Repeated application of the covert shift of attention task improves endogenous but not exogenous attention in patients with unilateral visuospatial inattention.

Background: Most neglect treatment studies focus on automatic re-orientation procedures, assuming a deficit in automatic processes. We compare an automatic- and a controlled procedure, using the endogenous and exogenous variants of Posner's covert shift of attention task.

Method: In two experiments, neglect patients and patients with a right hemispherical stroke without neglect performed three blocks of Posner's covert shift of attention task (Posner Task) on two days.

Relation between cognitive fatigue and circadian or stress related cortisol levels in MS patients.

Unlabelled: Background Cortisol levels are increased in MS patients. However, the relation between cortisol, cognitive fatigue and load is still unknown and is investigated in this study.

Method: In 40 MS patients and 20 healthy controls, cortisol levels were assessed (in saliva) in the morning and afternoon, before and after 5 runs of a cognitively demanding divided attention task (lasting in total 25-minutes).

Cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease: the impact of the motor phenotype on cognition.

Objectives: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is further associated with progressive cognitive decline. In respect to motor phenotype, there is some evidence that akinetic-rigid PD is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline in general and a greater risk of developing dementia.The objective of this study was to examine cognitive profiles among patients with PD by motor phenotypes and its relation to cognitive function.

Subtypes of mild cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease: evidence from the LANDSCAPE study.

Objective: Inconsistent results exist regarding the cognitive profile in patients with Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI). We aimed at providing data on this topic from a large cohort of patients with PD-MCI.

Methods: Sociodemographic, clinical and neuropsychological baseline data from patients with PD-MCI recruited in the multicentre, prospective, observational DEMPARK/LANDSCAPE study were analysed.

Apolipoprotein E ε4 does not affect cognitive performance in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a common and disabling non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD). The apolipoprotein E (APOE) allele ε4 is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and has also been suggested to be a risk factor for dementia in PD and even a predictor of impairment in certain cognitive domains.

Methods: A total of 447 PD patients (PD patients without cognitive impairment: n = 187; PD patients with mild cognitive impairment: n = 188; PD patients with dementia: n = 72) were included from an ongoing observational German multicenter cohort study (LANDSCAPE study).

Cognitive effects of deep brain stimulation for essential tremor: evaluation at 1 and 6 years.

Only a few studies have explored cognitive changes with deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with essential tremor (ET). Furthermore, the cognitive effects after years of electrical stimulation are unknown. Assessing the impact of stereotactic electrode implantation and the actual electrical stimulation on cognition in patients with ET in the short and long term is of interest, because DBS is increasingly applied and can offer deeper insight into human brain functions.

Horizontal and vertical pseudoneglect in peri- and extrapersonal space.

The present study investigates the influence of depth on pseudoneglect in healthy young participants (n=18) within three-dimensional virtual space, by presenting a variation of the greyscales task and a landmark task, which were specifically matched for stimulus-response compatibility, as well as perceptual factors within and across the tasks. Tasks were presented in different depth locations (peripersonal, extrapersonal) and different orientations (horizontal, vertical) within three-dimensional virtual space, using virtual reality technique. A horizontal leftward bias (pseudoneglect) for both tasks was found, which was stronger in peripersonal than in extrapersonal space.

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus improves intrinsic alertness in Parkinson's disease.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a treatment option for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in the advanced stage. Besides motor improvement, DBS of the STN may also modulate cognitive and attentional functions of the basal ganglia. In our study, 13 patients with PD and bilateral DBS of the STN were assessed with DBS switched on and off by the use of a wide range of neuropsychological tasks.

Low arousal modulates visuospatial attention in three-dimensional virtual space.

Clinical, experimental, and functional imaging studies suggest overlapping neuronal networks and functional interactions of alertness and visuospatial attention within the right hemisphere of the brain. To examine the interaction of arousal and visuospatial attention in peripersonal and extrapersonal virtual space, we tested 20 healthy male adults during 24 hr of sleep deprivation at four points during the night (9 p.m.