Neurobiological mechanisms and therapeutic impact of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an efficient therapeutic resource for psycho-pharmacotherapeutic resistant forms of depression. ECT is a form of electrical brain stimulation involving the induction of a controlled seizure, clinically similar to an epileptic seizure, that is initiated in the prefrontal region of the brain and spreads to the cortex and subcortex, including the diencephalic structures. This is achieved by creating a transcranial electric field and synchronously depolarizing neuronal membranes. The mechanisms of action of ECT are not yet fully understood, but several hypotheses have been proposed to explain how it affects the brain: neurotransmitter changes, neuroplasticity, network connectivity, endocrine system regulation and changes in regional cerebral blood flow and regional metabolism.

Cognitive factors that predict on-sight and red-point performance in sport climbing at youth level.

Introduction: The ascent of a route can be defined as being climbed on-sight or red-point. Climbing performance is measured by the grade of the personal best route that the athlete has ever climbed. Methodology: The study examined 17 youth climbers (10 male and 7 female). The inclusion criteria were age (less than 20 years), a minimum of three sessions per week, a minimum 7a climbing grade and participation in national or international competitions. We used the Cognitrom battery and applied tests measuring spatial orientation and reactivity. Results: Climbing experience explained 42.7% of the variance of on-sight performance, and 49.5% of the variance of red-point performance. Image generation has a negative on both on-sight and red-point performance, lowering the prediction with 0.5% for on-sight climbing and with 1.5% for red-point climbing. Discussion: Experience can predict climbing performance with a better prediction for red-point performance than on-sight with almost 7%. A high level of image generation ability can lead to viewing more approaches for passing the crux, but in a moment of physical and mental breakdown, can lead to failure. Red-pointing is less demanding than on-sight from physiological and psychologycal points of view. On-sight climbing requires greater levels of cognitive skills, such as route intepretation strategies, spatial orientation, motric memory, problem-solving skills, but also greater levels of psychological skills such as stress management, risk management, coping anxiety.

Morphological classification and changes in dementia (Review).

The progressive functional decline that involves both cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms characteristic to dementia is one of the leading research topics. The risk for dementia is an intertwined mix between aging, genetic risk factors, and environmental influences. APOEε4, which is one of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) alleles, is the major genetic risk factor for late-onset of the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's. Advances in machine learning have led to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to help diagnose dementia by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to detect it in the preclinical stage. The basis of the determinations starts from the morphometry of cerebral atrophies. The present review focused on MRI techniques which are a leading tool in identifying cortical atrophy, white matter dysfunctionalities, cerebral vessel quality (as a factor for cognitive impairment) and metabolic asymmetries. In addition, a brief overview of Alzheimer's disease was presented and recent neuroimaging in the field of dementia with an emphasis on structural MR imaging and more powerful methods such as diffusion tensor imaging, quantitative susceptibility mapping, and magnetic transfer imaging were explored in order to propose a simple systematic approach for the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.