scholarly journals Women who breastfeed exhibit cognitive benefits after age 50

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Fox ◽  
Prabha Siddarth ◽  
Hanadi Ajam Oughli ◽  
Sarah A Nguyen ◽  
Michaela M Milillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Post Menopausal

Abstract Background and objectives Women who breastfeed may experience long-term benefits for their health in addition to the more widely-appreciated effects on the breastfed child. Breastfeeding may induce long-term effects on biopsychosocial systems implicated in brain health. Also, due to diminished breastfeeding in the post-industrial era, it is important to understand the lifespan implications of breastfeeding for surmising maternal phenotypes in our species’ collective past. Here, we assess how women’s breastfeeding history relates to post-menopausal cognitive performance. Methodology A convenience sample of Southern California women age 50+ was recruited via two clinical trials, completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery and answered a questionnaire about reproductive life-history. General linear models examined whether cognitive domain scores were associated with breastfeeding in depressed and non-depressed women, controlling for age, education, and ethnicity. Results Women who breastfed exhibited superior performance in the domains of Learning, Delayed Recall, Executive Functioning and Processing Speed compared to women who did not breastfeed (p-values 0.0003-0.015). These four domains remained significant in analyses limited to non-depressed and parous subsets of the cohort. Among those depressed, only Executive Functioning and Processing Speed were positively associated with breastfeeding. Conclusions and implications We add to the growing list of lifespan health correlates of breastfeeding for women’s health, such as lower risk of type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer. We surmise that women’s post-menopausal cognitive competence may have been greater in past environments in which breastfeeding was more prevalent, bolstering the possibility that post-menopausal longevity may have been adaptive across human evolutionary history. Lay Summary Breastfeeding may affect women’s cognitive performance. Breastfeeding’s biological effects and psychosocial effects, such as improved stress regulation, could exert long-term benefits for the mother’s brain. We found that women who breastfed performed better on a series of cognitive tests in later life compared to women who did not breastfeed.

scholarly journals Neuropsychological Profile of Lifetime Traumatic Brain Injury in Older Veterans

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison R. Kaup ◽  
Carrie Peltz ◽  
Kimbra Kenney ◽  
Joel H. Kramer ◽  
Ramon Diaz-Arrastia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Neuropsychological Profile ◽  
Adjusted Model

AbstractObjectives:The aim of this study was to characterize the neuropsychological profile of lifetime traumatic brain injury (TBI) in older Veterans.Methods:Participants were 169 older Veterans [mean age=79.1 years (range, 51–97 years), 89% male, 92% Caucasian], 88 with lifetime TBI and 81 without TBI, living in Veterans’ retirement homes in independent residence. TBI history was ascertained with the Ohio State TBI Identification Method structured interview. Cognition was assessed with neuropsychological tests: Raw scores were converted toZ-scores compared to age-corrected normative data and combined into five domain compositeZ-scores (attention/working memory, learning/memory, language, processing speed, executive functioning). We investigated the association between TBI and performance in each cognitive domain in linear mixed effects models, with and without adjustment for demographics, medical comorbidities, and psychiatric variables.Results:Compared to those without TBI, older Veterans with TBI had greater deficits in processing speed (estimate=−.52;p=.01;f2=.08 in fully adjusted model) and executive functioning (estimate=−.41;p=.02;f2=.06 in fully adjusted model) but performed similarly in the attention/working memory, learning/memory, and language domains (allp>.05). TBI-associated deficits were most prominent among individuals with multiple mild TBIs and those with any moderate-to-severe TBI, but were not clearly present among those with single mild TBI.Conclusions:The neuropsychological profile of lifetime TBI in older Veterans is characterized by slowed processing speed and executive dysfunction, especially among those with greater injury burden. This pattern may reflect long-standing deficits or a TBI-associated cognitive decline process distinct from Alzheimer’s disease. (JINS, 2017,23, 56–64)

