A characteristic of olfactory function in four types of dementia and non-dementia subjects using smell identification test.

Background: For those outpatients who were consulted for memory loss, the Japanese version of University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-J) was performed to examine olfactory function. In the same way, the revised version of Hasegawa Dementia Scale, Mini Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating and brain magnetic resonance imaging were used to investigate the cognitive function. In the present study, we evaluated the olfactory function of elderly subjects, including those with dementia, by means of UPSIT-J and we examined their characteristics.

The Changes in Concentration of Cerebral Oxygenated Hemoglobin During Single Event-Related Japanese Shiritori Task in Patients With Major Depression Disorder: Comparison With Healthy Subjects.

Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have been reported to show cognitive impairments in attention, cognition control, and motivation. The purpose of this study is to compare and examine the characteristics of frontal and temporal cortical activity in outpatients with MDD during the word production task (Shiritori) using a single event-related Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) measurement method that was originally devised. The subjects were 29 MDD patients and 29 age matched healthy controls.

Characteristics of oxygenated hemoglobin concentration change during pleasant and unpleasant image-recall tasks in patients with depression: Comparison with healthy subjects.

Aim: Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have been reported to show cognitive impairment in attention, cognition control, and motivation. The prefrontal cortex plays an important role in the pathophysiology of depression. Neurophysiological abnormalities have been examined in MDD patients by several neuroimaging studies.

Comparison of changes in oxygenated hemoglobin during the tree-drawing task between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.

Background: Tree-drawing test is used as a projective psychological test that expresses the abnormal internal experience in patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Despite the widely accepted view that the cognitive function is involved in characteristic tree-drawing in patients with SZ, no study has psychophysiologically examined it. The present study aimed to investigate the involvement of cognitive function during tree-drawing in patients with SZ.

Comparison of changes in the oxygenated hemoglobin level during a 'modified rock-paper-scissors task' between healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia.

Aim: The purpose of this study, using single-event-related near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), was to examine the psychophysiological and social function assessment of 30 schizophrenic patients during a modified rock-paper-scissors task.

Methods: We set up a screen in front of the subjects, on which pictures of hand-gestures for rock, paper, and scissors were randomly presented. Subjects were asked to give verbal answers under the conditions of win, lose, and draw, respectively.

Efficacy, Tolerability, and Safety of Blonanserin in Schizophrenia: An Updated and Extended Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Introduction: We conducted an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing blonanserin with other antipsychotics (amisulpride, aripiprazole, haloperidol, paliperidone, and risperidone).

Methods: Weighted mean difference (WMD), risk ratio, and number needed to harm (NNH) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using random-effects model.

Results: Ten RCTs (n1521) were included in this study.

Evaluation of changes in oxyhemoglobin during Shiritori task in elderly subjects including those with Alzheimer‧s disease.

Background: In recent years, as the prevalence of Alzheimer‧s disease (AD) has increased rapidly, demand has increased for early detection and treatment. Therefore, discovery and treatment intervention at the mild cognitive impairment stage are important. Dysfunction of the working memory is known to be conspicuously present in AD patients or mild cognitive impairment subjects from an early stage.

Single event-related changes in cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin using word game in schizophrenia.

Neuroimaging studies have been conducted using word generation tasks and have shown greater hypofrontality in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy subjects. In this study, we compared the characteristics of oxygenated hemoglobin changes involved in both phonological and categorical verbal fluency between 35 outpatients with schizophrenia and 35 healthy subjects during a Japanese "shiritori" task using single-event-related near-infrared spectroscopy. During this task, the schizophrenic patients showed significantly smaller activation in the prefrontal cortex area than the controls.

Evaluation of P300 components for emotion-loaded visual event-related potential in elderly subjects, including those with dementia.

Aim: In the present study, the P300 component of the emotion-loaded visual event-related potential in response to photographs of babies crying or smiling was measured to evaluate cognitive function in elderly subjects, including those with dementia.

Methods: The subjects were 48 elderly people who consulted a memory disorder clinic. The visual event-related potential was measured using oddball tasks.

[Characteristics of single event-related cerebral hemodynamics during verbal task in emotionally charged state measured by multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in patients with schizophrenia: comparison with healthy subjects].

Neared infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is one of the recently developed methodologies which can measure cerebral blood volumes to determine the blood hemoglobin (Hb) concentration simultaneously at multiple points with marked time resolution. Monitoring the changes in the Hb concentration yields site-specific readings on blood flow and, thus, on neural activities. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of a single event-related oxyhemoglobin concentration [oxy-Hb] changes in patients with schizophrenia using multi-channel NIRS during a word generation task, Japanese 'Shiritori', and single-word generation task in an emotionally charged state induced by three facial expressions of "crying", "neutral", and "smiling" babies' photographs.

Reduced prefrontal cortex activation using the Trail Making Test in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia has been associated with a deficit of the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in attention, executive processes, and working memory. The Trail Making Test (TMT) is administered in two parts, TMT-A and TMT-B. It is suggested that the difference in performance between part A and part B reflects executive processes.

