) is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aβ can be detected with amyloid imaging or cerebrospinal fluid assessments. However, these technologies can be both expensive and invasive, and their accessibility is limited in many clinical settings.

Differential effects of blood insulin and HbA1c on cerebral amyloid burden and neurodegeneration in nondiabetic cognitively normal older adults.

We tested the hypothesis that lower insulin or higher glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in blood are associated with increased cerebral beta amyloid (Aβ) deposition and neurodegeneration in nondiabetic cognitively normal (CN) older adults. A total of 205 nondiabetic CN older adults underwent comprehensive clinical assessment, [C]Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-positron emission tomography (PET), [F]fluorodeoxyglucose-PET, magnetic resonance imaging, and blood sampling for fasting insulin and HbA1c measurement. Lower blood insulin was significantly associated with increased Aβ positivity rates and decreased cerebral glucose metabolism in the AD-signature region.