Innovation Diplomacy in the Clinical Neurosciences

2021 ◽  
pp. 283-300
Author(s):  
Kylie Ternes ◽  
Walter Dawson ◽  
Harris A. Eyre

Clinical neuroscience diplomacy aims to influence the global policy environment for clinical neuroscience disorders (i.e., dementia, depression, and other mind/brain disorders) and bridges the disciplines of global brain health, global mental health, international affairs, management, law, and economics. Determinants of clinical neuroscience disorders include educational attainment, diet, access to health care, physical activity, social support, and environmental exposures, as well as chronic brain disorders and treatment. Global challenges associated with these determinants include large-scale conflicts and consequent mass migration, chemical contaminants, air quality, socioeconomic status, climate change, and global population aging. Given the rapidly advancing technological innovations impacting clinical neuroscience disorders, it is paramount to optimize the benefits and mitigate the drawbacks of such technologies.

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 955-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie Ternes ◽  
Vijeth Iyengar ◽  
Helen Lavretsky ◽  
Walter D. Dawson ◽  
Laura Booi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackground:Brain health diplomacy aims to influence the global policy environment for brain health (i.e. dementia, depression, and other mind/brain disorders) and bridges the disciplines of global brain health, international affairs, management, law, and economics. Determinants of brain health include educational attainment, diet, access to health care, physical activity, social support, and environmental exposures, as well as chronic brain disorders and treatment. Global challenges associated with these determinants include large-scale conflicts and consequent mass migration, chemical contaminants, air quality, socioeconomic status, climate change, and global population aging. Given the rapidly advancing technological innovations impacting brain health, it is paramount to optimize the benefits and mitigate the drawbacks of such technologies.Objective:We propose a working model of Brain health INnovation Diplomacy (BIND).Methods:We prepared a selective review using literature searches of studies pertaining to brain health technological innovation and diplomacy.Results:BIND aims to improve global brain health outcomes by leveraging technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and innovation diplomacy. It acknowledges the key role that technology, entrepreneurship, and digitization play and will increasingly play in the future of brain health for individuals and societies alike. It strengthens the positive role of novel solutions, recognizes and works to manage both real and potential risks of digital platforms. It is recognition of the political, ethical, cultural, and economic influences that brain health technological innovation and entrepreneurship can have.Conclusions:By creating a framework for BIND, we can use this to ensure a systematic model for the use of technology to optimize brain health.


Author(s):  
Manuel García-Goñi ◽  
Alexandrina P. Stoyanova ◽  
Roberto Nuño-Solinís

Background: Mental illness, multi-morbidity, and socio-economic inequalities are some of the main challenges for the public health system nowadays, and are further aggravated by the process of population aging. Therefore, it is widely accepted that health systems need to focus their strategies for confronting such concerns. With guaranteed access to health care services under universal coverage in many health systems, it is expected that all services be provided equally to patients with the same level of need. Methods: In this paper, we explore the existence of inequalities in the access to services of patients with mental illness taking into account whether they are multimorbid patients, their socioeconomic status, and their age. We take advantage of a one-year (2010–2011) database on individual healthcare utilization and expenditures for the total population (N = 2,262,698) of the Basque Country. Results: More comorbidity leads to greater inequality in prevalence, being the poor sicker, although with age, this inequality decreases. All health services are more oriented towards greater utilization of the poor and sicker, particularly in the case of visits to specialists and emergency care. Conclusions: Mental health inequalities in prevalence have been identified as being disproportionally concentrated in the least affluent areas of the Basque Country. However, inequalities in the utilization of publicly-provided health services present a pro-poor orientation. As this region has adopted a system-wide transformation towards integrated care, its mental health delivery model offers excellent potential for international comparisons and benchlearning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 296 (4) ◽  
pp. 114-120
Author(s):  
IRYNA KRAVETS ◽  

The article analyzes the demographic situation in Ukraine, which has acquired signs of a demographic crisis. There has been an unprecedented decline in Ukraine’s population, which has lost a fifth in the years since independence. The current trends of population decline in the regional context have been studied. It is established that the prospects of depopulation are quite disappointing, given the low overall fertility rate, as well as the predominance of mortality over fertility. The natural movement of the population has been studied, the main causes of its high mortality, especially in working age, due to increased morbidity, in particular the high prevalence of risk factors for noncommunicable diseases, which form more than 80% of mortality in Ukraine, under the influence of endogenous, exogenous and quasi-endogenous factors. The causes of low birth rate, as well as modern features and orientations of reproductive behavior of the population are revealed. In Ukraine, there is a tendency of low life expectancy and population aging compared to some European countries. It is concluded that under such conditions large-scale depopulation will be inevitable. The peculiarities of modern migration processes, in particular labor migration, which can give impetus to alternative migration, have been clarified. The interaction of demographic processes and socio-economic development of the country is determined. Ways to overcome the demographic crisis are a set of demographic measures (organization and conduct of the census, which was not conducted for two decades, the formation of population registers, increasing financial assistance to mothers at birth in accordance with modern requirements, etc.) and socio-economic measures to strengthen reproductive behavior, flexible employment for childbirth and child rearing, improving the level and quality of life of citizens, increasing work motivation in Ukraine, social protection of citizens, etc.


