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Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
AbstractPurpose of the ReviewNeurovascular dysfunction and the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been explored in neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive and mood disorders, and autism. These disorders are correlated with hypoxia-ischemia insults during early life and are strongly associated with cognitive dysfunction. This review focuses on the hypoxia-regulated protein, VEGF, to discuss its crucial roles in brain development and function. These data implicate that alterations to VEGF signaling during early life can impair neural development, underlying...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - September 30, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

The Nature of the Relationship Between Anxiety and the Error-Related Negativity Across Development
AbstractPurpose of ReviewI review the literature on the relationship between anxiety and the error-related negativity (ERN), a neurophysiological marker of performance monitoring, across development. I cover the development of the ERN, its functional significance, and its different relationship with anxiety in young children compared to adolescents and adults.Recent FindingsContemporary research indicates that the ERN becomes larger with age and shows primary sources in cingulate, frontal, and motor cortices. Functional accounts of the ERN and its relationship with anxiety emphasize either cognitive control or affective me...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - September 30, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Shifts in Audiovisual Processing in Healthy Aging
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe integration of information across sensory modalities into unified percepts is a fundamental sensory process upon which a multitude of cognitive processes are based. We review the body of literature exploring aging-related changes in audiovisual integration published over the last 5  years. Specifically, we review the impact of changes in temporal processing, the influence of the effectiveness of sensory inputs, the role of working memory, and the newer studies of intra-individual variability during these processes.Recent FindingsWork in the last 5  years on bottom-up influences of sensory per...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - August 10, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

The Vicious Cycle of Chronic Pain in Aging Requires Multidisciplinary Non-pharmacological Approach to Treatment
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review summarizes how aging contributes to pain chronification and how recent developments in neuroscience can inform management of chronic pain in the elderly.Recent FindingsNormal aging can boost pain chronification through neurodegeneration, alterations in circadian rhythms, inflammaging, as well as musculoskeletal deterioration and metabolic dysregulation. These processes are interconnected and bidirectional. There is accumulating evidence for the central role of inflammaging in chronic pain, and novel therapies are in development to address inflammaging. Social support and relapse prevent...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - August 8, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Transdiagnostic Dimensional Assessment of Psychopathology in Later Life
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this review is to present a transdiagnostic dimensional approach to evidence-based assessment designed to facilitate applications of neuroscientific advances to phenotypic psychopathology in later life.Recent FindingsStandardized assessment forms were developed to obtain collateral- and self-ratings of a broad spectrum of behavioral, emotional, social, and thought problems, as well as strengths. Factor analyses of ratings of American elders yielded seven syndromes, while judgments by international panels of expert clinicians yielded sixDSM-oriented scales. Gender-specific norms for a...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - August 8, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Molecular Basis of Cannabis-Induced Schizophrenia-Relevant Behaviours: Insights from Animal Models
ConclusionsAnimal models indicate several molecular mechanisms by which chronic cannabinoids contribute to schizophrenia-relevant neural and behavioural change. It is likely that a number of these mechanisms are simultaneously impacted by chronic cannabinoids, thereby increasing schizophrenia risk in individuals who use cannabis. Understanding how cannabinoids can affect several molecular targets provides critical insight into the complex relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia risk. (Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports)
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - August 1, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Yoga for Schizophrenia: a Review of Efficacy and Neurobiology
AbstractPurpose of ReviewSchizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric illness requiring multimodal treatments. Besides pharmacotherapy, several adjunct treatments have been recommended, including yoga. We review recent findings speaking to yoga ’s efficacy and towards gaining a better understanding of why yoga may affect positive change, evidence on putative neurobiological mechanisms.Recent FindingsRecent research with schizophrenia patients suggests that yoga may lead to improvements in symptoms, cognition, and functioning. These changes may occur through a variety of mechanisms including yoga-induced changes in neural ...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - July 28, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Non-invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) in Motor Recovery After Stroke: Concepts to Increase Efficacy
