Your Blood Type May Help Protect you From Cognitive Decline

A pioneering study conducted by leading researchers at the University of Sheffield has revealed that blood types play a role in the development of the nervous system and may cause a higher risk of developing cognitive decline.

The research, carried out in collaboration with the IRCCS San Camillo Hospital Foundation in Venice, shows that people with an ‘O’ blood type have more grey matter in their brain, which helps to protect against diseases such as
Alzheimer’s, than those with ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘AB’ blood types.

Research fellow Matteo De Marco and Professor Annalena Venneri, from the University’s Department of Neuroscience, made the discovery after analyzing the results of 189 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans from healthy volunteers.
The researchers calculated the volumes of grey matter within the brain and explored the differences between different blood types.

The results, published in The Brain Research Bulletin, show that individuals with an ‘O’ blood type have more grey matter in the posterior proportion of the cerebellum.



In comparison, those with ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘AB’ blood types had smaller grey matter volumes in temporal and limbic regions of the brain, including the left hippocampus, which is one of the earliest part of the brain damaged by Alzheimer’s disease.

These findings indicate that smaller volumes of grey matter are associated with non-‘O’ blood types.

As we age a reduction of grey matter volumes is normally seen in the brain, but later in life this grey matter difference between blood types will intensify as a consequence of ageing.

“The findings seem to indicate that people who have an ‘O’ blood type are more protected against the diseases in which volumetric reduction is seen in temporal and middle-temporal regions of the brain like with Alzheimer’s disease for instance,” said Matteo DeMarco.



“However additional tests and further research are required as other biological
mechanisms might be involved.”

Professor Annalena Venneri added: “What we know today is that a significant difference in volumes exists, and our findings confirm established clinical observations. In all likelihood the biology of blood types influences the development of the nervous system. We now have to understand how and why this occurs.”
Source: Neuroscience News / Amy Pullan – University of Sheffield

YOUR INPUT IS MUCH APPRECIATED! LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW.

Using Virtual Reality to Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment

The VSM payment screen (screenshot from the English version of the application). NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).

Researchers report mild cognitive impairment can be remotely detected with the help of a self-administered brain training game.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition that often predates Alzheimer’s disease (AD), can be remotely detected through a self-administered virtual reality brain training game.

Greek researchers demonstrated the potential of a self-administered virtual supermarket cognitive training game for remotely detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI), without the need for an examiner, among a sample of older adults. MCI patients suffer from cognitive problems and often encounter difficulties in performing complex activities such as financial planning. They are at a high risk for progressing to dementia however early detection of MCI and suitable interventions can stabilize the patients’ condition and prevent further decline.



It has been shown that virtual reality game-based applications and especially virtual supermarkets can detect MCI. Past studies have utilized user performance in such applications along with data from standardized neuropsychological tests in order to detect MCI. The team that conducted this study was the first scientific team to achieve reliable MCI detection using a virtual reality game-based application on its own. In that previous study , administration of the virtual super market (VSM) exercise was conducted by an examiner. The present study eliminated the need for an examiner by calculating the average performance of older adults using a special version of the VSM application, the VSM Remote Assessment Routine (VSM-RAR), at home on their own, for a period of one month. It is the first instance where a self-administered virtual reality application was used to detect MCI with a high degree of reliability.



The research team included scientists from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Information Technologies Institute (CERTH/ITI), the Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD) and the Network Aging Research (NAR) of the University of Heidelberg.

In an article published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, the researchers have indicated that the virtual supermarket remote assessment routine (VSM-RAR) application displayed a correct classification rate (CCR) of 91.8% improving VSM’s CCR as assessed in the previous VSM study while achieving a level of diagnostic accuracy similar to the most accurate standardized neuropsychological tests, which are considered the gold standard for MCI detection.

Self-administered computerized cognitive training exercises/games are gaining popularity among older adults as an easy and enjoyable means of maintaining cognitive health. Such applications are especially popular among older adults who consider themselves healthy and are not inclined to visit specialized memory clinics for cognitive assessment. If self-administered games and exercises could also detect cognitive disorders, initial cognitive screening could be conducted remotely. The wide implementation of this method of remote screening would facilitate the detection of cognitive impairment at the MCI stage thus allowing for more efficient therapeutic interventions.



This preliminary study indicates that automated, remote MCI screening is feasible. This method could be utilized to screen the majority of the older adult population, as it dramatically lowers examination-related costs. The social and economic benefits, especially caregiver and healthcare service burden, of the early detection of cognitive disorders could be enormous. At the same time, as older adults are becoming increasingly computer savvy, it is important to create software that meets their needs and allows them to remain healthy and active. Out team continues its research on the VSM with the aim of improving its usability, shortening its administration time and supplementing the science behind VSM with additional data.
Source: Stelios Zygouris – IOS Press
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).

YOUR INPUT IS MUCH APPRECIATED! LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW.

Hearing ‘Meaningful’ Sounds Decreases Performance on Cognitive Tasks

Open office plans are becoming increasingly common in the workplace — offering a way to optimize available space and encourage dialogue, interaction and collaboration among employees. However, a new study suggests that productive work-related conversations might actually decrease the performance of other employees within earshot — more so than other random, meaningless noises.

