Self-Reported Cognitive Ability and Global Cognitive Performance in Adults with HIV

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Vance ◽  
Lesley A. Ross ◽  
Charles A. Downs
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie von Stumm

In cognitive aging research, the “engagement hypothesis” suggests that the participation in cognitively demanding activities helps maintain better cognitive performance in later life. In differential psychology, the “investment” theory proclaims that age differences in cognition are influenced by personality traits that determine when, where, and how people invest their ability. Although both models follow similar theoretical rationales, they differ in their emphasis of behavior (i.e., activity engagement) versus predisposition (i.e., investment trait). The current study compared a cognitive activity engagement scale (i.e., frequency of participation) with an investment trait scale (i.e., need for cognition) and tested their relationship with age differences in cognition in 200 British adults. Age was negatively associated with fluid and positively with crystallized ability but had no relationship with need for cognition and activity engagement. Need for cognition was positively related to activity engagement and cognitive performance; activity engagement, however, was not associated with cognitive ability. Thus, age differences in cognitive ability were largely independent of engagement and investment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Whiteside ◽  
Mackenzie M. Bess ◽  
Elisa Frasnelli ◽  
Christine E. Beardsworth ◽  
Ellis J.G. Langley ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe differential specialization of each side of the brain facilitates the parallel processing of information and has been documented in a wide range of animals. Animals that are more lateralized as indicated by consistent preferential limb use are commonly reported to exhibit superior cognitive ability as well as other behavioural advantages. We assayed the lateralization of 135 young pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), indicated by their footedness in a spontaneous stepping task, and related this measure to individual performance in either 3 assays of visual or spatial learning and memory. We found no evidence that pronounced footedness enhances cognitive ability in any of the tasks. We also found no evidence that an intermediate footedness relates to better cognitive performance. This lack of relationship is surprising because previous work revealed that pheasants have a slight population bias towards right footedness, and when released into the wild, individuals with higher degrees of footedness were more likely to die. One explanation for why extreme lateralization is constrained was that it led to poorer cognitive performance, or that optimal cognitive performance was associated with some intermediate level of lateralization. This stabilizing selection could explain the pattern of moderate lateralization that is seen in most non-human species that have been studied. However, we found no evidence in this study to support this explanation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 193 (5) ◽  
pp. 354-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight Dickinson

SummaryFor decades, schizophrenia researchers have sought to map specific aspects of cognitive performance onto specific neurobiological systems in hopes of dividing broad cognition and neurobiology into more tractable components. Recent findings from studies using neuropsychological test batteries, in combination with emerging neurobiological evidence, argue for a complementary focus on more generalised cognitive and biological dimensions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 63-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Lyall ◽  
Breda Cullen ◽  
Donald M. Lyall ◽  
Samuel P. Leighton ◽  
Stefan Siebert ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground:Depression and chronic inflammatory medical conditions have been linked to impaired cognitive ability. However despite frequent comorbidity, their combined association with cognitive ability has rarely been examined.Methods:This study examined associations between self-reported depression and chronic inflammatory diseases and their interaction with cognitive performance in 456,748 participants of the UK Biobank, adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Numbers with available data ranged from 94,899 to 453,208 depending on the cognitive test.Results:Self-reported depression was associated with poorer performance compared to controls in several cognitive tests (fully adjusted models, reaction time: B = 6.08, 95% CI = 5.09, 7.07; pairs matching: incidence rate ratio = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.03; Trail Making Test B: B = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.88, 1.87; Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST): B = −0.35, 95% CI = −0.44, −0.27). Self-reported chronic inflammatory conditions were associated with slower reaction time (B = 3.79, 95% CI = 2.81, 4.78) and lower DSST scores (B = −0.21, 95% CI = −0.30, −0.13). No interaction effects were observed.Discussion:In this large, population-based study we provide evidence of lower cognitive performance in both depression and a comprehensive category of chronic inflammatory conditions. Results are consistent with additive effects of both types of disorder on cognitive ability. Clinicians should be aware of such effects, particularly as cognitive impairment is linked to poorer disease outcomes and quality of life.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 690-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN A. SCHINKA ◽  
HEATHER BELANGER ◽  
JAMES A. MORTIMER ◽  
AMY BORENSTEIN GRAVES

In this study we examined the independent and interactive effects of lifetime patterns of drinking and smoking on cognitive performance in elderly African Americans. A sample of 230 individuals with varying histories of alcohol and cigarette use was drawn from the Hillsborough Elder African American Life Study, a community-based, cross-sectional study of older adults aged 60 to 84. Dependent variables were the results of a neuropsychological battery that provided measures of general cognitive ability, executive function, and memory. Specifically, our study addressed (1) whether individuals with a lifetime history of sustained smoking and/or drinking show lower levels of cognitive performance in comparison to lifetime abstainers, (2) whether cumulative lifetime doses of alcohol or cigarettes, or of the two substances in interaction, have an effect on cognition, and (3) whether individuals who have histories of periodic, intense use of either alcohol or cigarettes show lower levels of cognitive performance in comparison to lifetime abstainers. When significant results were obtained, effect sizes were small, not exceeding 5% of the variance. A single exception occurred for the intensity analyses, in which drinking explained approximately 16% of the variance in global cognitive ability after adjusting for the contributions of control variables. In these analyses, drinking was found to have a U-shaped effect on global cognitive ability and total acquisition in the memory trials. Specifically, moderate users performed at a lower level than abstainers or heavy users, who did not differ from each other. (JINS, 2003, 9, 690–697.)


