Group items tagged

Subjects participating in the meditation intervention displayed a significant improvement in self‐perceived general well‐being after training. In addition, compared with control subjects they also showed a significant change in brain structure and intrinsic activity in inferior fronto‐insular regions associated with executive control, and previously highlighted by cross‐sectional studies on the neural effects of long‐term SY meditation (Hernandez et al., 2015).

A significant time‐by‐group interaction on spectral power highlighted, in meditators vs controls, a training‐related remodeling of the contribution of slow frequencies in the anterior component of the fronto‐parietal “executive control” network.

involved in goal‐directed behavior

This set of regions, which is commonly recruited by tasks requiring controlled information processing (Dosenbach et al., 2007), has been recently proposed as a “superordinate” cognitive control network, recruited across different executive domains including flexibility, working memory, initiation, and inhibition (Niendam et al., 2012).

This hypothesis fits with neuroimaging evidence on other types of short‐term meditation interventions, sharing with the SY meditation an open monitoring approach aiming to develop the capacity for mindfulness (i.e., awareness of present‐moment experiences with a compassionate, non judgmental, stance). Across different studies, such interventions resulted in stronger intensity of activation (Holzel et al., 2011) and efficiency (Xue, Tang, & Posner, 2011) in functional networks involving the dACC, possibly reflecting higher cognitive control and improved suppression of distracting events

our results suggest a potential broad impact of meditative practice on neural organization, in turn reflecting on other outcomes related to health and well‐being (Muehsam et al., 2017).

General well‐being

Fatigue

Dissatisfaction

The SY meditation training consisted of four one‐hour sessions per week over 4 consecutive weeks, that is, a total of 16 hr.

No other commitments, including home practice, were required.

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain posited PA-related effects on cognitive and academic performance. Regular PA alters neurogenesis and angiogenesis and enhances central nervous system metabolism. 20 Furthermore, it

has been suggested that regular PA increases the availability of certain growth factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). All these systems and factors are involved with the maintenance and plasticity of the structure and function of the brain, 20 21 and thus with learning and memory

The majority of the studies included in the current review assessed the effects of PA in children aged 6–12 years. Seven studies reported children aged 5 years or younger, 44 51 52 64 77 79 80 and 13 studies included youths (ie, older than 12 years) in their studies. 37 39 43

The shortest intervention duration was 1 week, 54 62 79 and the longest spanned a period of 9 years.

Stratifying the evidence synthesis at the level of outcome for academic performance we conclude that there is strong evidence for beneficial effects of PA on maths performance (beneficial effects on 86% of the outcomes), but inconclusive evidence for language performance (beneficial effect on 27% of the outcomes).

The majority of the intervention studies implemented PA sessions of at least 30 min (n=41).

Many studies applied interventions that were delivered 5 days a week (n=28). The lowest frequency was 1 43 44 and the highest frequency was 6 days per week. 36 65 Most studies (n=34) assessed the effects of PA consisting primarily of aerobic exercise.

Six studies assessed the effects of motor demanding or cognitively engaging activities. 31 43 44 53 54 70 Three of these studies implemented PA games specifically tailored to challenge core executive functions in a gross-motor fashion. 43 44 54 The majority of studies implemented separate PA sessions, whereas 14 studies delivered physically active academic lessons. 42 48 51 62 66 77–80 83 85 87

The intervention also showed small significant beneficial effects on attentional performance and impulse control after 1and 2 years, which were not sustained into the third year. After 9 years, children in the intervention group had significantly higher qualification scores for upper school

Most studies reporting intervention effects on cognitive performance, assessed domains of executive functions (in particular inhibition, working memory , updating, attention, task switching, and planning), speed of information processing, fluid and crystallised intelligence.

In particular, enhanced performance accuracy and increased P3 amplitude were observed in tasks requiring higher amounts of attention, inhibition and cognitive flexibility . T asks requiring less executive control were unaffected by the FITKids intervention.

Subramanian et al 65 reported beneficial effects of structured PA versus unstructured physical and creative sedentary activities in 12- to 17-year-olds on tasks measuring attention, concentration, non-verbal fluency , and mental flexibility

Although we found no evidence for beneficial effects on cognitive performance or overall academic performance, we found strong evidence for beneficial effects of PA on maths performance.

Cognitive/academic performance can theoretically improve through biological or psychosocial pathways, 20 and an interplay between the two is possible and probable.

beneficial effects on maths performance assessed intervention programmes with a minimal frequency of three sessions per week and a minimal programme duration of two school years.