scholarly journals The Mediating Role of SES on the Relationship between Pregnancy History and Later Life Cognition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Averi J. Giudicessi ◽  
Ursula G. Saelzler ◽  
Aladdin H. Shadyab ◽  
Alexander Ivan B. Posis ◽  
Erin Sundermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Digit Symbol Substitution Test ◽  
Menopausal Women ◽  
Post Menopausal ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe association of pregnancy with later life cognition is not well understood. Few studies address the potential confounding role of socioeconomic factors on this relationship. We examined whether pregnancy was associated with cognitive function in a large, population-based sample of post-menopausal women and the potential mediating effects of education level and federal income-to-poverty ratio (PIR) on this relationship.MethodsParticipants were 1,016 post-menopausal women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We utilized data from two study waves between years 2011-2014. Cognitive functioning was evaluated by: Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), Animal Fluency (AF), Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease CERAD word learning task (CERAD-WL) and CERAD delayed recall (CERAD-DR). Lifetime education level and federal income-to-poverty ratio (PIR) were examined as mediating factors. Regression models were used to examine the relationship between number of term pregnancies and incomplete pregnancies and cognitive performance.ResultsA greater number of term pregnancies was related to worse performance on the DSST (p < .001), CERAD-DR (p < .007), and AF (p < .03). Conversely, greater incomplete pregnancies related to better CERAD-DR performance (p < .03). Significant associations between term pregnancies and cognitive scores were mediated by PIR but not education level.ConclusionsHigher number of term pregnancies was associated with worse cognitive performance, whereas higher number of incomplete pregnancies was associated with better cognitive performance. Results indicate the necessity to consider SES factors when studying the relationship between pregnancy and cognition.

Neuropsychological Profiles of Patients with Progressive Apraxia of Speech and Aphasia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Angelina J. Polsinelli ◽  
Mary M. Machulda ◽  
Peter R. Martin ◽  
Joseph R. Duffy ◽  
Heather M. Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Trail Making Test ◽  
Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
Visuospatial Ability ◽  
Primary Progressive ◽  
Trail Making

Abstract Objective: To characterize and compare the neuropsychological profiles of patients with primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS) and apraxia of speech with progressive agrammatic aphasia (AOS-PAA). Method: Thirty-nine patients with PPAOS and 49 patients with AOS-PAA underwent formal neurological, speech, language, and neuropsychological evaluations. Cognitive domains assessed included immediate and delayed episodic memory (Wechsler Memory Scale-Third edition; Logical Memory; Visual Reproduction; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test), processing speed (Trail Making Test A), executive functioning (Trail Making Test B; Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning Scale – Sorting), and visuospatial ability (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure copy). Results: The PPAOS patients were cognitively average or higher in the domains of immediate and delayed episodic memory, processing speed, executive functioning, and visuospatial ability. Patients with AOS-PAA performed more poorly on tests of immediate and delayed episodic memory and executive functioning compared to those with PPAOS. For every 1 unit increase in aphasia severity (e.g. mild to moderate), performance declined by 1/3 to 1/2 a standard deviation depending on cognitive domain. The degree of decline was stronger within the more verbally mediated domains, but was also notable in less verbally mediated domains. Conclusion: The study provides neuropsychological evidence further supporting the distinction of PPAOS from primary progressive aphasia and should be used to inform future diagnostic criteria. More immediately, it informs prognostication and treatment planning.

Effects of the number of hospitalizations on cognitive function in Japanese patients with stable schizophrenia

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Hikaru Hori ◽  
Kiyokazu Atake ◽  
Asuka Katsuki ◽  
Reiji Yoshimura
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Japanese Patients ◽  
Language Version ◽  
Brief Assessment

Abstract Background The present study aimed to determine whether the number of hospitalizations in schizophrenia patients is associated with reduced cognitive performance, which may in turn imply that recurrences indirectly lead to a worsening in the disorder’s progression. Methods Cognitive performance in stable schizophrenia patients was assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia, Japanese-language version, on 30 patients who had not experienced any hospitalizations (G0), 57 patients who had experienced only one hospitalization (G1), 47 patients with two hospitalizations (G2), and 59 patients with three or more hospitalizations (G3). Results Significant differences in motor function and attention and processing speed were found between patients with G0 and those with G1. Significant differences in working memory and verbal fluency were found between patients with G1 and those with G2. Patients with G3 performed even more poorly in comparison with those with G1, showing deficits in verbal memory, working memory, executive function, and composite score. The patients with G3 displayed a greater range of impairment and demonstrated deficits in executive function compared with patients with G2. Finally, G2 and G3 performed more poorly than G0, with deficits in the various cognitive areas. Conclusion The number of hospitalizations predicted cognitive performance, which suggests that relapse or recurrence may have a long-term neuropsychological impact. Prospective follow-up studies must be completed to explore this effect further because better treatment adherence may have a protective effect on neurocognitive function.

