Research suggests that intelligence in humans is controlled by the part of the brain known as the ‘cortex’, and most theories of age-related cognitive decline focus on cortical dysfunction.
However, a new study of Scottish older adults, reported in the April 2011 issue of Elsevier’s Cortex, suggests that grey matter volume in the ‘cerebellum’ at the back of the brain predicts cognitive ability, and keeping those cerebellar networks active may be the key to keeping cognitive decline at bay.
The study looked at 228 older adults living independently in the Aberdeen area, who had been part of the Scottish Mental Survey of 1947. This survey had tested Scottish children born in 1936 and at school on 4th June 1947 using the Moray House intelligence test.
The cognitive abilities of the participants were tested again, now at age 63-65 years, and their brains were also scanned, using a neuroimaging technique called voxel-based morphometry (VBM), to determine the volumes of grey and white matter in frontal areas and the cerebellum.
The most interesting finding from this study is that grey matter volume in the cerebellum predicts general intelligence. However, results differ for men and women, with men showing a stronger relationship between brain volume in the cerebellum and general intelligence.
It has long been recognised that the cerebellum is involved in sensory-motor functions, including balance and timing of movements, but it is now believed that the cerebellum also plays an important role in higher-level cognitive abilities.
“General intelligence is correlated with many basic aspects of information processing efficiency which I believe depend upon the functioning of the cerebellum, including the speed and consistency of our perceptions and decisions, and the speed with which we learn new skills”, notes Dr. Michael Hogan, first author of the study.
“This is exciting research, as it suggests that there may be a backdoor route into maintaining higher cortical functions in old age, that is, through the sustained activation of cerebellar networks via novel sensory-motor and cognitive activities, all of which I believe the cerebellum seeks to regulate and automate, working in concert with the cortex.”
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Helicobacter pylori infection linked to decreased iron levels in healthy children
Children without previous iron deficiencies or anemia who remained infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) had significantly lower levels of iron compared to children who had the infection eradicated, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
“Half of the world’s population is infected with H. pylori and most of the individuals are asymptomatically infected, according to several surveys,” said Victor Cardenas, M.D., Ph.D., lead investigator of the study and associate professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health El Paso Regional Campus, part of UTHealth. “What we learned in this study is not only does H. pylori cause iron deficiency anemia and iron-deficiency, but that even among children who do not have these conditions, their levels of iron are lower than otherwise healthy children.” The research is published in the March issue of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.
Researchers investigated the link between H. pylori infection and iron levels in non-iron-deficient preschool and school age children in El Paso and found the infection causes a decrease in the levels of iron in children who do not have anemia or an iron deficiency. The bacterium H. pylori infects the lining of the stomach resulting in chronic swelling of tissue, a condition known as gastritis. H. pylori is also a major cause of peptic ulcer disease and the cause of most cancers of the stomach, according to the World Health Organization.
“Iron is an essential nutrient which supports several body functions and exists in small amounts in the body, but it is also required by bacteria such as H. pylori,” said Cardenas. “The infection decreases the body’s natural progression of making iron.” According to Cardenas, this is the first study conducted in the contiguous U.S. to examine the role of the infection on the levels of iron levels in asymptomatic children.
Over time markers of iron stored in the body increased in children no longer infected. However, children who remained infected lagged in levels of one marker, serum ferritin, at their six month follow-up. The protein serum ferritin measures the amount of iron stored in your body, according to the National Institute of Health.
“Previous research has shown that iron levels correlate with several body functions including brain activity and have well documented long-term health consequences such as increased morbidity and mortality and loss of productivity,” said Cardenas. “There is a need to research the long-term consequences of asymptomatic H. pylori infections in those without an iron deficiency because the effect we found could be present among those with normal iron levels.”
Cardenas and his team used a previously tested therapy, which consisted of one antacid plus one antibiotic for five days, followed by the antacid plus two antibiotics for another five days. While previous studies resulted in high rates of success in eradicating H. pylori, only half of the children given the active medications in Cardenas’ study had their infection eradicated, a disappointing result, he said.