The study conclusions suggested that their findings provided evidence for a more efficient use of neural resources underlying executive functions after participation in PA interventions, reflected in enhanced neural activity in regions supporting attention and working memory functions. 49

PA intervention may result in a more adult-like recruitment of prefrontal brain regions, which is important for many aspects of executive functions.

To establish the effect of combining academic content and PA, there should be at least three groups: (a) the intervention group that combines PA with academic content; (b) the non-active control group that only receives the same academic content as the intervention group, but without PA; (c) the active control group that only receives the PA component.

One high-quality study 54 suggested larger effects of coordinative or perceptual– motor forms of exercise on cognitive performance, particularly on executive functions, than aerobic exercise.

V ariability of practice that is central to coordination and perceptual–motor exercise training, for example, may be an interface between motor and cognitive development promotion. 9

Regarding moderators, it is likely that some children may benefit more from additional PA such as children with low PA levels or overweight children.

Interrupting and limiting sedentary time with standing desks or short activity bouts may be more feasible in the school setting and, therefore, a promising form of intervention.

Based on 11 high-quality intervention studies, we found inconclusive evidence of a beneficial effect of PA interventions on cognitive and overall academic performance in children. However, based on academic outcomes related to mathematics, we found strong evidence for beneficial effects of PA.

To date, one of the most effective way to trigger neurogenesis appears to be physical exercise (van Praag et al. 1999). Importantly, physical exercise is noninvasive and includes numerous beneficial by-products, such as general health improvement and psychological benefits

However, it is important to note that if newly formed neurons are not integrated within existing neural networks, they typically die within a couple of weeks

Interestingly, one of the most effective ways to integrate these new neurons within the existing network—and therefore to maximize their chance of survival—is to challenge the brain and force neural adaptation (Shors et al. 2012). Learning a new skill and acquiring new knowledge appear to be especially promising in this regard (Gould et al. 1999).

The field of cognitive training is still in its infancy, and the consequences of combining interventions have yet to be fully understood, but this is undoubtedly a promising venue for research with direct applications to society.

Our findings showed that designed sport, an activity specifically tailored to tax working memory and spatial ability by incorporating complex motor coordination in three-dimensional space, outperformed interventions solely focused on either physical or cognitive demands on measures of working memory capacity, spatial ability, and biomarkers of general health, such as resting heart rate and blood pressure (Moreau et al. 2015). This is particularly promising because the cognitive abilities designed sport targeted are critical in many activities—working memory capacity is thought to be a central component of cognition and correlates highly with fluid intelligence (Engle et al. 1999), whereas spatial ability is a significant predictor of success in many academic and professional domains

Based on the idea that brain function greatly benefits from physical exercise and that challenging cognitive stimulations ensure these benefits are maintained over time, researchers have proposed that coupling physical and cognitive demands could be especially interesting when targeting cognitive enhancement

combine cognitive challenges with physical motion should also be encouraged, as they allow creating ecological situations that have the potential to trigger important and transferable cognitive improvement.

In closing, complex motor activities that combine cognitive and physical demands provide a promising direction for the field of cognitive training. Beyond the cognitive benefits, they can induce when designed adequately, the physiological and psychological improvements complex motor activities allow present critical advantages over computerized training regimens, favored thus far. Eventually, the goal is to integrate motor activities durably within the community, so that habits formed in schools can lead to long-term changes in fitness and cognitive health.

Although the tasks vary widely, most of these tests involve an unusual circumstance in which subjects are required to perform actions that conflict systematically with immediate and well-established sources of behavioral regulation.

In summary, on the basis of the requirements of the kinds of tests used in this area, executive function is not invoked when responses are well-practiced, smooth, or automatic.

Given that well-practiced sources of behavioral control do not work, .subjects must either derive new rules that work or they must follow rules given by the experimenter and override alternative sources of behavioral control.

Given that well-practiced sources of behavioral control do not work, .subjects must either derive new rules that work or they must follow rules given by the experimenter and override alternative sources of behavioral control.

he flexibility and effectiveness of verbal regulation,

verbal behavior is viewed as the major substantive process in complex human behavior.

Rules appear to be one way that humans reduce the tendency to respond automatically to immediate contingencies. These findings ultimately led behavior analysts to investigate the role of verbal rules in the differences found between humans and nonhumans.

