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The aim of the following study is to present the body composition of male Muay Thai fighters that were measured in Thailand and in Germany. As a control group, German college students were also measured. The three groups were separated into five different groups: experienced and inexperienced. Muay Thai fighters from Thailand were not separated since they were much more experienced, more advanced, than their German counterparts. Experienced and inexperienced were defined by the amount of training that each fighter conducted every week: Training of less than three times a week was considered as “inexperienced”. The measurements in this study were performed under a standardized method by the author. The measured results were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2010 and IBM SPSS 16. The results of the present study showed that the Muay Thai fighters from Thailand were significantly smaller than the German Muay Thai fighters and the college students. This study also used the methods developed by Parnell, Heath and Carter, Knussmann and Conrad. The body mass index was also used in the study.

The association between numerical and spatial thinking manifests itself throughout various cognitive observations, concerning arithmetic problem solving as well as simple number recognition tasks. The spatial component in numerical thinking is assumed to represent the semantic processing pathway, for example, the mental representation of numerical magnitude. There is an interconnection of semantic, linguistic, and visual/symbolic pathways, which is thought to be stronger in adults than in children. During childhood, the semantic pathway is supposed to play a major part in numerical processing. In this study, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm combining a mental rotation task with a number processing task. The behavioral data showed the highest error rate for two-digit numbers (not for three-digit numbers). In regard to two-digit numbers, we also found the strongest neuronal activation overlap for number processing and mental rotation in the left intraparietal sulcus. This pattern suggests that the mental inversion of digits in native German speakers might be a spatial function related to mental rotation. In terms of overcoming opposed informational input for symbolic and linguistic representation and therefore impeded informational extraction the spatial processing pathway might play a major role. To conclude, spatial training could be an effective educational approach, supporting the interconnection of numerical processing pathways.

Background Stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) plays a major role in choice-reaction tasks. In specific cases, SRC leads to phenomena like the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) or the Spatial Pitch Association of Response Codes (SPARC) effect: small numbers or low pitches lead to faster responses when answered with the left hand, whereas large numbers or high pitches lead to faster responses when answered with the right hand. The previous study, investigating the combination of SNARC and SPARC with numbers spoken in different pitch heights, points towards an interdependency of both SNARC and SPARC compatibility effects, suggesting an automatic process. Methods In the present event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we investigated the underlying neural activity when SNARC and SPARC are combined within the same auditory stimulus (numerical condition). Additionally, we included a categorical condition (the words “small” and “large”) as variation of the stimulus type. Results We found neither an effect for SNARC nor for SPARC Compatibility in the neuronal data, whereas SNARC Compatibility was found in the behavioral data. According to the behavioral as well as the neuronal data, in the bilateral auditory cortex, SNARC and SPARC Compatibility interacts with Stimulus Type, i.e., whether numerical or categorical stimuli were presented. Conclusions We concluded that both effects are interdependent and that this interaction strongly depends on the semantic information.

Background: Tinnitus is the perception of a phantom sound without external acoustic stimulation. Recent tinnitus research suggests a relationship between attention processes and tinnitus-related distress. It has been found that too much focus on tinnitus comes at the expense of the visual domain. The angular gyrus (AG) seems to play a crucial role in switching attention to the most salient stimulus. This study aims to evaluate the involvement of the AG during visual attention tasks in tinnitus sufferers treated with Heidelberg Neuro-Music Therapy (HNMT), an intervention that has been shown to reduce tinnitus-related distress. Methods: Thirty-three patients with chronic tinnitus, 45 patients with recent-onset tinnitus, and 35 healthy controls were tested. A fraction of these (21/21/22) were treated with the “compact” version of the Heidelberg Neuro-Music Therapy (HNMT) lasting one week with intense treatments, while non-treated participants were included as passive controls. Visual attention was evaluated during functional Magnet-Resonance Imaging (fMRI) by a visual Continous Performance Task (CPT) using letter-based alarm cues (“O” and “X”) appearing in a sequence of neutral letters, “A” through “H”. Participants were instructed to respond via button press only if the letter “O” was followed by the letter “X” (GO condition), but not to respond if a neutral letter appeared instead (NOGO condition). All participants underwent two fMRI sessions, before and after a one-week study period. Results: The CPT results revealed a relationship between error rates and tinnitus duration at baseline whereby the occurrence of erroneous “GO omissions” and the reaction time increased with tinnitus duration. Patients with chronic tinnitus who were treated with HNMT had decreasing error rates (fewer GO omissions) compared to treated recent-onset patients. fMRI analyses confirmed greater activation of the AG during CPT in chronic patients after HNMT treatment compared to treated recent-onset patients. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that HNMT treatment helps shift the attention from the auditory phantom percept towards visual cues in chronic tinnitus patients and that this shift in attention may involve the AG.