The results of the study, led by Takahiro Tamesue, an associate professor at Yamaguchi University in Japan, will be described during the 172nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the 5th Joint Meeting with Acoustical Society of Japan, being held Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In their work, the researchers investigated the impact of meaningless and meaningful noises on selective attention and cognitive performance in volunteers, as well as the degree of subjective “annoyingness” of those noises.

The experiments were based on the so-called “odd-ball” paradigm — a test used to examine selective attention and information processing ability.

“In the odd-ball paradigm, subjects detect and count rare target events embedded in a series of repetitive events. To complete the odd-ball task it is necessary to regulate attention to a stimulus,” Tamesue explained. Tamesue’s laboratory focuses on improving auditory environments by analyzing the physiological and psychological effects of noise.

In one trial, a visual odd-ball paradigm, subjects observed pictures flashing on a PC monitor as meaningless (for example, a pseudo voice-noise consisting of a pink noise with a spectrum closely resembling that of speech) and meaningful sounds (male and female speech) were played to both ears through headphones. The most frequent image — appearing 20 percent of the time — was 10 x 10 centimeter-square green image; the most infrequent was a red square. The subjects had to count the number of times the red image flashed on the screen over a 10-minute period. In a second trial, an auditory odd-ball paradigm, the subjects had to detect and count an infrequently played noise — a 2,000-Hertz tone — amid a series of 1,000-Hz tones. At the end of the trial, the subjects also rated their level of annoyance at each sound, on a seven-point scale.



During this and other experiments, the subjects’ brain waves were measured through electrodes placed on their scalp. In particular, the researchers looked at two parts of the electroencephalograph (EEG) waveforms generated during the trials. The first, the so-called N100 component of event-related potentials (ERPs, brain responses caused by particular sensations, thoughts or motions), peaks about 100 milliseconds after a stimulus is presented. The second, the P300 component of ERPs, peaks around 300 milliseconds after the presentation of a stimulus.

“The N100 is thought to represent the activation of neural assemblies involved in the analysis of incoming sensory information,” Tamesue said. “The P300 is thought to reflect the resolution of uncertainty or the perceptual decision that an expected signal has occurred. The peak amplitude and latency of this component is related to selective attention and working memory.”

In their work, the researchers investigated the impact of meaningless and meaningful noises on selective attention and cognitive performance in volunteers, as well as the degree of subjective “annoyingness” of those noises. NeuroscienceNews.com image is for illustrative purposes only.

The study revealed that more meaningful noises, such as music and conversation, had a stronger effect on levels of subjective annoyance than meaningless noises — and led to a greater decline in performance on cognitive tasks involving memory or arithmetic tests. In addition, when meaningful noise such as speech was presented to the subjects, their EEG measurements showed large reductions in the P100 and P300 components, indicating that selective attention to cognitive tasks was influenced by the degree of meaningfulness of the noise. The effect was most pronounced during the auditory odd-ball paradigm test.



The experiments suggest that when designing sound environments in spaces used for cognitive tasks — such as the workplace or schools — it is appropriate to consider not only the sound level, but also meaningfulness of the noise that is likely to be present, Tamesue said. “Surrounding conversations often disturb the business operations conducted in such open offices. Because it is difficult to soundproof an open office, a way to mask meaningful speech with some other sound would be of great benefit for achieving a comfortable sound environment,” he said.

Source: Acoustical Society of America
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: The study was presented at the 172nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Honolulu, Hawaii.

YOUR INPUT IS MUCH APPRECIATED! LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW.

Our Cognitive process is in danger?

The Internet is increasingly taking over human memory

Our increasing reliance on the Internet and the ease of access to the vast resource available online is affecting our thought processes for problem solving, recall and learning. In a new article published in the Journal Memory, researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign have found that 'cognitive offloading', or the tendency to rely on things like the Internet as an aide-mémoire, increases after each use.

We might think that memory is something that happens in the head but increasingly it is becoming something that happens with the help of agents outside the head. Benjamin Storm, Sean Stone & Aaron Benjamin conducted experiments to determine our likelihood to reach for a computer or smartphone to answer questions. Participants were first divided into two groups to answer some challenging trivia questions -- one group used just their memory, the other used Google. Participants were then given the option of answering subsequent easier questions by the method of their choice.



The results revealed that participants who previously used the Internet to gain information were significantly more likely to revert to Google for subsequent questions than those who relied on memory. Participants also spent less time consulting their own memory before reaching for the Internet; they were not only more likely to do it again, they were likely to do it much more quickly. Remarkably 30% of participants who previously consulted the Internet failed to even attempt to answer a single simple question from memory.

Lead author Doctor Benjamin Storm commented, "Memory is changing. Our research shows that as we use the Internet to support and extend our memory we become more reliant on it. Whereas before we might have tried to recall something on our own, now we don't bother. As more information becomes available via smartphones and other devices, we become progressively more reliant on it in our daily lives."



This research suggests that using a certain method for fact finding has a marked influence on the probability of future repeat behaviour. Time will tell if this pattern will have any further reaching impacts on human memory than has our reliance on other information sources.

Certainly the Internet is more comprehensive, dependable and on the whole faster than the imperfections of human memory, borne out by the more accurate answers from participants in the internet condition during this research. With a world of information a Google search away on a smartphone, the need to remember trivial facts, figures, and numbers is inevitably becoming less necessary to function in everyday life.

Source: Taylor & Francis

YOUR INPUT IS MUCH APPRECIATED! LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW.