Selective impairment of musical emotion recognition in patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment and mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) have deficits in emotion recognition. However, it has not yet been determined whether patients with AD and aMCI also experience difficulty in recognizing the emotions conveyed by music. This study was conducted to investigate whether musical emotion recognition is impaired or retained in patients with AD and aMCI. METHODS: All patients were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between March 1, 2015 and January 31, 2017. Using the musical emotion recognition test, patients with AD (n = 16), patients with aMCI (n = 19), and healthy controls (HCs, n = 16) were required to choose one of four emotional labels (happy, sad, peaceful, and fearful) that matched each musical excerpt. Emotion recognition scores in three groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. We also investigated the relationship between the emotion recognition scores and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) using Pearson's correlation analysis test in patients with AD and aMCI. RESULTS: Compared to the HC group, both of the patient groups showed deficits in the recognition of fearful musical emotions (HC: 7.88 ±â€Š1.36; aMCI: 5.05 ±â€Š2.34; AD: 3.69 ±â€Š2.02), with results of a one-way ANOVA confirming a significant main effect of group (F(2,50) = 18.70, P < 0.001). No significant differences were present among the three groups for the happy (F(2,50)=2.57, P = 0.09), peaceful (F(2,50) = 0.38, P = 0.09), or sad (F(2,50) = 2.50, P = 0.09) musical emotions. The recognition of fearful musical emotion was positively associated with general cognition, which was evaluated by MMSE in patients with AD and aMCI (r = 0.578, P < 0.001). The correlations between the MMSE scores and recognition of the remaining emotions were not significant (happy, r = 0.228, P = 0.11; peaceful, r = 0.047, P = 0.74; sad, r = 0.207, P = 0.15). CONCLUSION: This study showed that both patients with AD and aMCI had decreased ability to distinguish fearful emotions, which might be correlated with diminished cognitive function.

Decision-making Impairments in Primary Angle-closure Glaucoma Patients.

BACKGROUND: Primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) is a common eye disease and a common cause of blindness. Inappropriate medical decisions severely affect the prognosis. This study investigated decision-making under risk in PACG patients. METHODS: Thirty patients with first acute attack of PACG before surgery and thirty healthy controls were included in the study. Decision-making under risk was evaluated with the game of dice task (GDT). The results of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and GDT between PACG patients and healthy controls were compared. RESULTS: Risky decisions in PACG patients were more than those in healthy controls as measured by mean score of GDT (12.47 ± 5.72 vs. 4.33 ± 3.30, P< 0.001). Higher neuroticism score in EPQ was found in PACG patients compared to healthy controls (14.97 ± 3.93 vs. 9.90 ± 4.49, P< 0.001). Neuroticism scores in EPQ were associated with decision-making performance (r = 0.417, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Neuroticism positively correlated with risky decisions. Decision-making might be influenced by neuroticism. Future studies will show whether therapy compliance will be improved by emotional management and psychological intervention in PACG patients.

Effects of painful stimulation and acupuncture on attention networks in healthy subjects.

Pain is a subjective sensory and emotional experience, and it has been reported that many different brain regions are regulated by pain, and that pain can impact attention. Acupuncture is an important treatment component of Chinese traditional medicine, and has been used for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of conditions. Although several studies have shown that acupuncture improves consciousness, the precise impact of both acupuncture and painful stimulation on attention is unclear. Are all of the attention networks modulated, or do these stimuli act on a specific network? Is the effect of painful stimulation similar to that of acupuncture? We administered the attention network test to 30 participants (15 males) to investigate the relative efficiencies of three independent attention networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control networks) under three conditions: baseline, after painful stimulation, and after acupuncture. The degree of pain experienced was assessed on a horizontally oriented visual analogue scale. The results showed that painful stimulation and acupuncture had similar effects on the orienting and executive control networks; however, there was a significantly different effect between the three conditions on the alerting network. In conclusion, (1) painful stimulation can selectively impact attention; (2) acupuncture can also selectively impact attention; i.e., both have selective influences on the alerting and executive control networks, but not on the orienting network; (3) the effects of acupuncture and painful stimulation are not identical. The mechanisms by which painful stimulation and acupuncture influence attention warrant further research.

