Introduction: Learning disabilities are among the most common problems of children that can seriously damage the present and future life of a child if they are not diagnosed and treated timely. Aim: ...This study aimed to investigate the effect of neurotherapy on the rate of learning disabilities in students who suffer from this disorder. Method: A quasi-experimental research method with a one-group pretest-posttest design was used. The statistical population of the study consisted of all children with learning disabilities who referred to Imam Hossein (AS) clinic of Yazd (as a clinic affiliated to the Education Organization) in 2017, out of which 23 students were selected using a convenience sampling method. Patients underwent neurotherapy for ten sessions. The tools used in the study included the Colorado Learning Disability Questionnaire (Wilcott et al., 2011) and Quantitative Electroencephalography. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (paired t-test) by SPSS Version 20. Results: The results showed that neurotherapy led to a decrease in the mean total score of learning disorders. As the significance level of paired t-test (p≤0.05) was less than 0.05, it could be said that reading disorders, social cognition problems, social anxiety, spatial and mathematical difficulties in students have significant differences in the pre-test and post-test. Conclusion: According to the results, neurotherapy can be used as a method for the treatment of reading disorders, social cognition problems, social anxiety, and spatial and mathematical difficulties, and it can improve learning disabilities.
Display omitted
•A variety of applications of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) in biology are reviewed, including visualization, detection, imaging, therapeutics, and diagnostics, with applications ...to the near-infrared (NIR) being the main feature.•The emission and structure characteristics of UCNPs are among the reasons for their potential in visualization and optical devices.•The multifunctional nanoplatforms of UCNPs used at the cellular level are an innovative, precise, and quantifiable three-dimensional model.•UCNPs play an important role as a functional component of photoconversion in a variety of therapeutic procedures that use light as a switch.
The recent advances of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have made them the ideal “partner” for a variety of biological applications. In this review, we describe the emerging biological optical applications of UCNPs, focus on their potential therapeutic advantages. Firstly, we briefly review the development and mechanisms of upconversion luminescence, including organic and inorganic UCNPs. Next, in the section on UCNPs for imaging and detection, we list the development of UCNPs in visualization, temperature sensing, and detection. In the section on therapy, recent results are described concerning optogenetics and neurotherapy. Tumor therapy is another major part of this section, including the synergistic application of phototherapy such as photoimmunotherapy. In a special section, we briefly cover the integration of UCNPs in therapeutics. Finally, we present our understanding of the limitations and prospects of applications of UCNPs in biological fields, hoping to provide a more comprehensive understanding of UCNPs and attract more attention.
Comments on an article by A. P. M. Brandther et al. (see record 2022-44061-001). Brandther et al. identify several core processes thought to underlie behavioral addictions. Core processes of the ...Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model include craving, inhibitory control, maladaptive decision making, and cognitive biases. Drawing on literature with substance use disorders, Brandther et al. speculate that mindfulness-based interventions as well as neurofeedback techniques would be helpful in targeting these processes in non-substance addictive behaviors. After an extensive review of over 1,500 articles that met keyword criteria, 15 studies that employed mindfulness-based interventions were identified, representing the experience of 297 participants. No studies on neurofeedback interventions were found. Of the studies that assessed these processes, a majority found that mindfulness-based interventions reduced craving (4 of 6 studies) and/or mental distress (5 of 7 studies). No more than one study garnered support for each of the remaining identified core processes. This research effort is laudable in attempting to examine processes consistent with a theoretical framework and integrating associated findings into the overall model. Review of the literature is extensive and thoughtfully conducted. The authors’ discussion of mindfulness-based interventions elucidates the ways that these approaches may be useful for individuals struggling with behavioral addictions and associated stress that may heighten vulnerability to addictive behavior. The authors indicate, however, that given the paucity of studies that assessed some of the processes, as well as the variability in processes assessed across particular types of addictive behaviors, it is “difficult to identify clear implications for clinical practice”. Several other aspects of Brandther et al.’s work contribute to this difficulty and that exploration of processes inherent in behavioral addictions and their alleviation from another theoretical perspective may be fruitful. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Comments on the article by A. Brandtner et al. (see record 2022-44061-001), which presents a systematic review considering mindfulness-based interventions and neurofeedback for targeting affective ...and cognitive processes in behavioral addictions. The author begins with a brief overview of mindfulness-based interventions, frames Brandtner et al.’s findings within contemporary behavioral addiction, and then offers future directions for enhancing research, education, and clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
See Thibault et al. (doi:10.1093/awx033) for a scientific commentary on this article.Neurofeedback training builds upon the simple concept of instrumental conditioning, i.e. behaviour that is ...rewarded is more likely to reoccur, an effect Thorndike referred to as the 'law of effect'. In the case of neurofeedback, information about specific electroencephalographic activity is fed back to the participant who is rewarded whenever the desired electroencephalography pattern is generated. If some kind of hyperarousal needs to be addressed, the neurofeedback community considers sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback as the gold standard. Earlier treatment approaches using sensorimotor-rhythm neurofeedback indicated that training to increase 12-15 Hz sensorimotor rhythm over the sensorimotor cortex during wakefulness could reduce attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and epilepsy symptoms and even improve sleep quality by enhancing sleep spindle activity (lying in the same frequency range). In the present study we sought to critically test whether earlier findings on the positive effect of sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback on sleep quality and memory could also be replicated in a double-blind placebo-controlled study on 25 patients with insomnia. Patients spent nine polysomnography nights and 12 sessions of neurofeedback and 12 sessions of placebo-feedback training (sham) in our laboratory. Crucially, we found both neurofeedback and placebo feedback to be equally effective as reflected in subjective measures of sleep complaints suggesting that the observed improvements were due to unspecific factors such as experiencing trust and receiving care and empathy from experimenters. In addition, these improvements were not reflected in objective electroencephalographic-derived measures of sleep quality. Furthermore, objective electroencephalographic measures that potentially reflected mechanisms underlying the efficacy of neurofeedback such as spectral electroencephalographic measures and sleep spindle parameters remained unchanged following 12 training sessions. A stratification into 'true' insomnia patients and 'insomnia misperceivers' (subjective, but no objective sleep problems) did not alter the results. Based on this comprehensive and well-controlled study, we conclude that for the treatment of primary insomnia, neurofeedback does not have a specific efficacy beyond unspecific placebo effects. Importantly, we do not find an advantage of neurofeedback over placebo feedback, therefore it cannot be recommended as an alternative to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, the current (non-pharmacological) standard-of-care treatment. In addition, our study may foster a critical discussion that generally questions the effectiveness of neurofeedback, and emphasizes the importance of demonstrating neurofeedback efficacy in other study samples and disorders using truly placebo and double-blind controlled trials.
