Phasic alerting increases visual processing speed in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Author(s):  
Marleen Haupt ◽  
Steffen Jödecke ◽  
Annie Srowig ◽  
Natan Napiórkowski ◽  
Christoph Preul ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleen Haupt ◽  
Steffen Jödecke ◽  
Annie Srowig ◽  
Natan Napiórkowski ◽  
Christoph Preul ◽  
...  

External warning cues temporarily increase the brain's sensitivity for upcoming events. Such increased levels of phasic alertness help individuals to flexibly adapt their reactions to the fast-changing requirements of highly complex visual environments. Previous studies reported that both healthy younger and older adults profit from phasic alerting cues. Arguably, such an intact phasic alerting mechanism could be even more relevant in pathologically aging individuals who are characterized by pronounced reductions of general processing capacity. The present study employed a theory of visual attention based whole report paradigm with auditory cues in order to investigate phasic alerting effects in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) on a purely perceptual level. In addition, aMCI patients were compared to a previously reported sample of healthy older adults. The analysis in aMCI patients indicated that their visual processing speed was significantly higher in the cue compared to the no-cue condition. Across groups, auditory alerting cues significantly increased visual processing speed. Further, visual processing speed was reduced in aMCI patients compared to healthy older adults, replicating prior findings. Taken together, the results suggest that the processing system of aMCI patients exhibits general declines but can still flexibly integrate auditory warning signals. Phasic alerting cues facilitate a temporary increase in processing speed, enabling an efficient handling of upcoming sensory information.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy S. Ramratan ◽  
Laura A. Rabin ◽  
Cuiling Wang ◽  
Molly E. Zimmerman ◽  
Mindy J. Katz ◽  
...  

AbstractIndividuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) show deficits on traditional episodic memory tasks and reductions in speed of performance on reaction time tasks. We present results on a novel task, the Cued-Recall Retrieval Speed Task (CRRST), designed to simultaneously measure level and speed of retrieval. A total of 390 older adults (mean age, 80.2 years), learned 16 words based on corresponding categorical cues. In the retrieval phase, we measured accuracy (% correct) and retrieval speed/reaction time (RT; time from cue presentation to voice onset of a correct response) across 6 trials. Compared to healthy elderly adults (HEA, n = 303), those with aMCI (n = 87) exhibited poorer performance in retrieval speed (difference = −0.13; p < .0001) and accuracy on the first trial (difference = −0.19; p < .0001), and their rate of improvement in retrieval speed was slower over subsequent trials. Those with aMCI also had greater within-person variability in processing speed (variance ratio = 1.22; p = .0098) and greater between-person variability in accuracy (variance ratio = 2.08; p = .0001) relative to HEA. Results are discussed in relation to the possibility that computer-based measures of cued-learning and processing speed variability may facilitate early detection of dementia in at-risk older adults. (JINS, 2012, 18, 260–268)


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 721-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. DUKE HAN ◽  
HIDEO SUZUKI ◽  
AMY J. JAK ◽  
YU-LING CHANG ◽  
DAVID P. SALMON ◽  
...  

AbstractTo identify neuropsychological and psychosocial factors predictive of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) among a group of 94 nondemented older adults, we employed a novel nonlinear multivariate classification statistical method called Optimal Data Analysis (ODA) in a dataset collected annually for 3 years. Performance on measures of memory and visuomotor processing speed or symptoms of depression in year 1 predicted aMCI status by year 2. Performance on a measure of learning at year 1 predicted aMCI status at year 3. No other measures significantly predicted incidence of aMCI at years 2 and 3. Results support the utility of multiple neuropsychological and psychosocial measures in the diagnosis of aMCI, and the present model may serve as a testable hypothesis for prospective investigations of the development of aMCI. (JINS, 2010, 16, 721–729.)


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleen Haupt ◽  
Adriana L. Ruiz-Rizzo ◽  
Christian Sorg ◽  
Kathrin Finke

AbstractPhasic alerting cues temporarily increase the brain’s arousal state. In younger and older participants, visual processing speed in a whole report task, estimated based on the theory of visual attention (TVA), is increased in cue compared to no-cue conditions. The present study assessed whether older participants’ ability to profit from warning cues is related to iFC in the cingulo-opercular and/or right fronto-parietal network. We obtained resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 31 older participants. By combining an independent component analysis and dual regression, we investigated iFC in both networks. A voxel-wise multiple regression in older participants revealed that higher phasic alerting effects on visual processing speed were significantly associated with lower right fronto-parietal network iFC. We then compared healthy older participants to a previously reported sample of healthy younger participants to assess whether behaviour-iFC relationships are age group specific. The comparison revealed that the association between phasic alerting and cingulo-opercular network iFC is significantly lower in older than in younger adults. Additionally, it yielded a stronger association between phasic alerting and right fronto-parietal network iFC in older versus younger participants. The results support a particular role of the right fronto-parietal network in maintaining phasic alerting capabilities in aging.


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