Evaluation of an Executive Functioning Test Battery in Two Versions with Material Close to Daily Life

Abstract. The assessment of executive functions (EF) often yields conflicting results between standardized tests and self-ratings (e. g., in depression or adult ADHD). For the present investigation, standardized EF-tasks were enriched in order to better represent executive demands of daily life. In the future this may improve the assessment and prediction of reported performance deficits in daily life. An EF-test battery was designed with material close to daily life; tasks were matched to basic executive functions. Healthy students took part in two preliminary studies to evaluate the reliability, validity, and comparability of five tasks. In the end, four tasks seem suitable, whereas one task underlies several limitations. The tasks can reliably be used and should be re-evaluated in further studies with adult ADHD participants and healthy controls.

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High Order Linguistic Features Such as Ambiguity Processing as Relevant Diagnostic Markers for Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Research and Treatment ◽

10.1155/2012/825050 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Daniel Ketteler ◽

Anastasia Theodoridou ◽

Simon Ketteler ◽

Matthias Jäger

Keyword(s):

High Order ◽

Test Battery ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Linguistic Features ◽

Performance Deficits ◽

Linguistic Performance ◽

Order Language ◽

Function Test ◽

Schizophrenic Patients ◽

Schizophrenic Group

Due to the deficits of schizophrenic patients regarding the understanding of vague meanings (D. Ketteler and S. Ketteler (2010)) we develop a special test battery called HOLF (high order linguistic function test), which should be able to detect subtle linguistic performance deficits in schizophrenic patients. HOLF was presented to 40 schizophrenic patients and controls, focussing on linguistic features such as ambiguity, synonymy, hypero-/hyponymy, antinomy, and adages. Using the HOLF test battery we found that schizophrenic patients showed significant difficulties in discriminating ambiguities, hypero- and hyponymy, or synonymy compared to healthy controls. Antonyms and adages showed less significant results in comparing both groups. The more difficult a linguistic task was, the more confusion was measured in the schizophrenic group while healthy controls did not show significant problems in processing high order language tasks.

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Domain-Specific Stimulation of Executive Functioning in Low-Performing Students with a Roma Background: Cognitive Potential of Mathematics

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci11060285 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 285

Author(s):

Iveta Kovalčíková ◽

Jochanan Veerbeek ◽

Bart Vogelaar ◽

Alena Prídavková ◽

Ján Ferjenčík ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Functioning ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Passive Control ◽

Test Battery ◽

Hierarchical Organization ◽

Primary School Children ◽

Control Group ◽

Specific Content ◽

Domain Specific

The current study investigated whether a domain-specific intervention of ExeFun-Mat targeting math and executive functions in primary school children with a Roma background would be effective in improving their scholastic performance and executive functioning. ExeFun-Mat is based on the principles of the reciprocal teaching approach, scaffolding and self-questioning. The domain-specific content was divided into modules. Each module consisted of a set of graded tasks. The criteria for the grading and hierarchical organization of the tasks were based on the level of cognitive difficulty and the type of representation. In total, 122 students attending grade four of elementary school took part in the project. The study concerned a pretest-intervention-posttest experimental design with three conditions: the experimental condition, an active, and a passive control group. To assess the children’s level of EF, the Delis–Kaplan executive function system test battery was used; to assess children’s mathematical achievement, the cognitive abilities test (the numeracy battery), and ZAREKI—a neuropsychological test battery for numerical processing and calculation—were used. The results suggested that both math performance and executive functions improved over time, with no significant differences between the three conditions. An additional correlational analysis indicated that pretest performance was not related to posttest performance for the children in the experimental and active control group.

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Meta-analysis of executive functioning in ecstasy/polydrug users

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291716000258 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 (8) ◽

pp. 1581-1596 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

C. A. Roberts ◽

A. Jones ◽

C. Montgomery

Keyword(s):

Executive Functioning ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Degrees Of Freedom ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Performance Deficits ◽

