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Recent Yale study indicates that age-related cognitive deficits may be reversible

Friday, July 29th, 2011 by SellersCook

The July 27 edition of the journal Nature published a study conducted by Yale University researchers that demonstrated that neural networks in brains of middle-aged and elderly individuals have weaker connectivity and fire with less strength than do brains in younger people.  The study also suggests that weaker connections in the neural network and decreased strength of firing can be reversed.

Yale researchers found that memory loss and other cognitive deficits associated with aging may be reversible.

The study investigated the activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), in which higher cognitive and executive functions are regulated.  Neurons in the PFC fire consistently to allow individuals to store information at hand, or have it on quick recall even when physical cues are not in the environment.  The ability to keep information “on deck” is called “working memory,” and must be constantly updated.  The PFC is the area of the brain responsible for organization, multi-tasking, regulating one’s thoughts and speech and engaging in abstract thought and reasoning.

There are many common cognitive deficits associated with aging, among them difficulty with executive function and the tendency to forget information.

Amy Arnsten, a study author, Professor of Neurobiology and Psychology and a member of the Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, stated, “Age-related cognitive deficits can have a serious impact on our lives in the Information Age as people often need higher cognitive functions to meet even basic needs, such as paying bills or accessing medical care. These abilities are critical for maintaining demanding careers and being able to live independently as we grow older.”

Arnsten and her colleagues examined the firing of neurons in the PFC in young, middle-aged and elderly animals as they completed a task involving working memory.  The neurons in young animals’ PFC could fire at a high rate while using working memory, but those of older animals decreased firing rates.  Researchers adjusted the neurochemical environment around the neurons in the older animals’ PFCs to resemble those of younger animals, which resulted in increased neuronal firing rates in the older animals.

Specifically, gaining PFC accumulates a signaling molecule called cAMP.  The excess of cAMP opens ion channels and weakens PFC neuronal firing.  Blocking or otherwise inhibiting cAMP-sensitive ion channels restored neuronal firing rates to that of youthful firing patterns.

These results indicate that memory loss and other cognitive deficits associated with aging can be reversed.   Yale is initiating clinical studies on agents that were successful in blocking cAMP-sensitive ion channels in order to understand how the initial study’s findings can be transferred to the general population.

Brainjogging, too, reverses memory loss and other cognitive deficits associated with aging.  A small cohort of individuals at Vernon Woods Retirement Community in LaGrange, Georgia have experienced increased retention and daily functioning as a result of Brainjogging twice daily.

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One in three children in the U.S. may suffer from a special need

Thursday, July 28th, 2011 by SellersCook

A recent study found that approximately one in three children in a sample population struggles with some form of special need, including learning disabilities, behavioral or emotional disorders, asthma, chronic conditions and developmental disorders.

A cross-sectional study published in the July 25 Pediatrics studied learning disabilities, emotional problems or behavioral problems in school-age children and these disorders affect on students’ well-being.  The U. S. researchers found that learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders can cause difficult social and academic situations at school. Researchers studied more than 1,450 students in grades four through six, following their progress.  The population was derived from 34 rural schools in three large school districts in Maryland and West Virginia.  One-third of these students struggled with learning disabilities or other forms of “special needs,” including learning disabilities, emotional or behavioral disorders, asthma, chronic pain and ADHD, among other disorders, and related needs.

In addition to struggling academically, the third of students in the study who were identified as having special needs were identified as being targets for bullying and strategic social isolation.  These students were more likely to be disruptive in class, perhaps as a result of their academic struggles or, just as easily, of their frustration with being treated as an outsider.

Study co-author Dr. Christopher B. Forrest, a professor if pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said, “Health affects school performance.  Special health care needs have manifold effects on school outcomes that increase the likelihood that these kids are not going to successfully transition to adulthood.”

Forrest and colleagues used surveyed students and their parents, gathering data on long-term health problems, which were qualified as being those health problems that require health services or cause functional problems. Special health care needs were defined as those conditions lasting longer than 12 months and requiring intervention, which might take form of prescription medication, therapy or other educational services.  Students’ school records were reviewed to gather data on attendance, grades and standardized test scores.

The study’s findings indicate that one of every three children had a “high” special need.  Boys were twice as likely as girls to have a special health care need.  In some cases, Forrest and his team found that the problems generated by a special health need crested at a certain age.  Nonetheless, one in three children with a high special need is alarming. Children with special needs are affected by their condition in the classroom and in other arenas.

Forrest explained his position: “[They] have significant differences in their engagement in school and their school relationships, as well as academic achievement.  It sets up a trajectory for these kids that’s highly distressing.”

