The neuroactive steroid pregnanolone glutamate (Pg glu), a synthetic analogue of the naturally occurring pregnanolone sulfate (3alpha5betaS), has neuroprotective properties and a minimum of adverse effects. The subject of my thesis is the influence of selected structural modifications of the molecule Pg glu on biological effects. The first modification involves an increase of lipophilicity, the second involves the attachment of a positively charged group to C3. All these neuroactive steroids are use-dependent inhibitors of NMDA receptors. The first aim of this thesis was to determine the neuroprotective effectiveness of the neuroactive steroids chosen. The second aim was to explore the influence of selected neuroactive steroids on motor coordination, reflexes, anxiety and locomotor activity, as well as the effect of their high doses. The third aim was to create a battery of behavioural tests for screening the biological effects of analogues of Pg glu in laboratory rodents. The neuroprotective effects were evaluated in a model of excitotoxic damage of hippocampus in the rat on the basis of its behavioural consequences. The neuroprotective efficacy of androstane glutamate (And glu) and Pg glu was demonstrated. In the case of positively charged molecules, neuroprotective efficacy was not demonstrated....

Time and spatial information are always two inseparable entities because if anyone moves in space it also moves in time. However, spatial orientation is much more investigated than interval timing. Time perception is for survival of the individual also very important and it probably works together with spatial perception. Despite this, only a few researches have been focused on this topic and therefore we aimed on evolving a new task which would test use of both of these informations and interaction between them. This new version of AAPA task was tested on Carousel Maze where we usually test only spatial orientation and memory. However, we added also a timing part to our version of the task because we assume that in this task when we turn off the light the rats have to use more interval timing than spatial information. Next part of the task included application of drugs which should compromise timing strategies. We have demonstrated use of different strategies when animals are in darkness and light whereby parts in light depend on spatial orientation and parts in darkness depend more on timing strategies. The drugs didn't disrupt rat's abilities which can be caused by very complex design or by inappropriately chosen doses. Key words time perception, spatial navigation, cognitive function

The aim of the thesis is to find out clinical usability of tablet application Cognitive for training of memory and attention of patients after stroke, in occupational therapist's view. Occupational therapists train cognitive functions (for instance memory and attention) of patients in various ways. Therapy using modern technologies, particularly tablet, is involved. Whereas in foreign countries tablets are used in occupational therapy in many means, in the Czech Republic their use is still minimal. The theoretical part contains a summary about this area. The application Cognitive, which is currently being developed, might help change the situation in the Czech Republic. Cognitive application contains two games, one for memory and the other one for attention. Is this application usable in occupational therapist's practice, though? Within the practical part, a study has been created, that found out the usability of new application Cognitive in practice with six patients after stroke. Occupational therapist trained memory and attention with them for 3 weeks, every weekday, each for 30 minutes. Data was processed in a form of a case study and using statistical methods. The study has found out that the application has a major drawback in poor variability of game elements, which is necessary for...

Title: Relationship between physical activities and memory in older adults Objectives: Estimating the effect of physical activity on memory in seniors older than 60 years. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The data for the elaboration of the diploma thesis were obtained from the pan-European project Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). In this study, all probands were divided according to gender and further into three groups according to their level of education using the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED - 97). In the data analysis, means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. Non-parametric statistical methods were used to test the hypotheses. For more than three categories, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used, followed by post-hoc analysis. The Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferoni correction was used for post-hoc analysis. Testing of memory functions was performed using a ten-word memorization test with immediate and delayed recall. Results: Data from of 47,169 probands older than 60 years were used in the study. A total of 26,034 women and 21,135 men participated. The investigation demonstrated a positive effect of physical and sports activities on the memory...

Although, it is well established that regular exercise has a positive effect on various domains of cognitive functions, effects of a single session (acute) exercise on cognitive functions of an young adult is under debate. While a numbers of research have found positive associations between acute exercise and cognitive performance, multiple research have found no effect of acute exercise on the cognitive functions. There are also evidences that suggest that acute exercise reduces brain function of healthy young adults. This thesis took on a meta-analytical approach to determine the effect of a single session exercise on the cognitive functions of healthy young adults, and metaregression analyses were performed to identify the moderators that may influence the effect of acute exercise on cognitive functions of healthy young adults. After a comprehensive electronic search 59 experimental studies were found to be eligible for inclusions based on the pre-specified criteria. Results indicated that acute exercise has a small but significant effect on the cognitive functions of healthy young adults. However, larger effects are possible for particular cognitive outcomes (reaction time), when specific exercise parameters are used (5 minutes of exercise duration, moderate intensity exercise), and when specific assessment task is used (visual span board task, and serial subtraction of 7). The overall findings of this study is consistent with previous research. However, more research is needed to get a clear understanding of the acute exercise effect moderators.

