Background: Virtual reality (VR) serious games, due to their high level of freedom and realism, influence the rehabilitation training of inhibitory control abilities in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although reward feedback has a motivating effect on improving inhibitory control, the effectiveness and differences between various forms of rewards lack empirical research. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of different forms of reward feedback on the inhibitory control abilities of children with attention deficits in a VR serious game environment. Methods: This study focuses on children who meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD tendencies, using a 2 (material rewards: coin reward and token reward) × 2 (psychological rewards: verbal encouragement and badge reward) factorial between-subject design (N=84), with a control group (n=15) for pre- and posttest experiments. The experimental group received VR feedback reinforcement training, while the control group underwent conventional VR training without feedback. The training period lasted 0.5 months, with each intervention session lasting 25 minutes, occurring twice daily with an interval of at least 5 hours for 28 sessions. Before and after training, the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Version IV Scale (SNAP-IV) Scale, stop signal task, inhibition conflict task, and Simon task were administered to assess the hyperactivity index and the 3 components of inhibitory control ability. The pretest included the SNAP-IV Scale and 3 task tests to obtain baseline data; the posttest involved repeating the above tests after completing all training. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS (IBM) software. Independent sample t tests were performed on the experimental and control groups’ pre- and posttest task results to determine whether significant differences existed between group means. Paired sample t tests were also conducted on the SNAP-IV Scale’s pre- and posttest results to assess the intervention effect’s significance. Results: Reward feedback was more effective than no reward feedback in improving behaviors related to attention deficits in children. Material rewards showed significant effects in the Stop-Signal Task (F1=13.04, P=.001), Inhibition Conflict Task (F1=7.34, P=.008), and SNAP-IV test (F1=69.23, P<.001); mental rewards showed significant effects in the Stop-Signal Task (F1=38.54, P<.001) and SNAP-IV test (F1=70.78, P<.001); the interaction between the 2 showed significant effects in the Stop-Signal Task (F1=4.47, P=.04) and SNAP-IV test (F1=23.85, P<.001). Conclusions: Combining material and psychological rewards within a VR platform can effectively improve attention-deficit behaviors in children with ADHD, enhancing their inhibitory control abilities. Among these, coin rewards are more effective than token rewards, and verbal encouragement outperforms badge rewards. The combined feedback of coin rewards and verbal encouragement yields the most significant improvement in inhibitory control abilities.

Sleep deprivation paradigms have been employed in rat and mouse models to elucidate the function of sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation on memory function, as well as changes in depression- and anxiety-like behaviours, have been extensively investigated; however, the findings have often been inconsistent. In the present study, we conducted a comprehensive literature review of researches utilizing sleep deprivation paradigms in both rats and mice. A total of 164 original studies were analysed to extract results from behavioural tests concerning memory function and depression- and anxiety-like behaviours in wild-type rats or mice before and after sleep deprivation. The meta-analysis revealed that sleep deprivation consistently impaired memory function, irrespective of the paradigms, durations and species involved [P = 0.000, SMD (standardized mean difference) 95% CI (confidence intervals at 95%): −0.73 (−0.89, −0.57) for sleep deprivation; P = 0.000, SMD (95% CI): −0.75 (−0.93, −0.57) for rapid eye movement sleep deprivation]. Similar, albeit less pronounced, effects were observed on depression-like behaviours [P = 0.000, SMD (95% CI): −0.41 (−0.52, −0.29) for sleep deprivation; P = 0.000, SMD (95% CI): −0.60 (−0.79, −0.42) for rapid eye movement sleep deprivation]. The impact of sleep deprivation on anxiety-like behaviours was more variable. When considering both mice and rats, sleep deprivation generally exhibited anxiogenic effects [P = 0.049, SMD (95% CI): −0.19 (−0.39, −0.00) for sleep deprivation; P = 0.705, SMD (95% CI): 0.04 (−0.18, 0.27) for rapid eye movement sleep deprivation]. However, subgroup analyses indicated that rodent species and sleep durations demonstrated distinct responses to sleep deprivation. This study provides critical insights for selecting optimal paradigms, durations, species and behavioural tests in experimental designs.