The study, however, was not national; it studied only populations in West Virginia and Maryland. The cities from which study populations were drawn had and high proportion of low-income families, potentially contributing to and skewing the study’s results.  Higher-income schools may have more structures to accommodate and facilitate the development of students with high special needs.

The executive director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities in New York City stated, “[The study] certainly clarifies that learning disabilities, once again, are shown to have a demonstrable effect on children’s achievement in school. We know that students with learning disabilities . . . have very distinct social and emotional challenges that can lead them into difficult situations. We also know many of these things intensify as children grow older.”

Learning disabilities can be very damaging to students’ academic and social development, threatening their potential to become viable adults.  Brainjogging treats and manages learning disabilities, enabling families to thrive even as one member struggles with a potentially inhibiting disability. Brainjogging offers cognitive therapy and tutoring for students and adults with learning disabilities, and specializes in autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, ADHD and language and auditory processing disorders.

Posted in ADD/ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Dylsexia, Educational Resources, In the News, Language Processing Disorder (LPD), Specific Learning Disabilities | No Comments »

Too much screen time for the preschool-age set

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 by SellersCook

Children in the United States are exceeding screen time recommendations set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).  AAP recommends that parents limit screen time to two hours per day for preschool-age children, who are defined as children under five years old.  Screen time includes time from television, DVDs,

Sixty-six percent of preschool-age children in the United States are exceeding recommendations of screen time set by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

computers and video games.  In a study conducted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the University of Washington, researchers found that 66% of preschool-age children are exceeding the recommended daily amount of screen time.

Dr. Pooja Tandon and fellow researchers studied nearly 9,000 preschool-age children who took part in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study — Birth Cohort (ECLS-b), a longitudinal, observational study of over 10,000 children born in 2001 with diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. The ECLS-b used interviews with parents and child care providers to collect data about each child’s daily screen time (Science Daily).

According to Dr. Tandon, “A majority of children under the age of 5 years in the United States spend almost 40 hours a week with caregivers other than their parents, and it’s important to understand what kind of screen time exposure children are getting with these other caregivers.”

The results of the parent and child care provider interview revealed extended screen time for a majority of children.  On average, children were exposed to 4 hours of screen time each weekday, with 3.6 hours of exposure coming from home. In home-based childcare setting, children spent a combined average of 5.6 hours watching television or videos at home and while at child care, with 87% exceeding the 2 hour recommendation. In center-based childcare settings, children fared slightly better, watching an approximate total of 3.2 hours each weekday at home and while at childcare. Those children that did not attend any form of childcare, however, were not necessarily better off than children in childcare settings: children who remained at home watched, on average, 4.4 hours each day.

Screen time in young children has been associated with “speech delays, aggressive behavior and obesity, but few states have regulations about screen time in licensed child care settings” (Science Daily). Dr. Tandon believes that such regulations may be helpful in curbing screen time. “Parents can also play an important role,” she suggests, “by making sure all of their child’s caregivers are aware of the AAP’s advice regarding screen time.”

Additionally, screen time shows a positive correlation with autism.  Screen time for children with autism further delays social skills and inhibits progress.

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Antidepressants may cause long-term, negative effects on brain function

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 by SellersCook

SSRI treatment, which is frequently used to alleviate depression and anxiety, may cause negative, long-term changes in brain function.

Recent research on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) indicates that taking these antidepressants during pregnancy may increase autism risk in the developing child.  Another recent study shows that these same SSRIs, which are regularly used to treat depression and anxiety, may change brain function.  SSRIs increase the amount of serotonin in the brain, which might cause long terms changes impeding brain function.  While SSRIs generally create positive effects in the individuals to whom they are prescribed, and while these benefits can outlast usage, negative side effects can also remain in users after they cease taking SSRIs.

BioMed Central’s open access journal Molecular Brain recently published a study on the physiological changes that may occur in the brain as a result of using SSRIs.  The study closely investigated SSRI treatment’s relationship with the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is involved in long-term memory and spatial awareness.  Throughout life, neurons in the hippocampus can alter their activity and strengthen connections.  This pliability is referred to as “plasticity.”  Abnormal activity in the hippocampus can result in memory loss and disorientation, which are traditional symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Department of Pharmacology, Nippon Medical School, demonstrated that treating adult mice with a generic version of Prozac, fluoxetine, caused the mice’s granule cells to change.  These cells are one of the main types of neuronal cells in the hippocampus. The chronic use of fluoxetine in these mice also altered the connections between granule cells and other neuronal cells.  The new granule cells “appeared to undergo serotonin-dependent ‘dematuration’, which increased their activity and reversed adult-type plasticity into an immature state” (Science Daily). Decrease in brain plasticity generally correlates to decreased cognitive processing speed.

