Neuropsychology最新文献

Objectives: The Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) is a neuropsychological assessment for dementia that is used to derive national dementia prevalence estimates through a substudy of the Health and Retirement Study. We aimed to evaluate the degree of measurement invariance of the HCAP across Hispanic/Latino-a-e-x (H/L) and non-H/L white (NHW) older adults in the United Study.

Method: We combined HCAP data from two large cohort studies. We used multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate measurement invariance across H/L adults assessed in English (n = 259), H/L adults assessed in Spanish (n = 236), and NHW adults assessed in English (n = 2,462).

Results: We observed measurement differences in the HCAP across H/L and NHW older adults for the memory, language, executive functioning, and orientation, but not visuospatial, domains. Effect sizes for measurement differences in HCAP items ranged from small to large. Not accounting for measurement differences led to meaningful underestimation of cognitive function ranging from 5% (language domain) to 82% (executive functioning domain) of H/L individuals assessed in English and 11% (memory domain) to 96% (executive functioning domain) of H/L individuals assessed in Spanish.

Conclusions: The interpretation of ethnic differences in cognitive function with the HCAP may be confounded with measurement differences. Measurement equivalence in cognitive assessment instruments across H/L and NHW populations cannot be assumed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives: Reward motivation refers to the willingness to expend effort in pursuit of reward, which is believed to be affected by reward magnitude, effort level, and subjective value, but its neural basis remains unclear. The present study aims to identify brain regions associated with reward magnitude, effort level, and subjective value in healthy people.

Method: We performed an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Moreover, we conducted meta-analytic connectivity modeling to examine the coactivation patterns associated with these regions.

Results: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and eligibility criteria, we included 33 task-based functional imaging studies with effort-based reward tasks. The activation likelihood estimation and meta-analytic connectivity modeling meta-analyses found that increased reward magnitude primarily elicited activation in the caudate head and putamen, with coactivation observed in the claustrum, insula, dorsal thalamus, and midbrain red nucleus. Moreover, elevated effort level predominantly engaged the medial frontal gyrus, showing coactivation with the insula and inferior frontal gyrus. Enhanced subjective value was chiefly associated with caudate head activation, coactivated with the thalamus, parahippocampal gyrus, and insula.

Conclusion: Our findings provided a framework delineating the integrated insula-frontostriatal-thalamus network for the reward valuation system in healthy people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Residential segregation has been linked to better everyday functioning levels, but faster rates of decline. There is a need to understand whether individual psychosocial factors may explain these mixed effects. Locus of control (LOC) is a psychosocial factor reflecting perceptions of control over life's outcomes that has been linked to health outcomes and may shape how individuals respond to their environments. Therefore, we examined whether LOC moderated the effects of segregation on everyday functioning.

Method: Participants were 672 Black older adults from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study. Baseline addresses characterized tract segregation with dissimilarity and interaction indices. Baseline levels of internal and external LOC were measured with the Personality in Intellectual Aging Contexts Inventory. Everyday functioning was assessed with the Observed Tasks of Daily Living at baseline and across a 10-year follow period.

Results: Latent growth curve models revealed that internal (B = .607, p = .033) and external LOC (B = -.448, p = .002) significantly moderated segregation effects. Higher internal LOC strengthened the positive association between segregation and average everyday functioning levels while there were no significant effects among those with lower internal LOC. Higher external LOC nullified segregation effects, but those with lower external LOC exhibited a positive association between segregation and everyday functioning levels. LOC did not moderate segregation effects on linear or quadratic declines in everyday functioning.

Conclusions: Psychosocial factors influence the effects of residential segregation on everyday functioning and may be an important point of intervention as we continue to address inequitable environmental conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The present study examined aging and testing-language effects on verbal list learning in young adult and older deaf bilinguals of American Sign Language (ASL) and written English. It is not known which language maximizes free recall, and no list learning task has been widely adopted for testing this population.

Method: Thirty-two younger (aged 20-45) and 32 older (aged 64-84) deaf ASL-English bilinguals completed list memory tests in each language. Participants were shown videos of 10 ASL signs and 10 written English words one at a time for immediate recall across three learning trials and a delayed recall trial, with language of testing counterbalanced.

