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Scientific Reports Mar 2024Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by deficits in face identification. However, there is debate about whether these deficits are primarily perceptual, and...
Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by deficits in face identification. However, there is debate about whether these deficits are primarily perceptual, and whether they extend to other face processing tasks (e.g., identifying emotion, age, and gender; detecting faces in scenes). In this study, 30 participants with DP and 75 controls completed a battery of eight tasks assessing four domains of face perception (identity; emotion; age and gender; face detection). The DP group performed worse than the control group on both identity perception tasks, and one task from each other domain. Both identity perception tests uniquely predicted DP/control group membership, and performance on two measures of face memory. These findings suggest that deficits in DP may arise from issues with face perception. Some non-identity tasks also predicted DP/control group membership and face memory, even when face identity perception was accounted for. Gender perception and speed of face detection consistently predicted unique variance in group membership and face memory; several other tasks were only associated with some measures of face recognition ability. These findings indicate that face perception deficits in DP may extend beyond identity perception. However, the associations between tasks may also reflect subtle aspects of task demands or stimuli.
Topics: Humans; Facial Recognition; Prosopagnosia; Emotions; Pattern Recognition, Visual
PubMed: 38503841
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57176-x -
Dental Research Journal 2024The COVID-19 pandemic which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has created a major global health crisis in recent years....
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has created a major global health crisis in recent years. Despite this, there have been few studies that have utilized reliable methods to assess changes in taste and smell perception. Therefore, our study aims at the number of fungiform papillae and objective measures of taste perception relationship among COVID-19 patients with olfactory and gustatory disorders.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a cross-sectional analytical study in which 57 COVID-19 patients were recruited who confirmed the dysfunction of taste and smell. Objective assessment of the sense of taste was evaluated using four different standardized solution preparations, and the scores were given according to the patient's statements. Digitalized quantification of fungiform papillae was counted. The data were analyzed with the Pearson's correlation coefficient using the SPSS version. 23 [Licensed JSSAHER, Mysuru, Karnataka, India], and the level of significance was set at <0.001.
RESULTS
In terms of altered or reduced taste and smell, male patients exhibited a higher incidence compared to females. Compared to the sour taste, a substantial number of COVID-19 patients have displayed a notable decrease in their ability to taste sweet, salty, and bitter flavors. However, a statistically significant positive correlation was observed between taste scores and fungiform papillae density ( = 0.518, < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Our Study demonstrated that the quantitative evaluation of taste perception and the count of fungiform papillae can serve as important indicators of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and could potentially help in the early detection and treatment of COVID-19 patients, as reduced taste function is a significant marker of the disease.
PubMed: 38476719
DOI: No ID Found -
Cell Death Discovery Mar 2024Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive system. It is highly aggressive, easily metastasizes, and extremely difficult to treat. This study aimed to...
Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive system. It is highly aggressive, easily metastasizes, and extremely difficult to treat. This study aimed to analyze the genes that might regulate pancreatic cancer migration to provide an essential basis for the prognostic assessment of pancreatic cancer and individualized treatment. A CRISPR knockout library directed against 915 murine genes was transfected into TB 32047 cell line to screen which gene loss promoted cell migration. Next-generation sequencing and PinAPL.py- analysis was performed to identify candidate genes. We then assessed the effect of serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11) knockout on pancreatic cancer by wound-healing assay, chick agnosia (CAM) assay, and orthotopic mouse pancreatic cancer model. We performed RNA sequence and Western blotting for mechanistic studies to identify and verify the pathways. After accelerated Transwell migration screening, STK11 was identified as one of the top candidate genes. Further experiments showed that targeted knockout of STK11 promoted the cell migration and increased liver metastasis in mice. Mechanistic analyses revealed that STK11 knockout influences blood vessel morphogenesis and is closely associated with the enhanced expression of phosphodiesterases (PDEs), especially PDE4D, PDE4B, and PDE10A. PDE4 inhibitor Roflumilast inhibited STK11-KO cell migration and tumor size, further demonstrating that PDEs are essential for STK11-deficient cell migration. Our findings support the adoption of therapeutic strategies, including Roflumilast, for patients with STK11-mutated pancreatic cancer in order to improve treatment efficacy and ultimately prolong survival.
PubMed: 38461159
DOI: 10.1038/s41420-024-01890-y -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Apr 2024Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by difficulties recognising face identities and is associated with diverse co-occurring object recognition...
Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by difficulties recognising face identities and is associated with diverse co-occurring object recognition difficulties. The high co-occurrence rate and heterogeneity of associated difficulties in DP is an intrinsic feature of developmental conditions, where co-occurrence of difficulties is the rule, rather than the exception. However, despite its name, cognitive and neural theories of DP rarely consider the developmental context in which these difficulties occur. This leaves a large gap in our understanding of how DP emerges in light of the developmental trajectory of face recognition. Here, we argue that progress in the field requires re-considering the developmental origins of differences in face recognition abilities, rather than studying the end-state alone. In practice, considering development in DP necessitates a re-evaluation of current approaches in recruitment, design, and analyses.
Topics: Humans; Prosopagnosia; Facial Recognition; Visual Perception; Pattern Recognition, Visual
PubMed: 38460488
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.02.006 -
Internal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) Feb 2024A 73-year-old woman with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) presented with progressive apperceptive visual agnosia, alexia, agraphia, ventral simultanagnosia,...
A 73-year-old woman with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) presented with progressive apperceptive visual agnosia, alexia, agraphia, ventral simultanagnosia, prosopagnosia, and allocentric (stimulus-centered) left-sided hemispatial neglect. All of these symptoms were attributed to damage to the bilateral occipito-temporal cortices, consistent with ventral variant PCA. While the Pittsburgh compound B uptake was extensively distributed throughout the occipito-parietal (dorsal) and occipito-temporal (ventral) areas, the THK5351 (ligand binding to tau aggregates/astrocyte gliosis) accumulation was limited to the ventral area. These findings suggest that local accumulation of tau proteins and/or astrocyte gliosis over the occipito-temporal cortices can result in ventral variant PCA.
PubMed: 38369357
DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.2844-23 -
Rinsho Shinkeigaku = Clinical Neurology Mar 2024A 58-year-old, right-handed man noticed difficulty in typing and speech. On day 3 after onset, the day of admission, he had frontal lobe dysfunction including verbal...
A 58-year-old, right-handed man noticed difficulty in typing and speech. On day 3 after onset, the day of admission, he had frontal lobe dysfunction including verbal fluency impairment and impairment of recent memory, although he did not have apraxia or visual agnosia. Moreover, he had difficulty typing in romaji, especially words containing contracted or double consonant sounds, although he was able to do this before onset by visually checking the keyboard. He had mild dysgraphia. MRI showed an infarct in the genu and posterior limb of the left internal capsule. SPECT revealed low-uptake lesions in the left frontal lobe. In the present case, we consider that the subcortical infarction disrupted the network between the thalamus and frontal lobe, resulting in dystypia due to difficulty with recalling romaji spelling.
Topics: Male; Humans; Middle Aged; Ischemic Stroke; Cerebral Infarction; Agnosia; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Language
PubMed: 38369328
DOI: 10.5692/clinicalneurol.cn-001904 -
Motor Control Apr 2024We review a body of literature related to the drawing and recognition of geometrical two-dimensional linear drawings including letters. Handwritten letters are viewed... (Review)
Review
We review a body of literature related to the drawing and recognition of geometrical two-dimensional linear drawings including letters. Handwritten letters are viewed not as two-dimensional geometrical objects but as one-dimensional trajectories of the tip of the implement. Handwritten letters are viewed as composed of a small set of kinematic primitives. Recognition of objects is mediated by processes of their creation (actual or imagined)-the imitation principle, a particular example of action-perception coupling. The concept of spatial directional field guiding the trajectories is introduced and linked to neuronal population vectors. Further, we link the kinematic description to the theory of control with spatial referent coordinates. This framework allows interpreting a number of experimental observations and clinical cases of agnosia. It also allows formulating predictions for new experimental studies of writing.
Topics: Humans; Reading; Imitative Behavior; Writing
PubMed: 38364817
DOI: 10.1123/mc.2023-0122 -
Neuro-ophthalmology (Aeolus Press) 2024Vision specialists will benefit from increased awareness of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) syndrome. Failure to adequately identify the chief complaint as a visual...
