The relationship between premorbid adjustment and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia

IntroductionPremorbid adjustment (PA) is one of the main prognostic indicators of schizophrenia. Both social and cognitive deficits observed during the premorbid period hold a predictive value for the onset of schizophrenia.ObjectivesTo investigate how cognitive functions are related to aspects of PA.AimsTo examine the relationship of each PA domain (academic and social) at each of the three developmental stages (childhood, early adolescence and late adolescence), as well as their course with the cognitive functions in schizophrenia patients.MethodsPA, intellectual quotient (IQ), verbal learning, memory, processing speed, executive functions and verbal fluency were assessed using PAS, WAIS, RAVLT, TMT, WCST and COWAT measures respectively in a sample of 85 clinically stabilized male schizophrenia inpatients.ResultsNegative correlations emerged between academic PA during adolescence and both verbal IQ and processing speed, while positive correlations were found with working memory. Negative correlations emerged between deterioration in academic PA during adolescence and both processing speed and immediate auditory verbal recall, while correlations with verbal learning were positive. There was no relationship between cognitive functions and either social PA or its deterioration.ConclusionOur findings revealed significant associations between both academic PA and its course with cognitive functions in schizophrenia patients. In summary, deficits in several fields of cognitive functions seem to follow a different path long before and after the onset of the disease, but further investigation is necessary.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Brain Training and Sulforaphane Intake Interventions Separately Improve Cognitive Performance in Healthy Older Adults, Whereas a Combination of These Interventions Does Not Have More Beneficial Effects: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13020352 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 352

Author(s):

Rui Nouchi ◽

Qingqiang Hu ◽

Toshiki Saito ◽

Natasha Yuriko dos Santos Kawata ◽

Haruka Nouchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Active Control ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Brain Training ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Before And After ◽

Double Blinded

Background: Earlier studies have demonstrated that a single-domain intervention, such as a brain-training (BT) game alone and a sulforaphane (SFN) intake, positively affects cognition. This study examined whether a combined BT and SFN intake intervention has beneficial effects on cognitive function in older adults. Methods: In a 12-week double-blinded randomized control trial, 144 older adults were randomly assigned to one of four groups: BT with SFN (BT-S), BT with placebo (BT-P), active control game (AT) with SFN (AT-S), and active control game with placebo (AT-P). We used Brain Age in BT and Tetris in AT. Participants were asked to play BT or AT for 15 min a day for 12 weeks while taking a supplement (SFN or placebo). We measured several cognitive functions before and after the intervention period. Results: The BT (BT-S and BT-P) groups showed more improvement in processing speed than the active control groups (AT-S and AT-P). The SFN intake (BT-S and AT-S) groups recorded significant improvements in processing speed and working memory performance unlike the placebo intake groups (BT-P and AT-P). However, we did not find any evidence of the combined intervention’s beneficial effects on cognition. Discussion: We discussed a mechanism to improve cognitive functions in the BT and SFN alone interventions.

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Basic and complex cognitive functions in Adult ADHD

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0256228 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. e0256228

Author(s):

Saleh M. H. Mohamed ◽

Marah Butzbach ◽

Anselm B. M Fuermaier ◽

Matthias Weisbrod ◽

Steffen Aschenbrenner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Selective Attention ◽

Cognitive Flexibility ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Neuropsychological Tests ◽

Adult Adhd ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Test Word ◽

Basic Functions

Background Many clinical studies reported deficits in basic and complex cognitive functions in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, the extent in which deficits in basic functions (i.e., processing speed and distractibility) contribute to complex cognitive impairments (i.e., working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, memory functions) in adults with ADHD is not well-studied. So far, literature show only one study, revealing that basic functions explain 27–74% of executive dysfunctions. Yet, the authors reported that findings could be affected by the selection of neuropsychological tests. The goal of the present research is to replicate such a finding using a different sample and a different set of neuropsychological tests. Methods Forty-eight adult patients with ADHD were compared with 48 healthy controls in basic cognitive functions, namely processing speed and distractibility and more complex cognitive functions, namely selective attention, cognitive flexibility, planning, working memory, verbal fluency, and verbal memory. Basic and complex cognitive functions were assessed using the Vigilance and Sustained Attention, Selective Attention, N-Back, Tower of London, Trail Making Test, Word Fluency, and Verbal Learning and Memory. Results and conclusion Logistic regression analyses showed that impairments in complex cognitive functions explained 25% of the variance in ADHD diagnosis. The explained variance dropped from 25% to 9% after considering basic functions of processing speed and distractibility. This 64% reduction highlights the importance of basic functions for impairments in complex functions in patients with ADHD.

