A-2 Clustering and Switching Indices as Discriminators between Alzheimer’s Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Mild Cognitive Impairment on a Semantic Fluency Task

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1023-1023
Author(s):  
Amanda M Wisinger ◽  
Matthew S Phillips ◽  
Dustin A Carter ◽  
Kyle J Jennette ◽  
Joseph W Fink
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Vascular Dementia ◽  
Cluster Size ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Memory Concerns

Abstract Objective Studies that have used semantic fluency tasks to guide differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (ad) and vascular dementia (VaD) typically only examine the total number of words produced, which has yielded conflicting results. The present study examined whether other indices of semantic fluency (i.e., clustering and switching), which are thought to better isolate the components of semantic memory and executive functioning abilities, would discriminate among ad, VaD, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Method A retrospective sample of 156 patients (mean age = 78.64; 76.3% female, 23.7% male; 26.9% White, 71.2% Black, 1.9% Other) who completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation as part of a workup related to memory concerns and were diagnosed with ad, VaD, or MCI was utilized. Separate univariate analyses of variance were used to examine group differences on three indices of semantic fluency (animals): total words, mean cluster size, and number of switches. Results There was a significant main effect of group for total words [F(2,153) = 7.09, p = 0.001], mean cluster size [F(2, 153) = 3.44, p = 0.035] and number of switches [F(2,153) = 3.36, p = 0.037]. Bonferroni post-hoc tests revealed that the ad and VaD groups produced significantly fewer total words than the MCI group, the ad group produced significantly smaller clusters than the VaD group, and the VaD group produced significantly fewer switches than the MCI group. Conclusion Observed group differences suggest that clustering and switching may aid in discriminating between dementia etiologies. Future studies may benefit from examining the association between these fluency indices and performance on executive functioning and semantic knowledge tasks to better understand these findings.

scholarly journals EEG Measures of Value-Directed Strategic Processing in Older Adults With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 292-293
Author(s):  
Lydia Nguyen ◽  
Shraddha Shende ◽  
Daniel Llano ◽  
Raksha Mudar
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Spectral Power ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Strategic Processing ◽  
Unique Word

Abstract Value-directed strategic processing is important for daily functioning. It allows selective processing of important information and inhibition of irrelevant information. This ability is relatively preserved in normal cognitive aging, but it is unclear if mild cognitive impairment (MCI) affects strategic processing and its underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. The current study examined behavioral and EEG spectral power differences between 16 cognitively normal older adults (CNOA; mean age: 74.5 ± 4.0 years) and 16 individuals with MCI (mean age: 77.1 ± 4.3 years) linked to a value-directed strategic processing task. The task used five unique word lists where words were assigned high- or low-value based on letter case and were presented sequentially while EEG was recorded. Participants were instructed to recall as many words as possible after each list to maximize their score. Results revealed no group differences in recall of low-value words, but individuals with MCI recalled significantly fewer high-value words and total number of words relative to CNOA. Group differences were observed in theta and alpha bands for low-value words, with greater synchronized theta power for CNOA than MCI and greater desynchronized alpha power for MCI than CNOA. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that more effortful neural processing of low-value words in the MCI group, relative to the CNOA group, allowed them to match their behavioral performance to the CNOA group. Individuals with MCI appear to utilize more cognitive resources to inhibit low-value information and might show memory-related benefits if taught strategies to focus on high-value information processing.

Identification of Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Chinese Based on Multiple Spoken Tasks

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Tianqi Wang ◽  
Yin Hong ◽  
Quanyi Wang ◽  
Rongfeng Su ◽  
Manwa Lawrence Ng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
Late Fusion ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Picture Description ◽  
Description Task

