Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 275 in total

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  1. Hazura, H., Wan Norhaida, W.A., Zahiruddin, O., Ruzita, J.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: A number of researches suggest smoking serves as a form of self-medication to reduce the side effects of antipsychotic medications, to alleviate negative symptoms, and/or to ameliorate a number of cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of cigarette smoking with verbal working memory and psychopathology of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Fifty-three patients with schizophrenia were assessed by a single rater using the Malay Version of Auditory Verbal Learning Test (MVAVLT) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Smokers (n=30) were compared with nonsmokers (n=23) on socio-demographic, clinical, psychopathology and verbal memory variables. Single linear and multiple regression analysis were performed to determine factors associated with verbal memory performance.
    Results: Verbal working memory performance is associated with lower number of admission to ward, lesser severity of the negative symptoms or general psychopathology of schizophrenia and use of atypical antipsychotics in all schizophrenic subjects. Smokers with schizophrenia scored higher than non- smoker in measures that reflect immediate memory, delayed recall and recognition memory. However, the association between verbal working
    memory performance and smoking status was found to be not significant. Conclusion: Verbal working memory performance is associated with negative symptoms but not positive symptoms. This study failed to detect association of smoking on verbal working memory.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term
  2. Muzirah Musa, Kamarulzaman Ibrahim
    Sains Malaysiana, 2012;41:1367-1376.
    Long-memory is often observed in time series data. The existence of long-memory in a data set implies that the successive data points are strongly correlated i.e. they remain persistent for quite some time. A commonly used approach in modellingthe time series data such as the Box and Jenkins models are no longer appropriate since the assumption of stationary is not satisfied. Thus, the scaling analysis is particularly suitable to be used for identifying the existence of long-memory as well as the extent of persistent data. In this study, an analysis was carried out on the observed daily mean per hour of ozone concentration that were available at six monitoring stations located in the urban areas of Peninsular Malaysia from 1998 to 2006. In order to investigate the existence of long-memory, a preliminary analysis was done based on plots of autocorrelation function (ACF) of the observed data. Scaling analysis involving five methods which included rescaled range, rescaled variance, dispersional, linear and bridge detrending techniques of scaled windowed variance were applied to estimate the hurst coefficient (H) at each station. The results revealed that the ACF plots indicated a slow decay as the number lag increased. Based on the scaling analysis, the estimated H values lay within 0.7 and 0.9, indicating the existence of long-memory in the ozone time series data. In addition, it was also found that the data were persistent for the period of up to 150 days.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory
  3. Khor GL, Misra S
    Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2012;21(4):476-86.
    PMID: 23017305
    It is estimated that more than 200 million young children worldwide fail to reach their potential in cognitive development owing to undernutrition. Numerous studies have assessed the effects of micronutrient supplementation on growth and cognitive development in infants, toddlers and preschoolers. However, micronutrient interventions on the cognitive performance of older children are limited. This article seeks to provide an update on micronutrient interventions and cognitive outcomes among children aged 5-15 years in developing countries. A total of 13 randomized controlled trials published since 2000 were identified. Majority of these studies assessed the effects of micronutrient-fortified foods on various domains of cognitive function. Among key micronutrients assessed were iron, zinc, iodine and vitamin A. This review found a lack of consistency in the impact of micronutrient supplementation on intelligence, long term mental functions and school examination grades of the children. A beneficial effect of micronutrient supplementation on short term memory was more consistently reported. Overall, the evidence from this review for the impact of micronutrients on cognitive performance in older children remains equivocal. In light of the growing interest on the influence of nutrition on cognition, it is important that culturally-appropriate and sufficiently sensitive assessment tools be used for measuring the desired cognitive outcomes that are most likely to be affected by the nutrients under study.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term
  4. Azzubaidi MS, Saxena AK, Talib NA, Ahmed QU, Dogarai BB
    Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars), 2012;72(2):154-65.
