Language dominance and inhibition abilities in bilingual older adults

This study aimed to examine the so-called bilingual advantage in older adults’ performance in three cognitive domains and to identify whether language use and bilingual type (dominant vs. balanced) predicted performance. The participants were 106 Spanish–English bilinguals ranging in age from 50 years to 84 years. Three cognitive domains were examined (each by a single test): inhibition (the Simon task), alternating attention (the Trail Making test), and working memory (Month Ordering). The data revealed that age was negatively correlated to performance in each domain. Bilingual type – balanced vs. dominant – predicted performance and interacted with age only on the inhibition measure (the Simon task). Balanced bilinguals showed age-related inhibition decline (i.e., greater Simon effect with increasing age); in contrast, dominant bilinguals showed little or no age-related change. The findings suggest that bilingualism may offer cognitive advantage in older age only for a subset of bilinguals.

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Investigating the Effects of Spacing on Working Memory Training Outcome: A Randomized, Controlled, Multisite Trial in Older Adults

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbz090 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 75 (6) ◽

pp. 1181-1192

Author(s):

Susanne M Jaeggi ◽

Martin Buschkuehl ◽

Chelsea M Parlett-Pelleriti ◽

Seung Min Moon ◽

Michelle Evans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Domain ◽

Memory Training ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Effective Interventions ◽

Age Related ◽

Before And After

Abstract Objective The majority of the population will experience some cognitive decline with age. Therefore, the development of effective interventions to mitigate age-related decline is critical for older adults’ cognitive functioning and their quality of life. Methods In our randomized controlled multisite trial, we target participants’ working memory (WM) skills, and in addition, we focus on the intervention’s optimal scheduling in order to test whether and how the distribution of training sessions might affect task learning, and ultimately, transfer. Healthy older adults completed an intervention targeting either WM or general knowledge twice per day, once per day, or once every-other-day. Before and after the intervention and 3 months after training completion, participants were tested in a variety of cognitive domains, including those representing functioning in everyday life. Results In contrast to our hypotheses, spacing seems to affect learning only minimally. We did observe some transfer effects, especially within the targeted cognitive domain (WM and inhibition/interference), which remained stable at the 3-month follow-up. Discussion Our findings have practical implications by showing that the variation in training schedule, at least within the range used here, does not seem to be a crucial element for training benefits.

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EFFICIENCY OF VISUAL WORKING MEMORY IN ADHD: EVALUATION WITH A COMPUTERIZED VERSION OF ADVANCED TRAIL MAKING TEST

Neuropediatrics ◽

10.1055/s-2006-945697 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 37 (S 1) ◽

Author(s):

N Kokubo ◽

Y Inoue ◽

A Gunji ◽

M Inagaki ◽

M Kaga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Visual Working Memory ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Trail Making

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A-09 The Relationship Between Subjective Cognitive Complaints, Depression, and Executive Functioning in mTBI Veterans

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acaa067.09 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 782-782

Author(s):

T Scott ◽

J Spellman ◽

N Walker ◽

J Rivera ◽

D Waltzman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Principal Component ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Cognitive Complaints ◽

Adult Intelligence Scale ◽

Neuropsychological Measures ◽

Trail Making ◽

Subjective Complaints ◽

Subjective Cognitive Complaints

Abstract Objective Among individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), those with depression report greater subjective cognitive complaints than those without depression. In mTBI patients with general cognitive complaints, depression may account for poor performance on objective neuropsychological measures. This study seeks to expand this research by examining depression, subjective executive functioning (EF) complaints, and objective EF performance in Veterans with mTBI. Method Fifty-seven Veterans with deployment-related mTBI (12% female; age M = 42.0, SD = 13.6; years education M = 15.0, SD = 1.8) with (n = 29) or without (n = 28) a chart diagnosis of depression. Participants were administered the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) and objective neuropsychological measures of working memory (i.e., Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV Working Memory Index) and aspects of EF (i.e., Trail Making Test B and Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System (D-KEFS) subtests). Results Principal component analysis identified similar domains of EF to the BRIEF, including: task monitoring (Trail Making Test B, D-KEFS Letter Fluency, and D-KEFS Tower Test, eigenvalue = 1.93) and shifting (D-KEFS: Color-Word Interference Conditions 3 and 4, and Category Switching, eigenvalue = 1.24). Individuals with depression had greater subjective EF complaints in each BRIEF domain than non-depressed individuals (p’s ≤ .01). However, subjective complaints in these domains were not related to objective performance (r’s = −0.17,-0.19, p’s > .05). Moreover, depressed and non-depressed individuals performed similarly on all EF measures (p’s > .05). Conclusions mTBI Veterans with depression report more subjective EF complaints than those without depression. The lack of association between subjective complaints and objective EF performance suggests it is important to treat depression in mTBI patients to remedy perceived cognitive deficits.

