Patterns of neuropsychological impairment in MCI patients with small subcortical infarcts or hippocampal atrophy

We investigated whether MCI patients with hippocampal atrophy or multiple subcortical infarcts demonstrate neuropsychological patterns and markers considered typical of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and of vascular dementia (VD), respectively. An extensive neuropsychological battery, including tests of memory, visual-spatial and executive functions, language, attention, praxis and psychomotor speed, was administered to 36 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients with hippocampal atrophy and 41 MCI patients with multiple subcortical infarcts. Both groups of MCI patients were very mildly impaired and well matched in terms of MMSE scores. A clear, disproportionately severe, episodic memory disorder was observed in MCI patients with hippocampal atrophy. A less specific neuropsychological profile, consisting of impairment on an Action Naming task that is sensitive to frontal lobe lesions, was observed in MCI patients with multiple subcortical infarcts. In MCI patients, a disproportionately severe episodic memory impairment strongly points to an Alzheimer's type brain pathology, whereas the prevalence of executive deficits and other frontal lobe symptoms are a much weaker diagnostic marker of small vessel subcortical disease. (JINS, 2008, 14, 611–619.)

Download Full-text

Predicting progression in the late onset frontal lobe syndrome

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610218001242 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 743-748 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Flora T. Gossink ◽

Everard Vijverberg ◽

Welmoed Krudop ◽

Philip Scheltens ◽

Max L. Stek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Frontal Lobe ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Late Onset ◽

Clinical Syndrome ◽

Clinical Markers ◽

Neuropsychological Profile ◽

Stereotypical Behavior ◽

Executive Deficits ◽

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽

Frontal Lobe Syndrome

ABSTRACTA late onset frontal lobe syndrome (LOF) refers to a clinical syndrome with apathy, disinhibition, or stereotypical behavior arising in middle or late adulthood. Diagnostics are challenging, and both clinicians and patients need reliable predictors of progression to improve clinical guidance. In this longitudinal multicenter and genetically screened prospective study, 137 LOF patients with frontal behavior (FBI score≥11) and/or stereotypical behavior (SRI≥10) were included. Progression was defined as institutionalization, death, or progression of frontal or temporal atrophy at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after two years of follow up. Absence of progression at MRI in addition to stable or improved Mini Mental State Examination and Frontal Assessment Battery scores after two years was indicative for non-progression. The presence of stereotypy and a neuropsychological profile with executive deficits at baseline were found to be predictive for progression, while a history and family history with psychiatric disorders were predictors for non-progression. The combination of these clinical markers had a predictive value of 80.4% (p < 0.05). In patients presenting with late onset behavioral symptoms, an appraisal of the rate of deterioration can be made by detailed mapping of clinical symptoms. Distinction of progressive discourses from non-progressive or treatable conditions is to be gained.

Download Full-text

Episodic memory and speed/attention deficits are associated with Alzheimer-typical CSF abnormalities in MCI

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s135561770808079x ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 582-590 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

ARTO NORDLUND ◽

SINDRE ROLSTAD ◽

OLA KLANG ◽

KARIN LIND ◽

MONA PEDERSEN ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Episodic Memory ◽

