scholarly journals Subjective and Objective Assessments of Executive Functioning among Persons 10 years after Stroke Onset

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-06
Author(s):  
Eva Elgh ◽  
Xiaolei Hu
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Chronic Phase ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Stroke Onset ◽  
Informant Ratings ◽  
Behaviour Rating ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Clinically Significant

Aim: This study aimed to investigate executive functioning (EF) among patients 10 years after stroke onset through comparing subjective patients’ and informants’ perceptions as well as objective neuropsychological assessments (NPAs). Materials and Method: One month prior to the neuropsychological assessment, 36 patients and their informants completed the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (Brief-A) around 10 years after stroke onset. The patients’ EF was assessed with verbal fluency (FAS), backward Digit span backward and Trail making test (TMT)-B. Results: We found no significant differences between patient and informant ratings on EF on a group level, but more patients reported clinically significant executive dysfunctions (T > 65) than their informants. Only poor to slight agreements were observed between the patient and informant ratings of the BRIEF-A. Digit span backward was the only executive test that demonstrated significant improvement of EF 10 years post-stroke in the cohort. Neither patient nor informant ratings on EF showed any significant association with objective EF test performance. Conclusions: Mismatch patient-informant agreement on perceived executive dysfunction showed no clear association with EF test performance in this study. This may indicate the complexity of EF among persons with stroke at chronic phase.

An Investigation of Executive Functioning, Attention and Working Memory in Compulsive Hoarding

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra G. McMillan ◽  
Clare S. Rees ◽  
Carmela Pestell
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Compulsive Hoarding ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Sorting Tests

Background: Compulsive Hoarding involves the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value, cluttered living spaces and significant distress or impairment in functioning (Frost and Hartl, 1996). The problem is multifaceted and appears best explained by a cognitive-behavioural framework. Aims: This study set out to test one aspect of Frost and Hartl's (1996) cognitive-behavioural model of compulsive hoarding by investigating theorized cognitive deficits in executive functioning, such as working memory and attention. Method: 24 participants with compulsive hoarding were tested on the Digit Span, Spatial Span and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Tests (WCST). Results: On the WCST, the hoarding group had a significantly higher number of perseveration errors (t = 1.67, p = .005) and significantly lower numbers of categories completed (t = −2.47, p = .001) than test norms. Only “failure to maintain set” was significantly correlated with hoarding severity (r = .435, p < .05). Conclusions: These findings lend support to the theory that people who compulsively hoard have executive dysfunction, which impacts on their ability to process information. Deficits relate to difficulties in forming effective strategies, inadequate feedback response, problems in concept formation, and impulsivity. Difficulties in sustained attention also appeared to be a factor in hoarding severity. These findings are important in directing more targeted clinical interventions.

scholarly journals Comparison of Neurological and Cognitive Deficits in Children With ADHD and Anxiety Disorders

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 472-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pınar Yurtbaşı ◽  
Seçil Aldemir ◽  
Meryem Gül Teksin Bakır ◽  
Şule Aktaş ◽  
Fatma Betül Ayvaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Adhd Group ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Cognitive Test Performance ◽  
Sample Method

Objective:To compare the neuro-cognitive profiles among initial clinic referred medication naive sample of children with anxiety disorders (ANXs) and ADHD in a youth sample. Method: Three groups of patients, ANX ( n = 40), ADHD ( n = 48), and ANX + ADHD ( n = 33), aged 7 to 12 years, were compared with respect to their Physical and Neurological Examination for Subtle Signs (PANESS) and cognitive measures (digit span, digit symbol, Trail Making Test [TMT]-A and TMT-B, Stroop test). Results: ADHD group performed worse than the other two groups with regard to soft signs and cognitive test performance; ANX + ADHD were impaired relative to ANX but better than ADHD. Significant differences were found for gait and station problems, overflows and timed movements, TMT error points, and Stroop interference scores. ADHD patients had more difficulty in warding off irrelevant responses and lower speed of time-limited movements. Conclusion: This clinical evaluation study suggested that ANX and ADHD seem to have significantly different neuro-cognitive features: Poorest outcomes were observed among children with ADHD; rather than problems of attention, inhibitory control deficits were the most prominent differences between ANX and ADHD; and the presence of ANX appears to have mitigating effect on ADHD-related impairments.

scholarly journals Heightened Depression Impairs Executive Functioning: Evidence from Within-Person Latent Change and Cross-Lagged Models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Hani Zainal ◽  
Michelle G. Newman
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Regression To The Mean ◽  
Cross Sectional

