Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Laura Miola, Veronica Muffato, Francesca Pazzaglia, Chiara Meneghetti
Summary: Individual factors, such as visuospatial abilities, stereotypes, and growth mindset, play a significant role in explaining gender differences in environmental learning. This study examined how mental rotation ability and spatial beliefs interact to influence the acquisition of egocentric and allocentric spatial knowledge. The results showed that men performed better in mental rotation and egocentric pointing tasks, and both mental rotation ability and growth mindset predicted performance in egocentric and allocentric pointing tasks. These findings indicate that cognitive abilities and beliefs contribute to environmental knowledge in both men and women, despite gender differences in some spatial measures.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Andrew S. McAvan, Yu Karen Du, Alexis Oyao, Stephanie Doner, Matthew D. Grilli, Arne Ekstrom
Summary: Older adults typically perform worse on spatial navigation tasks, but maintain the ability to utilize various strategies when navigating. While older adults have less precise spatial memories, they can still generalize their memory for location of a hidden target given a new point of view.
FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Veronica Muffato, Anna Simonetto, Marilina Pellegrini, Carla Tortora, Chiara Meneghetti
Summary: This study investigated the knowledge of spatial navigation skills in young, middle-aged, and older people, and found that middle-aged and older adults performed less well than young adults in tasks involving pointing to landmarks and drawing maps. The study also identified visuospatial working memory and sense of direction as the most influential individual factors.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Svend Heini W. Johnsen, Hana Mala Rytter
Summary: This article discusses the importance of designing methods to dissociate spatial strategies in animal research on spatial learning and memory, as well as the potential influence of multiple spatial reference frames in commonly used spatial paradigms that often go unaccounted for. The role of the hippocampus in egocentric navigation forms is reviewed, and possible methodological confounders are discussed.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Martina Laczo, Lukas Martinkovic, Ondrej Lerch, Jan M. Wiener, Jana Kalinova, Veronika Matuskova, Zuzana Nedelska, Martin Vyhnalek, Jakub Hort, Jan Laczo
Summary: This study assessed spatial navigation performance in AD aMCI and non-AD aMCI patients, and examined the associations between navigation performance and MRI measures of brain atrophy as well as CSF biomarkers related to AD pathology.
FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Qian Chen, Zhao Qing, Jiaxuan Jin, Yi Sun, Wenqian Chen, Jiaming Lu, Pin Lv, Jiani Liu, Xin Li, Junxia Wang, Wen Zhang, Sichu Wu, Xian Yan, Zuzana Nedelska, Jakub Hort, Xin Zhang, Bing Zhang
Summary: Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) show deficits in spatial navigation (SN) and reduced brain network connectivity. Logistic regression based on SN and functional connectivity (FC) measures can effectively differentiate SCD individuals from controls.
Review
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Jessica Placido, Creso Alberto Bem de Almeida, Jose Vinicius Ferreira, Felipe de Oliveira Silva, Renato Sobral Monteiro-Junior, Gro Gujord Tangen, Jerson Laks, Andrea Camaz Deslandes
Summary: This systematic review and meta-analysis compared the spatial navigation performance of older adults with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, and other dementias, and found a strong correlation between spatial navigation impairment and cognitive decline. The study suggests that spatial navigation ability can serve as a behavioral biomarker for early diagnosis of dementia.
EXPERIMENTAL GERONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Mathematical
Alessia Bonavita, Alice Teghil, Maria Chiara Pesola, Cecilia Guariglia, Fabrizia D'Antonio, Antonella Di Vita, Maddalena Boccia
Summary: The study found that the conditions in which tasks are performed affect the acquisition of route knowledge, likely due to the lack of proprioceptive and vestibular information in laboratory-based settings. The laboratory-based tests provided in the study offer a standard battery of tests that can overcome replicability issues encountered in ecological navigation tests.
BEHAVIOR RESEARCH METHODS
(2022)
Review
Psychiatry
Pamela Banta Lavenex, Pierre Lavenex
Summary: Individuals with Down syndrome exhibit low-resolution egocentric and allocentric spatial learning and memory abilities, while individuals with Williams syndrome show impaired low-resolution allocentric spatial learning and memory abilities in comparison.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Tina Iachini, Francesco Ruotolo, Alessandro Iavarone, Michele Carpinelli Mazzi, Gennaro Ruggiero
Summary: Encoding spatial information in egocentric and allocentric manners, along with impairments in executive function, are typical in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. AD patients performed worse in tasks compared to others, showing similarities with aMCI in specific tasks. The study revealed a link between frontal functions, attentional resources and egocentric performance, as well as a link between frontal resources and allocentric performance.