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Agomelatine vs fluoxetine: Efficacy and improvement of cognitive functions in patients with MDD

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1463 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S405-S405

Author(s):

E. Aydın ◽

M. Güleç ◽

E. Oral ◽

A.G. Daloğlu

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Functions ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Word Association ◽

Digit Span ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽

Card Sorting ◽

Neurocognitive Functions ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Competing Interest

IntroductionIn major depressive disorder (MDD) neurocognitive functions are impaired. In addition to melatonergic properties of agomelatine, via 5-HT2C antagonism it increases extracellular noradrenaline and dopamine in frontal cortex and may improve the neurocognitive functions of patients with MDD.Aims and objectivesTo investigate the extent of neurocognitive improvement and efficacy of agomelatine and fluoxetine in patients with MDD.Material and methodAgomelatine 25 mg/day (n: 24) and fluoxetine 20 mg/day (n: 24) were administered to drug-naive unipolar, non-psychotic, non-suicidal MDD patients according to DSM-IV. Evaluations were performed just before the treatment and at the sixth week of treatment via administering Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), Digit Span Test (DST), Trail Making Test (TMT-A/B), Stroop Test and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.ResultsBoth agomelatine and fluoxetine was found to be efficacious for the treatment of MDD (P < 0.05 for both). Further there was no difference between the antidepressant efficacy of two drugs. Both of the drugs improved measured neurocognitive functions (P < 0.05), except scores of DST (P > 0.05) and only fluoxetine improved significantly scores of COWAT (P < 0.05). Only in terms of TMT-B there was significant difference between groups and agomelatine was superior to fluoxetine (P < 0.05).ConclusionAgomelatine and fluoxetine were efficacious in treatment of MDD. Furthermore both of the drugs improved cognitive functions in patients with MDD. Superiority of agomelatine in improvement of executive functioning (TMT-B) is important and therefore it could be an appropriate choice for MDD patients who have pronounced executive disturbances.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Cognitive Function Before and After Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Major Depression

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.02.013 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s241-s242

Author(s):

A. Tmava ◽

I. Eicher ◽

D.E. Seitz ◽

S. Mörkl ◽

C. Blesl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Function ◽

Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Stroop Test ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Before And After ◽

Trail Making ◽

Competing Interest ◽

A Prospective Study

BackgroundDespite its high effectiveness, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is not a widely used method to treat depression. One of the reasons for this could be the fear of cognitive side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of ECT on cognitive function.MethodsWe conducted a prospective study with a sample size of 23 patients (10 male), who met the criteria of treatment-resistant depression according to ICD–10 and gave their informed consent for ECT treatment. Before and after ECT, the following investigations have been performed: Beck depression inventory (BDI), Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS), Mehrfachwahl-Wortschatz-Intelligenztest (MWT-B), trail making test (TMT) A and B, stroop-test, mini mental state examination (MMSE) and the German version of the California verbal learning test (MGT).ResultsAfter ECT treatment, we found highly significant changes of depression-scales BDI (P = 0.028) and MADR-Scale (P = 0.001). IQ as measured by the MWT-B (P = 0.851), executive functions as measured by trail making test A (P = 0.568) and B (P = 0.372) and stroop-test, memory functions as measured by the MGT (P = 0.565) (Figure 1) and MMSE (P = 0.678) did not differ significantly after ECT treatment.ConclusionThere were no significant differences in cognitive function before and after ECT treatment. To confirm these findings, it would be necessary to perform larger studies.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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KOGNITYVINIO FUNKCIONAVIMO IR DEPRESIŠKUMO RYŠYS SERGANT IŠSĖTINE SKLEROZE: TRUMPO DAUGIAKARČIO NEUROPSICHOLOGINIŲ TESTŲ RINKINIO TAIKYMAS LIETUVOJE

