Validation of the Tactual Span in individuals with congenital and acquired blindness

British Journal of Visual Impairment ◽

10.1177/02646196211044983 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026461962110449

Author(s):

Eyal Heled ◽

Or Oshri

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Auditory Modality ◽

Test Results ◽

Semantic Fluency ◽

Cognitive Assessments ◽

Tactile Working Memory ◽

Blind Individuals ◽

Specific Sequences ◽

Fluency Test

Neuropsychological assessment tools for individuals with blindness are relatively scarce. In the current study, we assessed the validity of the Tactual Span, a task aimed at evaluating tactile working memory. During the task, the fingers of both hands are touched in specific sequences of ascending difficulty, which participants are asked to repeat in exact and reverse order. Twelve participants with congenital blindness and 13 with acquired blindness were examined alongside 18 sighted controls, matched to the experimental group with respect to age and education. Participants performed the Tactual Span and three additional tasks assessing working memory in the auditory modality, as well as a Semantic Fluency test. Results showed that the Tactual Span was significantly correlated with most of the other working memory measures, in all groups, but not with the Semantic Fluency test. In addition, the congenital and acquired blindness groups performed similarly to one another and better than sighted controls on most working memory tasks, but not on the Semantic Fluency test. Findings suggest that the Tactual Span is a feasible task for measuring tactile working memory in individuals with congenital and acquired blindness. Therefore, it can expand the cognitive assessment toolbox of professionals working with blind individuals and increase the strength of conclusions drawn from cognitive assessments in educational and vocational settings.

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Traumatic Brain Injury: Effect of Litigation Status on Executive Functioning—A Pilot Study

Indian Journal of Neurotrauma ◽

10.1055/s-0040-1717214 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Simi Prakash K. ◽

Rajakumari P. Reddy ◽

Anna R. Mathulla ◽

Jamuna Rajeswaran ◽

Dhaval P. Shukla

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Working Memory ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Concept Formation ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Self Report ◽

Semantic Fluency ◽

Set Shifting ◽

Wide Range

AbstractTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with a wide range of physiological, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive sequelae. Litigation status is one of the many factors that has an impact on recovery. The aim of this study was to compare executive functions, postconcussion, and depressive symptoms in TBI patients with and without litigation. A sample of 30 patients with TBI, 15 patients with litigation (medicolegal case [MLC]), and 15 without litigation (non-MLC) was assessed. The tools used were sociodemographic and clinical proforma, executive function tests, Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory. Assessment revealed that more than 50% of patients showed deficits in category fluency, set shifting, and concept formation. The MLC group showed significant impairment on verbal working memory in comparison to the non-MLC group. The performance of both groups was comparable on tests of semantic fluency, visuospatial working memory, concept formation, set shifting, planning, and response inhibition. The MLC group showed more verbal working memory deficits in the absence of significant postconcussion and depressive symptoms on self-report measures.

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Occipital Cortex of Blind Individuals Is Functionally Coupled with Executive Control Areas of Frontal Cortex

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00807 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (8) ◽

pp. 1633-1647 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Ben Deen ◽

Rebecca Saxe ◽

Marina Bedny

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Sentence Comprehension ◽

Memory Load ◽

Memory Task ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Functional Responses ◽

Congenitally Blind ◽

Blind Individuals

In congenital blindness, the occipital cortex responds to a range of nonvisual inputs, including tactile, auditory, and linguistic stimuli. Are these changes in functional responses to stimuli accompanied by altered interactions with nonvisual functional networks? To answer this question, we introduce a data-driven method that searches across cortex for functional connectivity differences across groups. Replicating prior work, we find increased fronto-occipital functional connectivity in congenitally blind relative to blindfolded sighted participants. We demonstrate that this heightened connectivity extends over most of occipital cortex but is specific to a subset of regions in the inferior, dorsal, and medial frontal lobe. To assess the functional profile of these frontal areas, we used an n-back working memory task and a sentence comprehension task. We find that, among prefrontal areas with overconnectivity to occipital cortex, one left inferior frontal region responds to language over music. By contrast, the majority of these regions responded to working memory load but not language. These results suggest that in blindness occipital cortex interacts more with working memory systems and raise new questions about the function and mechanism of occipital plasticity.

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Independent mechanisms of spatial attention in visual and tactile working memory

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/17.10.679 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (10) ◽

pp. 679

Author(s):

Tobias Katus ◽

Martin Eimer

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Spatial Attention ◽

Tactile Working Memory

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The evaluation of competency certification program through the LSP P-1 at vocational high school

Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi ◽

10.21831/jpv.v10i1.30155 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Budiyanto Budiyanto ◽

Wardan Suyanto

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Evaluation Research ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Test Results ◽

Certification Program ◽

Vocational High School ◽

Professional Certification ◽

Certification Test ◽

Certification Institute

This research aims to evaluate the implementation of the competency certification program through the First-Party Professional Certification Institute (LSP P-1) at SMK N 2 Klaten. The evaluation of the implementation of competency certification program reviewed on 4 aspects e.g. : (1) context; (2) input; (3) process; and (4) product. This research is evaluation research based on CIPP model (Context, Input, Process, Product). This research was conducted at SMK N 2 Klaten which already had an LSP P-1license. The respondents were the principal, LSP chairman, secretary, treasurer, certification manager, chairman of the scheme committee, the competency test venue (TUK), and assessors. Questionary were used to celleted data in this study. The data was analyzed with the descriptive analysis. The result shows that: (1) the implementation of competency certification test through the LSP P-1 at State Vocational High School 2 Klaten in the context aspect is classified as very appropriate (83.93%), it is related to the policies and the goals of competency certification test; (2) in the input aspect is classified as very appropriate (88.82%), which meet the criteria of the assessor and the completeness of assessment tools; (3) in the process aspect is classified as very appropriate (88.59%), which leads to the suitability of the implementation procedures; and (4) in the product aspect is classified as very high (78,4%), for the achievement of competency certification test results and competency certificates.

