A literature review is commonly used to review current research (within the past three to four years) in a specific topic area. Literature Review Development Part 3: Using the South University online library database (PROQUEST), find two more peer-reviewed journal articles related to your topic. Content from your textbooks, Wikipedia, or any other web sources will not be accepted in this assignment. Write a short (1–2 paragraphs) summary for each article. Write a brief (1–2 paragraphs) analysis and evaluation for each article. Use correct spelling, grammar, and professional vocabulary. first article Not too long ago, doctors trying to diagnose neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's could only rely on external symptoms and batteries of cognitive tests. Without a peephole to the brain, only an autopsy could confirm what was actually happening to the structures inside the skull. Four decades of increasingly sophisticated imaging techniques have given physicians and researchers many tools to get real-time looks at what's happening -- or not -- in the brain. But scientists are still working to match brain-scan images with understanding of what's normal for a certain age and what's worrisome in each region of the brain, along with figuring out how connections between different regions behave. One recent study conducted at Northwestern University in Chicago used three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging to detect differences in the brains of so-called SuperAgers: people 80-plus whose memories are as sharp as those 20 or 30 years younger. Researchers led by Emily Rogalski, an assistant research professor at Northwestern's Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's disease Center, did scans and memory tests on 12 people identified as having exceptional memory, as well as 10 elderly 80-somethings with average memory and 14 volunteers aged 50 to 65. What was most striking about the brains of the super-sharp seniors? Each had a thick cortex, the outer layer of gray matter that's important for memory, attention and cognition. The layer was much thicker than seen in the group of normal-aging elders, and closely matched the cortex size of the younger people. Imaging also showed another region deep in the brain -- the anterior cingulate cortex -- was thicker in the SuperAgers than in the 50- to 65-year-olds. The region is important to attention and motivation, which may be why the SuperAgers have exceptional memories, Rogalski said. The research on healthy aging brains, published in August's Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, could eventually be used to help protect the elderly from memory loss or even Alzheimer's disease, the researchers said. At the other end of the age spectrum, a study published in the journal Current Biology online in mid-August described how scientists have mapped a `developmental clock` to assess how a typical brain matures from ages 3 to 20. Led by Tim Brown at the University of California at San Diego's School of Medicine, they used 231 anatomical markers visible through MRI scans to assess age, give or take a year, with 92 percent accuracy. Earlier research had suggested much greater variation in the maturing of different brain structures in youth. The study, which also involved scientists from nine other universities, analyzed brain scans from 885 typical children and teens to draft a scale based on features such as thickness and size of the cortex, the volume of deep brain structures, tissue properties and the intensity of brain signals. Brown said while more work needs to be done to make the scale useful in clinical care, the consistent pace of brain maturity suggests the growth milestones could be used for early detection of developmental brain disorders. Another group of UCSD researchers has taken a different approach to identifying neural disease, using the eyes as a window to the brain, if not the soul. They've developed several new fluorescent probes that change color depending on the type of sticky protein plaques, or amyloids, they encounter. Different amyloids are found in the brains of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease as opposed to Alzheimer's. Current brain scans can use radioactive tracers to spot amyloid but can't specify which type of proteins is present. However, amyloid also accumulates in the eyes. The researchers reported, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society published online in mid-August, that one of their probes glows yellow when it hits amyloids associated with prions found in CJD, but green when it binds with proteins linked to Alzheimer's. The team is working to develop additional probes for different diseases, but the technology has already been licensed for commercial development in diagnostic tests. 2 article Sept. 03--NEW HAVEN -- Quite by accident, Tamas Horvath's scientific journey has led him to childbirth. For weeks, Horvath, chairman of the Department of Comparative Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, has heard from midwives, nurses and doctors, all reacting to his findings about a protein in the brain that is affected by the manner in which a mother delivers her baby. In essence, Horvath and his colleagues found, based on studies of mice, that a key protein related to brain development in newborns is activated during natural childbirth, but impaired in Caesarean section births. The protein is called mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2, or UCP2. It plays a role in everything from the cellular metabolism of fat to the creation of neurons and circuits in the part of the brain controlling long- and short-term memory. The findings were published recently in the scientific journal PLoS ONE. `It's becoming very clear that the perinatal environment has an impact on later onset disorders, such as obesity and diabetes,` said Horvath. `The hours of delivery are the stress that moves you from one form of existence to another.` Of course, Horvath did not set out to examine the role of childbirth in the development of proteins. His research over the years has been wide-ranging, examining the intricate ways the brain communicates with the rest of the body. In certain ways, he said, the brain acts more as an enabler, reacting to prompts from elsewhere in the body. The UCP2 protein was identified more than a decade ago. One of its important duties is to promote the survival of cells under stress and help adapt cells to a changing environment. Now that his research indicates a difference in how the protein is triggered in natural childbirth versus C-section, Horvath wants to see if there are long-term physical or developmental differences. `It's reasonable to look at the potential human relevance of this,` Horvath said. About one in three births in the U.S. are via Caesarean section; many of them are elective. The rate is higher in many parts of the world. `We have a soaring Caesarean rate,` said Holly Powell Kennedy, the Helen Varney professor of midwifery at the Yale School of Nursing. `A Caesarean birth can save lives, no question, but not one-in-three. `The inherent event of labor in birth is not dangerous. We need to skillfully attend to what kind of stress makes a baby healthier and what kind of stress is too much.` Kennedy said Horvath's research has piqued the interest of nurses, doctors and midwives around the world because it offers insight into the complex physical processes happening at birth. `The actual stress of a baby going through labor and birth is a healthy thing,` Kennedy said. `There are things that happen in labor that begin to lay down the cellular mechanisms in a baby.` As such concerns and opinions find their way to Horvath's in-box, he is only too happy to add to the body of knowledge about a much-discussed topic.