Cardenas questions whether asymptomatic H. pylori infections have any significant health consequences. “We want to further investigate if there is a relation between variations of the bacteria strains and iron in adults,” said Cardenas.
Members of the research team led by Cardenas included investigators from Baylor College of Medicine, The University of North Texas, The University of Texas at El Paso and Texas Tech University Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. The research was funded by the Thrasher Research Fund.
“Half of the world’s population is infected with H. pylori and most of the individuals are asymptomatically infected, according to several surveys,” said Victor Cardenas, M.D., Ph.D., lead investigator of the study and associate professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health El Paso Regional Campus, part of UTHealth. “What we learned in this study is not only does H. pylori cause iron deficiency anemia and iron-deficiency, but that even among children who do not have these conditions, their levels of iron are lower than otherwise healthy children.” The research is published in the March issue of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.
Researchers investigated the link between H. pylori infection and iron levels in non-iron-deficient preschool and school age children in El Paso and found the infection causes a decrease in the levels of iron in children who do not have anemia or an iron deficiency. The bacterium H. pylori infects the lining of the stomach resulting in chronic swelling of tissue, a condition known as gastritis. H. pylori is also a major cause of peptic ulcer disease and the cause of most cancers of the stomach, according to the World Health Organization.
“Iron is an essential nutrient which supports several body functions and exists in small amounts in the body, but it is also required by bacteria such as H. pylori,” said Cardenas. “The infection decreases the body’s natural progression of making iron.” According to Cardenas, this is the first study conducted in the contiguous U.S. to examine the role of the infection on the levels of iron levels in asymptomatic children.
Over time markers of iron stored in the body increased in children no longer infected. However, children who remained infected lagged in levels of one marker, serum ferritin, at their six month follow-up. The protein serum ferritin measures the amount of iron stored in your body, according to the National Institute of Health.
“Previous research has shown that iron levels correlate with several body functions including brain activity and have well documented long-term health consequences such as increased morbidity and mortality and loss of productivity,” said Cardenas. “There is a need to research the long-term consequences of asymptomatic H. pylori infections in those without an iron deficiency because the effect we found could be present among those with normal iron levels.”
Cardenas and his team used a previously tested therapy, which consisted of one antacid plus one antibiotic for five days, followed by the antacid plus two antibiotics for another five days. While previous studies resulted in high rates of success in eradicating H. pylori, only half of the children given the active medications in Cardenas’ study had their infection eradicated, a disappointing result, he said.
Cardenas questions whether asymptomatic H. pylori infections have any significant health consequences. “We want to further investigate if there is a relation between variations of the bacteria strains and iron in adults,” said Cardenas.
Members of the research team led by Cardenas included investigators from Baylor College of Medicine, The University of North Texas, The University of Texas at El Paso and Texas Tech University Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. The research was funded by the Thrasher Research Fund.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Mobile Accessibility for Poorly Sighted - Demo UK - Android Market
This application has been designed for people who are blind or partly sighted but it could equally work with people with word or number blidness.
Visit the site for more information Mobile Accessibility Demo UK - Android Market
This application has been designed for people who are blind, partly sighted or sight impaired.
This is a fully functional 30 days evaluation version of Mobile Accessibility.
Mobile Accessibility is a screen-access application which allows people who are blind or have low vision to use an Android phone in an intuitive, easy and simple way.
Mobile Accessibility is two products in one:
- It is a suite of 10 accessible applications (Phone, Contacts, SMS, Alarm, Calendar, Email, Web, Where am I, Apps and Settings) which have been especially designed for the blind and visually impaired. They all have a simplified interface whose textual information is spoken using Nuance Vocalizer® voice synthesis.
- It is also a screen reader which allows you to get out of the suite and navigate the standard interface of your phone.
Please note that if you want to use the screen reader functionality of Mobile Accessibility you will need a phone with physical navigational controls such as a trackball or trackpad.
Inside the Mobile Accessibility suite of accessible applications you can do the following:
- Phone: Make calls, answer calls, hear the caller ID and manage your call log.