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Characteristics of Cognitive Deficit in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment With Subthreshold Depression

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology ◽

10.1177/0891988719865943 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (6) ◽

pp. 344-353 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zhiyu Sun ◽

Zhijiang Wang ◽

Lujie Xu ◽

Xiaozhen Lv ◽

Quanzheng Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Language Processing ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

The Elderly ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Domain ◽

Subthreshold Depression ◽

Cognitive Assessments

It is widely recognized that depression may precipitate the incidence of dementia in the elderly individuals and individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) in particular. However, the association between subthreshold depression (SD) and cognitive deficits in patients with aMCI remains unclear. To address this, we collected demographic information and conducted a battery of neuropsychological cognitive assessments in 33 aMCI participants with SD (aMCI/SD+), 33 nondepressed aMCI participants (aMCI/SD−), and 53 normal controls (NC). Both aMCI groups showed significantly poorer performance in most cognitive domains relative to the NC group (ie, memory, language, processing speed, and executive function). Notably, the aMCI/SD+ group showed significantly poorer attention/working memory compared with the aMCI/SD− group. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed a significant negative association between the severity of depressive symptoms and attention/working memory capacity (β = − .024, P = .024), accounting for 8.28% of the variations in this cognitive domain. All statistical analyses were adjusted by age, sex, and years of education. A logistic regression model had an accuracy of 72.4% in discriminating between the aMCI/SD+ and aMCI/SD− groups based on individual cognitive profiles over 6 domains. Our findings indicate that patients with aMCI with and without SD have distinct patterns of cognitive impairment. This finding may facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of SD in patients with aMCI.

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The Role of Phonological Working Memory and Environmental Factors in Lexical Development in Italian-Speaking Late Talkers: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2017_jslhr-l-15-0415 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 60 (12) ◽

pp. 3462-3473 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Andrea Marini ◽

Milena Ruffino ◽

Maria Enrica Sali ◽

Massimo Molteni

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Family History ◽

Home Literacy Environment ◽

Home Literacy ◽

Semantic Fluency ◽

Literacy Environment ◽

Follow Up Study ◽

Late Talkers ◽

History Of

Purpose This follow-up study assessed (a) the influence of phonological working memory (pWM), home literacy environment, and a family history of linguistic impairments in late talkers (LTs); (b) the diagnostic accuracy of a task of nonword repetition (NWR) in identifying LTs; and (c) the persistence of lexical weaknesses after 10 months. Method Two hundred ninety-three children were assessed at approximately 32 (t1) and 41 (t2) months. At t1, they were administered the Italian adaptation of the Language Development Survey, an NWR task (used to assess pWM), and questionnaires assessing home literacy environment and family history of language impairments. Thirty-three LTs were identified. The linguistic skills of the participants were evaluated at t2 by administering tasks assessing Articulation, Naming, Semantic Fluency, and Lexical Comprehension. Results At t2, LTs performed more poorly as compared with age-matched typically developing peers in articulatory and naming skills, had reduced lexical comprehension abilities, and had limited lexical knowledge. Their performance on the NWR task at t1 correlated with the extension of their vocabularies at t2 (as estimated with a Semantic Fluency task). Conclusions The Language Development Survey recently adapted to Italian is sensitive to LTs. Former LTs still have a mild lexical delay at approximately 40 months. As an indirect measure of pWM, the task of NWR is an early indicator of future lexical deficits.

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The Reliability and Validity of the Action Fluency Test in Healthy College Students

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acz016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (7) ◽

pp. 1175-1191 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Thomas P Ross ◽

Sydne O’Connor ◽

Graham Holmes ◽

Brittany Fuller ◽

Megan Henrich

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Working Memory ◽

Information Processing ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Information Processing Speed ◽

Perceptual Reasoning ◽

Fluency Test

Abstract Objective This study examined the test–retest reliability and construct validity of the Action Fluency Test (AFT) as a measure of executive functioning. Method Using a correlational design, 128 healthy college students (M Age = 19.24, SD = 2.01; M education = 13.29 years, SD = 0.81) completed the AFT, and measures of verbal and figural fluency, executive functioning and other relevant constructs (e.g., vocabulary, working memory, and attention). Results Coefficients of stability were acceptable for AFT correct words (r = .76; p < .01), but not for errors (r = .41) or perseverations (r = .14). No practice effects were observed upon repeat testing (M interval = 39.21 days). Divergent validity evidence was mixed. AFT scores were unrelated to working memory and perceptual-reasoning abilities; however, correlations with vocabulary (r = .32; p < .01) and information-processing speed (r = .30; p < .01) were greater than associations between AFT scores and executive measures. Regarding convergent validity, AFT scores correlated with other fluency tasks (r = .4 range), but correlations with measures of executive functioning were absent or small. Action and letter fluency correlated with measures of attentional control and inhibition; however, these associations were no longer significant after controlling for shared variance with information-processing speed. Conclusions Findings are consistent with previous research suggesting vocabulary and information-processing speed underlie effective fluency performance to a greater extent than executive functioning. The AFT measures unique variance not accounted for by semantic and letter fluency tasks, and therefore may be used for a variety of research and clinical purposes.

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