[Study of attentional bias in neglect patients by grey discriminant test].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the attentional bias in unilateral spatial neglect (USN) patients. METHODS: The grey discriminant test was conducted on 12 right-brain-damaged patients with USN (USN+), 12 right-brain-damaged patients with no evidence of USN (USN-) and 20 health controls (HC). They were matched for age, years of education, mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores and handedness. And all patients were recruited from First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. The attentional deviation scores were compared between three groups. RESULTS: The differences in scores of neglect tests for the USN+, USN- and HC groups were significant (Albert test: USN+ group -0.56 ± 0.39, USN- group 0.00 ± 0.00, HC group 0.00 ± 0.00, F((2, 41)) = 33.708, P < 0.001; line bisection test: USN+ group 0.28 ± 0.29, USN- group 0.03 ± 0.04, HC group -0.02 ± 0.04, F((2, 41)) = 14.527, P < 0.001; clock drawing by memory: USN+ group 3.58 ± 4.03, USN- group 0.08 ± 0.29, HC group 0.00 ± 0.00, F((2, 41)) = 12.558, P < 0.001; daisy copying: USN+ group 0.83 ± 0.65, USN- group 0.13 ± 0.23, HC group 0.00 ± 0.00, F((2, 41)) = 21.621, P < 0.001). The comparative results of lesion locations showed that USN+ patients were predominantly related to lesions in temporal-parietal junction. The attentional deviation scores for the USN+, USN- and HC groups were 0.92 ± 0.11, 0.41 ± 0.12 and -0.28 ± 0.15 respectively. The difference was significant (F((2, 41)) = 334.324, P < 0.001). There was with a small leftward bias in the HC group and a rightward bias in the USN+ and USN- groups. LSD test revealed that the USN+ group displayed a rightward bias much strongly than the USN- group (P < 0.001). And the results of grey discriminant test were consistent with the neglect symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The USN patients show a marked attentional bias toward the right side of space. And it may be attributed to the dysfunction of temporal-parietal junction.

Association of DRD2 gene polymorphisms with mood disorders: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In the past few decades, a number of studies have investigated the association of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene polymorphisms with mood disorders, but the findings are not always consistent. The aim of our study was to assess the association between DRD2 gene polymorphisms and mood disorders by using a meta-analysis. METHODS: Data were collected from the following electronic databases: PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang, with the last report up to June 2010. Meta-analysis was performed in a fixed/random effect model by using the software Review Manager 4.2. RESULTS: We identified 19 separate studies using search, but only 14 separate studies (2157 cases and 3272 controls) were included in the current study. Meta-analysis was performed for three DRD2 gene polymorphisms (-141Cins/del, Ser311/Cys311, and TaqI A1). We performed meta-analysis in overall, Caucasian, and Asian populations. We also performed disease-specific meta-analysis in unipolar disorder and bipolar disorder. We found no association between DRD2 gene -141Cins/del polymorphism and mood disorders in overall and Caucasian populations (P>0.05). We also found no association between DRD2 gene Ser311/Cys311 polymorphism and mood disorders in overall, Caucasian, and Asian populations (P>0.05). An association of DRD2 gene TaqI A1 polymorphism with mood disorders was found in overall population, and the individuals with A1A1 genotype were more susceptible to mood disorders in comparison to those with A2A1 and A2A2 genotypes (OR=1.84, 95% CI=1.07-3.17, P=0.03). LIMITATION: Meta-analysis is retrospective research that is subject to the methodological deficiencies of the included studies. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis suggests that mood disorders may be associated with DRD2 gene TaqI A1 polymorphism, but not -141Cins/del and Ser311/Cys311.

Lack of association of IL-10 gene polymorphisms with prostate cancer: evidence from 11,581 subjects.

