scholarly journals Intra-Individual Variability in Cognitive Performance Can Befuddle the Study of Cognitive Impairments and Decline

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Szymon Zdanowski ◽  
Alieke Tieks ◽  
Bertus F. Jeronimus ◽  
Marij Zuidersma
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Impairments ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Cognitive Assessments ◽  
Rapid Variation ◽  
Single Snapshot ◽  
Over Time

Using group-aggregated results and snapshot assessments of cognitive performance may prove problematic if the assessed construct shows substantial and rapid variation over time. To illustrate the significance of this issue, we analyzed cognitive performance data of ten older adults undergoing daily computerized cognitive assessments (CogState Brief Battery) for 36–93 days. In all cases, the day-to-day intra-individual variability was substantial when compared with group-level, between-person variability. This indicates that the results of studies using single snapshot assessments of cognitive functioning should be interpreted with caution. Additionally, group-aggregated measures of cognitive performance may not directly extrapolate to an individual.

scholarly journals Disrupted neural synchrony mediates the relationship between white matter integrity and cognitive performance in older adults

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Hinault ◽  
M. Kraut ◽  
A. Bakker ◽  
A. Dagher ◽  
S.M. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
White Matter Integrity ◽  
Neural Basis

AbstractOur main goal was to determine the influence of white matter integrity on the dynamic coupling between brain regions and the individual variability of cognitive performance in older adults. EEG was recorded while participants performed a task specifically designed to engage working memory and inhibitory processes, and the associations among functional activity, structural integrity, and cognitive performance were assessed. We found that the association between white matter microstructural integrity and cognitive functioning with aging is mediated by time-varying alpha and gamma phase-locking value (PLV). Specifically, older individuals with better preservation of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus showed greater task-related modulations of alpha and gamma long-range PLV between the inferior frontal gyrus and occipital lobe, lower local phase-amplitude coupling in occipital lobes, and better cognitive control performance. Our results help delineate the role of individual variability of white matter microstructure in dynamic synchrony and cognitive performance during normal aging, and show that even small reductions in white matter integrity can lead to altered communications between brain regions, which in turn can result in reduced efficiency of cognitive functioning.Significance statementCognitive aging is associated with large individual differences, as some individuals maintain cognitive performance similar to that of young adults while others are significantly impaired. We hypothesized that individual differences in white matter integrity would influence the functional synchrony between frontal and posterior brain regions, and cognitive performance in older adults. We found that the association between reduced tract integrity and worse cognitive performance in older adults was mediated by task-related modulations of coupling synchrony in the alpha and gamma bands. Results offer a mechanistic explanation for the neural basis of the variability of cognitive performance in older adults who do not have any clinically diagnosable neuropathology, and for the association between structural network integrity and cognition in older adults.

scholarly journals Senior Dance Experience, Cognitive Performance, and Brain Volume in Older Women

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Niemann ◽  
Ben Godde ◽  
Claudia Voelcker-Rehage
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Brain Volume ◽  
Fitness Level ◽  
Motor Fitness

Physical activity is positively related to cognitive functioning and brain volume in older adults. Interestingly, different types of physical activity vary in their effects on cognition and on the brain. For example, dancing has become an interesting topic in aging research, as it is a popular leisure activity among older adults, involving cardiovascular and motor fitness dimensions that can be positively related to cognition. However, studies on brain structure are missing. In this study, we tested the association of long-term senior dance experience with cognitive performance and gray matter brain volume in older women aged 65 to 82 years. We compared nonprofessional senior dancers (n=28) with nonsedentary control group participants without any dancing experience (n=29), who were similar in age, education, IQ score, lifestyle and health factors, and fitness level. Differences neither in the four tested cognitive domains (executive control, perceptual speed, episodic memory, and long-term memory) nor in brain volume (VBM whole-brain analysis, region-of-interest analysis of the hippocampus) were observed. Results indicate that moderate dancing activity (1-2 times per week, on average) has no additional effects on gray matter volume and cognitive functioning when a certain lifestyle or physical activity and fitness level are reached.

Research … How Fun Is That? Interesting Questions Relative to the Effects of Exercise on Cognitive Performance

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Etnier
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
North American Society ◽  
National Meeting ◽  
The North ◽  
American Society

In developing a senior lecture for the 2014 national meeting of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, I had the opportunity to reflect upon a career of research and to focus on three interesting questions that my colleagues and I have attempted to address. These questions have led to several studies that all revolve around identifying ways to increase the effects of exercise on cognitive performance. In particular, the questions examine the possibility of increasing effects by focusing on particular populations (e.g., older adults, children) and by increasing our understanding of dose-response relationships between exercise parameters (e.g., intensity, duration) and cognitive outcomes. I present empirical evidence relative to each of these questions and provide directions for future research on physical activity and cognitive functioning.

scholarly journals COGNITIVE AND HEARING IMPAIRMENTS IN OLDER ADULTS: EVIDENCE FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S77-S77
Author(s):  
Jessica S West ◽  
Scott Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Impairments ◽  
Hearing Impairments ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Retirement Study ◽  
Over Time

