Past experience is hypothesized to reduce computational demands in prefrontal cortex by providing bottom-up predictive information that informs subsequent stimulus-action mapping. The present fMRI study measured cortical activity reductions ('neural priming' / 'repetition suppression') during repeated stimulus classification to investigate the mechanisms through which learning from the past decreases demands on the prefrontal executive system. Manipulation of learning at three levels of representation-stimulus, decision, and response-revealed dissociable neural priming effects in distinct fronto-temporal regions, supporting a multi-process model of neural priming. Critically, three distinct patterns of neural priming were identified in lateral frontal cortex, indicating that frontal computational demands are reduced by three forms of learning: (a) cortical tuning of stimulusspecific representations, (b) retrieval of learned stimulus-decision mappings, and (c) retrieval of learned stimulus-response mappings. The topographic distribution of these neural priming effects suggests a rostro-caudal organization of executive function in lateral frontal cortex.

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Interest in the cognitive and/or emotional basis of complex decision-making, and the related phenomenon of emotion-based learning, has been heavily influenced by the Iowa Gambling Task. A number of psychological variables have been investigated as potentially important in understanding emotion-based learning. This paper reviews the extent to which humans are explicitly aware of how we make such decisions; the biasing influence of pre-existing emotional labels; and the extent to which emotion-based systems are anatomically and functionally independent of episodic memory. Review of literature suggests that (i) an aspect of conscious awareness does appear to be readily achieved during the IGT, but as a relatively unfocused emotion-based “gut-feeling,” akin to intuition; (ii) Several studies have manipulated the affective pre-loading of IGT tasks, and make it clear that such labeling has a substantial influence on performance, an experimental manipulation similar to the phenomenon of prejudice. (iii) Finally, it appears that complex emotion-based learning can remain intact despite profound amnesia, at least in some neurological patients, a finding with a range of potentially important clinical implications: in the management of dementia; in explaining infantile amnesia; and in understanding of the possible mechanisms of psychotherapy.

This article reports on a pilot study that investigated the use of graffiti arts as a medium for promoting self-expression in people with dementia. Two people with dementia attended a series of workshops with a graffiti artist where they explored their feelings of changing identity following their dementia diagnoses. As part of the workshops, they were encouraged to develop a personal 'tag' or signature to portray their sense of identity and a piece of street art to express 'their message'. These completed artworks were displayed in a public space in Bournemouth, UK.

Objective: The Fist-Edge-Palm task is a motor sequencing task believed to be sensitive to frontal lobe impairment. The present study aimed to investigate the inhibitory processes underlying successful execution of this task.Method: Seventy-two healthy participants were asked to perform the Fist-Edge-Palm task paced at 120bpms, 60bpms and self-paced. They also completed assessments sensitive to recently dissociated forms of inhibition (the Hayling Sentence Completion Test and the Stroop Colour-Word Test) that have recently been shown to be differentially lateralised (the right and left Prefrontal Cortex, respectively), and Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence test. Results: Analysis revealed that performance on the Hayling Sentence CompletionTest predicted the amount of crude errors and the overall score on the Fist-Edge-Palm task, and that pacing condition had no effect on this outcome. Neither the Stroop Colour-Word Test nor Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test predicted performance on the Fist-Edge-Palm task.Conclusions: Consistent with some previous neuroimaging findings, the present findings suggest that Fist-Edge-Palm task performance relies on right lateralised inhibitory processes.

Use of digital technologies to support meaningful engagement of people with dementia and carers increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this scoping review was to determine the effectiveness of digital technologies in supporting the engagement and wellbeing of people with dementia and family carers at home and in care homes. Studies published in peer reviewed literature were identified across four databases (CINAHL, Medline, PUBMED, PsychINFO). Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that digital technologies can potentially support the wellbeing of people with dementia and family carers, although only a few studies had measured impact on wellbeing, as many were reporting on technology at proof-of-concept stage rather than commercially ready products. Moreover, current studies lacked meaningful involvement of people with dementia, family carers, and care professionals in the design of the technology. Future research should bring together people with dementia, family carers, care professionals and designers to coproduce digital technologies with researchers and evaluate them using robust methodologies. Codesign should start early in the intervention development phase and continue until implementation. There is a need for real world applications that nurture social relationships by focusing on how digital technologies can support more personalised, adaptive forms of care. Developing the evidence base to identify what makes digital technologies effective in supporting the wellbeing of people with dementia is crucial. Future interventions should therefore consider the needs and preferences of people with dementia, their families, and professional carers, as well as the suitability and sensitivity of wellbeing outcome measures.

Worldwide there is a growing interest in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research.  This overview paper addresses some of the pitfalls and barriers to being an interdisciplinary researcher. Being involved in interdisciplinary research is not an easy option for an individual discipline expert. It requires individual skills, ability to see beyond one’s discipline and perhaps personality characteristics such as a great team player. Interdisciplinary research may involve a mixed-methods approach underpinned by conflicting, and according to some incommensurable, research philosophies. The paper uses some examples from our own experiences of working in interdisciplinary teams to illustrate its potential.

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