Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology最新文献

Increased schizotypal traits have previously been associated with atypical semantic cognition in community samples. However, no study has yet examined whether adults diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) display atypical semantic fluency and memory. We hypothesized that 24 adults diagnosed with SPD would name more idiosyncratic words on the semantic fluency task and show decreased semantic recall for animal and fruit category words compared with 29 participants with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and a community sample of 96 age-matched controls. We examined whether atypical semantic cognition was specifically associated with disorganized and eccentric speech and thinking, or more broadly with pathological personality traits and personality functioning. Our main hypothesis was confirmed, as the SPD participants named more idiosyncratic words and recalled fewer semantically related words compared with controls. Surprisingly, participants with BPD likewise named more atypical words compared with controls. More idiosyncratic semantic fluency was associated with more eccentric speech and thinking. Increased idiosyncratic semantic fluency and reduced semantic recall were both coupled to increased detachment and lowered personality functioning, while reduced semantic recall further was related to increased interpersonal problems. Our findings suggest that persons with SPD, and to a lesser degree BPD, show atypical semantic cognition, which is associated with eccentric speech and thinking, and more broadly with impaired personality function, social withdrawal, and emotional flatness. The idiosyncratic semantic cognition may worsen difficulties with social reciprocity seen in SPD and BPD.

Introduction: Difficulties in executive functioning (EF) are common in PD; however, the relationship between subjective and objective EF is unclear. Understanding this relationship could help guide clinical EF assessment. This study examined the relationship between subjective self-reported EF (SEF) and objective EF (OEF) and predictors of SEF-OEF discrepancies in PD.

Method: One-hundred and sixteen non-demented PD participants completed measures of OEF (i.e. problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory) and SEF (Frontal Systems Behavior Scale-Self Executive Dysfunction Subscale). Pearson bivariate correlations and linear regressions were performed to examine the relationship between SEF and OEF and the non-motor symptoms (e.g. mood, fatigue), demographic, and PD characteristic (e.g. MCI status) predictors of discrepancies between OEF and SEF (|OEF minus SEF scores|). Correlates of under-, over-, and accurate-reporting were also explored.

Results: Greater SEF complaints and worse OEF were significantly associated (β =.200, p = .009) and 64% of participants accurately identified their level of OEF abilities. Fewer years of education and greater symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue significantly correlated with greater discrepancies between OEF and SEF. Fatigue was the best predictor of EF discrepancy in the overall sample (β = .281, p = .022). Exploratory analyses revealed apathy and fatigue associated with greater under-reporting, while anxiety associated with greater over-reporting.

Conclusions: SEF and OEF are significantly related in PD. Approximately 64% of non-demented persons with PD accurately reported their EF skill level, while 28% under-reported and 8% over-reported. SEF-OEF discrepancies were predicted by fatigue in the overall sample. Preliminary evidence suggests reduced apathy and fatigue symptoms relate to more under-reporting, while anxiety relates to greater over-reporting. Given the prevalence of these non-motor symptoms in PD, it is important to carefully consider them when assessing EF in PD.

Introduction: Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) is a widely used measure of frontal executive function and access to semantic memory. SVF scoring metrics include the number of unique words generated, perseverations, intrusions, semantic cluster size and switching between clusters, and scores vary depending on the language the test is administered in. In this paper, we review the existing normative data for Turkish, the main metrics used for scoring SVF data in Turkish, and the most frequently used categories.

Method: We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed papers using Medline, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and two Turkish databases, TR-Dizin and Yok-Tez. Included papers contained data on the SVF performance of healthy adult native speakers of Turkish, and reported the categories used. Versions of the SVF that required participants to alternate categories were excluded. We extracted and tabulated demographics, descriptions of groups, metrics used, categories used, and sources of normative data. Studies were assessed for level of detail in reporting findings.

Results: 1400 studies were retrieved. After deduplication, abstract, full text screening, and merging of theses with their published versions, 121 studies were included. 114 studies used the semantic category "animal", followed by first names (N = 14, 12%). All studies reported word count. More complex measures were rare (perseverations: N = 12, 10%, clustering and switching: N = 5, 4%). Four of seven normative studies reported only word count, two also measured perseverations, and one reported category violations and perseverations. Two normative studies were published in English.

