Cognitive Control

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of a structured fascial yoga-based behavioral intervention on perceived stress, cognitive control, and cognitive flexibility in menopausal women. The study aims to determine whether a non-pharmacological and non-invasive behavioral intervention can support psychological and cognitive functioning and reduce perceived stress in menopausal women. Design: This study is designed as a randomized controlled, pretest-posttest experimental study with a post-intervention follow-up assessment. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group receiving usual care. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at follow-up to evaluate both the immediate and sustained effects of the intervention. Method: A total of 60 menopausal women aged 45-65 years will be recruited from the menopause outpatient clinic and randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group will participate in a 12-week online fascial yoga program consisting of two 60-minute sessions per week. In this study, fascial yoga is defined as a fascia-focused, non-pharmacological, and non-invasive behavioral intervention that includes myofascial release techniques, breath regulation, body awareness, and basic yoga practices to support stress regulation and cognitive functioning. The program will include myofascial release techniques, basic yoga postures suitable for all physical fitness levels, and structured breathing exercises. All sessions will be conducted online in a group format, and no audio or video recordings will be taken. The control group will continue to receive routine outpatient care during the study period. After completion of the follow-up assessments, the fascial yoga program will be offered to participants in the control group upon request. Data will be collected at three time points: at baseline before the intervention, immediately after completion of the 12-week intervention, and at the follow-up assessment 8 weeks after the intervention. Perceived stress, cognitive control, and cognitive flexibility will be assessed using validated self-report questionnaires. Hypotheses: H1: Menopausal women participating in the fascial yoga intervention will show a significant reduction in perceived stress levels compared with the control group at post-intervention and follow-up assessments. H2: Menopausal women participating in the fascial yoga intervention will show a significant improvement in cognitive control and cognitive flexibility compared with the control group at post-intervention and follow-up assessments.

This is a research study to determine how COBENFY KarXT (FDA approved), a drug which has been approved for treatment of certain disorders, affects brain activity and cognitive tasks which may be regulated by the cholinergic system. This study aims to answer: 1) how cholinergic circuitries act during task performance in humans, and 2) develop a better understanding of how cognitive control interacts with learning, memory and decision making in the setting of cholinergic manipulation. Participants will complete a single treatment arm, regardless of which surgical procedure they are to receive. An anesthesiologist or other clinical staff will administer either the drug or the saline at a critical point which addresses the research questions, prior to patient surgery. This will be either with the drug, or the placebo pill. Half of the participants will be randomized to receive the drug, and the other half of these the placebo. Participants will be unaware whether the actual drug has been received. Essential tremor patients who participate will complete a cognitive task during an awake surgery. Epilepsy patients who participate will have a resting state recording during the procedure from the deep cortical layers of the brain. A probe will be used during the surgery to measure the effects of this drug and other procedures of the study on the cholinergic system. This probe is the clinical probe known as the AlphaOmega, which is FDA approved for standard of care procedures. Researchers will compare the brain activity between treatment arms to determine what brain activity changes based on the cholinergic manipulation.

This study aims to clarify relations between brain oscillations and two cognitive functions: cognitive control and memory.