Article
Neurosciences
Jinhui Li, Ruibin Zhang, Siqi Liu, Qunjun Liang, Senning Zheng, Xianyou He, Ruiwang Huang
Summary: Humans use different spatial reference frames for navigation with specific brain regions being activated. Environmental space shows stronger activation in certain brain regions compared to vista space, and allocentric reference frame also displays stronger activation in some areas.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ciro Rosario Ilardi, Alessandro Iavarone, Ines Villano, Mariachiara Rapuano, Gennaro Ruggiero, Tina Iachini, Sergio Chieffi
Summary: The study investigated the integrity of ego and allo-centric spatial representations in a patient with bilateral occipitoparietal damage, showing that the patient's performance was selectively impaired in the ego-centric/1.5 second delay condition. The findings suggest that the spared ventral stream in the patient could generate short and long-term allo-centric representations.
Article
Environmental Studies
Francesca Foti, Katia Ruscio, Giovanna Cento, Luca Pullano, Santo Di Nuovo
Summary: Observational training improves the acquisition of spatial orientation skills in children, enhancing their ability to explore both familiar and unfamiliar environments. It fosters the development of route and configural knowledge, as well as cognitive mapping abilities, resulting in more organized and structured explorative behavior. Observation plays a crucial role in promoting spatial skills in children.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Psychology, Experimental
Natalia Ladyka-Wojcik, Morgan D. Barense
Summary: Representations of space in mind are essential for navigation and memory processes, but there is a lack of consensus on how these representations are stored in memory. Recent investigations have identified age-related impairments in mnemonic spatial frames of reference.
WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-COGNITIVE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Raffaella Nori, Micaela Maria Zucchelli, Massimiliano Palmiero, Laura Piccardi
Summary: This study investigated the mediating role of anxiety (spatial, trait and state) in the relationship between cognitive load and spatial navigation (egocentric and allocentric) using parallel mediation models. The results showed that anxiety partially mediated the relationship between environmental load and spatial skills, especially for egocentric and allocentric tasks. Additionally, trait anxiety mediated the relationship between environmental load and allocentric performance.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya, Victor Molinari, Ross Andel
Summary: This scoping review investigated older adults' perspectives on longevity as part of successful aging (SA) and found that older adults do not consider longevity a primary component of SA. The study identified psychological, physical, social, environmental, spiritual, and behavioral factors as the most important components of successful aging according to older adults.
AGING & MENTAL HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Eva Rubinova, Feni Kontogianni
Summary: Repeated experience of events promotes schema formation, but may also lead to source attribution errors. This study examined the characteristics of misattributions in repeated events and found that there were fewer misattributions from and to the boundary instances compared to the middle instances, and confusions were more frequent across adjacent instances.
MEMORY & COGNITION
(2023)
Article
Health Policy & Services
Ella Pearson, Dan Siskind, Ruth Hubbard, Emily Gordon, Elizabeth Coulson, Urska Arnautovska, Nicola Warren
Summary: This study examines the prevalence and characteristics of frailty in individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, revealing a high rate of frailty and a younger age of onset. Frailty is positively associated with age and severity of psychiatric illness. The findings suggest that routine frailty assessments can lead to appropriate interventions, potentially improving life expectancy and quality of life.
COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Ales Neusar, Eva Rubinova
Summary: This study found that confidence, dating strategy, and phenomenological characteristics are important factors in determining dating accuracy. For recent events, importance, direct experience, and events embedded in extended periods contribute to higher dating accuracy; for remote events, vividness is associated with higher dating accuracy.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN MEMORY AND COGNITION
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Anna Inguanzo, Konstantinos Poulakis, Rosaleena Mohanty, Christopher G. Schwarz, Scott A. Przybelski, Patricia Diaz-Galvan, Val J. Lowe, Bradley F. Boeve, Afina W. Lemstra, Marleen van de Beek, Wiesje van der Flier, Frederik Barkhof, Frederic Blanc, Paulo Loureiro de Sousa, Nathalie Philippi, Benjamin Cretin, Catherine Demuynck, Zuzana Nedelska, Jakub Hort, Barbara Segura, Carme Junque, Ketil Oppedal, Dag Aarsland, Eric Westman, Kejal Kantarci, Daniel Ferreira
Summary: Using MRI data, we identified three subtypes of Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB): older subtype with reduced cortical GM volumes and worse cognition, subtype with low GM volumes in fronto-occipital regions, and a younger subtype with the highest cortical GM volumes, lower GM volumes in basal ganglia, and cognitive fluctuations. These subtypes have implications for clinical practice, research, and treatment decisions.
