Showing papers in "Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology in 2002"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a new training paradigm with intensive and adaptive training of WM tasks and evaluated the effect of training with a double blind, placebo controlled design and found that the training significantly improved performance on a nontrained visuo-spatial WM task and on Raven's Progressive Matrices.
Abstract: Working memory (WM) capacity is the ability to retain and manipulate information during a short period of time. This ability underlies complex reasoning and has generally been regarded as a fixed trait of the individual. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) represent one group of subjects with a WM deficit, attributed to an impairment of the frontal lobe. In the present study, we used a new training paradigm with intensive and adaptive training of WM tasks and evaluated the effect of training with a double blind, placebo controlled design. Training significantly enhanced performance on the trained WM tasks. More importantly, the training significantly improved performance on a nontrained visuo-spatial WM task and on Raven’s Progressive Matrices, which is a nonverbal complex reasoning task. In addition, motor activity ‐ as measured by the number of head movements during a computerized test ‐ was significantly reduced in the treatment group. A second experiment showed that similar training-induced improvements on cognitive tasks are also possible in young adults without ADHD. These results demonstrate that performance on WM tasks can be significantly improved by training, and that the training effect also generalizes to nontrained tasks requiring WM. Training improved performance on tasks related to prefrontal functioning and had also a significant effect on motor activity in children with ADHD. The results thus suggest that WM training potentially could be of clinical use for ameliorating the symptoms in ADHD.
1,158 citations
TL;DR: Base rates of probable malingering and symptom exaggeration are reported from a survey of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology membership, and diagnosis was supported by multiple sources of evidence, including severity and pattern.
Abstract: Base rates of probable malingering and symptom exaggeration are reported from a survey of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology membership. Estimates were based on 33,531 annual cases involved in personal injury, (n = 6,371). disability (n = 3,688), criminal (n = 1,341), or medical (n = 22,131) matters. Base rates did not differ among geographic regions or practice settings, but were related to the proportion of plaintiff versus defense referrals. Reported rates would be 2-4% higher if variance due to referral source was controlled. Twenty-nine percent of personal injury, 30% of disability, 19% of criminal, and 8% of medical cases involved probable malingering and symptom exaggeration. Thirty-nine percent of mild head injury, 35% of fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue, 31% of chronic pain, 27% of neurotoxic, and 22% of electrical injury claims resulted in diagnostic impressions of probable malingering. Diagnosis was supported by multiple sources of evidence, including severity (65% of cases) or pattern (64% of cases) of cognitive impairment that was inconsistent with the condition, scores below empirical cutoffs on forced choice tests (57% of cases), discrepancies among records, self-report, and observed behavior (56%), implausible self-reported symptoms in interview (46%), implausible changes in test scores across repeated examinations (45%), and validity scales on objective personality tests (38% of cases).
950 citations
TL;DR: Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that the verbal intelligence indexes are useful in predicting and interpreting performance on at least some, but not necessarily all neuropsychological tests, in addition to participants’ age.
Abstract: The North American Adult Reading Test (NAART) is a quickly administered index that is widely used to estimate verbal intellectual ability. We have administered NAART to 351 healthy adults between 18 to 91 years of age to examine psychometric properties of the NAART and to elucidate influence of age, education and gender on NAART performance. The results showed that the NAART is a reliable and valid measure of verbal intelligence, comparable in psychometric properties to the WAIS-R Vocabulary test and with equal psychometric properties in young, middle-aged and older adults. The NAART scores increase across the adult life span (approximately 4.5 points or approximately 0.5 SD) and with education (approximately 1.5 points/year of education) but they are unrelated to gender. The shorter version--the NAART35--is equally reliable and valid in predicting the WAIS-R Vocabulary. We provide norms as well as various equations for precise predictions of the NAART, the NAART35, and the WAIS-R Vocabulary scores based on age and education. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that the verbal intelligence indexes are useful in predicting and interpreting performance on at least some, but not necessarily all neuropsychological tests, in addition to participants' age.
285 citations
TL;DR: The differential developmental course of speed and accuracy levels indicates that speed is a more sensitive measure when children get older and suggests that speed of performance, in addition to accuracy, might be successfully used in the assessment of clinical deficits, as has recently been demonstrated in children with autistic disorders of social contact.