    PMID: 22810217
    The fixed oil of black cumin seeds, Nigella sativa L. (NSO), has shown considerable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion has been linked to neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its subsequent cognitive impairment in which oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are the principal culprits. Cerebrovascular hypoperfusion was experimentally achieved by bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion (2VO) in rats. Morris water maze (MWM) test was employed to assess the effects of NSO on spatial cognitive function before and after 2VO intervention. Rats were divided into long-term memory (LTM) and short-term memory (STM) groups, each was further subdivided into 3 subgroups: sham control, untreated 2VO and NSO treated 2VO group. All subgroups were tested with MWM at the tenth postoperative week. Working memory test results for both sham control and NSO treated groups showed significantly lower escape latency time and total distance travelled than untreated 2VO group. Similarly, LTM and STM MWM tests for sham control and NSO treated groups revealed significantly better maze test performance as compared to untreated 2VO group. Sham control and NSO treated 2VO groups demonstrated superior probe memory test performance as compared to untreated 2VO group. The fixed oil of Nigella sativa seeds has demonstrated noticeable spatial cognitive preservation in rats challenged with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion which indicates a promising prospective neuroprotective effect.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term/drug effects; Memory, Long-Term/drug effects
  5. Lee LK, Shahar S, Chin AV, Yusoff NA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl), 2013 Feb;225(3):605-12.
    PMID: 22932777 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-012-2848-0
    RATIONALE: Epidemiological studies have suggested a beneficial effect of fish oil supplementation in halting the initial progression of Alzheimer's disease. However, it remains unclear whether fish oil affects cognitive function in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

    OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effects of fish oil supplementation on cognitive function in elderly person with MCI.

    METHODS: This was a 12-month, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study using fish oil supplementation with concentrated docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Thirty six low-socioeconomic-status elderly subjects with MCI were randomly assigned to receive either concentrated DHA fish oil (n = 18) or placebo (n = 18) capsules. The changes of memory, psychomotor speed, executive function and attention, and visual-constructive skills were assessed using cognitive tests. Secondary outcomes were safety and tolerability of the DHA concentrate.

    RESULTS: The fish oil group showed significant improvement in short-term and working memory (F = 9.890; ηp (2) = 0.254; p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term/drug effects
  6. Soltani A, Roslan S
    Res Dev Disabil, 2013 Mar;34(3):1090-9.
    PMID: 23314249 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2012.12.005
    Reading decoding ability is a fundamental skill to acquire word-specific orthographic information necessary for skilled reading. Decoding ability and its underlying phonological processing skills have been heavily investigated typically among developing students. However, the issue has rarely been noticed among students with intellectual disability who commonly suffer from reading decoding problems. This study is aimed at determining the contributions of phonological awareness, phonological short-term memory, and rapid automated naming, as three well known phonological processing skills, to decoding ability among 60 participants with mild intellectual disability of unspecified origin ranging from 15 to 23 years old. The results of the correlation analysis revealed that all three aspects of phonological processing are significantly correlated with decoding ability. Furthermore, a series of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that after controlling the effect of IQ, phonological awareness, and rapid automated naming are two distinct sources of decoding ability, but phonological short-term memory significantly contributes to decoding ability under the realm of phonological awareness.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term/physiology
  7. Dzulkifli MA, Mustafar MF
    Malays J Med Sci, 2013 Mar;20(2):3-9.
    PMID: 23983571 MyJurnal
    Human cognition involves many mental processes that are highly interrelated, such as perception, attention, memory, and thinking. An important and core cognitive process is memory, which is commonly associated with the storing and remembering of environmental information. An interesting issue in memory research is on ways to enhance memory performance, and thus, remembering of information. Can colour result in improved memory abilities? The present paper highlights the relationship between colours, attention, and memory performance. The significance of colour in different settings is presented first, followed by a description on the nature of human memory. The role of attention and emotional arousal on memory performance is discussed next. The review of several studies on colours and memory are meant to explain some empirical works done in the area and related issues that arise from such studies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory
  8. Mohamed S, Lee Ming T, Jaffri JM
    J Sci Food Agric, 2013 Mar 15;93(4):819-27.
    PMID: 23001939 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.5802
    Catechin-rich oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) leaf extract (OPLE) has good cardiovascular and phytoestrogenic properties. The OPLE (0.5 g day(-1) ) was supplemented to young, healthy, adult human volunteers, and their cognitive learning abilities were compared to placebo-controlled groups (N = 15). Their short-term memories, spatial visualisations, processing speeds, and language skills, were assessed over 2 months by cognitive tests computer programs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory/drug effects
  9. Shafin N, Zakaria R, Hussain NH, Othman Z
    Menopause, 2013 Jun;20(6):661-6.
