No description available.

No description available.

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) mediated signalling is complex and plays a critical role in many biological processes. Investigators have reported that NF-κB is activated during the induction of long term potentiation (LTP), a proposed mechanism for memory encoding, and may be a requirement for synaptic plasticity and memory. In this study, mRNA extracted from hippocampal slices of NF-kB p50 knockout mice and its littermate before and after induction of LTP was analyzed using DNA microarray analysis (Affy-metrix GeneChip® Mouse Genome 430 2.0) to explore candidate target genes of NF-kB in LTP. The early growth response 2 (Egr-2) was identified as one putative NF-kB target gene. Egr-2 mRNA and protein analysis of primary cortical neurons and HeLa cells chemically stimulated with Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNFα) to activate the NF-kB sig-nalling pathway confirmed the microarray results. In addition, examination of the Egr-2 promoter sequence for NF-kB binding sites using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) confirmed promoter occupancy and specificity of binding in vivo, respectively. These data suggest that Egr-2 expression level is controlled by direct transcriptional activity of the NF-kB transcription factor.

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) mediated signalling is complex and plays a critical role in many biological processes. Investigators have reported that NF-κB is activated during the induction of long term potentiation (LTP), a proposed mechanism for memory encoding, and may be a requirement for synaptic plasticity and memory. In this study, mRNA extracted from hippocampal slices of NF-kB p50 knockout mice and its littermate before and after induction of LTP was analyzed using DNA microarray analysis (Affy-metrix GeneChip® Mouse Genome 430 2.0) to explore candidate target genes of NF-kB in LTP. The early growth response 2 (Egr-2) was identified as one putative NF-kB target gene. Egr-2 mRNA and protein analysis of primary cortical neurons and HeLa cells chemically stimulated with Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNFα) to activate the NF-kB sig-nalling pathway confirmed the microarray results. In addition, examination of the Egr-2 promoter sequence for NF-kB binding sites using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) confirmed promoter occupancy and specificity of binding in vivo, respectively. These data suggest that Egr-2 expression level is controlled by direct transcriptional activity of the NF-kB transcription factor.

It is known that a highly ordered medium allows certain wave functions to move unhindered throughout and in this manner achieve delocalization. It is also known that if one introduces disorder into a medium, wave packets will not be able to move as freely and will instead be trapped or localized. In this thesis, I have simulated a medium in which the amount of disorder can be modified and using this I have shown that the shape of the localization can be altered.

No description available.

Background: Unawareness of memory functioning is a key symptom of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia that has been demonstrated to be related to a number of important factors for the person with dementia (PwD) and their family caregivers including quality of life and depression. Understanding more about how awareness relates to these factors will help inform how PwD and their caregivers are best supported. Objective: A meta-analysis was conducted in order to examine the relationship between Awareness and depression in dementia. An empirical study was conducted to examine the contribution awareness provides to explaining PWDs’ Quality of Life (QoL). PwD have been found to be aware of factors that affect their caregiver and so caregiver wellbeing and quality of life and the quality of the caregiving relationship were also investigated as well as more established predictors of quality of life for PwD. Both PwD self-ratings and caregiver ratings of the PwD they care for of QoL were examined as they have been shown to be affected by different factors. Method: Meta-analysis: A search of electronic databases Psycinfo, Embase and Medline was conducted. A meta-analysis of correlations was undertaken examining the relationship between awareness and depression in dementia. Empirical study: 27 PwD and their caregivers were recruited. In order to assess the research aims the PwD completed measures of: Quality of life (Quality Of Life-Alzheimer’s Disease scale), awareness of memory functioning (Memory Awareness Rating Scale-Adjusted), cognitive functioning (Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Exam-R), depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). The caregiver completed measures of: PwD Quality of life (Quality Of Life-Alzheimer’s Disease scale proxy), Memory Functioning Scale (from MARSA), self-ratings of depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), activities of daily living (Disability Assessment in Dementia), Neuropsychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatric symptoms inventory-Questionnaire), caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Inventory), and rating of relationship quality with PwD (Burns Relationship Satisfaction Scale). Results: Meta-analysis: Thirty-one studies were identified. A small association was found between awareness and depression with substantial amount of heterogeneity (- 0.23). Analysing the studies that excluded major depression demonstrated that mild depression had a moderate negative relationship with awareness (-0.42). Subgroup analysis showed that the different measures of awareness used seemed to suggest different effects with depression for different measures. Empirical study: Awareness was not found to predict PwD rated or caregiver rated QoL. No caregiver variables predicted PwD QoL. Depression and neuropsychiatric symptoms predicted PwD QoL. Caregiver rated QoL was predicted by activities of daily living and caregiver rated quality of caregiving relationship. Conclusions: Meta-analysis: The effect between mild depression and lack of awareness but not major depression supports the assertion that unawareness is a psychological response to decline in memory functioning in dementia. Neither depression nor awareness appear to be unitary constructs in PwD. Empirical study: Awareness not related to PwD QoL. The quality of caregiving relationship is important to QoL in a dementia context. PwD and their caregivers rate the QoL of PwD differently.

This systematic review aims to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on the neuroal basis of memory functions in healthy elderly individuals. The search was conducted in accordance with PRISMA and covered three electronic databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, for peer-reviewed published, and original research. Six studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The studies utilized various behavioral or cognitive tasks related to memory, including the Sternberg Working Memory Task, Spatial Memory tests, and neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This systematic review suggests that aerobic exercise can improve memory in healthy elderly individuals, including spatial, working, and short- and long-term memory. As revealed by neuroimaging techniques, memory function improvement was accompanied by changes in brain structure and function in memory-processing regions. These findings provide evidence that aerobic exercise can improve the neurological basis of memory function in healthy elderly individuals. The beneficial effects of aerobic exercise on memory have significant implications for the aged population. Memory loss is a common and often debilitating issue in older adults, and the ability to recall and learn new information is crucial for maintaining independence and quality of life. Therefore, aerobic exercise is a promising intervention to improve memory function in healthy elderly individuals.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18780号 / 理博第4038号 / 新制||理||1581(附属図書館) / 31731 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)准教授 戸塚 圭介, 教授 川上 則雄, 教授 佐々 真一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

A test of free recall visual memory and learning was developed for the present study. The purpose of the study was to determine the utility of the Visual Selective Reminding Test and the Verbal Selective Reminding Test for differentiating among groups of patients having memory impairments with organic etiologies. It was hypothesized that neurologically impaired patients would perform differently on the Visual and Verbal Selective Reminding Tests, the difference depending on the location of the underlying brain damage. Forty right handed male patients at a Veterans Administration hospital served as subjects. The patients were grouped according to the location of their brain damage; left hemisphere, right hemisphere, diffuse damage, and no brain damage. There were 10 patients in each group. Each patient was given the verbal and the visual memory tests in counterbalanced order and the Shipley estimate of intelligence.