Influence of 4-week multi-strain probiotic administration on resting-state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers.

Purpose: Experimental investigations in rodents have contributed significantly to our current understanding of the potential importance of the gut microbiome and brain interactions for neurotransmitter expression, neurodevelopment, and behaviour. However, clinical evidence to support such interactions is still scarce. The present study used a double-blind, randomized, pre- and post-intervention assessment design to investigate the effects of a 4-week multi-strain probiotic administration on whole-brain functional and structural connectivity in healthy volunteers.

Probiotics drive gut microbiome triggering emotional brain signatures.

Experimental manipulation of the gut microbiome was found to modify emotional and cognitive behavior, neurotransmitter expression and brain function in rodents, but corresponding human data remain scarce. The present double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised study aimed at investigating the effects of 4 weeks' probiotic administration on behavior, brain function and gut microbial composition in healthy volunteers. Forty-five healthy participants divided equally into three groups (probiotic, placebo and no intervention) underwent functional MRI (emotional decision-making and emotional recognition memory tasks).

Upper Alpha Based Neurofeedback Training in Chronic Stroke: Brain Plasticity Processes and Cognitive Effects.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of upper alpha based neurofeedback (NF) training on electrical brain activity and cognitive functions in stroke survivors. Therefore, two single chronic stroke patients with memory deficits (subject A with a bilateral subarachnoid hemorrhage; subject B with an ischemic stroke in the left arteria cerebri media) and a healthy elderly control group (N = 24) received up to ten NF training sessions. To evaluate NF training effects, all participants performed multichannel electroencephalogram (EEG) resting measurements and a neuropsychological test battery assessing different cognitive functions before and after NF training.

Interactive effects of age and gender on EEG power and coherence during a short-term memory task in middle-aged adults.

The effects of age and gender on electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during a short-term memory task were assessed in a group of 40 healthy participants aged 22-63 years. Multi-channel EEG was recorded in 20 younger (mean = 24.65-year-old, 10 male) and 20 middle-aged participants (mean = 46.

Specific effects of EEG based neurofeedback training on memory functions in post-stroke victims.

Background: Using EEG based neurofeedback (NF), the activity of the brain is modulated directly and, therefore, the cortical substrates of cognitive functions themselves. In the present study, we investigated the ability of stroke patients to control their own brain activity via NF and evaluated specific effects of different NF protocols on cognition, in particular recovery of memory.

Methods: N = 17 stroke patients received up to ten sessions of either SMR (N = 11, 12-15 Hz) or Upper Alpha (N = 6, e.

Age-related effects on verbal and visuospatial memory are mediated by theta and alpha II rhythms.

Both electrical brain activity during rest and memory functions change across the lifespan. Moreover, electrical brain activity is associated with memory functions. However, the interplay between all these effects has been investigated only scarcely.

Resting-state sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) power predicts the ability to up-regulate SMR in an EEG-instrumental conditioning paradigm.

Objective: Instrumental conditioning of EEG activity (EEG-IC) is a promising method for improvement and rehabilitation of cognitive functions. However, it has been found that even healthy adults are not always able to learn how to regulate their brain activity during EEG-IC. In the present study, the role of a neurophysiological predictor of EEG-IC learning performance, the resting-state power of sensorimotor rhythm (rs-SMR, 12-15Hz), was investigated.