Effects of HTR1A rs6295 polymorphism on emotional attentional blink.

People prone to mood disorders and anxiety typically show increased sensitivity to task­irrelevant stimulation signifying threat. Better knowledge about the brain mechanisms mediating this sensitivity as well as about individual inherited differences in how these mechanisms function is a precondition for developing improved vulnerability screening, resilience building and treatment methods. The chances to have affective disorders are known to depend, among other factors, on the functioning of the brain serotonin systems developed under influence from common genetic variability. However, the extent and directions of the effects of SNPs involved in serotonergic regulation on the propensity for suboptimal threat­sensitivity are poorly understood. This applies also to HTR1A rs6295 polymorphism. Assisted by our custom developed emotional attentional blink task, we found that nonclinical subjects carrying the G allele (compared to C allele homozygotes) had higher sensitivity to threat­depicting distractor stimuli, expressed as an increase in the blink magnitude. We also disrupted right­hemisphere dorsolateral prefrontal cortex by rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation) to look for the possible role of DLPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; known to be involved in cognitive control of responses to affective stimuli) in serotonergic regulation mediated by the HTR1A rs6295 polymorphism. No main effects or interactions with rTMS being involved were found.

Positive outcome of visuospatial deficit rehabilitation in children with epilepsy using computer-based FORAMENRehab program.

Children with epilepsy often show deficits in attention and visuospatial functions. Still, very few systematically controlled evidence-based pediatric neurorehabilitation methods exist. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of a computer-based rehabilitation program for visuospatial deficit remediation in children with epilepsy. Fifty-eight children aged 8-12 years participated: 17 children with epilepsy diagnosis in intervention group, 22 patients in waiting-list control group, and 19 healthy age equivalent controls. The intervention group received guided visuospatial functions rehabilitation with FORAMENRehab software twice a week for a 5-week period. Baseline assessments were carried out before and immediately after the intervention period, and as follow-up 1.31 years later. Intervention group showed positive immediate rehabilitation effect in 3 out of 4 visuospatial components: visual organization, visual attention, and visuospatial perception. A long-term rehabilitation effect in the study group was observed in all 4 of the trained components. Also, a positive generalized effect was confirmed by the parents' and children's qualitative feedback with some of the improved skills transferring to children's everyday life. One hundred percent compliance further confirmed the children's motivation to participate and the effectiveness of FORAMENRehab for pediatric neurorehabilitation.

Neurorehabilitation with FORAMENRehab for attention impairment in children with epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a frequent neurological disorder in children and often accompanied with attention impairment. Still, few systematically controlled rehabilitation techniques for children exist. The aim of this study was to design and measure the impact of the FORAMENRehab computer-based intervention method for attention impairment rehabilitation in children with epilepsy. We chose the FORAMENRehab program because it allows separate training for different attention components based on individual needs. Forty-eight children participated in the study. At baseline, all patients underwent neuropsychological examination of attention with the NEPSY test battery. The study group consisted of 17 8- to 12-year-old children with partial epilepsy and attention impairment who received neurorehabilitation over 5weeks (10 sessions) with FORAMENRehab Attention module accompanied by a therapist. Two control groups were included: the first control group of 12 children with partial epilepsy and attention impairment (waiting-list) participated in assessments with baseline tasks before and after the five-week period and received no active training. Additionally, all patients participated in the follow-up assessment 1.31years later. The second control group consisted of 19 typically developing children who only participated in the first assessment. After the intervention, study group patients showed significant improvement in complex attention and tracking (P<0.025). To achieve the effect of intervention in children with partial epilepsy, 10 sessions tailored to individual levels of ability were the minimum. Three attention components - sustained, complex, and tracking - need selective and longer training for more effective remediation. Follow-up assessment revealed a long-term positive effect of intervention. After 1.31years, the study group had significantly improved in three out of the four attention components (P<0.025), whereas the waiting-list group showed improvement in only two aspects of one complex attention component. In conclusion, attention impairment rehabilitation with FORAMENRehab is effective for children with epilepsy. Rehabilitation should focus on training specific components of attention and follow an individual-based rehabilitation process.