Abstract As the number of older adults increases, increased prevalence of cognitive and sensory impairments pose growing public health challenges. Research on the relationship between hearing impairment and cognition, however, is minimal and has yielded mixed results, with some studies finding that hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, and others reporting that the association is weak or non-existent. Most of this research has been conducted outside of the U.S., and the few U.S.-based longitudinal studies have relied mostly on small, non-representative samples involving short follow-up periods. Further, despite known gendered patterns in cognitive and hearing impairments, no studies to date have examined whether the relationship between the two varies by gender. Our study addresses these weaknesses in the literature by utilizing nine waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2014; n=14,169), a large, nationally representative, longitudinal study that facilitates examination of long-term interrelationships between hearing and cognitive impairments. In this study, we use autoregressive latent trajectory (ALT) methods to model: 1) the relationship between hearing impairment and cognitive decline, and 2) sex differences in the relationship. ALT models enable us to determine whether hearing impairment and cognitive impairment are associated, net of their common tendency simply to co-trend with age. Results indicate that hearing and cognitive impairments are strongly interrelated processes that trend together over time. Moreover, hearing impairment has an increasing impact on cognitive impairment across age while the effect of cognitive impairment on hearing impairment levels out over time. Sex differences in these patterns are discussed.

scholarly journals DNA methylation and cognitive functioning in healthy older adults

2011 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 744-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga J. G. Schiepers ◽  
Martin P. J. van Boxtel ◽  
Renate H. M. de Groot ◽  
Jelle Jolles ◽  
Frans J. Kok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Folic Acid ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Global Dna Methylation ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Relationship

Long-term supplementation with folic acid may improve cognitive performance in older individuals. The relationship between folate status and cognitive performance might be mediated by changes in methylation capacity, as methylation reactions are important for normal functioning of the brain. Although aberrant DNA methylation has been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders, the relationship between DNA methylation status and non-pathological cognitive functioning in human subjects has not yet been investigated. The present study investigated the associations between global DNA methylation and key domains of cognitive functioning in healthy older adults. Global DNA methylation, defined as the percentage of methylated cytosine to total cytosine, was measured in leucocytes by liquid chromatography–MS/MS, in 215 men and women, aged 50–70 years, who participated in the Folic Acid and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (FACIT) study (clinical trial registration number NCT00110604). Cognitive performance was assessed by means of the Visual Verbal Word Learning Task, the Stroop Colour-Word Interference Test, the Concept Shifting Test, the Letter–Digit Substitution Test and the Verbal Fluency Test. Using hierarchical linear regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, level of education, alcohol consumption, smoking status, physical activity, erythrocyte folate concentration and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677 C → T genotype, we found that global DNA methylation was not related to cognitive performance on any of the domains measured. The present study results do not support the hypothesis that global DNA methylation, as measured in leucocytes, might be associated with cognitive functioning in healthy older individuals.

scholarly journals Sarcopenic Obesity and Cognitive Functioning: The Mediating Roles of Insulin Resistance and Inflammation?

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Levine ◽  
E. M. Crimmins
Keyword(s):  
Insulin Resistance ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Older Subjects ◽  
The Relationship

This study examined the influence of insulin resistance and inflammation on the association between body composition and cognitive performance in older adults, aged 60–69 and aged 70 and older. Subjects included 1127 adults from NHANES 1999–2002. Body composition was categorized based on measurements of muscle mass and waist circumference as sarcopenic nonobese, nonsarcopenic obese, sarcopenic obese, and normal. Using OLS regression models, our findings suggest body composition is not associated with cognitive functioning in adults ages 60–69; however, for adults aged 70 and over, sarcopenia and obesity, either independently or concurrently, were associated with worse cognitive functioning relative to non-sarcopenic non-obese older adults. Furthermore, insulin resistance accounted for a significant proportion of the relationship between cognitive performance and obesity, with or without sarcopenia. Additionally, although high CRP was significantly associated with poorer cognitive functioning in adults ages 60–69, it did not influence the association between body composition and cognitive performance. This study provides evidence that age-related physiological maladaptations, such as metabolic deregulation, which are associated with abdominal fat, may simultaneously contribute to lower cognition and muscle mass, reflecting a degradation of multiple physiological systems.

scholarly journals Cognitive outcomes in meningioma patients undergoing surgery: individual changes over time and predictors of late cognitive functioning

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 911-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie J M Rijnen ◽  
Ikram Meskal ◽  
Marjan Bakker ◽  
Wouter De Baene ◽  
Geert-Jan M Rutten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Cognitive Outcome ◽  
Normative Sample ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Preoperative Predictors ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Meningioma patients are known to face cognitive deficits before and after surgery. We examined individual changes in cognitive performance over time and identified preoperative predictors of cognitive functioning 12 months after surgery in a large sample of meningioma patients. Methods Patients underwent neuropsychological assessment (NPA) using CNS Vital Signs 1 day before (T0) and 3 (T3) and 12 (T12) months after surgery. Patients’ sociodemographically corrected scores on 7 cognitive domains were compared with performance of a normative sample using one-sample z tests and chi-square tests of independence. Reliable change indices with correction for practice effects were calculated for individual patients. Linear mixed effects models were used to identify preoperative predictors of performance at T12. Results At T0, 261 patients were assessed, and 229 and 82 patients were retested at T3 and T12, respectively. Patients showed impaired cognitive performance before and after surgery, and although performance improved on the group level, cognitive scores remained significantly lower than in the normative sample up to T12. On the individual level, performance remained stable in the majority of patients. Better preoperative performance, younger age, male sex, and higher educational level predicted better late cognitive performance. Conclusions Meningioma patients face serious and persistent pre- and postsurgical cognitive deficits. A preoperative NPA together with sociodemographic characteristics may provide valuable information on the late cognitive outcome of individual meningioma patients. These results can help to inform patients and clinicians on late cognitive outcomes at an early stage, and emphasizes the importance of presurgical NPA and timely cognitive rehabilitation.

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