    PMID: 23715378 DOI: 10.1097/GME.0b013e31827758c6
    The aim of this study was to examine the association between changes in blood oxidative stress level/activity and changes in memory performance among postmenopausal women.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory/physiology*
  10. Samuel G, Ng YS
    Med J Malaysia, 2013 Aug;68(4):376-8.
    PMID: 24145276
    Traumatic Brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common causes of death and disability worldwide, with recent interest in the use of cholinomimetics in the treatment of TBI patients for cognitive impairments. Our patient who suffered TBI was started on a trial of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (Donepezil) for five weeks. Cognitive and memory testing with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) showed some degree of improvement: The three item recall component of MMSE improved and the FIM Memory score increased from 1 (Complete dependence) to 6 (Functional independence). Subjective assessment of his behaviour in the ward also showed improvement. This suggests that donepezil may help improve memory and behaviour of moderately severe traumatic brain injury patients, although more research in this direction should be undertaken.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory
  11. Amin H, Malik AS
    Neurosciences (Riyadh), 2013 Oct;18(4):330-44.
    PMID: 24141456
    Human memory is an important concept in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Our brain is actively engaged in functions of learning and memorization. Generally, human memory has been classified into 2 groups: short-term/working memory, and long-term memory. Using different memory paradigms and brain mapping techniques, psychologists and neuroscientists have identified 3 memory processes: encoding, retention, and recall. These processes have been studied using EEG and functional MRI (fMRI) in cognitive and neuroscience research. This study reviews previous research reported for human memory processes, particularly brain behavior in memory retention and recall processes with the use of EEG and fMRI. We discuss issues and challenges related to memory research with EEG and fMRI techniques.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory/physiology*
  12. Bonn GB
    Front Psychol, 2013;4:920.
    PMID: 24367349 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00920
    This paper examines the concept of free will, or independent action, in light of recent research in psychology and neuroscience. Reviewing findings in memory, prospection, and mental simulation, as well as the neurological mechanisms underlying behavioral control, planning, and integration, it is suggested in accord with previous arguments (e.g., Wegner, 2003; Harris, 2012) that a folk conception of free will as entirely conscious control over behavior should be rejected. However, it is argued that, when taken together, these findings can also support an alternative conception of free will. The constructive nature of memory and an integrative "default network" provide the means for novel and creative combinations of information, such as the imagining of counterfactual scenarios and alternative courses of action. Considering recent findings of extensive functional connections between these systems and those that subsume motor control and goal maintenance, it is argued that individuals have the capability of producing novel ideas and translating them into actionable goals. Although most of these processes take place beneath conscious awareness, it is argued that they are unique to the individual and thus, can be considered a form of independent control over behavior, or free will.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory
  13. Azhar ZM, Zubaidah JO, Norjan KO, Zhuang CY, Tsang F
    Nutr J, 2013;12:121.
    PMID: 23945213 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-12-121
    It has long been postulated that the relative abundance of specific nutrients can affect cognitive processes and emotions. Newly described influences of dietary factors on neuronal function and synaptic plasticity have revealed some of the vital mechanisms that could be responsible for the action of diet on brain health and cognitive function. Here, through a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we asked if the newly discovered chicken meat ingredient-168 (CMI-168) could be beneficial to the cognitive function in healthy adults.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term
  14. Al-Rahbi B, Zakaria R, Othman Z, Hassan A, Muthuraju S, Wan Mohammad WM
    Biomed Res Int, 2013;2013:493643.
