The Longitudinal Relationship between Processing Speed and Cognitive Ability: Genetic and Environmental Influences

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Finkel ◽  
Chandra A. Reynolds ◽  
John J. McArdle ◽  
Nancy L. Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Environmental Influences

scholarly journals Longitudinal Associations Between Loneliness and Cognitive Ability in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 1376-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith A Okely ◽  
Ian J Deary
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Visuospatial Ability ◽  
Lothian Birth Cohort ◽  
Longitudinal Associations ◽  
Reciprocal Associations

Abstract Objectives Loneliness is associated with poorer cognitive function in old age; however, the direction of this association is unknown. We tested for reciprocal associations between loneliness and the cognitive ability domains of processing speed, visuospatial ability, verbal memory, and crystallized ability. Method We used three triennial waves of longitudinal data from the Lothian Birth Cohort Study 1936, and tested for cross-lagged associations between loneliness and cognitive abilities using cross-lagged panel models. Results Better processing speed, visuospatial ability, or crystallized ability at age 73, was associated with less positive changes in loneliness between ages 73 and 76; however, these associations were not replicated between ages 76 and 79. Loneliness at ages 73 and 76 did not predict subsequent changes in cognitive abilities. Discussion Our findings indicate an association between cognitive ability and loneliness, such that individuals with lower cognitive abilities at age 73 may be at a slightly higher risk of becoming lonely. However, we did not find support for the hypothesis that loneliness causes a decline in cognitive health.

Serum cholesterol and cognitive functions: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janie Corley ◽  
John M. Starr ◽  
Ian J. Deary
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Serum Cholesterol ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Lothian Birth Cohort ◽  
Statin Use

ABSTRACTBackground:We examined the associations between serum cholesterol measures, statin use, and cognitive function measured in childhood and in old age. The possibility that lifelong (trait) cognitive ability accounts for any cross-sectional associations between cholesterol and cognitive performance in older age, seen in observational studies, has not been tested to date.Methods:Participants were 1,043 men and women from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study, most of whom had participated in a nationwide IQ-type test in childhood (Scottish Mental Survey of 1947), and were followed up at about age 70 years. Serum cholesterol measures included total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides, and cholesterol:HDL cholesterol ratio. Cognitive outcome measures were age 70 IQ (using the same test as at age 11 years), general cognitive ability (g), processing speed, memory, and verbal ability.Results:Higher TC, higher HDL-C, and lower triglycerides were associated with higher age 70 cognitive scores in most cognitive domains. These relationships were no longer significant after covarying for childhood IQ, with the exception a markedly attenuated association between TC and processing speed, and triglycerides and age 70 IQ. In the fully adjusted model, all conventionally significant (p < 0.05) effects were removed. Childhood IQ predicted statin use in old age. Statin users had lower g, processing speed, and verbal ability scores at age 70 years after covarying for childhood IQ, but significance was lost after adjusting for TC levels.Conclusions:These results suggest that serum cholesterol and cognitive function are associated in older age via the lifelong stable trait of intelligence. Potential mechanisms, including lifestyle factors, are discussed.

scholarly journals Genetics of Cognition: Outline of a Collaborative Twin Study

Twin Research ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margie Wright ◽  
Eco De Geus ◽  
Juko Ando ◽  
Michelle Luciano ◽  
Danielle Posthuma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Inspection Time ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
Spatial Span

AbstractAmultidisciplinary collaborative study examining cognition in a large sample of twins is outlined. A common experimental protocol and design is used in The Netherlands, Australia and Japan to measure cognitive ability using traditional IQ measures (i.e., psychometric IQ), processing speed (e.g., reaction time [RT] and inspection time [IT]), and working memory (e.g., spatial span, delayed response [DR] performance). The main aim is to investigate the genetic covariation among these cognitive phenotypes in order to use the correlated biological markers in future linkage and association analyses to detect quantitativetrait loci (QTLs). We outline the study and methodology, and report results from our preliminary analyses that examines the heritability of processing speed and working memory indices, and their phenotypic correlation with IQ. Heritability of Full Scale IQ was 87% in the Netherlands, 83% in Australia, and 71% in Japan. Heritability estimates for processing speed and working memory indices ranged from 33–64%. Associations of IQ with RT and IT (−0.28 to −0.36) replicated previous findings with those of higher cognitive ability showing faster speed of processing. Similarly, significant correlations were indicated between IQ and the spatial span working memory task (storage [0.31], executive processing [0.37]) and the DR working memory task (0.25), with those of higher cognitive ability showing better memory performance. These analyses establish the heritability of the processing speed and working memory measures to be used in our collaborative twin study of cognition, and support the findings that individual differences in processing speed and working memory may underlie individual differences in psychometric IQ.