A literature review is commonly used to review current research (within the past three to four years) in a specific topic area.

Literature Review Development Part 3:

Using the South University online library database (PROQUEST), find two more peer-reviewed journal articles related to your topic. Content from your textbooks, Wikipedia, or any other web sources will not be accepted in this assignment.

Write a short (1–2 paragraphs) summary for each article.

Write a brief (1–2 paragraphs) analysis and evaluation for each article.

Use correct spelling, grammar, and professional vocabulary.


first article


Not too long ago, doctors trying to diagnose neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's could only rely on external symptoms and batteries of cognitive tests.

Without a peephole to the brain, only an autopsy could confirm what was actually happening to the structures inside the skull.

Four decades of increasingly sophisticated imaging techniques have given physicians and researchers many tools to get real-time looks at what's happening -- or not -- in the brain.

But scientists are still working to match brain-scan images with understanding of what's normal for a certain age and what's worrisome in each region of the brain, along with figuring out how connections between different regions behave.

One recent study conducted at Northwestern University in Chicago used three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging to detect differences in the brains of so-called SuperAgers: people 80-plus whose memories are as sharp as those 20 or 30 years younger.

Researchers led by Emily Rogalski, an assistant research professor at Northwestern's Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's disease Center, did scans and memory tests on 12 people identified as having exceptional memory, as well as 10 elderly 80-somethings with average memory and 14 volunteers aged 50 to 65.

What was most striking about the brains of the super-sharp seniors? Each had a thick cortex, the outer layer of gray matter that's important for memory, attention and cognition.

The layer was much thicker than seen in the group of normal-aging elders, and closely matched the cortex size of the younger people.

Imaging also showed another region deep in the brain -- the anterior cingulate cortex -- was thicker in the SuperAgers than in the 50- to 65-year-olds. The region is important to attention and motivation, which may be why the SuperAgers have exceptional memories, Rogalski said.

The research on healthy aging brains, published in August's Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, could eventually be used to help protect the elderly from memory loss or even Alzheimer's disease, the researchers said.

