Edith Cowan University

About: Edith Cowan University is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 4040 authors who have published 13529 publications receiving 339582 citations. The organization is also known as: Edith Cowan & ECU.

Caring for someone with high-grade glioma: a time of rapid change for caregivers.

Abstract: Patients diagnosed with high-grade gliomas have a poor prognosis and limited life expectancy, and often experience rapid decline in function. Caring for a patient with high-grade glioma is particularly stressful because caregivers are faced not only with cancer-related caregiving issues, but also issues relating to caring for someone with cognitive impairment. This study aimed to articulate the experiences of family caregivers of people diagnosed with high-grade glioma and to describe their information and support needs. A grounded theory method was adopted. Twenty-one family caregivers of people with high-grade glioma were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. A constant comparison method of data analysis was employed. A central theme, A Time of Rapid Change and two sub-themes, Renegotiating Relationships and Learning to be a Caregiver, emerged to describe the experiences of participants. Caregiving was characterised by numerous role and life changes from the moment of diagnosis. Caregivers in this study reported experiences similar to those described by caregivers of people with other cancers. What differed for this group was the rapidity of change and the need for immediate information and support to assist with caring for a person with high-grade glioma.

Evaluation of color preference in zebrafish for learning and memory.

Abstract: There is growing interest in using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. A zebrafish model of tauopathies has recently been developed and characterized in terms of presence of the pathological hallmarks (i.e., neurofibrillary tangles and cell death). However, it is also necessary to validate these models for function by assessing learning and memory. The majority of tools to assess memory and learning in animal models involve visual stimuli, including color preference. The color preference of zebrafish has received little attention. To validate zebrafish as a model for color-associated-learning and memory, it is necessary to evaluate its natural preferences or any pre-existing biases towards specific colors. In the present study, we have used four different colors (red, yellow, green, and blue) to test natural color preferences of the zebrafish using two procedures: Place preference and T-maze. Results from both experiments indicate a strong aversion toward blue color relative to all other colors (red, yellow, and green) when tested in combinations. No preferences or biases were found among reds, yellows, and greens in the place preference procedure. However, red and green were equally preferred and both were preferred over yellow by zebrafish in the T-maze procedure. The results from the present study show a strong aversion towards blue color compared to red, green, and yellow, with yellow being less preferred relative to red and green. The findings from this study may underpin any further designing of color-based learning and memory paradigms or experiments involving aversion, anxiety, or fear in the zebrafish.

Use of the CogState Brief Battery in the assessment of Alzheimer's disease related cognitive impairment in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study

Abstract: The aim of this study was to validate the CogState Brief Battery, which assesses psychomotor, attentional, working memory, and visual learning functions, in healthy older people and in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), enrolled in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study. In healthy older adults, weak relationships between demographic variables (e.g., education, depression) and cognitive performance were observed. In AD and MCI groups, the magnitude of impairment was greatest for tasks of working memory and memory, with a negative influence of apolipoprotein E ϵ4 status on learning but not working memory. These results suggest that the CogState Brief Battery can be used to screen for AD-related cognitive changes.