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The paper describes the results of using the neuro-electrostimulation device for improving the attention and working memory characteristics, which are one of the main parameters of cognition in the learning process. It was shown that the quality of the test for assessment of working memory and attention in the experimental group with the use of neuro-electrostimulation was higher than in the control group. Also it was found that the application of neuro-electrostimulation could be used as a corrective technique for subjects with low initial values of test parameters, which allows increasing the test results for assessing working memory and attention. Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved. ; The work was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

"What is a medium? If Nietzsche was right in claiming that "our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts," that media help us "think," and if different media allow for different ways of thinking, then the "body" of the respective medium in question, its materiality, shapes and influences the range and direction of how media make us think. Shouldn't we consequently speak of informed matter and of materialized information? Launching Bloomsbury's Thinking Media series, Media Matter introduces readers to the nascent field of media-philosophy. Contributors urge readers to re-adjust their ideas of Media Studies, by both extending the understanding of "medium" in such a way as to include a concept of materiality that also includes "non-human" transmitters (elements such as water, earth, fire, air) and by understanding media not only in the context of cultural or discursive systems or apparatuses, relays, transistors, hardware or "discourse networks," but more inclusively, in terms of a "media ecology." Beginning with more general essays on media and then focusing on particular themes (neuroplasticity, photography, sculpture and music), especially in relation to film, Herzogenrath and contributors redefine the concept of "medium" in order to think through media, rather than about them."--Bloomsbury Publishing

Rhythm Interactive Special Enablers (R.I.S.E.) is a collaborative community engagement program designed to improve motor function, engagement and self-esteem through music-based intervention in children with cerebral palsy (CP). CP is a movement disorder caused by brain damage during development, with spasticity significantly affecting mobility and quality of life.
Utilising drum circles, a form of group drumming, R.I.S.E. aims to stimulate neuroplasticity, enhance motor skills and provide a creative and enjoyable therapeutic experience. The program implemented at the Spastic Children's Association of Selangor & Federal Territory (SCAS&FT) involved 12 biweekly workshops that combined rhythmic exercises and music with the objectives of improving motor coordination, fostering teamwork and boosting participants' self-confidence. Through structured drum circles, the participants engaged in rhythmic activities that stimulated both cognitive and physical functions.



The program was assessed on participant retention, engagement and the incorporation of music into rehabilitation exercises. Feedback from participants and caregivers indicated improvements in motor skills, confidence and community connectedness. Additionally, a 'Train the Trainer' initiative was implemented to ensure long-term sustainability, enabling SCAS&FT to autonomously run the program. Moving forward, the program aims to expand to other neurological conditions, ensuring wider accessibility through training and resources.

AbstractCardiovascular exercise (CE) is an evidence-based healthy lifestyle strategy. Yet, little is known about its effects on brain and cognition in young adults. Furthermore, evidence supporting a causal path linking CE to human cognitive performance via neuroplasticity is currently lacking. To understand the brain networks that mediate the CE–cognition relationship, we conducted a longitudinal, controlled trial with healthy human participants to compare the effects of a 2–week CE intervention against a non-CE control group on cognitive performance. Concomitantly, we used structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural mechanisms mediating between CE and cognition. On the behavioral level, we found that CE improved sustained attention, but not processing speed or short-term memory. Using graph theoretical measures and statistical mediation analysis, we found that a localized increase in eigenvector centrality in the left middle frontal gyrus, probably reflecting changes within an attention-related network, conveyed the effect of CE on cognition. Finally, we found CE-induced changes in white matter microstructure that correlated with intrinsic connectivity changes (intermodal correlation). These results suggest that CE is a promising intervention strategy to improve sustained attention via brain plasticity in young, healthy adults.

