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Despite the importance of knowing the cognitive capabilities of children with neurodevelopmental conditions, less than one-third of children with cerebral palsy participate in standardized assessments. Globally, approximately 50% of people with cerebral palsy have an intellectual disability and there is significant risk for domain-specific cognitive impairments for the majority of people with cerebral palsy. However, standardized cognitive assessment tools are not accessible to many children with cerebral palsy, as they require manual manipulation of objects, verbal response and/or speeded response. As such, standardised assessment may result in an underestimation of abilities for children with significant motor and/or speech impairment. The overall aim of the project is to examine and compare the psychometric properties of standardised cognitive assessment tools that have been accommodated for use with either a switch device or eye-gaze control technologies, with the specific aims to: (1) Examine the psychometric properties (measurement agreement and validity) of accommodated assessment tools by comparing the performance of typically developing children on six cognitive assessment tools administered via standardised versus accommodated (switch or eye-gaze control) administration; (2) Describe and compare the performance and user experience of children with cerebral palsy on six accommodated cognitive assessments administered via switch or eye-gaze control technologies. Secondary aims are to: (1) Describe the completion rates and time to complete assessments of participants in each group; (2) Within the group with cerebral palsy, examine the effects of condition-specific characteristics (type of cerebral palsy, functional levels, and pain) and demographics (age, socio-demographic) on participation. This protocol paper describes a two-phase validation and acceptability study that utilizes a mixed-model design. This study will collect concurrent data from 80 typically developing children and 40 children with cerebral palsy, who use switch or eye-gaze control technology as alternate access communication methods. The set of instruments will measure receptive vocabulary, fluid reasoning, sustained attention, vision perception, visuospatial working memory and executive functions. Data analyses will be conducted using SPSS v. 25 and R v 4.1.0. SPSS Sample Power 3 was used for power computation and allows for a 10% drop out rate. Quantitative descriptive statistics, measurement agreement data plotting, bivariate and multiple regressions analysis will be conducted using appropriate methods.

In a large proportion of individuals with fronto-temporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), the underlying pathology is associated with the misfolding and aggregation of the microtubule associated protein tau (FTLD-tau). With disease progression, widespread protein accumulation throughout cortical and subcortical brain regions may be responsible for neurodegeneration. One of the syndromes of FTLD is the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), in which the underlying pathology is heterogenous, with half of the cases being related to FTLD-tau. Currently, there are no approved disease-modifying treatments for FTLD-tau, therefore representing a major unmet therapeutic need. These descriptive, preliminary findings of the phase 1 open-label trial provide data to support the potential of sodium selenate to halt the cognitive and behavioral decline, as well as to reduce tau levels in a small group of participants with bvFTD (N = 11). All participants were treated with sodium selenate over a period of 52 weeks. Cognition was assessed with the Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool (NUCOG, total scores), social cognition with the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS, total scores), behavior with the Cambridge Behavioral Inventory (CBI), and carer burden with the Caregiver Buden Scale (CBS). Fluid biomarker measures include cerebrospinal fluid of total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau (p-tau181), NfL, p-tau181/t-tau, t-tau/Aβ1–42, and p-tau181/Aβ1–42 levels. After treatment at follow-up, cognition and behavior showed further negative change (based on a reliable change criterion cut-off of annual NUCOG decline) in the “progressors,” but not in the “non-progressors.” “Non-progressors” also showed elevated baseline CSF tau levels and no increase after treatment, indicating underlying tau pathology and a positive response to sodium selenate treatment. Significant changes in MRI were not observed. The findings provide useful information for future clinical trials to systematically assess the disease-modifying treatment effects of sodium selenate in randomized controlled designs for bvFTD and FTLD-tau pathologies.

Background: Utilizing information technology (IT) systems, for example in form of computerized cognitive screening or exergame-based (also called active videogames) training, has gained growing interest for supporting healthy aging and to detect, prevent and treat neurocognitive disorders (NCD). To ameliorate the effectiveness of exergaming, the neurobiological mechanisms as well as the most effective components for exergame-based training remain to be established. At the same time, it is important to account for the end-users’ capabilities, preferences, and therapeutic needs during the design and development process to foster the usability and acceptance of the resulting program in clinical practice. This will positively influence adherence to the resulting exergame-based training program, which, in turn, favors more distinct training-related neurobiological effects.Objectives and Methods: This methodological paper describes the design and development process of novel exergame-based training concepts guided by a recently proposed methodological framework: The ‘Multidisciplinary Iterative Design of Exergames (MIDE): A Framework for Supporting the Design, Development, and Evaluation of Exergames for Health’ (Li et al., 2020).Case Study: A step-by-step application of the MIDE-framework as a specific guidance in an ongoing project aiming to design, develop, and evaluate an exergame-based training concept with the aim to halt and/or reduce cognitive decline and improve quality of life in older adults with mild neurocognitive disorder (mNCD) is illustrated.Discussion and Conclusion: The development of novel exergame-based training concepts is greatly facilitated when it is based on a theoretical framework (e.g., the MIDE-framework). Applying this framework resulted in a structured, iterative, and evidence-based approach that led to the identification of multiple key requirements for the exergame design as well as the training components that otherwise may have been overlooked or neglected. This is expected to foster the usability and acceptance of the resulting exergame intervention in “real life” settings. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to implement a theoretical framework (e.g., the MIDE-framework) for future research projects in line with well-known checklists to improve completeness of reporting and replicability when serious games for motor-cognitive rehabilitation purposes are to be developed.

In field experiments, an insect was trained to choose one of two visually different figures – A or B – in reference to situation (“situational learning”). Bees and wasps were shown to be able: 1) to choose A and to reject B at one location (place) of presentation of test figures and vice versa at the other location (at a distance of 1–8 m); 2) to choose A and to reject B at C-colored background and vice versa at D-colored background (at constant location). It is the first evidence of bees’ ability to make decisions depending on background color and the first evidence of wasps’ ability to perform situational learning. The described behaviors resemble “conditioned switching”, which is well known in vertebrates. Statistically significant individual differences between conspecifics have been recorded

Cognitive assessment is a common and daily process in educational, clinical, or research settings, among others. Currently, most professionals use classic pencil-and-paper screenings, tests, and assessment batteries. However, as the SARS-CoV-2 health crisis has shown, the pencil-and-paper format is becoming increasingly outdated and it is necessary to transition to new technologies, using computerized cognitive assessments (CCA). This article discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and implications of this necessary transition that professionals should face in the immediate future, and encourages careful adoption of this change to ensure a smooth transition.

The present perspective paper addresses and discusses whether cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder qualifies as a diagnostic intermediate phenotype using the Robin and Guze criteria of diagnostic validity. The paper reviews current data within (1) delineation of the clinical intermediate phenotype, (2) associations of the intermediate phenotype with para-clinical data such as brain imaging and blood-based data, (3) associations to family history / genetics, (4) characteristics during long-term follow-up, and (5) treatment effects on cognition. In this way, the paper identifies knowledge gaps and suggests recommendations for future research within each of the five areas. Based on the current state of knowledge, we conclude that cognitive dysfunction does not qualify as a diagnostic intermediate phenotype or endophenotype for bipolar disorder, although promising new evidence points to emotion and reward processing abnormalities as possible putative endophenotypes.

