Background: A healthy lifestyle may protect against cognitive decline. We examined outcomes in elderly individuals after 18 months of a five-group intervention program consisting of various modalities to prevent cognitive decline. Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial assessing 460 community-dwelling individuals aged 60 years and older in a geriatric community mental health center in Suwon, Republic of Korea, between 2008 and 2010. We developed an intervention program based on the principles of contingency management, which could be delivered by ordinary primary health workers. Group A (n = 81) received standard care services. Group B (n = 80) received bimonthly (once every 2 months) telephonic care management. Group C (n = 111) received monthly telephonic care management and educational materials similar to those in group B. Group D (n = 93) received bimonthly health worker-initiated visits and counseling. Group E (n = 94) received bimonthly health worker-initiated visits, counseling, and rewards for adherence to the program. Results: The primary outcome was the change in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores from baseline to the final follow-up visit at 18 months. Group E showed superior cognitive function to group A (adjusted coefficient β = 0.99, p = 0.044), with participation in cognitive activities being the most important determining factor among several health behaviors (adjusted coefficient β = 1.04, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Engaging in cognitive activities, in combination with positive health behaviors, may be most beneficial in preserving cognitive abilities in community-dwelling older adults.
Stress impairs the induction of long-term potentiation in the hippocampus as well as hippocampus-dependent memory. Lithium, a classical mood stabilizer, is known to have bene¢cial e¡ects on stress-induced impairment of spatial memory. In the present study, we investigated lithium e¡ects on the impairment of long-term potentiation induction after exposure to acute immobilization stress. As previously reported, immobilization stress impaired long-term potentiation induction in the CA1region of rat hippocampal slices.Treating the slices with 0.6 or 1mM lithium attenuated impaired long-term potentiation induction in stressed animals. Lithium was without e¡ect on long-term potentiation induction in unstressed animals or baseline synaptic responses in unstressed or stressed animals. These results demonstrate a protective e¡ect of lithium against stress-induced impairment of long-term potentiation induction.
To investigate how neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex changes in an animal model of schizophrenia, we recorded single unit activity in the medial prefrontal cortex of urethane-anesthetized and awake rats following methamphetamine (MA) administration. Systemic MA injection (4 mg/kg, IP) induced inconsistent changes, that is, both enhancement and reduction, in unit discharge rate, with a subset of neurons transiently (<30 min) elevating their activities. The direction of firing rate change was poorly predicted by the mean firing rate or the degree of burst firing during the baseline period. Also, simultaneously recorded units showed opposite directions of firing rate change, indicating that recording location is a poor predictor of the direction of firing rate change. These results raise the possibility that systemic MA injection induces random bidirectional changes in prefrontal cortical unit activity, which may underlie some of MA-induced psychotic symptoms.
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