The influence of gestures and visuospatial ability during learning about movements with dynamic visualizations – An fNIRS study

ObjectivesConventional bedside tests of visuospatial function such as the clock drawing (CDT) and intersecting pentagons tests (IPT) are subject to considerable inconsistency in their delivery and interpretation. We compared performance on a novel test – the letter and shape drawing (LSD) test – with these conventional tests in hospitalised elderly patients.MethodsThe LSD, IPT, CDT and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were performed in 40 acute elderly medical inpatients at University Hospital Limerick The correlation between these tests was examined as well as the accuracy of the visuospatial tests to identify significant cognitive impairment on the MoCA.ResultsThe patients (mean age 81.0±7.71; 21 female) had a median MoCA score of 15.5 (range=1–29). There was a strong, positive correlation between the LSD and both the CDT (r=0.56) and IPT (r=0.71). The correlation between the LSD and MoCA (r=0.91) was greater than for the CDT and IPT (both 0.67). The LSD correlated highly with all MoCA domains (ranging from 0.54 to 0.86) and especially for the domains of orientation (r=0.86), attention (0.81) and visuospatial function (r=0.73). Two or more errors on the LSD identified 90% (26/29) of those patients with MoCA scores of ⩽20, which was substantially higher than for the CDT (59%) and IPT (55%).ConclusionThe LSD is a novel test of visuospatial function that is brief, readily administered and easily interpreted. Performance correlates strongly with other tests of visuospatial ability, with favourable ability to identify patients with significant impairment of general cognition.

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SEX DIFFERENCES IN FACTORIAL DIMENSION OF VERBAL, LOGICAL, MATHEMATICAL AND VISUOSPATIAL ABILITY

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1980.50.2.445 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 445-446 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

LESLIE WORMACK

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Visuospatial Ability

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

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gby086 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (8) ◽

pp. 1376-1386 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

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.

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