Author(s):  
Amber Colibaba ◽  
Mark W. Skinner ◽  
Elizabeth Russell

Abstract During large-scale crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the precarity of older people and older volunteers can become exacerbated, especially in under-serviced rural regions and small towns. To understand how the pandemic has affected “older voluntarism”, this article presents a case study of three volunteer-based programs in rural Ontario, Canada. Interviews with 34 volunteers and administrators reveal both challenging and growth-oriented experiences of volunteers and the programs during the first wave of COVID-19. The findings demonstrate the vulnerability and resiliency of older volunteers and the adaptability and uncertainty of programs that rely on older voluntarism, as the community and its older residents navigate pandemic-related changes. The article advances a framework for understanding the pandemic’s impacts on older voluntarism in relation to personal, program, and community dimensions of sustainable rural aging. Further, it explores ways that older volunteers, organizations that depend on them, and communities experiencing population aging can persevere post-pandemic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S762-S762
Author(s):  
Clare C Luz

Abstract Rapid population aging presents opportunities for higher education to address major aging-related public issues facing society that have a direct impact on students, faculty, and both local and global communities. Students in virtually all disciplines will be working within the context of an aging society post-graduation and need to be prepared as they make career choices and enter the workforce. Further, faculty and staff are not only aging themselves but may be caregivers, which has an impact on health, income and productivity. Michigan State University (MSU) is now addressing these needs through a new program guided by Age-Friendly University (AFU) principles called AgeAlive that grew out of five years of grassroots organizing. Large-scale, research-intensive institutions present special challenges to pursuing AFU status but the lessons learned by AgeAlive may help any organization that wishes to become more age friendly. This session will review AgeAlive’s path to a recognized program with a clear vision, a strategic plan, two crosscutting goals including AFU designation, and five focus areas with initiatives in each area. Tools to help achieve these goals include an inventory of aging-related activity on campus and a virtual hub for networking and information exchange. Key steps in the program development process will be described as will recommendations related to choosing a model, cultivating champions, making decisions based on data, and building infrastructure. It will allow others to understand what challenges they may face and potential approaches to minimizing and overcoming these challenges in their own AFU journey.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana L. Ruiz-Rizzo ◽  
Florian Beissner ◽  
Kathrin Finke ◽  
Hermann J. Müller ◽  
Claus Zimmer ◽  
...  

AbstractIn mammals, the hippocampus, entorhinal, perirhinal, and parahippocampal cortices (i.e., core regions of the human medial temporal lobes, MTL) are locally interlaced with the adjacent amygdala nuclei at the structural and functional levels. At the global brain level, the human MTL has been described as part of the default mode network whereas amygdala nuclei as parts of the salience network, with both networks forming collectively a large-scale brain system supporting allostatic-interoceptive functions. We hypothesized (i) that intrinsic functional connectivity of slow activity fluctuations would reveal human MTL subsystems locally extending to the amygdala; and (ii) that these extended local subsystems would be globally embedded in large-scale brain systems supporting allostatic-interoceptive functions. From the resting-state fMRI data of three independent samples of cognitively healthy adults (one main and two replication samples: Ns = 101, 61, and 29, respectively), we analyzed the functional connectivity of fluctuating ongoing BOLD-activity within and outside the amygdala-MTL in a data-driven way using masked independent component and dual-regression analyses. We found that at the local level MTL subsystems extend to the amygdala and are functionally organized along the longitudinal amygdala-MTL axis. These subsystems were characterized by a consistent involvement of amygdala, hippocampus, and entorhinal cortex, but a variable participation of perirhinal and parahippocampal regions. At the global level, amygdala-MTL subsystems selectively connected to salience, thalamic-brainstem, and default mode networks – the major cortical and subcortical parts of the allostatic-interoceptive system. These results provide evidence for integrated amygdala-MTL subsystems in humans, which are embedded within a larger allostatic-interoceptive system.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Medico-Salsench ◽  
Faidra Karkala ◽  
Kristina Lanko ◽  
Tahsin Stefan Barakat

Abstract The non-coding genome, consisting of more than 98% of all genetic information in humans and once judged as ‘Junk DNA’, is increasingly moving into the spotlight in the field of human genetics. Non-coding regulatory elements (NCREs) are crucial to ensure correct spatio-temporal gene expression. Technological advancements have allowed to identify NCREs on a large scale, and mechanistic studies have helped to understand the biological mechanisms underlying their function. It is increasingly becoming clear that genetic alterations of NCREs can cause genetic disorders, including brain diseases. In this review, we concisely discuss mechanisms of gene regulation and how to investigate them, and give examples of non-coding alterations of NCREs that give rise to human brain disorders. The cross-talk between basic and clinical studies enhances the understanding of normal and pathological function of NCREs, allowing better interpretation of already existing and novel data. Improved functional annotation of NCREs will not only benefit diagnostics for patients, but might also lead to novel areas of investigations for targeted therapies, applicable to a wide panel of genetic disorders. The intrinsic complexity and precision of the gene regulation process can be turned to the advantage of highly specific treatments. We further discuss this exciting new field of ‘enhancer therapy’ based on recent examples.