scholarly journals Intellectual engagement and cognitive ability in later life (the “use it or lose it” conjecture): longitudinal, prospective study

BMJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. k4925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger T Staff ◽  
Michael J Hogan ◽  
Daniel S Williams ◽  
L J Whalley
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Intellectual Engagement ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Objectives To examine the association between intellectual engagement and cognitive ability in later life, and determine whether the maintenance of intellectual engagement will offset age related cognitive decline. Design Longitudinal, prospective, observational study. Setting Non-clinical volunteers in late middle age (all born in 1936) living independently in northeast Scotland. Participants Sample of 498 volunteers who had taken part in the Scottish Mental Health Survey of 1947, from one birth year (1936). Main outcome measures Cognitive ability and trajectory of cognitive decline in later life. Typical intellectual engagement was measured by a questionnaire, and repeated cognitive measurements of information processing speed and verbal memory were obtained over a 15 year period (recording more than 1200 longitudinal data points for each cognitive test). Results Intellectual engagement was significantly associated with level of cognitive performance in later life, with each point on a 24 point scale accounting for 0.97 standardised cognitive performance (IQ-like) score, for processing speed and 0.71 points for memory (both P<0.05). Engagement in problem solving activities had the largest association with life course cognitive gains, with each point accounting for 0.43 standardised cognitive performance score, for processing speed and 0.36 points for memory (both P<0.05). However, engagement did not influence the trajectory of age related decline in cognitive performance. Engagement in intellectual stimulating activities was associated with early life ability, with correlations between engagement and childhood ability and education being 0.35 and 0.22, respectively (both P<0.01). Conclusion These results show that self reported engagement is not associated with the trajectory of cognitive decline in late life, but is associated with the acquisition of ability during the life course. Overall, findings suggest that high performing adults engage and those that engage more being protected from relative decline.

scholarly journals Influence of Methylphenidate on Long-Term Neuropsychological and Everyday Executive Functioning After Traumatic Brain Injury in Children with Secondary Attention Problems

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 740-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth LeBlond ◽  
Julia Smith-Paine ◽  
Jacqlyn J. Riemersma ◽  
Paul S. Horn ◽  
Shari L. Wade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Neuropsychological Functioning ◽  
Attention Problems ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Variable Response ◽  
Blunt Head Trauma

AbstractObjective: To investigate the effects of methylphenidate on long-term executive and neuropsychological functioning in children with attention problems following TBI, as well as the relationship between methylphenidate associated changes in lab-based neuropsychological measures of attentional control, processing speed, and executive functioning and parent- or self-report measures of everyday executive functioning. Method: 26 children aged 6–17 years, who were hospitalized for moderate-to-severe blunt head trauma 6 or more months previously, were recruited from a large children’s hospital medical center. Participants were randomized into a double-masked, placebo-controlled cross-over clinical trial. Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and parent- and self-report ratings of everyday executive functioning at baseline, and at 4 weeks and 8 weeks following upward titration of medication to an optimal dose or while administered a placebo. Results: Methylphenidate was associated with significant improvements in processing speed, sustained attention, and both lab-based and everyday executive functioning. Significant treatment-by-period interactions were found on a task of sustained attention. Participants who were randomized to the methylphenidate condition for the first treatment period demonstrated random or erratic responding, with slower and more variable response times when given placebo during the second period. Conclusion: Results indicate that methylphenidate treatment is associated with positive outcomes in processing speed, sustained attention, and both lab-based and everyday measures of executive functioning compared to placebo group. Additionally, results suggest sustained attention worsens when discontinuing medication. (JINS, 2019, 25, 740–749)

scholarly journals Combination of structural and functional connectivity explains unique variation in specific domains of cognitive function.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Czime Litwińczuk ◽  
Nelson Trujillo-Barreto ◽  
Nils Muhlert ◽  
Lauren Cloutman ◽  
Anna Woollams
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Model Quality ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Effective Models ◽  
Functional Components

