Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glycolipid metabolism have been implicated in cognitive impairments and depression among Parkinson\'s disease (PD). However, the role of sex differences in this relationship remains elusive. This study aimed to investigate the potential sex differences in the link between serum BDNF levels, glycolipid metabolism and cognitive performance among depressive PD patients. PD patients comprising 108 individuals with depression and 108 without depression were recruited for this study. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Beijing version (MOCA-BJ). The severity of depressive symptoms was assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), while motor symptoms were evaluated using the Revised Hoehn and Yahr rating scale (H-Y) and the Unified Parkinson\'s Disease Rating Scale Part III (UPDRS-III). Laboratory testing and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are used to measure serum levels of glycolipid metabolism and BDNF. Females showed superior performance in delayed recall (all p < 0.05), male PD patients exhibited higher scores in naming tasks compared to females in non-depression group. There was no sex differences in serum BDNF levels between depression and non-depression groups. Liner regression analysis indicated BDNF as an independent risk factor for language deficits in male PD patients with depression (p < 0.05), while cholesterol (CHOL) emerged as a cognitive influencing factor, particularly in delayed recall among male PD patients with depression (p < 0.05). Our study reveals extensive cognitive impairments in PD patients with depression. Moreover, BDNF and CHOL may contribute to the pathological mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits, particularly in male patients with depression.

UNASSIGNED: Research indicates that exam anxiety may decline with mindfulness-based interventions but there is a lack of research on adolescents\' accounts of the processes involved. We explored high-school students\' descriptions of how they perceived and applied mindfulness in managing anxiety-inducing thoughts related to academic performance following an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course.
UNASSIGNED: Post-course individual semi-structured interviews with 22 high school students (2 males, mean age 17.8 years) were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
UNASSIGNED: The analyses identified six themes: (1) Noticing and attending to the attention-binding \"maelstrom\" of anxious thoughts and feelings (2) Attending to the breath to cope with the maelstrom, (3) \"removing\" and \"getting rid of\" anxious thoughts (4) Being able to \"think\" (5) awareness of more helpful thoughts, and (6) Agency and control. The findings are discussed in light of the Buddhist notion of \"unwholesome thoughts\" and the distinction between thought suppression and the use of breathing as a benign distraction. We propose that mindfulness encompasses both a receptive, nonjudgmental awareness and an active, intentional redirection of attention.
UNASSIGNED: Mindfulness training aided participants by enhancing their capacity to disengage from fear-engaging thoughts, thereby maintaining them within their window of tolerance and facilitating cognitive processing.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous condition definable as the intermediate clinical state between normal aging and dementia. As a pre-dementia condition, there is a recent growing interest in the identification of non-invasive markers able to predict the progression from MCI to a more advanced stage of the disease. Previous evidence showed the close link between gut microbiota and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer\'s (AD) and Parkinson\'s disease (PD). Conversely, the actual relationship between gut microbiota and MCI is yet to be clarified. In this work, we provide an overview about the current knowledge regarding the role of gut microbiota in the context of MCI, also assessing the potential for microbiota-targeted therapies. Through the review of the most recent studies focusing on this topic, we found evidence of an increase of Bacteroidetes at phylum level and Bacteroides at genus level in MCI subjects with respect to healthy controls and patients with AD. Despite such initial evidence, the definitive identification of a typical microbiota profile associated with MCI is still far from being achieved. These preliminary results, however, are growingly encouraging research on the role of gut microbiota modulation in improving the cognitive status of pre-dementia subjects. To date, few studies evaluated the role of probiotics in MCI subjects, and they showed favorable results, although still biased by small sample size, heterogeneity of study design and short follow-up.

Prolactin (PRL) is primarily produced by the pituitary lactotrophic cells and while initially named for its role in lactation, PRL has several other biological roles including immunomodulation, osmotic balance, angiogenesis, calcium metabolism, and appetite regulation. Most of the PRL-related literature has traditionally focused on hyperprolactinemia, whereas hypoprolactinemia has received little attention. There is evidence to suggest that PRL receptors are widely distributed within the central nervous system including the limbic system. Furthermore, PRL has been shown to play key role in the stress regulation pathway. Recent data also suggest that hypoprolactinemia may be associated with increased sexual dysfunction, anxiety, and depression. In this paper we discuss the current understanding regarding the neuropsychological impact of hypoprolactinemia and highlight the need for adequately defining hypoprolactinemia as an entity and consideration for future replacement therapies.

