ABSTRACT
Autism Spectrum Disorders [ASDs] are complex neurodevelopmental conditions with the characteristics including impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted patterns of behaviors or interests. Lack of Theory of Mind [TOM], which is considered as the core concept of social interaction, was suggested as the underlying deficit of social, behavioral, and communicative impairments of ASD. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation [tDCS], as a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, indicated promising results for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The present methodology report aimed at proposing a design to study the possible effects of tDCS on TOM and cognitive empathy in ASD
ABSTRACT
For years, the role of cerebellum was believed to be limited to motor functions. Only since almost two decades ago, a new concept about cerebellum and its contribution to non-motor functions including cognition and emotion started to emerged. During the recent years, numerous studies have focused on the cerebellar non-motor functions with their results providing supportive evidence on this view. The connections between cerebellum and cortical and subcortical areas such as frontoparietal cortices and the limbic system provide additional evidence for the involvement of cerebellum in higher cognitive functions. This review has been an effort to discuss the studies assessing different aspects of cognitive and affective disorders following cerebellar damage, as well as the cerebellar activity during cognitive tasks using novel approaches including fMRI and PET scans
ABSTRACT
Exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields is increasingly common, but the potential influence on pregnant women has not been thoroughly investigated. In this case-control study, 58 women who had an unexplained spontaneous abortion at < 14 weeks gestation and 58 matched pregnant women >14 weeks gestation were enrolled in 2012. The women completed the questionnaire, which was used to collect data about socioeconomic and obstetric characteristics, medical and reproductive histories. Then, to evaluate the extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields, we determined the magnitude of electromagnetic fields in the participants' houses by an exposure level tester [3D EMF tester/ Model: ELF-828; Taiwan].The instrument covers a limited frequency range [30 HZ to 3 KHZ]. The magnitude of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields in the participants' houses was significantly different between the two groups [P<0.001]. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields exposure is probably related to early spontaneous abortions