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

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.

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

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291718003938 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 48-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

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.

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Erratum to: Genetic Influences on Four Measures of Executive Functions and Their Covariation with General Cognitive Ability: The Older Australian Twins Study

Behavior Genetics ◽

10.1007/s10519-012-9536-z ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 539-540

Author(s):

Teresa Lee ◽

◽

Miriam A. Mosing ◽

Julie D. Henry ◽

Julian N. Trollor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Functions ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Genetic Influences ◽

General Cognitive Ability

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

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01495-4 ◽

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.

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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

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders ◽

10.1007/s10803-021-05249-5 ◽

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.

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Associations between total MRI-visible small vessel disease burden and domain-specific cognitive abilities in a community-dwelling older-age cohort

10.1101/2021.02.02.21250986 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

OKL Hamilton ◽

SR Cox ◽

L Ballerini ◽

ME Bastin ◽

J Corley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Ability ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Small Vessel Disease ◽

Full Range ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Small Vessel ◽

General Cognitive Ability ◽

Vessel Disease

AbstractCerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is a leading cause of vascular cognitive impairment, however the precise nature of SVD-related cognitive deficits, and their associations with structural brain changes, remain unclear. We combined computational volumes and visually-rated MRI markers of SVD to quantify total SVD burden, using data from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (n=540; age:72.6±0.7 years). We found negative associations between total SVD burden and general cognitive ability (standardised β: −0.363; 95%CI: [−0.49, −0.23]; p(FDR)<0.001), processing speed (−0.371 [−0.50, −0.24]; p(FDR)<0.001), verbal memory (−0.265; [−0.42, −0.11]; p(FDR)=0.002), and visuospatial ability (−0.170; [−0.32, −0.02]; p(FDR)=0.029). Only the association between SVD burden and processing speed remained after accounting for covariance with general cognitive ability (−0.325; [−0.61, −0.04]; p(FDR)=0.029). This suggests that SVD’s association with poorer processing speed is not driven by, but is independent of its association with poorer general cognitive ability. Tests of processing speed may be particularly sensitive to the cognitive impact of SVD, but all major cognitive domains should be tested to determine the full range of SVD-related cognitive characteristics.

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Cognitive Abilities in Old Age: Results from the Zurich Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185.67.3.177 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 67 (3) ◽

pp. 177-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Daniel Zimprich ◽

Mike Martin ◽

Matthias Kliegel ◽

Myriam Dellenbach ◽

Philippe Rast ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Old Age ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

General Cognitive Ability ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Verbal Knowledge

The Zurich Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging (ZULU) is an ongoing longitudinal study on the structure and development of cognition in old age. At the first assessment, the N = 364 participants had an average age of 73 years (age range: 65-80 years), and 46% were female. In total, a battery of 14 cognitive tests, including five consecutive verbal learning trials, were administered and adequately described by a measurement model of six first-order factors (processing speed, working memory, reasoning, learning, memory, and verbal knowledge) and one second-order factor of general cognitive ability. The cross-sectional age relations of the six cognitive abilities were, apart from processing speed and verbal knowledge, mediated by the general cognitive ability factor. From a conceptual perspective, these results imply that cognitive aging is not a completely uniform process driven by a single causal variable.

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Genes Determine Stability and the Environment Determines Change in Cognitive Ability During 35 Years of Adulthood

Psychological Science ◽

10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02425.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 20 (9) ◽

pp. 1146-1152 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Michael J. Lyons ◽

Timothy P. York ◽

Carol E. Franz ◽

Michael D. Grant ◽

Lindon J. Eaves ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Ability ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Genetic Factors ◽

Middle Age ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Genetic Influences ◽

General Cognitive Ability ◽

Longitudinal Assessment ◽

Factors Influencing

Previous research has demonstrated stability of cognitive ability and marked heritability during adulthood, but questions remain about the extent to which genetic factors account for this stability. We conducted a 35-year longitudinal assessment of general cognitive ability using the Armed Forces Qualification Test administered to 7,232 male twins in early adulthood and readministered to a subset of 1,237 twins during late middle age. The proportion of variance in cognitive functioning explained by genetic factors was .49 in young adulthood and .57 in late middle age. The correlation between the two administrations was .74 with a genetic correlation of 1.0, indicating that the same genetic influences operated at both times. Genetic factors were primarily responsible for stability, and nonshared environmental factors were primarily responsible for change. The genetic factors influencing cognition may change across other eras, but the same genetic influences are operating from early adulthood to late middle age.

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Dietary patterns and cognitive ability among 12- to 13 year-old adolescents in Selangor, Malaysia

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980014000068 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 303-312 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Abdul Razak Nurliyana ◽

Mohd Taib Mohd Nasir ◽

Mohd Shariff Zalilah ◽

Abdullah Rohani

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Ability ◽

Dietary Patterns ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Economic Status ◽

High Energy ◽

Dietary Intakes ◽

General Cognitive Ability ◽

Negatively Associated ◽

Socio Economic Status ◽

Food Pattern

AbstractObjectiveThe present study aimed to identify dietary patterns and determine the relationship between dietary patterns and cognitive ability among 12- to 13 year-old Malay adolescents in the urban areas of Gombak district in Selangor, Malaysia.DesignData on sociodemographic background were obtained from parents. Height and weight were measured and BMI-for-age was determined. Adolescents were interviewed on their habitual dietary intakes using a semi-quantitative FFQ. Cognitive ability was assessed using the Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability in a one-to-one manner. Dietary patterns were constructed using principal component analysis based on thirty-eight food groups of the semi-quantitative FFQ.SettingUrban secondary public schools in the district of Gombak in Selangor, Malaysia.SubjectsMalay adolescents aged 12 to 13 years (n 416).ResultsThe mean general cognitive ability score was 101·8 (sd 12·4). Four major dietary patterns were identified and labelled as ‘refined-grain pattern’, ‘snack-food pattern’, ‘plant-based food pattern’ and ‘high-energy food pattern’. These dietary patterns explained 39·1 % of the variance in the habitual dietary intakes of the adolescents. The refined-grain pattern was negatively associated with processing speed, which is a construct of general cognitive ability. The high-energy food pattern was negatively associated with general cognitive ability, perceptual reasoning and processing speed. Monthly household income and parents’ educational attainment were positively associated with all of the cognitive measures. In multivariate analysis, only the high-energy food pattern was found to contribute significantly towards general cognitive ability after controlling for socio-economic status.ConclusionsConsumption of foods in the high-energy food pattern contributed towards general cognitive ability after controlling for socio-economic status. However, the contribution was small.

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