Background: Previous studies explored the use of noninvasive biomarkers of speech and language for the detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Yet, most of them employed single task which might not have adequately captured all aspects of their cognitive functions. Objective: The present study aimed to achieve the state-of-the-art accuracy in detecting individuals with MCI using multiple spoken tasks and uncover task-specific contributions with a tentative interpretation of features. Methods: Fifty patients clinically diagnosed with MCI and 60 healthy controls completed three spoken tasks (picture description, semantic fluency, and sentence repetition), from which multidimensional features were extracted to train machine learning classifiers. With a late-fusion configuration, predictions from multiple tasks were combined and correlated with the participants’ cognitive ability assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Statistical analyses on pre-defined features were carried out to explore their association with the diagnosis. Results: The late-fusion configuration could effectively boost the final classification result (SVM: F1 = 0.95; RF: F1 = 0.96; LR: F1 = 0.93), outperforming each individual task classifier. Besides, the probability estimates of MCI were strongly correlated with the MoCA scores (SVM: –0.74; RF: –0.71; LR: –0.72). Conclusion: Each single task tapped more dominantly to distinct cognitive processes and have specific contributions to the prediction of MCI. Specifically, picture description task characterized communications at the discourse level, while semantic fluency task was more specific to the controlled lexical retrieval processes. With greater demands on working memory load, sentence repetition task uncovered memory deficits through modified speech patterns in the reproduced sentences.

Motor intentional disorders in vascular mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia of subcortical type

Neurocase ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doo Sang Yoon ◽  
Kihyo Jung ◽  
Geon Ha Kim ◽  
Sook Hui Kim ◽  
Byung Hwa Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Vascular Dementia

Living Longer Better

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Charles Alessi ◽  
Larry W. Chambers ◽  
Muir Gray
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Vascular Dementia ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Cognitive Ageing ◽  
Brain Reserve ◽  
Lay People ◽  
Age Limit

Ageing is not a cause of major problems till the later nineties. The problems we fear—dementia, disability, and dependency are due to three other processes: loss of physical fitness, which starts long before old age, diseases, many of which are preventable, and pessimistic attitudes. Both lay people and our professional colleagues have difficulty with the meanings of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and cognitive ageing and use these terms in different ways, often incorrectly. Now is the time to use your assets—preserving and increasing your brain reserve to reduce your risk of dementia. The fitness gap can be closed at any age by increasing both physical and social activity. There is no upper age limit for prevention. The steps we recommend for reducing the risk of dementia will also help you reduce the risk of other diseases, keep you fitter, and help you feel better, and are equally relevant for people who have already developed mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

scholarly journals Fornix Integrity Is Differently Associated With Cognition in Healthy Aging and Non-amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study in Thai Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patcharaporn Srisaikaew ◽  
Nahathai Wongpakaran ◽  
Nicole D. Anderson ◽  
J. Jean Chen ◽  
Suchart Kothan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Dementia Risk ◽  
Amci Group

Damage to the fornix leads to significant memory impairment and executive dysfunction and is associated with dementia risk. We sought to identify if fornix integrity and fiber length are disrupted in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and how they associate with cognition. Data from 14 healthy older adult controls (HCs) and 17 subjects with non-amnestic MCI (n-aMCI) were analyzed. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at 1.5 Tesla MRI was performed to enable manual tracing of the fornix and calculation of DTI parameters. Higher fractional anisotropy of body and column of the fornix was associated with better executive functioning and memory, more strongly in the HC than in the n-aMCI group. Fornix fiber tract length (FTL) was associated with better executive function, more strongly in the n-aMCI than in the HC group, and with better memory, more strongly in the HC than in the n-aMCI group. These results highlight a decline in the contributions of the fornix to cognition in n-aMCI and suggest that maintenance of fornix FTL is essential for sustaining executive functioning in people with n-aMCI.

Cognitive Impairment and Depression in Older Patients

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Steinberg ◽  
Paul B. Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Vascular Dementia ◽  
Psychosocial Functioning ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Office Setting ◽  
Early Manifestation

Depression, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in the elderly can present with similar features such as cognitive complaints, loss of initiative, and difficulties with psychosocial functioning. These can be difficult to distinguish in the office setting, especially when mild in severity. The relationships between the three syndromes remains incompletely understood. Patients with MCI are at high risk for conversion to dementia. Depression may be either a risk factor for or early manifestation of MCI. Depression in late life is associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias, but the causal relationship remains controversial. Depression may also increase the risk of conversion from MCI to dementia and be more strongly associated with conversion to Vascular dementia (VaD) than to AD. This book will provide guidance to clinicians in the diagnosis and management of these complex conditions in the office setting.

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