Published data on the association between interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene polymorphisms and prostate cancer (PCa) are inconclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of the association, we conducted a meta-analysis. Data were collected from the following electronic databases: PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Excerpta Medica Database and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, with the last report up to September 2010. The odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used to assess the strength of association. A total of 13 separate studies including 5503 cases and 6078 controls based on the search criteria were involved in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was performed for three IL-10 gene polymorphisms (rs1800896, rs1800871, and rs1800872). We found no association between IL-10 gene rs1800896 polymorphism and PCa in overall population (G versus A: OR=1.00, 95%CI=0.91-1.10, P=0.99; AG+GG versus AA: OR=1.18, 95%CI=0.97-1.43, P=0.10; GG versus AA+AG: OR=1.04, 95%CI=0.86-1.26, P=0.67). In subgroup analysis, similar results were found in Caucasian (G versus A: OR=0.99, 95%CI=0.84-1.18, P=0.92; AG+GG versus AA: OR=1.32, 95%CI=0.90-1.94, P=0.16; GG versus AA+AG: OR=1.07, 95%CI=0.89-1.28, P=0.48), and Asian (G versus A: OR=0.97, 95%CI=0.78-1.20, P=0.78; AG+GG versus AA: OR=1.07, 95%CI=0.79-1.45, P=0.65; GG versus AA+AG: OR=1.24, 95%CI=0.38-4.07, P=0.73) populations. We did not detect an association between IL-10 gene rs1800871 polymorphism and PCa in overall population (T versus C: OR=0.96, 95%CI=0.85-1.08, P=0.51; CT+TT versus CC: OR=0.94, 95%CI=0.80-1.11, P=0.48; TT versus CC+CT: OR=0.94, 95%CI=0.81-1.10, P=0.44). Similar results were found in Asian population (T versus C: OR=0.85, 95%CI=0.71-1.09, P=0.09; CT+TT versus CC: OR=0.72, 95%CI=0.52-1.17, P=0.05; TT versus CC+CT: OR=0.89, 95%CI=0.68-1.17, P=0.39). We found no association between IL-10 gene rs1800872 polymorphism and PCa in overall population (A versus C: OR=1.03, 95%CI=0.96-1.11, P=0.41; CA+AA versus CC: OR=1.04, 95%CI=0.92-1.17, P=0.56; AA versus CC+CA: OR=1.02, 95%CI=0.85-1.22, P=0.87). Similar results were found in Caucasian population (A versus C: OR=1.06, 95%CI=0.98-1.16, P=0.16; CA+AA versus CC: OR=1.07, 95%CI=0.85-1.35, P=0.57; AA versus CC+CA: OR=1.23, 95%CI=0.92-1.64, P=0.17). This meta-analysis suggests that there is no association between IL-10 gene rs1800896, rs1800871 and rs1800872 polymorphisms and PCa.

[Spatial nature of mental number line in neglect patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spatial nature of mental number line. METHODS: Number bisection test was conducted on 8 right-brain-damaged patients with persistent left neglect, 8 right-brain-damaged patients without spatial neglect, and 8 healthy control subjects, all aged- and education-level-matched and right-handed. RESULTS: The error rate in subjective midpoint of the 8 neglect patients was (44.63+/-12.49)% (forward direction) and (46.00+/-12.10)% (reverse direction), both significantly higher than those of the right brain damage control group [(3.34+/-4.32)% and (5.21+/-5.21)% respectively] and healthy control group [(0.00+/-0.00)% and (0.00+/-0.00)% respectively] (all P<0.01). The longer the interval between the numbers, the higher right-shift error rate: corresponding to the interval sizes as 3, 5, 7, and 9, the mean deviation rates of anthrone presentation were (-4.25+/-7.87)%, (12.63+/-19.06)%, (58.38+/-24.30)%, and (111.50+/-53.54)% respectively, and the mean deviation rates of reverse presentation were (-18.40+/-25.35)%, (-1.60+/-21.4)%, (56.80+/-27.04)%, and (108.20+/-55.10)% respectively. Analysis of variance of the anthrone presentation and reverse presentation showed the result: F=1.705 and P=0.262. Correlation analysis of the mental number bisection task and line bisection task showed the result: r=0.887 and P=0.045. The control subjects made very few errors in subjective midpoint and their performance was not affected by interval sizes. The magnitude of numbers used did not influence the performance in any group. CONCLUSION: The performance of neglect patients in bisecting mental number line closely mirrors their difficulty in bisecting physical lines. This demonstrates the spatial nature of the mental number line isomorphism to physical lines. The mental number line is orientated in a left-to-right manner. Disorder exists at the characterization level in neglect patients.