Abstract: As yet, nearly all studies in face and facial affect recognition typically provide only data on the accuracy of processing, invariably also in the absence of reference data on information processing. In this study, accuracy and speed of abstract visuo-spatial processing, face recognition, and facial emotion recognition were investigated in normal school children (7–10 years) and adults (25±4 years). In the age range of 7–10 years, accuracy of facial processing hardly increased, while speed did substantially increase with age. Adults, however, were substantially more accurate and faster than children. Differences between facial and abstract information processing were related to type of processing strategy, that is, configural or holistic processing versus featural or piecemeal processing. Improvement in task performance with age is discussed in terms of an enhanced efficiency of the configural organization of facial knowledge (facial information processing tasks), together with a further increase in proce...
251 citations
TL;DR: The results show that elderly drivers having a history of accidents have poorer performance on the four cognitive measurements of executive functions and report to have more prudent behaviour on the road and have the intention to adopt less risky driving behaviour.
Abstract: The main objective of these studies was to analyse the difference in driving attitude and aptitude, between two groups of elderly male drivers (65 years or more), one being accident-free and the second having three accidents or more in the last 5 years. The first study compared the driving habits of 90 older accident-free drivers with 90 drivers having a history of accidents. The second study, on a subgroup of 60 of the original 180 subjects (30 accident-free and 30 having accidents), compared cognitive function, with particular emphasis on executive functions as measured by neuropsychological tests, and attitude and self-reported driving behaviour. The results show that elderly drivers having a history of accidents, compared to the control group: (1) have poorer performance on the four cognitive measurements of executive functions; (2) report to have more prudent behaviour on the road (e.g., reducing their speed); and (3) have the intention to adopt less risky driving behaviour. This study suggests that a subgroup of the older driver population has cognitive problems and driving disabilities that cannot be compensated by apparently more careful behaviour on the road. The results confirm the importance of proper assessment of cognitive processes and underscore the potential of measuring executive functions for the evaluation of driving competence of elderly persons.
227 citations
TL;DR: Results serve as a reminder that neuropsychological tests are measures of behavior, and thus can be influenced by nonneurological factors.
Abstract: The present study examined the effect of negative expectations on neuropsychological test performance. It was hypothesized that having attention called to a history of prior head injury and the potential effects of head injury on cognition would result in diminished neuropsychological test performance relative to individuals with a similar head injury history but who did not have their attention called to their head injury history ('diagnosis threat'). Of 36 participants with a history of mild head injury, 17 were randomly assigned to diagnosis threat and 19 to neutral test directions. The diagnosis threat group performed significantly worse on tests measuring general intellect and memory, but were not different from the neutral group in basic attention or psychomotor speed. The diagnosis threat group rated themselves as putting forth less effort on the neuropsychological battery, and self-rated effort correlated with test performance in that group. Overall, results serve as a reminder that neuropsychological tests are measures of behavior, and thus can be influenced by nonneurological factors.
225 citations
TL;DR: A free recall score <9 was found to have excellent specificity, although sensitivity was modest, and use of a combined recall and recognition score substantially increased sensitivity (71%) while maintaining high specificity (92%).
Abstract: Numerous publications on the Rey 15-item Memorization Test have cited limitations primarily in test sensitivity, as well as to some extent in specificity. In the current study, 49 patients with suspect effort, 36 neuropsychology clinic patients not in litigation or attempting to secure disability, 33 learning disabled college students, and 60 normal controls were administered the Rey Test in standard format followed by a recognition trial. A free recall score <9 was found to have excellent specificity (97–100%), although sensitivity was modest (47%). However, use of a combined recall and recognition score (i.e., free recall+[recognition–false positives] <20) substantially increased sensitivity (71%) while maintaining high specificity (=92%).
201 citations
TL;DR: The structure of the Wechsler–Bellevue Scale, which introduced major innovations in intelligence testing, has remained almost unchanged through later revisions.
Abstract: The history of David Wechsler's intelligence scales is reviewed by tracing the origins of the subtests in the 1939 Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. The subtests originated from tests developed between 1880 and World War I, and was based on approaches to mental testing including anthropometrics, association psychology, the Binet-Simon scales, language-free performance testing of immigrants and school children, and group testing of military recruits. Wechsler's subtest selection can be understood partly from his clinical experiences during World War I. The structure of the Wechsler-Bellevue Scale, which introduced major innovations in intelligence testing, has remained almost unchanged through later revisions.