Background: Suffering from tinnitus causes mental distress in most patients. Recent neuroscientific findings hint at a diminished activity of the brain’s default-mode network (DMN) in the case of psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression or anxiety). In tinnitus, impaired activity of DMN, including the posterior cingulate (PCC) and the precuneus, is said to be involved in tinnitus-associated distress. We have established a rapid therapy approach, the Heidelberg Neuro-Music Therapy (HNMT), which has been shown to considerably reduce tinnitus distress following a one-week short-term treatment. Hence, this therapy option allows for longitudinal observations of the neural changes due to improvements in tinnitus distress. It thus seems fruitful to assess the relationship between compromised DMN-activity and tinnitus-related distress by HNMT. We have previously reported grey matter (GM) reorganization in DMN regions and in primary auditory areas following the HNMT in cases of recent-onset tinnitus. The current study investigated the related activity levels in DMN before and after HNMT using functional MRI (fMRI). Methods: The DMN activity was estimated by the task-negative activation (TNA) during long inter-trial intervals in a word recognition task. The level of TNA was evaluated twice, before and after the one-week study period, in 18 treated tinnitus patients (“treatment goup”, TG), 21 passive tinnitus controls (PTC), and 22 active healthy controls (AC). During the study week, the participants in TG and AC groups were treated with HNMT, whereas PTC patients did not receive any tinnitus-specific treatment. Therapy-related effects on DMN activity were assessed by comparing the pairs of fMRI records from the TG and PTC groups. Results: The comparison between the TG and AC groups, each treated with HNMT, showed tinnitus-specific effects. Both therapy-related effects and tinnitus-specific effects resulted in an augmented DMN activity in the PCC of 2.5% signal change. Following HNMT, the enhancement of the PCC activity was correlated with a reduction in tinnitus distress (Spearman Rho: -0.5; p

Processing of speech was investigated by using stimuli gradually changing from speech (vowels) to non-speech (spectral rotated vowels). Stimuli were presented in descending levels of vocalization blends, from pure speech to non-speech, through step-wise combinations, resulting in ambiguous versions of the sounds. Participants performed a two-alternative forced choice task: categorization of sounds were made according to whether they contained more speech or non-speech. Performance feedback was presented visually on each trial. Reaction times (RT) after sound presentation, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data during auditory and visual processing, were analyzed. RT data suggested individual differences with a distinct group, good performers, functioning better in distinguishing stimuli with a higher degree of ambiguous blends compared to poor performers, who were not able to distinguish these stimuli correctly. fMRI data confirmed this finding. During auditory stimulation, good performers showed neural activation in the ventral auditory pathway, including the primary auditory cortex and the anterior superior temporal sulcus (responsible for speech processing). Poor performers, in contrast, showed neural activation in the dorsal auditory pathway, including the bilateral superior temporal gyrus. Group differences were also found for visual feedback processing. Differences observed between the groups were interpreted as reflecting different neural processing strategies.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the risks of endovascular therapy, aneurysm regrowth, recanalization and the need for reembolization. METHOD: A prospective analysis was performed on 211 aneurysms treated endovascularly from February 2000 to December 2003. Of these 211 aneurysms, 81 were asymptomatic and 130 were ruptured. The risks of endovascular therapy, aneurysm regrowth, recanalization and the need for reembolization were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean observation time was 10 months (ranging from 178 to 830 days). Complete occlusion (100%) in the initial intervention was achieved in 171 of 201 aneurysms (85%), 80-95% occlusion in 24 aneurysms (12%), and

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to test changes in cognitive performance after carotid artery stenting (CAS). METHOD: Ten patients were neuropsychologically tested at least 24 h before and 48 h after CAS. To diminish thromboembolic events, we used a proximal protection device. The following neuropsychological tests were selected: The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), symbol digit test and subtests of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) battery (verbal fluency, constructional practice, word list memory and delayed recall). Affective state was determined by the Beck Depression Score (BDS). RESULTS: No patient suffered from depression (BDS

Tinnitus, the phenomenon of ringing or buzzing in the ears without an external sound source is one of the most commonly reported symptoms in otorhinolaryngology and affects 10 – 15% of the general population. Models have been developed to account for neural basis of tinnitus, its pathogenesis and its consequences on mental health (deRidder et al., 2013). In most cases tinnitus onset follows a partial hearing impairment. Peripheral sensory deprivation due to cochlear damages may prompt increased neuronal activity in the central auditory system in order to adapt the neural sensitivity to the reduced sensory inputs. This central gain could over amplify the “neural noise” and thus trigger a homeostatic down-regulation of inhibitory synapses in the auditory cortical map leading to specific reorganization of the cortical representation of the tinnitus percept. Dysfunctional feedback connections from limbic regions to auditory brain areas, interacting at the thalamic level, may account for the psychological impairment.

Pathophysiology and treatment of tinnitus still are fields of intensive research. The neuroscientifically motivated Heidelberg Model of Music Therapy, previously developed by the German Center for Music Therapy Research, Heidelberg, Germany, was applied to explore its effects on individual distress and on brain structures. This therapy is a compact and fast application of nine consecutive 50-minutes sessions of individualized therapy implemented over one week. Clinical improvement and long-term effects over several years have previously been published. However the underlying neural basis of the therapy’s success has not yet been explored. In the current study, the therapy was applied to acute tinnitus patients (TG) and healthy active controls (AC). Non-treated patients were also included as passive controls (PTC). As predicted, the therapeutic intervention led to a significant decrease of tinnitus-related distress in TG compared to PTC. Before and after the study week, high-resolution MRT scans were obtained for each subject. Assessment by repeated measures design for several groups (two-way ANOVA) revealed structural gray matter (GM) increase in TG compared to PTC, comprising clusters in precuneus, medial superior frontal areas, and in the auditory cortex. This pattern was further applied as mask for general GM changes as induced by the therapy week. The therapy-like procedure in AC also elicited similar GM increases in precuneus and frontal regions. Comparison between structural effects in TG versus AC was calculated within the mask for general GM changes to obtain specific effects in tinnitus patients, yielding GM increase in right Heschl's gyrus, right Rolandic operculum, and medial superior frontal regions. In line with recent findings on the crucial role of the auditory cortex in maintaining tinnitus-related distress, a causative relation between the therapy-related GM alterations in auditory areas and the long-lasting therapy effects can be assumed.