Psichologija ◽

10.15388/psichol.2005..4326 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 32 ◽

pp. 74-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ramunė Grambaitė ◽

Rūta Sargautytė

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Information Processing ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Neuropsychological Tests ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Depression Severity ◽

Information Processing Speed ◽

Repeatable Battery ◽

The Relationship

Nors susirgus išsėtine skleroze (IS) 40–70% žmonių sutrinka kognityvinis funkcionavimas, o depresija taip pat dažnai lydi IS (nustatoma 27–54% sergančiųjų), duomenys apie jų sąryšį gana prieštaringi. Straipsnyje analizuojamas kognityvinio funkcionavimo ir depresiškumo ryšys sergant išsėtine skleroze ir Trumpo daugiakarčio neuropsichologinių testų rinkinio (BRBNT) taikymo galimybės. Tyrime dalyvavo 41 žmogus, sergantis IS, ir 52 sveiki asmenys. Kognityvinėms funkcijoms vertinti buvo išversta ir naudojama BRBNT B versija (Rao and Peyser, 1986). Depresiškumui vertinti buvo taikomas Becko depresijos inventarijus (BDI-II). Gauti rezultatai rodo, jog sergančiųjų IS verbalinis išmokimas yra neigiamai susijęs su depresiškumu: depresiškumas statistiškai reikšmingai koreliuoja su pastovaus ilgalaikio atgaminimo rodikliais ir su ilgalaikiu atgaminimu po tam tikro uždelsimo laikotarpio, tačiau hipotezė, jog egzistuoja ryšys tarp informacijos apdorojimo greičio ir depresiškumo, nepasitvirtino. Klasifikuojant tiriamuosius į sveikus ir sergančius IS, gautas 100% BRBNT jautrumas, taip pat 100% specifiškumas.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: išsėtinė sklerozė, kognityvinis funkcionavimas, depresiškumas. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND DEPRESSION SEVERITY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS: APPLICATION OF THE BRIEF REPEATABLE BATTERY OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS (BRBNT) IN LITHUANIARamunė Grambaitė, Rūta Sargautytė SummaryMultiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorder that affects primarily the cerebral white matter, thereby causing both physical and psychological disability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between cognitive function and depression severity in MS patients, as well as sensitivity and specificity characteristics of the BRBNT (The Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests). We investigated 41 MS patients and 52 healthy people.Forty-one controls were selected from fifty-two healthy subjects and were individually matched with MS subjects for age, gender and education. BRBNT (Rao and Peyser, 1986) was designed for measuring verbal learning, visuospatial learning, sustained attention and concentration, information processing speed and verbal fluency cognitive functions. The B version of the BRBNT was translated and used in our study. Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) (Beck, 1996) was used for the evaluation of depression severity.Results of our study confirmed that depression severity was associated with verbal learning: Consistent Long Term Retrieval and the Delayed Recall significantly negatively related to depression severity. The relationship between information processing speed and depression severity was also negative, but not statistically significant. The five individual BRBNT tests separately did not significantly discriminate healthy controls from MS patients; however, when all the five BRBNT tests put together we found 100% sensitivity of and 100% specificity.Our findings lead to the conclusion that neuropsychological testing is important in organizing help strategies for MS patients. BRBNT is a sensitive measure of cognitive function in MS, and may assist with differential diagnosis. Similarly, BRBNT could well be applied to other groups of patients, whose illness results in physical and/or cognitive functional limitations.Keywords: multiple sclerosis, cognitive function, depression severity.