Background: Neurocognitive tests are routinely used to assess cognitive domains in the adolescents for assessing cognitive deficits and for therapeutic interventions. Now they are being used to assess their mental abilities in athletics too. Aim: To study the effect of age and gender differences on routinely used common paper and pencil neuro-cognitive tests in adolescents and present the trends of normative data of Indian adolescent population. Settings and Design: Present study was conducted as a joint collaboration between Department of Physiology and Jawahar Navodaya school, Puducherry, India. Materials and Methods: Four hundred and thirty nine adolescents in the age group of 12 to 17 y (M = 250, F= 189) were selected in the present study after meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Subjects were administered commonly used paper and pencil neuropsychological tests in the following order: Two Target Letter Cancellation test, Trail Making test A and B, Ruff Figural Fluency test (RFFT). Statistical Analysis: We divided the students based on their age into six groups - from age 12–17. Neurocognitive parameters were compared between these age groups using one-wayANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc test. Only the p-values for one, two and three year difference were considered. The same analysis was repeated for each gender separately. We compared males and females from the entire sample using unpaired t test. We then repeated the same test to compare males and females in each age group separately. Pearsons correlation was done to find correlation between the neurocognitive test parameters using the entire sample size. Then the correlation was done again after adjusting for age. All the statistical analysis was done using Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 19. Results: Year wise normative data has been presented for all the age groups from 12 y onwards to 17 y. The results showed a consistent improvement in performance on the tested neuro-psychological tests with increasing age in adolescents. Overall gender comparison showed significantly better RFFT performance in males than females, with a non-significant difference in other tested parameters. However, no such difference was observed when the comparison was made within each age group. Conclusion: Improvement in the tests as a function of age may represent ongoing neuro-maturational process. Overall gender comparison from 12 to 17 y demonstrates that males performed better on nonverbal fluency task and strategic analysis suggesting difference in cognitive growth patterns but changes are so slow and gradual that no significant difference was observed at each intra-age group gender comparison. Baseline testing should be at least repeated once in two years.

Abstract Comparing with cities, rural communities especially those declining rural communities have become vulnerable to natural disasters owing to their backward socioeconomic conditions. Taking Xun County of China’s Henan Province as the study area, the paper aims to evaluate rural community resilience to flood by unveiling the connection between individuals’ cognition, follow-up actions and the community resilience. Research results show that: (1) The logic chain exists as individual’s cognition to disaster leads to their constructive actions to cope with disaster, which contribute to community resilience. (2) At the cognition dimension, individual’s knowledge reserve of disaster prevention and their recognition to local authority are playing an important role in their decision making and follow-up behaviors when disaster occurs. (3) At the action dimension, individual’s familiarity with the disaster preparedness, efficient information transmission when disaster occurs and villagers’ following order and their unity of action all contribute to community resilience to disaster. The paper proposes ways to improve rural community resilience to disasters based on the research findings.

Traditional models of opinion dynamics provide a simplified approach to understanding human behavior in basic social scenarios. However, when it comes to issues such as polarization and extremism, a more nuanced understanding of human biases and cognitive tendencies are required. This paper proposes an approach to modeling opinion dynamics by integrating mental models and assumptions of individuals agents using Bayesian-inspired methods. By exploring the relationship between human rationality and Bayesian theory, this paper demonstrates the usefulness of these methods in describing how opinions evolve. The analysis here builds upon the basic idea in the Continuous Opinions and Discrete Actions (CODA) model, by applying Bayesian-inspired rules to account for key human behaviors such as confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and human reluctance to change opinions. Through this, This paper updates rules that are compatible with known human biases. The current work sheds light on the role of human biases in shaping opinion dynamics. I hope that by making the model more realistic this might lead to more accurate predictions of real-world scenarios.

Neurocognitive deficits in children could be irreversible and detrimental to the overall wellbeing of children. Typically, children with this illness live lives below their mental and intellectual potential. The aim of this paper was to review primary evidence on the association between inflammatory biomarkers on neurocognition in children. Electronic databases such as Scopus, Cochrane Library, and PubMed were systematically searched to include all published data from 2000 to October 2023. The keywords included serum biomarker, cognition, executive function, intellectual ability, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurocognitive deficits, tau proteins, and children. A total of 8512 journal publications were obtained, but after the removal of duplicates, commentaries, and review papers, 9 papers were accepted for review. C-reactive protein, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), fibrinogen, plasma leptin, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNFR1), and copper were associated with neurocognition in the subjects. This review revealed that there is no research published in sub-Saharan Africa and most of the sample sizes in the studies were small.

The current work assessed different aspects, steps and conditions that help people communicate appropriately in the current globalized world deeply affected by modern technologies, such the Internet and artificial intelligence. The results reported in this manuscript are based on an analysis of eight studies in different aspects of human communication and a review of 70 papers published from 2000 to 2023. An online search using WoS and SCOPUS databases was done to record the related published works. A total of 186 items were recorded, and after excluding 116 duplicated and irrelevant items, 70 papers were selected and reviewed thoroughly. According to the results, communication initiation, self disclosure, overall well-being, positive attitudes, language proficiency, communication competence, and technical skills are among the main factors that affect interactions among individuals from different cultures. Based on the results, cognition, knowing different norms and values, and accommodation in the current diversified environments are the main aims and outcomes of daily interactions among people. The current work introduces communication initiation, disclosure, cognition, and accommodation as the four main steps, and self-knowledge, positive attitudes, self-regulation, heart coherence, cultural awareness, intercultural sensitivity, openness, purposefulness, respect differences, language proficiency, technical skills, communication competence, and effectiveness as the main conditions of effective human communication in the age of the artificial intelligence in the 21st century.

ObjectiveExecutive dysfunction is a core symptom of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), which seriously affects patients’ prognosis. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of rTMS on executive function in VCI.MethodsThe databases selected for this study included Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and China Biology Medicine Disc (CBM). The screening times were conducted from the time of library construction until August 23, 2023. The inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on rTMS for VCI, which include executive function scores. The primary metrics were executive subscale scores of the Cognitive Comprehensive Scale and total scores of the Executive Specificity Scale. The secondary metrics were subscale scores of the Executive Specificity Scale. The quality of each eligible study was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Meta-analysis and bias analysis were performed using Stata (version 16.0) and RevMan (version 5.3).ResultsA total of 20 high-quality clinical RCTs with 1,049 samples were included in this paper. The findings from the primary outcomes revealed that within the rTMS group, there were significantly higher scores observed for the executive sub-item on the cognitive composite scale (SMD = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.77–1.08, p

There are few pharmacologic options for the treatment of cognitive deficits associated with traumatic brain injury in pediatric patients. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil have been evaluated in adult patients after traumatic brain injury, but relatively less is known about the effect in pediatric populations. The goal of this review is to identify knowledge gaps in the efficacy and safety of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors as a potential adjuvant treatment for neurocognitive decline in pediatric patients with traumatic brain injury. Investigators queried PubMed to identify literature published from database inception through June 2023 describing the use of donepezil in young adult traumatic brain injury and pediatric patients with predefined conditions. Based on preselected search criteria, 340 unique papers were selected for title and abstract screening. Thirty-two records were reviewed in full after eliminating preclinical studies and papers outside the scope of the project. In adult traumatic brain injury, we review results from 14 papers detailing 227 subjects where evidence suggests donepezil is well tolerated and shows both objective and patient-reported efficacy for reducing cognitive impairment. In children, 3 papers report on 5 children recovering from traumatic brain injury, showing limited efficacy. An additional 15 pediatric studies conducted in populations at risk for cognitive dysfunction provide a broader look at safety and efficacy in 210 patients in the pediatric age group. Given its promise for efficacy in adults with traumatic brain injury and tolerability in pediatric patients, we believe further study of donepezil for children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury is warranted.

