Computer-Assisted Learning Applications in Health Educational Informatics: A Review.

Computer-assisted learning (CAL) as a health informatics application is a useful tool for medical students in the era of expansive knowledge bases and the increasing need for and the consumption of automated and interactive systems. As the scope and breadth of medical knowledge expand, the need for additional learning outside of lecture hours is becoming increasingly important. CAL can be an impactful adjunct to conventional methods that currently exist in the halls of learning. There is an increasing body of literature that suggests that CAL should be a commonplace and the recommended method of learning for medical students. Factors such as technical issues that hinder the performance of CAL are also evaluated. We conclude by encouraging the use of CAL by medical students as a highly beneficial method of learning that complements and enhances lectures and provides intuitive, interactive modulation of a self-paced curriculum based on the individual's academic abilities.

The mechanism of degeneration of striatal neuronal subtypes in Huntington disease.

The pattern of neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease (HD) is very characteristic of regional locations as well as that of neuronal types in striatum. The different striatal neuronal populations demonstrate different degree of degeneration in response to various pathological events in HD. In the striatum, medium spiny GABA neurons (MSN) are preferentially degenerate while others are relatively spared. Vulnerability of specific neuronal populations within the striatum to pathological events constitutes an important hallmark of degeneration in HD. In an attempt to explain a likely mechanism of degeneration of striatal neuronal populations in HD, possible causes underlying differential vulnerability of neuronal subtypes to excitoxic insults and neurotrophic factors are discussed in this paper.

Spatially regulated adult neurogenesis.

Adult neurogenesis has been the center of attention for decades. Neuroscientists hope to understand the mechanism underlying this phenomenon that might provide a unique perception of brain repair in future. Neurogenesis is referred to the process in which neuronal stem cells and progenitors generate new neurons in non-pathologic setting. Although there are some similarities between two neurogenetic regions including hippocampus and olfactory bulb, however there are some important differences. Regardless of the unique functional roles of ongoing neurogenesis in olfactory bulb and hippocampus, the differences are in terms of consequence of neurogenesis, origin of newly born neurons, responding receptors to nicotine exposure, neuronal migration and GABAergic input between two regions. In this paper, we have briefly reviewed the differences of adult neurogenesis between olfactory bulb and hippocampus.

A critique of the literature on etiology of eating disorders.

The development of eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and atypical eating disorders that affect many young women and even men in the productive period of their lives is complex and varied. While numbers of presumed risk factors contributing to the development of eating disorders are increasing, previous evidence for biological, psychological, developmental, and sociocultural effects on the development of eating disorders have not been conclusive. Despite the fact that a huge body of research has carefully examined the possible risk factors associated with the eating disorders, they have failed not only to uncover the exact etiology of eating disorders, but also to understand the interaction between different causes of eating disorders. This failure may be due complexities of eating disorders, limitations of the studies or combination of two factors. In this review, some risk factors including biological, psychological, developmental, and sociocultural are discussed.