Developing a Persian Verbal Fluency Test and Comparing the Results Between Healthy Persian Speakers and Persian Speakers Patients With Alzheimer Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Objectives: Phonemic and semantic fluency tasks are used for verbal fluency (VF) evaluation. The present study aimed to select the most appropriate semantic categories and the most frequent phonemes of Persian as items for the VF test. Then, we determine the test results in differentiation between cognitively intact people and those with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer Disease (AD). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 people (60 cognitively intact, 30 with AD, and 30 with MCI) in two phases. In phase one, linguists determine the most frequent phonemes at the beginning of Persian words and the most frequent semantic categories based on a survey. In phase two, the verbal fluency test was administered to cognitively intact people and those with cognitive impairment (patients with AD and MCI). One-way ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used for statistical analysis. Results: The normal subjects scored significantly higher in all phonemic and semantic fluency tasks than the patients with AD and people with MCI (P<0.05). Regarding the phonemic VF task, the phonemes /sh/, /s/, and then /a/ were better in differentiating the MCI and AD groups from the normal group. Regarding the semantic VF task, the animals’ category was better differentiated the MCI and AD groups from the normal group. Discussion: Comparing frequent phonemes and semantic categories of Persian across three groups of normal, AD, and MCI showed that some phonemes and semantic categories can be more differentiating in the VF task. However, it is a preliminary validation study, and this topic needs more investigation in the future.

Towards Constructing an Integrated Model for the Cognitive System: Revisiting Semantic Networks

Towards Constructing an Integrated Model for the Cognitive System: Revisiting Semantic NetworksIntegrative approaches try to relate different constructs in different theories and reinterpret them within a common conceptual framework. In this paper, an integrative framework for cognitive constructs is modelled, proposed and evaluated, using the concept of processing levels. Cognitive processing is divided into feature-based, semantic, and conceptual levels, based on the volume of information used to represent a stimulus. To quantitatively evaluate the structure of this model, 47 participants with impaired valance systems were selected from psychological clinics in Mashhad according to the convenience sampling method. The functioning of the participants’ cognitive networks was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Semantic Distance Task, the Verbal Fluency Test, the Computerized Dot Probe, the Stroop Test, the Implicit Association Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The proposed structural model was formed by using tests scores as predictor variables and levels of processing as mediating variables. The research data were analysed through the PLS Structural Equation Model and the exploratory approach. The best fitted model with a normative fit index of 0.92 confirmed the three-level data clustering hypothesis. Path coefficients between feature-oriented and semantic levels and for semantic and conceptual levels obtained Φ = 0.38 and Φ = 0.46 respectively. In previous studies, interpretations of both the Implicit Association Test and the Verbal Fluency Test were controversial. Using the notion of processing levels, these variations have been reinterpreted. Konstruowanie zintegrowanego modelu systemu poznawczego:. Rewizja sieci semantycznychPodejścia integracyjne próbują powiązać różne konstrukty w różnych teoriach i zreinterpretować je we wspólnych ramach konceptualnych. W niniejszym artykule modelowane są i oceniane ramy integracyjne dla konstruktów kognitywnych z zastosowaniem koncepcji poziomów przetwarzania. Przetwarzanie poznawcze podzielone jest na poziomy: cechowy, semantyczny i konceptualny, w oparciu o ilość informacji wykorzystywanych do reprezentowania bodźca. Do ilościowej oceny struktury tego modelu wybrano 47 uczestników z zaburzonymi systemami walencyjnymi z poradni psychologicznych w Mashhad, zgodnie z metodą doboru próby losowej. Funkcjonowanie sieci poznawczych uczestników oceniano za pomocą II inwentarza depresji Becka, testu dystansu semantycznego, testu biegłości słownej, komputerowej sondy punktowej, testu Stroopa, testu asocjacji niejawnych oraz testu sortowania kart z Wisconsin. Zaproponowany model strukturalny został utworzony na podstawie wyników testów jako zmiennych predykcyjnych oraz poziomów przetwarzania jako zmiennych pośredniczących. Dane badawcze były analizowane za pomocą modelu równań strukturalnych PLS oraz podejścia eksploracyjnego. Najlepiej dopasowany model o normatywnym wskaźniku dopasowania 0,92 potwierdził hipotezę o trójpoziomowym grupowaniu danych. Współczynniki ścieżek pomiędzy poziomem zorientowanym na cechy a poziomem semantycznym oraz dla poziomu semantycznego i konceptualnego uzyskały odpowiednio Φ = 0,38 i Φ = 0,46. W poprzednich badaniach interpretacje zarówno testu asocjacji niejawnych, jak i testu biegłości słownej budziły kontrowersje. Wykorzystując pojęcie poziomów przetwarzania, dokonano reinterpretacji tych wariantów.

Neurological Impacts of Chronic Methylmercury Exposure in Munduruku Indigenous Adults: Somatosensory, Motor, and Cognitive Abnormalities