    PMID: 23841073 DOI: 10.1155/2013/493643
    This study aims to compare the effects of social instability stress on memory and anxiety- and depressive-like behaviour between sham-operated controls and ovariectomised (OVX) rats. Forty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (8 weeks old) were randomly divided into four groups, (n = 10 per group). These were non-stressed sham-operated control rats, stressed sham-operated control rats, non-stressed OVX rats, and stressed OVX rats. The rats were subjected to social instability stress procedure for 15 days. Novel object recognition, open field, and forced swim tests were conducted after the stress procedure. Serum estradiol, ACTH and corticosterone levels were measured using commercially available ELISA kits. Lower serum estradiol level and uterine weight with higher weight gain were observed in OVX rats compared to sham-operated controls. Serum ACTH, and corticosterone levels were higher in stressed compared to non-stressed groups. Memory deficit and anxiety- and depressive-like behaviour were significantly increased in stressed compared to non-stressed OVX rats but these changes were not seen in sham-operated controls. These results suggest that the high circulating corticosterone acts synergistically with low circulating estradiol to exert negative effects on mood and memory function.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory/physiology
  15. Asle-Rousta M, Oryan S, Ahmadiani A, Rahnema M
    EXCLI J, 2013;12:449-61.
    PMID: 26417237
    Sphingosine-1 phosphate (S1P) is involved in a variety of cellular processes via activation of S1P receptors (S1PRs; S1PR1 to S1PR5) that are highly expressed in the brain. It has been shown that the level of S1P is reduced in the brain of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. However, there is no study designed to evaluate the expression of S1PRs in AD brains. The objectives of the present work are (1) to examine the expression of S1PR1-3 in the hippocampus of beta amyloid (Aβ) 1-42 injected rats and (2) to clarify the effects of chronic S1PR1 activation on S1PR1-3 levels, spatial memory deficit and hippocampal damage in AD rats. SEW2871, the S1PR1 selective agonist, repeatedly was injected intraperitoneally during a period of two weeks. Upon Western Blot data bilateral intrahippocampal injection of Aβ1-42 decreased the expression of S1PR1 while increased S1PR2 level and did not affect that of S1PR3. We found that chronic administration of SEW2871 inhibited the reduction of S1PR1 expression and ameliorated spatial memory impairment in the Morris water maze task in rats. In addition, SEW2871 attenuated the Aβ1-42-induced hippocampal neuronal loss according to Nissl staining findings. Data in the current study highlights the importance of S1PR1 signaling pathway deregulation in AD development and suggests that activation of S1PR1 may represent a potential approach for developing new therapeutics to manage memory deficit and apoptosis associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as AD.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory Disorders; Spatial Memory
  16. Hazli Zakaria, Nik Ruzyanei Nik Jaafar, Azlin Baharudin, Normala Ibrahim, Marhani Midin
    Sains Malaysiana, 2013;42(3):381-388.
    Neurological soft signs (NSS) are subtle indicators of brain dysfunction which are present in excess among patients with Schizophrenia. Its clinical significance remains unclear despite extensive researches in this area. The objective of this work was to determine the proportion of schizophrenia patients who have motor NSS and then to compare the clinical features between these two groups; with and without motor NSS. This cross-sectional study which utilized the brief motor scale (BMS) was used to investigate the presence of motor NSS in 80 schizophrenia patients who attended Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMCC) Psychiatric clinic. The diagnosis of schizophrenia was confirmed by mini international neuropsychiatic interview (MINI). Symptomatology and abnormal motor movement were assessed using the brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS), respectively. A brief battery of cognitive tests covering aspects of attention, working memory and executive function was administered. The bivariate analyses were applied to look for any relationship between the study factors. Majority of schizophrenia patients (68.8%) in this study have motor NSS. The motor NSS were associated with ethnic group, level of education, age of onset, duration of illness and performance in cognitive assessment; verbal fluency, digit span forward, digit span backward
    and trail making B (p<0.05) but not with trail making A. The assessment of motor NSS represents a brief, inexpensive and meaningful tool in assessing the cognitive functions in schizophrenia. It has the potential as an illness marker and a link between neurobiological research and clinical practice.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term
  17. Sahak MK, Mohamed AM, Hashim NH, Hasan Adli DS
    PMID: 24454487 DOI: 10.1155/2013/180598
    Nigella sativa, an established historical and religion-based remedy for a wide range of health problems, is a herbal medicine known to have antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. This present study investigated the effect of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) administration on the spatial memory performance (SMP) of male adult rats using eight-arm radial arm maze (RAM). Twelve Sprague Dawley rats (7-9 weeks old) were force-fed daily with 6.0  μ L/100 g body weight of Nigella sativa oil (NSO group; n = 6) or 0.1 mL/100 g body weight of corn oil (control) (CO group; n = 6) for a period of 20 consecutive weeks. For each weekly evaluation of SMP, one day food-deprived rats were tested by allowing each of them 3 minutes to explore the RAM for food as their rewards. Similar to the control group, the SMP of the treated group was not hindered, as indicated by the establishment of the reference and working memory components of the spatial memory. The results demonstrated that lesser mean numbers of error were observed for the NSO-treated group in both parameters as compared to the CO-treated group. NSO could therefore enhance the learning and memory abilities of the rats; there was a significant decrease in the overall mean number of working memory error (WME) in the NSO-treated group.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term; Spatial Memory
  18. Al-Rahbi B, Zakaria R, Othman Z, Hassan A, Mohd Ismail ZI, Muthuraju S
    Acta Histochem, 2014 Jan;116(1):79-88.