In this article, we focus on Biblical stories and, within them, on the connection between emotions and bodily sensations. We use a cognitive theory of emotions, which understands emotions as based on value judgments. The focus is on stories involving conflict in which emotions, including bodily sensations, are key to conflict resolution and to the orientation toward moral action. In the Bible, emotions play a multifaceted role. They are a natural and essential part of the human experience and of the relationship between man and God. This paper argues that bodily sensations are the building blocks of emotions or play an important role in the formation of emotions. A theology of emotions contributes to an understanding of this aspect of the body that is related to our emotions. The paper shows the hermeneutical potential of these stories for understanding emotions as embodied cognition and their relevance for morality.

BackgroundIndividuals with aphasia are often excluded from studies exploring poststroke cognition because so many of the standard cognitive assessments rely on language ability. Our primary objective was to examine the association between performance on cognitive tests and performance on comprehension and naming tests in poststroke aphasia. Second, we aimed to determine the association between language performance and a real-life measure of cognition (Kettle Test). Third, we explored the feasibility of administering cognitive tests in aphasia.MethodsThirty-six participants with poststroke aphasia and 32 controls were assessed on a battery of pen-and-paper cognitive tests recommended in stroke. Auditory comprehension was measured using the Comprehensive Aphasia Test and naming was measured using the Boston Naming Test. Twenty-two community dwelling participants with aphasia and controls were also asked to complete the Kettle Test. Multiple linear regressions were used to explore the relationship between language performance and performance on the cognitive tests. Feasibility was determined by quantifying missing data.ResultsThe cognitive tests with the highest variance accounted for by auditory comprehension and naming were animal fluency (R2 = 0.67, R2 = 0.78) and the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (recognition discrimination index) (R2 = 0.65, R2 = 0.78). All cognitive tests were significantly associated with auditory comprehension and naming, except for the Star Cancellation Test and the Kettle Test. Thirty-three percent of participants with aphasia were unable to complete all the cognitive tests.ConclusionLanguage and non-linguistic cognitive processes are often interrelated. Most pen-and-paper cognitive tests were significantly associated with both auditory comprehension and naming, even in tests that do not require a verbal response. Language performance was not significantly associated with a real-life cognitive performance measure. Task instructions, stimuli, and responses for completion need to be tailored for individuals with aphasia to minimize the influence of language deficits when testing non-linguistic cognitive performance.

Strategic change, infused with new data, perspectives and concepts may change the inherent meaning of the central tenets in an existing strategy. It taps into the cognitive aspects of a journey where language, in verbal and written form, aids in the process of communicating, understanding and creating new meaning. Hence, it comes as no surprise that communication is argued to be an important means of forming and executing strategy, particularly if that strategy involves change. Thus far corporate communication has been the objective of extensive and predominately qualitative analysis of written content, with a focus on identifying and demonstrating strategic intent or reorientation. The objective here is to take a different route, not yet explored in the field of strategic management and change. Leaning on a previously conducted, longitudinal and qualitative case study of strategic change the aim is twofold: Firstly, to propose a method for quantitative analysis of semantic content of texts and statistically test the semantic development over time in the same case. Secondly, to evaluate and discuss the results of a quantitative semantic analysis in relation to previous and qualitative findings. By applying latent semantic analysis (LSA), we quantified the semantic content of annual reports and press releases between 2001 and 2010, derived from a case study of one company in the paper packaging industry. Using this method, we statistically analysed significant changes in semantic content across the ten-year time period studied. The results indicate interesting avenues for continued and wider use of quantitative semantic analysis in contributing to the understanding of semantic development and strategic change.

Abstract We are confronted with the concept of intelligence every day. Starting with human intelligence to artificial intelligence. Some animals are also attested to be intelligent based on specific problems they solve. We also come across terms such as swarm intelligence, emotional intelligence or even physical intelligence. But there is still a lack of a clear definition of what intelligence actually is and, in particular, how it could be measured. Intelligence tests that provide quantitative information have so far only been available from psychology and only for people. There is a lack of criteria for what makes a system an intelligent system. This became particularly clear with the question of whether generative AI, such as ChatGPT, can be considered intelligent at all. So can intelligence be derived from the cognitive abilities of a system, or is it ultimately decisive how these abilities come about? This paper suggests a definition of the term intelligence and suggests an explanation for what constitutes intelligence and to what extent intelligence is required to gain knowledge. And finally it is questioned whether artificial systems are intelligent and have any knowledge at all.

Abstract Background Undergraduates’ workplace learning is an important part of health sciences education. Educational psychology research considers many different aspects of self-regulated learning at the workplace, including cognition, motivation, emotions, and context. Multivariate longitudinal and diary studies in this field require fewer items than alternatives or even a single item per construct and can reveal the sub-processes of workplace learning and contribute to a better understanding of students’ learning. Short instruments are necessary for application in workplace settings, especially stressful ones, to mitigate survey fatigue. The present study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of single items measuring various aspects of workplace learning. Methods Twenty-nine single items selected from the Workplace Learning Inventory in Health Sciences Education were analyzed for reliability, information reproduction, and relationships within the nomological network. The authors additionally analyzed four generally formulated single items’ relationships with the full Workplace Learning Inventory scales and external criteria within the nomological network. Participants were 214 ninth- or tenth-semester veterinary medicine students in Austria and Germany who were learning at varied workplaces during the winter semester of 2021/2022. Results Of the 29 single items selected from existing scales, 27 showed sufficient reliability, but mixed results were obtained regarding validity. Although the items’ relationships within the nomological network were similar to those of the full scales, information reproduction was insufficient for most items. The four general single items showed acceptable validity, but the reliability of these measures of states could not be assessed. Conclusions This paper reported findings on the psychometric properties of single items for undergraduates’ workplace learning in health science education. The findings are crucial for deciding whether to use scales versus single-item measures in future studies. By applying the findings, researchers can be more economical in their workplace learning data collection and can include more constructs.

