Neuropsychology最新文献

Objective: Objectively defined subtle cognitive decline (Obj-SCD) is an emerging classification that may identify individuals at risk for future decline and progression to Alzheimer's disease prior to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43), a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) marker of synaptic dysfunction, has been shown to relate to an increased risk of converting to dementia, although it is unclear whether GAP-43 alterations may be detected in pre-MCI stages. Therefore, in the present study, we examined CSF GAP-43 levels among individuals with Obj-SCD cross-sectionally and also examined whether baseline GAP-43 predicts future functional decline.

Method: Six hundred forty-four participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were divided into six groups based on (a) cognitive status (cognitively unimpaired [CU], Obj-SCD, or MCI) and (b) Aβ status (+ or -).

Results: The CU- group had lower baseline GAP-43 than all Aβ+ groups, but not the other Aβ- groups. Higher GAP-43 levels were associated with faster decline across the entire sample. When moderation by group was examined, higher GAP-43 at baseline predicted faster functional decline for the Obj-SCD+ and MCI+ groups, compared to the CU- group.

Conclusions: Results extend prior work investigating biomarker associations in Obj-SCD to GAP-43 and show that high baseline CSF GAP-43 is associated with a faster rate of functional decline in Aβ+ individuals who are classified as Obj-SCD or MCI. Importantly, our findings further demonstrate that CSF GAP-43 is associated with early and subtle cognitive changes detectable before the onset of MCI. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Reports an error in "Cardiovascular health and rate of cognitive decline in preclinical dementia: A 12-year population-based study" by Andreja Speh, Nicola Maria Payton, Milica G. Kramberger, Giulia Grande, Chengxuan Qiu, Bengt Winblad, Laura Fratiglioni, Lars Bäckman and Erika J. Laukka (Neuropsychology, 2024[Mar], Vol 38[3], 211-222). the following funding acknowledgment was missing from the author's note: "The authors acknowledge financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (Research Core Funding No. P5-0110)." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2024-52081-001.) Objective: We investigated whether vascular risk factors (VRFs), assessed with Life's Simple 7 (LS7), are associated with the rate of cognitive decline in the years preceding a dementia diagnosis.

Method: This study included 1,449 stroke-free participants aged ≥60 years from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, who underwent repeated neuropsychological testing (episodic memory, semantic memory, verbal fluency, perceptual speed) across 12 years. The LS7 score, assessed at baseline, included smoking, diet, physical activity, body mass index, plasma glucose, total cholesterol, and blood pressure. Preclinical dementia was defined as being dementia-free at baseline and diagnosed with dementia during follow-up. Level and change in cognitive performance as a function of LS7 category (poor vs. intermediate to optimal) and future dementia status were estimated using linear mixed-effect models.

Results: Participants who later developed dementia had, on average, a poorer LS7 score compared to those who remained dementia-free. For individuals aged 60-72 years, poor diet was associated with accelerated decline in perceptual speed (β = -0.05, 95% CI [-0.08, -0.02]), and a poor glucose score was associated with faster rates of verbal fluency (β = -0.019, 95% CI [-0.09, -0.01]) and global cognitive (β = -0.028, 95% CI [-0.06, 0.00]) decline in the preclinical dementia group.

Conclusions: VRFs exacerbate rate of cognitive decline in the years preceding a dementia diagnosis. This effect was most pronounced in young-old age and primarily driven by diet and glucose. The effect of VRFs may be especially detrimental for cognitive decline trajectories of individuals with impending dementia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Executive function (EF) is thought to be a core component of various cognitive processes. Two common ways to measure EF are through report-based measures that assess EF by collecting informant(s) reports on children's behaviors and performance-based measures that assess EF through the completion of a task related to EF dimension(s). However, most research reports low associations between these measures. The goal of this study was to determine the unique and overlapping contributions of a report- and a performance-based measure of EF on children's academic outcomes over time.

Method: The sample consisted of 1,152 children (636 boys, 516 girls) who were part of a large-scale preschool intervention study. Children completed measures of academic achievement in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, and they completed a performance-based measure of EF in kindergarten; teachers reported on children's EF during the fall of kindergarten. Structural growth modeling was utilized to determine the unique and shared contributions of EF measures on concurrent ability and growth of academic outcomes.

Results: Structural growth models indicated that the separate EF measures were both significant predictors of concurrent ability and growth of all academic outcomes, with one exception; the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task was not a significant predictor of growth in math skills.

