Background: Studies have shown that music therapy can be used as a therapeutic aid for clinical disorders. To evaluate the effects of music therapy (MT) on language communication and social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a meta-analysis was performed on eligible studies in this field.Methods: A systematic search was conducted in eight databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library databases, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, the Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM) Database, and the VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals Database. The standard mean difference (SMD) values were used to evaluate outcomes, and the pooled proportions and SMD with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were also calculated.Results: Eighteen randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies were included, with a total of 1,457 children with ASD. This meta-analysis revealed that music therapy improved their language communication [SMD = −1.20; 95%CI –1.45, −0.94; χ² (17) = 84.17, I² = 80%, p < 0.001] and social skills [SMD = −1. 13; 95%CI –1.49, −0.78; χ² (17) = 162.53, I² = 90%, p < 0.001]. In addition, behavior [SMD = −1.92; 94%CI –2.56, −1.28; χ² (13) = 235.08, I² = 95%, p < 0.001], sensory perception [SMD = −1.62; 95%CI –2.17, −1.08; χ² (16) = 303.80, I² = 95%, p < 0.001], self-help [SMD = −2. 14; 95%CI –3.17, −1.10; χ² (6) = 173.07, I² = 97%, p < 0.001] were all improved.Conclusion: Music therapy has a positive effect on the improvement of symptoms in children with ASD.Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/.

Improvement in an individuals’ cognition is the key to promote garbage classification. This study takes university students as the research subjects, through three educational interventions, including the self-learning, heuristic learning, and interactive learning ways, to seek the most effective intervention based upon event-related potentials (ERPs) that is beneficial to enhance cognition of garbage classification. The results show that the experimental subjects induced P300 and LPP components, representing attentional changes and cognitive conflicts in classification judgments. There are differences in the amplitudes and peak latency of the two components corresponding to different interventions, indicating that the three educational interventions are able to improve the individual’s cognition level of garbage classification within a certain period of time. The interactive-learning intervention triggers the largest amplitudes of P300 and LPP, as well as the smallest peak latency, indicating its effect is the best. Such results provide insight into the design for an appropriate strategy in garbage classification education. The study also shows that an EEG signal can be used as the endogenous neural indicator to measure the performance of garbage classification under different educational interventions.

Consecutive interpreting involves a demanding language task where mental workload (MWL) is crucial for assessing interpreters' performance. An elevated cognitive load in interpreters may lead to the interpretation failures. The widely used NASA-TLX questionnaire effectively measures MWL. However, a global score was employed in previous interpretation studies, overlooking the distinct contributions of MWL components to the interpreters' performance. Accordingly, we recruited twenty novice interpreters who were postgraduate students specializing in interpreting to complete the consecutive interpreting task. Throughout the process, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to monitor the hemodynamic response in participants' brains. The NASA-TLX was used to measure the MWL during interpreting with six components, including mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, performance, effort, and frustration. Five interpretation experts were invited to assess the interpretation quality. The Bayes factor approach was employed to explore the components that contributes the most to the interpretation quality. It indicated that mental demand strongly contributed to the interpretation quality. Moreover, the mediation analysis revealed a positive correlation between mental demand and brain activation in three brain areas, which, in turn, was negatively correlated with interpretation quality, indicating the predictive role of mental demand in interpretation quality through the mediating of brain activation. The functions of the mediating brain areas, including the inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and inferior temporal gyrus, aligned with the three efforts proposed by Gile's effort model, which emphasizes the significance of three fundamental efforts in achieving successful interpreting. These findings have implications for interpreter learning and training.

Aim: Limited researches have investigated the association between the Triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) and frailty vulnerability in middle-aged and older Chinese populations. This study aims to strengthen the scientific foundation for frailty prevention and management by analyzing the correlation between TyG and frailty, ultimately providing more targeted intervention strategies.Methods: This study included middle-aged and older individuals who participated in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2015. A multiple logistic regression model was constructed to assess the correlation between the TyG index and frailty. Additionally, restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis was employed to evaluate the dose–response correlation between the two variables.Results: Among the 3,978 participants included in the study, 667 individuals (16.8%) were identified with frailty. After adjusting for multiple factors in a logistic regression model, it was determined that individuals in the highest quartile group of the TyG index had a 1.43 times higher risk of frailty compared to those in the lowest quartile group (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.10 ~ 1.85, p = 0.007). The RCS analysis further revealed a positive dose–response relationship, indicating that a higher TyG index was associated with an increased risk of frailty in middle-aged and older adults.Conclusion: Research has shown a significant positive linear relationship between an increased TyG index and a higher prevalence of frailty in middle-aged and older individuals. Elevated TyG index levels could signal an increased vulnerability to frailty among individuals.

Numerous studies reported inconsistent results concerning gender influences on the functional organization of the brain for language in children and adults. However, data for the gender differences in the functional language networks at birth are sparse. Therefore, we investigated gender differences in resting-state functional connectivity in the language-related brain regions in newborns using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed that female newborns demonstrated significantly stronger functional connectivities between the superior temporal gyri and middle temporal gyri, the superior temporal gyri and the Broca’s area in the right hemisphere, as well as between the right superior temporal gyri and left Broca’s area. Nevertheless, statistical analysis failed to reveal functional lateralization of the language-related brain areas in resting state in both groups. Together, these results suggest that the onset of language system might start earlier in females, because stronger functional connectivities in the right brain in female neonates were probably shaped by the processing of prosodic information, which mainly constitutes newborns’ first experiences of speech in the womb. More exposure to segmental information after birth may lead to strengthened functional connectivities in the language system in both groups, resulting in a stronger leftward lateralization in males and a more balanced or leftward dominance in females.

The objective of the review was to assess the relationship between insulin resistance and cognitive impairment. Medline, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched. Two independent authors selected studies and extracted data. Quality of included studies was assessed by NOS (Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale). A random-effects model with its 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was considered for meta-analysis. Eight articles including 1,399 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. The article showed a negative association between insulin resistance and cognition (R = - 0.262; 95% CI-0.309, - 0.215). There is evidence that insulin resistance may be a mechanism of cognitive impairment. Key Words: Insulin resistance, Insulin, Cognition, Cognitive impairment, Systematic review, Alzheimer's disease.