Vision specialists will benefit from increased awareness of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) syndrome. Failure to adequately identify the chief complaint as a visual symptom may lead to incorrect diagnosis or diagnostic delay. A previously healthy, 59-year-old woman presented with a 5-year history of 'losing her stuff'. Upon psychiatric and neuro-ophthalmological evaluation, this symptom was better recognised as a feature of visual agnosia and simultanagnosia. She also presented with multiple previously unrecognised symptoms indicative of higher visual processing dysfunction, such as alexia without agraphia, ocular motor apraxia, optic ataxia, prosopagnosia, akinetopsia and topographagnosia, so further assessment to investigate for PCA was carried out. After a work-up including cognitive assessment, brain structural/functional imaging, and laboratory tests she was diagnosed with visual-variant Alzheimer's disease. Patients with PCA merit a detailed review of their symptoms, as well as the use of office tests such as cognitive evaluation tools, different types of perimetry, colour vision tests, and non-delayed psychiatric consultation for correct management and assessment. This report will emphasise five key aspects to be considered when evaluating patients with PCA.
PubMed: 38357623
DOI: 10.1080/01658107.2023.2257311 -
The American Journal of Occupational... Mar 2024Unilateral spatial neglect (neglect) poststroke is disabling. It is critical that people with neglect are identified so that treatment can be provided to maximize...
IMPORTANCE
Unilateral spatial neglect (neglect) poststroke is disabling. It is critical that people with neglect are identified so that treatment can be provided to maximize independence. However, there is some evidence to suggest that existing assessments may not adequately measure neglect. It is unclear whether assessments also fail to identify people with neglect entirely.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether there are stroke survivors who self-report neglect symptoms that are not detected by therapist-rated assessments and to compare self-report and therapist-ratings.
DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.
SETTING
U.S. university research center.
PARTICIPANTS
Unilateral stroke survivors (N = 133).
INTERVENTION
Not applicable.
OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS) was administered to participants and scored by a trained occupational therapist. The parallel self-evaluation anosognosia form was also administered to participants to self-report and rate neglect symptoms.
RESULTS
Forty-eight participants (36.1%) were classified as without neglect on the basis of therapist-rated total CBS scores, yet 30 (62.5%) of these 48 participants reported symptoms of neglect on the CBS self-evaluation anosognosia form. There was a significant difference (p < .001) between therapist-rated and self-rated total CBS scores.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Our results indicate that many stroke survivors report some level of disability associated with neglect yet do not meet the criteria to be classified as having neglect according to a commonly used therapist-rated performance-based measure. Plain-Language Summary: The findings of this study contribute to the evidence that existing assessments used by occupational therapists to measure performance-based neglect may not always detect neglect symptoms comprehensively in people poststroke. The finding also suggest that we may be missing neglect symptoms entirely. Occupational therapists should consider using various methods to assess for neglect, including patient self-report and comprehensive occupational profiles. Clinicians should also thoroughly screen all clients with stroke for neglect, regardless of lesion location.
Topics: Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Perceptual Disorders; Agnosia; Stroke; Stroke Rehabilitation
PubMed: 38350038
DOI: 10.5014/ajot.2024.050497 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Mar 2024Despite severe everyday problems recognising faces, some individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) can achieve typical accuracy scores on laboratory face...
Despite severe everyday problems recognising faces, some individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) can achieve typical accuracy scores on laboratory face recognition tests. To address this, studies sometimes also examine response times (RTs), which tend to be longer in DPs relative to control participants. In the present study, 24 potential (according to self-report) DPs and 110 age-matched controls completed the Cambridge Face and Bicycle Memory Tests, old new faces task, and a famous faces test. We used accuracy and the Balanced Integration Score (BIS), a measure that adjusts accuracy for RTs, to classify our sample at the group and individual levels. Subjective face recognition ability was assessed using the PI20 questionnaire and semi structured interviews. Fifteen DPs showed a major impairment using BIS compared with only five using accuracy alone. Logistic regression showed that a model incorporating the BIS measures was the most sensitive for classifying DP and showed highest area under the curve (AUC). Furthermore, larger between-group effect sizes were observed for a derived global (averaged) memory measure calculated using BIS versus accuracy alone. BIS is thus an extremely sensitive novel measure for attenuating speed-accuracy trade-offs that can otherwise mask impairment measured only by accuracy in DP.
Topics: Humans; Prosopagnosia; Facial Recognition; Self Report; Surveys and Questionnaires; Reaction Time; Pattern Recognition, Visual
PubMed: 38330779
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.12.011