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Sex differences in the relationship between prolactin levels and impaired processing speed in early psychosis

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0004867417744254 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (6) ◽

pp. 585-595 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Itziar Montalvo ◽

Roser Nadal ◽

Antonio Armario ◽

Alfonso Gutiérrez-Zotes ◽

Marta Creus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Young Patients ◽

Early Psychosis ◽

Control Group ◽

Antipsychotic Treatment ◽

The Relationship

Introduction: Hyperprolactinaemia is commonly observed in people with psychotic disorders due to D2 receptor blockade by antipsychotic drugs, although it may also exist in drug-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis. Recent studies suggest that hyperprolactinaemia may have a negative impact on cognitive function in people with early psychosis. We aimed to explore whether there are sex differences in the association between prolactin levels and cognitive performance in early psychosis patients. Methods: We studied 60 young patients with early psychosis (aged 18–35 years, 35% females) and a sex- and age-matched control group of 50 healthy subjects. Cognitive assessment was performed with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery. Prolactin, total cortisol, follicular-stimulating hormone, luteal hormone and sex steroids (testosterone in men, oestradiol and progesterone in women) were measured in plasma. Salivary cortisol was measured at different sampling times (awakening response, 10:00 and 23:00). Psychopathological status was assessed, and antipsychotic treatment was registered. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to explore the relationship between prolactin and cognitive tasks while adjusting for covariates. Results: Prolactin levels were associated with impaired processing speed in men, and this association was independent of cortisol and testosterone. In women, prolactin levels were not associated with processing speed tasks, although we observed a negative effect of prolactin on verbal learning and spatial working memory in female healthy subjects. The male-dependent effect maintained its significance after adjusting for education status, antipsychotic treatment and negative symptoms. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the previously reported association between high prolactin levels and impaired cognitive processes in early psychosis is restricted to men.

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The relationship of early premorbid adjustment with negative symptoms and cognitive functions in first-episode schizophrenia: A prospective three-year follow-up study

Psychiatry Research ◽

10.1016/j.psychres.2013.02.014 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 209 (3) ◽

pp. 353-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Wing Chung Chang ◽

Jennifer Yee Man Tang ◽

Christy Lai Ming Hui ◽

Gloria Hoi Yan Wong ◽

Sherry Kit Wa Chan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Functions ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

First Episode ◽

Follow Up Study ◽

Premorbid Adjustment ◽

First Episode Schizophrenia ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

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The Possibilities of the Improvement Language Competencies in Children with Dyslexia. The Evaluation of the Tomatis Therapy in Children Aged 6–10 years of Age

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1514 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s790-s790

Author(s):

E. Mojs ◽

A. Sudol ◽

W. Samborski

Keyword(s):

Reaction Time ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Special Device ◽

Learning Abilities ◽

Competing Interest ◽

Age Range ◽

Language Competencies

Audio psycho–phonological stimulation training is a method based on listening to various musical sounds by way of a special device called electronic ear. The goal of this therapy is to enhance damaged hearing and consequently facilitate greater stimulation of central nervous system and improve cognitive functions i.e. attention and learning abilities. The second goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tomatis method in the treatment of cognitive functions in children with developmental dyslexia. Data were collected from forty children (age range 6–10 all of whom had various lexical impairments and diagnosed as dyslexia. All children IQ ranged 78–110. All subjects underwent therapy based on the Tomatis method. The relevance group constituted, by healthy ones. Further assessment included reaction time, over sensitivity of hearing sense, verbal fluency, attention, abilities of verbal learning and learning memory–immediate and long term. The effects of the therapy were measured after 9 months of stimulation. Statistically relevant improvement of most evaluated functioning parameters, including shorter time of adequate reaction to presented stimuli was observed. Not only did the patients have lower threshold of sensitivity of hearing sense, ability to localize sources of sound significantly improved (P 0.05) also. Subjects’ verbal fluency, attention and immediate verbal memory were enhanced. The phonological abilities improved. Tomatis training significantly improved subjects’ cognitive functioning. We could demonstrate its efficiency in relation to such parameters as reaction time, localization of sources of sound and over sensitivity to audio stimuli. The Tomatis method is a useful way of the speech treatment impediments.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Premorbid social adjustment is better in cannabis-using than non-using psychotic patients across Europe

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.081 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S102-S102 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

