The effect of fampridine on working memory: a randomized controlled trial based on a genome-guided repurposing approach.

Working memory (WM), a key component of cognitive functions, is often impaired in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Through a genome-guided drug repurposing approach, we identified fampridine, a potassium channel blocker used to improve walking in multiple sclerosis, as a candidate for modulating WM. In a subsequent double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in 43 healthy young adults (ClinicalTrials.

Distractor filtering and task load in working memory training in healthy older adults.

Filtering efficiency (FE) has been suggested as a task-related process of working memory (WM) in older adults, but the interaction of distractors with WM when implemented as a training to improve WM capacity is unclear. To investigate the effect of manipulations of WM and/or FE load in a multicomponent model-based WM training in improving WM capacity. 205 healthy older adults (129 women; aged 64.

Polygenic susceptibility for multiple sclerosis is associated with working memory in low-performing young adults.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex disease with substantial heritability estimates. Besides typical clinical manifestations such as motor and sensory deficits, MS is characterized by structural and functional brain abnormalities, and by cognitive impairment such as decreased working memory (WM) performance.

Objectives: We investigated the possible link between the polygenic risk for MS and WM performance in healthy adults (18-35 years).

Tweaking synaptic plasticity: Deciphering the role of WWC1 in memory opens new therapeutic horizons.

WWC1 is a scaffolding protein in the evolutionarily conserved Hippo signaling network and is genetically linked to human memory and synaptic plasticity. In the archives of , Stepan demonstrate the translational potential of modulating WWC1 through pharmacological inhibition of Hippo-pathway kinases to enhance cognition.

Role of GLR-1 in Age-Dependent Short-Term Memory Decline.

As the global elderly population grows, age-related cognitive decline is becoming an increasingly significant healthcare issue, often leading to various neuropsychiatric disorders. Among the many molecular players involved in memory, AMPA-type glutamate receptors are known to regulate learning and memory, but how their dynamics change with age and affect memory decline is not well understood. Here, we examined the in vivo properties of the AMPA-type glutamate receptor GLR-1 in the AVA interneuron of the nervous system during physiological aging.

Differential methylation of linoleic acid pathway genes is associated with PTSD symptoms - a longitudinal study with Burundian soldiers returning from a war zone.

Soldiers may be exposed to traumatic stress during combat deployment and thus are at risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Genetic and epigenetic evidence suggests that PTSD is linked to forming stress-related memories. In the current study, we investigated post-deployment associations of PTSD symptoms with differential DNA methylation in a sample of Burundian soldiers returning from the African Union Mission in Somalia's war zone.

Neurofunctional underpinnings of individual differences in visual episodic memory performance.

Episodic memory, the ability to consciously recollect information and its context, varies substantially among individuals. While prior fMRI studies have identified certain brain regions linked to successful memory encoding at a group level, their role in explaining individual memory differences remains largely unexplored. Here, we analyze fMRI data of 1,498 adults participating in a picture encoding task in a single MRI scanner.

Sex-dependent differences in connectivity patterns are related to episodic memory recall.

Previous studies have shown that females typically outperform males on episodic memory tasks. In this study, we investigated if (1) there are differences between males and females in their connectome characteristics, (2) if these connectivity patterns are associated with memory performance, and (3) if these brain connectome characteristics contribute to the differences in episodic memory performance between sexes. In a sample of 655 healthy young subjects (n = 391 females; n = 264 males), we derived brain network characteristics from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data using models of crossing fibers within each voxel of the brain and probabilistic tractography (graph strength, shortest path length, global efficiency, and weighted transitivity).

Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Forcibly displaced people face various challenges and are therefore at higher risk of being affected by mental and physiological distress. The present study aimed to determine levels of psychological well-being, PTSD symptom severity, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among forcibly displaced people in Greece in response to WHO's call for evidence-based public health policies and programs for forcibly displaced people.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among  = 150 (50% women) forcibly displaced people originating from Sub-Sahara Africa and Southwest Asia living in a Greek refugee camp.

Epigenetics of traumatic stress: The association of NR3C1 methylation and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom changes in response to narrative exposure therapy.

Epigenetic processes allow plasticity in gene regulation in response to significant environmental events. Accumulating evidence suggests that effective psychotherapy is accompanied by epigenetic changes, rendering DNA methylation a potential biomarker of therapy success. Due to the central role of glucocorticoid dynamics in stress regulation and the alteration of aversive memories, glucocorticoid receptors are likely involved in the molecular processes that are required to successfully treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The Iranian Corona Stress Study: Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic in an Iranian Population.

Background: To assess the psychological consequences of changes during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Iranian population.

Methods: We performed an anonymous online survey in the first 3 weeks of March 2020. Individuals older than 14 who could read Persian, and lived in Iran, were eligible for the study.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associated Control Measures on the Mental Health of the General Population : A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis.

Background: To what extent the COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures influenced mental health in the general population is still unclear.

