Estimation of premorbid intelligence and executive cognitive functions with lexical reading tasks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Pluck

Introduction: Estimation of premorbid function is essential to accurate assessment of cognitive impairments in clinical neuropsychology and behavioral neurology, and has numerous research applications. However, current methods are rudimentary and imperfect. We explored how lexical tasks can be best used to accurately and precisely estimate intelligence and executive functions.Methods: We studied lexical word pronunciation, lexical decision, and stem-completion naming in the estimation of cognitive ability, in samples of healthy adults (n = 143), and patients with cognitive impairment due to neurological illness (n =15). Cognitive assessments included intelligence (WAIS-IV), episodic memory, and eight tests of executive functioning, including Theory of Mind.Results: When examined at the group level, single word pronunciation was particularly robust in the presence of cognitive impairment in patients with dementia. However, as a case series, patients showed idiosyncratic patterns of preservation of lexical skills including on tests of pronunciation, lexical decision and stem-completion naming. All of these tasks were highly correlated with IQ scores in a non-clinical sample, suggesting that they could be used as estimators of premorbid intelligence. Simulated impairments in non-clinical controls suggested that the median score from the three different tasks had the highest correlation with, and provided the most accurate and precise estimates of, intelligence, and was also the least sensitive to impairment. Finally, we show that these methods also predict executive functions, in particular, strong correlations were found for proverb interpretation, phonemic/semantic alternating verbal fluency, and working memory span performance. Conclusions: Several lexical tasks are potentially useful in predication of pre-illness cognitive ability in patients with neurological or psychiatric illness. However, due to the heterogeneity of impairments between patients, estimation of premorbid levels could be improved by the use of the median estimated values from multiple tests. This could potentially improve diagnostic accuracy and quantification of neuropsychological impairments.

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1051
Author(s):  
Valentina Bessi ◽  
Salvatore Mazzeo ◽  
Silvia Bagnoli ◽  
Giulia Giacomucci ◽  
Assunta Ingannato ◽  
...  

The Huntingtin gene (HTT) is within a class of genes containing a key region of CAG repeats. When expanded beyond 39 repeats, Huntington disease (HD) develops. Individuals with less than 35 repeats are not associated with HD. Increasing evidence has suggested that CAG repeats play a role in modulating brain development and brain function. However, very few studies have investigated the effect of CAG repeats in the non-pathological range on cognitive performances in non-demented individuals. In this study, we aimed to test how CAG repeats’ length influences neuropsychological scores in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We included 75 patients (46 SCD and 29 MCI). All patients underwent an extensive neuropsychological battery and analysis of HTT alleles to quantify the number of CAG repeats. Results: CAG repeat number was positively correlated with scores of tests assessing for executive function, visual–spatial ability, and memory in SCD patients, while in MCI patients, it was inversely correlated with scores of visual–spatial ability and premorbid intelligence. When we performed a multiple regression analysis, we found that these relationships still remained, also when adjusting for possible confounding factors. Interestingly, logarithmic models better described the associations between CAG repeats and neuropsychological scores. CAG repeats in the HTT gene within the non-pathological range influenced neuropsychological performances depending on global cognitive status. The logarithmic model suggested that the positive effect of CAG repeats in SCD patients decreases as the number of repeats grows.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Magdalena I. Tolea ◽  
Jaeyeong Heo ◽  
Stephanie Chrisphonte ◽  
James E. Galvin

Background: Although an efficacious dementia-risk score system, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia (CAIDE) was derived using midlife risk factors in a population with low educational attainment that does not reflect today’s US population, and requires laboratory biomarkers, which are not always available. Objective: Develop and validate a modified CAIDE (mCAIDE) system and test its ability to predict presence, severity, and etiology of cognitive impairment in older adults. Methods: Population consisted of 449 participants in dementia research (N = 230; community sample; 67.9±10.0 years old, 29.6%male, 13.7±4.1 years education) or receiving dementia clinical services (N = 219; clinical sample; 74.3±9.8 years old, 50.2%male, 15.5±2.6 years education). The mCAIDE, which includes self-reported and performance-based rather than blood-derived measures, was developed in the community sample and tested in the independent clinical sample. Validity against Framingham, Hachinski, and CAIDE risk scores was assessed. Results: Higher mCAIDE quartiles were associated with lower performance on global and domain-specific cognitive tests. Each one-point increase in mCAIDE increased the odds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by up to 65%, those of AD by 69%, and those for non-AD dementia by >  85%, with highest scores in cases with vascular etiologies. Being in the highest mCAIDE risk group improved ability to discriminate dementia from MCI and controls and MCI from controls, with a cut-off of ≥7 points offering the highest sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Conclusion: mCAIDE is a robust indicator of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling seniors, which can discriminate well between dementia severity including MCI versus controls. The mCAIDE may be a valuable tool for case ascertainment in research studies, helping flag primary care patients for cognitive testing, and identify those in need of lifestyle interventions for symptomatic control.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110197
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn Abeare ◽  
Kristoffer Romero ◽  
Laura Cutler ◽  
Christina D. Sirianni ◽  
Laszlo A. Erdodi