Title: The influence of alcohol on memory in the elderly Objectives: To estimate association between alcohol consumption and memory in the elderly above 60 years of age. Methods: The master's thesis is a cross-sectional study. All data were acquired from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project. For the purpose of this research, the participants were divided into four categories according to the highest acquired level of their education. For data analysis, Kruskal-Wallis Test and Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferoni's correction for post - hoc analysis were employed. The testing of participants involved immediate and delayed recall of 10 words. Results: In this research, a total of 36 534 participants were used. Out of this, 20 389 were females and 16 145 were males. In most categories, there were statistically significant differences in both tests, surprisingly preferring alcohol consumption (p<0.001). In males, who had problems with alcohol abuse during their life, the results of both tests were significantly worse (p<0.001). Conclusions: Results indicate statistically significant association between memory and alcohol consumption. Keywords: memory, cognitive functions, alcohol consumption, elderly, SHARE

Title: Estimation of normative values for the semantic verbal fluency test in older adults over 50 Objective: The aim of the diploma thesis was to create normative values for the semantic verbal fluency test (animal category) for older adults over 50 years, depending on the level of education achieved. Methods: The diploma thesis is constructed as a cross-sectional study. All data were obtained from the international project Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The descriptive statistics of participants were produced with calculated means and standard deviation for continuous variables and percentage for categorical variables. The median and interquartile range for age and semantic verbal fluency test (animal category), and 2nd , 7th , and 16th percentile as the cut-off points for verbal fluency test (animal category) were calculated for participants divided into ISCED - 97 education levels and for each country separately. Results: Data from 64,242 participants aged 66.4 were analyzed, and the female ratio was 55.8 %. All respondents were older adults over 50 years old from 20 European countries. Figures and tables show that all percentiles as cut-off points increased linearly with levels of education. Other result is that the performance in the test gradually decreased with...

Диссертационное исследование посвящено выявлению эффективности дистанционных занятий по модифицированной системе пилатес и их влиянию на коррекцию когнитивных функций людей пожилого возраста. В ходе исследования была выявлена положительная динамика большинства когнитивных функций. Также была доказана возможность проведения дистанционных занятий по оздоровительной физической культуре с людьми пожилого возраста. / The dissertation research is devoted to the identification of the effectiveness of distance learning on the modified Pilates system and their impact on the correction of cognitive functions of elderly people. The study revealed positive dynamics of most cognitive functions. The possibility of conducting distance classes on health-improving physical culture with elderly people was also proved.

The instrumental enrichment is a worldwide extended method of cognitive functions development, which has been used in the Czech Republic since 2000. Its author, Reuven Feuerstein, is strongly convinced that human being is able to modify oneself and to develop one's abilities. This method is based on elaborated theoretical concepts - especially on the theory of structural cognitive modifiability and mediated learning. This Diploma Thesis brings essentials information about the concepts related to the cognitive modifiability and considers tools of its application. In the qualitative study, we focus on Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment. In the course of ten moths we observed six clients of the DYS-Centrum Praha we attempted to map changes (or their manifestations) which might have appeared during the intervention. We acquired data by the process of observation (participative observation and video-analysis) and via semistructured interviews. We were interested in changes of cognitive functions manifestations, quality of language, quality of autonomous work and ability to process with the information efficiently. We registered changes in each of these areas. Some of them, were notable only during the FIE lessons, others also displayed at home or at school environment. Key words: cognitive...

This Master thesis is focused on ecological validity of a cognitive training in university students. Forty-five students participated in three months research during which 30 of them took regular personalized cognitive training using CogniFit programme on their computers. The study examines the impact of the cogntitive training on everyday cognitive functioning of students. The scientific methods used for the ecological validity research were the following self-reporting questionnaires: Cognititive Failure Questionnaire, Everyday Memory Questionnaire and Dysexecutive Questinnaire. Students also filled in Schwartz Outcome Scale - 10 and Self-image questionnaire for detailed exploration of more variables. For the research, we applied test-retest design and used control group of fifteen students for results comparison. Analysis of the gathered data proved little evidence of ecological validity of cognitive training, which can be attributed to considerable cognitive stress at students. An unexpected outcome of the study which proved to be very significant is relation between executive functions and well-being of a student. This relation was confirmed repeatedly. Possible improvements of methodology and also problem with randomization of students is discussed. Proposal for the further development of...