Purpose: To assess the trajectory of mental health symptoms during the first year of the pandemic and examine dose-response relations with characteristics of the pandemic and its containment.

Data Sources: Relevant articles were identified from the living evidence database of the COVID-19 Open Access Project, which indexes COVID-19-related publications from MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase via Ovid, and PsycInfo.

Phosphorylation of MSI-1 is implicated in the regulation of associative memory in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The Musashi family of RNA-binding proteins controls several biological processes including stem cell maintenance, cell division and neural function. Previously, we demonstrated that the C. elegans Musashi ortholog, msi-1, regulates forgetting via translational repression of the Arp2/3 actin-branching complex.

Human cerebellum and corticocerebellar connections involved in emotional memory enhancement.

Emotional information is better remembered than neutral information. Extensive evidence indicates that the amygdala and its interactions with other cerebral regions play an important role in the memory-enhancing effect of emotional arousal. While the cerebellum has been found to be involved in fear conditioning, its role in emotional enhancement of episodic memory is less clear.

Guilt is effectively induced by a written auto-biographical essay but not reduced by experimental pain.

Introduction: The aim of the present study was (1) to validate the method of guilt-induction by means of a written auto-biographical essay and (2) to test whether experimental pain is apt to alleviate the mental burden of guilt, a concept receiving support from both empirical research and clinical observation.

Methods: Three independent groups of healthy male participants were recruited. Group allocation was not randomized but within group pain/sham administration was counterbalanced over the two test-days.

The impact of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic on stress resilience and mental health: A critical review across waves.

The global public health crisis caused by COVID-19 has lasted longer than many of us would have hoped and expected. With its high uncertainty and limited control, the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly asked a lot from all of us. One important central question is: how resilient have we proved in face of the unprecedented and prolonged coronavirus pandemic? There is a vast and rapidly growing literature that has examined the impact of the pandemic on mental health both on the shorter (2020) and longer (2021) term.

Effects of an exercise and sport intervention among refugees living in a Greek refugee camp on mental health, physical fitness and cardiovascular risk markers: study protocol for the SALEEM pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Background: Due to ongoing political and social conflicts, the number of international refugees has been increasing. Refugees are exposed to severe mental and physical strain, as well as traumatic experiences during their flight. Therefore, the risk of psychiatric disorders is markedly increased among international refugees.

Cannabidiol enhances verbal episodic memory in healthy young participants: A randomized clinical trial.

Cannabis contains a multitude of different compounds. One of them, cannabidiol - a non-psychoactive substance - might counteract negative effects of Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on hippocampus-dependent memory impairment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of vaping cannabidiol on verbal episodic memory in healthy young subjects.

Visual Exploration at Higher Fixation Frequency Increases Subsequent Memory Recall.

Only a small proportion of what we see can later be recalled. Up to date it is unknown how far differences in visual exploration during encoding affect the strength of episodic memories. Here, we identified individual gaze characteristics by analyzing eye tracking data in a picture encoding task performed by 967 healthy subjects during fMRI.

Effectiveness of a smartphone-based, augmented reality exposure app to reduce fear of spiders in real-life: A randomized controlled trial.

Although in vivo exposure therapy is highly effective in the treatment of specific phobias, only a minority of patients seeks therapy. Exposure to virtual objects has been shown to be better tolerated, equally efficacious, but the technology has not been made widely accessible yet. We developed an augmented reality (AR) application (app) to reduce fear of spiders and performed a randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of our app (six 30-min sessions at home over a two-week period) with no intervention.

Investigation of a Model-Based Working Memory Training With and Without Distractor Inhibition and Its Comparative Efficacy: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Healthy Old Adults.

: Various working memory (WM) trainings have been tested, but differences in experimental designs, the lack of theoretical background, and the need of identifying task-related processes such as filtering efficiency limit conclusions about their comparative efficacy. : In this study, we compared the efficacy of a model-based WM training with (MB) and without (MB) distractor inhibition on improving WM capacity to a dual and active control condition. : This randomized clinical trial included 123 healthy elderly adults (78 women, 45 men; aged 64.

Recognition memory performance can be estimated based on brain activation networks.

Background: Recognition memory is an essential ability for functioning in everyday life. Establishing robust brain networks linked to recognition memory performance can help to understand the neural basis of recognition memory itself and the interindividual differences in recognition memory performance.

Methods: We analysed behavioural and whole-brain fMRI data from 1'410 healthy young adults during the testing phase of a picture-recognition task.

Effectiveness of a stand-alone, smartphone-based virtual reality exposure app to reduce fear of heights in real-life: a randomized trial.

Smartphone-based virtual reality (VR) applications (apps) might help to counter low utilization rates of available treatments for fear of heights. Demonstration of effectiveness in real-life situations of such apps is crucial, but lacking so far. Objective of this study was to develop a stand-alone, smartphone-based VR exposure app-Easy Heights-and to test its effectiveness in a real-life situation.