User Perceptions and Needs Analysis of a Virtual Coach for Active and Healthy Ageing-An International Qualitative Study.

Virtual coaching systems show great potential for meeting the challenges of demographic change. However, the proportion of older users in the field of digital technologies is far behind that of younger people. As part of the e-VITA project, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Japan, France, Italy and Germany with 58 people aged 65 and over, and the content was analyzed with the aim of obtaining information about how older adults organize their everyday lives, also with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, how they deal with their health, what role digital technologies play in the lives of the interviewees and why they oppose progressive digitization. Second, the survey asked why the older adults oppose a virtual coach, which is to be developed in the e-VITA project to support older adults in healthy and active aging, and what barriers they see in a possible implementation. It was found that older respondents lead active, varied lives and that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the increased use of digital solutions. In addition, respondents were consciously addressing their own health. With regard to a virtual coach, barriers were seen primarily in the area of data security and sharing. It can be concluded from this that heterogeneity among older user groups should be taken into account when developing virtual coaches. In addition, aspects of data security and data protection should be presented in a clearly understandable and transparent manner.

Effects of Natural Reduced Water on Cognitive Function, Body Composition, and Psychological Function in Older Adults: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Natural reduced water is natural water that contains active hydrogen and reduces oxidation. It is rare in the world, and in Japan, it is produced in the Hita area of Oita Prefecture (Hita Tenryosui water). Previous studies in humans have examined the effects of natural reduced water on diabetes, which is one of the known risks for dementia. Animal studies of natural reduced water have revealed anti-obesity and anti-anxiety effects. However, the effects of natural reduced water on cognitive function, body composition, and psychological function in humans are unknown. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between these items in elderly people who continuously consume natural reduced water. In this study, we recruited participants aged between 65 and 74 years. The participants were randomly and blindly assigned to a natural reduced water (Hita Tenryosui water) group or a control (tap water) group and drank 1 L of water daily for 6 months. Cognitive function, body composition, and psychological function were measured before and after the 6-month intervention period.

Cortico-striatal-thalamic loop as a neural correlate of neuroticism in the mind-body interface.

OBJECTIVE: Although brain structural studies have demonstrated the neural correlates of neuroticism, the outcomes are not easily identified because of the various possible brain regions involved, low statistical power (low number of subjects), and brain structural measures available, such as mean diffusivity (MD), which are more suitable than standard regional measures of grey and white-matter volume (rGMV, rWMV) and fractional anisotropy (FA). We hypothesized that neuroticism neural correlates could be detected by MD and differentially identified using other measures. We aimed to visualize the neural correlates of neuroticism. METHODS: A voxel-by-voxel regression analysis was performed using the MD, rGMV, rWMV, or FA value as the dependent variable and with neuroticism scores based on the NEO-FFI and its confounding factors as independent variables in 1207 (693 men and 514 women; age, 20.7 ± 1.8, 18-27 years), non-clinical students in a cross-sectional study. RESULTS: MD in the cortico- (orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and posterior insula) striatal- (caudate and putamen) thalamic loop regions, including the right posterior limb of the internal capsule, were positively associated with neuroticism using the threshold-free cluster enhancement method with a family-wise error-corrected threshold of P < 0.0125 (0.05/4, Bonferroni correction for four types of MRI data [MD, rGMV, rWMV, and FA]) at the whole-brain level. CONCLUSIONS: An increased MD has generally been associated with reduced neural tissues and possibly area function. Accordingly, this finding helps elucidate the mechanism of somatization in neuroticism because the regions related to neuroticism are considered neural correlates of somatoform disorders.

Effects of training of shadowing and reading aloud of second language on working memory and neural systems.

Shadowing and reading aloud both involve multiple complex cognitive processes, and both are considered effective methods for second-language learning. The working memory system, particularly the phonological loop, has been suggested to be involved in shadowing and reading aloud. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a 4-week intensive adaptive training including shadowing and reading aloud of second language on working-memory capacity, regional gray matter volume (rGMV), and functional activation related to the n-back working-memory task in young adults. The results showed that compared with the training groups without speaking (listening to compressed speech and active control involving the second language), the training groups with speaking (shadowing and reading aloud) showed a tendency for greater test-retest increases in digit-span scores, and significantly greater test-retest decreases in N-back task reaction time (increase in working memory performance). Imaging analyses revealed compared with the active control group, shadowing group exhibited decreases in rGMV and brain activity during the working memory task (2-back task), in the left cerebellum and reading group exhibited decreases in them in the right anterior insula. These regions are parts of the phonological loop, suggesting the presence of training-induced neural plasticity in these neurocognitive mechanisms.

