Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology最新文献

Introduction: PTSD is among the most commonly diagnosed mental health conditions in the military and veteran populations. Shura et al. (2023) and Schroeder and Bieu (2024) developed three symptom validity indices for the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) examining overreported PTSD symptomatology in veteran populations. The current study aimed to cross-validate these SVTs in an active-duty United States military sample.

Methods: The sample consisted of multiple criterion groups comprised active-duty service members (N = 165). Criterion for valid or invalid responses were based on Personality Assessment Inventory symptom validity scales. The three PCL-5 symptom validity indices included PCL-5 Symptom Severity (PSS), PCL-5 Extreme Symptom (PES), and PCL-5 Rare Items (PRI).

Results: Areas under the curve ranged from .73 to .76 for valid full sample group versus invalid group, which met classification accuracy goals. Optimal cutoff scores were identified for each scale (PES ≥ 16, PSS ≥ 59, PRI ≥ 3) with corresponding sensitivities of PSS = 0.50, PES = 0.40, and PRI = 0.20 with specificity ≥0.90.

Conclusion: These findings provide support for the cross-validation of all three embedded symptom validity indices at the identified cutoff scores as PCL-5 over-report measures within an active-duty sample. The PSS and PES demonstrated superior classification statistics, as the PRI was hampered by lower sensitivity.

Introduction: Adolescence is a developmental period where executive functions differentiate and mature. Prior research suggests that transdiagnostic processes - i.e. mechanisms that serve as risk or maintaining factors of psychopathology - negatively impact adolescent executive functioning both concurrently and over time. Understanding how these processes and executive functioning are assessed and interrelated can help neuropsychologists make more accurate diagnostic and treatment recommendations. This study aimed to identify concurrent and longitudinal correlates between adolescent executive functioning and transdiagnostic processes, including emotion regulation, affect, and Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) spectra (i.e. higher-order symptom domains like internalizing, externalizing, and somatic symptoms), using a multi-informant, multi-method design.

Methods: We assessed 100 adolescents using behavioral, self- and parent-reported measures of these transdiagnostic processes and executive functioning across two time points. Effect sizes of unadjusted, bivariate correlations were examined.

Results: Performance-based executive functioning did not correlate with self- or informant-reported executive functioning. Cross-informant agreement, however, was often evident for executive function tasks at small effects. While patterns of correlations generally differed across the assessment approaches and informants, negative affect and externalizing symptoms consistently showed small associations with concurrent executive functioning.

Conclusions: Affective demands (e.g. emotion regulation difficulties, internalizing symptoms, negative affect) were negatively associated with concurrent executive functioning, suggesting that such burdens may compromise adolescents' performance on executive tasks. Clinicians are encouraged to evaluate internalizing symptoms contemporaneously with executive function testing, and to attend carefully to adolescent - informant relationships and disclosure dynamics. Implications for multi-method, multi-informant approaches to adolescent assessment are discussed.

Introduction: Psychologists are increasingly called upon to make complex decisions affected by an individuals' effort, relying at least in part on performance validity testing. Because most measures of performance validity are cognitively-based, there is utility in exploring alternative assessment modalities. Recently, an accelerometer-based gait assessment has been validated for use with sports concussion outcomes. The current, preregistered study serves as an experimental proof of concept utilizing the same measure of gait to differentiate individuals instructed to simulate a mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) from those with a sports-related mTBI (concussion).

Methods: 106 uninjured simulators were compared to 75 individuals with sports-related clinical mTBI and 75 normal controls. All participants completed an accelerometer-based measure of gait known as the BioKinetoGraph (BKG) as a part of a larger battery designed to assess for concussion in athletes.

Results: Unique abnormalities in the gait domains of Stride (timing), Power, Balance, and Symmetry were observed among simulating participants compared to mTBI participants. Classification analysis yielded several variables with fair to acceptable discriminability, and a multiple variable model with discriminability at the high end of the acceptable range (AUC = 0.78).

Conclusions: Findings offer preliminary support for the ability of an automated gait-based measure to capture invalid performance and inform investigations regarding effort. These experimental findings represent a first step in exploring the potential clinical utility of the BKG as a measure of performance validity.

Background: Children with comorbid Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often show elevated autistic traits, yet contributing cognitive and behavioral factors remain underexplored. This study compared cognitive-behavioral profiles of ADHD-only and SLD+ADHD groups and identified key autistic trait predictors using a multi-informant approach.

Methods: The study included 150 children aged 8-12 years, equally divided into ADHD-only and SLD+ADHD groups. Assessments included the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) for autistic traits, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for emotional-behavioral problems, a teacher-rated SLD Symptom Checklist (SLD-SC), and a clinician-administered cognitive battery (SLD-Battery of Cognitive Skills [SLD-BC]).

Results: Controlling for ADHD medication, children with SLD+ADHD had significantly higher SRS scores (p < .001), greater impairments on SLD-SC and SLD-BC, and higher SDQ-impact scores (p = .046). Stepwise regression identified SLD diagnosis, SLD-SC motivation and hyperactivity, SLD-BC head test and motor skills, and SDQ peer problems and hyperactivity as significant predictors of SRS scores, explaining 48.0% of the variance (R² = .480, F(7, 142) = 18.703, p < .001).