There has been increasing evidence about mercury (Hg) contamination in traditional populations from the Amazon Basin due to illegal gold mining. The most concerning health impact is neurotoxicity caused by Hg in its organic form: methylmercury (MeHg). However, the severity and extent of the neurotoxic effects resulting from chronic environmental exposure to MeHg are still unclear. We conducted a clinical-epidemiological study to evaluate the neurological impacts of chronic MeHg exposure in Munduruku indigenous people, focusing on somatosensory, motor, and cognitive abnormalities. All participants were subjected to a systemized neurological exam protocol, including Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB), verbal fluency test, and Stick Design Test. After the examination, hair samples were collected to determine MeHg levels. Data collection took place between 29 October and 9 November 2019, in three villages (Sawré Muybu, Poxo Muybu, and Sawré Aboy) from Sawré Muybu Indigenous Land, Southwest of Pará state. One hundred and ten individuals >12 years old were included, 58 of which were men (52.7%), with an average age of 27.6 years (range from 12 to 72). Participants’ median MeHg level was 7.4 µg/g (average: 8.7; S.D: 4.5; range: 2.0–22.8). In Sawré Aboy village, the median MeHg level was higher (12.5 µg/g) than in the others, showing a significant statistical exposure gradient (Kruskal–Wallis test with p-value < 0.001). Cerebellar ataxia was observed in two participants with MeHg levels of 11.68 and 15.68 µg/g. Individuals with MeHg exposure level ≥10 µg/g presented around two-fold higher chances of cognitive deficits (RP: 2.2; CI 95%: 1.13–4.26) in BCSB, and in the verbal fluency test (RP: 2.0; CI 95%: 1.18–3.35). Furthermore, adolescents of 12 to 19 years presented three-fold higher chances of verbal development deficits, according to the fluency test (RP: 3.2; CI 95%: 1.06–9.42), than individuals of 20 to 24 years. The worsened motor and cognitive functions are suggestive of neurotoxicity due to chronic MeHg exposure. In conclusion, we believe monitoring and follow-up measures are necessary for chronic mercury exposed vulnerable people, and a basic care protocol should be established for contaminated people in the Brazilian Unified Health System.

Cognitive symptoms associated with antipsychotic course experience in residual schizophrenia

Urgency. The cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia are recognized either as a part of a negative complex of symptomatic, where cognitive malfunction seem to be the secondary complication of emotional and motivational dysregulation; or as a separate group of schizophrenia manifestations that constitutes a massive part of a residual condition. Aim – to evaluate the cognitive functioning and analyze its violation levels in association with antipsychotic course experience in patients with residual schizophrenia. Results. The assessment of cognitive functions was established by direct testing in clinical setting. Education in years varied from 9 to 16, mean 11,27±2,12 in the population under study. The basic level of cognitive impairment was established: verbal memory test result was 31,6±11,6; digit sequencing test result was 13,4±5,7; token motor task test result was 40,1±18,3; verbal fluency test result was 41,2±10,7; symbol coding test result was 30,6±13,1; tower of london test result was 12,2±4,5. Some correlations were found: for chlorpromazine we can assume minor negative impact on token motor task (r= -0,22) and verbal fluency test (r= -0,27) results; for haloperidol we can assume more pronounced but still minor impact on token motor task (r= -0,22), verbal fluency test (r= -0,27), verbal memory test (r= -0,28) and tower of London test (r= -0,20) results; for trifluoperazine we can see minor negative impact on verbal fluency test (r= -0,26); for clozapine we can’t find any representative correlations with cognitive tests; chlorprothixene as we can assume have minor negative impact on verbal memory test (r= -0,32) result, but minor positive – on tower of London test (r= 0,21) result; for risperidone also assume minor positive impact on sequence coding test (r= 0,25), but other tests in battery show no significant correlations; for zuclopenthixol we can assume minor negative impact on token motor task (r= -0,22) and verbal fluency test (r= -0,31) results.

Cognitive impairment and physical frailty in older adults in secondary health care

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the association between cognitive impairment and physical frailty in older adults in secondary health care. Method: This is a cross-sectional study carried out with people aged ≥ 60 years, assisted at a geriatric and gerontology outpatient clinic. For cognitive screening, the Mini Mental State Examination, the semantic verbal fluency test, and frailty assessment using the physical frailty phenotype were used. The likelihood ratio test was applied to the predictive model. Results: 407 older adults participated in the study. Cognitive impairment was observed in 58.5% (n=238) of the sample, being higher in frail (n=66; 75%). A change in the semantic verbal fluency test was identified in 22% (n=90), with a higher prevalence in pre-frail patients (55.5%; n=226). It was identified 2.5 times more chance of a frail older person, when compared to a non-frail one, to have cognitive impairment (95% CI, +0.947 - 0.322). The chance for alteration in the semantic verbal fluency test was 5.4 times higher in frail compared to non-frail ones (95% CI, 1.68 - 0.38). Conclusion: A relationship was observed between cognitive impairment and physical frailty. Screening for frailty in geriatric nursing practice and the implementation of specific care is recommended.

Evaluation of adult and elderly performance in MoCA and verbal fluency test in Recife-PE

Background: Considering the increase in life expectancy, the use of screening tests contributes to the detection of cognitive decline. However, different socioeconomic conditions can influence the performance of individuals. Objectives: To compare the performance of participants in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), assessing the influence of schooling on the score. Design and setting: Cross-sectional, descriptive study, with 21 participants without cognitive complaints, between January and April 2021, in Recife, Pernambuco. Methods: Data were analyzed through SPSS software, Shapiro-Wilk test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC). Results: In all, 21 MoCA tests were applied (Average score: 19.8 points; SD = ± 4.3). The population has a mean age of 56.2 years (SD = ± 10.2), education of 11.8 years (SD = ± 3.5), and a predominance of females (93.5%). In the VFT, the total average performance resulted in 11.5 words (SD = ± 5.1), the first interval, 6.1 (SD = ± 2.5), the second, 2.8 (SD = ± 1, 9) and the third, 2.1 (SD = ± 2.1). There was a correlation between the performance in MoCA and VFT (PCC = 0.717; P = 0.01), and between performance and years of schooling (MoCA: PCC = 0.688; P = 0.01 vs VFT: PCC = 0.489; P = 0.02). Conclusions: Both tools were correlated with the participant’s level of education. However, VFT obtained a lower correlation