Neuropsychology最新文献

Objective: Neuropsychological norms serve to identify cognitive impairment and monitor neurodegenerative disease progression. However, longitudinal data are limited, and conventional approaches do not account for biomarkers to exclude underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, reducing sensitivity to detect subtle cognitive decline in preclinical AD. To address these limitations, this research provides robust longitudinal neuropsychological norms derived from Spanish individuals with nonpathological levels of AD biomarkers.

Method: We analyzed 3-year follow-up data from 350 cognitively unimpaired individuals (Alzheimer's and Families+ cohort). A subset of 228 individuals with normal cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β42/40, phosphorylated-tau181, and total-tau biomarkers defined the robust reference group. Neuropsychological assessment encompassed the Trail Making Test, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, Memory Binding Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV, Wechsler Memory Scale-IV, Semantic Fluency Test, and Judgment of Line Orientation from the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status. Using the Reliable Change Index and Standardized Regression-Based methods, robust longitudinal neuropsychological norms were derived from the reference group. Validation analysis assessed the sensitivity of robust versus conventional normative procedures.

Results: Models, equations, percentiles, and cutoffs for identifying significant cognitive decline were provided. Robust norms showed modestly greater sensitivity in certain measures, particularly in episodic memory. The Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test: Total Free Delayed Recall showed the most notable result at the 5th percentile in Reliable Change Index (χ² = 16.06, p = 6.15E-05).

Conclusions: Robust longitudinal neuropsychological norms may improve the detection of subtle cognitive decline, modestly enhancing sensitivity at the lower ends of distributions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives: Crowding refers to the phenomenon whereby small visual objects above the acuity threshold are detected but unrecognizable when surrounded by nearby stimuli. It affects reading in healthy individuals and can be enhanced in reading impairments. By increasing the interletter space, crowding decreases. Previous evidence on patients with unilateral spatial neglect (USN) and peripheral dyslexia has shown a dissociation in sensitivity to spacing manipulation between those who mainly produced omissions and those characterized by substitutions in reading. Here, we wanted to verify the hypothesis that the reading impairment mainly characterized by substitutions is dissociated from USN, unlike the one characterized by omissions.

Method: In a retrospective study, we collected 38 right-brain-damaged patients, 21 with USN. We analyzed the number and types of errors in reading single words and pseudowords, spaced and unspaced, comparing patients with and without USN.

Results: USN patients showed significantly more omissions than patients without USN and increased omissions with letter spacing. Substitutions were more frequent in USN patients but did not increase with spacing. Performance of patients mainly characterized by substitutions revealed a reduction of errors with spaced pseudowords and a double dissociation from USN. Lesion overlap analysis suggested that the two deficits could depend on different components of visuospatial attention networks.

Conclusions: We claim that proper neglect dyslexia is characterized by omission errors and has USN as a necessary mechanism, even if not sufficient. Conversely, acquired crowding dyslexia is a different reading deficit, characterized by substitutions due to an enhanced crowding phenomenon, independent of USN. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Self-appraisal of cognitive performance, a potentially useful marker of brain functioning, is typically assessed at a single time point where tests are naïve to what constitutes "good" or "bad" performance. Here, we determine whether familiarizing individuals with self-appraisal with daily memory testing for 7 days provide a more accurate estimate of cognitive functioning and mood.

Method: Two hundred twenty-five participants (M_age ± SD: 74.1 ± 8.3 years; 66% female; median education 16.0 years) completed the online Boston Remote Assessment for NeuroCognitive Health, which included two associative memory tasks, for seven consecutive days. Each day, participants self-appraised their performance. At baseline, they completed various cognitive and mood measures. We computed Pearson's correlations between task performance and self-appraisal on Days 1 and 7 and used linear models to examine the relationship between self-appraisal scores and clinical measures.

Results: Accuracy (Day 1: 0.44 ± 0.12; Day 7: 0.81 ± 0.16) and self-appraisal (Day 1: 0.36 ± 0.15; Day 7: 0.70 ± 0.21) increased, as did the association between accuracy and self-appraisal, Day 1: correlation coefficient (r) = 0.22, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) [0.09, 0.34], p = .001; Day 7: r = 0.69, 95% CI [0.62, 0.76], p < .001. Self-appraisal scores on Day 7, but not Day 1, showed significant relationships with in-clinic measures.

Conclusions: Repeated remote cognitive assessments may help elucidate individuals' capacities to refine their self-perception of cognitive performance during multiday learning. The weak association between accuracy and test-naïve self-appraisal warrants caution about using this metric cross-sectionally. Experienced self-appraisal could be especially relevant at the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases when subtle learning difficulties emerge and could improve our capacity to detect early meta-cognitive changes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Many veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) report disruptions in cognition; however, the neurophysiological underpinnings of these cognitive difficulties are not well understood. It is also unknown whether PTSD symptomatology or past mTBIs uniquely impact functions important to adaptation such as cognitive control.