The paper investigates the emergence of the phenomenon of new subjectness that arises from the integration of artificial and natural fields in contemporary socio-technical reality. It aims to challenge the subject-object dichotomy established by Modern philosophy tradition. To support this goal, the paper draws on the philosophical views of the proponents of Object-Oriented Ontology (Manuel DeLanda, Graham Harman) and Actor-Network theory (Bruno Latour, John Law). These contemporary philosophers substantiate the idea of distributed hybrid subjectness as the result of multiple network interactions, which can be interpreted using John Law's "method assemblage". This method disregards the attitudes of classical metaphysics and leads to the conclusion that new subjectivity arises from chaotic reality and manifests through the continuous formation and reformation of "bundles of relations". In those relations, it is impossible to differentiate between subject and object, as these roles roles are mobile and volatile

Sport Vision is a speciality of multidisciplinary interest aimed at improving the performance of the visual system to achieve benefits in practiced sports, as well as in daily life and in preventive care. The type of training practiced by the athlete, his or her physical condition, cognitive level, and level of fatigue condition affects the speed of the reaction time and, consequently, the speed of motor response. Specific orthoptic exercises, the use of technological devices, the recovery of static and dynamic postural stability by using unstable platforms and the dual-task paradigm can help to achieve the expected results. The aim of this systematic review of Sport Vision was to assess the overall existing literature on Sport Vision, paying particular attention to the effects of visual training and its application in different sports and in rehabilitation and preventive settings. We analysed published English language studies about the role of sport vision in athletic performance from 1950 to 2023. We searched through the Medline database. The PRISMA 2020 checklist was used to assess the transparency and reproducibility of this review. The enrolled papers were evaluated with the Jadad Scale, Amstar 2 Scale and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. 25 (16 studies, 5 reviews, 2 comments, 1 editorial, 1 descriptive paper) out of 476 studies met the inclusion criteria. Due to the variability in the age of the samples, the different techniques, the treatments among the participants in the studies and the finding of non-evaluable articles, a meta-analysis was not conducted. The limitations of this review are the single database research, the studies analyzed contain a non-statistically representative sample size and the lack of a control group. There is no standardized test to measure performance. It was shown that the development of visual skills can benefit athletes in injury prevention, and can lead to improved sports performance and motor function at any age, acquiring adaptive motor behaviour even when the visual system is impaired, due to task repetition and familiarity of the gesture. We intended to identify a multidisciplinary approach and a manual treatment scheme to optimize the circuitry involved in sport vision in order to increase the results that are achieved, but further studies will be needed to this end.

The paper deals with the application of the theoretical concept of the recently deceased American psychologist Susan Carey. Carey was devoted to the study of the development of cognitive functions in early and school-age children, as well as the cognitive processes that make scientific knowledge possible. The theory is part of the conceptual apparatus used by the quoted author. It is based on the assumption that children, as they develop cognitively, form theories about how the world works and, to some extent, test them in a similar way to scientific theories. One of the most important results of her research is what we now know about the origin of concepts. According to her, concepts are not just aggregate ideas about a particular class of entities, events, relations, etc., as is usually claimed. They are tools and as such make knowledge possible. Understanding concepts in Susan Carey’s terms makes it possible, among other things, to understand how it is that some people persist in beliefs that are obviously contrary to reality for others, such as the belief in a flat earth. The concept also has interesting methodological implications. Aristotelian logic, as it was practically developed until the end of the nineteenth century, was understood as the rules of right thinking. As such, it included psychological and ethical questions. The conception described here precisely develops the psychological component of the former logic. The final section of the paper then proposes hypotheses on which to base the study of adults, including those who hold some extreme views.

Background: Brain health is an evolving concept and relates to physical and mental health, social well-being, productivity, creativity. Brain health has several dimensions (cognitive, motor, functional, social, and emotional), and should be recognized as one top global priorities of health policies. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of tools developed for assessing the cognitive dimension of brain health in the out-patient services. Methods: A literature search on PubMed was performed (from inception to May 31, 2023). We identified cognitive tests, functional and psychological scales, and focused on screening tools specifically proposed to characterize cognition within the construct of brain health, comparing them with common global screening tests. Results: Among 1947 records, we identified 17 cognitive screening tools used in the context of brain health assessment, of which four were ad hoc developed: Brain Health Assessment (BHA), Brain Health Test (BHT), Brain Health Test-7 (BHT-7), and The Cogniciti Brain Health Assessment. The four tests have administration time ranging from 4 to 30 min, and different administration methods (paper-and-pencil or tablet-based). All four tools assess memory and other cognitive domains. Specific cut-offs have been identified for BHT and BHT-7, while the other tools have automated scoring systems. All but one test also assess other dimensions. Compared to commonly used cognitive screening tests, the brain health tools are less widely used, translated, and validated. Conclusions: The concept of brain health is new and requires further validation of tools for its assessment, especially for the cognition dimension.

This paper has the ambitious aim to clarify the putative different meanings of "consciousness" in Kant's Critique, particularly focusing on the concept of apperception. Often misinterpreted merely as the potential for self-attributions of experiences and mental states—technically, as the individual's ability to knowingly refer to himself—such readings overlook the pivot role of transcendental apperception in bridging the inherent gap between nonconceptual content of sensible intuitions and the higher-level conceptual content of propositional attitudes, essential for reasoning and the rational control of actions. In this context, "consciousness" or "self-consciousness" means cognitive accessibility (in Block's sense). But Kant's texts reveal additional meanings of consciousness. Notably, "sensation" means the raw material of intuition when it is apprehended through a synthesis of imagination without conceptual determination, capturing the subjective "what-it-is-like" phenomenal aspect of perception. Conversely, its objective correlate—the ability to discriminate and single out objects from their surroundings—embodies what can be described as "de re awareness" of a yet conceptually undetermined object of intuition.

Ridengnaxi E, Yan Wang Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People’s Hospital, Hohhot, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yan Wang, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People’s Hospital, No. 20 of Zhaowuda Road, Saihan District, Hohhot, 010017, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86 18148253963, Email wangyanyw26@126.comAbstract: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is acknowledged as a highly effective therapy for various neurological conditions, including refractory epilepsy, depression, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), migraine, and stroke. Presently, there is an increasing focus on understanding the impact of VNS on cognitive aspects. Numerous studies suggest that VNS suppresses the body’s inflammatory response, leading to enhanced cognitive function in patients. Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is a severe cognitive dysfunction syndrome resulting from prolonged chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH), where the primary pathogenesis is CCH-induced neuroinflammation. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of the research advancements in using VNS for treating VCI and discuss that VNS improves cognitive function in VCI patients by suppressing neuroinflammation, offering insights into a potential novel approach for addressing this condition.Keywords: cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, cognition, neuroinflammation, vagus nerve stimulation, vascular cognitive impairment

Aging is an inevitable process that can be associated with cognitive impairment. Evidence about the simultaneous evaluation of psychosocial variables that could be associated with cognitive function is crucial. We aimed to determine the association between psychosocial characteristics and cognition in adults over 50 years in Mexico. The fifth round of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) (2018) provides the basis for this paper. The study is part of a longitudinal analysis, for which wave pasting 2012, 2015, and 2018 were performed. The final sample comprised 6,709 individuals. Ten psychosocial variables were measured through scales or specific questions. Cognition was assessed with the Cross-Cultural Cognitive Examination (CCCE). Confounders included sociodemographics, multimorbidity, and functionality. The analysis was performed by adjusting the regression model. Of the total sample, 2,761 (41.1%) were men; 3,948 (58.8%) were women. The mean age was 68.2 years (SD = 8.1). Cognition is significantly affected in people with higher age (β=-1.30, Cl 95% -1.54, -.1.06 p= 0.000), less schooling (β=.559, CI 95% .498, .621 p