Genetic Influences on Five Measures of Processing Speed and Their Covariation with General Cognitive Ability in the Elderly: The Older Australian Twins Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Lee ◽  
Miriam A. Mosing ◽  
Julie D. Henry ◽  
Julian N. Trollor ◽  
Andrea Lammel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
General Cognitive Ability

scholarly journals Physical frailty and decline in general and specific cognitive abilities: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catharine Gale ◽  
Stuart J Ritchie ◽  
John M Starr ◽  
Ian J Deary
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Visuospatial Ability ◽  
Physical Frailty ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Lothian Birth Cohort

BackgroundPhysical frailty is associated with many adverse outcomes including disability, chronic disease, hospitalisation, institutionalisation and death. It is unclear what impact it might have on the rate of normal cognitive ageing. We investigated whether physical frailty was related to initial level of, and change in, cognitive abilities from age 70 to 79 years.MethodParticipants were 950 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Physical frailty was assessed at age 70 years using the Fried criteria. Cognitive function was assessed at ages 70, 73, 76 and 79 years. We used linear regression to examine cross-sectional and prospective associations between physical frailty status at age 70 years and factor score estimates for baseline level of and change in four cognitive domains (visuospatial ability, memory, processing speed and crystallised ability) and in general cognitive ability.ResultsPhysical frailty, but not prefrailty, was associated with lower baseline levels of visuospatial ability, memory, processing speed and general cognitive ability after control for age, sex, education, depressive symptoms, smoking and number of chronic illnesses. Physical frailty was associated with greater decline in each cognitive domain: age-adjusted and sex-adjusted standardised regression coefficients (95% CIs) were: −0.45 (−0.70 to –0.20) for visuospatial ability, −0.32 (−0.56 to –0.07) for memory, −0.47 (−0.72 to −0.22) for processing speed, −0.43 (−0.68 to –0.18) for crystallised ability and −0.45 (−0.70 to –0.21) for general cognitive ability. These associations were only slightly attenuated after additional control for other covariates.ConclusionPhysical frailty may be an important indicator of age-related decline across multiple cognitive domains.

scholarly journals Cognitive impairment from early to middle adulthood in patients with affective and nonaffective psychotic disorders

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Mollon ◽  
Samuel R. Mathias ◽  
Emma E. M. Knowles ◽  
Amanda Rodrigue ◽  
Marinka M. G. Koenis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
African American ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Middle Adulthood

AbstractBackgroundCognitive impairment is a core feature of psychotic disorders, but the profile of impairment across adulthood, particularly in African-American populations, remains unclear.MethodsUsing cross-sectional data from a case–control study of African-American adults with affective (n = 59) and nonaffective (n = 68) psychotic disorders, we examined cognitive functioning between early and middle adulthood (ages 20–60) on measures of general cognitive ability, language, abstract reasoning, processing speed, executive function, verbal memory, and working memory.ResultsBoth affective and nonaffective psychosis patients showed substantial and widespread cognitive impairments. However, comparison of cognitive functioning between controls and psychosis groups throughout early (ages 20–40) and middle (ages 40–60) adulthood also revealed age-associated group differences. During early adulthood, the nonaffective psychosis group showed increasing impairments with age on measures of general cognitive ability and executive function, while the affective psychosis group showed increasing impairment on a measure of language ability. Impairments on other cognitive measures remained mostly stable, although decreasing impairments on measures of processing speed, memory and working memory were also observed.ConclusionsThese findings suggest similarities, but also differences in the profile of cognitive dysfunction in adults with affective and nonaffective psychotic disorders. Both affective and nonaffective patients showed substantial and relatively stable impairments across adulthood. The nonaffective group also showed increasing impairments with age in general and executive functions, and the affective group showed an increasing impairment in verbal functions, possibly suggesting different underlying etiopathogenic mechanisms.

Interaction Between Experience Seeking and Genetic and Environmental Influences on General Cognitive Ability

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna A. E. Vinkhuyzen ◽  
Sophie van der Sluis ◽  
Danielle Posthuma
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Environmental Causes ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Adult Twins

Although it is well established that experience seeking behavior (ES) is positively related to cognitive functioning, the mechanisms underlying this association are not clearly understood. In a large sample of adult twins and siblings (N = 864, age range 23–75), we studied the causes of covariation between ES and general cognitive ability and we studied whether ES moderates the genetic and environmental causes of variation in general cognitive ability. Results demonstrate a phenotypic correlation of .17 (p <.001) between general cognitive ability and ES, with a common genetic and common environmental background. Moreover, the extent to which genetic and environmental factors are shared between general cognitive ability and ES is increased in individuals with either lower or higher levels of ES. In addition, the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence individual differences in general cognitive ability in adults partly depended on ES. Standardized influences of additive genetic factors on general cognitive ability ranged from 13% to 99%, with lower estimates in higher levels of ES, while standardized estimates of environmental factors ranged from almost 1% to 87%, with higher estimates in higher levels of ES. Hence, ES and cognitive ability are not only associated through common genetic and environmental factors, but also via moderating effects of genetic and environmental influences on cognitive ability by ES. These findings have implications for future studies on the association between ES and general cognitive ability, and for future research on the genetics of cognitive ability.