BACKGROUND: Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome (DS), predisposes individuals to early-onset Alzheimer\'s disease (AD). While monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting amyloid are approved for older AD patients, their efficacy in DS remains unexplored. This study examines amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) positivity (A+), memory function, and clinical status across ages in DS to guide mAb trial designs.
METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) was analyzed. PET amyloid beta in Centiloids classified amyloid status using various cutoffs. Episodic memory was assessed using the modified Cued Recall Test, and clinical status was determined through consensus processes.
RESULTS: Four hundred nine DS adults (mean age = 44.83 years) were evaluated. A+ rates increased with age, with mean amyloid load rising significantly. Memory decline and cognitive impairment are also correlated with age.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize the necessity of tailoring mAb trials for DS, considering age-related AD characteristics.
CONCLUSIONS: There is rapid increase in prevalence of amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) positivity in Down syndrome (DS) after the age of 40 years. Aβ PET positivity thresholds have significant impact on prevalence rates in DS. There is a significant lag between Aβ PET positivity and clinical symptom onset in DS.

UNASSIGNED: Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is considered the canine version of human Alzheimer\'s disease (AD). As with AD, CCD is a multifactorial and progressive neurodegenerative disorder for which effective treatment options are continuously being sought. Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBMT) or transcranial laser therapy has shown promise as a treatment for cognitive impairment in rodent AD investigations and several human AD clinical trials.
UNASSIGNED: The purpose of this prospective case series was to evaluate the effect of tPBMT on cognitive scores when applied to senior dogs with CCD over a 60-day period.
UNASSIGNED: Five senior (>9-year-old) dogs with moderate (16-33) to severe (>33) cognitive scores were enrolled. Owners were instructed on the use of a Class IM laser device and administered a specific dose of laser energy transcranially to both sides of the patient\'s head, three times per week for one month and two times per week for a second month. No additional therapeutic measures aimed at enhancing cognitive ability were permitted during the 60-day evaluation time. Baseline cognitive scores were compared with scores obtained at 30- and 60-days post-treatment.
UNASSIGNED: Cognitive scores showed improvement in 4/5 dogs at 30 days (27.6% reduction) and all dogs at 60 days (43.4% reduction). There were no adverse effects attributable to tPBMT.
UNASSIGNED: Results of our small case series suggest that tPBMT may improve cognitive scores in dogs with moderate to severe CCD by 30 days of application and the improvement is sustained at 60 days. Further studies are needed to ascertain optimal tPBMT protocols for CCD.

BACKGROUND: Transparency can build trust in the scientific process, but scientific findings can be undermined by poor and obscure data use and reporting practices. The purpose of this work is to report how data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study has been used to date, and to provide practical recommendations on how to improve the transparency and reproducibility of findings.
METHODS: Articles published from 2017 to 2023 that used ABCD Study data were reviewed using more than 30 data extraction items to gather information on data use practices. Total frequencies were reported for each extraction item, along with computation of a Level of Completeness (LOC) score that represented overall endorsement of extraction items. Univariate linear regression models were used to examine the correlation between LOC scores and individual extraction items. Post hoc analysis included examination of whether LOC scores were correlated with the logged 2-year journal impact factor.
RESULTS: There were 549 full-length articles included in the main analysis. Analytic scripts were shared in 30 % of full-length articles. The number of participants excluded due to missing data was reported in 60 % of articles, and information on missing data for individual variables (e.g., household income) was provided in 38 % of articles. A table describing the analytic sample was included in 83 % of articles. A race and/or ethnicity variable was included in 78 % of reviewed articles, while its inclusion was justified in only 41 % of these articles. LOC scores were highly correlated with extraction items related to examination of missing data. A bottom 10 % of LOC score was significantly correlated with a lower logged journal impact factor when compared to the top 10 % of LOC scores (β=-0.77, 95 % -1.02, -0.51; p-value < 0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight opportunities for improvement in future papers using ABCD Study data to readily adapt analytic practices for better transparency and reproducibility efforts. A list of recommendations is provided to facilitate adherence in future research.

BACKGROUND: Processing speed (PS) deficits represent a fundamental aspect of cognitive impairment, evident not only in schizophrenia but also in individuals undergoing their first episode of psychosis (FEP) and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Heterogeneity in tests assessing PS reflects the participation of motor and cognitive subcomponents to varying degrees. We aim to explore differences in performance of the subcomponents of PS in FEP patients, parents, siblings, and controls.
METHODS: Results from tests, including Trail Making Test part A and part B, Digit Symbol Coding Test, Grooved Pegboard Test, and Stroop Word and Stroop Color subtests, were obtained from 133 FEP patients, 146 parents, and 202 controls. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed in controls to establish the structure, followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify if the other groups share this structure.
RESULTS: EFA revealed a two-factor model: Factor 1 for the motor subcomponent and Factor 2 for the cognitive subcomponent. Subsequently, CFA indicated a good fit for the remaining groups with differences in the relationship between the factors.
CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the relationships of factors within a common structure suggest the involvement of different compensatory strategies among groups, providing insights into the underlying mechanisms of PS deficits in patients and relatives.

