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Objective: This study investigates the effect of a bilateral (paralyzed side, healthy side) plantar contact task on dorsolateral prefrontal activation in patients recovering from cerebral infarction under open and closed eye conditions. Methods: We selected 10 patients with cerebral infarction, admitted to the neurorehabilitation center of Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, affiliated with Capital Medical University, from January 2019 to July 2020, who met our established criteria. Under open-eye and closed-eye conditions, the paralyzed and healthy sides performed the plantar contact tasks separately. The dorsolateral prefrontal region was monitored simultaneously with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and activation was analyzed according to the curve-type changes of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin changes in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with 560 near-infrared monitoring channels. Results: After stratifying the data based on the eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions, some degree of heterogeneity was observed between the layers. Under the eyes-closed condition, the Pearson -2 was 0.142, with a p value of 0.706, indicating no significant impact of the eyes-closed condition on the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the plantar task, whether performed on the paralyzed or the healthy side. In contrast, the Pearson value was 15.15 for the eyes-open condition, with a p value of 0.002. This suggests that carrying out the plantar task, either on the paralyzed or the healthy side, with eyes open significantly influenced the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was 1.55 times higher when the task was executed with the paralyzed side compared to the healthy side. This implies that the paralyzed side was more likely to activate the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe when performing the plantar contact task under eyes-open conditions. Conclusion: Observations via fNIRS revealed that the plantar contact task elicited dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation. Moreover, the activation effect was intensified when performed on the paralyzed side under eyes-open conditions. Therapeutic methods that leverage these findings--namely cognitive-motor therapies that promote the recovery of motor functions by activating cognitive control brain regions via perception (information construction)--may hold promise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a surface-based method to investigate brain functional alteration patterns in early-onset Parkinson's disease (EOPD) and late-onset Parkinson's disease (LOPD) to provide more reliable imaging indicators for the assessment of the two subtypes. A total of 58 patients with Parkinson's disease were divided into two groups according to age at onset: EOPD (≤50 years; 16 males and 15 females) and LOPD (>50 years; 17 males and 10 females) groups. Two control groups were recruited from the community: young adults (YC; ≤50 years; 8 males and 19 females) and older adults (OC; >50 years; 12 males and 10 females). No significant differences were observed between the EOPD and YC groups or the LOPD and OC groups in terms of age, sex, education, and MMSE scores (p > 0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed between the EOPD and LOPD groups in terms of education, H-Y scale, UPDRS score, or HAMD score (p > 0.05). Data preprocessing and surface-based regional homogeneity (2D-ReHo) calculations were subsequently performed using the MATLAB-based DPABIsurf software. The EOPD group showed decreased 2D-ReHo values in the left premotor area and right dorsal stream visual cortex, along with increased 2D-ReHo values in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In patients with LOPD, 2D-ReHo values were decreased in bilateral somatosensory and motor areas and the right paracentral lobular and mid-cingulate. The imaging characterization of surface-based regional changes may serve useful as monitoring indicators and will help to better understand the mechanisms underlying divergent clinical presentations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation plays a significant role in the correction of addictive behaviors. Behavioral addiction is often accompanied by attentional bias to habitual behaviors of specific stimuli. As a kind of behavioral addiction, mobile phone addiction is no exception. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on the attentional bias of mobile phone addicts through the transcranial direct current stimulation (2 mA, 20 minutes) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal lobe with cathode as the center pole.METHODS: A total of 39 health college students from Tianjin University of Sport were recruited as experimental subjects. Among them, 21 were assigned into mobile phone addiction group and 18 assigned into non-mobile phone addiction groups. All the subjects underwent transcranial direct current stimulation (2 mA, 20 minutes) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal lobe with cathode as the center pole, at a 2×3 mixed design. The interventional effects were demonstrated from three aspects: physiological indicators, behavioral response indicators, and eye movement indicators. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There were no significant changes in heart rate and blood pressure before and after intervention. Before intervention, compared with the non-mobile phone addiction group, the mobile phone addiction group showed significantly longer response time and lower accuracy in the dot-probe task (P < 0.05). After intervention, the response time and accuracy of the mobile phone addiction group were both significantly improved (P < 0.05). Before intervention, there were significant differences in total fixation times, total fixation time, fixation correction time, saccade correction time, forward saccade time, and saccade times between the mobile phone addiction group and the non-mobile phone addiction group in the anti-saccade task (P < 0.05). After intervention, the total fixation times, total fixation time, fixation correction time, saccade correction time, forward saccade, and saccade times were all improved in the mobile phone addiction group compared with those before the intervention (P < 0.05). To conclude, transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex can improve attentional bias in mobile phone addicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is a disorder with variable outcome and the ability to predict the outcome has important clinical utility. Neurological soft signs (NSS) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex volumes have been described as trait markers for schizophrenia and their relation to long-term outcome in schizophrenia has not been well studied. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between baseline dorsolateral prefrontal lobe (DLPFL) volume and NSS scores to clinical and functional outcome variables in a cohort of schizophrenia patients who were anti-psychotic naïve at baseline. Fourteen anti-psychotic naive schizophrenia patients whose baseline magnetic resonance imaging scans, NSS scores and positive and negative signs and symptoms scale (PANSS) scores (assessed in drug naïve state) were available were reevaluated after a mean follow-up period of 74.2±24.2 months. The clinical outcome variables measured was PANSS. The social and functional outcome was assessed comprehensively by the socio occupational functioning scale and the Strauss Carpenter outcome scale. The DLPFL, volume was measured from the baseline scans using the region of interest method. Statistical analysis was done using the paired samples t-test and the Pearson's correlation co-efficient. The results showed that smaller left DLPFL volume and greater primitive reflexes at baseline predicted greater negative symptoms and poorer functional outcome on follow-up. This study also demonstrates the clinical utility of NSS as a simple bedside tool in assessing schizophrenia patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]