The human brain is equipped with physiological, neural, and cognitive capacities that enable it to respond flexibly to ever-changing natural and social conditions. This capacity of the brain to reorganize itself, called neuroplasticity, is particularly marked in childhood. The high malleability of the brain at this stage provides the basis for wide-ranging learning, but leaves it vulnerable to negative environmental and social factors. Neuroplastic events that occur in response to abusive or neglecting environments can strongly interfere with the adaptive shaping of neural pathways between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system, compromising judgment and self-control. Traumatic experiences during development can also have other effects on brain plasticity that are mediated by epigenetic mechanisms, and these effects can impair the developing oxytocin system, adversely affecting attachment and bonding. Mature individuals seek out niches that match the internal mental structures shaped during their early years, and will even alter the environment to make it match the internal structures. In the case of those who suffered childhood abuse, this can lead to maltreatment of the next generation. Addressing the societal challenge of child abuse and maltreatment requires broad interdisciplinary endeavors, uniting neuroscientists and social education workers to break the vicious circle.

AbstractWithin the rich legacy left by Thomas Sebeok, there is a critical concept of semiotic modeling that directly addresses the core of the philosophy of education in the light of semiotics and affords valuable implications for the nascent interdisciplinary field of inquiry ofedusemioticsoreducational semiotics, essentially a philosophy of human knowing. The present paper argues that the concept of modeling as in Modeling Systems Theory has elevated us above the long-standing debate over nature versus nurture in the discussions of education and sheds light on the dynamic co-shaping relationship between the modeling subject and its models, as well as the fact that human brain function bio-culturally, as is evidenced by a crucial concept in the field of neurophysiology known as "neuroplasticity" and relevant experiment findings from neurophysiological and cognitive researches over the past few decades. It further claims that life-long education is not just something educators and educatees should keep advocating, but more of ade factostate of human existence. It concludes by confirming that in future edusemiotic studies more attention can and should be directed to the determination of the subject's semiosic stage, for which the semiosic capacities of the subject are to be further explored, tested and facilitated.

In the last decade, virtual reality (VR) training has been used extensively in video games and military training to provide a sense of realism and environmental interaction to its users. More recently, VR training has been explored as a possible adjunct therapy for people with motor and mental health dysfunctions. The concept underlying VR therapy as a treatment for motor and cognitive dysfunction is to improve neuroplasticity of the brain by engaging users in multisensory training. In this review, we discuss the theoretical framework underlying the use of VR as a therapeutic intervention for neurorehabilitation and provide evidence for its use in treating motor and mental disorders such as cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, stroke, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and other related clinical areas. While this review provides some insights into the efficacy of VR in clinical rehabilitation and its complimentary use with neuroimaging (e.g., fNIRS and EEG) and neuromodulation (e.g., tDCS and rTMS), more research is needed to understand how different clinical conditions are affected by VR therapies (e.g., stimulus presentation, interactivity, control and types of VR). Future studies should consider large, longitudinal randomized controlled trials to determine the true potential of VR therapies in various clinical populations.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) develop when unborn children are exposed to alcohol prenatally. As a result of this exposure, children with FASD exhibit a range of social, behavioural, cognitive and even physical deficits that can impede their life-long development. These deficits can be influenced by maltreatment and the instability resulting from being placed into out-of-home care, and/or multiple foster-care placement breakdowns. The aim of this article is to increase awareness amongst child welfare professionals of how prenatal alcohol exposure impacts on children's social development. Social deficits include problems with social cognition and social information processing, which result in issues in social problem solving, processing social cues, social judgement, and developing and maintaining relationships. These deficits leave children with a FASD vulnerable to victimisation, exploitation, peer pressure and, as a result, interaction with the criminal justice system. Deficits are life-long and become more pronounced with age, although early detection and intervention appears to improve social skills deficits. Such interventions need to be explored further as they could potentially mitigate some of these deficits by capitalising on the neuroplasticity of a child's developing brain and pave a more positive trajectory for these children's future.

Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- Contributors -- About the Editors -- Part I: Introduction to Substance Use -- 1: A Primer on Alcohol and Adolescent Brain Development: Implications for Prevention -- Introduction -- Adolescent Brain Development Is a New Area Research -- Adolescent Brain Basics -- Changes in the Frontal Lobes During Adolescence -- Changes in Other Parts of the Cortex -- Structures Involved in Emotional Reactivity and Risky Behaviors -- The Corpus Callosum and Sex Differences in Adolescent Brain Development -- Alcohol and Adolescent Brain Development -- Differences in Sensitivity to Alcohol Between Adolescents and Adults -- Age of Onset of Drinking -- Adolescent Neuroplasticity Facilitates the Learning of Both Adaptive and Maladaptive Habits -- Implications for Prevention -- Conclusions -- References -- 2: Epidemiology of Substance Use Internationally -- Introduction -- Data Collections and Caveats -- Prevalence of Substance Use -- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illicit Drugs -- Injecting Drug Use -- New Psychoactive Substances -- Prevalence of Substance Dependence -- Substance-Related Health Burden -- Mortality -- Burden of Disease -- Risk Factors for Health Harms -- Conclusion -- References -- 3: An Integrative Perspective on the Etiology of Substance Use -- Introduction to the "Ecobiodevelopmental" Framework -- Person Level -- Genetic Susceptibilities and Personality Traits -- Behavioral and Mental Health -- Neurological Development -- Stress Exposures and Physiological Reactivity -- Microlevel Influences -- Parenting and Family Functioning -- Schools and Educational Opportunities -- Peer Influences -- Macro-Level Influences -- The Neighborhood and Physical Environment -- Income/Resources -- Public Policy/Government Influence -- An Integrative Perspective of the Etiology of Substance Use.

This study is focused on the declarations made by different Chilean institutions regarding the modifications affecting the subject Physical Education and Health (PEH), which were approved by the National Education Council. Purpose: The main aim was to analyse the speech generated and gather data around the curricular modifications in the 3rd and 4th course of the middle education in 2020, specifically the choice of leaving the subject PEH as an elective subject. Design: A qualitative, pragma-dialectic approach was used, focusing on the point of view and main arguments of the institutions on the topic. Results: 23 declarations were reviewed, pertaining 6 to health institutions, 12 to educational institutions, 4 to sports institutions, and finally, 1 corresponding to the political ambit. In summary, a common point of view rejecting curricular modification was found in all the institutions analysed. The main arguments to reject leaving PEH as an elective subject are related to health concerns (such as sedentarism and obesity), cognitive development and neuroplasticity, recreation, national sports performance. Due to all these factors, the institutions consulted propose PEH to be a core subject. Apart from the issues presented, the PEH teacher's role as a pedagogue should be considered. Conclusion: This study establishes a theoretical foundation to support and highlight the need for PEH to be a core subject in basic, middle, and higher education.

This study is focused on the declarations made by different Chilean institutions regarding the modifications affecting the subject Physical Education and Health (PEH), which were approved by the National Education Council. Purpose: The main aim was to analyse the speech generated and gather data around the curricular modifications in the 3rd and 4th course of the middle education in 2020, specifically the choice of leaving the subject PEH as an elective subject. Design: A qualitative, pragma-dialectic approach was used, focusing on the point of view and main arguments of the institutions on the topic. Results: 23 declarations were reviewed, pertaining 6 to health institutions, 12 to educational institutions, 4 to sports institutions, and finally, 1 corresponding to the political ambit. In summary, a common point of view rejecting curricular modification was found in all the institutions analysed. The main arguments to reject leaving PEH as an elective subject are related to health concerns (such as sedentarism and obesity), cognitive development and neuroplasticity, recreation, national sports performance. Due to all these factors, the institutions consulted propose PEH to be a core subject. Apart from the issues presented, the PEH teacher's role as a pedagogue should be considered. Conclusion: This study establishes a theoretical foundation to support and highlight the need for PEH to be a core subject in basic, middle, and higher education.

Background: The head injuries are unique in the pediatric age group, owing the distinctive characteristics in the anatomy and physiology of the brain, characterized by neuroplasticity. Several factors like physiological changes, etiology, management and its outcome pertaining to TBI needs to be evaluated to probe the potential for being a preventable risk factor. This study was carried out to assess the pattern of presentation of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among pediatric age group visiting the emergency room. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 175 pediatric patients visiting the emergency room with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. Patient with moderate to severe traumatic head injury within 72 hours and those aged 1 - 15 years were included. Glasgow coma scale was used to assess and grade the severity of the TBI. Results: Majority of the participants (70.9%) belonged to moderate TBI and 29.1% belonged to severe TBI. Motor vehicle accidents were predominantly associated with severe injury (50%), fall from a height was associated more with moderate TBI. This association was found to be statistically significant (p<0.0005). Conclusion: Considering the impact of specific causes of TBI namely motor vehicle accidents and fall from height, there is a need for implementation of rigorous legislations which can minimize the risk for such accidents involving the pediatric age groups.

