Neuropsychology最新文献

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).

Objective: Remote assessment of episodic memory would be a cost-effective alternative to in-person visits for early detection of memory impairment related to Alzheimer's disease (AD), but there is a need for test development and studies in population-based samples. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and correlates of a novel three-trial administration of 10-word list learning included in the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status in a population-based study of 65- to 96-year-old individuals.

Method: A total of 800 participants completed telephone-administered word list learning task that yielded immediate and delayed recall measures. We compared these to corresponding measures from in-person neuropsychological assessment and tested differences between cognitively normal individuals and those with cognitive impairment or neurodegenerative disease. Furthermore, we studied the associations of age, sex, education, and genetic risk of AD with telephone-administered memory measures.

Results: Telephone-administered three-trial word list learning task yielded normally distributed immediate and delayed recall measures that performed like corresponding measures from in-person assessment. Having cognitive impairment or AD-but not genetic risk of AD-were related to poorer memory performance. Younger age, being female, and having secondary education were related to better memory performance.

Conclusion: Our study supports the validity of telephone-administered word list task with multiple learning trials. Remote assessment of memory can be used as an alternative to inviting people to in-person assessment and is also easily accessible for people living in remote areas and for those with physical disabilities or during restrictions related to in-person contact. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Familial longevity, educational attainment, and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities are independently protective for cognitive aging, yet little is known about how these factors relate with one another. We explored the interplay between familial longevity, life exposures that confer cognitive resilience, and cognitive function in the Long Life Family Study.

Method: A series of Bayesian hierarchical regression models was used to examine the associations among familial longevity, educational attainment, participation in cognitively stimulating activities, and neuropsychological test performance in several cognitive domains in an ancillary observational study of Long Life Family Study family members and a referent cohort (N = 314, M = 75.7, SD = 14.6 years). Models were adjusted by age, sex, and upstream variables along the regression pathway (i.e., cognitive activity, education, and familial longevity), and incorporated a random intercept for family relatedness.

Results: Referents had greater engagement in cognitive activities, and in turn, those with higher levels of education and cognitive activity exhibited better neuropsychological performance. Greater cognitive activity was specifically associated with better executive functioning, episodic memory, and language scores. Although Long Life Family Study family members engaged in cognitive activities less often than referents, they performed better on tests of episodic memory, and matched performance on tests of executive function, language, and visuoconstruction.

Conclusions: These results suggest that familial longevity and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities represent two distinct pathways that contribute to preserved cognition in older adulthood, though these findings should be replicated in more diverse samples. Furthermore, these unique pathways differ across tests and cognitive domains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This article aimed to examine the psychometric properties of a measure of youth fear-avoidance of concussive symptoms.

Method: Fear-avoidance is thought to be a risk factor for prolonged concussion recovery; however, current measures of fear-avoidance focus on pain rather than broader symptoms. We adapted the Fear of Pain Questionnaire to be relevant to concussion symptoms with a new version called the Fear of Concussive Symptoms Questionnaire (FOCSQ). We assessed the psychometrics of this scale with a sample of N = 115 youth with persistent postconcussive symptoms (M_age = 15.1 years, 58% female, 70% non-Hispanic White, 15% Hispanic, M = 79.2 days since injury), including reliability, construct validity, and cross-informant reliability.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis suggested a two-factor model was a good fit for youth report (fear and avoidance) and a three-factor model for parent proxy (fear, school/social avoidance, and movement avoidance). Reliability was excellent, with Cronbach's α for both youth report and parent proxy of 0.93 (95% CI [0.91, 0.95]). Construct validity indicated moderate correlation between youth-report FOCSQ and concussive symptoms 0.55 (95% CI [0.41, 0.66]), headache severity 0.37 (95% CI [0.19, 0.53]), depression 0.62 (95% CI [0.49, 0.72]), and anxiety 0.64 (95% CI [0.51, 0.73]). Criterion-related validity was supported by an inverse correlation between FOCSQ and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory: -0.64 (95% CI [-0.74, -0.52]). Youth report and parent proxy were moderately correlated, with Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.60 (95% CI [0.47, 0.71]).

Conclusions: The FOCSQ is a reliable and valid measure of fear-avoidance in youth with concussion, and future research might explore whether this measure could be used to identify youth at risk for prolonged recovery. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Declines in everyday cognitive functioning are a common occurrence in late life. The present study sought to understand how informant-rated everyday cognitive abilities related to memory, language, spatial skills, planning, organization, and divided attention-as measured by the Everyday Cognition (ECog) scale-change over time in a diverse sample of older adults.

Method: Participants (N = 891) from the University of California Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center longitudinal cohort (M_age = 76.1, SD_age = 7.4) were followed for an average of 4.4 years with annual ECog assessments. Multilevel beta regression was used to model ECog scores as a function of time, cognitive domain, diagnosis change, and-in a neuroimaging subsample (N = 264)-cross-sectional and longitudinal total gray matter and hippocampus volume.

Results: ECog domains changed at different rates when modeled as a function of diagnosis change; differences in domain were most apparent in the stable mild cognitive impairment (MCI)-to-MCI and MCI-to-dementia conversion groups. By contrast, ECog domains changed at the same rate when modeled as a function of baseline gray matter volume and longitudinal gray matter volume change, corresponding to other research suggesting that cognitive domains change at relatively uniform rates over time. In separate models, total gray matter and hippocampus atrophy were salient predictors of ECog score changes. At baseline, hippocampus volume was the strongest predictor of ECog intercepts.