Brainjogging strengthens neural connections in the brain and is a viable alternative for treatment of anxiety and depression.  Anxiety and depression are often experienced in individuals with learning disabilities; Brainjogging treats both the learning disability and the emotional struggles that often accompany it.

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Gene linked to dyslexia also controls cilia

Friday, July 15th, 2011 by SellersCook

Full-length V5-tagged DCDC2 localizes to the primary cilium in neurons. Confocal images of rat primary hippocampal neurons transfected with DCDC2-V5 and labeled with a centriolar marker gamma-tubulin (A) or the neuronal ciliary marker Ac3 (D) and the V5 epitope (B and E). Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). The merged image shows colocalization of Ac3 and DCDC2-V5 in the primary cilium (F). Neurons transfected with deletion constructs of DCDC2 lacking either of the two doublecortin domains do not show ciliary localization of the protein (G–L). Scale bars indicate 10 µm. Credit: Massinen, et. al

According to scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, a gene linked to dyslexia also controls cilia, hair-like structures that project from the surface of most cells. Cilia resemble small antennae.  Although cilia’s purpose has long remained a puzzle, the current study reveals that cells use cilia to communicate.  Cilia also play a crucial role in the development of the body’s organs (Science Daily).

The functions of genes linked to dyslexia have heretofore been largely unknown.  Karolinska Institutet, in conjunction with Helsinki University, has discerned that DCDC2 is involved in regulating the signaling of cilia in brain neurons.  Additionally, the current research, presented in the scientific journal PLoS ONE, aligns with a previous study that tied DCDC2 and two other dyslexia genes in mice to cell migration.  Cell migration is a process by which nerve cells move to their correct location in the brain during embryonic development; cilia’s role in regulating cell migration could explain how dyslexia develops.  DCDC2 also regulates the length of cilia and activates two different signal systems in the cell, depending on the degree of the gene activity.

“Our discovery presents us with a possible new neurobiological mechanism for dyslexia,” says Professor Juha Kere, who co-led the study with Professor Eero Castrén of Helsinki University. Kere adds, “The cilia are important parts of the machinery that controls cell migration. Just what they do and how it could result in dyslexia are interesting questions that will be given further study.”

Brainjogging was originally created to treat dyslexia.  Individuals with dyslexia show quick and sustaining results when they use Brainjogging consistently.

Study cited: Massinen S, Hokkanen M-E, Matsson H, Tammimies K, Tapia-Páez I, et al. (2011) Increased Expression of the Dyslexia Candidate Gene DCDC2 Affects Length and Signaling of Primary Cilia in Neurons. PLoS ONE 6(6): e20580. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020580)

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Green Eggs and Ham – meet Brainjogging

Thursday, July 14th, 2011 by SellersCook

Brainjogging increases brain plasticity and cognitive processing speeds.  Brainjogging has been used to treat individuals with autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, auditory and language processing disorders, dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder and many others. Brainjogging is a twice daily activity – students must complete their Brainjogging exercises two times every day to achieve positive results.  For this reason, Camp Academia, Inc. generally requests that all Brainjogging students have access to a laptop computer. Brainjogging must be easily transported from one place to another.  Students are not always conveniently at home to complete their Brainjogging exercises.  Rather, the situation is a bit more like that in Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. Seuss postures, “Would you, could you on a boat?”  Camp Academia, Inc. posed a similar question to students’ parents:

My child has completed his/her Brainjogging exercises…

…in the car, on the way to or from school.
…at parents’ offices.
…at sleepaway Boy Scout camp.
…in Grand Cayman
…on a boat.
…on a plane.
…under the kitchen table.
…at school.
…at a family reunion.
…in Australia.
…in the car before a Georgia Tech football game.
…in a doctor’s office.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of places that students have completed their Brainjogging exercises. If you have anything to add to this list, please post a comment and the location will be uploaded. Brainjogging exercises can be completed nearly anywhere: some students have not missed a single exercise in two years or more of using Brainjogging.    Consistency is key – Brainjogging is enormously successful when completed as recommended.

There is another parallel between Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham and Camp Academia, Inc.’s Brainjogging program: students and their families generally follow a trajectory of doubting their ability to complete the exercises twice a day and, as a result, are averse to what they view as Brainjogging’s “demands” on their time to being awestruck by the effects of consistent Brainjogging on their child’s and family’s well being. Parents and students themselves are shocked at the changes students begin to demonstrate, in their attitudes, struggles at school and overall levels of contentment.