Conclusions: There is a lack of normative Turkish SVF data with more complex metrics, such as clustering and switching, and a lack of normative data published in English. Given the size of the Turkish diaspora, normative SVF data should include monolingual and bilingual speakers. Limitations include a restriction to key English and Turkish databases.

Objective: Prior work has demonstrated that women have been historically underrepresented across various research fields, including neuropsychology. Given these disparities, the goal of this study was to systematically evaluate the inclusion of women as participants in neuropsychology research. The current study builds upon previous research by examining articles from eight peer-reviewed neuropsychology journals published in 2019.

Method: Empirical articles examining human samples were included in the current review if they were available in English. Eligible articles were examined to glean whether the main topic of the article was related to a gender issue, how gender was categorized, the gender distribution of the sample, whether gender was considered in analyses, whether gender was addressed in the discussion, and what age categories the study examined.

Results: There was a relatively even distribution of men (51.76%) and women (48.24%) in neuropsychological research studies reviewed. There were twice as many studies that included only men compared to only women (16 vs. 8 studies), and nearly twice as many studies consisted of ≥ 75% men (16.6%) compared to ≥75% of women (8.5%). Gender-focused research was limited (3%). Furthermore, gender was frequently disregarded in analyses (58%) and often not addressed in the discussion (75%).

Conclusions: The current study highlights the limitations within neuropsychology related to the representation of women in research. Although it is encouraging that neuropsychological research is generally inclusive of women participants, future research should aim to more comprehensively investigate how gender may influence cognitive risk and resilience factors across different clinical presentations. Recommendations to begin addressing this challenge and to move toward more gender-equitable research are provided.

Instruction: Children with a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) write linguistic material more slowly than children with typically developing (TD). However, it is not known whether the same difficulties are present when they write numbers. The goal of the present study was to fill this gap and to compare TD's and SLD's speed in writing numbers both in words and in digits.

Methods: Therefore, we examined the ability to write numbers in words and digits (numerals) in a sample of sixth- to eighth-grade children diagnosed with SLD. We assessed 32 children with SLD (17 males and 15 females) and a control group of students with TD matched for sex, age, and grade with two writing speed tasks: writing numbers in words and in digits. The two tasks were administered both in normal condition (N) and in articulatory suppression condition (AS).

Results: We found that 6th to 8th graders with a SLD were slower than TD children when writing numbers, both in words and in digits, and their slowness was similar in the two cases. However, when the tasks were carried out under a condition of articulatory suppression, the SLD group exhibited a conspicuous impairment, only when writing numbers in words. A similar pattern of performance was observed also in the case of writing errors.

Conclusion: We concluded that children with SLD have a general speed problem that may affect writing of different materials but also a specific problem related to the processing of phonological information during writing.

Background: Neglect can be a long-term consequence of chronic stroke that can impede an individual's ability to perform daily activities, but chronic and discrete forms can be difficult to detect. We developed and evaluated the "immersive virtual road-crossing task" (iVRoad) to identify and quantify discrete neglect symptoms in chronic stroke patients.

Method: The iVRoad task requires crossing virtual intersections and placing a letter in a mailbox placed either on the left or right. We tested three groups using the HTC Vive Pro Eye: (1) chronic right hemisphere stroke patients with (N = 20) and (2) without (N = 20) chronic left-sided neglect, and (3) age and gender-matched healthy controls (N = 20). We analyzed temporal parameters, errors, and head rotation to identify group-specific patterns, and applied questionnaires to measure self-assessed pedestrian behavior and usability.

Results: Overall, the task was well-tolerated by all participants with fewer cybersickness-induced symptoms after the VR exposure than before. Reaction time, left-sided errors, and lateral head movements for traffic from left most clearly distinguished between groups. Neglect patients committed more dangerous crossings, but their self-rated pedestrian behavior did not differ from that of stroke patients without neglect. This demonstrates their reduced awareness of the risks in everyday life and highlights the clinical relevance of the task.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a virtual road crossing task, such as iVRoad, has the potential to identify subtle symptoms of neglect by providing virtual scenarios that more closely resemble the demands and challenges of everyday life. iVRoad is an immersive, naturalistic virtual reality task that can measure clinically relevant behavioral variance and identify discrete neglect symptoms.