At the other end of the age spectrum, a study published in the journal Current Biology online in mid-August described how scientists have mapped a `developmental clock` to assess how a typical brain matures from ages 3 to 20.

Led by Tim Brown at the University of California at San Diego's School of Medicine, they used 231 anatomical markers visible through MRI scans to assess age, give or take a year, with 92 percent accuracy.

Earlier research had suggested much greater variation in the maturing of different brain structures in youth.

The study, which also involved scientists from nine other universities, analyzed brain scans from 885 typical children and teens to draft a scale based on features such as thickness and size of the cortex, the volume of deep brain structures, tissue properties and the intensity of brain signals.

Brown said while more work needs to be done to make the scale useful in clinical care, the consistent pace of brain maturity suggests the growth milestones could be used for early detection of developmental brain disorders.

Another group of UCSD researchers has taken a different approach to identifying neural disease, using the eyes as a window to the brain, if not the soul.

They've developed several new fluorescent probes that change color depending on the type of sticky protein plaques, or amyloids, they encounter. Different amyloids are found in the brains of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease as opposed to Alzheimer's.

Current brain scans can use radioactive tracers to spot amyloid but can't specify which type of proteins is present.

However, amyloid also accumulates in the eyes.

The researchers reported, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society published online in mid-August, that one of their probes glows yellow when it hits amyloids associated with prions found in CJD, but green when it binds with proteins linked to Alzheimer's.

The team is working to develop additional probes for different diseases, but the technology has already been licensed for commercial development in diagnostic tests.

2 article


Sept. 03--NEW HAVEN -- Quite by accident, Tamas Horvath's scientific journey has led him to childbirth.

For weeks, Horvath, chairman of the Department of Comparative Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, has heard from midwives, nurses and doctors, all reacting to his findings about a protein in the brain that is affected by the manner in which a mother delivers her baby.

In essence, Horvath and his colleagues found, based on studies of mice, that a key protein related to brain development in newborns is activated during natural childbirth, but impaired in Caesarean section births.

The protein is called mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2, or UCP2. It plays a role in everything from the cellular metabolism of fat to the creation of neurons and circuits in the part of the brain controlling long- and short-term memory.

The findings were published recently in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

`It's becoming very clear that the perinatal environment has an impact on later onset disorders, such as obesity and diabetes,` said Horvath. `The hours of delivery are the stress that moves you from one form of existence to another.`

Of course, Horvath did not set out to examine the role of childbirth in the development of proteins. His research over the years has been wide-ranging, examining the intricate ways the brain communicates with the rest of the body.

In certain ways, he said, the brain acts more as an enabler, reacting to prompts from elsewhere in the body.

The UCP2 protein was identified more than a decade ago. One of its important duties is to promote the survival of cells under stress and help adapt cells to a changing environment.

Now that his research indicates a difference in how the protein is triggered in natural childbirth versus C-section, Horvath wants to see if there are long-term physical or developmental differences.

`It's reasonable to look at the potential human relevance of this,` Horvath said.

About one in three births in the U.S. are via Caesarean section; many of them are elective. The rate is higher in many parts of the world.

`We have a soaring Caesarean rate,` said Holly Powell Kennedy, the Helen Varney professor of midwifery at the Yale School of Nursing. `A Caesarean birth can save lives, no question, but not one-in-three.

`The inherent event of labor in birth is not dangerous. We need to skillfully attend to what kind of stress makes a baby healthier and what kind of stress is too much.`

Kennedy said Horvath's research has piqued the interest of nurses, doctors and midwives around the world because it offers insight into the complex physical processes happening at birth.

`The actual stress of a baby going through labor and birth is a healthy thing,` Kennedy said. `There are things that happen in labor that begin to lay down the cellular mechanisms in a baby.`

As such concerns and opinions find their way to Horvath's in-box, he is only too happy to add to the body of knowledge about a much-discussed topic.