- Contacts: Manage your contacts, even those from social networks such as Facebook.
- SMS: Compose and read short messages. Manage conversations.
- Alarms: Set your alarms.
- Web: Full web browser experience, similar to what you can find on your PC. Jump by the control of your choice (links, paragraphs, headings, forms, etc.) to navigate faster to the information of your interest. Bookmark your favourite webpages.
- Calendar: Create, edit and delete a calendar entry. View all events per day, week or month.
- Email: Full access to your Gmail account.
- Where am I? : GPS application that gives you updates on your current location.
- Apps: Access the list of apps installed on your Android phone.
- Settings: Change ringtone. Configure feedback and notifications (vibration or audio). Configure keyboard echo, punctuation verbosity, speech pitch and rate, etc.
- Quick access to date and time, phone status information such as battery level and network coverage, number of missed calls and unread messages, etc.
Main Highlights:
- Touch navigation: You can use Mobile Accessibility not only with the trackball or the physical keyboard of your phone, but also with its touchscreen! Simply move your finger around the screen and the voice synthesis will read the text located under your finger. Or if you prefer, you can also swipe up/down/right/left and tap on the screen to navigate through the interface. And if you wish you can enable sound and vibration feedback.
- Easy to input text: In or outside the Mobile Accessibility suite you can use the touch qwerty keyboard as well as the speech recognition to write text quickly and easily. Imagine writing an SMS or an Email using your voice only... just great!
- Voice synthesis: Code Factory has been making mobile phones accessible to the blind and visually impaired for many years now, and we know that the voice matters... and a lot! For Mobile Accessibility Code Factory has partnered with Nuance® and Vocalizer® is therefore the voice of Mobile Accessibility.
Visit the site for more information Mobile Accessibility Demo UK - Android Market
This application has been designed for people who are blind, partly sighted or sight impaired.
This is a fully functional 30 days evaluation version of Mobile Accessibility.
Mobile Accessibility is a screen-access application which allows people who are blind or have low vision to use an Android phone in an intuitive, easy and simple way.
Mobile Accessibility is two products in one:
- It is a suite of 10 accessible applications (Phone, Contacts, SMS, Alarm, Calendar, Email, Web, Where am I, Apps and Settings) which have been especially designed for the blind and visually impaired. They all have a simplified interface whose textual information is spoken using Nuance Vocalizer® voice synthesis.
- It is also a screen reader which allows you to get out of the suite and navigate the standard interface of your phone.
Please note that if you want to use the screen reader functionality of Mobile Accessibility you will need a phone with physical navigational controls such as a trackball or trackpad.
Inside the Mobile Accessibility suite of accessible applications you can do the following:
- Phone: Make calls, answer calls, hear the caller ID and manage your call log.
- Contacts: Manage your contacts, even those from social networks such as Facebook.
- SMS: Compose and read short messages. Manage conversations.
- Alarms: Set your alarms.
- Web: Full web browser experience, similar to what you can find on your PC. Jump by the control of your choice (links, paragraphs, headings, forms, etc.) to navigate faster to the information of your interest. Bookmark your favourite webpages.
- Calendar: Create, edit and delete a calendar entry. View all events per day, week or month.
- Email: Full access to your Gmail account.
- Where am I? : GPS application that gives you updates on your current location.
- Apps: Access the list of apps installed on your Android phone.
- Settings: Change ringtone. Configure feedback and notifications (vibration or audio). Configure keyboard echo, punctuation verbosity, speech pitch and rate, etc.
- Quick access to date and time, phone status information such as battery level and network coverage, number of missed calls and unread messages, etc.
Main Highlights:
- Touch navigation: You can use Mobile Accessibility not only with the trackball or the physical keyboard of your phone, but also with its touchscreen! Simply move your finger around the screen and the voice synthesis will read the text located under your finger. Or if you prefer, you can also swipe up/down/right/left and tap on the screen to navigate through the interface. And if you wish you can enable sound and vibration feedback.