The relationship between structural and functional brain networks has been characterised as complex: the two networks mirror each other and show mutual influence but they also diverge in their organisation. This work explored whether a combination of structural and functional connectivity can improve models of cognitive performance, and whether this differs by cognitive domain. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to cognitive data from the Human Connectome Project. Four components were obtained, reflecting Retention and Retrieval, Processing Speed, Self-regulation, and Encoding. The PCA-Regression approach was applied to predict cognitive performance using structural, functional and joint structural-functional components. Model quality was evaluated using model evidence, model fit and generalisability. Functional connectivity components produced the most effective models of Retention and Retrieval and Encoding, whereas joint structural-functional components produced most effective models of Processing Speed, and Self-regulation. The present study demonstrates that multimodal data fusion using structural and functional connectivity can help predict cognitive performance, but that the additional explanatory value (relative to overfitting) may depend on the specific selection of cognitive domain. We discuss the implications of these results for studies of the brain basis of cognition in health and disease.

scholarly journals Obesity Measures in Relation to Cognition in the Northern Manhattan Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 1653-1660
Author(s):  
Hannah Gardener ◽  
Michelle Caunca ◽  
Chuanhui Dong ◽  
Ying Kuen Cheung ◽  
Tatjana Rundek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Initial Assessment ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

Background: Mid-life obesity is associated with cognitive impairment, though the relationship for late-life obesity is equivocal, and may depend on the anthropometric measure. Objective: We examined the relationship between adiposity and cognition across age categories, cognitive domains, and by measures of obesity in a multi-ethnic population-based cohort. Methods: The study included 1,179 Northern Manhattan Study participants with obesity measures at baseline (44% overweight, 30% obese), an initial neuropsychological assessment conducted within 7 years (mean age = 70), and a second cognitive assessment conducted on average 6 years later. Z-scores were derived for cognitive domains (episodic and semantic memory, executive function, processing speed) and averaged to calculate global cognition. Body mass index (BMI) and waist:hip ratio (WHR) were examined in relation to cognitive performance and change over time, stratified by age, using linear regression models adjusting for vascular risk factors. Results: Among those age<65 years at baseline, greater WHR was associated with worse global cognitive performance at initial assessment and directly associated with decline in performance between assessments. The association with initial performance was strongest for non-Hispanic Whites (beta = –0.155/standard deviation, p = 0.04), followed by non-Hispanic Black/African Americans (beta = –0.079/standard deviation, p = 0.07), and Hispanics (beta = –0.055/standard deviation, p = 0.03). The associations were most apparent for the domains of processing speed and executive function. There was no association for BMI among those <65 years. Among those age ≥65, there was no association for BMI or WHR with cognitive performance at initial assessment nor decline over time. Conclusion: Our results support the detrimental effect of mid-life rather than later life obesity, particularly abdominal adiposity, on cognitive impairment and decline.

The trajectory of cognitive decline in the pre-dementia phase in memory clinic visitors: findings from the 4C-MCI study

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1509-1519 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Hamel ◽  
S. Köhler ◽  
N. Sistermans ◽  
T. Koene ◽  
Y. Pijnenburg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Memory Clinic ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Memory Clinics

BackgroundWe investigated the course of decline in multiple cognitive domains in non-demented subjects from a memory clinic setting, and compared pattern, onset and magnitude of decline between subjects who progressed to Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia at follow-up and subjects who did not progress.MethodIn this retrospective cohort study 819 consecutive non-demented patients who visited the memory clinics in Maastricht or Amsterdam between 1987 and 2010 were followed until they became demented or for a maximum of 10 years (range 0.5–10 years). Differences in trajectories of episodic memory, executive functioning, verbal fluency, and information processing speed/attention between converters to AD dementia and subjects remaining non-demented were compared by means of random effects modelling.ResultsThe cognitive performance of converters and non-converters could already be differentiated seven (episodic memory) to three (verbal fluency and executive functioning) years prior to dementia diagnosis. Converters declined in these three domains, while non-converters remained stable on episodic memory and executive functioning and showed modest decline in verbal fluency. There was no evidence of decline in information processing speed/attention in either group.ConclusionsDifferences in cognitive performance between converters to AD dementia and subjects remaining non-demented could be established 7 years prior to diagnosis for episodic memory, with verbal fluency and executive functioning following several years later. Therefore, in addition to early episodic memory decline, decline in executive functions may also flag incident AD dementia. By contrast, change in information processing speed/attention seems less informative.

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