Sugeet K Jagpal,1,* Abdullah Alismail,2,3,* Erica Lin,4 Lauren Blackwell,5 Nayla Ahmed,6 May M Lee,7 Jared Chiarchiaro8 1Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA; 2Department of Cardiopulmonary Sciences, School of Allied Health Professions, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA, USA; 3Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA; 4Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; 5Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; 6Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 7Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of South California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 8Division of Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Abdullah Alismail, Department of Cardiopulmonary Sciences, School of Allied Health Professions, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA, Email aalismail@llu.eduAbstract: Health profession educators readily identify with the goal of fostering healthcare providers who are critical thinkers focused on quality patient care. In the following paper, we aim to delve into critical thinking at the team level and help educators begin the process of creating a shared mental model focusing on cognition to identify gaps and opportunities for growth in their trainees. We will distinguish between microcognition (an individual’s own critical thinking process in a controlled environment), macrocognition (critical thinking process in a real-world environment), and team cognition (the interaction and relationship among team members to augment macrocognition). A common case example will be used to guide the discussion as well as provide a model framework to be used for clinician educators in the future.Keywords: medical education, cognition, shared mental models, clinician educators

Introduction. The article demonstrates the logical vulnerability of the opinion that ‘language categorizes the world in different ways’, and considers the existing idea of language motivation as interrelation and interdependence of various phenomena — and as proof of inseparability of the cognizer, what can/is to be cognized, and what has been cognized. Goals. Based on the fact that the common beginning of cognition for various linguistic collectives is neither some objective external world nor the inner world of a person, but rather the presence of the cognitive ability inherent in all humankind, the work articulates and tests a hypothesis that cognitive bias be a predetermining factor of linguistic categorization and incomplete interlanguage equivalence. Materials and methods. The paper provides comparative insights into groups of situations involving the use of signs denoting a result of an object’s position shift in Russian and Chinese. The main research method is deduction. Results. The non-equivalence of the considered signs from the two languages is predetermined by that Russian is characterized by the strategy of a person who ACTS and concentrates directly on the dynamics of his/her movement. The signs associated with the preliminary assessment of the initial arrangement of objects and the selection of an appropriate direction of movement become significant. Chinese is dominated by the strategy of a person who OBSERVES, which includes the latter’s own position in the coordinate system and shows much more interest in the relocated object’s position to the subject proper. The two strategies can be sometimes compatible and sometimes contradictory. Accordingly, there is both a zone of conditional equivalence and a zone of lacunarity for the examined signs. Conclusions. The paper shows that language categorizes no world independent of a person but rather — the person’s experience from interacting with the environment. And since at the moment of interaction with the environment a person necessarily performs a certain role, cognitive bias proves inevitable. Awareness of the features underlying linguistic categorization depends on the role of the individual in this interaction.

We are agents and our agency is often best characterized in terms of embodied cognition. However, this is not to deny that there are cognitively significant ways of agentive engagement with the world that may be described without referring to our embodiment. In this paper we shall focus on the interplay between embodied agency and non-embodied agency or agency that may not be straightforwardly described in terms of embodied cognition in the context of interaction with digital technologies. In recent years a lot of our daily lives are coupled to the world via digital technologies. Yet how to understand the nature and evolution of our agency in the context of interacting with daily digital technologies is an open question. We propose to address this question by focusing on whether the steady development of digital technologies in our daily lives challenges the view that embodied agency is the de facto way of robustly engaging with the world and if embodied cognition is challenged then what is taking its place in scenarios where it was once dominant.

The human vestibular system is adversely affected by the aging process. Recent evidence indicates that vestibular information and cognitive functions are related, suggesting that age-related vestibular loss may contribute to cognitive impairment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of repetitive, home-based galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) on cognitive functions in healthy older adults. Twenty-one participants (age = 64.66 ± 2.97 years, 12 females) were randomly allocated to either a home-based GVS or an active control group. The GVS intervention lasted 20 min per session, five times a week, for two weeks (10 sessions). Cognitive functions were assessed before and after the intervention using the Stroop Test, Trail Making Test A&B, and Dual-Task (digit recall and paper-pencil tracking test). Our findings revealed a significant group-by-time interaction effect for the tracking accuracy (F(1,18) = 7.713, p = 0.012, η p2 = 0.30), with only the home-based GVS group showing significant improvement (t = −2.544, p = 0.029). The proposed home-based GVS protocol offers a promising non-pharmacological avenue for enhancing visuospatial ability in healthy older adults. Further research is needed to investigate the effects of different GVS protocols on various cognitive functions, particularly in older individuals with different health conditions.

The health of individuals is frequently assessed based on self-reported information derived from surveys. However, self-reports are often inconsistent with their tested equivalents, indicating measurement issues. While discrepancies between self-reported and tested health indicators have been investigated for high-income countries in Europe, little comparative research has been conducted involving other low-income regions. This paper analyses discrepancies between self-reported and tested health limitations across 25 countries from six world regions with different income-levels, cultural backgrounds, institutional settings, and epidemiological trajectories. Using harmonised data from the Gateway to Global Aging, we match self-reported mobility and cognition with their tested equivalent to assess discrepancies at the individual level. Our results suggest that the consistency between these measures is strongly correlated with the Human Development Index, with lower scores of development showing higher discrepancies. Examining patterns by age reveals that self-reports do not accurately reflect the deterioration of health associated with aging – tested health exhibits a pronounced age gradient, whereas self-reported health varies little over the life course, particularly self-reported memory. We find no persistent gender differences in consistency. These discrepancies cast doubt on the reliability of mobility and cognitive self-reports, especially when comparing health across nations with differing development levels. * This article belongs to a special issue on “Levels and Trends of Health Expectancy: Understanding its Measurement and Estimation Sensitivity”.

This paper aims to contribute to the reflection that expands and makes explicit the aspects of early motherchild bonding that favor the development of Theory of Mind (ToM). For this purpose, first, we start from the conceptualization of ToM and its understanding from the Theory of Theories and Simulation Theory, as they have been identified as the most important theoretical models that explain one of the most relevant differential capacities of the human species. Subsequently, it is proposed that this capacity emerges in the bonding context, since due to its complexity it constitutes an evolutionary advantage that favors the establishment of the social bond; for this purpose, the developments of the Attachment Theory are used. The content analysis carried out allows us to recognize that treating the child as a mental agent (intentional and with individuality) and tending to use terms of mental state in discourse, play a fundamental role in the development of children’s capacity to understand other minds, so that rather than entering into the debate of internalist or externalist perspectives on the development of ToM, the value of intersubjective experience is highlighted.