    PMID: 23810156 DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2013.05.004
    Recently, our research team has reported that Tualang honey was able to improve immediate memory in postmenopausal women comparable with that of estrogen progestin therapy. Therefore the aim of the present study was to examine the effects of Tualang honey supplement on hippocampal morphology and memory performance in ovariectomized (OVX) rats exposed to social instability stress. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups: (i) sham-operated controls, (ii) stressed sham-operated controls, (iii) OVX rats, (iv) stressed OVX rats, (v) stressed OVX rats treated with 17β-estradiol (E2), and (vi) stressed OVX rats treated with Tualang honey. These rats were subjected to social instability stress procedure followed by novel object recognition (NOR) test. Right brain hemispheres were subjected to Nissl staining. The number and arrangement of pyramidal neurons in regions of CA1, CA2, CA3 and the dentate gyrus (DG) were recorded. Two-way ANOVA analyses showed significant interactions between stress and OVX in both STM and LTM test as well as number of Nissl-positive cells in all hippocampal regions. Both E2 and Tualang honey treatments improved both short-term and long-term memory and enhanced the neuronal proliferation of hippocampal CA2, CA3 and DG regions compared to that of untreated stressed OVX rats.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term*
  19. Norhayati MN, George A, Hazlina NH, Azidah AK, Idiana HI, Law KS, et al.
    J Med Food, 2014 Aug;17(8):929-38.
    PMID: 25000151 DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2013.2953
    This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of Labisia pumila var alata (L. pumila) water extract for improving quality of life, cardiovascular and hormonal balance. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group, 16-week study in healthy pre- and postmenopausal women aged 40-60 years was conducted in Kelantan, Malaysia. The subjects were randomized to 400 mg propriety extract of L. pumila or placebo. A Women's Health Questionnaire was used to assess quality of life. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate the data. A total of 197 subjects (L. pumila: n=102 and placebo: n=95) were analyzed. Subjects in the herbal group showed improved memory/concentration, vasomotor symptoms, menstrual symptoms, and sleep problems by 8.3%, 15.9%, 11.8%, and 31.0%, respectively. The greatest improvement was observed for the question: "I get frightened or panic feelings for apparently no reason at all" with a 53% decrease as compared with placebo. Improvements were also seen in the cardiovascular parameters, and the safety profiles were normal. Postmenopausal women supplemented with L. pumila showed no changes in gynecological relevant hormones luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and 17β-Estradiol. Water extract of L. pumila was shown to be safe and effective for improving several parameters of quality of life and cardiovascular risks factors (total cholesterol [TC], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C]).
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory/drug effects
  20. Kuldas S, Satyen L, Ismail HN, Hashim S
    Psychol Belg, 2014 Aug 08;54(4):350-373.
    PMID: 30479408 DOI: 10.5334/pb.aw
    The capacity limitation of working memory is a widely recognised determinant of human learning. A cognitive load exceeding the capacity hampers learning. Cognitive load can be controlled by tailoring an instructional design to levels of learner prior knowledge. However, such as design does not necessarily motivate to use the available capacity for better learning. The present review examines literatures on the effects of instructional design, motivation, emotional state, and expertise level on cognitive load and cognitive effort, which ultimately affect working memory performance and learning. This examination suggests further studies on the effects of motivation and negative emotional states on the use of working memory. Prospective findings would help better explain and predict individual differences in the use of working memory for cognitive learning and task performance.
    Matched MeSH terms: Memory, Short-Term
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