Conclusions: Results of this study suggested that report- and performance-based measures of EF should not be used interchangeably, and these findings have implications for the utility of EF as a risk factor for poor academic achievement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Recent research has highlighted the potential of social information to mitigate age-related associative memory deficits, yet the influence of the self-reference effect remains a confounding factor. This study aimed to disentangle the effects of social information from self- or other-referencing on associative memory in young and older adults.

Method: A total of 25 young adults and 25 older adults participated in our study. Participants encoded object-scene pairs using self- or other-referencing with scenes containing varying levels of social information (high, low, or none).

Results: Results revealed that self-referencing improved recall for object-low social information pairs in both age groups, but older adults did not benefit similarly in object-no social information trials. For object-high social information pairs, other-referencing notably enhanced older adults' associative memory performance compared to self-referencing. This interaction was particularly evident in older adults with low executive function.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that tailoring encoding strategies based on the level of social information could potentially alleviate associative memory deficits, particularly in older adults with low executive function. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: An estimated 40% of patients experience cognitive impairment 3 months after a stroke. However, there is a lack of knowledge about cognitive improvement after stroke. This exploratory study aims to comprehend the prevalence and patterns of cognitive improvement within the initial 3 months poststroke.

Method: At 1 week and 3 months poststroke, 85 patients aged 40-79 years with supratentorial ischemic stroke and a Mini-Mental State Examination score ≥23 underwent neuropsychological testing of learning, recall, recognition, working memory, verbal fluency, naming, executive function, attention, and processing speed. A hierarchical cluster analysis based on Ward's method and squared Euclidean distance was performed on changes in tests over 3 months to identify homogeneous groups. The within-cluster and between-cluster differences in change were presented descriptively for each cognitive domain. Potential predictors for cluster belonging were compared by independent samples t test or χ2 test.

Results: The cluster analysis identified two clusters. The improvement cluster (n = 22) progressed in learning, recall, recognition, executive function, and most measures of working memory, attention, and verbal fluency. In the stable cluster (n = 63), cognitive function remained stable across most domains, with an increase in a few working memory, verbal fluency and naming, and executive function measures. Notably, 67% of lacunar strokes and 93% of females were in the stable cluster, having less improvement. Age and education did not differentiate between the clusters.

Conclusions: 26% of patients showed overall cognitive improvement within 3 months. Knowing the prevalence and patterns of cognitive improvement after stroke lays the groundwork for future research and clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Many individuals with spina bifida myelomeningocele perform poorly on memory tasks, with hippocampal damage a possible mechanism. This study analyzed quantitative hippocampal, amygdala, and ventricular volumes to determine if prenatal surgery reduced the effects of hydrocephalus as a potential mechanism for improved memory performance in relation to hydrocephalus status.

Method: We collected magnetic resonance imaging data from 110 children enrolled in the Management of Myelomeningocele Study (n = 55 per prenatal and postnatal groups). Volumes of the hippocampus, amygdala, and lateral ventricles were quantified using FreeSurfer. Memory was assessed with the California Verbal Learning Test-Children and Children's Memory Scale.

Results: Children who received prenatal surgery did not differ from children who received postnatal surgery on memory performance. However, within the prenatal group, children who did not meet clinical criteria for hydrocephalus or had ventricular dilation but did not require shunting showed better verbal and nonverbal memory performance than those who required shunting. The magnetic resonance imaging findings indicated larger hippocampi in the prenatal group than in the postnatal group. Similarly, within the prenatal groups, children who had no hydrocephalus showed larger hippocampal volumes than children with ventricular dilation and no shunt, and these groups had larger hippocampal volumes than children with prenatal surgery and shunted hydrocephalus. There were no significant differences in amygdala volumes. Larger hippocampi were associated with better memory performance, but there was no mediating effect of ventricular volumes.

Conclusions: Prenatal surgery is associated with larger hippocampi and better memory performance in those children who did not require shunting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: It is unclear whether pediatric telehealth-delivered neuropsychology test results are comparable to those obtained face-to-face. This study reports results on (a) the agreement/reliability and (b) the feasibility and acceptability of telehealth neuropsychology testing in Australian children and adolescents.

Method: Using a quasiprospective repeated-measures A followed by B:B followed by A crossover design, participants (N = 36), children with neurofibromatosis type 1, autism, and from the general population underwent face-to-face and telehealth testing using a trained parent facilitator. Measures included Full Scale IQ from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Australian and New Zealand Standardised Fifth Edition; Word Reading, Spelling, and Numerical Operations subtests from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Australian and New Zealand Standardised Third Edition; Comprehension of Instructions; Score!; Formulated Sentences; Rey Complex Figure Test; and the California Verbal Learning Test. Children, parents, and clinicians also completed a feasibility and acceptability survey.