Neurolinguistic assessments play a vital role in neurological examinations, revealing a wide range of language and communication impairments associated with developmental disorders and acquired neurological conditions. Yet, a thorough neurolinguistic assessment is time-consuming and laborious and takes valuable resources from other tasks. To empower clinicians, healthcare providers, and researchers, we have developed Open Brain AI (OBAI). The aim of this computational platform is twofold. First, it aims to provide advanced AI tools to facilitate spoken and written language analysis, automate the analysis process, and reduce the workload associated with time-consuming tasks. The platform currently incorporates multilingual tools for English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. The tools involve models for (i) audio transcription, (ii) automatic translation, (iii) grammar error correction, (iv) transcription to the International Phonetic Alphabet, (v) readability scoring, (vi) phonology, morphology, syntax, semantic measures (e.g., counts and proportions), and lexical measures. Second, it aims to support clinicians in conducting their research and automating everyday tasks with “OBAI Companion,” an AI language assistant that facilitates language processing, such as structuring, summarizing, and editing texts. OBAI also provides tools for automating spelling and phonology scoring. This paper reviews OBAI’s underlying architectures and applications and shows how OBAI can help professionals focus on higher-value activities, such as therapeutic interventions.

The brain health and development implications of climate change are situated within a large and rapidly increasing body of evidence that addresses the physical and mental health impacts and implications of extreme and worsening environments. The costs to individuals and societies of negatively impacted brain development are profound – be it in the form of diagnosable developmental disability, reduced cognitive capacity, or areas of behavioral functioning. We have sought to describe the key risk domains that climate change presents with respect to healthy brain development, from the prenatal through to youth stages. Scoping review methods and an a priori search strategy were used to address the question: What are the major considerations of the peer-reviewed literature that address climate change as it relates to brain development and health from early development through to youth populations? Themes from the identified papers were charted, and findings were summarized through a consensus process. A total of 40 papers were identified in the search, spanning 2008–2022. Based on the thematic analysis, results are organized into the following nine themes: 1) heat extremes, 2) weather extremes and stress, 3) air pollution, 4) vector and waterborne illnesses, 5) malnutrition, 6) equity, 7) economic implications, 8) methods issues, and 9) responses. There is a clear consensus amongst the papers in this review suggesting that changing climate patterns and weather extremes have substantial and wide-ranging effects on developing brains. A range of responses are proposed with an emphasis upon early intervention and better data.

Endangered species have small, unsustainable population sizes that are geographically or genetically restricted. Ex-situ conservation programmes are therefore faced with the challenge of breeding sufficiently sized, genetically diverse populations earmarked for reintroduction that have the behavioural skills to survive and breed in the wild. Yet, maintaining historically beneficial behaviours may be insufficient, as research continues to suggest that certain cognitive-behavioural skills and flexibility are necessary to cope with human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). This paper begins by reviewing interdisciplinary studies on the ‘captivity effect’ in laboratory, farmed, domesticated and feral vertebrates and finds that captivity imposes rapid yet often reversible changes to the brain, cognition and behaviour. However, research on this effect in ex-situ conservation sites is lacking. This paper reveals an apparent mismatch between ex-situ enrichment aims and the cognitive-behavioural skills possessed by animals currently coping with HIREC. After synthesizing literature across neuroscience, behavioural biology, comparative cognition and field conservation, it seems that ex-situ endangered species deemed for reintroduction may have better chances of coping with HIREC if their natural cognition and behavioural repertoires are actively preserved. Evaluating the effects of environmental challenges rather than captivity per se is recommended, in addition to using targeted cognitive enrichment.

ObjectiveThe number of research into new cognitive assessment tools has increased rapidly in recent years, sparking great interest among professionals. However, there is still little literature revealing the current status and future trends of digital technology use in cognitive assessment. The aim of this study was to summarize the development of digital cognitive assessment tools through the bibliometric method.MethodsWe carried out a comprehensive search in the Web of Science Core Collection to identify relevant papers published in English between January 1, 2003, and April 3, 2023. We used the subjects such as “digital,” “computer,” and “cognitive,” and finally 13,244 related publications were collected. Then we conducted the bibliometric analysis by Bibliometrix” R-package, VOSviewer and CiteSpace software, revealing the prominent countries, authors, institutions, and journals.Results11,045 articles and 2,199 reviews were included in our analyzes. The number of annual publications in this field was rising rapidly. The results showed that the most productive countries, authors and institutions were primarily located in economically developed regions, especially the North American, European, and Australian countries. Research cooperation tended to occur in these areas as well. The application of digital technology in cognitive assessment appealed to growing attention during the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic.ConclusionDigital technology uses have had a great impact on cognitive assessment and health care. There have been substantial papers published in these areas in recent years. The findings of the study indicate the great potential of digital technology in cognitive assessment.

The acquisition of a second language (L2) is a highly demanding cognitive task that, in terms of phonology, happens through the siege of the first language (L1). The cue-weighting, that is, the attention given to specific cues in the L2 speech and the ability to change the focus of attention to relevant cues is essential for L2 speech processing and tends to be affected by the patterns of the L1. The present study aimed to produce a systematic review of the studies concerning attention and L2 phonological knowledge. Research participants, attention and phonological assessment, and the main results of eighteen studies published between 2010 and 2021 were described and analyzed. The data gathered indicates that the bulk of the research carried out is of cross-sectional studies with attention control and perceptual discrimination tasks with L2 English adult learners. Most studies pointed out that attention has an important role in L2 phonological acquisition. At the beginning of acquisition, attention seems to be more important to L2 speech processing than for proficient L2 speakers when automatization takes place. Focusing, selecting, shifting, dividing, and sustaining attention as well as being flexible and having good inhibitory control have a special role in L2 phonological acquisition. The need for further investigation with controlled variables, other L1/L2 combinations, and multiple assessment instruments is evident.

The term system of cognitive linguistics is formed from different areas of knowledge and discursive practices. These terms are usually of English origin. But this system also includes Russian-language words of a commonly used nature, which, as a result of systemthesaurus connections with other terms in scientific communication, acquire the status of a cognitive term. The paper discusses the methodological foundations for understanding these integration processes, which is possible only when considering a system of terms as a form of explication of knowledge at the mental and linguistic levels. The nationwide existence of Russian-language words, possible shades of meaning, which allowed such lexemes to move into a group of terms and replenish the cognitive terminological system, are analyzed. The object of analysis is the original Russian lexemes knowledge and consciousness. The subject of analysis is the components of semantics that have become the basis of the terminological meaning of the indicated lexemes; new systemic connections that arose in the words knowledge and consciousness already as in terms of Russian origin when entering the cognitive terminological system: synonymous, antonymic, hyper- and hyponymic, derivational-epidigmatic. Observation of the functioning of the lexemes knowledge and consciousness in popular and scientific discourses, as well as analysis of the interpretation of these terms in scientific discourse, made it possible to clarify the process of terminology of the commonly used vocabulary of the Russian language. The paper presents the results of using corpus and software tools for modeling the functionality of this knowledge format. The collected information is supported by the results of an associative experiment to verify the data sources obtained through automatic processing. The revealed frequency and specificity of the use of cognitive terms on modern material will allow us to draw meaningful conclusions about a qualitatively new state of cognitive terminology.