Long-term operations carried out at high altitude (HA) by military personnel, pilots, and astronauts may trigger health complications. In particular, chronic exposure to high altitude (CEHA) has been associated with deficits in cognitive function. In this study, we found that mice exposed to chronic HA (5000 m for 12 weeks) exhibited deficits in learning and memory associated with hippocampal function and were linked with changes in the expression of synaptic proteins across various regions of the brain. Specifically, we found decreased levels of synaptophysin (SYP) (p < 0.05) and spinophilin (SPH) (p < 0.05) in the olfactory cortex, post synaptic density−95 (PSD-95) (p < 0.05), growth associated protein 43 (GAP43) (p < 0.05), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (p < 0.05) in the cerebellum, and SYP (p < 0.05) and PSD-95 (p < 0.05) in the brainstem. Ultrastructural analyses of synaptic density and morphology in the hippocampus did not reveal any differences in CEHA mice compared to SL mice. Our data are novel and suggest that CEHA exposure leads to cognitive impairment in conjunction with neuroanatomically-based molecular changes in synaptic protein levels and astroglial cell marker in a region specific manner. We hypothesize that these new findings are part of highly complex molecular and neuroplasticity mechanisms underlying neuroadaptation response that occurs in brains when chronically exposed to HA.

Abstract. Cognitive rehabilitation is an important area of neurological rehabilitation, which aims at the treatment of cognitive disorders due to acquired brain damage of different etiology, including stroke. Although the importance of cognitive rehabilitation for stroke survivors is well recognized, available cognitive treatments for neuropsychological disorders, such as spatial neglect, hemianopia, apraxia, and working memory, are overall still unsatisfactory. The growing body of evidence supporting the potential of the transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES) as tool for interacting with neuroplasticity in the human brain, in turn for enhancing perceptual and cognitive functions, has obvious implications for the translation of this noninvasive brain stimulation technique into clinical settings, in particular for the development of tES as adjuvant tool for cognitive rehabilitation. The present review aims at presenting the current state of art concerning the use of tES for the improvement of post-stroke visual and cognitive deficits (except for aphasia and memory disorders), showing the therapeutic promises of this technique and offering some suggestions for the design of future clinical trials. Although this line of research is still in infancy, as compared to the progresses made in the last years in other neurorehabilitation domains, current findings appear very encouraging, supporting the development of tES for the treatment of post-stroke cognitive impairments.

Stereotaxic surgery for the implantation of cannulae into specific brain regions has for many decades been a very successful experimental technique to investigate the effects of locally manipulated neurotransmitter and signaling pathways in awake, behaving animals. Moreover, the stereotaxic implantation of electrodes for electrophysiological stimulation and recording studies has been instrumental to our current understanding of neuroplasticity and brain networks in behaving animals. Ever-increasing knowledge about optimizing surgical techniques in rodents1-4, public awareness concerning animal welfare issues and stringent legislation (e.g., the 2010 European Union Directive on the use of laboratory animals5) prompted us to refine these surgical procedures, particularly with respect to implementing new procedures for oxygen supplementation and the continuous monitoring of blood oxygenation and heart rate levels during the surgery as well as introducing a standardized protocol for post-surgical care. Our observations indicate that these modifications resulted in an increased survival rate and an improvement in the general condition of the animals after surgery (e.g. less weight loss and a more active animal). This video presentation will show the general procedures involved in this type of stereotaxic surgery with special attention to our several modifications. We will illustrate these surgical procedures in rats, but it is also possible to perform this type of surgery in mice or other small laboratory animals by using special adaptors for the stereotaxic apparatus6.