195 citations
TL;DR: An overview of issues of the problem structure, or problem space of the task, the impact of modifications from the original, Shallice TOL, and the variety of performance measures that can be derived from the TOL are presented.
Abstract: Since its development in 1982, The Tower of London (TOL; Shallice, 1982) spatial problem-solving task has been increasingly employed in test batteries of executive functions. This task has served as a rich source of information on preparation, planning and processing, but a number of issues remain unaddressed in the literature: (1) the problem structure, or problem space of the task, (2) the impact of modifications from the original, Shallice TOL, and (3) the variety of performance measures that can be derived from the TOL. We present here an overview of these issues in the hope that it may lead to a more effective and reasoned use of the TOL task by clinical and nonclinical investigators, alike.
191 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that HD patients' functional deficits do not evolve uniformly, and performance on psychomotor tasks in people with the mutation who were close to clinical onset of HD was intermediate between that of individuals many years from onset and those in the early stages of HD, suggesting a slowly insidious evolution of deficit.
Abstract: The earliest changes in the development of Huntington's disease (HD) remain controversial. Studies of cognitive function in preclinical individuals who have the HD mutation have yielded contradictory results. This study compared cognitive and motor performance in 51 people with the HD mutation who had no clinical signs of HD, 85 at-risk individuals without the HD mutation and 43 individuals in the early stages of HD. Whereas highly significant differences were detected between the preclinical and early-HD groups, only subtle impairments were present in at-risk individuals with the HD mutation compared to those with normal HD alleles, principally for low-demand psychomotor tasks. Complementing these observations, longitudinal investigation showed that performance on psychomotor tasks in people with the mutation who were close to clinical onset of HD was intermediate between that of individuals many years from onset and those in the early stages of HD, suggesting a slowly insidious evolution of deficit. In contrast, memory performance showed a more precipitous decline around the time of clinical onset of HD. The findings, which suggest that HD patients' functional deficits do not evolve uniformly, help to resolve some of the disparities in the literature on preclinical HD.
164 citations
TL;DR: Three issues that should be considered when designing and interpreting comparisons involving reaction time concern speed-accuracy tradeoffs, methods of analyzing measures postulated to reflect specific processes, and methods for distinguishing group-related influences that are shared with other variables from those that are unique to a single variable.
Abstract: Although reaction time measures have been used extensively in many types of between-group comparisons, the assumptions and limitations of reaction time measurement are not always recognized. In this article we discuss three issues that should be considered when designing and interpreting comparisons involving reaction time. These concern speed-accuracy tradeoffs, methods of analyzing measures postulated to reflect specific processes, and methods for distinguishing group-related influences that are shared with other variables from those that are unique to a single variable.
TL;DR: It appears that the impact on caregivers of physical impairment is comparatively short-lived and that caregivers learn some practical ways to manage the behavioural problems of the people with TBI, but over time the person with TBO's behavioural and cognitive problems begins to play a larger role in the level of distress experienced by the caregiver.
Abstract: Fifty-two primary caregivers of people with a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) were assessed at 6-months and 1-year postinjury. Caregiver appraisal of the person with TBI's physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and social functioning was assessed. Caregiver psychosocial functioning and levels of subjective and objective burden were also assessed. Some aspects of the difficulties reported for the people with TBI remained stable, while others increased in frequency, over time. At 6-months postinjury, approximately one third of caregivers reported clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and depression, and poor social adjustment. By 1-year postinjury, the prevalence of anxiety and depression remained the same, although only one-quarter continued to report poor social adjustment. There was some evidence of adaptation by caregivers, as the frequency with which various types of objective burden were reported remained stable, while the distress caused by these decreased in the first year postinjury. It appears that the impact on caregivers of physical impairment is comparatively short-lived and that caregivers learn some practical ways to manage the behavioural problems of the people with TBI. Despite this, over time the person with TBI's behavioural and cognitive problems begins to play a larger role in the level of distress experienced by the caregiver. However, it is the person with TBI's social isolation that has a stable and consistent role in the experience of subjective burden for primary caregivers in the first year postinjury.
TL;DR: Impairments in the use of strategic, frontally-mediated processes that facilitate learning and memory would be associated with deficits in the long-term episodic memory of verbal material (i.e., word lists).