There is no doubt that the digital economy has brought much convenience to our work and life, improving productivity and optimising social service and government efficiency. However, there are also quite a few problems in the development of the digital economy, such as fake and even malicious information flooding the internet and new media, counterfeit e-commerce, and the shocks to the economy and society brought about by the extensively advanced development of internet technologies and fintech. People lack an understanding of the digital economy, leading to criminal offences and economic offences. This paper presents an accurate review of the development of the digital economy and its extensive effects on social economic growth. It begins with the introduction of the digital econ- omy, with a profound influence on human productivity and people’s lives, plus an essential literature review. It explains the research materials and methods, as well as the structure of the article. It then explores the development law of the digital economy and inteprets the essence of the accurate cognition of the digital economy. Further, it traces the impact of the digital economy on society and emphasises the normalisation of the development of the digital economy. This is followed by a deep assessment of the service efficiency of the digital economy and building a new area for attracting investment. It examines the importance of the information transmission mechanism in avoiding the overlapping of digital isolated islands. The paper concludes with the premise of precisely defining the development stage of the digital economy so as to stimulate the iterative innovation of social economic development.

Introduction: The interaction between road safety and drivers’ mental health is an important issue to take into consideration on transportation and safety research. The present review deals specifically with the link between anxiety and driving activity from two complementary points of view. Method: A systematic review into primary studies, following the PRISMA statement, was carried out in four databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Transport Research International Documentation and Pubmed. A total of 29 papers were retained. On the one hand, we present a systematic review of research articles exploring the cognitive and behavioural effects of driving anxiety, regardless its onset, when concerned people have to drive. The second goal of the review is to compile the available literature on the influence of legal drugs, which are used to fight against anxiety, on actual driving tasks. Results: Eighteen papers have been retained for the first question, whose main findings show that exaggerated cautious driving, negative feelings and avoidance are associated with driving anxiety. Most of the conclusions were drawn from self-reported questionnaires and little is known about the effects in situ. Concerning the second question, benzodiazepines are the most studied legal drugs. They affect different attentional processes and could slow reaction times down depending on the population and treatment features. Conclusions: The two standpoints included in the present work allow us to propose some possible lines of research to study certain aspects that have not been explored in depth about people who either feel apprehensive about driving or who drive under the effects of anxiolytics. Practical applications: The study on driving anxiety may be crucial to estimate the consequences for traffic safety. Furthermore, it is relevant to design effective campaigns to raise awareness about the issues discussed. To propose standard evaluations of driving anxiety and exhaustive research works to find out the extent of anxiolytics use are also important to be considered for traffic policies.

Generative AI applications enable different useful functions for learning based on the generation of content. This paper aims to offer a theoretical framework to understand them as tools for cognition (TFC), framed in the perspective of sociocultural theory and activity theory and distributed cognition. This perspective exemplifies how thought is not only packaged inside the individual's mind, but is distributed among subjects, objects, and artifacts, where tools mediate human activity and help in the executive functions of thought. The perspective of TFC embodies an educational socio-constructivist vision where learners build their knowledge with these tools, taking advantage of their affordances. It is the concept of learning "with" technology instead of the traditional vision of learning "from" technology, where technological applications are limited to providing information and evaluating the students' responses. Finally, we describe Generative AI applications as TFC following David Jonassen's pragmatic and pedagogical criteria, i.e. the capacity of knowledge representation of different subjects, the facilitation of critical and meaningful thinking (based on questioning and prompting) and how they enable complex thinking among students when used in learning tasks, only when executive functions are on the side of the learner.

This research explores the social dynamics of space in Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand (2021), originally published as Ret Samadhi, and translated into English by Daisy Rockwell. Tomb of Sand revolves around Ma, an eighty year old woman, who rises from a deep trance as new and develops a taste for transgression. The objective of this research essay is to evaluate the social implications of animation of places like doors, thresholds, boundaries, and walls in the novel, and to analyse the role of spatial dimension in the transgressive activities of characters. The research is significant in that it highlights the treatment of space as a physical entity that has a cognition of its own. The paper argues that the places in the novel are alive due to their social soul, and they put forth the ideologies and thoughts of the prominent actors who inhabit them. Places, therefore, become indicators of characters’ transgression since they represent the social expectations with regards to gender, age or class. For instance, the door of Bade’s home (in the text under scrutiny) “knows that it must remain open” as he has a responsibility towards every social class as a civil servant. However, the case is different for Beti whose departure from Bade’s home is viewed as a sign of transgression. This research employs the concept of place by Tim Cresswell in his book In Place/ Out of Place: Geography, Ideology and transgression (1996). Appropriating the tools of interpretive phenomenological analysis of the text, the research contributes to the interdisciplinary domain of GeoHumanities.

In the pursuit of sustainability and resilience, urban horticulture holds immense promise for cities. This paper delves into the captivating realm of urban horticulture preferences in Iran, unraveling the factors that shape individuals' inclinations. The results highlight the influence of greenhouse design on urban horticulture preferences. Urban dwellers prioritize cultural ecosystem services over regulating and provisioning services when engaging in urban horticulture activities. Anticipated ecosystem services differ among various socio-demographic groups. Different greenhouse elements evoke distinct perceptions of ecosystem services. However, certain greenhouses can improve the overall perception of ecosystem services due to the strong correlations between different types of services.

Frailty is a recession of age-related reserves caused by a variety of causes and is becoming the most important clinical syndrome that affects the health of the elderly. In the elderly, frailty and cognitive dysfunction often exist, and some people have proposed cognitive frailty. Cognitive frailty is an elderly syndrome that increases the risk of dementia, in the same time, and can independently predict the adverse health outcomes of the patient and affect the quality of the patient’s survival. This paper, under the guidance of Walker and Avant method, provides theoretical basis for early recognition and intervention of cognitive weakness in the elderly.

Abstract Evidence suggests that success in sports, especially soccer and futsal are linked to higher levels of executive functioning. Still, the literature does not present a homogeneous set of instruments to measure executive functions, which leads to large variability in results. In this paper, we assembled four already recognised measures to propose a valid 4-instrument protocol to assess executive functions among soccer and futsal athletes. We conducted two studies to validate the proposed protocol. We addressed known-groups validity and latent structure in Study 1 for data collected on 105 female soccer and futsal athletes from elite and lower-division clubs. Findings pointed to partial validity of the protocol - with working memory and inhibition showing the best results. For Study 2, we used performance data from 51 elite female soccer players collected throughout a season of the first division league to assess predictive validity. Our protocol was able to partially replicate previous findings and added new insights on how working memory, processing speed and higher-level executive functions might play different roles for goalscoring and assist-making skills. Specifically, study 1 did not find a significant difference between elite and lower-division athletes in higher-order executive functions as in previous studies, but it did find on visual working memory and inhibitory control which weights towards higher demands of core executive functions. On the other hand, study 2 yielded significant results for processing speed and visual working memory to predict assists among elite soccer players, but not inhibitory control as previous findings suggested. Regardless, the proposed 4-instrument protocol showed adequate criterion and structural validity in both studies.

