Objectives: Phenobarbital (PB) is the most widely used antiepileptic drug in the world, but its possible deleterious cognitive and behavioral side effects remain and important concern among physicians and patients. We attempt to investigate whether discontinuation of PB in epileptic children was accompanied by improvement in cognitive function.Design and methods: Evaluation of neuropsychiatric performance was performed by Wechsler intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), in 2 consecutive periods of 7 months interval, in 2 groups of epileptic children between 6-12 years old who were seizure free for at least 2 year and who were taking only PB as antiepileptic drug. The case group consisted of 24 patients for whom PB was discontinued and the control group consisted of 21 children who continued to take PB.Results: Results indicated that discontinuation of PB improved total IQ scored compared to control group (p=0.027), and this increase was mostly in performance (nonverbal) items while verbal items remained almost unchanged.Conclusion: These findings suggest that PB affects cognitive function; and the performance (nonverbal) deficits are reversible after therapy discontinuation.

Introduction: the Kantian schema is described as being disembodied and a basis for pure reason, while in the embodied model of mind in Cognitive Science schemas are the results of neural activities in the brain, however, some neurocognitive studies propose a correspondence between some parts of the Kantian model of cognition and some recent neurocognitive findings, e.g. the innateness of neural strata contributing partial perceptions of space is compared to the Kantian a priori space, but how perceptions nested in the neural strata, hence empirical, could be a priori.Method: this treatise tries to elaborate on the notion that the dual character of schema in the Kantian model of cognition, which maintains a relation between the pure reason and experience, could be applicable to the neurocognitive model of cognition and the rational and empirical views on image-schemas. The present paper is developed through an inductive method which is based on the empirical and experimental results reported from authenticated sources.Results: by redescribing the Kantian “a priori intuition” of space and time as “implicit, automatic, and necessary” perceptions of space and time, a correspondence between the Kantian and the neurocognitive models of cognition could be confirmed. Based on the distinction proposed between “schemas” of objects and primitive “image schemas” grounding abstract reason, schemas could correspond to the Kantian “concepts of objects” and image schemas to the Kantian “categories”.Conclusion: The present discussion puts the neurocognitive model of “embodied reason” in line with the Kantian “pure reason”.

Background and objectives: Menopause is associated with depression as well as emotional and memory disorders. Based on the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of pistachio, its effect on depression, cognitive function, anxiety and physical power in ovariectomized mice was investigated. Methods: In the current study, fifty female mice were used. They were aliquoted into five groups: control, ovariectomy (OVX), ovariectomy + DMSO, ovariectomy +10 mg/kg pistachioextract and Ovariectomy +100 mg/kg pistachio extract. In order to prepare the required extract, pistachio nuts were powdered (100 g) and macerated in 1 L of ethanol (80%) for 72 h. Pistachio extract was used orally once a day in ovariectomized mice for sixty days. Anxiety, depression, working memory and physical power were evaluated by the Elevated plus-maze (EPM) test, Forced swimming test (FST), Y maze and swimming exhaustion test, respectively. Results: The results showed that extract of pistachio (more potentially at the dose of 100 mg/kg) decreased anxiety-like behaviors and depression; besides, increase in working memory and physical power was observed in the ovariectomized mice. Conclusion: The findings of the current investigation suggest that pistachio extract could be used as a potential strategy for the attenuation of ovariectomy-related manifestation.

Introduction The increasing prevalence of smoking, despite the awareness of its potential damages, may be due to various causes. Impairments of the neurocognitive functions have been identified in a variety of addictive behaviors. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to investigate neurocognitive performance relative defects in smoking people compared to the non-smoking subjects. Materials and Methods This investigation is a causal-comparative study. The sample of 50 subjects (aged 21-32 years), 25 male smoker student and 25 non-smokers were chosen through convenience sampling from the University of Guilan. These subjects answered researcher-made cigarette checklist and worked with software tests of Cambridge Gambling, Stroop’ s Color-Word, and Tower of London, for evaluation risky decision making, response inhibition, and planning and problem solving. Results The results of multivariate analysis of variance showed that two groups of smoker and non-smoker people have shown different results of software tests of Cambridge Gambling, Stroop’ s Color-Word, and Tower of London. Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that smokers have a poor relative performance in risky decision-making, response inhibition, and planning and problem-solving. These neurocognitive performance relative defects may explain their smoking behavior despite the awareness of potential damages of smoking.

Background- Neurocognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB or “pump”) is a common complication, reported in up to 53% of patients. In many patients this morbidity is only mild and transient, but in 5% of cases, it is severe.Method-In this prospective study from June 2002 to July 2004,186 cases underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) using CPB or off-pump CABG (OPCAB), and they were evaluated for neurocognitive complications by mini-mental status examination.Results- The average age of the patients was 56±6.2 years, 62% were male and 38% were female. 121 operations were performed with CPB (on-pump) and 65 operations were done off-pump. Mini-mental status test was normal in 50% of off-pump CABGs and in 43% of on-pump CABGs, very mild disturbance was seen in 48% of off-pump CABGs and in 54% of on-pump CABGs (p value=0.192, NS), mild disturbance was seen in 2% of off-pump CABGs and in 3% of on-pump CABGs (p value 0.392, NS), and moderate or severe disturbance was not seen in either group.Conclusion- In our study, there was no significance difference in the frequency of postoperative neurocognitive complications between off-pump and on-pump CABG patients.