- Easy to input text: In or outside the Mobile Accessibility suite you can use the touch qwerty keyboard as well as the speech recognition to write text quickly and easily. Imagine writing an SMS or an Email using your voice only... just great!
- Voice synthesis: Code Factory has been making mobile phones accessible to the blind and visually impaired for many years now, and we know that the voice matters... and a lot! For Mobile Accessibility Code Factory has partnered with Nuance® and Vocalizer® is therefore the voice of Mobile Accessibility.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Body Language: Kids With Emotional IQ Deficits
This is not news for most of us but our kids are more likely to be attentive to our posture, gestures and facial expressions and hearing the tone of our voice. This is particularly the case in younger children.
Albert Mehrabian, author of Silent Messages, conducted a series of studies and now claims that the percentage of communication actually sent through spoken words is only seven per cent. Meaning we need to be more aware of body language and non-verbal communications.
Over fifty-five per cent of communications with our children and with other adults, is communicated through our body language and thirty-eight percent is through the tone of our voice.
Unfortunately, this can put a number of kids (and adults) at a disadvantage because they lack the ability to read critical nonverbal cues so essential for getting along in life.
Michele Borba's blog post offers help on overcoming these deficits. Check it out!
Kids With Emotional IQ Deficits | Dr. Michele Borba's Reality Check
Distance Learning: Play Therapy from Counsellor Training
NB: This is not a reccomendation to buy this product, it is suplied for information only. We encourage you to make your own checks and research on the provider before committing to the course.
The Virtual College: Safeguarding Children with Disabilities
As part of my ongoing pursuit for knowledge and information to support you, my loyal reader and my clients, I have been looking at online and distance learning courses for Parents of children with some level of disability.
In that research I have come across the Virtual College who offer short online courses in plain English.
Please remember that I am not promoting or recommending these providers and encourage you to check that they meet your needs and are suitable for you and your children.
Safeguarding Children with Disabilities - Virtual College
Course Overview
In the UK there are approximately 1.2 million children living with disabilities (Families and Children Study, 2002).
This course aims to raise awareness of specific needs of disabled children in relation to their vulnerability and communication.
The course contains an overview of the national and local agendas in relation to children with disabilities, basic knowledge of the range of protection needs of disabled children and information on how you can enable them to communicate about their experiences and provide support.
On completion of this module learners will have covered these learning objectives:
- Be able to recall some of the key legislation and guidance relating directly and indirectly to children and disability
- Understand the range of initiatives focussing on disabled children, their siblings and carers, including their rights enshrined in legislation, government guidance or recommendations from disability groups
- Be able to state what disability is under the Disability Discrimination Act and list the four main types of disability
- Understand why communication is important, be able to name means of and barriers to communication for disabled children, and be able to describe how to ensure consultation and participation
- Be able to explain how children from minority ethnic backgrounds could experience ‘double discrimination’ and how professionals can influence this
- Understand the key elements that go into various aspects of child welfare, including transitional planning, multi-agency working, dealing with diagnosis etc.
- Recognise how safeguarding issues fit into the process, such as the links between abuse and disability, the need for Sex and Relationships Education and how the disclosure of abuse affects parents/carers
- Welcome and learning objectives
- Context and Overview
- Rights of Children, Young People, Facilities and Carers
- Awareness of Different Types of Disability
- Communication
- Attitudes and Value
- Transitions
- Guidelines for Working
- Safeguarding Issues
- Abuse and Parents/Carers and summary
The content of this course has been independently certified as conforming to universally accepted Continuous Professional Development (CPD) guidelines
Certification
On completion of this course you will be able to download a Virtual College certificate.
Duration
Approximately 2 hours. The length of time taken depends entirely on how quickly you can study and absorb the material. You can proceed as quickly or slowly as you like, and there is no limit on how long you can take to do the course.
Target Audience
This course is designed for anyone who works with children, young people and their families.
Entry Requirements
There are no specific entry requirements for this course.
How it Works
This is a general guide to how the system works; if you want a more detailed guide to how our purchasing and learning works please visit the Four Easy Steps page which should tell you all you need to know.