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Spontaneous Eye Blinks Predict Executive Functioning in Seniors

Journal of Cognitive Enhancement ◽

10.1007/s41465-021-00217-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessika I. V. Buitenweg ◽

Jaap M. J. Murre ◽

K. Richard Ridderinkhof

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Cognitive Training ◽

Functional Decline ◽

Future Research ◽

Blink Rate ◽

Memory Updating ◽

Age Related ◽

Working Memory Updating

AbstractAs the world’s population is aging rapidly, cognitive training is an extensively used approach to attempt improvement of age-related cognitive functioning. With increasing numbers of older adults required to remain in the workforce, it is important to be able to reliably predict future functional decline, as well as the individual advantages of cognitive training. Given the correlation between age-related decline and striatal dopaminergic function, we investigated whether eye blink rate (EBR), a non-invasive, indirect indicator of dopaminergic activity, could predict executive functioning (response inhibition, switching and working memory updating) as well as trainability of executive functioning in older adults. EBR was collected before and after a cognitive flexibility training, cognitive training without flexibility, or a mock training. EBR predicted working memory updating performance on two measures of updating, as well as trainability of working memory updating, whereas performance and trainability in inhibition and switching tasks could not be predicted by EBR. Our findings tentatively indicate that EBR permits prediction of working memory performance in older adults. To fully interpret the relationship with executive functioning, we suggest future research should assess both EBR and dopamine receptor availability among seniors.

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Resting‐State EEG Microstates Parallel Age‐Related Differences in Allocentric Spatial Working Memory Performance

Brain Topography ◽

10.1007/s10548-021-00835-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adeline Jabès ◽

Giuliana Klencklen ◽

Paolo Ruggeri ◽

Christoph M. Michel ◽

Pamela Banta Lavenex ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Resting State ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Age Related

AbstractAlterations of resting-state EEG microstates have been associated with various neurological disorders and behavioral states. Interestingly, age-related differences in EEG microstate organization have also been reported, and it has been suggested that resting-state EEG activity may predict cognitive capacities in healthy individuals across the lifespan. In this exploratory study, we performed a microstate analysis of resting-state brain activity and tested allocentric spatial working memory performance in healthy adult individuals: twenty 25–30-year-olds and twenty-five 64–75-year-olds. We found a lower spatial working memory performance in older adults, as well as age-related differences in the five EEG microstate maps A, B, C, C′ and D, but especially in microstate maps C and C′. These two maps have been linked to neuronal activity in the frontal and parietal brain regions which are associated with working memory and attention, cognitive functions that have been shown to be sensitive to aging. Older adults exhibited lower global explained variance and occurrence of maps C and C′. Moreover, although there was a higher probability to transition from any map towards maps C, C′ and D in young and older adults, this probability was lower in older adults. Finally, although age-related differences in resting-state EEG microstates paralleled differences in allocentric spatial working memory performance, we found no evidence that any individual or combination of resting-state EEG microstate parameter(s) could reliably predict individual spatial working memory performance. Whether the temporal dynamics of EEG microstates may be used to assess healthy cognitive aging from resting-state brain activity requires further investigation.

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Developmental change of visuo-spatial working memory in children: Quantitative evaluation through an Advanced Trail Making Test

Brain and Development ◽

10.1016/j.braindev.2012.02.001 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 34 (10) ◽

pp. 799-805 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Naomi Kokubo ◽

Masumi Inagaki ◽

Atsuko Gunji ◽

Tomoka Kobayashi ◽

Hidenobu Ohta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Quantitative Evaluation ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Developmental Change ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Trail Making

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Association of AKAP6 and MIR2113 with cognitive performance in a population based sample of older adults

10.1101/070409 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Shea J. Andrews ◽