1989 ◽  
Vol 33 (16) ◽  
pp. 1072-1076
Author(s):  
William A. Wheeler ◽  
Jody L. Toquam

Safe and efficient use of modern technology often hinges upon the ability of persons operating these systems to perform effectively under a wide variety of conditions. This paper describes several tools developed to investigate the influence of psycho-social variables on cognitive performance under stressful conditions. These tools include indirect, non-obtrusive video recording equipment to capture real-time cognitive behavior, and a several multi-dimensional and multi-method techniques to measure cognitive ability and psycho-social conditions. These techniques are used to bridge the gap between basic laboratory research and field observation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1781) ◽  
pp. 20132873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hollis ◽  
Tadeusz J. Kawecki

Sexual selection is responsible for the evolution of male ornaments and armaments, but its role in the evolution of cognition—the ability to process, retain and use information—is largely unexplored. Because successful courtship is likely to involve processing information in complex, competitive sexual environments, we hypothesized that sexual selection contributes to the evolution and maintenance of cognitive abilities in males. To test this, we removed mate choice and mate competition from experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster by enforcing monogamy for over 100 generations. Males evolved under monogamy became less proficient than polygamous control males at relatively complex cognitive tasks. When faced with one receptive and several unreceptive females, polygamous males quickly focused on receptive females, whereas monogamous males continued to direct substantial courtship effort towards unreceptive females. As a result, monogamous males were less successful in this complex setting, despite being as quick to mate as their polygamous counterparts with only one receptive female. This diminished ability to use past information was not limited to the courtship context: monogamous males (but not females) also showed reduced aversive olfactory learning ability. Our results provide direct experimental evidence that the intensity of sexual selection is an important factor in the evolution of male cognitive ability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
K Anand ◽  
V Sharma

Introduction: Military flying entails sound psychological health along with a high level of skill and aptitude. Pilots are selected on the basis of their psychological profile, psychomotor ability, and cognitive ability. Hence, the performance of pilots can be construed as a product of skill, attitude, and personality factors. Personality factors and cognitive ability have a vast impact on the flying performance and flight safety. This acquires a whole new dimension for flying instructors, as teaching the nuances of flying to a young flight cadet is a very challenging task. Materials and Methods: To study the personality and cognitive profile of the special group of flight instructors, 45 instructors and trainee instructors from flying instructors’ school, Tambaram, were administered NEO five- factor inventory and four cognitive tests comprising Stroop test, symbol-digit coding and digit span-backward and forward. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance. Results and Discussion: Trainees and instructors constituted the sample wherein they were considered as a common group; hence, comparison between them was not carried out. The aircrew manifested emotional stability, high extraversion, willingness to experience novel experiences, low to average agreeableness, and average to very high conscientiousness. Their cognitive performance was compared with available norms for general population and was found to be above average. No significant difference was found in the personality dimensions or cognitive performance on the basis of mode of entry, stream, marital status, etc. Conclusion: Instructors came out to be more emotionally balanced, extraverted, and keen to have new experiences and had high conscientiousness compared to non-instructor pilots. The instructors showed above- average performance when compared to normative data provided by the test authors. It has implications for future studies with large samples and similar protocols.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Le Guen ◽  
Marie Amalric ◽  
Philippe Pinel ◽  
Christophe Pallier ◽  
Vincent Frouin

Cognitive performance is highly heritable. However, little is known about common genetic influences on cognitive ability and brain activation when engaged in a cognitive task. The Human Connectome Project (HCP) offers a unique opportunity to study this shared genetic etiology with an extended pedigree of 785 individuals. To investigate this common genetic origin, we took advantage of the HCP dataset, which includes both language and mathematics activation tasks. Using the HCP multimodal parcellation, we identified areals in which inter-individual functional MRI (fMRI) activation variance was significantly explained by genetics. Then, we performed bivariate genetic analyses between the neural activations and behavioral scores, corresponding to the fMRI task accuracies, fluid intelligence, working memory and language performance. We observed that several parts of the language network along the superior temporal sulcus, as well as the angular gyrus belonging to the math processing network, are significantly genetically correlated with these indicators of cognitive performance. This shared genetic etiology provides insights into the brain areas where the human-specific genetic repertoire is expressed. Studying the association of polygenic risk scores, using variants associated with human cognitive ability and brain activation, would provide an opportunity to better understand where these variants are influential.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 3471-3481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Ge ◽  
Chia-Yen Chen ◽  
Alysa E Doyle ◽  
Richard Vettermann ◽  
Lauri J Tuominen ◽  
...  

Abstract Individual differences in educational attainment are linked to differences in intelligence, and predict important social, economic, and health outcomes. Previous studies have found common genetic factors that influence educational achievement, cognitive performance and total brain volume (i.e., brain size). Here, in a large sample of participants from the UK Biobank, we investigate the shared genetic basis between educational attainment and fine-grained cerebral cortical morphological features, and associate this genetic variation with a related aspect of cognitive ability. Importantly, we execute novel statistical methods that enable high-dimensional genetic correlation analysis, and compute high-resolution surface maps for the genetic correlations between educational attainment and vertex-wise morphological measurements. We conduct secondary analyses, using the UK Biobank verbal–numerical reasoning score, to confirm that variation in educational attainment that is genetically correlated with cortical morphology is related to differences in cognitive performance. Our analyses relate the genetic overlap between cognitive ability and cortical thickness measurements to bilateral primary motor cortex as well as predominantly left superior temporal cortex and proximal regions. These findings extend our understanding of the neurobiology that connects genetic variation to individual differences in educational attainment and cognitive performance.


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