scholarly journals Do questionnaires reflect their purported cognitive functions?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Clark ◽  
Eleanor A. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Specific Aspect ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Questionnaire Measures

AbstractQuestionnaires are used widely across psychology and permit valuable insights into a person’s thoughts and beliefs, which are difficult to derive from task performance measures alone. Given their importance and widespread use, it is vital that questionnaires map onto the cognitive functions they purport to reflect. However, where performance on naturalistic tasks such as imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and navigation is concerned, there is a dearth of knowledge about the relationships between task performance and questionnaire measures. Questionnaires are also typically designed to probe a specific aspect of cognition, when instead researchers sometimes want to obtain a broad profile of a participant. To the best of our knowledge, no questionnaire exists that asks simple single questions about a wide range of cognitive functions. To address these gaps in the literature, we recruited a large sample of participants (n = 217), all of whom completed a battery of widely used questionnaires and performed naturalistic tasks involving imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and navigation. We also devised a questionnaire that comprised simple single questions about the cognitive functions of interest. There were four main findings. First, imagination and navigation questionnaires reflected performance on their related tasks. Second, memory questionnaires were associated with autobiographical memory vividness and not internal (episodic) details. Third, imagery questionnaires were more associated with autobiographical memory vividness and future thinking than the questionnaires purporting to reflect these functions. Finally, initial exploratory analyses suggested that a broad profile of information can be obtained efficiently using a small number of simple single questions, and these modelled task performance comparably to established questionnaires in young, healthy adults. Overall, while some questionnaires can act as proxies for behaviour, the relationships between memory and future thinking tasks and questionnaires are more complex and require further elucidation.

scholarly journals The relationship between hippocampal-dependent task performance and hippocampal grey matter myelination and iron content

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 239821282110119
Author(s):  
Ian A. Clark ◽  
Martina F. Callaghan ◽  
Nikolaus Weiskopf ◽  
Eleanor A. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Iron Content ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Future Thinking

Individual differences in scene imagination, autobiographical memory recall, future thinking and spatial navigation have long been linked with hippocampal structure in healthy people, although evidence for such relationships is, in fact, mixed. Extant studies have predominantly concentrated on hippocampal volume. However, it is now possible to use quantitative neuroimaging techniques to model different properties of tissue microstructure in vivo such as myelination and iron. Previous work has linked such measures with cognitive task performance, particularly in older adults. Here we investigated whether performance on scene imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and spatial navigation tasks was associated with hippocampal grey matter myelination or iron content in young, healthy adult participants. Magnetic resonance imaging data were collected using a multi-parameter mapping protocol (0.8 mm isotropic voxels) from a large sample of 217 people with widely-varying cognitive task scores. We found little evidence that hippocampal grey matter myelination or iron content were related to task performance. This was the case using different analysis methods (voxel-based quantification, partial correlations), when whole brain, hippocampal regions of interest, and posterior:anterior hippocampal ratios were examined, and across different participant sub-groups (divided by gender and task performance). Variations in hippocampal grey matter myelin and iron levels may not, therefore, help to explain individual differences in performance on hippocampal-dependent tasks, at least in young, healthy individuals.

scholarly journals Hippocampal grey matter tissue microstructure does not explain individual differences in hippocampal-dependent task performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Clark ◽  
Martina F. Callaghan ◽  
Nikolaus Weiskopf ◽  
Eleanor A. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Hippocampal Volume ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Tissue Microstructure ◽  
Partial Correlations

AbstractIndividual differences in scene imagination, autobiographical memory recall, future thinking and spatial navigation have long been linked with hippocampal structure in healthy people, although evidence for such relationships is, in fact, mixed. Extant studies have predominantly concentrated on hippocampal volume. However, it is now possible to use quantitative neuroimaging techniques to model different properties of tissue microstructure in vivo such as myelination and iron. Here we investigated whether performance on scene imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and spatial navigation tasks was associated with hippocampal grey matter tissue microstructure. MRI data were collected using a multi-parameter mapping protocol from a large sample of 217 young, healthy adult participants with widely-varying task performance. We found little evidence that hippocampal grey matter tissue microstructure was related to task performance. This was the case using different analysis methods (voxel-based quantification, partial correlations), when whole brain, hippocampal regions of interest, and posterior:anterior hippocampal ratios were examined, and across different participant sub-groups (divided by gender, task performance). Variations in hippocampal grey matter tissue microstructure may not, therefore, explain individual differences in performance on hippocampal-dependent tasks in young, healthy individuals.

