The effect of age of first exposure to competitive fighting on cognitive and other neuropsychiatric symptoms and brain volume.

It has long been established that fighting sports such as boxing and mixed martial arts can lead to head injury. Prior work from this group on the Professional Fighters Brain Health Study found that exposure to repetitive head impacts is associated with lower brain volumes and decreased processing speed in fighters. Current and previously licensed professional fighters were recruited, divided into active and retired cohorts, and matched with a control group that had no prior experience in sports with likely head trauma. This study examined the relationship between age of first exposure (AFE) to fighting sports and brain structure (MRI regional volume), cognitive performance (CNS Vital Signs, iComet C3), and clinical neuropsychiatric symptoms (PHQ-9, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale). Brain MRI data showed significant correlations between earlier AFE and smaller bilateral hippocampal and posterior corpus callosum volumes for both retired and active fighters. Earlier AFE in active fighters was correlated with decreased processing speed and decreased psychomotor speed. Retired fighters showed a correlation between earlier AFE and higher measures of depression and impulsivity. Overall, the results help to inform clinicians, governing bodies, parents, and athletes of the risks associated with beginning to compete in fighting sports at a young age.

Motivación psicológica en los juegos de rol online: un estudio de jugadores españoles del World of Warcraft / Psychological motivation in online role-playing games: A study of Spanish World of Warcraft players

La popularidad de los videojuegos ha aumentado considerablemente en los últimos años, convirtiéndose en uno de los mayores productos de ocio siendo los Juegos de Rol Online (MMORPGs) uno de los mayores exponentes; sin embargo, también ha aumentado la sospecha y alarma social de que puedan poseer cierto potencial adictivo enmarcado en el contexto de las adicciones conductuales o que los usuarios puedan desarrollar conductas desadaptativas entorno a esta tecnología. El objetivo del presente estudio evalúa las motivaciones psicológicas para jugar al al World of Warcraft (WoW) y las relaciona con variables sociodemográficas y estilos de juego. Se aplicó un cuestionario para evaluar diferentes motivaciones online a un colectivo de jugadores de WoW. A partir de una muestra final de 253 jugadores españoles (hombres jóvenes) el análisis factorial mostró la presencia de cuatro motivos de juego: socialización, exploración, logro y disociación. Además, los jugadores españoles, preferían el entorno Jugador contar Jugador, un aspecto que parece prevenir las potenciales consecuencias negativas al impedir el juego solitario. Los resultados indican que una de las motivaciones más importantes es la socialización y el estilo de Jugador contra Jugador, lo cual indica en gran parte el uso de este juego se hace de forma psicológicamente adaptativo (AU)

The popularity of playing videogames has increased considerably during the last few decades, and has become one of the most popular leisure activities worldwide. Some of the most popular game types are the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). However, there has also been increased suspicion and social alarm that these games may possess an addictive potential, similar to other behavioural addictions, and that the user may develop maladaptive behaviours with respect to these games. The purpose of the present study was to assess the psychological motivations of playing World of Warcraft (WoW) and to relate them to sociodemographic variables and gaming styles. A questionnaire for assessing these motivations was developed and applied online to a collective of games. The final sample comprised 253 Spanish WoW players (all young males). Factor analysis of the questionnaire scores showed the presence of four motivations for gaming: socialisation, exploration, achievement, and dissociation. Results indicated that socialisation was one of the main motivational factors and that the gamers preferred the Player-versus-Player environment. Both of these aspects appear to be factors that may prevent potentially negative outcomes by inhibiting solitary play (AU)

Electroacupuncture at Baihui acupoint (GV20) reverses behavior deficit and long-term potentiation through N-methyl-d-aspartate and transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 receptors in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats.

Vascular dementia is one of the most important causes that account for 20-40% of all dementia cases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether electroacupuncture can reduce behavior deficit and long-term potentiation (LTP) in vascular dementia. Here we used a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) technique to induce a vascular dementia model with additional electroacupuncture (EA) manipulation. Behaviors were impaired in animals with MCAo, and similar results were observed with long-term potentiation induction. MCAo decreased the expression of LTP from 180.4±14.9% to 112.5±18.3%, suggesting that cerebral ischemia could impair the hippocampal LTP. In addition, immunostaining results showed that the expressions of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtype 1 (NR1) and transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) receptors were significantly increased in the hippocampal CA1 areas. Noticeably, these phenomena can be reversed by 2 Hz EA at Baihui acupoint (GV20) for six consecutive days. Our results support a rescue role of 2 Hz EA for MCAo-induced behavior and LTP impairment. These results also suggest that NMDAR1 and TRPV1 may be involved in this pathway.