Author(s):  
Maila D. H. Rahiem ◽  
Steven Eric Krauss ◽  
Robin Ersing

Despite several recent studies reporting on young people’s well-being during COVID-19, few large-scale qualitative studies have been carried out that capture the experiences of young people from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) undergoing extended social restrictions. The challenges faced by young people from LMICs during COVID-19 are likely to be amplified by their countries’ large populations, resource constraints, lack of access to health care, living conditions, socio-spatial contexts, and the pandemic’s ramifications for communities. This study explored how youths perceived their well-being after being isolated for one-and-a-half years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative narrative research was employed as a method of inquiry. One-hundred and sixty-six university students in Jakarta, Indonesia, between the ages of 17 and 22 wrote reflective online essays on the consequences of extended pandemic isolation on their mental health. This data collection strategy offered an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon through the narratives of those who experienced it. Seven themes expressing the youths’ perceived well-being were identified through inductive reflective thematic analysis: (1) the anguish of loneliness and estrangement; (2) a state of “brokenness” resulting from emotional agony and distress; (3) frustration, confusion, and anger; (4) the experience of conflicting emotions; (5) uncertainty about both the present and future; (6) a sense of purpose and fulfillment; and (7) turning to faith. The findings provide important insights into Indonesian youths’ well-being following extended social restrictions following the outbreak. Their collective experiences can be used to inform policy and practice regarding the nature of support mechanisms required both during and following the pandemic, and in the future if such a situation were to occur again.


2020 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. 32-40
Author(s):  
O. CHUB ◽  
◽  
A. ILYENKO ◽  

The relevance of the research topic is determined by the need to consider the issue of Ukrainian youth adaptation to the challenges on the labor market, which is under the influence of various crisis phenomena. They are related to the influence of both global and special internal factors. The aim of the study is to identify the impact of crisis phenomena on the youth adaptation to the labor market challenges. The object of research is the processes and factors influencing youth employment. The study of theoretical approaches to understanding the essence of the concepts such as “crisis” and “adaptation” revealed a direct connection between these phenomena, where the second imitates the first and affects the development of personality and the formation of new skills for transition. The analysis of the age population structure is carried out, which shows a low indicator in the category ”youth”. The dynamics of the level of youth employment in the periods of crisis fluctuations from 2007 to 2019 is demonstrated and negative trends are revealed. It is determined that due to the impact of crises, the labor market structure has suffered significant losses due to the decrease of the country population, aging of the nation, increased labor migration especially among young people, which leads to loss of labor country potential . Economic issues are the most acute for our state, and young people usually do not have enough experience and money savings to survive the period of trouble. Unemployed youth is a category with a high risk of social degradation, which is threatened by the development of marginal qualities, distortion of consciousness and civic views. Measures aimed at financial support for young people should be a priority, which should be targeted and provide additional employment guarantees. The fastest way is to develop and implement measures that will help young people adapt to the challenges of the organizational labor market. In this aspect, it is important to motivate and coordinate the cooperation of all social partners, which include employers, employment services, schools, higher education institutions and their career centers, NGOs, district education departments, and the authorities. An example is the Community of Employment Centers of leading Ukrainian universities from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odessa, which was established in 2018 to share experiences of best and effective practices for promoting youth employment within our country. This collaboration has led to large-scale career activities for young people in all these cities, and during the pandemic, quickly find new options for cooperation with business, youth counseling and new career activities online. In order to mitigate the long-term effects of the coronary crisis on the youth labor market, a special program to support youth employment during the crisis should be considered. An example of such a comprehensive program, which can be taken as a model, is the EU program, which was established in 2013 and is aimed at young people aged 15 to 29. The terms of this program provide an opportunity to register young people who have completed the period of formal training and have not been employed for 4 months – for them the program offers employment opportunities, continuing education, internships, individual counseling and mentoring.


eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey Paquola ◽  
Oualid Benkarim ◽  
Jordan DeKraker ◽  
Sara Larivière ◽  
Stefan Frässle ◽  
...  

The mesiotemporal lobe (MTL) is implicated in many cognitive processes, is compromised in numerous brain disorders, and exhibits a gradual cytoarchitectural transition from six-layered parahippocampal isocortex to three-layered hippocampal allocortex. Leveraging an ultra-high-resolution histological reconstruction of a human brain, our study showed that the dominant axis of MTL cytoarchitectural differentiation follows the iso-to-allocortical transition and depth-specific variations in neuronal density. Projecting the histology-derived MTL model to in-vivo functional MRI, we furthermore determined how its cytoarchitecture underpins its intrinsic effective connectivity and association to large-scale networks. Here, the cytoarchitectural gradient was found to underpin intrinsic effective connectivity of the MTL, but patterns differed along the anterior-posterior axis. Moreover, while the iso-to-allocortical gradient parametrically represented the multiple-demand relative to task-negative networks, anterior-posterior gradients represented transmodal versus unimodal networks. Our findings establish that the combination of micro- and macrostructural features allow the MTL to represent dominant motifs of whole-brain functional organisation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document