Results: Younger participants showed no effect of language on recall, recalled more items than older participants in both languages, and had higher primacy scores on Trial 1. Older participants showed better learning when tested in English but higher rates of forgetting compared to when they were tested in ASL (a robust interaction between language and group with a medium-to-large effect size, η_p² = 0.11). Both young and older participants forgot more items in whichever language was tested second. Though most deaf participants reported being more proficient in ASL, an equal number of deaf participants recalled more English than ASL list items as vice versa (i.e., more ASL items than English items).

Conclusions: Use of both ASL and English lists maximizes different aspects of memory performance in older deaf participants, with English benefitting learning and ASL minimizing forgetting. However, a complete characterization of memory requires testing in both languages. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Despite endometriosis impacting at least 10% of women globally, with most self-reporting chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and cognitive difficulties, research reporting on objective cognitive disruptions remains extremely limited, although recent research has identified brain alterations in women with endometriosis that could cause cognitive difficulties. To address this gap, the current research profiled objective cognitive and neuroelectrophysiological distinctions in women with endometriosis, with consideration of CPP status.

Method: We measured cognitive performance via a diverse battery and electroencephalography (P300) in three groups of women: endometriosis with CPP (n = 22), endometriosis without CPP (n = 13), and healthy controls (n = 42). Pain ratings and psychological measures were analyzed as potential moderators of group differences.

Results: Relative to controls, women with endometriosis-associated CPP exhibited significant moderate-to-large difficulties across multiple cognitive domains. In contrast, women with endometriosis without CPP exhibited fairly large significant difficulties only for verbal short-term memory. Pain factors and affective symptomatology emerged as moderators of cognitive performance differences. Regarding electroencephalography, we identified in the parietal planes of women with endometriosis-associated CPP moderately smaller P300 amplitudes, particularly P3b component amplitudes, aligning with previous reports, and pain and affective factors emerged as moderators of group differences.

Conclusions: The behavioral results provide seminal evidence of objective cognitive difficulties in women with endometriosis, particularly those experiencing CPP, who also exhibited reduced P300 amplitudes. The data implicated pain and affective factors as drivers of these differences. These findings warrant consideration in clinical contexts and future research focused on developing targeted interventions for cognitive rehabilitation in endometriosis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Emerging literature suggests later life adversity increases susceptibility to cognitive disorders, whereas structural support (defined here as social networks/contacts) and life satisfaction benefit cognitive health. However, evidence for these associations remains limited in low- and middle-income countries. To address this gap, the present study examined the associations of later life adverse (recent stressful events, neighborhood disadvantages, and multimorbidity) and favorable (structural support and life satisfaction) factors with cognitive outcomes in Brazil.

Method: This population-based study utilized a nationally representative sample of 6,564 adults aged 50 and over, drawn from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging. Survey-weighted generalized linear models characterized the association of each relevant factor with cognitive performance, assessed through a global composite score derived from performance on tasks designed to measure temporal orientation, immediate and delayed memory recall, semantic fluency, and prospective memory. Two-way interaction models tested whether sex, race, or household income extreme quintiles modified significant associations.

Results: In the multivariable model, greater structural support (0.030, 95% CI [0.021, 0.040]) and life satisfaction (0.014, 95% CI [0.008, 0.019]) were strongly associated with better cognitive function, independent of demographic characteristics and the adverse factors investigated. Notably, the protective association of structural support on cognition was twice as strong among individuals self-identified as Black/Brown (0.039, 95% CI [0.025, 0.052]) compared to White participants (0.019, 95% CI [0.007, 0.032]) and over 2.5 times stronger for individuals in the lowest household income quintile (0.048, 95% CI [0.028, 0.069]) relative to those in the highest quintile (0.018, 95% CI [0.000, 0.035]). Among adverse experiences, only recent severe illness (-0.057, 95% CI [-0.090, -0.023]) was significantly associated with poorer cognition, potentially reflecting a combination of biological and psychosocial mechanisms.

Conclusions: Public health initiatives should prioritize building community-based support structures and endeavor to target Black/Brown and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities while addressing factors that contribute to life satisfaction in later adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Previous research suggested that Recognition Memory Test-Words (RMT-W) scores may be confounded by gender and handedness. This study was designed to examine its classification accuracy as a performance validity test (PVT) and susceptibility to demographic characteristics.

Method: Archival data were collected from a consecutive sequence of 310 diagnostically heterogeneous examinees (181 men; M_Age = 41.4; M_Education = 12.9). The RMT-W's classification accuracy was computed against psychometrically operationalized criterion groups.

