At the molecular level, the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) is a key regulatory component of executive function in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and dysfunction in dopaminergic (DAergic) circuitry has been shown to result in impaired working memory (WM). Research has identified multiple common genetic variants suggested to impact on the DA system functionally and also behaviourally to alter WM task performance. In addition, environmental stressors impact on DAergic tone, and this may be one mechanism by which stressors confer vulnerability to the development of neuropsychiatric conditions. This chapter aims to evaluate the impact of key DAergic gene variants suggested to impact on both synaptic DA levels (COMT, DAT1, DBH, MAOA) and DA receptor function (ANKK1, DRD2, DRD4) in terms of their influence on visuospatial WM. The role of stressors and interaction with the genetic background is discussed in addition to discussion around some of the implications for precision psychiatry. This and future work in this area aim to disentangle the neural mechanisms underlying susceptibility to stress and their impact and relationship with cognitive processes known to influence mental health vulnerability.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/7854_2019_113 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Lateralization of Neural Speech Discrimination at Birth Is a Predictor for Later Language Development.
Dev Sci
March 2025
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Newborns are able to neurally discriminate between speech and nonspeech right after birth. To date it remains unknown whether this early speech discrimination and the underlying neural language network is associated with later language development. Preterm-born children are an interesting cohort to investigate this relationship, as previous studies have shown that preterm-born neonates exhibit alterations of speech processing and have a greater risk of later language deficits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cost of perspective switching: Constraints on simultaneous activation.
Psychon Bull Rev
January 2025
Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University, 1 University Road, P.O. Box 808, 4353701, Ra'anana, Israel.
Visual perspective taking often involves transitioning between perspectives, yet the cognitive mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. The current study draws on insights from task- and language-switching research to address this gap. In Experiment 1, 79 participants judged the perspective of an avatar positioned in various locations, observing either the rectangular or the square side of a rectangular cube hanging from the ceiling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVideo-based robotic surgical action recognition and skills assessment on porcine models using deep learning.
Surg Endosc
January 2025
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Objectives: This study aimed to develop an automated skills assessment tool for surgical trainees using deep learning.
Background: Optimal surgical performance in robot-assisted surgery (RAS) is essential for ensuring good surgical outcomes. This requires effective training of new surgeons, which currently relies on supervision and skill assessment by experienced surgeons.
Eye movements follow the dynamic shifts of attention through serial order in verbal working memory.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
How are arbitrary sequences of verbal information retained and manipulated in working memory? Increasing evidence suggests that serial order in verbal WM is spatially coded and that spatial attention is involved in access and retrieval. Based on the idea that brain areas controlling spatial attention are also involved in oculomotor control, we used eye tracking to reveal how the spatial structure of serial order information is accessed in verbal working memory. In two experiments, participants memorized a sequence of auditory words in the correct order.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScreen time exposure and executive functions in preschool children.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
Increased screen time (ST) among preschool children is becoming a matter of concern globally. Although gadgets such as phones, tablets and computers might be of educational use in this population, excessive ST might impair cognitive function among preschoolers. As data on this topic in preschool children are scarce, this study sought to investigate the relationship between ST and executive functions (EFs) in this population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!