The impaired disengagement hypothesis (Koster, De Lissnyder, Derakshan, &amp; De Raedt, 2011) posits that executive dysfunction can predict future heightened depression and anxiety due to chronic poor attentional control and repetitive negative thinking across prolonged durations. Simultaneously, scar theories (Ottaviani et al., 2016) assert that increased psychopathology may forecast subsequent executive functioning (EF) deficits because of wear-and-tear of psychophysiological systems over protracted timescales. However, most work on EF-psychopathology relations have been cross-sectional, which precludes causal inferences. Thus, this study aimed to test the within-person relations between EF, depression and anxiety. Older adult participants (n = 856) averaged 81.59 years of age (SD = 7.10, range = 70–110, 58.53% females, 76.87% Whites). Assessments were conducted across four waves, each spaced approximately 2 years apart over a span of 8 years. EF was assessed using six behavioral measures (animal fluency, controlled oral word association test, backward counting, serial 7s subtraction, backward digit span, symbol digit modalities test). Depression and anxiety symptoms were measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Bivariate dual latent change score (BCS) and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) were conducted to minimize measurement error as well as adjust for autoregressive effects, regression to the mean, and between-person variances. Within persons, RI-CLPMs revealed that prior greater depression symptoms forecasted lower subsequent EF, but not vice versa (d = -0.29 vs. -0.03). BCS models showed that within-person rise in depression symptoms at a time-lag predicted EF decrements at the next time-lag, but not the opposite (d = -0.20 vs. 0.14). Further, significant, small-to-moderate, negative between-person relations between EF and depression or anxiety severity were observed (d = -0.42 to -0.26). Neither within-person cross-lagged relations (d = -0.09–-0.06) nor change-to-future change associations (d = -0.04–0.04) were found between anxiety and EF. Prospective, within-person findings offer some evidence for developmental scar theories as opposed to vulnerability models. We discussed theoretical and clinical implications, such as potentially reducing the risk of future executive dysfunction-related neuropsychiatric disorders by targeting depression symptoms.

Executive dysfunction and risk of suicide in older adults: a population-based prospective cohort study

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 528-533
Author(s):  
Dae Jong Oh ◽  
Ji Won Han ◽  
Jong Bin Bae ◽  
Tae Hui Kim ◽  
Kyung Phil Kwak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Prospective Cohort ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
National Mortality ◽  
Trail Making

ObjectiveIt is uncertain what factors increases the risk of suicide in older adults without depression, and it is unknown whether executive dysfunction (ED) is one of those factors. We aimed to examine the effect of ED on the risk of suicide in non-demented older adults without depression.MethodsIn an ongoing population-based prospective cohort of Korean older adults, we identified suicide using the National Mortality Database and suicidal ideation or attempt (SIA) based on the Korean version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. We defined ED as performing below −1.5 SD of age-adjusted, gender-adjusted and education-adjusted norms in any of following tests: Frontal Assessment Battery, Trail Making Test A, Digit Span Test or Verbal Fluency Test.ResultsThe mean age of the 4791 participants at baseline was 69.7 (SD 6.4) years, and 57.1% of them were women (mean follow-up duration=4.9 years). ED at baseline increased the risk of suicide by about seven times (HR 7.20, 95% CI 1.84 to 28.12, p=0.005) but did not change the risk of SIA. However, cognitive impairment without ED did not change the risks of suicide and SIA. In participants with ED, being aged 75 years or above, living alone, and having a low socioeconomic status were associated with the risk of suicide.ConclusionED is a strong risk factor of late life suicide independent from depression, particularly in very old adults living in disadvantaged environments.

Executive Functioning in the Dystrophinopathies and the Relation to Underlying Mutation Position

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-155
Author(s):  
Robert J. Fee ◽  
Jacqueline Montes ◽  
Veronica J. Hinton
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Dystrophin Gene ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Motor Functioning ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Behavior Rating Inventory ◽  
Clinically Significant

AbstractObjectives: The aim of this study was to investigate executive skills in children with dystrophinopathy and to examine the association between executive functions and dystrophin gene mutation position. Methods: Fifty boys with dystrophinopathy (mean age, 11 years 0 months; ages range, 5 to 17 years) completed measures of intellectual functioning (IF), working memory and executive functioning [including Digit Span (working memory) and measures from the NIH Toolbox (selective attention/inhibitory control, set shifting, working memory, and processing speed)]. Parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Mutation positions were categorized into three groups (upstream exon 30, 31–62, and downstream exon 63). Paired-samples t tests compared performance on executive measures to IF, and a one-way (three-group) multivariate analysis of covariance compared cognitive performance with mutation location controlling for motor functioning. Results: Mean performance on all executive measures was significantly lower than IF. Parents were also more likely to rate their child with dystrophinopathy as having clinically significant executive difficulties on the Shift, Emotional Control, and Behavior Regulation indices of the BRIEF. Mutation analyses resulted in small groups limiting power to detect subtle differences. Those with a downstream mutation position had significantly poorer performance on IF and Total Digit Span, but not on other measures of executive function including behavior. Conclusions: Individuals with dystrophinopathy have executive skill deficits, but they are not generally associated with more distal mutations. (JINS, 2019, 25, 146–155)

scholarly journals B-70 The Effect of Bilingualism on Trail Making Test Performance in Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors and Healthy Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1018-1018
Author(s):  
P Litvin ◽  
R Rugh-Fraser ◽  
W Lopez-Hernandez ◽  
J Knight ◽  
R Cervantes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Trail Making Test ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Main Effects

