Interim Results of a Multicenter Trial with the New Electronic Subretinal Implant Alpha AMS in 15 Patients Blind from Inherited Retinal Degenerations.

We assessed the safety and efficacy of a technically advanced subretinal electronic implant, RETINA IMPLANT Alpha AMS, in end stage retinal degeneration in an interim analysis of two ongoing prospective clinical trials. The purpose of this article is to describe the interim functional results (efficacy). The subretinal visual prosthesis RETINA IMPLANT Alpha AMS (Retina Implant AG, Reutlingen, Germany) was implanted in 15 blind patients with hereditary retinal degenerations at four study sites with a follow-up period of 12 months (www.

Adaptation to Skew Distortions of Natural Scenes and Retinal Specificity of Its Aftereffects.

Image skew is one of the prominent distortions that exist in optical elements, such as in spectacle lenses. The present study evaluates adaptation to image skew in dynamic natural images. Moreover, the cortical levels involved in skew coding were probed using retinal specificity of skew adaptation aftereffects.

White Matter Changes-Related Gait and Executive Function Deficits: Associations with Age and Parkinson's Disease.

White matter changes (WMC) are a common finding among older adults and patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and have been associated with, e.g., gait deficits and executive dysfunction.

Effect of Genetic Variability in the , , and Genes on Liver mRNA Levels and Warfarin Response.

Genetic polymorphisms in the gene encoding cytochrome P450 (CYP) 4F2, a vitamin K oxidase, affect stable warfarin dose requirements and time to therapeutic INR. is part of the gene cluster, which is highly polymorphic and exhibits a high degree of linkage disequilibrium, making it difficult to define causal variants. Our objective was to examine the effect of genetic variability in the gene cluster on expression of the individual genes and warfarin response.

A Synchronous Motor Imagery Based Neural Physiological Paradigm for Brain Computer Interface Speller.

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) speller is a typical BCI-based application to help paralyzed patients express their thoughts. This paper proposed a novel motor imagery based BCI speller with Oct-o-spell paradigm for word input. Furthermore, an intelligent input method was used for improving the performance of the BCI speller.

Ability to Gain Control Over One's Own Brain Activity and its Relation to Spiritual Practice: A Multimodal Imaging Study.

Spiritual practice, such as prayer or meditation, is associated with focusing attention on internal states and self-awareness processes. As these cognitive control mechanisms presumably are also important for neurofeedback (NF), we investigated whether people who pray frequently ( = 20) show a higher ability of self-control over their own brain activity compared to a control group of individuals who rarely pray ( = 20). All participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and one session of sensorimotor rhythm (SMR, 12-15 Hz) based NF training.

Evidence for a Selectively Regulated Prioritization Shift Depending on Walking Situations in Older Adults.

Older adults have increased risks of balance issues and falls when walking and performing turns in daily situations. Changes of prioritization during different walking situations associated with dual tasking may contribute to these deficits. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate whether older adults demonstrate changes of prioritization during different walking paths.

Associations between Early Markers of Parkinson's Disease and Sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia and Parkinson's disease (PD) are both common age-related syndromes, and there is preliminary evidence that the probability of the co-occurrence of these syndromes within one individual is higher than expected. However, it is unclear to date whether one of the syndromes induces the other, or whether there may be common underlying causes. This pilot study thus aimed at investigating the association of the features of increased risk for PD with early stage sarcopenia (ESS).

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy based Neurofeedback of Prefrontal Cortex Activity: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Neurofeedback is a promising tool for treatment and rehabilitation of several patient groups. In this proof of principle study, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) based neurofeedback of frontal cortical areas was investigated in healthy adults. Main aims were the assessment of learning, the effects on performance in a working memory (n-back) task and the impact of applied strategies on regulation.

Cognitive Performance Patterns in Healthy Individuals with Substantia Nigra Hyperechogenicity and Early Parkinson's Disease.

Hyperechogenicity of the substantia nigra (SN+) is a risk marker for Parkinson's disease (PD) which can be detected before the diagnosis. In healthy individuals, SN+ has been associated with slight deficits in specific cognitive functions, suggesting cognitive impairment as a possible pre-diagnostic marker for PD. However, the pattern of cognitive deficits associated with SN+ has not yet been compared with those present in PD.

A Review about Functional Illiteracy: Definition, Cognitive, Linguistic, and Numerical Aspects.

Formally, availability of education for children has increased around the world over the last decades. However, despite having a successful formal education career, adults can become functional illiterates. Functional illiteracy means that a person cannot use reading, writing, and calculation skills for his/her own and the community's development.

Effects of Prompting in Reflective Learning Tools: Findings from Experimental Field, Lab, and Online Studies.

Reflective learning is an important type of learning both in formal and informal situations-in school, higher education, at the workplace, and in everyday life. People may benefit from technical support for reflective learning, in particular when supporting each other by reflecting not only upon their own but also upon other people's problems. We refer to this collective approach where people come together to think about experiences and find solutions to problems as "collaborative reflection.

A Microsaccadic Account of Attentional Capture and Inhibition of Return in Posner Cueing.

Microsaccades exhibit systematic oscillations in direction after spatial cueing, and these oscillations correlate with facilitatory and inhibitory changes in behavioral performance in the same tasks. However, independent of cueing, facilitatory and inhibitory changes in visual sensitivity also arise pre-microsaccadically. Given such pre-microsaccadic modulation, an imperative question to ask becomes: how much of task performance in spatial cueing may be attributable to these peri-movement changes in visual sensitivity? To investigate this question, we adopted a theoretical approach.