Abstract: A range of neuropsychological deficits have been identified in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and have been related to disruptions in function of the frontal cortex of the brain. We hypothesized that impairments in the use of strategic, frontally-mediated processes that facilitate learning and memory would be associated with deficits in the long-term episodic memory of verbal material (i.e., word lists). We evaluated 28 adults with OSAS and 24 controls (ranging from 28 to 60 years of age) using the California Verbal Learning Test. General executive abilities were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Letter fluency, and Category fluency. Individuals with OSAS exhibited poorer recall across learning trials, less efficient use of semantic clustering, and poorer use of semantic cues. Retention of previously encoded information and recognition, however, were intact. With the exception of letter fluency, deficits were not observed in general executive control. Results are di...
TL;DR: PET with H 2 15 O was used to further validate Stroop's test and the Verbal Fluency as measures of frontal lobe function; both tests were implemented as activation paradigms during scanning of normal middleaged individuals.
Abstract: Stroop's test and the Verbal Fluency test are commonly argued to be measures of the integrity of the prefrontal cortex This assumption has only to some degree been confirmed by lesion studies In the present study, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with H 2 15 O was used to further validate Stroop's test and the Verbal Fluency as measures of frontal lobe function; both tests were implemented as activation paradigms during scanning of normal middleaged individuals Stroop interference was found to activate the left anterior cingulate cortex, the supplementary motor cortex, thalamus, and the cerebellum Although the prominent anterior cingulate activation is in the frontal lobe, it is not prefrontal Verbal Fluency activated the left inferior frontal cortex and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the supplementary motor cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum These results bring this latter test closer to being a specific test of prefrontal function
TL;DR: Estimated intelligence for both men and women was positively associated with most episodic memory measures, the exception being face recognition in women, suggesting that face recognition performance in women is unrelated to several basic cognitive processes.
Abstract: The influence of estimated intelligence (group assessment of WAIS-R S) on sex differences in face recognition, as well as verbal and non-verbal episodic memory tasks was examined in 99 women and 88 men between 20 and 40 years of age Results showed that men performed at a higher level than women on the WAIS-R S subtest Information, whereas the opposite was true for Digit symbol Women performed at a higher level than men on the verbal episodic memory tasks and on face recognition, but there were no sex differences on the non-verbal episodic memory task Estimated intelligence for both men and women was positively associated with most episodic memory measures, the exception being face recognition in women In face recognition, there was no association to estimated intelligence, suggesting that face recognition performance in women is unrelated to several basic cognitive processes
TL;DR: The results support the premise that the development of a mood and/or anxiety disorder following pediatric head injury is mediated by multiple determinants and suggest that early psychosocial assessment and interventions aimed at increasing a child's coping may attenuate the emotional consequences of pediatric brain injury.
Abstract: Studies utilizing standardized instruments for assessing mood and/or anxiety disorders following pediatric traumatic brain injury have seldom been reported in the literature. Previous reports have largely focused on cognitive impairment, behavioral dysfunction, or adaptive functioning, and have typically relied on parental informants. In this study, children hospitalized for mild (N = 42) and moderate/severe (N = 19) brain injury were assessed 6-months postinjury using the Anxiety disorders Module A and the Mood disorders Module C of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children – IV Revision (DISC-IV). The data collected for the brain injury groups were compared to an orthopedic control group (N = 35). The relationship between a new onset mood and/or anxiety disorder (NOD) and injury severity indices was examined. Sequential logistical regression was also utilized to examine the impact of a brain injury, demographic variables, preinjury psychiatric disturbance, development disorders, litigation status a...
TL;DR: This study appears to be the first to examine the relationship between financial compensation and symptom report in an MTBI sample specifically treated for their condition, and indicates that even highly patient-rated treatment is not adequate to wash out the strong relationship.
Abstract: Demographic, injury-related, and symptom variables at intake, 3 months, and 12 months postinjury were compared between 50 treated adults with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) who were not seeking or receiving financial compensation at any time and 18 who were at each time. Compensation seekers/receivers reported symptom incidence and severity as approximately 1 SD higher at each time. The level of difference between the groups did not significantly differ across time. No demographic variables distinguished the groups. No injury-related variable other than more immediate postinjury prescription medication use was predictive of the greater symptom complaints for the patients seeking or receiving compensation. However, this medication effect did not explain away the compensation effect when medication use was co-varied in an analysis. Our study appears to be the first to examine the relationship between financial compensation and symptom report in an MTBI sample specifically treated for their condition. Our results indicate that even highly patient-rated treatment is not adequate to wash out the strong relationship between financial compensation status and symptom report after MTBI.