Anterior thalamic radiation integrity in schizophrenia: a diffusion-tensor imaging study.

The anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC) is a white matter structure, the medial portion of which includes the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) carrying nerve fibers between thalamus and prefrontal cortex. ATR abnormalities have a possible link with cognitive abnormalities and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. We aimed to study the fiber integrity of the ATR more selectively by isolating the medial portion of the ALIC using region-of-interest based methodology. Diffusion-tensor imaging was used to measure the anisotropy of total ALIC (tALIC) and medial ALIC (mALIC) in 39 schizophrenia and 33 control participants, matched for age/gender/handedness. Relationships between anisotropy, psychopathology, and cognitive performance were analyzed. Compared with controls, schizophrenia participants had 4.55% lower anisotropy in right tALIC, and 5.38% lower anisotropy in right mALIC. There were no significant group anisotropy differences on the left. Significant correlations were observed between right ALIC integrity and relevant domains of cognitive function (e.g., executive function, working memory). Our study suggests an asymmetric microstructural change in ALIC in schizophrenia involving the right side, which is only minimally stronger in mALIC, and which correlates with cognitive impairment. Microstructural changes in the ALIC may be linked to cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Disrupted auto-activation, dysexecutive and confabulating syndrome following bilateral thalamic and right putaminal stroke.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical, neuropsychological, structural and functional neuroimaging results are reported in a patient who developed a unique combination of symptoms after a bi-thalamic and right putaminal stroke. The symptoms consisted of dysexecutive disturbances associated with confabulating behavior and auto-activation deficits. BACKGROUND: Basal ganglia and thalamic lesions may result in a variety of motor, sensory, neuropsychological and behavioral syndromes. However, the combination of a dysexecutive syndrome complicated at the behavioral level with an auto-activation and confabulatory syndrome has never been reported. METHODS: Besides clinical and neuroradiological investigations, an extensive set of standardized neuropsychological tests was carried out. RESULTS: In the post-acute phase of the stroke, a dysexecutive syndrome was found in association with confabulating behavior and auto-activation deficits. MRI showed focal destruction of both thalami and the right putamen. Quantified ECD SPECT revealed bilateral hypoperfusions in the basal ganglia and thalamus but no perfusion deficits were found at the cortical level. CONCLUSION: The combination of disrupted auto-activation, dysexecutive and confabulating syndrome in a single patient following isolated subcortical damage renders this case exceptional. Although these findings do not reveal a functional disruption of the striato-ventral pallidal-thalamic-frontomesial limbic circuitry, they add to the understanding of the functional role of the basal ganglia in cognitive and behavioral syndromes.

Melatonin acts at the suprachiasmatic nucleus to attenuate behavioral symptoms of infection.

In common with reproduction, immune function exhibits strong seasonal patterns, which are driven by annual changes in day length (photoperiod) and melatonin secretion. Whereas changes in melatonin communicate seasonal time into the reproductive axis via subcortical receptors, the relevant melatonin targets for communicating seasonal time into the immune system remain unspecified. The authors report that melatonin implants targeting the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) induced a winter phenotype in the immune system. SCN melatonin implants attenuated infection-induced anorexia and cachexia, indicating that the SCN mediate the effects of melatonin on these behavioral and metabolic symptoms of infection. However, SCN melatonin implants failed to induce winter-like peripheral leukocyte concentrations or behavioral thermoregulatory responses to infection. In contrast, subcutaneous melatonin implants induced winter-like changes in all behavioral and immunological parameters. Melatonin acts directly at the SCN to induce seasonal changes in neural-immune systems that regulate behavior. The data identify anatomical overlap between neural substrates mediating the effects of melatonin on the reproductive and immune systems but also suggest that the SCN are not the sole mediator of photoperiodic effects of melatonin on immunity.