AbstractPurpose of ReviewNon-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is a promising tool for promoting motor recovery after stroke. However, the effects of NIBS on functional recovery are heterogeneous and not yet satisfactory in the majority of the patients. Thus, there is a strong need for further development of NIBS-based interventions with the aim of increasing the efficacy on motor recovery. Here, we review the up-to-date use of NIBS in motor rehabilitation, discuss the results critically and provide an outlook on novel NIBS strategies.Recent FindingsSo far, mainly NIBS to the primary motor cortex as a ‘one suits all’ s...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - July 27, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Genetics and Antipsychotic Response in Schizophrenia: an Update
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIn this article, we will review the recent progress in pharmacogenetics of antipsychotic drugs in regard to treatment response in schizophrenia.Recent FindingsResearch yielded new frontiers in schizophrenia over the past decade: progress in characterizing the first episode, understanding treatment-resistant illness, deciphering the role of inflammation, and developing tools for treatment of neurocognitive deficits. Notwithstanding the new insights into pathogenesis and treatment targets, our ability to individualize the treatment of schizophrenia in clinical practice has not followed suit. Herein, ...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - July 24, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Reducing Pediatric Anxiety through Training: an Integrative Neurocognitive Approach
AbstractPurpose of ReviewNeurocognitive interventions that target specific cognitive mechanisms underlying anxiety symptoms (e.g., attention bias to threat, negatively biased interpretations) have been applied to youth samples. Here, we review the current attention bias modification (ABM) and cognitive bias modification (CBM) literature together and discuss approaches to develop additional neurocognitive interventions for anxious youth.Recent FindingsIn youth, ABM which trains attention away from threat typically does not change threat bias, but yields anxiety symptom reductions. However, few ABM studies show enhanced anxi...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - July 21, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Mechanisms of Cognitive Aging in the HIV-Positive Adult
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAs of the year 2016, an estimated 50% of the US HIV-positive population is aged 50  years or older. Due to a combination of increased rates of infection in older adults, and successful anti-retroviral (ART) regimens allowing HIV-positive adults to survive for decades with the disease, we are now faced with a steadily graying HIV-positive population, with only limited knowledge of how the cognitive and physiological effects of aging intersect with those of chronic HIV infection.Recent FindingsAge-related changes to mood, cognition, and neurological health may be experienced differently in those liv...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - July 19, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Neural Correlates of Aggressive Behavior in Real Time: a Review of fMRI Studies of Laboratory Reactive Aggression
AbstractPurpose of review:Aggressive behavior has adaptive value in many natural environments; however, it places substantial burden and costs on human society. For this reason, there has long been interest in understanding the neurobiological basis of aggression. This interest, and the flourishing of neuroimaging research in general, has spurred the development of a large and growing scientific literature on the topic. As a result, a neural circuit model of aggressive behavior has emerged that implicates interconnected brain regions that are involved in emotional reactivity, emotion regulation, and cognitive control.Recen...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - May 20, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Enduring Neural and Behavioral Effects of Early Life Adversity in Infancy: Consequences of Maternal Abuse and Neglect, Trauma and Fear
AbstractPurpose of ReviewEarly life experiences have long-lasting influence on a child. For an infant, the quality of caregiving is one of the most critical factors supporting growth and development. Adverse social events in infancy have the potency to alter the child ’s developmental trajectory and elevate the lifetime risk for a range of psychiatric disorders. Although clinical studies associate early childhood adversities with lifetime risk for mental disorders, the knowledge of underlying neural and molecular alterations leading to these disorders comes mos tly from animal studies. In this article, we overview select...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - May 19, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Mistrustful and Misunderstood: a Review of Paranoid Personality Disorder
AbstractPurpose of ReviewParanoid personality disorder (PPD) has historically been neglected by science out of proportion to its prevalence or its association with negative clinical outcomes. This review provides an update on what is known about PPD regarding its prevalence, demographics, comorbidity, biological mechanism, risk factors, and relationship to psychotic disorders.Recent FindingsPPD has long been the subject of a rich and prescient theoretical literature which has provided a surprisingly coherent account of the psychological mechanism of non-delusional paranoia. Available data indicate that PPD has a close rela...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - May 18, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Caregiver-Child Relationships in Early Childhood: Interventions to Promote Well-Being and Reduce Risk for Psychopathology
AbstractPurpose of ReviewEarly caregiver-child relationships are foundational to early development and central to efforts to promote well-being and prevent psychopathology. We discuss the role of caregiver-child relationships in early development and risk for psychopathology, and psychotherapeutic interventions targeting early caregiver-child relationships.Recent FindingsEarly risk for psychopathology is conferred through the dynamic interaction of biological and environmental factors, with sensitive caregiving playing a critical role. Recent research suggests that quality of caregiving moderates the effect of a child ’s...
Source: Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports - May 10, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research