Abstract Objective Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with a number of cognitive deficits. Language factors also impact neurocognitive performance. We examined the effects of TBI and bilingualism/monolingualism on a test of attention and executive functioning (Trail Making Test; TMT). Method The sample (N = 96) consisted of 36 healthy controls (19 bilingual; 17 monolingual), 34 acute TBI participants (12 bilingual; 21 monolingual), and 27 chronic TBI participants (16 bilingual; 11 monolingual). Acute TBI participants were tested 6 months post-injury and chronic TBI participants were tested 12 months or more post-injury. 3X2 ANOVAs were conducted to determine the effect of TBI and bilingualism/monolingualism on TMT part A and B. Results Main effects were found between groups (i.e., control and TBI groups) on TMT A, p < .001, ηp² = .17 and TMT B, p < .05, ηp² = .09. Pairwise comparisons revealed a difference only between the control group and the 6-month TBI group, with the latter performing worse. Main effects were found for bilingualism/monolingualism on TMT A, p < .05, ηp² = .04 and TMT B, p < .05, ηp² = .05; monolingual participants performed better than bilingual participants. No interactions emerged. Conclusion Relative to monolinguals, bilingual participants demonstrated worse attention and executive functioning performances 6 months post-TBI; however, 12 months post-TBI, the difference was negligible.

Relationship of Depression With Executive Functions and Visuospatial Memory in Elderly

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 490-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Klojčnik ◽  
Voyko Kavcic ◽  
Karin Bakracevic Vukman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Stroop Test ◽  
Visuospatial Memory ◽  
Late Life Depression ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Predictors Of Depression ◽  
Fluency Test

Cognitive deficits are a potential part of the clinical picture of depression, especially when it comes to late-life depression. The present study was carried out to establish whether distinctive cognitive deficiencies can be linked with depression in the late-life period, especially in executive functioning, working memory, and visuospatial memory. Our sample consisted of 71 seniors in the age range between 69 and 85 years. A battery of neurocognitive tests was used, including tests of executive functioning (Trail Making Test [TMT], part B, Stroop color word test, semantic word fluency test, and partially Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure test [ROCF]), tests of attention and working memory (TMT, part A and digit span), and test of visuospatil ability and memory (ROCF). Results demonstrated that depression scores were significantly negatively correlated with scores on Verbal Fluency test, Stroop test, and ROCF immediate copy and recall. Depression was also linked to slower functioning on Trail Making A and Trail Making B subtest. In general, higher depression scores were correlated with lower performance on neuropsychological tests. However, digit span showed no significant correlation with depression. In addition, results of regression analyses revealed that the strongest predictors of depression were performance on the Rey–Osterrieth test—immediate recall and Stroop test. Thus, we could ascertain that difficulties in executive functioning and visuospatial memory are the best predictors of depression in elderly.

Predicting the Trail-Making Performance by Measures of Executive Functioning

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Shaw ◽  
Jessica Foley ◽  
Cassandra Marsello ◽  
Robert Finlay ◽  
Mary B. Bailor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Trail Making

scholarly journals A-09 The Relationship Between Subjective Cognitive Complaints, Depression, and Executive Functioning in mTBI Veterans

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 782-782
Author(s):  
T Scott ◽  
J Spellman ◽  
N Walker ◽  
J Rivera ◽  
D Waltzman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Trail Making Test ◽  
Cognitive Complaints ◽  
Adult Intelligence Scale ◽  
Neuropsychological Measures ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Subjective Complaints ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Complaints

Abstract Objective Among individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), those with depression report greater subjective cognitive complaints than those without depression. In mTBI patients with general cognitive complaints, depression may account for poor performance on objective neuropsychological measures. This study seeks to expand this research by examining depression, subjective executive functioning (EF) complaints, and objective EF performance in Veterans with mTBI. Method Fifty-seven Veterans with deployment-related mTBI (12% female; age M = 42.0, SD = 13.6; years education M = 15.0, SD = 1.8) with (n = 29) or without (n = 28) a chart diagnosis of depression. Participants were administered the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) and objective neuropsychological measures of working memory (i.e., Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV Working Memory Index) and aspects of EF (i.e., Trail Making Test B and Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System (D-KEFS) subtests). Results Principal component analysis identified similar domains of EF to the BRIEF, including: task monitoring (Trail Making Test B, D-KEFS Letter Fluency, and D-KEFS Tower Test, eigenvalue = 1.93) and shifting (D-KEFS: Color-Word Interference Conditions 3 and 4, and Category Switching, eigenvalue = 1.24). Individuals with depression had greater subjective EF complaints in each BRIEF domain than non-depressed individuals (p’s ≤ .01). However, subjective complaints in these domains were not related to objective performance (r’s = −0.17,-0.19, p’s &gt; .05). Moreover, depressed and non-depressed individuals performed similarly on all EF measures (p’s &gt; .05). Conclusions mTBI Veterans with depression report more subjective EF complaints than those without depression. The lack of association between subjective complaints and objective EF performance suggests it is important to treat depression in mTBI patients to remedy perceived cognitive deficits.

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