Method: We examined event-related potentials elicited by a flanker task to evaluate brain responses during conflict monitoring in a sample of 192 U.S. military veterans with combat-zone experience and exposure to explosive blasts. Clinical assessments characterized diagnoses as well as the severity of PTSD symptoms and mTBI so that we could parse overlapping syndromes and directly contrast effects of the two conditions.

Results: Across groups, participants performed worse on conflict trials (Incongruent distractors), particularly when preceded by a no-conflict (Congruent distractors) trial. We found that greater dysphoric PTSD symptomatology was related to a reduced early perceptual response (P1), while greater avoidance PTSD symptomatology predicted a larger early visual attention response (N1). Although late cognitive processes (N2, P3) were sensitive to cognitive control demands of the flanker task, posttraumatic symptomatology and mTBI severity were unrelated to them.

Conclusions: Results provide evidence that the Avoidance and Dysphoria domains of PTSD symptomatology may differentially relate to early neural functions of perception and visual attention rather than later cognitive responses. Rehabilitation and treatment of individuals with PTSD and mTBI may be most productive when focused on perceptual and attentional processing, which could improve cognitive control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Recent research has uncovered that mind wandering, as evaluated through a mind wandering questionnaire, is linked to heightened functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) and increased functional connectivity between the DMN and the frontoparietal control network (FPCN). However, limited research has focused on the association between mind wandering and resting-state network functional connectivity in relation to task demands.

Method: This study aimed to address this issue by collecting data on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging images and mind wandering during 0-back and 1-back tasks outside the scanner (N = 93). The study examined how resting-state functional connectivity within and between intrinsic brain networks (DMN, FPCN, and dorsal attention network) is associated with mind wandering during tasks of different cognitive loads.

Results: The results of the study revealed a significant positive correlation between mind wandering and resting-state within-network connectivity of the DMN in both tasks. Additionally, in the 0-back task, mind wandering exhibited a significant positive correlation with resting-state connectivity between the DMN and the FPCN. In the 1-back task, mind wandering demonstrated a significant positive correlation with resting-state connectivity between the DMN and the dorsal attention network.

Conclusions: These findings are consistent with previous findings and further suggest that the relationship between resting-state network functional connectivity and mind wandering is sensitive to task demands. They lend support to the context regulation hypothesis, suggesting that executive function may regulate mind wandering frequency based on situational demands. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Digital biomarkers can provide frequent, real-time monitoring of health-related behavior and could play an important role in the assessment of cognition in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). However, the validity and reliability of digital biomarkers as measures of cognitive function must first be determined.

Method: The Ignite cognitive app contains iPad-based measures of executive function, social cognition, and other domains affected in FTD. Here we describe the normative properties of the Ignite tests, evaluate associations with gold-standard neuropsychological tests, and investigate test-retest reliability through two healthy control studies. Over 2,000 cognitively normal adults aged 20-80 years were recruited to complete the Ignite app remotely. A separate cohort of 98 healthy controls completed Ignite at two timepoints (7 days apart), a pen and paper neuropsychology battery, and a User Experience Questionnaire.

Results: Significant associations were found between age and performance on several Ignite measures of processing speed (r = 0.42-0.56, p < .001) and executive function (r = 0.43-0.62, p < .001). With the exception of one test (Time Tap), the Ignite tests demonstrated moderate to excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC] = 0.54-0.92) and significant correlations with their pen and paper counterparts (r = 0.25-0.72, p < .05). The majority of participants (> 90%) rated the app favorably, stating it was enjoyable and easy to complete unsupervised.

Conclusions: These findings offer early support for the validity of the Ignite tests suggesting they measure the intended cognitive processes, capture a stable picture of performance over time, and are well accepted in healthy controls. This work supports the feasibility of administering the app remotely and its potential utility as a cognitive tool in FTD; however, validation is ongoing, and further work is required before Ignite can be used as an endpoint in clinical trials. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Although deficits in executive functions (EFs) have been shown to characterize individuals who exhibit externalizing behavior problems, few studies have differentiated between the influence of hot and cold EF on externalizing behavior. This study tests whether there is an interaction between performance on assessments of cold and hot EF in relation to externalizing behavior in a community sample of adolescents and adults.

Method: Analyses were conducted on 396 adolescents (M_age = 14.81 years) and 393 of their parents (M_age = 45.39 years). Cold and hot EFs were assessed in both groups using a battery of neuropsychological tests, alongside externalizing behavior in both adolescents and their parents using a variety of self-report and parent-report questionnaires.