Neuropsychological Battery ◽

Prodromal Stage ◽

Age Norms ◽

Total Tau ◽

Prodromal Ad ◽

Function Language ◽

T Tau ◽

Normal Controls ◽

Better Than

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is regarded as the prodromal stage of dementia disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).Objective: To compare the neuropsychological profiles of MCI subjects with normal concentrations of total tau (T-τ) and Aβ42 in CSF (MCI-norm) to MCI subjects with deviating concentrations of the biomarkers (MCI-dev). MCI-norm (N = 73) and MCI-dev (N = 73) subjects were compared to normal controls (N = 50) on tests of speed/attention, memory, visuospatial function, language and executive function.Results: MCI-norm performed overall better than MCI-dev, specifically on tests of speed and attention and episodic memory. When MCI-dev subjects were subclassified into those with only high T-tau (MCI-tau), only low Aβ42 (MCI-Aβ) and both high T-tau and low Aβ42 (MCI-tauAβ), MCI-tauAβ tended to perform slightly worse. MCI-tau and MCI-Aβ performed quite similarly.Conclusions: Considering the neuropsychological differences, many MCI-norm probably had more benign forms of MCI, or early non-AD forms of neurodegenerative disorders. Although most MCI-dev performed clearly worse than MCI-norm on the neuropsychological battery, some did not show any deficits when compared to age norms. A combination of CSF analyses and neuropsychology could be a step toward a more exact diagnosis of MCI as prodromal AD. (JINS, 2008, 14, 582–590.)

Download Full-text

Neuropsychology and malnutrition: a study with 7 to 10 years-old children in a poor community

Revista Brasileira de Saúde Materno Infantil ◽

10.1590/s1519-38292007000100006 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 45-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Mônica C. Miranda ◽

Fernando J. Nóbrega ◽

Kazue Sato ◽

Sabine Pompéia ◽

Elaine G. Sinnes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Maternal Mental Health ◽

Average Birth Weight ◽

Term Memory ◽

Malnourished Children ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Neuropsychological Profile ◽

Prenatal Malnutrition

OBJECTIVES: to compare the neuropsychological profile of eutrophic, stunted and chronically malnourished children, and to analyse the role of socio-economic factors on the cognitive development. METHODS: seven to 10 year-old girls and boys from a poor community in São Paulo were evaluated: 27 eutrophyc, 31 stunted and 15 chronically malnourished. Neuropsychological evaluation involved cognitive functions not fully assessed in this population, such as working, declarative and non-declarative memories, attention and executive functions. Socio-economic indicators, maternal mental health and the children's behaviour at school were also evaluated. RESULTS: malnourished children had a lower score on the vocabulary test than the eutrophic and stunted groups (p s<0.05), performed worse in the visuospatial working memory task (p = 0.01), were more anxious than the stunted (p = 0.006), and despite having lower average birth weight than eutrophic children (p = 0.01), only two children as had prenatal malnutrition. Stunted children exhibited no impairment. No differences in socio-economic variables were found among groups. CONCLUSIONS: chronic malnutrition was associated to impairment of expressive speech, visual-spatial short-term memory and increased anxiety. No effects were observed in intellectual abilities, executive functions, verbal working memory, long-term memory, nor in visuoconstructive function. Preservation of the latter cognitive functions can be attributed to adequate environmental conditions and the lack of overall prenatal malnutrition.

Download Full-text

Cognitive functions in young adults with generalized anxiety disorder

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.10.008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Kiara Leonard ◽

Amitai Abramovitch

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Cognitive Load ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Neuropsychological Battery ◽

Compensatory Mechanisms ◽

Neuropsychological Profile ◽

The Impact

AbstractBackground:Anxiety and worry are central symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) that have been theorized to negatively impact cognitive functions. However, most of the research has focused on threat-related or emotionally-charged stimuli, and a surprisingly small number of investigations examined ‘cold’ cognitive functions using classic neuropsychological tests. Such investigations are particularly important given that some theoretical models suggest compensatory mechanisms associated with anxiety that in certain circumstances may result in intact performance. The aim of the present study is to assess the neuropsychological profile associated with GAD, using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery.Methods:A sample of 23 college students meeting criteria for DSM-5 GAD and 20 control participants completed a psychometrically valid comprehensive computerized neuropsychological battery and clinical questionnaires.Results:The GAD sample presented with significantly elevated symptomatic rates of anxiety, worry, depression and stress. However, no significant differences were found on any neuropsychological outcome measures or domain indexes. Effect sizes were small, some of which favored the GAD sample.Conclusion:Despite substantial psychopathological burden, GAD exhibited intact cognitive functioning. These results support the Cognitive Control Theory of Anxiety, suggesting that elevated primary anxiety may not impact ‘cold’ cognitive functions in the absence of threat or substantial cognitive load. Given that this is one of the only studies employing a comprehensive neuropsychological battery in GAD, more research is needed in this population to replicate these results and to examine the impact of anxiety on cognitive functions at varying degrees of cognitive load in this population.