TL;DR: Normative information on neuropsychological measures for Chinese people is addressed by providing norms on several tests, using a sample of 475 Cantonese-speaking Chinese aged from 13 to 46, which provided an overview of some important Neuropsychological functions along the verbal-nonverbal axis.
Abstract: Normative information on neuropsychological measures for Chinese people is scarce. This study addresses this inadequacy by providing norms on several tests, using a sample of 475 Cantonese-speaking Chinese aged from 13 to 46. Included are eight neuropsychological measures of attention, memory, and fluency, which provided an overview of some important neuropsychological functions along the verbal-nonverbal axis. Age, gender, and education were factors observed to have an effect on the test performance of these participants. This pattern is consistent with that reported in Western literature. These measures appear to be appropriate clinical instruments for use in Hong Kong Chinese society, although the usefulness of the current norms is limited to adolescents and, to a lesser extent, to young adults in that population. Also, because of possibly important differences in the linguistic and educational backgrounds of Hong Kong residents versus Chinese residents of other countries (including mainland China and North America), applicability of the current norms outside of Hong Kong is currently uncertain.
TL;DR: The results showed that DAT patients failed to produce Negative Priming effects and were severely impaired in the Stroop task, suggesting that in the early stages of the disease, not all inhibitory mechanisms are uniformly impaired.
Abstract: Several recent studies have provided substantial support for the proposal that a decrease in inhibitory processing may play an important role in cognitive changes occurring in the early stages of Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT). The question addressed by the present study was whether these deficits are the result of the failure of a general inhibitory mechanism, or whether DAT is associated with selective decreases in a subset of inhibitory processes. For this, a computerized battery of tasks assessing several inhibitory mechanisms was administered to 28 mild DAT patients and 28 matched elderly adults. The results showed that DAT patients failed to produce Negative Priming effects and were severely impaired in the Stroop task. However, no evidence was found for an impairment on the Go-No go task and only limited impairment on the Stop Signal task, suggesting that in the early stages of the disease, not all inhibitory mechanisms are uniformly impaired.
TL;DR: The significant other's (SO's) experience was significantly and systematically related to many factors with overall negative experience associated with increased brain injury severity, worse neuropsychological functioning, increased dependency on others, and changes in the SO's life as a result of caregiving and SO depression.
Abstract: Feelings of burden and factors related to it were examined in a sample of 180 relatives of moderately to severely traumatically brain injured (TBI) subjects 6 months postinjury. Relatives were enrolled onto the study based on their family member's head injury and not on outcome. The results indicate that although both positive and negative experiences were common, the majority of the relatives reported an overall positive experience. The significant other's (SO's) experience was significantly and systematically related to many factors with overall negative experience associated with increased brain injury severity, worse neuropsychological functioning, increased dependency on others, SO's report of changes in the TBI subject, changes in the SO's life as a result of caregiving and SO depression.
TL;DR: Results showed that depression, not head-injury status, largely accounted for elevation in PCS symptom reports, including cognitive symptoms, raising concerns about using such items to screen for head injury in the general population.
Abstract: The present study explored whether any subset of self-reported postconcussion (PCS) symptoms or specific PCS symptom is sensitive and/or specific to head injury in non-self-selected samples of individuals aged 18-21 with head injury and depression (n = 32), head injury without depression (n = 31), depression without head injury (n = 25), and controls (n = 50). All participants completed a self-report PCS symptom scale based on their current symptoms. Results showed that depression, not head-injury status, largely accounted for elevation in PCS symptom reports, including cognitive symptoms. Thus, report of cognitive PCS symptoms is not specific to head injury, raising concerns about using such items to screen for head injury in the general population.
TL;DR: The results indicate that individuals with MCI can be differentiated from healthy older people and older people with transient cognitive impairments, but that such differentiation requires serial assessment of cognitive function.
