Continuous measurement of object location memory is sensitive to effects of age and mild cognitive impairment and related to medial temporal lobe volume.

Introduction: We present findings of a novel and ecologically relevant associative memory test, the Object Location Touchscreen Test (OLTT), which was posited as sensitive to early medial temporal lobe compromise associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: A total of 114 participants, including healthy young and older controls and patients with MCI, completed the OLTT and standard neuropsychological testing. The OLTT required participants to recall the location of objects under free and cued recall conditions, with accuracy evaluated using distance measures (i.

Self-reported physical activity and objective aerobic fitness: differential associations with gray matter density in healthy aging.

Aerobic fitness (AF) and self-reported physical activity (srPA) do not represent the same construct. However, many exercise and brain aging studies interchangeably use AF and srPA measures, which may be problematic with regards to how these metrics are associated with brain outcomes, such as morphology. If AF and PA measures captured the same phenomena, regional brain volumes associated with these measures should directly overlap.

A Behavioral Manipulation Engages Right Frontal Cortex During Aphasia Therapy.

Background An aphasia treatment was designed to shift laterality from the left to right lateral frontal lobe during word production by initiating word-finding trials with complex left-hand movements. Previous findings indicated successful relateralization. Objective The current study was designed to ascertain whether the shift was attributable to the left-hand movement.

Functional language networks in sedentary and physically active older adults.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have identified consistent age-related changes during various cognitive tasks, such that older individuals display more positive and less negative task-related activity than young adults. Recently, evidence shows that chronic physical exercise may alter aging-related changes in brain activity; however, the effect of exercise has not been studied for the neural substrates of language function. Additionally, the potential mechanisms by which aging alters neural recruitment remain understudied.

Lateral ventricle volume is poor predictor of post unilateral DBS motor change for Parkinson's disease.

Background: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery can effectively treat many debilitating motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), but axial symptom improvement is variable. Predictors for post-DBS axial symptom performance have yet to be identified. Pre-surgery ventricle volume may be one predictor, for increasing ventricular size has been associated with worsening gait disturbance.

Paracingulate asymmetry in anterior and midcingulate cortex: sex differences and the effect of measurement technique.

Many structural brain asymmetries accompany left hemisphere language dominance. For example, the cingulate sulcus is larger in the medial cortex of the right hemisphere, while the more dorsal paracingulate sulcus is larger on the left. The functional significance of these asymmetries is unknown because fMRI studies rarely attempt to localize activation to specific sulci, possibly due to difficulties in consistent sulcal identification.

Early childhood obesity is associated with compromised cerebellar development.

As part of a study investigating commonalities between Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS-a genetic imprinting disorder) and early-onset obesity of unknown etiology (EMO) we measured total cerebral and cerebellar volume on volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. Individuals with PWS (N = 16) and EMO (N = 12) had smaller cerebellar volumes than a control group of 15 siblings (p = .02 control vs.

Behavioral correlates of corpus callosum size: anatomical/behavioral relationships vary across sex/handedness groups.

There are substantial individual differences in the size and shape of the corpus callosum and such differences are thought to relate to behavioral lateralization. We report findings from a large scale investigation of relationships between brain anatomy and behavioral asymmetry on a battery of visual word recognition tasks. A sample of 200 individuals was divided into groups on the basis of sex and consistency of handedness.

A large-scale investigation of lateralization in cortical anatomy and word reading: are there sex differences?

The authors report findings of a large-scale, multitask investigation of sex differences in both structural asymmetries and lateralization of word reading. Two hundred participants were tested in eight divided visual field lexical tasks, and each received a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. The authors examined whether there was evidence for sex differences in overall measures of neuroanatomical and behavioral lateralization, in specific language tasks and brain regions, and in variation in asymmetry within and across tasks and brain regions.

Size matters: cerebral volume influences sex differences in neuroanatomy.

Biological and behavioral differences between the sexes range from obvious to subtle or nonexistent. Neuroanatomical differences are particularly controversial, perhaps due to the implication that they might account for behavioral differences. In this sample of 200 men and women, large effect sizes (Cohen's d > 0.

Sylvian fissure morphology in Prader-Willi syndrome and early-onset morbid obesity.

Purpose: Prader-Willi syndrome is a well-defined genetic cause of childhood-onset obesity that can serve as a model for investigating early-onset childhood obesity. Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome have speech and language impairments, suggesting possible involvement of the perisylvian region of the brain. Clinical observations suggest that many individuals with early-onset morbid obesity have similar speech/language deficits, indicating possible perisylvian involvement in these children as well.