scholarly journals Cerebral small vessel disease burden and longitudinal cognitive decline from age 73 to 82: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
O. K. L. Hamilton ◽  
S. R. Cox ◽  
J. A. Okely ◽  
F. Conte ◽  
L. Ballerini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Small Vessel Disease ◽  
Cerebral Small Vessel Disease ◽  
Small Vessel ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Vessel Disease ◽  
Lothian Birth Cohort

AbstractSlowed processing speed is considered a hallmark feature of cognitive decline in cerebral small vessel disease (SVD); however, it is unclear whether SVD’s association with slowed processing might be due to its association with overall declining general cognitive ability. We quantified the total MRI-visible SVD burden of 540 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (age: 72.6 ± 0.7 years; 47% female). Using latent growth curve modelling, we tested associations between total SVD burden at mean age 73 and changes in general cognitive ability, processing speed, verbal memory and visuospatial ability, measured at age 73, 76, 79 and 82. Covariates included age, sex, vascular risk and childhood cognitive ability. In the fully adjusted models, greater SVD burden was associated with greater declines in general cognitive ability (standardised β: −0.201; 95% CI: [−0.36, −0.04]; pFDR = 0.022) and processing speed (−0.222; [−0.40, −0.04]; pFDR = 0.022). SVD burden accounted for between 4 and 5% of variance in declines of general cognitive ability and processing speed. After accounting for the covariance between tests of processing speed and general cognitive ability, only SVD’s association with greater decline in general cognitive ability remained significant, prior to FDR correction (−0.222; [−0.39, −0.06]; p = 0.008; pFDR = 0.085). Our findings do not support the notion that SVD has a specific association with declining processing speed, independent of decline in general cognitive ability (which captures the variance shared across domains of cognitive ability). The association between SVD burden and declining general cognitive ability supports the notion of SVD as a diffuse, whole-brain disease and suggests that trials monitoring SVD-related cognitive changes should consider domain-specific changes in the context of overall, general cognitive decline.

scholarly journals Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder of All Ages, Levels of Symptom Severity and General Cognitive Ability Display Low Processing Speed Index Scores Warranting Special Educational Assistance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Linnenbank ◽  
R. Feldmann ◽  
G. Schulte-Körne ◽  
S. Beimdiek ◽  
E. Strittmatter
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
School Children ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Children With Asd

AbstractThe processing speed index (PSI) of the Wechsler intelligence scale for children (WISC-IV) has been found to predict a child's level of academic functioning. The consistently reported PSI weakness in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) therefore warrants special assistance and attempts at compensation for the disadvantages associated with these children's low PSI. We investigated the association of PSI scores with age, general cognitive ability [as measured by full-scale IQ (FSIQ)], symptom severity and discrepancy between the WISC-IV indices verbal comprehension (VCI) and perceptual reasoning (PRI) in 101 school children with ASD. The PSI weakness in children with ASD was not related to age, FSIQ, VCI-PRI discrepancy or any of the symptom measures. These findings suggest that school children with ASD independent of their age, level of cognitive ability, VCI-PRI profile and most notably independent of their symptom severity should be entitled to special assistance and compensation in educational settings.

scholarly journals Individual differences in cortical processing speed predict cognitive abilities: a model-based cognitive neuroscience account

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Lena Schubert ◽  
Michael D. Nunez ◽  
Dirk Hagemann ◽  
Joachim Vandekerckhove
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Cognitive Modeling ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
Evidence Accumulation

AbstractPrevious research has shown that individuals with greater cognitive abilities display a greater speed of higher-order cognitive processing. These results suggest that speeded neural information-processing may facilitate evidence accumulation during decision making and memory updating and thus yield advantages in general cognitive abilities. We used a hierarchical Bayesian cognitive modeling approach to test the hypothesis that individual differences in the velocity of evidence accumulation mediate the relationship between neural processing speed and cognitive abilities. We found that a higher neural speed predicted both the velocity of evidence accumulation across behavioral tasks as well as cognitive ability test scores. However, only a small part of the association between neural processing speed and cognitive abilities was mediated by individual differences in the velocity of evidence accumulation. The model demonstrated impressive forecasting abilities by predicting 36% of individual variation in cognitive ability test scores in an entirely new sample solely based on their electrophysiological and behavioral data. Our results suggest that individual differences in neural processing speed might affect a plethora of higher-order cognitive processes, that only in concert explain the large association between neural processing speed and cognitive abilities, instead of the effect being entirely explained by differences in evidence accumulation speeds.

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