Impaired exploratory eye movements in children with Asperger's syndrome.

Objective: Previous eye-tracking studies using an eye mark recorder have reported that disturbances in exploratory eye movements in adult schizophrenic patients are associated with social functioning. The current study sought to determine whether exploratory eye-movement disturbances are present in children with Asperger's syndrome (AS) compared with typically developing (TD) children. MATERIALS/PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 23 children with AS and 23 age-matched TD children.

Left eye scanning deficit in schizophrenia patients under emotional loading task: comparison with healthy controls.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate and characterize visual cognitive function and the effect of emotion in patients with schizophrenia.We recorded exploratory eye movements as biologic markers in 40 schizophrenic patients and 40 age-matched healthy controls. Total eye scanning length (TESL), total number of gaze points (TNGP), and TNGP in right (right TNGP) and left (left TNGP) visual fields on screen were calculated as subjects viewed affectively charged pictures (smiling and crying babies) with fitting sounds.

State and trait markers of emotionally charged visual event-related potentials (P300) in drug-naïve schizophrenia.

Aim: In the present study, we investigated the changes in P3 component in the emotionally charged visual event-related potentials (ERP) in 30 drug-naïve schizophrenic patients for up to 1 year.

Methods: Visual oddball event-related potential was recorded from six recording sites for crying baby or smiling baby photographs. ERP were recorded before the treatment (session 1 [S1]), after 3 months (session 2 [S2]), and after 12 months (session 3 [S3]), as well as in 30 healthy subjects.

Relationships between exploratory eye movement dysfunction and clinical symptoms in schizophrenia.

Aim: Many psychophysiological tests have been widely researched in the search for a biological marker of schizophrenia. The exploratory eye movement (EEM) test involves the monitoring of eye movements while subjects freely view geometric figures. Suzuki et al.

Characteristics of cortical activation in schizophrenia during the card game "concentration".

Various functional imaging studies have demonstrated reduced lateralization of cortical activation during neurocognitive tasks in schizophrenia. -A well-known card game, "concentration", reflects working memory (WM). We compared characteristics of hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal to temporo-parietal areas of the brain during this card game between 24 outpatients with schizophrenia and 24 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects.

Effects of emotionally affect adult and baby' photographs in healthy controls and schizophrenic patients evaluating by exploratory eye movements.

The relationship between mother and baby is of fundamental importance in the development of cognitive function and emotion. In this study we investigated the effects of affective photographs of a mother and baby (crying or smiling faces) and other stimuli (neutral mother or baby faces) on visual cognitive function in schizophrenic patents. We recorded exploratory eye movements in 22 healthy controls and 22 age-matched schizophrenic patients.

Brain activities on fMRI using the shiritori task in normal subjects.

Shiritori is a popular Japanese word chain game that resembles verbal fluency tasks used in Western countries. Recently, shiritori has been used to determine the dominant hemisphere for language and as a rehabilitation tool. However, there are few reports of neuroimaging during shiritori.

Changes in task-associated cerebral blood induced by role lettering: measurement by multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy.

Using optical topography (near-infrared spectroscopy: NIRS), relative changes in oxidized hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) were measured before and after the introduction of Role lettering. Tasks performed during measurements included antegrade (from the subject to other persons) and retrograde (from other persons to the subject) mental imaging and writing tasks. All subjects were junior high school students.

Characteristics of exploratory eye movements in elderly people: possibility of early diagnosis of dementia.

Background: Visual cognitive dysfunction is one of the most important signs indicating the early stage of dementia. Thus, visual testing could be used as an aid to the clinical diagnosis of dementia. In the present study, exploratory eye movement was measured to evaluate visual cognitive function in elderly subjects, including those with dementia.

[Development of human visual cognitive function in childhood: evaluation by exploratory eye movements to a picture of a smiling face].

To evaluate the development of human visual cognitive function in childhood, we examined exploratory eye movements in 78 healthy subjects using affective pictures. We divided them into six groups, each of which comprised 14 subjects (7 boys or men, 7 girls or women) at the indicated ages. Exploratory eye movements were recorded via gazing points using an eye-mark recorder.

Neurophysiological analyses in different color environments of cognitive function in patients with traumatic brain injury.

Colors are thought to elicit various emotional effects. Red, with its high likelihood of attracting attention, is considered to have an exciting, active effect; whereas green, with its low attention value, is considered to have a relaxing, sedative effect. Colors are also thought to affect human cognition and emotion.

Effects of emotionally charged sounds in schizophrenia patients using exploratory eye movements: comparison with healthy subjects.

Aims: Emotion-associated sounds have been suggested to exert important effects upon human personal relationships. The present study was aimed to characterize the effects of the sounds of crying or laughing on visual cognitive function in schizophrenia patients.

Methods: We recorded exploratory eye movements in 24 schizophrenia patients (mean age, 27.