Conclusions: Although some caution is warranted interpreting score changes due to floor and ceiling effects, the ECog appears sensitive to underlying gray matter atrophy and change in clinical disease severity when used longitudinally. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Literature concerning the structural brain correlates of verbal memory in aging with multiple sclerosis (MS) is scarce. This study addressed this gap by examining the impact of white matter microstructure and macrostructure on verbal memory in older adults with and without MS.

Method: Participants were 64 older adults with MS (OAMS; age M [SD] = 64.19 [3.82]) and 72 controls (age M [SD] = 69.78 [6.99]). Verbal memory was measured using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), and white matter fractional anisotropy and lesion volume were extracted from diffusion tensor and fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery magnetic resonance imaging. Statistical models examined whether white matter measures moderated the association between the presence of MS and HVLT-R performance.

Results: Adjusted moderation models revealed that OAMS showed lower HVLT-R total immediate recall compared to controls in the presence of higher lesion volume in the bilateral fornices, left uncinate fasciculus, and right ventral cingulum, and lower HVLT-R delayed recall in the presence of lower fractional anisotropy in the right ventral cingulum and higher lesion volume in the left uncinate fasciculus and right ventral cingulum, with small effect sizes (interaction term ΔR²s = .03-.06, ps < .05).

Conclusions: Recall was lower in OAMS when limbic tract white matter had lower integrity and higher lesion load. Findings suggest that the influence of MS on verbal memory in older adults is related, in part, to underlying white matter disruptions in tracts implicated in memory. While the sample was generally representative of the U.S. MS population (majority White women), generalizability is limited and warrants further research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Neuropsychologists routinely use scores on traditional paper-and-pencil tests to assess capacity for independent functioning, with these assessments accounting for a moderate amount (20%-37%) of the variance in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) performance. The field is shifting toward incorporation of computerized neuropsychological assessments such as the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB). There have been no studies examining how the NIHTB-CB relates to IADL performance or whether it better predicts IADL performance compared to traditional methods.

Method: Data from 74 participants in the Lithium as a Treatment to Prevent Impairment of Cognition in Elders were analyzed. Participants completed a neuropsychological assessment battery, the NIHTB-CB, and measures of IADL capacity. Linear regression was used to determine whether NIHTB-CB performance predicted IADL performance. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to determine whether NIHTB-CB added incremental validity to the prediction of IADL performance.

Results: Select NIHTB-CB measures predicted IADL functioning as measured by a performance-based assessment of everyday functioning, but not self- or informant-reported everyday functioning. Of these subtests, two were found to add incremental validity to the prediction of IADL performance above and beyond their matched traditional measures, with effect sizes ranging from mild to moderate (FΔR² = .045-.077).

Conclusions: We found performance on individual NIHTB-CB subtests predicted approximately the same amount of variance in IADL functioning as traditional tests, with only subtests assessing processing speed and executive functioning adding a mild to moderate amount of additional variance above matched measures. It remains important for clinicians to consider additional determinants of functioning when using computerized assessments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The present study characterized how language dominance and language of testing affect word list learning in older bilinguals, using picture naming in the two languages as a continuous objective measure of bilingual proficiency level. No previous study examined language dominance effects on list learning in older bilinguals or provided detailed information about language dominance effects over multiple learning trials, even though these measures provide critical diagnostic information.

Method: Forty older Spanish-English bilinguals were tested on two 10-word lists in each language, with two learning trials for each list, and with language of testing order counterbalanced between participants.

Results: Bilinguals recalled fewer words in both primacy and recency regions in the nondominant than in the dominant language, especially on Trial 1 (language dominance effects were 8.5 times larger on Trial 1 than Trial 2, after adjusting proportionally for baseline recall). The extent of language dominance was significantly correlated across picture naming and list learning, but only on Trial 1. Finally, language dominance effects were proportionally weaker on list learning (even on Trial 1) than in picture naming.

Conclusions: List learning is a hybrid comprehension/production task that is less affected by bilingualism than pure production tasks. However, testing list learning in a nondominant language can distort assessment of memory, particularly on some critical measures. Use of an independent objective measure of language proficiency provides a more precise indication of the extent to which language dominance should affect list learning in older bilinguals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition that affects physical, cognitive, and emotional functions, significantly impacting quality of life (QoL) even in its early stages. Beyond the typical motor, sensory, visual, and brainstem disorders usually assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale, MS also impairs functional body representations and interoception, diminishing overall functioning and QoL. In this study, we aim to explore the relationships between functional body representations, interoceptive processes, and major clinical outcomes, including physical disability (Expanded Disability Status Scale), fatigue severity, and health-related QoL in people with MS.

Method: Fifty-nine people with MS were assessed with tasks assessing body representations, action-oriented and nonaction-oriented, and interoception.

Results: Action-oriented and nonaction-oriented body representation performance was significantly associated with fatigue severity (r = -.337 and r = .301, respectively; ps ≤ .021), suggesting that body representations are particularly vulnerable to perceived fatigue in MS. In addition, fatigue severity and bowel/vesical dysfunction were positively correlated with the tendency to overestimate one's own interoceptive capabilities (r = .335 and r = .311, respectively; ps ≤ .017), highlighting the role of MS-related disability in interoception.

Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of integrating assessments of body representation and interoception into clinical practice to guide therapeutic interventions aimed at improving people with MS outcomes and QoL. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).