Results: Optimal RMT-W cutoffs (≤ 42 to ≤ 40) produced a good combination of sensitivity (.62-.70) and specificity (.90-.96), correctly classifying 85.6%-87.7% of the sample. Women scored 1.5 points higher. RMT-W scores were unrelated to handedness but were correlated with education. A linear relationship emerged between level of education and the cutoff needed to achieve ≥ .90 specificity: ≤ 43 for ≥ 13 years of education, ≤ 41 for 12 years of education, and ≤ 39 for ≤ 11 years of education. RMT-W ≤ 45 had .91 specificity in women with postsecondary education.

Conclusions: Results suggest that overall, the RMT-W remains an effective free-standing PVT. Gender, age, and handedness in isolation had minimal impact on RMT-W scores. However, education had a clinically significant effect. The combined effect of gender and education produced a marked shift in classification accuracy. Systematic research is needed on the relationship between demographics and PVT outcomes to ensure that cutoffs have the same clinical interpretation regardless of patient variables. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

In this editorial, the author states that editors do not assume ownership of a journal; they merely look after it for the next generation. The incoming associate editors and the author are grateful to the American Psychological Association (APA) for entrusting them to look after Neuropsychology for the next generation of clinicians and scientists. They recognize the many serious challenges that today's scientists are facing in public perception, funding, and policy. Building upon the journal's strong, 39-year foundation of scientific excellence and outstanding leadership, they aspire to leverage the journal's rigorous editorial processes, tremendous resources, and international reach for the betterment of society, scientists, and the communities of people with conditions that affect the central nervous system. In this editorial, they provide a brief history of Neuropsychology to help us plot a course for the next 5 years. From their vantage point, Neuropsychology's future is data-driven, transparent, inclusive, and community-oriented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition characterized by white and gray matter decline that leads to slower motor function and cognitive impairment. Although language remains relatively intact, individuals with MS often have word retrieval difficulties. Previous research suggests that these difficulties may be related to vocabulary, the number of words an individual knows, and other semantic aspects of language. However, few studies have examined phonological aspects of speech.

Method: We examined speech in 89 individuals with MS and 88 age-matched neurotypical adults using a phonemic verbal fluency task. We took a network science approach, building a phonological network from participants' responses and their close phonological neighbors. We then examined the local network characteristics (degree, clustering coefficient) of participants' responses to assess whether responses differed between the groups.

Results: Although individuals with MS produced fewer responses during the task, the network characteristics of their responses were similar to neurotypical adults, the control group. Moreover, lexical characteristics such as word length and lexical frequency were also similar between groups (model R² values < 1%). Finally, a forward flow analysis, which quantifies the phonological similarity between adjacent responses and provides a metric of how people search phonemic space, did not differ between groups.

Conclusions: Overall, these results suggest that phonological aspects of speech remain stable in individuals with MS. Word retrieval difficulties in MS may arise from neurological changes in semantic processes, in combination with other cognitive abilities such as speed of processing and executive function, which are common in MS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Moral cognition has been insufficiently studied in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This study investigated moral decision making and judgment using ecologically valid moral dilemmas in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and progressive MS phenotypes, exploring associations with clinical and psychological variables.

Method: Twenty-one individuals with relapsing-remitting MS and 21 with progressive MS completed a battery of moral dilemmas (instrumental, incidental, and ecological) and questionnaires assessing quality of life, mood, alexithymia, and empathy. Data from pwMS were compared to those of 56 age- and education-matched healthy controls. Group differences were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests, and effect sizes (r) were reported.

Results: Compared to healthy controls, pwMS showed significantly higher moral acceptability in instrumental (U = 633.0, p = .001, r = 0.39), incidental (U = 745.5, p = .035, r = 0.23), and ecological dilemmas (U = 563.0, p < .001, r = 0.44). Moral permissiveness was positively correlated with disability (Expanded Disability Status Scale: ρ = 0.36, p = .019) and negatively with physical quality of life (Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-Physical: ρ = -0.33, p = .034) and inhibitory control (Stroop Test: ρ = 0.47, p = .002). Empathy scores were inversely correlated with moral acceptability across all dilemmas (p < .05).

Conclusions: PwMS exhibit increased moral permissiveness, particularly in relation to clinical disability, physical functioning, and executive control. These findings contribute to characterizing the sociocognitive profile of MS and support the inclusion of moral cognition in future research, though implications for patient care remain preliminary. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).