L. Ferraro ◽

V. Capuccio ◽

A. Mulè ◽

C. La Cascia ◽

L. Sideli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Adjustment ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

European Countries ◽

First Episode ◽

Premorbid Adjustment ◽

Random Intercept ◽

Episode Psychosis ◽

The Difference ◽

Competing Interest ◽

The Relationship

IntroductionA number of authors have hypothesized that psychotic patients who consume cannabis constitute a differentiated subgroup of patients that have better cognitive and social skills, necessary to engage in illegal drug consumption, than non-using patients.ObjectivesGiven that the prevalence, and patterns, of cannabis use are culturally driven, we wanted to study first-episode psychosis (FEP) cannabis-using and non-using patients coming from different European countries as part of the EUGEI-STUDY.AimsWe tested the hypothesis of better premorbid social adjustment in cannabis-using FEP patients, by comparing them to FEP non cannabis users and to their respective healthy controls.MethodsA total of 1745 people (746 cases; 999 controls) completed the assessment for premorbid adjustment [Premorbid Adjustment Scale (PAS)] and cannabis use (CEQ-Revised). We first extracted the Premorbid Social Adjustment Factor (PSA) from PAS and then performedlinear mixed models with PSA as dependent variable and cannabis lifetime (Yes/No) and subject status (Cases/Controls) as independent variables. We then considered “Country” as random intercept.ResultsAcross all countries, PSA scores were better in patients who had smoked cannabis in their lifetime than patients who had not (P = 0.009). The difference in PSA score between cannabis users and non-users was significantly greater in cases than controls (P = 0.038). The relationship between PSA, cannabis lifetime (Yes/No) and subject status among nations (random intercept) is shown on Fig. 1.ConclusionsCannabis-using psychotic patients show better premorbid social adjustment than non-using patients, across 5 European countries.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Postoperative cognitive dysfunction: etiology, clinical features, diagnosis

Medical Council ◽

10.21518/2079-701x-2021-19-49-56 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 49-56

Author(s):

S. P. Bordovsky ◽

P. M. Krupenin ◽

A. I. Rozen ◽

G. Yu. Evzikov ◽

Y. V. Kirichuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Dysfunction ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Small Sample ◽

Aged Patients ◽

Memory Impairments ◽

Before And After ◽

The Relationship

Introduction. The present study analyzed the possibility of using neuropsychological tests to assess postoperative cognitive dysfunction. New data were obtained: in the postoperative period, hippocampal memory impairments predominate in patients, which makes it expedient to use methods for diagnosing primary modal-nonspecific memory disorders in patients who are to undergo neurosurgical intervention on the spinal cord.The aim of the study to evaluate the influence of surgery with anesthesia on the cognitive functions of middle-age patients.Materials and methods. The study included 20 middle-aged patients. All patients had to undergo spinal surgery. Patients received total intravenous anesthesia with propofol induction (4–12 mg/kg/hr). Cognitive functions before and after the operation were made with the use of the MoCA, TMT A and B, FCSRT, state-trait anxiety inventory test (STAI).Results. The development of POCD was noted in 15% of cases. The patients showed a decrease in the FCSRT prompt index (1st day = 87 ± 9.0; 2nd day = 83 ± 15; p = 0,0005), while the overall severity of cognitive impairments (total score of MoCA) did not change significantly (standard deviation according to MoCA: 24.25 ± 2.86 on day 1 and 24 ± 3.24 on the second day, p = 0.61). The RT level decreased by day 2: 44.65 ± 7.4 versus 41.1 ± 8.2 (p = 0.001). Correlation analysis did not show the relationship between the age of patients, education level, comorbidity and development of POCD; however, the duration of anesthesia was associated with a decrease in MoCA scores (Pearson’s correlation coefficient r = –0.44; p = 0.050).Conclusion. Thus, our study shows that the study of hippocampal memory impairments is important in patients with POCD. These data differ from the data of researchers presented earlier, where the most important clinical manifestations of POCD are considered to be a decrease in attention and speed of mental processes. Of course, the small sample size dictates the need for additional research.

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