Effect of the interaction between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and daily physical activity on mean diffusivity.

Numerous studies have reported that the Met allele of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphism reduces neural plasticity. A reduction in mean diffusivity (MD) in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) characteristically reflects the neural plasticity that involves increased tissue components. In this study, we revealed that the number of Met-BDNF alleles was negatively associated with MD throughout the whole-brain gray and white matter areas of 743 subjects using DTI and whole-brain multiple regression analyses. Within the same sample, the region of interest analysis revealed that the number of Met-BDNF alleles significantly and positively correlated with the mean FA value in the body of the corpus callosum. In addition, we observed interaction effects between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and daily physical activity levels on MD, but not FA, in significant clusters of the bilateral hemisphere (n = 577 subjects). Post-hoc multiple regression analyses revealed that after correcting for confounding variables, there was a significant negative correlation between the physical activity level and mean MD of the whole brain in the Val/Val group [standardized partial regression coefficient (ß) = -0.196, P = 0.005, t = -2.825], but not in the Val/Met (ß = 0.050, P = 0.412, t = 0.822) and Met/Met groups (ß = 0.092, P = 0.382, t = 0.878). These results underscore the importance of the interaction between physical activity and the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, which affects the plasticity of neural mechanisms.

Mean diffusivity related to rule-breaking guilt: the Macbeth effect in the sensorimotor regions.

Guilt, a self-conscious emotion, includes self-focused role taking and also correlates with other-oriented role-taking. Excess guilt proneness might be relevant to obsessive compulsive disorders. The white matter (WM) neural correlates of the degree of guilt have not yet been determined. We hypothesized that the WM structures involved in feelings of guilt are associated with social and moral cognition (inferior parietal lobule [IPL], prefrontal cortex [PFC], and cingulate), and aimed to visualize this using diffusion MRI. We investigated the association between regional WM structures (WM volume, and fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity [MD]), and feelings of guilt in 1196 healthy, young students using MRI and the Guilty Feeling Scale, which comprises interpersonal situation (IPS; guilt from hurting friends) and rule-breaking situation (RBS; deontological guilt) scores. The primary novel finding presented here is that MD in the right somatosensory and motor cortices from arm to hand were positively correlated with RBS scores. Further, consistent with our hypothesis, RBS scores were positively correlated with MD in the same regions. These results would be predicted by the Macbeth effect, an obsession with dirt leading to hand-washing rituals resulting from guilt, made famous by the Shakespearian character Lady Macbeth. "What, will these hands ne'er be clean?" William Shakespeare (Shakespeare, 1606) Macbeth.

Mean diffusivity related to collectivism among university students in Japan.

Collectivism is an important factor for coping with stress in one's social life. To date, no imaging studies have revealed a direct association between collectivism and white matter structure. Collectivism is positively related to independence, harm avoidance, rejection sensitivity, cooperativeness, external locus of control, and self-monitoring and negatively related to need for uniqueness. Accordingly, we hypothesised that the neural structures underpinning collectivism are those that are also involved with its relationship using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study aimed to identify the brain structures associated with collectivism in healthy young adults (n = 797), using regional grey and white matter volume, fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity (MD) analyses of MRI data. Scores on the collectivism scale were positively associated with MD values in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, ventral posterior cingulate cortex, globus pallidus, and calcarine cortex using the threshold-free cluster enhancement method with family-wise errors corrected to P < 0.05 at the whole-brain level. No significant associations between were found collectivism and other measures. Thus, the present findings supported our hypothesis that the neural correlates of collectivism are situated in regions involved in its related factors.

Shorter sleep duration and better sleep quality are associated with greater tissue density in the brain.

Poor sleep quality is associated with unfavorable psychological measurements, whereas sleep duration has complex relationships with such measurements. The aim of this study was to identify the associations between microstructural properties of the brain and sleep duration/sleep quality in a young adult. The associations between mean diffusivity (MD), a measure of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and sleep duration/sleep quality were investigated in a study cohort of 1201 normal young adults. Positive correlations between sleep duration and MD of widespread areas of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the dopaminergic systems, were identified. Negative correlations between sleep quality and MD of the widespread areas of the brain, including the PFC and the right hippocampus, were also detected. Lower MD has been previously associated with more neural tissues in the brain. Further, shorter sleep duration was associated with greater persistence and executive functioning (lower Stroop interference), whereas good sleep quality was associated with states and traits relevant to positive affects. These results suggest that bad sleep quality and longer sleep duration were associated with aberrant neurocognitive measurements in the brain in healthy young adults.

Refractive error is associated with intracranial volume.