There are three derived relations said to be characteristic of stimulus equivalence (Sidman & Tailby, 1982): reflexivity (e.g., Al = AI); 2) symmetry (e.g., if Al pick Bl is trained, then Bl pick Al is derived); and 3) transitivity (e.g., if Al pick Bl, and Bl pick Cl are trained, then given Al pick Cl is derived and vice versa). Stimulus equivalence has been shown with a wide variety of human subjects, using a wide variety of stimulus materials

Why would such a general behavioral class form? Much as with the behavioral account of generalized imitation (Baer, Peterson, & Sherman, 1967; Gewirtz & Stengle, 1968), we need only suppose that training with many, many exemplars of a class can lead to formation of the class.

Relational frame theory suggests that an inherent component of verbal behavior, whether from the point of view of the speaker or the listener, is the learned derivation of stimulus relations based on contextual cues to do so, and not merely on the formal properties of the related events

Relational frames have three defining properties.

Following arule requires two additional events: the transformation of stimulus functions in terms of the underlying network of stimulus relations, and contingencies that support activity with regard to these transformed functions. A failure in either process can mean a failure in verbal regulation.

Several rules may be reflectively considered. The person may "decide" what to do. In this case, several rules that are available by virtue of their relation to verbal categories in the environment are examined by applying an if-then relational frame to them.

Rule following is more likely if the consequences are psychologically present, because having those functions verbally present is a motivative augmental (Hayes & Ju, 1993).

rule flexibility should increase when the person has ready alternatives to an existing rule.

The rule should be tied to clear and immediately measurable outcomes and be sufficiently specific that the rule follower can know when it is not working.

rules that emphasize strategies, rather than specific topographies of behavior, are likely to be followed more flexibly.

Our line of thinking also suggests that pliance usually helps establish tracking, which helps establish augmenting.

According to our way of looking at executive function, what is at issue is the ability to derive, apply, or actually follow verbal rules in conflict with other verbal or nonverbal behavior.

To say it another way, there has been a tendency to stay "in the head" and to de-emphasize the direct behavioral effects of verbal abilities. Executive function challenges that tendency, because it is all about the connection between human verbal abilities and actual behavioral regulation.

Whether or not the relational frame approach turns out to be useful, behavioral psychologists are used to thinking about events functionally and, as a result, have something important to contribute to the development of our understanding of this area.

PET and SPECT images can also be coregistered with anatomical MRI, but this must be obtained during a separate session and therefore, matching the scans is more difficult.

The ability to measure these neurotransmitter systems is unique to PET and SPECT imaging.

Currently, fMRI cannot be used to evaluate individual neurotransmitter systems

Y oga is an eight-limbed holistic system of health that includes a number of different mindbody practices. The yoga asanas are represented in the third limb of this system as organized by Patanjali (circa 400 B.C.). According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), at least 1300 different yoga postures have been described in ancient texts (Sinha, K. 2011).

After twelve weeks of training, significant changes in the mean CBF ratio were noted in the baseline (pre- yoga session) scans in the right amygdala, right dorsal medial cortex and right sensorimotor area. After twelve weeks, the activated (post- yoga session) scans showed significantly increased activity in the right dorsal frontal lobe, right prefrontal cortex, right sensorimotor cortex, right inferior frontal lobe, right superior frontal lobe and left dorsal medial frontal lobe.

This supports a model of excitatory dysfunction in mood disorders across the age spectrum

Theoretical models propose that these practices alter the interoceptive messages from the respiratory system to higher CNS centers via modulation of vagal activity

resulting in shifts in attention, perception, emotional regulation and behavior

relational skills

might be considered loosely as the functional counterpart of the more widely used concept of relational reasoning skills

Researchers have been fast to capitalize upon the obvious relevance of this and related phenomena to a wide range of cognitive skills, including language, reasoning, and problem solving

Indeed, it is a widely held view that derived relational responding and language processes are in fact synonymous

The relational frame approach to intelligence is somewhat commensurate with several mainstream cognitive approaches to understanding intellectual skills. The most obvious of these is the concept of relational reasoning or knowledge. Specifically, relational knowledge is thought to integrate heuristic and analytic cognition and to be important for symbolic processes. As it happens, the regions of the brain activated by relational reasoning are in the prefrontal cortex, which further corroborates the view that relational reasoning is central to many higher cognitive processes (see Halford et. al., 2010).

the development of framing appears to be correlated with the development of language, itself seen as a crucial aspect of intellectual development and ability

In addition, numerous empirical and conceptual research papers have presented evidence that the ability to derive relations is associated with, and possibly even underpins language ability (Moran, Stewart, McElwee & Ming, 2010, 2014; O’Connor, Rafferty, Barnes- Holmes & Barnes-Holmes, 2009).