Results: A significant Hot EF × Cold EF interaction was found in both samples, such that adolescents and adults with increased risk taking on a hot EF task, but higher cold EF scores exhibited lower levels of externalizing behavior. Adults with reduced performance on both hot and cold EF tasks exhibited the highest levels of externalizing behavior.

Conclusions: Both hot and cold EFs contribute to the propensity for externalizing behavior. Results show that in the presence of increased risky decision making, which is a domain of hot EF, higher cold EF acts as a protective factor against externalizing behavior. Notably, this is observed in both adolescents and adults. Findings point to the possibility of targeting deficits in cold EF in interventions to reduce externalizing behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: In this cross-sectional study in Zambia, we examined factors that influence cognitive performance in adults with clade C human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) infection who were on antiretroviral therapy.

Method: We examined if detectable HIV ribonucleic acid (RNA) in blood plasma, nadir CD4+ T-cell count before antiretroviral therapy, increase in CD4+ T-cell count during antiretroviral therapy, and having pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) influenced cognitive performance. We performed a multilinear regression in which the dependent variable was the global mean cognitive T-score, an overall composite score based on 16 neuropsychological tests that were adjusted for age, sex, and education using normative data from Zambian adults without HIV infection. The 16 tests were merged into seven cognitive domains: Executive Functions, Verbal Fluency, Attention/Working Memory, Learning (immediate recall), Memory (delayed recall), Motor Control, and Speed of Information Processing.

Results: When on antiretroviral therapy, a greater increase in CD4+ T-cells was significantly associated with a better global mean cognitive T-score (p = .002). Pulmonary TB was independently associated with worse performance (p = .008). Neither nadir CD4+ T-cell count nor plasma HIV RNA during antiretroviral therapy was associated with cognitive performance.

Conclusions: Accounting for CD4+ T-cell increase after antiretroviral therapy initiation and comorbid pulmonary TB may help explain cognitive outcomes in persons with HIV infection in endemic settings. We suggest that it is essential that those with a low CD4+ T-cell count increase the number of cells as early as possible. Our data suggest that this is important for their cognitive functioning. Future research should determine whether the deleterious effect of pulmonary TB resolves after completion of TB treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Although the hippocampus is critical for memory processes, recent studies have suggested that amnesic patients with hippocampal lesions can still acquire some types of memory by distributed learning rather than by massed learning. However, as these studies recruited patients with developmental amnesia, whether lesion onset influenced the spacing effect was unclear. In addition, the extent to which the prefrontal cortex (PFC) supports the spacing effect has not been explored.

Method: Patients with hippocampal lesions at early onset and late onset and PFC lesions were enrolled. The participants learned face-scene pairs under single learning (i.e., once in 1 day), massed learning (i.e., four times in 1 day), and distributed learning (i.e., four times in 2 days, twice per day). Then, they performed associative recognition tasks 20 min and 1 day later.

Results: The results showed that the spacing effect was significantly higher than baseline (d = 2.91) and comparable with the control groups for hippocampal lesions at early onset patients at 1 day. However, the spacing effect was significantly impaired for hippocampal lesions at late onset (d = -1.84) and PFC patients (d = -1.48) when compared with the normal groups. The repetition effect (massed vs. single learning) was significantly impaired for PFC patients at 20 min when compared with the controls (d = -1.15).

Conclusions: These findings clarified the roles of the hippocampus and PFC in distributed learning and repetitive learning and suggest that early-onset hippocampal damage induces a significant reorganization in the human brain to support memory formation and retention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Rats with visceral hypersensitivity often exhibit impaired decision-making abilities. Functional heartburn (FH) is a functional esophageal disease that belongs to the category of gut-brain interaction disorders, associated with visceral hypersensitivity. However, the decision-making ability of patients with FH remains unclear.

Method: We recruited 30 patients diagnosed with FH based on the Rome IV criteria and 30 healthy controls (HCs). All patients were evaluated using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale-17. Patients with FH also completed the gastroesophageal reflux disease and modified gastrointestinal symptom score questionnaires. We employed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Game of Dice Task (GDT) to evaluate decision making.

Results: In the IGT, patients with FH exhibited a lower total net score and made more unfavorable choices compared to healthy controls (HCs). Specifically, statistically significant differences were observed in the net scores of the last three blocks, the differences were of large effect sizes. In the GDT, patients with FH demonstrated a lower total net score, higher risk score, and lower utilization of negative feedback than the HCs, the differences were of middle-large effect sizes. Even after controlling for the effects of anxiety, depression, and the coexistence of functional dyspepsia, patients with FH exhibited lower net scores than HCs, in both the IGT and GDTs.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that patients with FH showed worse decision-making abilities than HCs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).