Preoperative cognitive screening and brain health initiatives

Cognitive enhancers, also known as "smart drugs," are substances used to enhance memory, mental alertness, and concentration. These can be natural or synthetic and improve cognition in conditions like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Some common examples include caffeine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, modafinil, arecoline, donepezil, vortioxetine, and piracetam. These enhancers work on the principle of synaptic plasticity and altered circuit function.

The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the...

Brain imaging technologies provide critical insights into both the structure and function of the human brain, enabling medical professionals and researchers to diagnose, study, and treat neurological disorders or psychiatric disorders more effectively.
These technologies include computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron-emission tomography (PET scans),  magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),  functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Transcranial Magnetic...