The Self-Memory System Revisited

2019 ◽  
pp. 28-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin A. Conway ◽  
Lucy V. Justice ◽  
Arnaud D’Argembeau
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory System ◽  
The Self ◽  
System Model ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Personality Research ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Model Update ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Small Set

The self-memory system model of autobiographical memory has been highly influential in providing a framework in which to locate a wide range of research findings from neuropsychology, psychological illness, behavioral findings, to attachment and personality research. Here the authors update the model and clarify some common misunderstandings. They review the extensive and relatively recent findings from neuroimaging studies that have provided a striking brain basis for the model, update neuropsychological findings, and develop the model to apply to future thinking. Finally, they delineate a small set of fundamental problems suggested by these developments of the model.

scholarly journals Catecholaminergic modulation of the avoidance of cognitive control

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monja I. Froböse ◽  
Jennifer C. Swart ◽  
Jennifer L. Cook ◽  
Dirk E.M. Geurts ◽  
Hanneke E.M. den Ouden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Trait Impulsivity ◽  
Undermining Effect

AbstractThe catecholamines have long been associated with cognitive control and value-based decision-making. More recently, we proposed that the catecholamines might modulate value-based decision-making about whether or not to engage in cognitive control. We test this hypothesis by assessing effects of a catecholamine challenge in a large sample of young, healthy adults (n = 100) on the avoidance of a cognitively demanding control process: task switching. Prolonging catecholamine transmission by blocking reuptake with methylphenidate altered the avoidance, but not the execution of cognitive control. Crucially, these effects could be isolated by taking into account individual differences in trait impulsivity, so that participants with higher trait impulsivity became more avoidant of cognitive control, despite faster task performance. One implication of these findings is that performance-enhancing effects of methylphenidate may be accompanied by an undermining effect on the willingness to exert cognitive control. Taken together, these findings integrate hitherto segregated literatures on catecholamines’ roles in value-based learning/choice and cognitive control.

scholarly journals The Use of Fitness Testing to Predict Occupational Performance in Tactical Personnel: A Critical Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7480
Author(s):  
Robin Orr ◽  
Takato Sakurai ◽  
Jordan Scott ◽  
Jason Movshovich ◽  
J. Jay Dawes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Cardiovascular Fitness ◽  
Fitness Testing ◽  
Occupational Performance ◽  
Occupational Tasks ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fitness Tests ◽  
Critical Appraisal Skills ◽  
High Level ◽  
Occupational Task

Tactical personnel work in an occupation that involves tasks requiring a high level of cardiovascular fitness as well as muscular strength and endurance. The aim of this literature review was to identify and critique studies investigating the relationship between physical fitness, quantified by fitness assessment measures, and occupational task performance. Databases were searched for relevant articles which assessed a fitness measure and a measure of occupational performance. A total of 15 articles were included and were deemed to be of acceptable methodological quality (8.4/12 on the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist). Included articles assessed a variety of fitness attributes and occupational tasks. Across tactical groups, there appear to be no standardized fitness tests that can determine occupational performance, with aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, strength, endurance, power, and agility all being associated with occupational task performance. A wide range of fitness assessments appears to be required to predict occupational performance within tactical personnel. Efforts should be made to base fitness assessments on occupational demands unique to both the environment and requirements of each individual tactical unit.

scholarly journals Electroconvulsive Therapy and Age: Effectiveness, Safety and Tolerability in the Treatment of Major Depression among Patients under and over 65 Years of Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Monika Dominiak ◽  
Anna Z. Antosik-Wójcińska ◽  
Marcin Wojnar ◽  
Paweł Mierzejewski
Keyword(s):  
Major Depression ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Serious Adverse Events ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Resistant Depression

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains the most effective therapy in treatment-resistant depression. However, the safety of ECT has been consistently questioned, particularly among elderly patients. We assessed the efficacy and safety of ECT in patients before and after 65 years old. The study was conducted between 2015 and 2018 and included 91 patients (61 under and 29 over 65 years old) with major depression undergoing ECT. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was used to evaluate efficacy. Cognitive functions were assessed using: MMSE, RAVLT, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test and Autobiographical Memory Interview-Short Form. ECT was more effective in older patients as compared to younger (p < 0.001). No serious adverse events were observed in either group. Increased blood pressure and arrhythmias were more common in the older compared to the younger group (p = 0.044 and p = 0.047, respectively), while disturbances of consciousness did not differ between groups (p = 0.820). Most of the cognitive functions remained unchanged compared to baseline, whereas the outcomes of MMSE, RAVLT and Stroop tests showed greater improvements in the older compared to the younger group (all p < 0.05). The decline in the retrieval consistency of autobiographical memory was more pronounced in the younger group (p = 0.024). ECT is a highly effective, safe and well-tolerated method of treating depression regardless of age.