Myopia is part of the spectrum of refractive error. Myopia is associated with psychometric intelligence and, the link between brain anatomy and myopia has been hypothesized. Here we aimed to identify the associations between brain structures and refractive error in developed young adults. In a study cohort of 1,319 normal educated young adults, the refractive error showed a significant negative correlation with total intracranial volume and total cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume but not with total gray matter volume (GMV) or total white matter volume (WMV). Time spent studying was associated with refractive error but could not explain the aforementioned associations with brain volume parameters. The R2 values of the simple regression between spherical equivalent and outcome variables for each sex in non-whole brain imaging analyses were less than 0.05 in all cases and thus were weak. Psychometric intelligence was not associated with refractive error or total CSF volume, but it weakly positively correlated with total GMV and total WMV in this study population. Thus, refractive error appears to be primarily (weakly) associated with the volume of the cranium, whereas psychometric intelligence was associated with the volume of the brain.

Global associations between regional gray matter volume and diverse complex cognitive functions: evidence from a large sample study.

Correlations between regional gray matter volume (rGMV) and psychometric test scores have been measured to investigate the neural bases for individual differences in complex cognitive abilities (CCAs). However, such studies have yielded different rGMV correlates of the same CCA. Based on the available evidence, we hypothesized that diverse CCAs are all positively but only weakly associated with rGMV in widespread brain areas. To test this hypothesis, we used the data from a large sample of healthy young adults [776 males and 560 females; mean age: 20.8 years, standard deviation (SD) = 0.8] and investigated associations between rGMV and scores on multiple CCA tasks (including non-verbal reasoning, verbal working memory, Stroop interference, and complex processing speed tasks involving spatial cognition and reasoning). Better performance scores on all tasks except non-verbal reasoning were associated with greater rGMV across widespread brain areas. The effect sizes of individual associations were generally low, consistent with our previous studies. The lack of strong correlations between rGMV and specific CCAs, combined with stringent corrections for multiple comparisons, may lead to different and diverse findings in the field.

The VEGF gene polymorphism impacts brain volume and arterial blood volume.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a critical role in the angiogenesis and proliferation of various types of cells such as neurons, astroglia, and endothelial cells in the brain. A common polymorphism in the VEGF gene (-2578 C/A) is associated with circulating VEGF levels, cancers and Alzheimer's disease. Nonetheless, the effects of this polymorphism on normal human brain volume, arterial blood volume, and blood supply remain unclear. In this study, the effects of this polymorphism on the total gray matter volume (TGMV) and total white matter volume (TWMV) using T1-weighted structural images and the total arterial blood volume (TABV) and mean cerebral blood flow (mCBF) during rest using arterial spin labeling (ASL) in 765 young adult humans were investigated. Voxel-by-voxel whole-brain analyses of these measures were also performed. Multiple regression analyses with age and sex as covariates revealed that the VEGF genotype (number of C alleles) was significantly and positively correlated with TGMV, TWMV, and TABV as well as with regional gray and white matter volumes in widespread areas and regional arterial blood volume in some areas with high arterial blood volume. However, these regional associations were not seen when the corresponding global signal was included as a covariate in the multiple regression analyses, indicating that we failed to obtain evidence of region-specific associations between these brain measures and the genotype. The results suggest that the VEGF-2578C allele, is associated with changes in the vascular system that lead to increased blood volume and larger brain volume. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3516-3526, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Regional homogeneity, resting-state functional connectivity and amplitude of low frequency fluctuation associated with creativity measured by divergent thinking in a sex-specific manner.

Brain connectivity is traditionally thought to be important for creativity. Here we investigated the associations of creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) with resting-state functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) measures and their sex differences. We examined these relationships in the brains of 1277 healthy young adults. Whole-brain analyses revealed a significant interaction between verbal CMDT and sex on (a) regional homogeneity within an area from the left anterior temporal lobe (b) on the resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the mPFC and the left inferior frontal gyrus and (c) on fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in several distinct areas, including the precuneus and middle cingulate gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and cerebellum. These interactions were mediated by positive correlations in females and negative correlations in males. These findings suggest that greater CMDT in females is reflected by (a) regional coherence (regional homogeneity) of brain areas responsible for representing and combining concepts as well as (b) the efficient functional connection (RSFC) between the key areas for the default state of cognitive activity and speech production, and (c) greater spontaneous neural activity (fALFF) during the resting of brain areas involved in frontal lobe functions, default cognitive activities, and language functions. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the associations between creativity and resting state brain connectivity patterns are different between males and females.

Lenticular nucleus correlates of general self-efficacy in young adults.

