Visual personal familiarity in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Mild cognitive impairment in adult: A neuropsychological review

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia. This is clinically relevant overt dementia can be prevented if treatment strategies are devised for MCI. Neuropsychological deficits in this condition are very common and are important clinically for treatment and outcomes. We aimed to review various neuropsychological deficits in MCI. Further, we have presented the current evidence for nosological status, neuroanatomical basis, and clinical outcome of this heterogeneous construct. All published papers on the topic of neuropsychological deficits in MCI on Medline and other databases were reviewed. A wide range of memory and executive function deficits are common in MCI patients. However, several studies are limited by either improper designs or inadequate sample sizes. Several neuropsychological impairments like memory function and executive functions can be diagnosed in MCI. The evidence base for the exact neuroanatomical basis of MCI is not robust yet. However, given the wide range of outcomes, controversies and debates exist regarding the nosological significance of the deficits. Hence, more studies are needed to specifically locate the impairments and further delineate the construct of MCI.

The neural representation of emotionally neutral faces and places in patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia

BACKGROUND

Panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD-A) has been associated with abnormal neural activity for threat-related stimuli (faces, places). Recent findings suggest a disturbed neural processing of emotionally neutral stimuli at a more general level.

METHODS

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we investigated the neural processing of emotionally neutral faces and places in PD-A. Fifteen patients with PD-A and fifteen healthy subjects participated in the study.

RESULTS

When they perceived neutral faces and places, the patients with PD-A showed significantly less brain activity in the fusiform gyrus, the inferior occipital gyrus, the calcarine gyrus, the cerebellum, and the cuneus compared with the healthy controls. However, the patients with PD-A showed significantly more brain activity in the precuneus compared with controls subjects.

LIMITATIONS

It was not possible to distinguish the agoraphobia-associated effects from possible contributions due to general anxiety induced by fMRI. For future investigations, an additional clinical control group with patients suffering from panic disorder without agoraphobia would be of interest. In addition, the psychopathology concerning the agoraphobic symptoms needs to be investigated in more detail.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest altered neural processing of emotionally neutral faces and places in patients with PD-A. Reduced neural activity in different brain regions may indicate difficulties in recognizing the emotional content in face and place stimuli due to anxiety-related hyper-arousal.