Decoding oscillatory representations and mechanisms in memory.

A fundamental goal in memory research is to understand how information is represented in distributed brain networks and what mechanisms enable its reactivation. It is evident that progress towards this goal will greatly benefit from multivariate pattern classification (MVPC) techniques that can decode representations in brain activity with high temporal resolution. Recently, progress along these lines has been achieved by applying MVPC to neural oscillations recorded with electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG).

Contextual social cognition and the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia.

The significance of social situations is commonly context-embedded. Although the role of context has been extensively studied in basic sensory processing or simple stimulus-response settings, its relevance for social cognition is unknown. We propose the social context network model (SCNM), a fronto-insular-temporal network responsible for processing social contextual effects.

Motor-language coupling: direct evidence from early Parkinson's disease and intracranial cortical recordings.

Language and action systems are functionally coupled in the brain as demonstrated by converging evidence using Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and lesion studies. In particular, this coupling has been demonstrated using the action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE) in which motor activity and language interact. The ACE task requires participants to listen to sentences that described actions typically performed with an open hand (e.

The relationship between executive functions and fluid intelligence in Parkinson's disease.

Background: We recently demonstrated that decline in fluid intelligence is a substantial contributor to frontal deficits. For some classical 'executive' tasks, such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Verbal Fluency, frontal deficits were entirely explained by fluid intelligence. However, on a second set of frontal tasks, deficits remained even after statistically controlling for this factor.

Deficits in tasks of executive functioning that mimic real-life scenarios in bipolar disorder.

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that patients with bipolar disorder (BD) have cognitive impairments even during euthymic periods. The main cognitive domains affected are verbal memory, attention, and executive function. Nevertheless, some studies suggest that at least a subgroup of euthymic patients demonstrates intact executive functioning in classic neuropsychological tests, which could be due to the lack of real-life, or ecological validity.

Decision making cognition in primary progressive aphasia.

We sought to investigate the decision making profile of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) by assessing patients diagnosed with this disease (n = 10), patients diagnosed with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD, n = 35), and matched controls (n = 14) using the Iowa Gambling Task, a widely used test that mimics real-life decision making. Participants were also evaluated with a complete neuropsychological battery. Patients with PPA were unable to adopt an advantageous strategy on the IGT, which resulted in a flat performance, different to that exhibited by both controls (who showed advantageous decision making) and bvFTD patients (who showed risk-appetitive behavior).

Comparing the Neuropsychiatric Profile of Patients with Alzheimer Disease Who Present Spared versus Impaired Executive Functioning.

Background. A "dysexecutive" group of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) has been previously identified, and these patients have been found to present higher frequency of psychiatric symptoms and more pronounced functional impact. This study aimed at evaluating the frequency of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with early AD who present with impaired executive functioning.

Cortical deficits of emotional face processing in adults with ADHD: its relation to social cognition and executive function.

Although it has been shown that adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have impaired social cognition, no previous study has reported the brain correlates of face valence processing. This study looked for behavioral, neuropsychological, and electrophysiological markers of emotion processing for faces (N170) in adult ADHD compared to controls matched by age, gender, educational level, and handedness. We designed an event-related potential (ERP) study based on a dual valence task (DVT), in which faces and words were presented to test the effects of stimulus type (faces, words, or face-word stimuli) and valence (positive versus negative).

The role of Area 10 (BA10) in human multitasking and in social cognition: a lesion study.

A role for rostral prefrontal cortex (BA10) has been proposed in multitasking, in particular, the selection and maintenance of higher order internal goals while other sub-goals are being performed. BA10 has also been implicated in the ability to infer someone else's feelings and thoughts, often referred to as theory of mind. While most of the data to support these views come from functional neuroimaging studies, lesion studies are scant.

Comparing the clinical usefulness of the Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO) Frontal Screening (IFS) and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) in frontotemporal dementia.

We compared the utility of two executive-function brief screening tools, the Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO) Frontal Screening (IFS) and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), in their ability to detect executive dysfunction in a group of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bv-FTD, n = 25) and Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 25) patients in the early stages of their disease and in comparison to a group of age-, gender-, and education-matched controls (n = 26). Relative to the FAB, the IFS showed (a) better capability to differentiate between types of dementia; (b) higher sensitivity and specificity for the detection of executive dysfunction; (c) stronger correlations with standard executive tasks. We conclude that while both tools are brief and specific for the detection of early executive dysfunction in dementia, the IFS is more sensitive and specific in differentiating bvFTD from AD, and its use in everyday clinical practice can contribute to the differential diagnosis between types of dementia.

The face and its emotion: right N170 deficits in structural processing and early emotional discrimination in schizophrenic patients and relatives.

Previous studies have reported facial emotion recognition impairments in schizophrenic patients, as well as abnormalities in the N170 component of the event-related potential. Current research on schizophrenia highlights the importance of complexly-inherited brain-based deficits. In order to examine the N170 markers of face structural and emotional processing, DSM-IV diagnosed schizophrenia probands (n=13), unaffected first-degree relatives from multiplex families (n=13), and control subjects (n=13) matched by age, gender and educational level, performed a categorization task which involved words and faces with positive and negative valence.

Decision-making in frontotemporal dementia: clinical, theoretical and legal implications.