Significant Performance ◽

The Brain

Ecstasy/3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use is proposed to cause damage to serotonergic (5-HT) axons in humans. Therefore, users should show deficits in cognitive processes that rely on serotonin-rich, prefrontal areas of the brain. However, there is inconsistency in findings to support this hypothesis. The aim of the current study was to examine deficits in executive functioning in ecstasy users compared with controls using meta-analysis. We identifiedk= 39 studies, contributing 89 effect sizes, investigating executive functioning in ecstasy users and polydrug-using controls. We compared function-specific task performance in 1221 current ecstasy users and 1242 drug-using controls, from tasks tapping the executive functions – updating, switching, inhibition and access to long-term memory. The significant main effect demonstrated overall executive dysfunction in ecstasy users [standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.26 to −0.11,Z= 5.05,p< 0.001,I2= 82%], with a significant subgroup effect (χ2= 22.06, degrees of freedom = 3,p< 0.001,I2= 86.4%) demonstrating differential effects across executive functions. Ecstasy users showed significant performance deficits in access (SMD = −0.33, 95% CI −0.46 to −0.19,Z= 4.72,p <0.001,I2= 74%), switching (SMD = −0.19, 95% CI −0.36 to −0.02,Z= 2.16,p <0.05,I2= 85%) and updating (SMD = −0.26, 95% CI −0.37 to −0.15,Z= 4.49,p <0.001,I2= 82%). No differences were observed in inhibitory control. We conclude that this is the most comprehensive analysis of executive function in ecstasy users to date and provides a behavioural correlate of potential serotonergic neurotoxicity.

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A Meta-Analysis of Executive Functions in Frontal Cortex: Comparing Healthy and Neuropsychiatric Groups

10.1101/335109 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Abigail B. Waters ◽

Lance P. Swenson ◽

David A. Gansler

Keyword(s):

Executive Functioning ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Effect Size ◽

Adaptive Functioning ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Neuropsychological Testing ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Adult Performance ◽

The Relationship

AbstractBackgroundThe neural architecture of executive functions remains a topic of considerable clinical and academic interest in the clinical neurosciences, given its strength as a transdiagnostic predictor of adaptive functioning with high heritability. In recent years, meta-analyses have shown a consistent relationship between prefrontal cortex size and executive functioning task performance in healthy adults and lesion patients, with increases in measures of cortical size (i.e., volume or thickness) associated with better executive functioning performance. There is a gap in meta-analytic literature assessing these relationships in neuropsychiatric populations, their effects relative to healthy controls, and differential contributions of brains regions and neuropsychological paradigms.MethodsWe conducted a meta-analysis of published studies (k =30) that assessed the relationship between executive functions and frontal regions in vivo (N = 1935) for both healthy (20 samples) and neuropsychiatric (21 samples) adults. Random effects modeling was used to calculate mean effect sizes and CIs.ResultsLarger volumes and thickness were associated with better executive functioning in both healthy (r =.35, 95% CI =.29 -.39) and neuropsychiatric populations (r =.47, 95% CI =.40 -.51), with the effect size for neuropsychiatric populations being significantly larger compared to healthy controls. While there was variability between tasks, there were no significant differences in effect size between neuropsychological paradigms or brain region classification.ConclusionsThese results indicate the relationship between healthy adult performance on neuropsychological testing is less associated with cortical size compared to neuropsychiatric adults.

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Unity or diversity of executive functioning in children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress symptoms? A meta-analysis

10.31234/osf.io/gbv89 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Otelie Nyvold ◽

Egil Nygaard ◽

Else-Marie Augusti ◽

Christian K. Tamnes

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Stress Symptoms

For some children the psychological reactions to a traumatic event develop into severe or persistent posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or the clinical condition of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cognitive problems in children with PTSS have been reported, but it is not clear which specific functions are affected. Executive functions is a domain of particular interest, given its importance for academic performance and social and emotional functioning. A systematic literature search was performed and 12 studies with 55 comparisons of executive functions in children with PTSS and healthy controls were eligible for meta-analysis. A subset of the studies also included a comparison group of children with traumatic experienced but without PTSS. Overall, across all tasks and measures, children with PTSS showed lower executive functioning than healthy controls (SMD = -0.57). The effect sizes between the subdomains complex tasks, verbal fluency, inhibition, shifting and working memory were not significantly different from each other, but were largest for verbal fluency (SMD = -1.29) and working memory (SMD = -0.59). Analyses comparing children with traumatic experiences with and without PTSS similarly showed overall lower executive functioning in the PTSS group (SMD = -0.34) and no significant differences in effect sizes between subdomains. The results have implications for assessment and clinical work with youth exposed to traumatic events. We should be aware of the poor executive functioning that may be an issue for some children with a history of trauma and subsequent development of PTSS, and the impact this could have on everyday functioning.