Alternatively, if you have a specific question or concern why not contact us directly ?
What
This is an online course, all the training will be taken through your browser window. There will be no face-to-face sessions with instructors nor will you receive any training material through the post. If you wish you may print out any page of the training material and may also print the notes you took during the training.
You can also revisit the training material at any time, even after you have completed the course.
How
The material for this course has been broken down into several smaller lessons, each lesson dealing with a specific area of the overall subject.
The lesson consists of a series of pages in which an instructor will talk you through the lesson material at a pace that suits you. Pages may also include supporting pictures, graphs, animation or extra sounds to help with the learning where appropriate. Some lessons will include challenges/quizzes to help you keep in touch and interested in the material.
Lessons can be taken in any order and each lesson may be PAUSED and RESUMED at any stage. When all lessons in the course have been completed our system will realise and automatically record that you have successfully completed the course
When
The course is self-paced so you decide how fast or slow the training goes. You can complete the course in stages revisiting the training at any time.
Alternatively, if you have a specific question or concern why not contact us directly ?
What
This is an online course, all the training will be taken through your browser window. There will be no face-to-face sessions with instructors nor will you receive any training material through the post. If you wish you may print out any page of the training material and may also print the notes you took during the training.
You can also revisit the training material at any time, even after you have completed the course.
How
The material for this course has been broken down into several smaller lessons, each lesson dealing with a specific area of the overall subject.
The lesson consists of a series of pages in which an instructor will talk you through the lesson material at a pace that suits you. Pages may also include supporting pictures, graphs, animation or extra sounds to help with the learning where appropriate. Some lessons will include challenges/quizzes to help you keep in touch and interested in the material.
Lessons can be taken in any order and each lesson may be PAUSED and RESUMED at any stage. When all lessons in the course have been completed our system will realise and automatically record that you have successfully completed the course
When
The course is self-paced so you decide how fast or slow the training goes. You can complete the course in stages revisiting the training at any time.
Cost
£30.00 + VAT (£36.00 inc. VAT) Discounts are available for multiple purchases - phone (+44) 01943 605976, or email info@virtual-college.co.uk for details
Friday, March 4, 2011
Differences in Recovery Time From Attention Distractions
Differences in working memory (WM) capacity have been attributed to a person’s ability to control their attention, and low-WM-capacity individuals are thought to be more prone to have their attention captured by distractors.
To test an alternative theory, that high-capacity individuals simply recover more quickly from distractions, two experiments using psychophysical and electrophysiological methods were carried out to test the susceptibility of different personality types and their recovery times, following a distraction i.e. Attention capture.
Evidence was found that high- and low-capacity individuals were distracted or had their attention captured, equally by a distractor. But the high-capacity individuals regained and returned their attention to the target more quickly than the low-capacity individuals.
Authors: Keisuke Fukuda and Edward K. Vogel
To test an alternative theory, that high-capacity individuals simply recover more quickly from distractions, two experiments using psychophysical and electrophysiological methods were carried out to test the susceptibility of different personality types and their recovery times, following a distraction i.e. Attention capture.
Evidence was found that high- and low-capacity individuals were distracted or had their attention captured, equally by a distractor. But the high-capacity individuals regained and returned their attention to the target more quickly than the low-capacity individuals.
Authors: Keisuke Fukuda and Edward K. Vogel
The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article “The Omission Strategy” and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Tiffany Harrington at 202-293-9300 or tharrington@psychologicalscience.org.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
iPad apps selection: Montessori-based learning for kids
Help your kids to learn on their own with this selection of fun and educational Montessori-based learning apps.
Montessori Crosswords - Teach and Learn Spelling with Fun Puzzles for Children
Montessori Crosswords uses word-image-audio combinations to teach young children (from ages 3 to 8) how to spell.
The app uses phonics and fun interactive visual effects to encourage and develop kids' reading, writing and spelling skills.
Three different levels of difficulty make it easy to tailor the app to your child's abilities.
Price: $2.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/montessori-crosswords-teach/id384334005?mt=8
Tam & Tao in Numberland HD - Learn numbers with Montessori
This beautifully-designed app takes children on a number-learning adventure through ten animated "Numberland" worlds.