Conclusion: Autistic traits in children with neurodevelopmental comorbidity are closely tied to motivational, executive, and sensorimotor deficits. Findings emphasize the need for integrated cognitive, behavioral, and teacher-reported evaluations to guide targeted interventions in complex developmental profiles.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the neurobehavioral differences in emotion regulation strategies between individuals with insomnia disorder (ID) and normal controls (NC) using electrophysiological (EEG) assessment, addressing the research gap in understanding how insomnia affects emotion regulation strategies.

Methods: Twenty-five individuals with subclinical insomnia disorder symptoms (ID group) and twenty-two normal controls (NC group) were recruited from local universities. Participants completed emotion regulation tasks using Neutral-View (NV) and Controlled Reappraisal (CR) strategies while undergoing EEG recording. Behavioral responses, EEG measures including frontal alpha asymmetry, Event-Related Potentials (ERPs), and frequency-domain analyses were collected and compared between groups.

Results: Behaviorally, the ID group showed longer response times when using NV versus CR strategy, while NC group showed no such difference. The ID group also reported lower arousal levels to emotional stimuli. Electrophysiologically, the ID group exhibited decreased frontal left-right alpha asymmetry and altered ERP components, including smaller N2, P2, and Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitudes, but larger P3 amplitudes compared to NC group. Time-Frequency analysis revealed that ID group demonstrated greater theta power overall and enhanced posterior alpha power specifically when using CR strategy for negative images. In contrast, NC group showed distinct anterior-posterior beta power differences during NV strategy that were absent in ID group. Importantly, alpha oscillations correlated significantly with behavioral performance in NC group but not in ID group, suggesting altered brain-behavior coupling in insomnia.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that individuals with insomnia demonstrate distinct behavioral responses to top-down emotion regulation. The observed alterations in neural response patterns may serve as contributors to the persistence of both insomnia and associated emotional dysregulation.

Objective: This study expands on the Montefiore Einstein Robust Geriatric (MERGER) norms by providing normative data for two word reading tests (WTAR, AMNART). We also developed regression-based prediction formulas for these tests using demographics and a novel measure of cognitive literacy engagement, establishing base rates for discrepancies between actual and predicted scores. Discrepancy base rates for global cognition, derived from regression-based norms using word reading and demographic factors, were also examined to support detection of cognitive decline.

Method: The MERGER sample included 420 community-dwelling older adults. Backward regression analyses predicted WTAR and AMNART scores. Base rates were calculated for discrepancies on the WTAR, AMNART, and the RBANS Global Cognition Index (GCI). One-way ANOVAs compared discrepancy scores across MERGER, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia groups. Clinically meaningful cutoffs were set at the 10% base rate, and ROC curves assessed diagnostic accuracy.

Results: Normative data for WTAR and AMNART are presented. Cognitive literacy engagement significantly predicted both WTAR and AMNART scores, explaining small but significant variance. Base rate tables for discrepancies in word reading and GCI are provided. Mean discrepancies in the MERGER sample between actual and predicted word reading scores were near zero. ANOVAs showed MERGER participants had significantly smaller negative discrepancies than the MCI and dementia groups. For MCI detection, WTAR and AMNART discrepancies showed low sensitivity (17-24%) at 90% specificity. In the dementia group, sensitivities were fair (24-29%), improving in a subgroup diagnosed at their initial study visit (30-40%) with acceptable diagnostic accuracy.

Conclusions: This study provides normative data and discrepancy base rates for word reading and global cognition, enhancing the clinical applicability of MERGER norms. These results support more precise interpretation of word reading abilities in older adults, aiding in the differentiation of typical versus atypical cognitive profiles and improving diagnostic confidence when evaluating potential cognitive decline.

The intricate role of sleep in sustaining critical physiological functions and preserving cognitive integrity is well-established. Inadequate sleep, whether in duration or quality, profoundly impairs fundamental cognitive functions, including memory consolidation, sustained attention, executive decision-making, and temporal perception. This study endeavors to explore the effects of short-term sleep restriction on subjective time perception employing both retrospective and prospective paradigms to unveil how acute sleep restriction reshapes temporal cognition in healthy adults. Following ethical approval, 31 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 35 years participated. The experimental protocol which included assessments conducted under two conditions: after four consecutive nights of regular sleep and following three nights of sleep restriction, during which participants' sleep duration was reduced by two hours per night. Subjective time perception was evaluated using both retrospective and prospective time generation tasks (RTP and PTP). To assess cognitive performance, participants completed the Stroop test, which measures selective attention and cognitive flexibility, and the Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III), a validated instrument for evaluating short-term and working memory functions. The RTP after sleep restriction showed a significant prolongation compared to regular sleep duration (20.2 ± 8.8 vs 26.6 ± 12.3 sec, respectively; ANOVA p < 0.001). Short-term and working memory performances decreased after sleep restriction (10.8 ± 1.9 vs 10.0 ± 2.1 sec and 12.3 ± 2.1 vs 11.4 ± 2.3 sec respectively; ANOVA p ≤ 0.001 for both). Even moderate sleep restriction (e.g. a two-hour reduction) disrupts temporal cognition and memory, underscoring the critical need for sufficient sleep to sustain optimal cognitive performance in high-demand scenarios.