Microsaccades are at the interface between basic oculomotor phenomena and complex processes of cognitive functioning, and they also have been a challenge for subtle experimentation and adequate statistical analysis. In the second part of the special thematic issue (for the first part see  4) the authors present a series of articles which demonstrate that microsaccades are still an interesting and rewarding area of scientific research the forefront of research in many areas of sensory, perceptual, and cognitive processes.. In their article \"Pupillary and microsaccadic responses to cognitive effort and emotional arousal during complex decision making\" Krejtz, Żurawska, Duchowski, & Wichary (1) investigate pupillary and microsaccadic responses to information processing during multi-attribute decision making under affective priming. The participants were randomly assigned into three affective priming conditions (neutral, aversive, and erotic) and instructed to make discriminative decisions. As hypothesized by the authors, the results showed microsaccadic rate inhibition and pupillary dilation, depending on cognitive effort prior to decision and moderated by affective priming. Aversive priming increased pupillary and microsaccadic responses to information processing effort. The results indicate that pupillary response is more influenced by affective priming than microsaccadic rate. The results are discussed in the light of neuropsychological mechanisms of pupillary and microsaccadic behavior. In the article \"Microsaccadic rate signatures correlate under monocular and binocular stimulation conditions\" Essig, Leube, Rifai, & Wahl (2020) investigate microsaccades with respect to their directional distribution and rate under monocular and binocular conditions. In both stimulation conditions participants fixated a Gabor patch presented randomly in orientation of 45° or 135° over a wide range of spatial frequencies. Microsaccades were mostly horizontally oriented regardless of the spatial frequency of the grating. This outcome was consistent between both stimulation conditions. This study found that the microsaccadic rate signature curve correlates between both stimulation conditions, therefore extending the use of microsaccades to clinical applications, since parameters as contrast sensitivity, have frequently been measured monocularly in the clinical studies. The study \"Microsaccades during high speed continuous visual search\" by Martin, Davis, Riesenhuber, & Thorpe (3) provides an analysis of the microsaccades occurring during visual search, targeting to small faces pasted either into cluttered background photos or into a simple gray background.  Participants were instructed to target singular 3-degree upright or inverted faces in changing scenes.  As soon as the participant\'s gaze reached the target face, a new face was displayed in a different random location.  Regardless of the experimental context (e.g. background scene, no background scene), or target eccentricity (from 4 to 20 degrees of visual angle), The authors found that the microsaccade rate dropped to near zero levels within 12 milliseconds.  There were almost never any microsaccades after stimulus onset and before the first saccade to the face. In about 20% of the trials, there was a single microsaccade that occurred almost immediately after the preceding saccade\'s offset.  The authors argue that a single feedforward pass through the visual hierarchy of processing a stimulus is needed to effectuate prolonged continuous visual search and provide evidence that microsaccades can serve perceptual functions like correcting saccades or effectuating task-oriented goals during continuous visual search. While many studies have characterized the eye movements during visual fixation, including microsaccades, in most cases only horizontal and vertical components have been recorded and analyzed. Little is known about the torsional component of microsaccades. In the study \"Torsional component of microsaccades during fixation and quick phases during optokinetic stimulation\" Sadeghpour & Otero-Millan (5) recorded eye movements around the three axes of rotation during fixation and torsional optokinetic stimulus. The authors found that the average amplitude of the torsional component of microsaccades during fixation was 0.34 ± 0.07 degrees with velocities following a main sequence with a slope comparable to the horizontal and vertical components. The size of the torsional displacement during microsaccades was correlated with the horizontal but not the vertical component. In the presence of an optokinetic stimulus a nystagmus was induced producing  more frequent and larger torsional quick phases compared to microsaccades produced during fixation of a stationary stimulus. The torsional component and the vertical vergence component of quick phases increased with higher velocities. In previous research, microsaccades have been interpreted as psychophysiological indicators of task load. So far, it is still under debate how different types of task demands are influencing microsaccade rate. In their article \"The interplay between task difficulty and microsaccade rate: Evidence for the critical role of visual load\" Schneider et al. (6) examined the relation between visual load, mental load and microsaccade rate. The participants carried out a continuous performance task (n-back) in which visual task load (letters vs. abstract figures) and mental task load (1-back to 4-back) were manipulated as within-subjects variables. Eye tracking data, performance data as well as subjective workload were recorded. Data analysis revealed an increased level of microsaccade rate for stimuli of high visual demand (i.e. abstract figures), while mental demand (n-back-level) did not modulate microsaccade rate. The authors concluded that microsaccade rate reflects visual load of a task rather than its mental load. This conclusion is in accordance with the proposition of Krueger et al. (2) \"Microsaccades distinguish looking from seeing\", linking sensory with cognitive phenomena. The present special thematic issue adds several new interesting facets to the research landscape around microsaccades. They still remain an attractive focus of interdisciplinary research and transdisciplinary applications. Thus, as already noted in the first part of this special thematic issue, research on microsaccades will not only endure, but keep evolving as the knowledge base expands.

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