Abstract: Results from recent investigations of behavioral and genetic outcomes in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have been inconsistent. These conflicting results may be attributed to between-study differences in the diagnostic systems employed, as well as the use of unreliable neuropsychological measures. We investigated behavioral and genetic outcomes in older people classified as having MCI according to novel criterion that required evidence of cognitive impairment on three consecutive neurological/neuropsychological assessments. One hundred and seventy four healthy older people were evaluated semi-annually for 12 months. Of these, 23 subjects were rated as having MCI on three consecutive assessments and were compared to 23 matched control subjects. Subjects rated as impaired on one or two of the three semi-annual assessments were also identified. MCI and matched control groups were compared on a range of behavioral measures. The prevalence of the Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) allele was determined in all groups, and estimates of anxiety and depressive symptomatology were obtained. Subjective cognitive complaints were also assessed. Many subjects were classified as impaired on one or two assessments, however relatively few (n = 23) recorded consistent cognitive deficits. The most severe impairment observed in MCI subjects was on a test of pattern-location associative learning, however MCI subjects did not have insight into this impairment. The prevalence of the ApoE4 allele was not different between matched control and MCI groups. These results indicate that individuals with MCI can be differentiated from healthy older people and older people with transient cognitive impairments, but that such differentiation requires serial assessment of cognitive function.
TL;DR: Normative and predictive data for semantic verbal fluency of animals in a Spanish population are presented and the neuropsychological value and limitations of normative data and the predictive equation are discussed.
Abstract: Semantic verbal fluency is a very sensible but rather unspecific tool for the detection of neuropsychological deficits. This test is highly influenced by socio-cultural factors. Normative and predi...
TL;DR: Although limited cluster differences were found relative to clinical and historical data, the distribution of previously defined clinical subtypes was uneven among neurocognitive clusters, suggesting greater correspondence than previously postulated between systems responsible for clinical symptomatology and those moderating neuroc cognitive dysfunction.
Abstract: Neuropsychological performance in 151 patients with schizophrenia was examined using cluster analysis to identify neurocognitive subtypes. Hierarchical and iterative partitioning methods identified four clusters using an extended neuropsychological battery. Consistent with previous findings two extreme clusters were characterized by near normative performance and profound global dysfunction, respectively. The two remaining neurocognitive clusters displayed moderate-severe dysfunction and were differentiated by unique patterns of abstraction and flexibility, attention, spatial memory, and sensory-perception. Analysis of variance revealed an interaction between global memory and executive function for clusters III and IV. Although limited cluster differences were found relative to clinical and historical data, the distribution of previously defined clinical subtypes was uneven among neurocognitive clusters. Paranoid patients were significantly more likely to be classified into cluster II and disproportionately absent from clusters I and IV. Patients with negative and disorganized clinical subtypes comprised a disproportionate component of clusters I and IV but were less likely to be classified in cluster II. This suggests greater correspondence than previously postulated between systems responsible for clinical symptomatology and those moderating neurocognitive dysfunction.
TL;DR: Patients with persisting postconcussive complaints demonstrated a general deficit in attentional performance as compared with their normal controls, and patterns still persisted when measures of emotional disturbance were controlled.
Abstract: This study aimed to examine attentional performance in patients with persisting postconcussive complaints, using a multi-componential perspective. Comparisons of attentional performances of 92 patients with postconcussive complaints and 86 normal controls were conducted using tests of sustained attention (Sustained Attention to Response Task; Digit Backward Span), selective attention (Stroop Word-Color Test; Color Trails Test), divided attention (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test; Symbol Digit Modalities Test), and attentional control processing (Six Elements Test; Tower of Hanoi). Questionnaires on daily life inattentive behaviour were also administered to all participants and their significant others. A MANOVA indicated that patients with persisting postconcussive complaints demonstrated a general deficit in attentional performance as compared with their normal controls, F(18, 145) = 7.939, p = .005. These patterns still persisted when measures of emotional disturbance were controlled, F(18, 143) = 5.159, p = .005. Moreover, for sustained attention and selective attention, we were able to statistically control for speed and the differences remained. Future research should be conducted to better control the potential confound of speed for all the attentional components in order to differentiate any specific component deficits in these patients.
TL;DR: The results do not support the presence of NLD in children of parents with Bipolar disorder, including significant Verbal IQ > Performance IQ discrepancies and psychomotor deficits.