Background: Children diagnosed with brain tumors are at risk to develop neurocognitive problems. Post-traumatic stress and sleep have been associated with poorer neurocognitive outcomes in the general population, and could be potential targets for intervention in brain tumor patients. Therefore, this study examined neurocognitive functioning in children newly diagnosed with a brain tumor and the associations between posttraumatic stress and sleep with neurocognitive outcomes.

Methods: Children 6-16 years old who were newly diagnosed with a brain tumor completed questionnaires on post-traumatic stress and sleep, actigraphy for sleep, and tests for neurocognitive outcomes. One-sample t-tests and chi-square tests were used to compare neurocognitive scores with age norms. Multivariable regression examined associations between post-traumatic stress, sleep, demographics, and medical factors associated with neurocognitive functioning.

Results: Of all eligible children, 60 patients with newly diagnosed brain tumors were included, at an average of 51 days after diagnosis (67% male, mean = 11.5 years at diagnosis). Compared to age norms, patients with brain tumors scored lower on measures of attention, inhibition, and verbal memory (meanZ = -0.40 to -0.98, p < .05). History of obstructive hydrocephalus was associated with poorer attention (p < .05) and processing speed (p < .05), posterior fossa tumor location was associated with poorer working memory (p < .01), and starting chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment before the assessment was associated with poorer verbal memory (p < .05). Post-traumatic stress and sleep were not associated with neurocognitive outcomes at this phase (p > .20).

Conclusion: A subgroup of children with newly diagnosed brain tumors shows deficits in neurocognitive functioning, which highlights the importance of early monitoring to identify children at-risk for problems. Hydrocephalus, posterior fossa tumor location, and starting treatment, but not post-traumatic stress and sleep, are associated with poorer neurocognitive performance at this phase. Longitudinal research will be important for identifying biopsychosocial factors that may be associated with cognition over time.

Objective: Stress is a known risk factor for adverse cognitive outcomes; however, it remains unclear whether race/ethnicity is a moderating factor in the stress-cognition connection. In addition, the mechanisms underlying the influence of stress on learning and memory is an area of growing research, particularly among Hispanic/Latino individuals. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between perceived stress, cardiometabolic risk, and learning and memory among matched Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White individuals.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from the MindCrowd longitudinal observational online study from Hispanic/Latino (n = 91) and age, sex, and education matched non-Hispanic White adults (n = 95). Participants completed the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale and an online measure of learning and memory, the paired associates learning task. Linear regression models were built to investigate the effects of perceived stress, cardiometabolic risk and race/ethnicity on paired associates learning scores. Mediation between perceived stress and paired associates learning through cardiometabolic risk was tested.

Results: We found an inverse association between perceived stress and PAL scores among both Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White groups (b = -.08, SE = .03, p = .007). The association between perceived stress and PAL scores was partially mediated by cardiometabolic risk (b = -.01, SE = .008, 95% CI [-.03, -.001]). The associations between perceived stress, cardiometabolic risk, and PAL scores did not differ by race/ethnicity (ps > .05). A mediation model moderated by race/ethnicity indicated no difference in the cardiometabolic risk mediation between perceived stress and PAL (b = .007, SE = .01, 95% CI  [-.02, .03]).

Conclusion: Perceived stress is a risk factor for poorer paired associates learning scores among Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White individuals. Cardiometabolic risk accounted for some of the association between perceived stress and paired associates learning performance. Further investigation is needed to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying stress-cognition associations among ethnically diverse samples.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging has shown that most brain regions involved in executive functions (EFs) exhibit abnormalities in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients - for example, decreased cortical thickness in these regions. However, EFs in FD patients have remained poorly understood. This study aimed to compare EFs between healthy controls (HCs) and FD patients and investigate the associations of EFs with clinical characteristics in FD patients. Forty-three FD patients meeting the Rome IV criteria and forty-three sex-, age-, and education level-matched HCs were included in the study. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to evaluate the participants' depression and anxiety. The Stroop color word test (SCWT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and digit span test (DST) were used to measure EFs. Disease duration, dyspepsia symptom severity, and Nepean Dyspepsia Life Quality Index (NDLQI) were collected from all patients. On the SCWT, FD patients had longer completion times on color-word cards (CWTs) and greater time interference scores (TIs) than HCs did. On the DST, FD patients had significantly lower forward digit span (DF) and backwards digit span (DB) scores than HCs did. On the WCST, the total errors, percentage (%) of nonperseverative errors and percentage of perseverative errors were significantly greater in FD patients than in HCs. The CWT of FD patients negatively correlated with the severity of early satiation (feeling overly full after eating a small amount of food) or postprandial fullness (excessive fullness felt in the abdomen after eating). Additionally, the percentage of nonperseverative errors was negatively correlated with the severity of early satiation. FD patients have lower EF scores than HCs. And the scores were correlated with disease duration or severity of certain specific dyspepsia symptoms.