Download Full-text

The role of the left frontal lobe in action naming: rTMS evidence

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.59.5.720 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 59 (5) ◽

pp. 720-723 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

S. F. Cappa ◽

M. Sandrini ◽

P. M. Rossini ◽

K. Sosta ◽

C. Miniussi

Keyword(s):

Frontal Lobe ◽

Left Frontal Lobe ◽

Action Naming

Download Full-text

An Optimality Analysis of the Morphophonemic Development of Triconsonantal Verbs of Normal Jordanian Speaking Children

International Journal of Linguistics ◽

10.5296/ijl.v12i1.14847 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 92

Author(s):

Majd S. Abushunar ◽

Radwan S. Mahadin

Keyword(s):

Optimality Theory ◽

Mother Tongue ◽

Spontaneous Speech ◽

Naming Task ◽

Jordanian Arabic ◽

Morphological Complexity ◽

Action Naming

This study carries out an analysis using the framework of Optimality Theory to investigate the acquisition of the morphophonemics of JA triconsonantal verbs. The analyzed data consist of speech samples obtained from a picture/action naming task as well as spontaneous speech collection. The sample of the study consists of 64 normally developing children who are acquiring spoken Jordanian Arabic as their mother tongue. The participants whose ages range from 2;1 to 6 years are selected randomly from different preschools in two Jordanian cities. The major findings of the study suggest that children overcome the morphological complexity of Arabic verbs by applying a number of processes, including: cluster simplification, glottalization, and truncation. The OT analysis indicates that these processes are associated with highly-ranked markedness constraints and lower-ranked faithfulness constraints in child grammar. In addition, the root/affix asymmetry triggers unmarked patterns to emerge in the affix. Finally, the results display that children’s morphophonological abilities improve with age and that the majority of children’s morphophonological processes disappear at age six years.

Download Full-text

Association of Sleep Quality on Memory-Related Executive Functions in Middle Age

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617717000637 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 67-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Brinda K. Rana ◽

Matthew S. Panizzon ◽

Carol E. Franz ◽

Kelly M. Spoon ◽

Kristen C. Jacobson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Function ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Later Life ◽

Set Shifting ◽

Interference Control ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Increased Risk

AbstractObjectives: Sleep quality affects memory and executive function in older adults, but little is known about its effects in midlife. If it affects cognition in midlife, it may be a modifiable factor for later-life functioning. Methods: We examined the association between sleep quality and cognition in 1220 middle-aged male twins (age 51–60 years) from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. We interviewed participants with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and tested them for episodic memory as well as executive functions of inhibitory and interference control, updating in working memory, and set shifting. Interference control was assessed during episodic memory, inhibitory control during working memory, and non-memory conditions and set shifting during working memory and non-memory conditions. Results: After adjusting for covariates and correcting for multiple comparisons, sleep quality was positively associated with updating in working memory, set shifting in the context of working memory, and better visual-spatial (but not verbal) episodic memory, and at trend level, with interference control in the context of episodic memory. Conclusions: Sleep quality was associated with visual-spatial recall and possible resistance to proactive/retroactive interference. It was also associated with updating in working memory and with set shifting, but only when working memory demands were relatively high. Thus, effects of sleep quality on midlife cognition appear to be at the intersection of executive function and memory processes. Subtle deficits in these age-susceptible cognitive functions may indicate increased risk for decline in cognitive abilities later in life that might be reduced by improved midlife sleep quality. (JINS, 2018, 24, 67–76)

