Modulation of hand motor skill performance induced by motor practice combined with matched or mismatched hand posture motor imagery

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation during a spatial memory task leads to a decrease in brain metabolic activity

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that is able to generate causal-based interferences between brain networks and cognitive or behavioral responses. It has been used to improve cognition in several disease models. However, although its exploration in healthy animals is essential to attribute its pure effect in learning and memory processes, studies in this regard are scarce. We aimed to evaluate whether rTMS leads to memory facilitation in healthy rats, and to explore the brain-related oxidative metabolism. We stimulated healthy Wistar rats with a high-frequency (100 Hz) and low-intensity (0.33 T) protocol during three consecutive days and evaluated the effect on the performance of an allocentric spatial reference learning and memory task. Following the last day of learning, we assessed oxidative brain metabolism through quantitative cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) histochemistry. The results showed that rTMS did not improve spatial memory in healthy rats, but the behavioral outcome was accompanied by a CCO reduction in the prefrontal, retrosplenial, parietal, and rhinal cortices, as well as in the striatum, amygdala, septum, mammillary bodies, and the hippocampus, reflecting a lower metabolic activity. In conclusion, rTMS induces a highly efficient use of brain regions associated with spatial memory.

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Function in Women With Methamphetamine Dependence in a Detoxification Program in Tianjin, China: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Cognitive impairment is prevalent among individuals, especially women, with methamphetamine dependence. Although aerobic exercise has been shown to affect cognitive function in humans and animals, few related studies have focused on subjects with methamphetamine dependence.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to assess the detoxification-related effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive function in women with methamphetamine dependence.

METHODS

A randomized controlled trial was used with 98 women with methamphetamine dependence undergoing a detoxification program at a mental hospital. The women were distributed using a computer-generated grouping random method into either the study or control group. The investigator conducting the baseline questionnaire, the neuropsychologist assessing the cognitive function, and the data analyst were blinded to group assignment. In addition to hospital routine care, the study group received an aerobic exercise intervention for 3 months. The control group only received hospital routine care. Attention and working memory were measured using the Trail Making Test and Digit Span Test, verbal memory was measured using Logical Memory (LM) and Memory for Persons Data (MPD), and executive function was measured using the Color-Word Stroop Test.

RESULTS

Forty-nine participants were randomized into each group, and the valid data of 43 participants in the study group and 46 in the control group were analyzed. The study group showed significantly more improvement over time in terms of Digit Span Test, Trail Making Test, LM-delayed, MPD-5 minutes delayed, MPD-30 minutes delayed, and Color-Word Stroop Test than the control group (p < .05). LM-immediate and MPD-immediate scores showed that the effects of time and the interaction between time and group were significant but that the main effect of group was not.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Women undergoing detoxification for methamphetamine dependence may practice aerobic exercise to improve attention, working memory, executive function, and parts of verbal memory. Aerobic exercise may be incorporated into detoxification treatment programs to facilitate the recovery of cognitive functions in women.