General self-efficacy (GSE) is an important factor in education, social participation, and medical treatment. However, the only study that has investigated the direct association between GSE and a neural correlate did not identify specific brain regions, rather only assessed brain structures, and included older adult subjects. GSE is related to motivation, physical activity, learning, the willingness to initiate behaviour and expend effort, and adjustment. Thus, it was hypothesized in the present study that the neural correlates of GSE might be related to changes in the basal ganglia, which is a region related to the abovementioned self-efficacy factors. This study aimed to identify the brain structures associated with GSE in healthy young adults (n = 1204, 691 males and 513 females, age 20.7 ± 1.8 years) using regional grey matter density and volume (rGMD and rGMV), fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) analyses of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The findings showed that scores on the GSE Scale (GSES) were associated with a lower MD value in regions from the right putamen to the globus pallidum; however, there were no significant association between GSES scores and regional brain structures using the other analyses (rGMD, rGMV, and FA). Thus, the present findings indicated that the lenticular nucleus is a neural correlate of GSE.

The anterior midcingulate cortex as a neural node underlying hostility in young adults.

Anger typically manifests for only a short period of time, whereas hostility is present for a longer duration. However, both of these emotions are associated with an increased likelihood of psychological problems. The nodes within the neural networks that underlie hostility remain unclear. We presumed that specific nodes might include the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), which seems to be essential for the cognitive aspects of hostility. Thus, the present study first evaluated the associations between regional gray matter density (rGMD) and hostility in 777 healthy young students (433 men and 344 women; 20.7 ± 1.8 years of age) using magnetic resonance imaging and the hostile behaviors subscale (HBS) of the Coronary-prone Type Scale (CTS) for Japanese populations. The HBS scores were positively correlated with rGMD in the aMCC and in widespread frontal regions from the dorsomedial/dorsolateral prefrontal cortices to the lateral premotor cortex at the whole-brain level. No significant correlation was observed between rGMD and the conjunction of HBS and Trait Anger/Anger-Out scores. Furthermore, no significant interaction effects of sex and HBS scores on rGMD were revealed, although the HBS scores of males were significantly higher than those of females. The present findings indicate that the neural correlates of hostility appear to be more distinct in rGMD than those of anger due to differences and duration.

Mean diffusivity of basal ganglia and thalamus specifically associated with motivational states among mood states.

Previously, we proposed that the mean diffusivity (MD), a measure of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in areas of the dopaminergic system (MDDS), is associated with motivation. In this study, we tested if and how the motivational state is associated with MD in comparison with other mood states. We also tested the associations of these mood states with multiple cognitive functions. We examined these issues in 766 right-handed healthy young adults. We employed analyses of MD and a psychological measure of the profile of mood states (POMS) as well as multiple cognitive functions. We detected associations between the higher Vigor subscale of POMS and lower MD in the right globus pallidum, right putamen to right posterior insula, right caudate body, and right thalamus, and these associations were highly specific to the Vigor subscale. Similarly, the association of the motivational state with creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) was rather specific and prominent compared with that of the other mood states and cognitive functions. In conclusion, when affective states are finely divided, only the motivational state is associated with MD in the areas related to the dopaminergic system, and psychological mechanisms that had been associated with dopaminergic system (CMDT). These results suggest that these mechanisms specifically contribute to the motivational state and not to the other states, such as depression and anxiety.

Creative females have larger white matter structures: Evidence from a large sample study.

The importance of brain connectivity for creativity has been theoretically suggested and empirically demonstrated. Studies have shown sex differences in creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) as well as sex differences in the structural correlates of CMDT. However, the relationships between regional white matter volume (rWMV) and CMDT and associated sex differences have never been directly investigated. In addition, structural studies have shown poor replicability and inaccuracy of multiple comparisons over the whole brain. To address these issues, we used the data from a large sample of healthy young adults (776 males and 560 females; mean age: 20.8 years, SD = 0.8). We investigated the relationship between CMDT and WMV using the newest version of voxel-based morphometry (VBM). We corrected for multiple comparisons over whole brain using the permutation-based method, which is known to be quite accurate and robust. Significant positive correlations between rWMV and CMDT scores were observed in widespread areas below the neocortex specifically in females. These associations with CMDT were not observed in analyses of fractional anisotropy using diffusion tensor imaging. Using rigorous methods, our findings further supported the importance of brain connectivity for creativity as well as its female-specific association. Hum Brain Mapp 38:414-430, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Neuroanatomical bases of effortful control: evidence from a large sample of young healthy adults using voxel-based morphometry.

