The Relationship Between Educational Years and Phonemic Verbal Fluency (PVF) and Semantic Verbal Fluency (SVF) Tasks in Spanish Patients Diagnosed With Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Psychotic Bipolar Disorder

Background: The neuropsychological profile of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients is mainly characterized by executive dysfunction, but the relationship between the latter and midbrain atrophy is still unclear. Objective: The aims of the study were to investigate which test evaluating executive functioning is more frequently impaired in PSP patients and to evaluate the relationship between midbrain-based MRI morphometric measures and executive dysfunction. Methods: PSP patients who had undergone a neuropsychological battery assessing executive functioning with the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), the phonemic verbal fluency F-A-S, the Raven’s Progressive Colored Matrix, and the Stroop word colors test (time and errors) were enrolled in the study. A group of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients matched by age, sex, education, and global cognitive status was selected. All the enrolled patients also underwent a volumetric T1-3D brain MRI. Results: Thirty-five PSP patients and 35 PD patients were enrolled. Patients with PSP as compared to patients with PD showed a significant greater impairment in verbal fluency (16.0±7.9 and 23.4±8.7 words/180 s; p < 0.001) and a significant lower score at the FAB total score (11.5±3.8 and 13.7±3.4; p = 0.013). Midbrain area was significantly smaller in PSP patients than in PD patients (83.9±20.1 and 134.5±19.9 mm2; p < 0.001). In PSP patients, a significant positive correlation between verbal fluency and the midbrain area (r = 0.421; p = 0.028) was observed. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the phonemic verbal fluency is among the most frequently impaired executive functions in PSP patients and is strongly correlated to midbrain atrophy.

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Response initiation and inhibition and the relationship with fluid intelligence across the adult lifespan

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acz044 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A K Martin ◽

M S Barker ◽

E C Gibson ◽

G A Robinson

Keyword(s):

Executive Functions ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Stroop Test ◽

Single Measure ◽

Response Initiation ◽

Semantic Verbal Fluency ◽

Age Related ◽

The Relationship ◽

Executive Abilities

Abstract Background Cognitive processes associated with frontal lobe functioning are often termed “executive functions.” Two such processes are initiation and inhibition or the starting and stopping of responses. It has recently been claimed dysfunction of executive abilities can be explained by a single measure of fluid intelligence. Here, we test this claim, specifically for the executive abilities of response initiation and inhibition, across the healthy lifespan. Method In a cohort of 336 healthy adults (18–89 years), initiation and inhibition were assessed with the Hayling test, Stroop test, and phonemic and semantic verbal fluency. All participants also completed a measure of fluid intelligence. The relationship between fluid intelligence and executive measures was explored across the lifespan using a continuous approach. Mediation models were computed to assess whether age-related decline across the four initiation/inhibition tasks could be fully explained by a single measure of fluid intelligence. Results Age was negatively correlated with response initiation/inhibition and fluid intelligence. The mediation analyses identified only partial mediation of fluid intelligence for age and Hayling performance. By contrast, fluid intelligence did not mediate performance on the Stroop test or phonemic and semantic verbal fluency. Conclusions Response initiation/inhibition are not able to be explained by fluid intelligence. The results support a multifactorial theory of executive functions and provide evidence for the inclusion of multiple specific executive measures in a thorough neuropsychological assessment of age-related cognitive decline.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Diffusion tensor imaging white matter endophenotypes in patients with schizophrenia or psychotic bipolar disorder and their relatives.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.718020664.793479834 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Alfredo Carlo Altamura ◽

Massimiliano Buoli

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

White Matter ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Psychotic Bipolar Disorder

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Effects of Cancer, Chemotherapy and Cytokines on Subjective and Objective Cognitive Functioning Among Patients with Breast Cancer

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13112576 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 2576

Author(s):

Vincent Chin-Hung Chen ◽

Chin-Kuo Lin ◽

Han-Pin Hsiao ◽

Bor-Show Tzang ◽

Yen-Hsuan Hsu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Control Group ◽

Control Groups ◽

Semantic Verbal Fluency ◽

Cytokine Levels ◽

Chemotherapy Patients ◽

And Control

Background: We aimed to investigate the associations of breast cancer (BC) and cancer-related chemotherapies with cytokine levels, and cognitive function. Methods: We evaluated subjective and objective cognitive function in BC patients before chemotherapy and 3~9 months after the completion of chemotherapy. Healthy volunteers without cancer were also compared as control group. Interleukins (IL) 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12p70, 13, 17A, 1β, IFNγ, and TNFα were measured. Associations of cancer status, chemotherapy and cytokine levels with subjective and objective cognitive impairments were analyzed using a regression model, adjusting for covariates, including IQ and psychological distress. Results: After adjustment, poorer performance in semantic verbal fluency was found in the post-chemotherapy subgroup compared to controls (p = 0.011, η2 = 0.070); whereas pre-chemotherapy patients scored higher in subjective cognitive perception. Higher IL-13 was associated with lower semantic verbal fluency in the post-chemotherapy subgroup. Higher IL-10 was associated with better perceived cognitive abilities in the pre-chemotherapy and control groups; while IL-5 and IL-13 were associated with lower perceived cognitive abilities in pre-chemotherapy and control groups. Our findings from mediation analysis further suggest that verbal fluency might be affected by cancer status, although mediated by anxiety. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that verbal fluency might be affected by cancer status, although mediated by anxiety. Different cytokines and their interactions may have different roles of neuroinflammation or neuroprotection that need further research.

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Patients with amnestic MCI Fail to Adapt Executive Control When Repeatedly Tested with Semantic Verbal Fluency Tasks

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617721000849 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Johannes Tröger ◽

Hali Lindsay ◽

Mario Mina ◽

Nicklas Linz ◽

Stefan Klöppel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Control ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Fixed Time ◽

Semantic Space ◽

Semantic Knowledge ◽

Semantic Verbal Fluency ◽

Amnestic Mci ◽

Retrieval Processes ◽

Theoretical View ◽

First Time

Abstract Objective: Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) tasks require individuals to name items from a specified category within a fixed time. An impaired SVF performance is well documented in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI). The two leading theoretical views suggest either loss of semantic knowledge or impaired executive control to be responsible. Method: We assessed SVF 3 times on 2 consecutive days in 29 healthy controls (HC) and 29 patients with aMCI with the aim to answer the question which of the two views holds true. Results: When doing the task for the first time, patients with aMCI produced fewer and more common words with a shorter mean response latency. When tested repeatedly, only healthy volunteers increased performance. Likewise, only the performance of HC indicated two distinct retrieval processes: a prompt retrieval of readily available items at the beginning of the task and an active search through semantic space towards the end. With repeated assessment, the pool of readily available items became larger in HC, but not patients with aMCI. Conclusion: The production of fewer and more common words in aMCI points to a smaller search set and supports the loss of semantic knowledge view. The failure to improve performance as well as the lack of distinct retrieval processes point to an additional impairment in executive control. Our data did not clearly favour one theoretical view over the other, but rather indicates that the impairment of patients with aMCI in SVF is due to a combination of both.

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