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Executive functions in children with heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cardiology in the Young ◽

10.1017/s1047951121001074 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

William M. Jackson ◽

Nicholas Davis ◽

Johanna Calderon ◽

Jennifer J. Lee ◽

Nicole Feirsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Planning Problem ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract Context: People with CHD are at increased risk for executive functioning deficits. Meta-analyses of these measures in CHD patients compared to healthy controls have not been reported. Objective: To examine differences in executive functions in individuals with CHD compared to healthy controls. Data sources: We performed a systematic review of publications from 1 January, 1986 to 15 June, 2020 indexed in PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Study selection: Inclusion criteria were (1) studies containing at least one executive function measure; (2) participants were over the age of three. Data extraction: Data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two authors. We used a shifting unit-of-analysis approach and pooled data using a random effects model. Results: The search yielded 61,217 results. Twenty-eight studies met criteria. A total of 7789 people with CHD were compared with 8187 healthy controls. We found the following standardised mean differences: −0.628 (−0.726, −0.531) for cognitive flexibility and set shifting, −0.469 (−0.606, −0.333) for inhibition, −0.369 (−0.466, −0.273) for working memory, −0.334 (−0.546, −0.121) for planning/problem solving, −0.361 (−0.576, −0.147) for summary measures, and −0.444 (−0.614, −0.274) for reporter-based measures (p < 0.001). Limitations: Our analysis consisted of cross-sectional and observational studies. We could not quantify the effect of collinearity. Conclusions: Individuals with CHD appear to have at least moderate deficits in executive functions. Given the growing population of people with CHD, more attention should be devoted to identifying executive dysfunction in this vulnerable group.

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Preoperative and postoperative cognitive functioning in patients with frontal meningiomas

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.2003.98.1.0021 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 98 (1) ◽

pp. 21-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 193

Author(s):

Oliver Tucha ◽

Christian Smely ◽

Michael Preier ◽

Georg Becker ◽

Geraldine M. Paul ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Functions ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Time Course ◽

Lesion Size ◽

Test Battery ◽

Surgical Removal ◽

Specific Information ◽

Content Type ◽

Before And After ◽

Fine Print

Object. There is presently no specific information available concerning the nature and course of cognitive deficits caused by intracranial meningiomas. In this prospective study the authors examined the cognitive functioning of patients with frontal meningiomas. Methods. Fifty-four patients with frontal meningiomas were examined neuropsychologically before and after neurosurgery. The test battery consisted of standardized instruments including those assessing memory, attention, visuoconstructive abilities, and executive functions. The time period between pre-and postoperative assessment ranged from 4 to 9 months. The patients' performance was compared with the results in 54 healthy adults who were also assessed twice by using the same test battery in a period ranging from 4 to 9 months. In addition, the effect on cognition of meningioma lateralization, localization, lesion size, edema, brain compression, time course, and the occurrence of preoperative seizures was analyzed. Conclusions. Except in the case of working memory, comparisons of pre- and postoperative assessments of cognition revealed no differences in memory, visuoconstructive abilities, or executive functions, although a postoperative improvement in attentional functions was observed. The results of this study indicate that the surgical removal of frontal meningiomas does not impair patients' cognitive functioning. Furthermore, improvements in attentional functions may occur in these patients.

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Facial emotion recognition and its relationship to cognition and depressive symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s104161021600034x ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 28 (7) ◽

pp. 1165-1179 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

J. Pietschnig ◽

L. Schröder ◽

I. Ratheiser ◽

I. Kryspin-Exner ◽

M. Pflüger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Emotion Recognition ◽

Recognition Performance ◽

Neuropsychological Test ◽

Test Battery ◽

Facial Emotion Recognition ◽

Facial Emotion ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Amnestic Mci ◽

Cognitively Intact

ABSTRACTBackground:Impairments in facial emotion recognition (FER) have been detected in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Presently, we aim at assessing differences in emotion recognition performance in PD patient groups with and without mild forms of cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to healthy controls.Methods:Performance on a concise emotion recognition test battery (VERT-K) of three groups of 97 PD patients was compared with an age-equivalent sample of 168 healthy controls. Patients were categorized into groups according to two well-established classifications of MCI according to Petersen's (cognitively intact vs. amnestic MCI, aMCI, vs. non-amnestic MCI, non-aMCI) and Litvan's (cognitively intact vs. single-domain MCI, sMCI, vs. multi-domain MCI, mMCI) criteria. Patients and controls underwent individual assessments using a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery examining attention, executive functioning, language, and memory (Neuropsychological Test Battery Vienna, NTBV), the Beck Depression Inventory, and a measure of premorbid IQ (WST).Results:Cognitively intact PD patients and patients with MCI in PD (PD-MCI) showed significantly worse emotion recognition performance when compared to healthy controls. Between-groups effect sizes were substantial, showing non-trivial effects in all comparisons (Cohen's ds from 0.31 to 1.22). Moreover, emotion recognition performance was higher in women, positively associated with premorbid IQ and negatively associated with age. Depressive symptoms were not related to FER.Conclusions:The present investigation yields further evidence for impaired FER in PD. Interestingly, our data suggest FER deficits even in cognitively intact PD patients indicating FER dysfunction prior to the development of overt cognitive dysfunction. Age showed a negative association whereas IQ showed a positive association with FER.

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