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Neuroimaging studies of individuals with Down syndrome
Published in Vee P. Prasher, Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease, 2018
Felix Beacher, Declan G. M. Murphy
Traditionally, the human cerebellum has been associated with motor function. Accordingly, it has been proposed that reduced cerebellar volume in people with DS may underlie the hypotonia and difficulties in motor coordination and speech production which are common features of the disorder.52 The precise role(s) of the cerebellum in healthy brain function remain controversial. However, recent evidence (for example, from lesion and functional imaging studies) has pointed to its involvement in cognitive and language functions in addition to motor function.53 Consistent with this, the cerebellum is known to have extensive connections to and from the cerebral cortex, including the frontal and prefrontal regions.53 Accordingly, studies of healthy brain function have variously implicated the cerebellum in cognitive planning,54 spatial and general intelligence,55 judging time intervals and velocities,56 and word retrieval.57 Thus it has been proposed that reduced cerebellar volumes in the brain of people with DS may be related to difficulties in higher cognitive functions typical of the disorder (such as syntactic processing45), in addition to difficulties in motor function. However, the fact remains that the involvement of cerebellar hypoplasia in cognitive impairment and/or other features of DS has not been experimentally investigated, and is therefore still poorly understood.
The Process of Group Treatment with the Chronically Mentally Ill
Published in Diane Gibson, Group Process and Structure in Psychosocial Occupational Therapy, 2014
This activity serves to reinforce the members’ connections to each other (Pepper, Rylewicz, & Kirshner, 1982). It elicits commitments to participate and attend future groups. It also provides a concrete time reference and facilitates cognitive planning.
Consequences of Excessive Chronic Alcohol Consumption on Brain Structure and Function
Published in John Brick, Handbook of the Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 2012
Margaret J. Rosenbloom, Edith V. Sullivan, Adolf Pfefferbaum
The brain consequences of alcoholism predominantly affect the frontal lobes and cerebellum. It is now recognized that the cerebellum and its extensive circuitry support functions classically associated with the frontal lobes, including verbal associate learning, word production, problem solving, cognitive planning, attentional set shifting, and working memory (e.g., Courchesne et al., 1994; Schmahmann, 2000). Owing to their far-reaching circuitry, disruption of selective cerebellar loci can have significant effects on remote brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex. To date, our guiding hypothesis that disruption of frontocerebellar circuitry is a principal neural mechanism underlying alcoholism’s salient, enduring, and debilitating deficits—ataxia, executive dysfunction, and visuospatial impairment— has been consistently supported by our MRI structural-neuropsychological studies and fMRI experiments. Given the possibility of structural and functional repair and recovery in sober alcoholics, at least a portion of the neuropathology must be transient and the lesions incomplete (Filley, 2001; Sullivan, 2000). This transience of certain aspects of brain pathology may underlie the problem of finding specific brain structural volume-functional relationships in alcoholics. Indeed, the dynamic course of alcoholism presents an important and challenging neuroscience model for understanding mechanisms of functional recovery, compensation, and processing limitations that should be applicable to any neurological condition characterized by a fluctuating course.
One-year follow-up after the time management group intervention Let’s Get Organized
Published in Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2022
Maria Wingren, Kajsa Lidström-Holmqvist, Afsaneh Hayat Roshanai, Patrik Arvidsson, Gunnel Janeslätt, Suzanne White, Marie Holmefur
To measure executive functioning in the activity of time planning, the Swedish version of Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA-SE) was used. The WCPA-SE measures a person’s ability to solve cognitive planning tasks involving organization, planning, and the person’s use of strategies [34,35]. The test includes 17 appointments on a list to be organized on a blank calendar sheet. The test is timed, and there are also five rules to be followed. The WCPA-SE results used in his study include the total time to complete the task, the number of correctly entered appointments, the number of rules followed, and the number of strategies used. The number of strategies includes both observed and self-reported strategies, the latter reported in a short interview after the assessment. Another variable in the WCPA-SE results is the efficiency score, which is the ability to perform the test in a short time with high accuracy of correct appointments [36]. Efficiency score was calculated for participants who entered at least seven accurate appointments [36]. Previous studies of WCPA indicate proper psychometric characteristics of discriminant validity [37] and interrater reliability (ICC = 0.99) [38]. Test-retest of WCPA-SE shows sufficient reliability, in particular between test occasions 2 and 3 (ICC = 0.65–0.91) [39].
Designing Virtual Reality Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety in Older Adults Living with Parkinson’s Disease: Integrating Literature for Scoping
Published in Clinical Gerontologist, 2022
Karthick Thangavelu, Joshua A. Hayward, Nancy A. Pachana, Gerard J. Byrne, Leander K. Mitchell, Guy M. Wallis, Tiffany R. Au, Nadeeka N. Dissanayaka
We identified a limited number of studies that focused on non-motor symptoms in PD. Although visual cues induced anxiety and/or freezing of gait, Gallagher et al. (2016) suggested that there was no motor interference among PD patients when auditory cues were presented in the virtual environment. Klinger et al. (2006) assessed cognitive planning among PD patients using a virtual shopping environment. PD patients did not perform as well as healthy controls, suggesting reduced cognitive planning. Further, a study to identify the effects of virtual rehabilitation suggested VR improved quality of life in PD, although there was no effect on cognition (da Silva Souza et al., 2018). A study evaluating learning, retention, and transfer of performance suggested that these variables were dependent on the cognitive demands while using VR (Mendes et al., 2012).
An exploration of the ecological validity of the Virtual Action Planning–Supermarket (VAP-S) with people with schizophrenia
Published in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 2018
Ginette Aubin, Marie-France Béliveau, Evelyne Klinger
The use of an observational assessment tool, the PRPP System of Task Analysis, developed by occupational therapists, was useful for comparing the participants’ performance in both environments and as a “qualitative” complement to the assessment of cognitive planning. Authors have suggested that the participation of other professionals such as occupational therapists in the assessment of clients with cognitive challenges can help deepen our understanding of problems in “real-life” task performance (Bennett, 2001). Further studies are needed to explore the concept of ecological validity and its application to virtual assessment tools such as the VAP-S with larger samples, and neuropsychological and symptom testing in order to facilitate the generalisation of results.