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Physician, Writer and Bird Photographer. Translating Neuroscience Research Into Better Care for Brain Disorders.
Brain Posts
595 posts
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- April 3, 2017
- 10:23 AM
- 250 views
Financial Scam Vulnerability: Brain Risk Factors
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
It is always frustrating when you hear about a financial scam that has target a vulnerable population like the elderly population.Elderly individuals may be targeted for a variety of reasons. First, they often have financial resources. Second, they may be a generally more trustworthy group increasing risk for falling for a scam. Third, elderly may suffer from some age-related brain changes that impair cognition and judgment.A recent research study suggests specific brain deficits may increase vu........ Read more »
Spreng, R., Cassidy, B., Darboh, B., DuPre, E., Lockrow, A., Setton, R., & Turner, G. (2017) Financial Exploitation Is Associated With Structural and Functional Brain Differences in Healthy Older Adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glx051
- March 27, 2017
- 12:07 PM
- 264 views
Theory of Mind in Brain Development
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Theory of Mind (ToM) is a concept describing the ability to understand what another person is thinking or feeling.Today in my neuroscience medicine news review I ran across a novel, interesting and important research study targeting brain development in ToM.Normally developing children develop ToM around 4 years of age. In the study published in Nature Communications, a research team at the Max Planck Institute in Germany studied white matter development in 3 to 4 year old children.Using a serie........ Read more »
Grosse Wiesmann C, Schreiber J, Singer T, Steinbeis N, & Friederici AD. (2017) White matter maturation is associated with the emergence of Theory of Mind in early childhood. Nature communications, 14692. PMID: 28322222
- March 20, 2017
- 11:25 AM
- 277 views
Opioids, Benzos and Risk for Overdose
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The evolving epidemic of opioid overdose and overdose deaths is receiving increased public and research attention.Opioids overdoses and overdose deaths are often unintentional or accidental. It has been known that concurrent use of opioids with alcohol or benzodiazepines (i.e. Valium or Xanax) increases risk for overdose toxicity.A recent study published in the British Medical Journal confirmed the association of concurrent benzodiazepine prescription with opioid overdose.This research team exam........ Read more »
Sun EC, Dixit A, Humphreys K, Darnall BD, Baker LC, & Mackey S. (2017) Association between concurrent use of prescription opioids and benzodiazepines and overdose: retrospective analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). PMID: 28292769
- March 15, 2017
- 12:57 PM
- 298 views
Emotional Intelligence and the Physician
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Emotional intelligence (EI) is characterized by the ability to recognize emotional states in self and in others.This emotional recognition may be helpful in guiding behavior and in improving interpersonal relationships.It seems logical on a face validity level to assume that higher levels of EI would be good in the selection of students for medical school.However, there are few studies assessing EI in physicians. There are fewer studies that examine whether EI influences physician behavior, pati........ Read more »
Shahid, R., Stirling, J., & Adams, W. (2016) Assessment of Emotional Intelligence in Pediatric and Med-Peds Residents. Journal of Contemporary Medical Education, 4(4), 153. DOI: 10.5455/jcme.20170116015415
- March 13, 2017
- 11:38 AM
- 285 views
Earliest Brain Changes in Alzheimer's Disease
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Amyloid brain plaques are well-known pathological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. Changes preceding amyloid plaque build up are less well studied and understood. Some of this relates to limitations to current imaging technology.Klementieva and colleagues from Sweden and Spain recently published an important reserach topic in this area.Their studied used a rat model of Alzheimer's disease and imaging techniques that included infrared microspectroscopy and gel electrophoresis.The........ Read more »
Klementieva, O., Willén, K., Martinsson, I., Israelsson, B., Engdahl, A., Cladera, J., Uvdal, P., & Gouras, G. (2017) Pre-plaque conformational changes in Alzheimer’s disease-linked Aβ and APP. Nature Communications, 14726. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14726
- March 7, 2017
- 11:01 AM
- 290 views
Can Older Drivers Benefit From Training?