Results: Predominantly high agreement between face-to-face and telehealth intelligence and academic scores were identified from intraclass correlation coefficients, independent of age and retest period. Intraclass correlation coefficient values were excellent for Full Scale IQ, Spelling and Numerical Operations (0.91-0.95), good for all intelligence index scores, reading, verbal learning and expressive language (range, 0.76-0.89), moderate for verbal recall, comprehension of instructions and copy accuracy (range, 0.63-0.74), and poor for sustained attention (0.23). Reliable change indices revealed stable test scores across most neuropsychological tests. Telehealth-delivered neuropsychology testing was satisfactory according to children, parents, and clinicians, although in-person was slightly preferred over telehealth.

Conclusions: Findings support the use of home-based telehealth testing in pediatric populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Among the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-based measures of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, the ratiometric measure of p-tau/Aβ42 shows the best diagnostic accuracy. However, few studies have linked the p-tau/Aβ42 ratio to cognition directly. The goal of this study was to examine whether a CSF-based p-tau/Aβ42 ratio predicts changes in global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, and executive functioning over a 2-year period in cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults, in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and in those with AD.

Method: This study involves secondary analysis of data from 1,215 older adults available in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Neuropsychological composite variables, collected at baseline, 6-month, 12-month, and 24-month follow-ups, of global cognition, episodic memory, and executive functioning, were included. Generalized least square linear models were constructed to examine the effect of CSF p-tau/Aβ42, diagnostic group, and change over time on cognitive scores.

Results: CSF p-tau/Aβ42 ratio predicted cognitive decline, both on global cognition and episodic memory, in individuals with MCI and AD, but not in CU older adults. The p-tau/Aβ42 ratio, in contrast, predicted decline in executive functioning for all three diagnostic groups.

Conclusions: Our study, which included individuals with CU, MCI, and AD, provides evidence of differential cognitive consequences of accumulated AD pathology across diagnostic groups, particularly in the domains of global cognition and episodic memory. Additionally, AD pathology was associated with worsening executive functioning across all three diagnostic groups, suggesting that declines in executive functioning may occur well before declines in other cognitive domains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: By addressing numerous statistical, theoretical, and methodological weaknesses of existing research on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), this study attempted to examine closely whether cognitive dysfunction in CFS patients is restricted to slowed information processing or whether it extends to less efficient attentional selectivity.

Method: In an online study, 83 CFS patients and 83 healthy controls (all French-speaking volunteers) first completed the Multidimensional Chronic Asthenia Scale and then performed the two-to-one version of the Stroop task known to carefully measure different components of the Stroop effect including the targeted Stroop interference (i.e., prima facie indicators of attentional selectivity).

Results: Adequately powered analyses of raw reaction times pointed to differences in the magnitude of Stroop interference between CFS patients and healthy controls. However, these differences are entirely explained by generally slower processing speed in CFS patients. Indeed, no such differences were found when standardized (i.e., z scored) reaction times that take into account preexisting differences in processing speed were analyzed, and this absence of differences was attested-for the first time-by strong Bayesian evidence in favor of the null.

Conclusion: Although the present study showed that attentional selectivity is not impaired in CFS patients and that their cognitive dysfunction is restricted to slowed information processing, other studies are still needed to fully understand cognitive impairments associated with CFS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Neurocognitive performance in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is heterogeneous; some individuals with ADHD demonstrate neurocognitive deficits while others display none. Attempts to establish a singular neurocognitive profile of ADHD have been unsuccessful. Latent class clustering techniques offer a more granular method of examining interindividual and intraindividual heterogeneity in ADHD. There may be distinct neurocognitive phenotypes among the population of adults with ADHD.

Method: This study utilized latent profile analysis on performance validity-controlled neuropsychological assessment data from a sample of 386 adults with a confirmed diagnosis of ADHD.

Results: Three classes were observed. One class with specific deficits in learning and memory ("Low Learning/Memory"), one had intact performance across domains ("High Average"), and one had deficits in simple and sustained attention and response variability ("Inattentive"). Cross-class comparisons revealed adequate multivariate and univariate differences to support taxometric separation across phenotypes. Classes displayed medium-sized differences in estimated intelligence, small differences in ADHD-related inattention and impulsivity, and small differences in symptoms of anxiety and depression. There were no class differences in composition of sex, race/ethnicity, ADHD diagnostic presentation (i.e., inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, combined), co-occurring diagnoses of mood or learning disorders, history of ADHD diagnosis/treatment, or student status.

Conclusions: The present study represents a critical early step in establishing distinct neurocognitive phenotypes among adults with ADHD based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).