Debjani Das ◽

Kaarin J. Anstey ◽

Simon Easteal

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Cognitive Change ◽

European Ancestry ◽

Substantial Contribution ◽

Perceptual Speed ◽

Cognitive Domains

AbstractGenetic factors make a substantial contribution to inter-individual variability in cognitive function. A recent meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identified two loci, AKAP6 and MIR2113 that are associated with general cognitive function. Here, we extend this previous research by investigating the association of MIR2113 and AKAP6 with baseline and longitudinal nonlinear change across a broad spectrum of cognitive domains in community-based cohort of 1,570 older adults without dementia. Two SNPs, MIR211-rs10457441 and AKAP6-rs17522122 were genotyped in 1,570 non-demented older Australians of European ancestry, who were examined up to 4 times over 12 years. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the association between AKAP6 and MIR2113 with cognitive performance in episodic memory, working memory, vocabulary, perceptual speed and reaction time at baseline and with linear and quadratic rates of change. AKAP6-rs17522122*T was associated with worse baseline performance in episodic memory, working memory, vocabulary and perceptual speed, but it was not associated with cognitive change in any domain. MIR2113-rs10457441*T was associated with accelerated decline in episodic memory. No other associations with baseline cognitive performance or with linear or quadratic rate or cognitive changes was observed for this SNP. These results confirm the previous finding that, AKAP6 is associated with performance across multiple cognitive domains at baseline but not with cognitive decline, while MIR2113 primarily affects the rate at which memory declines over time.

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Prevalence and Pattern of Neurocognitive Impairment in Nigerians with Stages 3 to 5 Chronic Kidney Disease

ISRN Neurology ◽

10.1155/2013/374890 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

U. E. Williams ◽

M. O. Owolabi ◽

A. Ogunniyi ◽

E. O. Ezunu

Keyword(s):

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Community Screening ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Gault Formula ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Trail Making ◽

Multiple Domains

Background. Cognitive impairment with its negative effect on quality of life has been reported in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The paucity of the literature on cognitive impairment in Africans with CKD prompted this study. Objectives. To determine the frequency and pattern of cognitive impairment in patients with stages 3 to 5 CKD. Methods. We studied 79 consecutive consenting adults with a National Kidney Foundation (NKF) stage 3 to 5 CKD based on their estimated glomerular filtration rate using the Cockcroft-Gault formula. The controls consisted of healthy demographically matched subjects. Community screening instrument for dementia (CSI’D), trail making test A (TMTA), and trail making test B (TMTB) were used for cognitive assessment. Results. More CKD patients had cognitive impairment compared with controls using CSI’D (51.9% versus 2.5%, P<0.001); TMTA (53.2% versus 0%, P<0.001); and TMTB (40% versus 0%, P<0.001). The odds of having cognitive impairment increased in the presence of CKD when assessed using CSI’D (OR = 2.026; CI = 1.607–2.555); TMTA (OR = 3.13; CI = 2.40–4.09) and TMTB (OR = 3.22; CI = 2.42–4.25). CKD patients performed poorer on tests of executive function TMTA (P<0.001) and TMTB (P<0.001) while CSI’D showed significantly lower scores on multiple cognitive domains. Conclusions. Significant cognitive impairment in multiple domains exists among Nigerians with CKD.

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Effects of dance on cognitive function in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Age and Ageing ◽

10.1093/ageing/afaa270 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Patricia Hewston ◽

Courtney Clare Kennedy ◽

Sayem Borhan ◽

Dafna Merom ◽

Pasqualina Santaguida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Learning And Memory ◽

Optimal Dose ◽

Future Research ◽

Trail Making Test ◽

Global Cognitive Function ◽

Trail Making ◽

Complex Attention

Abstract Background dance is a mind–body activity that stimulates neuroplasticity. We explored the effect of dance on cognitive function in older adults. Methods we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL and PsycInfo databases from inception to August 2020 (PROSPERO:CRD42017057138). Inclusion criteria were (i) randomised controlled trials (ii) older adults (aged ≥ 55 years), (iii) intervention—dance and (iv) outcome—cognitive function. Cognitive domains were classified with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 Neurocognitive Framework. Meta-analyses were performed in RevMan5.3 and certainty of evidence with GradePro. Results we reviewed 3,997 records and included 11 studies (N = 1,412 participants). Seven studies included only healthy older adults and four included those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Dance interventions varied in frequency (1–3×/week), time (35–60 minutes), duration (3–12 months) and type. We found a mean difference (MD) = 1.58 (95% confidence interval [CI) = 0.21–2.95) on the Mini Mental State Examination for global cognitive function (moderate-certainty evidence), and the Wechsler Memory Test for learning and memory had an MD = 3.02 (95% CI = 1.38–4.65; low-certainty evidence). On the Trail Making Test-A for complex attention, MD = 3.07 (95% CI = −0.81 to 6.95; high-certainty evidence) and on the Trail Making Test-B for executive function, MD = −4.12 (95% CI = −21.28 to 13.03; moderate-certainty evidence). Subgroup analyses did not suggest consistently greater effects in older adults with MCI. Evidence is uncertain for language, and no studies evaluated social cognition or perceptual–motor function. Conclusions dance probably improves global cognitive function and executive function. However, there is little difference in complex attention, and evidence also suggests little effect on learning and memory. Future research is needed to determine the optimal dose and if dance results in greater cognitive benefits than other types of physical activity and exercise.

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