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Taking antidepressants during pregnancy increases the risk of autism

Friday, July 8th, 2011 by SellersCook

Taking antidepressants in the year before pregnancy increases the likelihood of the child developing ASD. Taking antidepressants during the first trimester increases autism risk fourfold.

Researchers in California conducted a study, published online by the Archives of General Psychiatry, involving data from more than 1,800 children to investigate the relationship between a mother’s use of antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), during pregnancy and the development of autism.  Of the children in the study, fewer than 300 had an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  The study found that women who were prescribed drugs to treat depression in the year before giving birth were twice as likely to have children with ASD, compared with women who did not take antidepressants during the year prior to pregnancy.  The risk increased significantly for women who took antidepressants during the first trimester.  These women’s children were four times more likely to develop ASD or a similar developmental disorder.

The SSRI family being studied includes paroxetine, generic Paxil; fluoxetine, generic Prozac; and sertraline, generic Zoloft.  These antidepressants boost moods by increasing levels of available serotonin, a neurotransmitter, surrounding nerve cells in the brain.  Some children with autism have been discovered to have higher levels of serotonin in their blood; additionally, family members of children with ASDs show higher levels of serotonin than individuals in families that do not have members with an ASD.

There is not yet a line of distinction between whether the SSRI or the depression it is prescribed to treat is the true influencer that increases autism risk.  Individuals with autism often have a family history of mental health problems.  Additionally, people with autism, markedly children, have higher than normal rates of depression and anxiety.  There is some discussion as to the extent that these and other mood-related disorders are comorbid with or part of autism.

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Autism may be more closely or at least as closely linked to environmental factors as to genes

Thursday, July 7th, 2011 by SellersCook

Environmental factors appear to be as influential as, if not more influential than, genes in the development of autism.

While autism is genetic and genes have been proven to influence the development of autism in certain individuals and populations, a new study suggests that environmental factors may also contribute significantly to the occurrence of the developmental disorder. Genes may even take a backseat to the influence of environmental factors.

The report online appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Dr. Joachim Hallmayer, a psychiatrist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and his team suggest that genes may account for 40% of autism risk while environmental factors may account for up to 55% of autism risk. These external factors were not explicitly stated in the study, but external research has offered up increased maternal and/or parental age, multiple pregnancies, medications and/or infections during pregnancy and low birth weight as factors that contribute to the development of autism.

Hallymayer and his colleagues analyzed groups of identical and fraternal twins in an attempt determine the extent to which genes account for autism risk.  Identical twins share the same genes whereas fraternal twins are no more genetically similar than any two siblings.  The research team determined that the prevalence of autism in both fraternal and identical twins is higher than in the general population.  Additionally, identical twins are more likely to both be affected by autism than fraternal twins.  However, fraternal twins were also both affected more frequently than in the general population, suggesting that perhaps autism has more to do with shared environment than genes.  A more crowded uterine environment might contribute to increased likelihood of onset of autism in fraternal twins. Comparing the prevalence of autism in the fraternal and identical twin groups allowed scientists to isolate how much genes and shared environment during childhood contributed to twins’ overall health, including the occurrence of autism spectrum disorders.

Dr. Neil Risch, study author and director of the Institute for Human Genetics at University of California San Francisco, stated, “The fact that both groups have elevated rates suggests that something is making the two groups of twins similar to each other. Whether it occurs in utero, during childbirth or soon thereafter, we can’t differentiate. But it suggests that something environmental is causing the twins to be alike.”

Risch notes that the study does not discount genetic factors and their influence on the development of autism, saying, “It’s not either-or in terms of genetics or environment. We’re not saying autism isn’t genetic, because the huge majority of twins don’t have autism. Obviously something is priming the risk, and it looks like that may be a genetic predisposition. So a genetic base and environmental factors together may explain autism better.”

It appears, in relation to autism, genes and environmental factors are not mutually exclusive.  Risch’s study indicates that environmental factors are significant in influencing autism.

Park, Alice (2011).  Autism may be more closely or at least as closely linked to environmental factors as to genes. Time.

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Hunter-gatherers and… autism?

Friday, July 1st, 2011 by SellersCook

Jared Reser's recently published paper investigates autism as potentially advantageous to hunter-gatherers of past centuries and goes on to confront the effect that the consistent fulfillment of basic needs of children with autism by their parents is related to these children's manifestation of compulsive behvaiors.