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Older drivers are over-represented in motor-vehicle driving accidents.The lowest rate of fatal vehicle crashes per 100 million miles driven is found in drivers between the ages of 30-69 years of age.Fatal vehicle driving rates per miles driven is 4 to 5 times higher in drivers over 80 years of age. (IIHS.org data)So can older drivers be trained or educated to improve their safety (and the safety o those around them)?A recent randomized controlled trial examined an educational intervention in dri........ Read more »
Coxon K, Chevalier A, Brown J, Clarke E, Billot L, Boufous S, Ivers R, & Keay L. (2016) Effects of a Safe Transportation Educational Program for Older Drivers on Driving Exposure and Community Participation: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. PMID: 27943260
- March 2, 2017
- 12:19 PM
- 281 views
Improving Hearing-Aid Access in Older Adults
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
There are significant barriers to widespread use of hearing-aids in older adults with age-related hearing loss.Sensitivity to the stigma of wearing a hearing-aid is one barrier.Cost is another significant barrier. In the U.S., bilateral hearing-aid purchase amounts to a cost of $2400 to $5800. This cost is typically not covered by Medicare or other health insurance plans.I ran into a interesting manuscript on looking at an alternative less costlier approach to hearing-aid selection and purchase......... Read more »
Humes, L., Rogers, S., Quigley, T., Main, A., Kinney, D., & Herring, C. (2017) The Effects of Service-Delivery Model and Purchase Price on Hearing-Aid Outcomes in Older Adults: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. American Journal of Audiology, 1. DOI: 10.1044/2017_AJA-16-0111
- February 28, 2017
- 10:43 AM
- 290 views
Outcome in Early Education Interventions (Educare)
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Despite centuries of experience in education, the best time to start formal education is still under debate. Is five years of age too old? Is three years of age too early?One issue with early education interventions is the potential for catch-up in children starting school later. In other words, early gains with younger children may evaporate overtime.One recent research study examines effectiveness of a child development intervention known as Educare. Educare seeks to reduce the achievement gap........ Read more »
Yazejian, N., Bryant, D., Hans, S., Horm, D., St. Clair, L., File, N., & Burchinal, M. (2017) Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare. Child Development. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12688
- February 3, 2017
- 11:22 AM
- 196 views
Brain Shape and Personality Type
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Personality has often been conceptualized a a human feature shaped largely by nurture and environment.Unlike major neuroscience medicine disorders, personality features have been considered less influenced by brain structure and genetic influences.A recent brain structure (morphology) study puts these assumptions at risk.Roberta Riccelli along with colleagues in Italy and Florida State University studied brain structural features across 507 participants in the Human Connectome Project.All subjec........ Read more »
Riccelli R, Toschi N, Nigro S, Terracciano A, & Passamonti L. (2017) Surface-based morphometry reveals the neuroanatomical basis of the five-factor model of personality. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience. PMID: 28122961
- January 25, 2017
- 12:06 PM
- 410 views
Jet Lag and Baseball (MLB) Performance
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Abrupt changes in the biological clock or circadian rhythm are noted to contribute to significant cognitive and psychomotor impairments.One practical area for this effect to potentially be important is in the area of sports performance.Alex Song and colleagues recently completed an interesting study of major league baseball (MLB) performance related to team travel patterns.The major leagues are divided into regional divisions (western, central and eastern) to minimize length of travel to and fro........ Read more »
Song A, Severini T, & Allada R. (2017) How jet lag impairs Major League Baseball performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 28115724
- January 23, 2017
- 10:59 AM
- 367 views
Processing Speed Cognition in Elderly: Clinical Trial
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Processing speed declines significantly with age and contributes to impairment and disability in old age.There is little known about whether age-related processing speed decline can be slowed with interventionA recent clinical trial by a Japanese group targeted processing speed training in a group of 72 elderly.This study found significant effects for a daily 15 minute processing speed training game over 4 weeks.In contrast to a control group, the intervention group found specific improvement in........ Read more »
Nouchi R, Saito T, Nouchi H, & Kawashima R. (2016) Small Acute Benefits of 4 Weeks Processing Speed Training Games on Processing Speed and Inhibition Performance and Depressive Mood in the Healthy Elderly People: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 302. PMID: 28066229
- December 6, 2016
- 12:07 PM
- 489 views
Online Insomnia Therapy Effective in Clinical Trial
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Insomnia of sufficient severity to meet clinical significance is estimated to affect up to 20% of the general population.This makes insomnia an important public health challenge.Effective, inexpensive and accessible programs to treat insomnia are needed.One recent controlled clinical trial supports the promise of an online intervention that incorporates key elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).Lee Ritterband and colleagues at the University of Virginia recently published a controlled c........ Read more »
Ritterband LM, Thorndike FP, Ingersoll KS, Lord HR, Gonder-Frederick L, Frederick C, Quigg MS, Cohn WF, & Morin CM. (2016) Effect of a Web-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia Intervention With 1-Year Follow-up: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA psychiatry. PMID: 27902836
- November 29, 2016
- 11:24 AM
- 519 views
Your Brain On God: Reward and Motivation
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
William James authored a seminal book titled The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature that was published in 1902.In this work, James reviewed the nature of religious experiences and noted a lack of scientific inquiry into this human phenomenon.James would have been extremely interested in a recent scientific inquiry into the religious experience from brain researchers at the University of Utah and Harvard University.In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI........ Read more »