Nanotheranostics is one of the emerging research areas in the field of nanobiotechnology offering exciting promises for diagnosis, bio-separation, imaging mechanisms, hyperthermia, phototherapy, ...chemotherapy, drug delivery, gene delivery, among other uses. The major criteria for any nanotheranostic-materials is 1) to interact with proteins and cells without meddling with their basic activities, 2) to maintain their physical properties after surface modifications and 3) must be nontoxic. One of the challenging targets for nanotheranostics is the nervous system with major hindrances from the neurovascular units, the functional units of blood-brain barrier. As blood-brain barrier is crucial for protecting the CNS from toxins and metabolic fluctuations, most of the synthetic nanomaterials cannot pass through this barrier making it difficult for diagnosing or targeting the cells. Biodegradable nanoparticles show a promising role in this aspect. Certain neural pathologies have compromised barrier creating a path for most of the nanoparticles to enter into the cells. However, such carriers may pose a risk of side effects to non-neural tissues and their toxicity needs to be elucidated at preclinical levels. This article reviews about the different types of nanotheranostic strategies applied in nervous dysfunctions. Further, the side effects of these carriers are reviewed and appropriate methods to test the toxicity of such nano-carriers are suggested to improve the effectiveness of nano-carrier based diagnosis and treatments.
Advocates of neurofeedback make bold claims concerning brain regulation, treatment of disorders, and mental health. Decades of research and thousands of peer-reviewed publications support ...neurofeedback using electroencephalography (EEG-nf); yet, few experiments isolate the act of receiving feedback from a specific brain signal as a necessary precursor to obtain the purported benefits. Moreover, while psychosocial parameters including participant motivation and expectation, rather than neurobiological substrates, seem to fuel clinical improvement across a wide range of disorders, for-profit clinics continue to sprout across North America and Europe. Here, we highlight the tenuous evidence supporting EEG-nf and sketch out the weaknesses of this approach. We challenge classic arguments often articulated by proponents of EEG-nf and underscore how psychologists and mental health professionals stand to benefit from studying the ubiquitous placebo influences that likely drive these treatment outcomes.
Live feedback from the brain can empower individuals to change their own brain activity. The premise behind neurofeedback (NF) is that an organism learns to control brain activation and function via ...contingent feedback. We outline here why this approach can aid emotion regulation research and treatment, and how this is achieved with feedback from the neural circuitry of emotion. The focus is, in particular, on functional MRI (fMRI) and fMRI-inspired mapping techniques that permit the probing of deep brain activation with scalp electroencephalography. The NF approach for self-neuromodulation is discussed with respect to the process-model of emotion regulation. We argue that real-time feedback from brain areas or from circuits can augment neuroscience-based emotion regulation practices and thus provides a promising tool for more precise clinical intervention and the alleviation of emotion dysregulation.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the synucleinopathies spectrum of disorders typified by the presence of intraneuronal protein inclusions. It is primarily composed of misfolded and aggregated forms ...of alpha-synuclein (α-syn), the toxicity of which has been attributed to the transition from an α-helical conformation to a β-sheetrich structure that polymerizes to form toxic oligomers. This could spread and initiate the formation of "LB-like aggregates," by transcellular mechanisms with seeding and subsequent permissive templating. This hypothesis postulates that α-syn is a prion-like pathological agent and responsible for the progression of Parkinson's pathology. Moreover, the involvement of the inflammatory response in PD pathogenesis has been reported on the excessive microglial activation and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. At last, we describe several treatment approaches that target the pathogenic α-syn protein, especially the oligomers, which are currently being tested in advanced animal experiments or are already in clinical trials. However, there are current challenges with therapies that target α-syn, for example, difficulties in identifying varying α-syn conformations within different individuals as well as both the cost and need of long-duration large trials.
The vagus nerve (VN) is the main parasympathetic nerve of the autonomic nervous system. It is widely distributed in the gastrointestinal tract and maintains gastrointestinal homeostasis with the ...sympathetic nerve under physiological conditions. The VN communicates with various components of the tumor microenvironment to positively and dynamically affect the progression of gastrointestinal tumors (GITs). The intervention in vagus innervation delays GIT progression. Developments in adeno-associated virus vectors, nanotechnology, and in vivo neurobiological techniques have enabled the creation of precisely regulated “tumor neurotherapies”. The present review aimed to summarize the mechanisms of communication between the VN and the gastrointestinal TME and to explore the potential and challenges of VN-based tumor neurotherapy in GITs.
•In the tumor microenvironment, the vagus nerve actively and dynamically regulates the progression of gastrointestinal tumors.•Targeting the vagus nerve is a potential therapeutic approach for gastrointestinal tumors.•The development of neurobiology techniques has enabled the creation of “tumor neurotherapy” that exerts precise modulation.
PDF