Effortful control (EC) is a base of individuality in cognition and psychological adjustment. EC is defined as a capacity to control responses and behaviors. We investigated associations between individual differences of EC and regional gray and white matter volume (rGMV/rGMV) in 374 men and 306 women (age, 20.61 ± 1.82 years) using Japanese version of Effortful control scale (J-ECS). J-ECS consists of three subscales such as inhibitory control (IC), activation control (ACTC), and attentional control (ATC). Results showed that (a) IC was associated with larger rGMV in the dorsal part of anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the pre SMA and larger rWMV in the dACC, (b) ACTC was correlated with smaller rGMV in the insula and the putamen, and (c) ATC was associated with larger rWMV in the inferior frontal gyrus, orbital frontal gyrus, ACC, and insula. Our study revealed key neuroanatomical correlations between EC and rGMV and rWMV.

Sex-Related Differences in the Effects of Sleep Habits on Verbal and Visuospatial Working Memory.

Poor sleep quality negatively affects memory performance, and working memory in particular. We investigated sleep habits related to sleep quality including sleep duration, daytime nap duration, nap frequency, and dream content recall frequency (DCRF). Declarative working memory can be subdivided into verbal working memory (VWM) and visuospatial working memory (VSWM). We hypothesized that sleep habits would have different effects on VWM and VSWM. To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate differences between VWM and VSWM related to daytime nap duration, nap frequency, and DCRF. Furthermore, we tested the hypothesis that the effects of duration and frequency of daytime naps and DCRF on VWM and VSWM differed according to sex. We assessed 779 healthy right-handed individuals (434 males and 345 females; mean age: 20.7 ± 1.8 years) using a digit span forward and backward VWM task, a forward and backward VSWM task, and sleep habits scales. A correlation analysis was used to test the relationships between VWM capacity (VWMC) and VSWM capacity (VSWMC) scores and sleep duration, nap duration, nap frequency, and DCRF. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with VWMC and VSWMC scores and to identify sex-related differences. We found significant positive correlations between VSWMC and nap duration and DCRF, and between VWMC and sleep duration in all subjects. Furthermore, we found that working memory capacity (WMC) was positively correlated with nap duration in males and with sleep duration in females, and DCRF was positively correlated with VSWMC in females. Our finding of sex-related differences in the effects of sleep habits on WMC has not been reported previously. The associations between WMC and sleep habits differed according to sex because of differences in the underlying neural correlates of VWM and VSWM, and effectiveness of the sleep habits in males and females.

Differences in gray matter structure correlated to nationalism and patriotism.

Nationalism and patriotism both entail positive evaluations of one's nation. However, the former inherently involves derogation of other nations, whereas the latter is independent of comparisons with other nations. We used voxel-based morphometry and psychological measures and determined nationalism and patriotism's association with gray matter density (rGMD) and their cognitive nature in healthy individuals (433 men and 344 women; age, 20.7 ± 1.9 years) using whole-brain multiple regression analyses and post hoc analyses. We found higher nationalism associated with greater rGMD in (a) areas of the posterior cingulate cortex and greater rGMD in (b) the orbitofrontal cortex, and smaller rGMD in (c) the right amygdala area. Furthermore, we found higher patriotism associated with smaller rGMD in the (d) rostrolateral prefrontal cortex. Post hoc analyses revealed the mean rGMD of the cluster (a) associated with compassion, that of (b) associated with feeling of superiority, that of (c) associated with suicide ideation, and that of (d) associated with quality of life. These results indicate that individual nationalism may be mediated by neurocognitive mechanisms in social-related areas and limbic neural mechanisms, whereas patriotism may be mediated by neurocognitive mechanisms in areas related to well-being.

Basal ganglia correlates of fatigue in young adults.

Although the prevalence of chronic fatigue is approximately 20% in healthy individuals, there are no studies of brain structure that elucidate the neural correlates of fatigue outside of clinical subjects. We hypothesized that fatigue without evidence of disease might be related to changes in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex and be implicated in fatigue with disease. We aimed to identify the white matter structures of fatigue in young subjects without disease using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Healthy young adults (n = 883; 489 males and 394 females) were recruited. As expected, the degrees of fatigue and motivation were associated with larger mean diffusivity (MD) in the right putamen, pallidus and caudate. Furthermore, the degree of physical activity was associated with a larger MD only in the right putamen. Accordingly, motivation was the best candidate for widespread basal ganglia, whereas physical activity might be the best candidate for the putamen. A plausible mechanism of fatigue may involve abnormal function of the motor system, as well as areas of the dopaminergic system in the basal ganglia that are associated with motivation and reward.