Background: The limitations associated with antipsychotics in early-onset schizophrenia patients have stimulated more interest in psychological interventions in this population. Nevertheless, the isolated psychosocial interventions are unrealistic in a treatment success covering the complex array of symptoms, and the psychosocial interventions could be an adjunct treatment to the pharmacological treatment. It is necessary to find the benefits of psychological interventions with limited and targeted use of antipsychotics. Social cognition and interaction training (SCIT) was a program for social cognitive rehabilitation in adult schizophrenia. However, it is unclear how generalizable this is to early-onset patients. Methods: The current study tested this hypothesis that combined SCIT and paliperidone was superior to paliperidone alone in treating early-onset schizophrenia patients on cognitive, functional, and symptom outcomes. Two hundred eight inpatients with schizophrenia aged 13 to 17 years old participated in a 24-week work intervention program. Patients completed a battery of measures administered at a pre-SCIT intervention baseline, 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks post-SCIT, respectively. Results: SCIT had significant added benefits above paliperidone for the speed of processing, attention/vigilance, and social cognition of the Chinese version of MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) domains (p<0.05). The following logistic regression analysis on the exploration of the influential factors also confirmed the effects of SCIT. However, combined SCIT and paliperidone intervention had a null impact on social functioning and symptomatology. Conclusions: The present study provides the first evidence that combined SCIT and paliperidone intervention has the potential to improve cognitive functions for the early-onset schizophrenia patients. The findings in the current study are suggestive of the extreme importance of SCIT as an adjunctive treatment in early-onset schizophrenia patients.

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) plays a key role in the development of Parkinson’ desease (PD). As aging is acknowledged to be the greatest risk factor for PD, here we investigated α-Syn expression in the ileum, thoracic spinal cord, and midbrain of young (1-month-old), middle-aged (6-, 12-month-old) to old (18-month-old) mice. We demonstrated that both the levels of α-Syn monomers, oligomers and ratios of oligomers to monomers were increased with aging in the ileum, thoracic spinal cord, and midbrain. Whereas, the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme for dopamine synthesis, was decreased with aging in the midbrain. We failed to find corresponding α-Syn mRNA increase with aging. However, we found an increased expression of caspase-1 in the ileum, thoracic spinal cord, and midbrain. A specific caspase-1 inhibitor VX765 significantly reduced levels of both the α-Syn monomers and oligomers triggered by the rotenone in vitro. Taken together, the increase in α-Syn aggregation with aging might not occur first in the gut, but simultaneously in the nervous system of gut-brain axis. The mechanism of the age-dependent aggregation of α-Syn in nervous system is likely triggered by the aging-related caspase-1 activation.

Background: Home isolation is a generally effective strategy for coronavirus disease control during lockdown periods. This study is to determine the potential adverse consequences of home isolation to mental health among school-aged youth after lifting of major lockdown measures in central China. Methods: This cohort study assessed the mental health of school-aged children and adolescents enrolled in Wuhan city and nearby areas in Hubei province, China, from July 1 to August 31, 2020. Post-lockdown responses to anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances and post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed in online questionnaire-based surveys. Participants’ scores for the Zung self-rated anxiety scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the self-rating scale of sleep and the post-traumatic stress disorder self-rating scale (PTSS) were analyzed. Results: Questionnaire responses of 730 school children were collected. Among the participants, 6.25% of them had scores above thresholds for PTSS, 5.81% had anxiety, and 48.84% had depression. All subjects reported that they experienced sleep disturbances. Subjects who had anxiety might have a high risk for developing depression [OR: 16.07, p =0.008, 95%CI (2.08-123.94)] and PTSS [OR: 12.97, p <0.001, 95%CI (5.41-31.11)]. Both depression [OR: 17.35, p =0.006, 95%CI (2.28-131.87)] and PTSS [OR: 14.18, p <0.001, 95%CI (6.00-33.47)] were risk factors for developing anxiety among participants. Interestingly, higher educational levels of primary caregivers were a risk factor for developing depression [OR: 1.62, p =0.005, 95%CI (1.16-2.28)] in the participants, but a protective factor against PTSS [OR: 0.47, p =0.048, 95%CI (0.23-0.99)].Conclusions: The local youth had less than expected degree of increases in their self-reported PTSS and anxiety, after exiting lockdown-related isolation. As a result of a combination of compensatory mechanisms including internet-based home-schooling and increased intra-familial interactions, home isolation did not affect the mental health of local school-aged youth to an extent as great as expected.Trial registration: The Registration number of this trial is ChiCTR2000033054.