ABSTRACT
Videogame play (VGP) has been associated with numerous preferred and non-preferred effects. However, the effects of VGP on the development of microstructural properties in children, particularly those associated with negative psychological consequences of VGP, have not been identified to date. The purpose of this study was to investigate this issue through cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective analyses. In the present study of humans, we used the diffusion tensor imaging mean diffusivity (MD) measurement to measure microstructural properties and examined cross-sectional correlations with the amount of VGP in 114 boys and 126 girls. We also assessed correlations between the amount of VGP and longitudinal changes in MD that developed after 3.0±0.3 (s.d.) years in 95 boys and 94 girls. After correcting for confounding factors, we found that the amount of VGP was associated with increased MD in the left middle, inferior and orbital frontal cortex; left pallidum; left putamen; left hippocampus; left caudate; right putamen; right insula; and thalamus in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Regardless of intelligence quotient type, higher MD in the areas of the left thalamus, left hippocampus, left putamen, left insula and left Heschl gyrus was associated with lower intelligence. We also confirmed an association between the amount of VGP and decreased verbal intelligence in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. In conclusion, increased VGP is directly or indirectly associated with delayed development of the microstructure in extensive brain regions and verbal intelligence.
Subject(s)
Brain/growth & development , Video Games/adverse effects , Adolescent , Brain/ultrastructure , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Diffusion Tensor Imaging/methods , Female , Frontal Lobe/physiology , Globus Pallidus , Hippocampus , Humans , Intelligence , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Prospective Studies , Putamen , Thalamus , Verbal Behavior , Young AdultSubject(s)
Brain/pathology , Earthquakes , Resilience, Psychological , Stress, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Functional Laterality , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Japan , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Mental Status Schedule , Psychological Tests , Stress, Psychological/etiology , Stress, Psychological/pathology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Many survivors of severe disasters, even those without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), need psychological support. To understand the pathogenesis of PTSD symptoms and prevent the development of PTSD, the critical issue is to distinguish neurological abnormalities as vulnerability factors from acquired signs of PTSD symptoms in the early stage of adaptation to the trauma in the normal population. The neurological underpinnings of PTSD have been well characterized, but the causal relationships with the traumatic event are still unclear. We examined 42 non-PTSD subjects to find brain morphometric changes related to the severity of PTSD symptoms in a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study extending through the Great East Japan Earthquake. We found that regional grey matter volume (rGMV) in the right ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) before the earthquake, and decreased rGMV in the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) through the earthquake were negatively associated with PTSD symptoms. Our results indicate that subjects with smaller GMV in the ACC before the earthquake, and subjects with decreased GMV in the OFC through the earthquake were likely to have PTSD symptoms. As the ACC is involved in processing of fear and anxiety, our results indicate that these processing are related to vulnerability for PTSD symptoms. In addition, decreased OFC volume was induced by failing to extinct conditioned fear soon after the traumatic event. These findings provide a better understanding of posttraumatic responses in early stage of adaptation to the trauma and may contribute to the development of effective methods to prevent PTSD.
Subject(s)
Brain/pathology , Earthquakes , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/pathology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Adult , Female , Functional Laterality , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Psychological Tests , Young AdultABSTRACT
Nickel(II) complexes containing N-glycosides derived from D-glucosamine (D-GlcN) and ethylenediamine (en) and trimethylenediamine (tn), [Ni(D-GlcN-en)2]Cl2.H2O (1) (D-GlcN-en = 1-¿(2-aminoethyl)amino¿-2-amino-1,2-dideoxy-D-glucose) and [Ni(D-GlcN-tn)2]Cl2.4H2O (2) (D-GlcN-tn = 1-¿(3-aminopropyl)amino¿-2-amino-1,2-dideoxy-D-glucose), are fairly stable in water at room temperature and showed effective antifungal activity against pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans, with the MIC (minimal concentration of inhibition) values of the complexes being 0.25 mM. The results obtained enzyme assays by using preparations of C. albicans chitinase fraction suggested that the sugar complexes 1 and 2 played a role of novel chitinase (chitin-degradation enzyme) inhibitor, where the modes of inhibition were competitive (Ki = 1.3 mM for 1, Ki = 1.8 mM for 2). The newly prepared nickel(II) complex 2 was characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, electronic absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopies, and an X-ray crystallographic analysis.
Subject(s)
Antifungal Agents/pharmacology , Candida albicans/drug effects , Glucosamine , Nickel , Organometallic Compounds/pharmacology , Antifungal Agents/chemical synthesis , Circular Dichroism , Crystallography, X-Ray , Diamines , Ethylenediamines , Kinetics , Microscopy, Phase-Contrast , Models, Molecular , Spectrophotometry, InfraredABSTRACT
A nickel(II) complex containing N-glycosides derived from the reaction of D-glucosamine (D-GlcN) and ethylenediamine (en) [Ni(D-GlcN-en)2]Cl2.H20 showed effective antifungal activity against pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans, where the MIC (minimal concentration of inhibition) value of the complex is 0.25 mM.