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to provide an outline of the process of developing an on-road driving test route and rating form. Comprehensive evaluation of medical fitness to drive should comprise of an off-road and an on-road assessment. Much research attention has focussed on the off-road phase of assessment, while there is less standardisation evident in the completion and measurement of the on-road phase of fitness-to-drive assessment. Design/methodology/approach – A scholarship of practice approach was used to inform the development of an on-road test route and an associated generic on-road assessment tool that was guided by research evidence and best practice recommendations. Findings – A step-by-step guide, outlining seven recommended phases in the development of an on-road route for the assessment of fitness to drive that aligns with best practice recommendations, was developed. A preliminary generic on-road assessment tool (the Maynooth–Trinity Driving Test) that includes higher-order cognition alongside element of strategic, tactical and operational driving ability was developed and piloted alongside the newly developed on-road test route. Originality/value – This paper offers an overview of an approach to developing evidence-based on-road test routes and an associated generic assessment tool that may assist occupational therapists and on-road driving assessors establish a standard practice for testing on-road behaviour as part of a comprehensive approach to evaluate fitness to drive.

BackgroundOne of the experimental neuromodulation techniques being researched for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is deep brain stimulation (DBS). To evaluate the effectiveness of DBS in AD, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available evidence.MethodsFrom the inception through December 2021, the following databases were searched: Medline via PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The search phrases used were “Alzheimer's disease,” “AD,” “deep brain stimulation,” and “DBS.” The information from the included articles was gathered using a standardized data-collecting form. In the included papers, the Cochrane Collaboration methodology was used to evaluate the risk of bias. A fixed-effects model was used to conduct the meta-analysis.ResultsOnly five distinct publications and 6 different comparisons (one study consisted of two phases) were included out of the initial 524 papers that were recruited. DBS had no impact on the cognitive ability in patients with AD [0.116 SMD, 95% confidence interval (CI), −0.236 to 0.469, p = 0.518]. The studies' overall heterogeneity was not significant (κ2 = 6.23, T2 = 0.053, df = 5, I2 = 19.76%, p = 0.284). According to subgroup analysis, the fornix-DBS did not improve cognitive function in patients with AD (0.145 SMD, 95%CI, −0.246 to 0.537, p = 0.467). Unfavorable neurological and non-neurological outcomes were also reported.ConclusionThe inconsistencies and heterogeneity of the included publications in various target and age groups of a small number of AD patients were brought to light by this meta-analysis. To determine if DBS is useful in the treatment of AD, further studies with larger sample sizes and randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled designs are required.

Despite the national strategic priority to achieve common prosperity, there still exist prominent discrepancies in financial asset allocation between Chinese urban and rural families, which requires a deeper, more comprehensive investigation. To fill this gap, the present research adopted a cultural perspective to investigate relevant issues by addressing the cognitive differences of residents between urban and rural families. Under the analytical framework of Hofstede’s cultural values, this paper discusses the cognitive differences between urban and rural families in terms of financial asset allocation in the cultural dimensions of collectivism, individualism and uncertainty avoidance; hypotheses are accordingly developed. In terms of research methods, the data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) were used in the probit model to investigate the influence of urban and rural family cultural differences on household financial asset allocation. The results of this paper are as follows: (1) family cultural values have a positive impact on family financial asset allocation; (2) knowledge acquisition plays an intermediary role in family cultural values and family financial asset allocation; (3) and for rural families with high collectivism and uncertainty avoidance, the mediating effect is more prominent. This paper provides a new perspective for exploring the possibility of household asset allocation from the perspective of cultural psychology. The contribution of this paper have theoretical and practical reference significance to narrow the wealth gap between urban and rural areas and achieve common prosperity.

This paper analyzes spatial gestures and cognition in a new, or so-called “emerging”, visual language, the Yucatec Maya Sign Language (YSML). This sign language was created by deaf and hearing signers in various Yucatec Maya villages on the Yucatec Peninsula (Mexico). Although the sign language is not a signed version of spoken Yucatec Maya, both languages evolve in a similar cultural setting. Studies have shown that cultures around the world seem to rely on one preferred spatial Frame of Reference (FoR), shaping in many ways how people orient themselves and think about the world around them. Prior research indicated that Yucatec Maya speakers rely on the use of the geocentric FoR. However, contrary to other cultures, it is mainly observable through the production of gestures and not speech only. In the case of space, gestures in spoken Yucatec Maya exhibit linguistic features, having the status of a lexicon. Our research question is the following: if the preferred spatial FoR among the Yucatec Mayas is based on co-expressivity and spatial linguistic content visually transmitted via multimodal interactions, will deaf signers of an emerging language created in the same cultural setting share the same cognitive preference? In order to answer this question, we conducted three experimental tasks in three different villages where YMSL is in use: a non-verbal rotation task, a Director-Matcher task and a localization task. Results indicate that YMSL signers share the same preference for the geocentric FoR.

Background and Objectives: We aimed to explore the association between cognitive performance and markers of hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) in young adults with hypertension. Materials and Methods: A group of adults aged 16 to 45 years with primary arterial hypertension completed a battery of paper-pencil as well as computer-based neuropsychological tests across all major cognitive domains. They also underwent office and ambulatory 24 h blood pressure, intima-media thickness measurements, heart ultrasound, and laboratory analysis of their lipid profile, blood uric acid concentration, and urine albumin-creatinine ratio. Associations between cognitive test results and markers of HMOD were explored through correlation analysis and age-, sex-, and body mass index-adjusted linear regression modeling. Results: Seventy-six individuals (62, 81.6% male) aged 36.5 years (interquartile range 18.4 to 42.0 years) were enrolled. After adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index in linear regression models, worse categorical fluency was associated with higher left ventricular mass (βst = −0.264, p = 0.043) and worse performance in a task of sustained attention—with higher left ventricular mass index (βst = −0. 304, p = 0.016). Worse phonemic fluency was related to higher pulse pressure (βst = −0.241, p = 0.049) in the respective model. Better strategy use in the task of spatial working memory was linked to higher daytime mean diastolic blood pressure (βst = −0.343 p = 0.017). Conclusions: Performance among young adults with hypertension across selected cognitive domains was inversely associated with pulse pressure, markers of left ventricular damage, and directly associated with daytime diastolic blood pressure. Our study suggests that the previously reported relationship between cognitive and cardiovascular markers in hypertension exists earlier than in middle or late adulthood.

With the rapid development of space technology, the space domain environment has become increasingly complex and variable, which has created more challenges for space domain awareness. By classifying the problems faced by SDA, the overall idea of solving these problems by detecting points of variation is clarified. In this paper, a change-point detection method is constructed for space target data streams based on the T2G model, and the method’s effectiveness and performance are verified by simulating satellite data streams. This proves that the method proposed in this paper can quickly and effectively detect the change points of a civilian space target. Furthermore, we include a preliminary analysis of space target behaviour by analysing the calculated anomaly score. After verifying the method, we demonstrate its applications in several important fields (such as regular LEO satellites, LEO satellites with frequent orbit manoeuvres, and GEO satellites), which not only verifies the proposed method’s effectiveness but also yields much more space information. This can provide valuable evidence, recommendations and references for subsequent space situation analysis and space mission planning.