In this study we attempted to replicate the classification accuracy of the newly introduced Forced Choice Recognition trial (FCR) of the Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) in a clinical sample. We administered the RCFT FCR and the earlier Yes/No Recognition trial from the RCFT to 52 clinically referred patients as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery and incentivized a separate control group of 83 university students to perform well on these measures. We then computed the classification accuracies of both measures against criterion performance validity tests (PVTs) and compared results between the two samples. At previously published validity cutoffs (≤16 & ≤17), the RCFT FCR remained specific (.84–1.00) to psychometrically defined non-credible responding. Simultaneously, the RCFT FCR was more sensitive to examinees’ natural variability in visual-perceptual and verbal memory skills than the Yes/No Recognition trial. Even after being reduced to a seven-point scale (18-24) by the validity cutoffs, both RCFT recognition scores continued to provide clinically useful information on visual memory. This is the first study to validate the RCFT FCR as a PVT in a clinical sample. Our data also support its use for measuring cognitive ability. Replication studies with more diverse samples and different criterion measures are still needed before large-scale clinical application of this scale.


EXPLORE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Lou Galantino ◽  
Laurie Greene ◽  
Laura Daniels ◽  
Brandon Dooley ◽  
Laura Muscatello ◽  
...  

Assessment ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Lauterbach ◽  
Scott Vrana

This paper describes three studies of the reliability and validity of a newly revised version of the Purdue Posttraumatic Stress Disorder scale (PPTSD-R). The PPTSD-R is a 17-item questionnaire that yields four scores: Reexperiencing, Avoidance, Arousal, and Total. It is highly internally consistent (α = .91), and the scores are relatively stable across time. The PPTSD-R is highly correlated with other measures of PTSD symptomatology and moderately correlated with measures of related psychopathology, providing preliminary support for the measure's convergent and discriminant validity. It reliably distinguishes between groups of people who were and were not traumatized, it is sensitive to the impact of different types of traumatic events, and (within a clinical sample) it discriminates between those who did and did not seek treatment for difficulty coping with the traumatic event being assessed. The PPTSD-R shows promise as a measure of PTSD symptoms in the college population.


2021 ◽  
pp. 47-48
Author(s):  
Manju Unnikrishnan ◽  
Titto Cherian

Diabetes has become a widespread epidemic, characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from an error in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both, and is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Studies reveal that diabetes is linked to long-term complications in the brain, which appear in the form of impaired cognitive ability compared to people without diabetes( Van Duinkerken et al 2020). Reduced physical performance is one of the most important problems faced by patients which has a direct relationship with an individual's cognitive ability. The study aims to analyse the direct and positive relationship between physical exercise and cognitive functions among people with type 2 diabetes, so this must be veried along with gaining a comprehensive understanding of cognitive impairment in diabetes and its effect on physical performance. vice versa. This study is based on the reviewed research results of various researchers. In this study, the term "cognitive impairment" in relation to diabetes refers to any deviation in cognitive performance compared to people without diabetes.


Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Koller ◽  
Jon Rittenberger ◽  
Patrick Morgan ◽  
Melissa Repine ◽  
Jeffrey Kristan ◽  
...  

Background: Cognitive deficits may detract from quality of life after cardiac arrest (CA). The pattern and prevalence of these deficits are not well documented. We used the Computer Assessment of Mild Cognitive Impairment (CAMCI), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and the 41 Cent Test to assess cognitive impairment in survivors of CA. We hypothesized that CAMCI subscales and other scores that were highly correlated could identify specific domains of impairment in CA survivors. Methods: Four researchers administered the CAMCI, MOCA, and/or the 41 Cent Test to CA survivors after discharge from the intensive care unit between 2010 and 2014. Physicians screened patients with the Mini-Mental State Exam to determine when this cognitive testing was feasible. We compared the distribution of scores between patients who presented with coma and those who awoke immediately after CA. Pairwise correlations between the different subscales and tests were considered significant with alpha error of 0.05. Results: Ninety-two participants completed the CAMCI, of which 18 participants completed the CAMCI, MOCA and 41 Cent Test. The mean (SD) percentile score for CAMCI was 32.2 (20.3) out of possible 100, for the MOCA was 20.3 (5.2) out of a possible 30 points and the 41 Cent Test was 5.4 (1.1) out of a possible 7 points. MOCA correlated strongly with the overall CAMCI score (r = 0.82) and with the executive accuracy subscale of the CAMCI (r = 0.75). The executive accuracy subscale and overall CAMCI score correlated with one another (r = 0.81) when all 92 CAMCI exams were considered. The MOCA and 41 Cent Test were correlated with each other (r = 0.63). Conclusion: The CAMCI detects cognitive impairment after CA; the MOCA correlates strongly with the overall CAMCI and the executive function subscale of the CAMCI. The 41 Cent Test may not be as effective as the MOCA in detecting cognitive deficits.


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