Assessing neurophysiological changes associated with combined transcranial direct current stimulation and cognitive‐emotional training for treatment‐resistant depression

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a form of non‐invasive brain stimulation, is a promising treatment for depression. Recent research suggests that tDCS efficacy can be augmented using concurrent cognitive‐emotional training (CET). However, the neurophysiological changes associated with this combined intervention remain to be elucidated. We therefore examined the effects of tDCS combined with CET using electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 20 participants with treatment‐resistant depression took part in this open‐label study and received 18 sessions over 6 weeks of tDCS and concurrent CET. Resting‐state and task‐related EEG during a 3‐back working memory task were acquired at baseline and immediately following the treatment course. Results showed an improvement in mood and working memory accuracy, but not response time, following the intervention. We did not find significant effects of the intervention on resting‐state power spectral density (frontal theta and alpha asymmetry), time–frequency power (alpha event‐related desynchronisation and theta event‐related synchronisation) or event‐related potentials (P2 and P3 components). We therefore identified little evidence of neurophysiological changes associated with treatment using tDCS and concurrent CET, despite significant improvements in mood and near‐transfer effects of cognitive training to working memory accuracy. Further research incorporating a sham‐controlled group may be necessary to identify the neurophysiological effects of the intervention.     

(Re-)conceptualisation in Asperger’s Syndrome and Typical Individuals with Varying Degrees of Autistic-like Traits

The abilities to form new concepts from scratch (conceptualisation), and to flexibly switch from one concept to another (re-conceptualisation), were investigated in adults with Asperger’s Syndrome and in typically-developed adults with low and high autism spectrum quotients. In consecutively presented morphs, containing increasing percentages of animate or inanimate objects, the emerging objects had to be identified. The abilities to conceptualise and reconceptualise became increasingly impaired with increasing autistic(-like) traits. Across both tasks, all groups recognised animate objects quicker than inanimate objects. However, this ‘animate advantage’ was differently affected by the two tasks. In the Reconceptualisation task, the ‘animate advantage’ gradually disappeared with increasing autistic(-like) traits, whereas in the Conceptualisation task it remained present.     

The implementation of families first in The Netherlands: a one year follow-up

This study examined whether the American family preservation program Families First was successfully implemented in the Netherlands. Data were collected on 250 children of 177 families who received Families First. At the start of treatment 78% of the children appeared to have serious behavioral problems, 67% of the parents experienced a high level of parental stress, and 63% of the children went through a substantial number of life events during the year preceding the treatment. On average the treatments had the intended duration (about 4 weeks), intensity (about 10 hours a week) and availability (during working hours as well as in evenings and in weekends), and family workers did adhere to important guidelines of treatment delivery. One year after treatment 76% of the children were still living at home. Moreover, children's behavioral problems, parental stress and the number of life events turned out to be significantly decreased. It was concluded that Families First had reached its intended target group, delivered the treatment as intended, and achieved its intended outcomes, suggesting a successful implementation in the Netherlands.     

Cells in monkey STS responsive to articulated body motions and consequent static posture: a case of implied motion?

We show that populations of visually responsive cells in the anterior part of the superior temporal sulcus (STSa) of the macaque monkey code for the sight of both specific articulated body actions and the consequent articulated static body postures. We define articulated actions as actions where one body part (e.g. a limb or head) moves with respect to the remainder of the body which remains static; conversely non-articulated actions are actions where the equivalent body parts do not move with respect to each other but move as one. Similarly, articulated static body postures contain a torsion or rotation between parts, while non-articulated postures do not. Cells were tested with the sight of articulated and non-articulated actions followed by the resultant articulated or non-articulated static body postures. In addition, the static body postures that formed the start and end of the actions were tested in isolation. The cells studied did not respond to the sight of non-articulated static posture, which formed the starting-point of the action, but responded vigorously to the articulated static posture that formed the end-point of the action. Other static postures resembling the articulated end-point posture, but which were in a more relaxed muscular state (i.e. non-articulated), did not evoke responses. The cells did not respond to body actions that were less often associated with the effective static articulated postures. Our results suggest that the cells' responses were related to the implied action rather than the static posture per se. We propose that the neural representations in STSa for actual biological motion may also extend to biological motion implied from static postures. These representations could play a role in producing the activity in the medial temporal/medial superior temporal (V5(MT)/MST) areas reported in fMRI studies when subjects view still photographs of people in action.     

Influence of peptides on reduced response of rats to electric footshock after acute administration of morphine

Acute treatment of rats with morphine (10 mg/kg) resulted in a marked reduction of motor response to inescapable electric footshock (EFS). Nalorphine (2 mg/kg) antagonized this action of morphine. Pretreatment with synthetic ACTH 1–24 (10 IU) 60 min prior to testing also inhibited this morphine-induced reduction, whereas other ACTH-like peptides, lacking corticotrophic activity, were ineffective. ACTH 1–24 had no effect on the response of adrenalectomized rats to EFS after morphine. In intact rats dexamethasone pretreatment 4 hr prior to testing also antagonized the action of morphine on EFS. Taken together these findings suggest that ACTH 1–24 interferes with the antinociceptive action of morphine and that the integrity of the adrenal is essential for demontration of this antagonism.     

Maintenance of ovulation inhibition with the 75-microg desogestrel-only contraceptive pill (Cerazette) after scheduled 12-h delays in tablet intake

BACKGROUND: In contrast to traditional progestagen-only pills (POPs), the desogestrel-only pill Cerazette consistently inhibits ovulation. This study was performed to test the hypothesis that desogestrel alone will keep inhibiting ovulation even when pills are taken 12 h late, indicating that delays in tablet intake of up to 12 h do not jeopardize contraceptive efficacy. METHODS: Women aged between 19 and 40 years with confirmed ovulation were admitted to this open-label pharmacodynamic study. They were treated with Cerazette for 56 days with three tablets to be taken 12 h late, having been randomized to a regimen with scheduled late tablets on Days 39, 42 and 49 (Group A) or on Days 11, 14 and 21 (Group B). The occurrence of ovulation during treatment was determined by measuring progesterone serum levels every 2 days. RESULTS: One of the 103 treated subjects ovulated during treatment. The ovulation incidence thus amounts to 1.0% (two-sided 95% confidence interval 0.02-5.29%). There was no apparent relationship between these ovulations and scheduled late tablets. The minimum time to first posttreatment ovulation was 7 days, whereas it took 17.2 days on average from last tablet intake until ovulation. CONCLUSIONS: Ovulation inhibition with Cerazette is maintained after 12-h delays in tablet intake and return of ovulation takes at least 7 days. These properties distinguish Cerazette from all other POPs.