Ferguson MA, Nielsen JA, King JB, Dai L, Giangrasso DM, Holman R, Korenberg JR, & Anderson JS. (2016) Reward, Salience, and Attentional Networks are Activated by Religious Experience in Devout Mormons. Social neuroscience. PMID: 27834117
- November 21, 2016
- 11:10 AM
- 496 views
Benefits of Physical Activity in Parkison's Disease
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegerative disorder estimated to affect 7 to 10 million individual worldwide.The primary mechanism for Parkinson's disease is a reduction in the neurotransmitter dopamine in the midbrain region of the substantia nigra highlighted in red in the figure.PD impairs motor and cognitive functions and leads to significant decline in psychosocial functioning.Drugs for PD can be effective in reversing and slowing the progression of the illness. However, resp........ Read more »
Lauzé M, Daneault JF, & Duval C. (2016) The Effects of Physical Activity in Parkinson's Disease: A Review. Journal of Parkinson's disease, 6(4), 685-698. PMID: 27567884
- November 17, 2016
- 11:00 AM
- 530 views
Missed Opportunities in Stroke Prevention
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Rates of myocardial infarction and stroke have been declining over the last decade in the U.S. and Europe. However, a recent manuscript suggests there are still significant missed opportunities to prevent stroke.This manuscript presents results of review of electronic primary care records in the United Kingdom.The authors examines a group of over 29,000 subjects with a diagnosis of stroke or transient ischemic attack over a 10 year period.Records were reviewed to assess for compliance with guide........ Read more »
Turner GM, Calvert M, Feltham MG, Ryan R, Fitzmaurice D, Cheng KK, & Marshall T. (2016) Under-prescribing of Prevention Drugs and Primary Prevention of Stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attack in UK General Practice: A Retrospective Analysis. PLoS medicine, 13(11). PMID: 27846215
- November 15, 2016
- 11:38 AM
- 498 views
Celebrex Boosts Antidepressant Response
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
I ran into an interesting article at ScienceDaily providing data on a small sample size study of the anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib (Celebrex) in depression.Access the ScienceDaily report on this study by clicking HERE.This study focused on subjects with bipolar depression. All subjects were in a depressed phase and received the antidepressant drug escitalopram (Lexapro).Although only 55 subjects participated in this study, the results were significant and large. Adding Celebrex to escitalopra........ Read more »
Savitz, J., Preskorn, S., Teague, T., Drevets, D., Yates, W., & Drevets, W. (2012) Minocycline and aspirin in the treatment of bipolar depression: a protocol for a proof-of-concept, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2×2 clinical trial. BMJ Open, 2(1). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000643
- November 2, 2016
- 11:09 AM
- 467 views
Weight Training Boosts Brain Size and Performance
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Aerobic exercise increases brain blood flow and has demonstrated beneficial effects on cognition.The effects of weight training exercise on the brain is less frequently studied. Hence, we know little about the effect and mechanism of weight training on brain function and performance.A recent study provides some needed insight on this topic.A study by C Suo and colleagues from Australia examined the effects of resistance training and cognitive skills training on brain structure and function.The k........ Read more »
Suo C, Singh MF, Gates N, Wen W, Sachdev P, Brodaty H, Saigal N, Wilson GC, Meiklejohn J, Singh N.... (2016) Therapeutically relevant structural and functional mechanisms triggered by physical and cognitive exercise. Molecular psychiatry, 21(11), 1645. PMID: 27090304
- October 24, 2016
- 11:19 AM
- 516 views
Exercise After Study Boosts Memory
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
There is significant interest in activities that may boost academic achievement in the classroom.I previously posted on evidence that exercise prior to a learning task improved reading comprehension scores.You can access that post by clicking HERE.Now a study has compared two types of activities after a memorization task in male students.In this study, 60 male students completed a learning task and then were randomized into one of three activities for one hour. The three activities were playing ........ Read more »
Kindermann, H., Javor, A., & Reuter, M. (2016) Playing counter-strike versus running: The impact of leisure time activities and cortisol on intermediate-term memory in male students. Cognitive Systems Research, 1-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2016.01.002
- October 14, 2016
- 11:50 AM
- 472 views
Pathways to Substance Use and Abuse
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Neuroscience medicine clinicians encounter patients every day who have both a mental and substance use disorder.This co-occurrence, or comorbidity, complicates diagnosis, treatment and outcome.The exact mechanism for this comorbidity issue is unclear.A recent study out of Washington University in St. Louis and King's College London provides some insight into this comorbidity issue.They examined participants in the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment (SAGE). These subjects provided genet........ Read more »
Carey CE, Agrawal A, Bucholz KK, Hartz SM, Lynskey MT, Nelson EC, Bierut LJ, & Bogdan R. (2016) Associations between Polygenic Risk for Psychiatric Disorders and Substance Involvement. Frontiers in genetics, 149. PMID: 27574527
- October 10, 2016
- 11:54 AM
- 498 views
Alzheimer's Disease: Atrophy Pattern and Symptoms
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Memory impairment is a key symptom of Alzheimer's dementia common to patients with the condition.However, additional cognitive and behavioral symptoms vary between patients with a clinical and pathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.A key area of research is focused on understanding factors that contribute to symptom variability in Alzheimer's disease.A team of researchers from Singapore and Harvard Medical School recently published an important study on this topic.They analyzed structural........ Read more »
Zhang X, Mormino EC, Sun N, Sperling RA, Sabuncu MR, Yeo BT, & Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2016) Bayesian model reveals latent atrophy factors with dissociable cognitive trajectories in Alzheimer's disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 27702899
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