Age-Dependency of Total Tau in the Cerebrospinal Fluid Is Corrected by Amyloid-β 1–40: A Correlational Study in Healthy Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Paul Theo Zebhauser ◽  
Achim Berthele ◽  
Marie-Sophie Franz ◽  
Oliver Goldhardt ◽  
Janine Diehl-Schmid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Tau Proteins ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Total Tau ◽  
Potential Marker ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Tau proteins are established biomarkers of neuroaxonal damage in a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions. Although measurement of total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid is widely used in research and clinical settings, the relationship between age and total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid is yet to be fully understood. While past studies reported a correlation between age and total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid of healthy adults, in clinical practice the same cut-off value is used independently of patient’s age. Objective: To further explore the relationship between age and total-Tau and to disentangle neurodegenerative from drainage-dependent effects. Methods: We analyzed cerebrospinal fluid samples of 76 carefully selected cognitively healthy adults and included amyloid-β 1–40 as a potential marker of drainage from the brain’s interstitial system. Results: We found a significant correlation of total-Tau and age, which was no longer present when correcting total-Tau for amyloid-β 1–40 concentrations. These findings were replicated under varied inclusion criteria. Conclusion: Results call into question the association of age and total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, they suggest diagnostic utility of amyloid-β 1–40 as a possible proxy for drainage-mechanisms into the cerebrospinal fluid when interpreting biomarker concentrations for neurodegenerative diseases.

scholarly journals Prediction of epileptic seizures based on multivariate multiscale modified-distribution entropy

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e744
Author(s):  
Si Thu Aung ◽  
Yodchanan Wongsawat
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Multivariate Time Series ◽  
World Population ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Seizure Prediction ◽  
Feature Extraction Method ◽  
Wide Range

Epilepsy is a common neurological disease that affects a wide range of the world population and is not limited by age. Moreover, seizures can occur anytime and anywhere because of the sudden abnormal discharge of brain neurons, leading to malfunction. The seizures of approximately 30% of epilepsy patients cannot be treated with medicines or surgery; hence these patients would benefit from a seizure prediction system to live normal lives. Thus, a system that can predict a seizure before its onset could improve not only these patients’ social lives but also their safety. Numerous seizure prediction methods have already been proposed, but the performance measures of these methods are still inadequate for a complete prediction system. Here, a seizure prediction system is proposed by exploring the advantages of multivariate entropy, which can reflect the complexity of multivariate time series over multiple scales (frequencies), called multivariate multiscale modified-distribution entropy (MM-mDistEn), with an artificial neural network (ANN). The phase-space reconstruction and estimation of the probability density between vectors provide hidden complex information. The multivariate time series property of MM-mDistEn provides more understandable information within the multichannel data and makes it possible to predict of epilepsy. Moreover, the proposed method was tested with two different analyses: simulation data analysis proves that the proposed method has strong consistency over the different parameter selections, and the results from experimental data analysis showed that the proposed entropy combined with an ANN obtains performance measures of 98.66% accuracy, 91.82% sensitivity, 99.11% specificity, and 0.84 area under the curve (AUC) value. In addition, the seizure alarm system was applied as a postprocessing step for prediction purposes, and a false alarm rate of 0.014 per hour and an average prediction time of 26.73 min before seizure onset were achieved by the proposed method. Thus, the proposed entropy as a feature extraction method combined with an ANN can predict the ictal state of epilepsy, and the results show great potential for all epilepsy patients.

Music Onset Detection

2010 ◽  
pp. 297-316
Author(s):  
Ruohua Zhou ◽  
Josh D Reiss
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
General Scheme ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Onset Detection ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Detection Algorithms ◽  
Music Signal ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Future Research Directions

Music onset detection plays an essential role in music signal processing and has a wide range of applications. This chapter provides a step by step introduction to the design of music onset detection algorithms. The general scheme and commonly-used time-frequency analysis for onset detection are introduced. Many methods are reviewed, and some typical energy-based, phase-based, pitch-based and supervised learning methods are described in detail. The commonly used performance measures, onset annotation software, public database and evaluation methods are introduced. The performance difference between energy-based and pitch-based method is discussed. The future research directions for music onset detection are also described.

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