NPJ PARKINSONS DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Carna, Jan S. Novotny, Neda Dragisic, Hanus Slavik, Katerina Sheardova, Yonas E. Geda, Martin Vyhnalek, Jan Laczo, Jakub Hort, Zixu Mao, Robert A. Rissman, Marian Hajduch, Eric B. Dammer, Gorazd B. Stokin
Summary: The study reveals that miRNAs play a critical role in regulating aging and also act as a significant risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The circulating miRNA network in aging is characterized by downregulation and preferential targeting to extracellular vesicles (EVs). In AD, miRNAs are further downregulated, exhibiting altered proportions of motifs relevant to EV loading and secretion, and are exclusively found in EVs. This highlights the pathological exacerbation of aging in AD, where the physiological suppression of AD pathology by miRNAs becomes insufficient.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Maria Camila Gonzalez, Diego Alejandro Tovar-Rios, Guido Alves, Ingvild Dalen, Caroline H. Williams-Gray, Marta Camacho, Lars Forsgren, David Backstrom, Rachael A. Lawson, Angus D. Macleod, Carl E. Counsell, Claire Paquet, Carlo DeLena, Fabrizia D'Antonio, Andrea Pilotto, Alessandro Padovani, Frederic Blanc, Cristian Falup-Pecurariu, Simon J. G. Lewis, Konrad Rejdak, Ewa Papuc, Jakub Hort, Zuzana Nedelska, John O'Brien, Laura Bonanni, Marta Marquie, Merce Boada, Vanesa Pytel, Carla Abdelnour, Daniel Alcolea, Katrin Beyer, Ole-Bjorn Tysnes, Dag Aarsland, Jodi Maple-Grodem
Summary: This study compares the rate of cognitive and motor decline in patients with DLB and PDD, finding that both disorders show similar rates of decline. This has implications for future clinical trial designs.
MOVEMENT DISORDERS CLINICAL PRACTICE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jennifer J. Lister, Elizabeth M. Hudak, Ross Andel, Jerri D. Edwards
Summary: This study investigated the effects of piano training and music listening instruction on auditory processing, cognition, and everyday function among older adults. The results showed no significant effects of piano training compared to music listening on auditory processing, cognition, or everyday function. Future research should further explore the connection between impaired auditory processing and dementia, and investigate whether intervention to improve auditory processing can reduce dementia risk.
JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Ross Andel, Britney M. Veal, Virginia J. Howard, Leslie A. MacDonald, Suzanne E. Judd, Michael Crowe
Summary: Retirement represents a critical period for cognitive aging. A longitudinal study of Black and White adults aged >= 45 years found that cognitive functioning remained stable before retirement but declined significantly after retirement. The decline was more pronounced in White adults, especially men, compared to Black adults and women. Participants with higher education and greater work complexity had better cognitive function at retirement, but these factors were not significantly related to cognitive change after retirement.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Francesco Angelucci, Katerina Veverova, Alzbeta Katonova, Martin Vyhnalek, Jakub Hort
Summary: This study found that Alzheimer patients with dementia had lower levels of BDNF and higher levels of PAI-1. The PAI-1/BDNF ratio was significantly increased in Alzheimer patients and negatively correlated with disease severity as measured by Mini-Mental state examination.
Review
Clinical Neurology
Jakub Hort, Thomas Duning, Robert Hoerr
Summary: This systematic review aimed to provide an overview of clinical trials of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in patients with mild Neurocognitive Disorder (mild NCD) according to DSM-5 criteria. The results showed that EGb 761 had beneficial effects on cognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with mild NCD. The drug was found to be safe and well tolerated.
NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISEASE AND TREATMENT
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Ying Xia, Paul Maruff, Vincent Dore, Pierrick Bourgeat, Simon M. Laws, Christopher Fowler, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Ralph N. Martins, Victor L. Villemagne, Christopher C. Rowe, Colin L. Masters, Elizabeth J. Coulson, Jurgen Fripp
Summary: Dysfunction of the cholinergic basal forebrain system and amyloid-beta deposition are early pathological features in Alzheimer's disease. This study found that Aβ is associated with volume loss in the BF and hippocampus, and the effect varies within BF subregions. The degeneration of BF subregions during early AD also shows distinctive characteristics.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGING
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Clinical Neurology
J. Laczo, M. Laczo, L. Martinkovic, O. Lerch, M. Vyhnalek, J. Hort, J. Wiener
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Clinical Neurology
M. Laczo, V. Sedlakova, Z. Svacova, R. Svatkova, J. Kalinova, M. Vyhnalek, J. Hort, M. Hornberger, J. Laczo
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Clinical Neurology
Z. Nedelska, M. Uller, J. Hanzalova, O. Lerch, M. Vyhnalek, J. Hort
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)