Abstract: It has been hypothesized that children who are at genetic risk to develop bipolar disorder demonstrate deficiencies consistent with the syndrome of nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD); however, this hypothesis has never been tested directly. In the present study, a group of at-risk children (AR group; N = 28) was compared to a demographically matched control group of children of healthy parents (HC group; N = 24) for evidence of a constellation of features associated with NLD. Some characteristic features of NLD were evident, including significant Verbal IQ (VIQ) > Performance IQ (PIQ) discrepancies and psychomotor deficits. However, academic deficiencies in mechanical arithmetic relative to reading and spelling abilities were not demonstrated. These findings replicate and extend the current literature on the cognitive functioning of children of parents with Bipolar disorder (BPD). The results, however, do not support the presence of NLD in these children.
TL;DR: It is assumed here that fibromyalgia is more attention-demanding, leading to a more pronounced decrease of the controlled processes in comparison with other chronic painful conditions, and contribution of automatic processes is increased in Fibromyalgia.
Abstract: Evidence exists that chronic pain partially consumes the limited attentional resources, with the consequence that controlled processes sustaining cognitive tasks are affected and that automatic processes are preserved. Fibromyalgia syndrome is consistently rated as more severe than other chronic painful conditions. It is assumed here that fibromyalgia is more attention-demanding, leading to a more pronounced decrease of the controlled processes in comparison with other chronic painful conditions. In this perspective, Study 1 compares fibromyalgia patients, patients with localized pain and healthy subjects in a procedure separately estimating the within-task contributions of controlled and automatic processes in a cued recall task. As predicted, controlled processes are more strongly affected in fibromyalgia patients related to the group with localized pain. Unexpectedly, contribution of automatic processes is increased in fibromyalgia. Study 2 replicates these results and reveals that memory functioning in fibromyalgia patients is related to their painful condition as a whole rather than to any particular patient's characteristics.
TL;DR: It emerged that AoA, name agreement and category were the main predictors of naming in AD patients, and the hypothesis is discussed that the category dissociation may be produced by the different nature of the semantic correlation network that makes the categories differentially demanding of processing resources.
Abstract: The role of age of acquisition (AoA) and other variables classically supposed to influence lexical semantic tasks is explored in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. A naming test that included living and nonliving items was given to patients and controls. Measures of AoA of the test items were obtained from normal subjects. Living items were acquired earlier than nonliving items. Semipartial correlation analyses were performed to determine the independent contribution of each variable to naming. The “category” (living vs. nonliving items) was included as an independent factor. It emerged that AoA, name agreement and category (with living category predicting lower scores) were the main predictors of naming in AD patients. Only factor agreement reached significance in control groups. The hypothesis is discussed that the category dissociation may be produced by the different nature of the semantic correlation network that makes the categories differentially demanding of processing resources.
TL;DR: The study describes the performance of an adolescent, M.O., exhibiting severe developmental dyscalculia, but literacy problems as well, which emphasize the major role of the central executive in solving simple mental calculations.
Abstract: It has been shown repeatedly that simple mental calculation depends not only on long-term memory (LTM) representations but also on working memory (WM) resources. The study describes the performance of an adolescent, M.O., exhibiting severe developmental dyscalculia, but literacy problems as well. Despite having relatively preserved procedural skills, M.O. exhibited outstanding difficulties in retrieving arithmetic facts which are most pronounced on multiplication and division problems. Interestingly, his performance on non-numerical memory tests was within average (independent of modality), while his attention span was just below average. Testing the different components of WM, the results emphasize the major role of the central executive in solving simple mental calculations.
TL;DR: Three studies demonstrated that learning, memory, and copy score performance on the MTCF was comparable to that on the ROCF.
Abstract: One of the most commonly used neuropsychological measures of visuo-spatial abilities is the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) Test. Previous research has reliably shown that its companion figure, the Taylor Complex Figure, is not a comparable measure of visuo-spatial memory. The aims of the three studies presented here are to (a) introduce a modified version of the Taylor Figure (MTCF), and (b) examine the comparability of the ROCF and the MTCF using two different administration procedures. The first two studies used a between-subjects design in which half of the study participants received the ROCF and half received the MTCF. In Study 1, an incidental procedure was used in which participants were asked to first copy a figure and then reproduce it from memory without prior warning. In Study 2, an intentional procedure was used in which participants were first asked to observe the figures for the express purpose of reproducing them from memory followed by delay and copy trials. In Study 3, a within-subjects design using counterbalancing and an intentional procedure was used to examine the comparability of the two figures when administered to the same participants as in a true test-retest situation. Overall, the studies demonstrated that learning, memory, and copy score performance on the MTCF was comparable to that on the ROCF.