Autism is often referenced in light of the deficits associated with the disorder rather than the strengths also common in individuals affected by ASD.  A relatively new perspective, “the autism advantage,” contends that individuals with ASD have compensatory benefits that counter deficit areas.  For example, these individuals also have increased capacity for spatial intelligence, memory and concentration.  These strengths do not negate the social cognition deficits that are characteristic of autism, but they do bring to light the fact that many individuals with autism, despite decreased social cognition, have very high levels of cognition in other areas.

Evolutionary Psychology’s May volume contained a paper by Jared Reser, a brain science researchers and doctoral candidate at the USC Psychology Department, investigated the degree to which autism may have been an evolutionary advantage to early humans.  Reser operated using the autism advantage perspective, hypothesizing that some genes that contribute to autism might have been selected and maintained throughout generations because of the effect they have on behavior in solitary environments.  Specifically, Reser’s paper focused on how autism might have benefited individuals affected by it.  For example, a hunter-gatherer, who would have experienced a decreased level of social interactions, with autism might have been an excellent and self-sufficient forager.  The strengths inherent in autism are often ones that preserve the self.  Compulsory behavior is often manifest in autism.  Reser reasons that hunter-gatherers affected by autism may have directed any urge toward repetitive behaviors toward locating food and water, thereby significantly decreasing, or perhaps even entirely eliminating, compulsive behaviors such as spinning, flapping or making hand circles.

Reser goes one step further: he suggests that children with autism now have parents that feed them, fulfilling the need for sustenance.  Reser’s contention is that perhaps children with autism in the present channel their compulsory energies into tasks such as flipping switches, scratching, picking, stacking or ordering because their basic needs are entirely met.

It is important to note that this article does not reflect the feelings of Camp Academia, Inc., although Camp Academia, Inc. does believe that individuals affected by or with relatives or friends affected by ASD show be privy to the ever-growing body of research.  In connection with this particular article, Brainjogging is aligned with Reser on one key point: encouraging and facilitating individuals affected by autism to take ownership of their own basic needs and activities, when possible, increases individuals’ sense of self and connection to neuro-typical individuals.  Brainjogging has exceeding success with individuals with autism, but the Brainjogging program is complemented by sessions in which Camp Academia, Inc.’s cognitive therapists coach and train individuals and their families to allow individuals affected with autism the opportunity to take ownership of their experience.

Jared Edward Reser. Conceptualizing the autism spectrum in terms of natural selection and behavioral ecology: The solitary forager hypothesis. Evolutionary Psychology, 2011; 9 (2): 207-238 [link]

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Diet and Brainjogging will manage and minimize ADHD symptoms

Monday, June 27th, 2011 by SellersCook

Children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often characterized as being

Brainjogging, in conjunction with a restrictive diet specifically tailored to individual children, can significanlty minimize the manifestation of ADHD symptoms.

hyperactive, fidgety, impulsive, distracted and anxious.  These individuals, particularly children, can be considered difficult to handle.  Approximately ten percent of children in the United States are diagnosed with ADHD.  Traditionally, these children are treated with medication, but a new study in The Lancet suggests that a restrictive diet may yield a significant decrease in the manifestation of symptoms.

Dr. Lidy Pelsser of the ADHD Research Centre in the Netherlands, the study’s lead author, suggests that many ADHD diagnoses result from external factors, which can be treated by changing the environment in which the affected individual exists (NPR).

Pelsser suggests that there needs to be a shift in the way in which ADHD is treated.  ADHD needs to be approached as a collection of symptoms rather than a disease.  Pelsser goes so far as to draw a comparison between ADHD and eczema, saying, “The skin is affected, but a lot of people get eczema because of a latex allergy or because they are eating a pineapple or strawberries.”

Pelsser’s research indicates that approximately 64 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD are actually experiencing a hypersensitivity to food. By starting children on very elaborate diets and then restricting that diet over a period of five weeks, researchers were able to minimize symptoms of individuals with ADHD.  Over this five-week period, researchers are able to study which foods cause problems with different children.

Astonishingly, teachers and doctors who worked with study participants reported observable changes in behavior.  The children were more attentive and less reactive.

Despite Pelsser’s research team’s promising results, a restrictive diet is not the answer for all children with ADHD.  As with medication, a diet program should be modified or abandoned in the event that it does not translate directly into results for the child being treated.  Regardless, beginning treatment with a diet, rather than medication, may lead to successful management of symptoms without resorting to medication.

Additionally, Camp Academia, Inc.’s patented cognitive processing software, Brainjogging, successfully manages ADHD and its traditional symptoms.  Brainjogging can be used in conjunction with a diet that treats ADHD.

Listen to this story on NPR here.

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