Download Full-text

Contrasting patterns of deficits in visuospatial memory and executive function in patients with major depression with and without ECT referral

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291710001443 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

pp. 983-995 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

E. Tsaltas ◽

S. Kalogerakou ◽

V.-M. Papakosta ◽

D. Kontis ◽

E. Theochari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Neuropsychological Test ◽

Visuospatial Memory ◽

Cognitive Profiles ◽

Opposite Pattern ◽

Paired Associates ◽

Depressed Patients ◽

Neuropsychological Profile ◽

Executive Deficits ◽

State Examination

BackgroundThe pretreatment neuropsychological profile of drug-resistant patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) referred for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may differ from that of their drug-respondent MDD counterparts. Such differences could help in identifying distinct MDD subtypes, thus offering insights into the neuropathology underlying differential treatment responses.MethodDepressed patients with ECT referral (ECTs), depressed patients with no ECT referral (NECTs) and non-psychiatric Controls (matched groups,n=15) were assessed with memory and executive function tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB).ResultsECTs scored significantly lower than NECTs in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE;p=0.01). NECTs performed worse than Controls in the Paired Associates Learning (PAL) task (p<0.03; Control/NECTp<0.01) and the Spatial Recognition Memory (SRM) task (p<0.05; Controls/NECTsp<0.05); ECTs performed between Controls and NECTs, not differing from either. In the Intra/Extradimensional (IED) set-shifting task, ECTs performed worse that Controls and NECTS (IED:p<0.01; Controls/ECTsp<0.01), particularly in the shift phases, which suggests reduced attentional flexibility. In Stockings of Cambridge (SOC), ECTs abandoned the test early more often than Controls and NECTs (H=11,p<0.01) but ECTs who completed SOC performed comparably to the other two groups.ConclusionsA double dissociation emerged from the comparison of cognitive profiles of ECT and NECT patients. ECTs showed executive deficits, particularly in attentional flexibility, but mild deficits in tests of visuospatial memory. NECTs presented the opposite pattern. This suggests predominantly frontostriatal involvement in ECTversustemporal involvement in NECT depressives.

Download Full-text

Neuropsychological profile of Italians with Williams syndrome: An example of a dissociation between language and cognition?

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617704106073 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 862-876 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

STEFANO VICARI ◽

ELISABETH BATES ◽

MARIA CRISTINA CASELLI ◽

PATRIZIO PASQUALETTI ◽

CHIARA GAGLIARDI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Williams Syndrome ◽

Digit Span ◽

Older Children ◽

Final State ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Spatial Span ◽

Mental Age ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Neuropsychological Profile ◽

Construction Tasks

Important claims have been made regarding the contrasting profiles of linguistic and cognitive performance observed in two genetically based syndromes, Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS). Earlier studies suggested a double dissociation, with language better preserved than nonverbal cognition in children and adults with WS, and an opposite profile in children and adults with DS. More recent studies show that this initial characterization was too simple, and that qualitatively different patterns of deficit observed within both language and visual–spatial cognition, in both groups. In the present study, large samples of children and adolescents with WS and age-matched DS are compared with typically developing (TD) controls matched to WS in mental age, on receptive and expressive lexical and grammatical abilities, semantic and phonological fluency, digit span and nonverbal visual–spatial span, and on 2 visual–spatial construction tasks. Study 1 confirmed distinct profiles of sparing and impairment for the 2 groups, within as well as between language and nonlinguistic domains, even after IQ variations were controlled. In Study 2 we compared performance of the children, adolescents and young adults with DS and WS included in the first study, divided on the basis of the chronological age of the participants (under 8 years; over 12 years). Although it is important to stress that these are cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data, the results demonstrated that the profile of younger children is different in respect to those of the older children; initial states of the system cannot be inferred by the final state. Possible neural substrates for these profiles and trajectories are discussed. (JINS, 2004, 10, 862–876.)

Download Full-text