Background: The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is characterized by progressive changes in personality and social interaction, loss of empathy, disinhibition and impulsivity, most of which generally precede the onset of cognitive deficits. In this study, we investigated decision-making cognition in a group of patients with an early bvFTD diagnosis whose standard neuropsychological performance was within normal range for all variables.

Methods: The Iowa Gambling Task was administered to this group of early bvFTD patients, to a group of early bvFTD patients who had shown impaired performance on the classical neuropsychological battery and to healthy controls.

Long-term worsening of bipolar disorder related with frequency of antidepressant exposure.

Background: The aim of this study of 53 persons with bipolar disorder (BD) was to evaluate the relationship between history of exposure to antidepressants (AD) and mood stabilizers (MS) and the percentage of time spent ill.

Methods: BD outpatients with more than 12 months of prospective follow-up were included. Outcome was documented using a life charting technique.

Mental health in Argentina.

Argentina, the second largest country in South America, is a federation of 23 provinces and its capital, the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. Its population is a little over 40 million, 50% of whom reside in its five largest metropolitan areas. The rural areas are extensively underpopulated.

Stimulus-response bindings code both abstract and specific representations of stimuli: evidence from a classification priming design that reverses multiple levels of response representation.

Repetition priming can be caused by the rapid retrieval of previously encoded stimulus-response (S-R) bindings. S-R bindings have recently been shown to simultaneously code multiple levels of response representation, from specific Motor-actions to more abstract Decisions ("yes"/"no") and Classifications (e.g.

Subliminal presentation of other faces (but not own face) primes behavioral and evoked cortical processing of empathy for pain.

Current research on empathy for pain emphasizes the overlap in the neural response between the first-hand experience of pain and its perception in others. However, recent studies suggest that the perception of the pain of others may reflect the processing of a threat or negative arousal rather than an automatic pro-social response. It can thus be suggested that pain processing of other-related, but not self-related, information could imply danger rather than empathy, due to the possible threat represented in the expressions of others (especially if associated with pain stimuli).

How much do physicians in Latin America know about behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia?

Diagnosis of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) can be especially challenging during the early stages for several reasons, including the fact that (a) behavioral disturbances in bvFTD can mimic the symptomatic profile of psychiatric disorders; (b) neuropsychological performance may be relatively spared; and (c) changes in structural neuroimaging may go undetected. Most frequently, bvFTD is not included as part of medical or residency training outside the field of cognitive neurology. The present study aimed at examining bvFTD-related practices concerning academic and professional training, diagnosis, and treatment across Latin America.

Facial and semantic emotional interference: a pilot study on the behavioral and cortical responses to the Dual Valence Association Task.

Background: Integration of compatible or incompatible emotional valence and semantic information is an essential aspect of complex social interactions. A modified version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) called Dual Valence Association Task (DVAT) was designed in order to measure conflict resolution processing from compatibility/incompatibly of semantic and facial valence. The DVAT involves two emotional valence evaluative tasks which elicits two forms of emotional compatible/incompatible associations (facial and semantic).

Functional imaging reveals movement preparatory activity in the vegetative state.

The vegetative state (VS) is characterized by the absence of awareness of self or the environment and preserved autonomic functions. The diagnosis relies critically on the lack of consistent signs of purposeful behavior in response to external stimulation. Yet, given that patients with disorders of consciousness often exhibit fragmented movement patterns, voluntary actions may go unnoticed.

Theories and theorizers: a contextual approach to theories of cognition.

An undisputable characteristic of cognitive science is its enormous diversity of theories. Not surprisingly, these often belong to different paradigms that focus on different processes and levels of analysis. A related problem is that researchers of cognition frequently seem to ascribe to incompatible approaches to research, creating a Tower of Babel of cognitive knowledge.

Levodopa treatment of late onset extrapyramidal movements in a child after high voltage electrocution.

We present the case of a 12-year-old girl with abnormal extrapyramidal movements associated with basal ganglia lesions after electrical injury. After her injury, our patient initially did well and recovered from acute cardiovascular and hemodynamic instability, and the results of her neurological examination, head computed tomography scan, and electroencephalogram were normal on discharge from hospital. Two weeks after discharge, she developed extrapyramidal movements, and head magnetic resonance imaging showed areas of bilateral, symmetrical enhanced associated with signal intensity in the basal ganglia, hypoxic encephalopathy, and cerebral edema that may have occurred secondary to the cardiopulmonary arrest that she suffered immediately after her accident.

Primates do not spontaneously use shape properties for object individuation: a competence or a performance problem?

Several recent studies have documented that non-human primates can individuate objects according to property and/or kind information in much the same way as human infants do from around one year of age when they begin to acquire language. Some studies suggest, however, that only some properties are used for the individuation of food items: color, but not shape. The present study investigated whether these findings reveal a true competence problem with shape properties in the food domain or whether they merely reveal a performance problem (e.

High contextual sensitivity of metaphorical expressions and gesture blending: A video event-related potential design.

Human communication in a natural context implies the dynamic coordination of contextual clues, paralinguistic information and literal as well as figurative language use. In the present study we constructed a paradigm with four types of video clips: literal and metaphorical expressions accompanied by congruent and incongruent gesture actions. Participants were instructed to classify the gesture accompanying the expression as congruent or incongruent by pressing two different keys while electrophysiological activity was being recorded.