The app is based on Montessori principles and uses creative and fun elements to keep children interested in learning the numbers from one to ten.
While exploring through the worlds, children will learn to write, count and say the numbers. Once your child masters the numbers in English, switch the language to French for an extra challenge.
Price: $4.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tam-tao-in-numberland-hd-learn/id388154228?mt=8
Alpha Writer, by Montessorium
Alpha Writer uses elements of the Montessori Moveable Alphabet to teach children how to read, write and spell phonetically.
The app is divided into two sections: the Moveable Alphabet, in which your child learns to spell with phonics, and a storyboard, where your child constructs his or her own stories using a combination of images and words.
Price: $4.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alpha-writer-by-montessorium/id394038232?mt=8
Approach to Montessori - Numbers HD
While the user interface might not be as slick as some of the other Montessori apps in the App Store, this app provides a low-cost option for parents eager to see if the Montessori approach is right for their child.
The app offers six different Montessori games including number tracing, number rods, bead stairs and number blocks. After playing with this app your child should be able to recognize, comprehend and write numbers from zero to ten and have a basic grasp of math foundations.
There is also a "power setting" that enables you to adapt the settings to suit your child's learning level.
Price: $2.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/approach-to-montessori-numbers/id396628131?mt=8
A Montessori Approach to Math - Hundred Board
A Montessori Approach to Math - Hundred Board helps children learn to count from 1 to 100. The Hundred Board is an exact replica of that used in Montessori classrooms and provides additional lessons on counting with even or odd numbers only.
Children search for the correct number from the jumbled tiles to the right of the board, placing them in the correct ascending order in the shortest amount of time possible.
Price: $2.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-montessori-approach-to-math/id406327239?mt=8
Montessori Crosswords uses word-image-audio combinations to teach young children (from ages 3 to 8) how to spell.
The app uses phonics and fun interactive visual effects to encourage and develop kids' reading, writing and spelling skills.
Three different levels of difficulty make it easy to tailor the app to your child's abilities.
Price: $2.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/montessori-crosswords-teach/id384334005?mt=8
Tam & Tao in Numberland HD - Learn numbers with Montessori
This beautifully-designed app takes children on a number-learning adventure through ten animated "Numberland" worlds.
The app is based on Montessori principles and uses creative and fun elements to keep children interested in learning the numbers from one to ten.
While exploring through the worlds, children will learn to write, count and say the numbers. Once your child masters the numbers in English, switch the language to French for an extra challenge.
Price: $4.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tam-tao-in-numberland-hd-learn/id388154228?mt=8
Alpha Writer, by Montessorium
Alpha Writer uses elements of the Montessori Moveable Alphabet to teach children how to read, write and spell phonetically.
The app is divided into two sections: the Moveable Alphabet, in which your child learns to spell with phonics, and a storyboard, where your child constructs his or her own stories using a combination of images and words.
Price: $4.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alpha-writer-by-montessorium/id394038232?mt=8
Approach to Montessori - Numbers HD
While the user interface might not be as slick as some of the other Montessori apps in the App Store, this app provides a low-cost option for parents eager to see if the Montessori approach is right for their child.
The app offers six different Montessori games including number tracing, number rods, bead stairs and number blocks. After playing with this app your child should be able to recognize, comprehend and write numbers from zero to ten and have a basic grasp of math foundations.
There is also a "power setting" that enables you to adapt the settings to suit your child's learning level.
Price: $2.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/approach-to-montessori-numbers/id396628131?mt=8
A Montessori Approach to Math - Hundred Board
A Montessori Approach to Math - Hundred Board helps children learn to count from 1 to 100. The Hundred Board is an exact replica of that used in Montessori classrooms and provides additional lessons on counting with even or odd numbers only.
Children search for the correct number from the jumbled tiles to the right of the board, placing them in the correct ascending order in the shortest amount of time possible.
Price: $2.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-montessori-approach-to-math/id406327239?mt=8
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