Journal of Neuropsychology最新文献

Involving people with lived experience in research (patient and public involvement or co-production) is one principle of open research (transparent research practices). Involvement of experts by experience helps ensure that clinical and health research is relevant, ethical and accessible. While public contributors are likely to view co-production as important, what do public contributors know and think about other open research practices (e.g., pre-registration, data sharing)? We carried out a mixed methods online survey investigating what public contributors already know and would like to know about different open research practices, working with public contributors to shape the study. The 64 participants had a range of lived experience, which they had contributed to research and were passionate about the benefits of co-production. Although many participants did not know the term 'open research', they rated specific practices as familiar and important, seeing the moral imperative. Participants described the balance of practical benefits (e.g., efficiency, transparency) and potential risks (e.g., data sharing, pre-prints). Some practices (e.g., pre-registration) were less well understood, and participants learnt more about open research from the survey. Most participants were interested to learn more, and over 70% indicated an interest in further training. Overall, there is a need and an opportunity to share accessible information and training about open research with those who contribute their lived experience to research. This has the potential to improve research involvement and co-production, as well as the quality and applicability of research more broadly.

Polymicrogyria is a congenital brain malformation characterized by an excessive number of small gyri formed in distinct areas of the cerebral cortex. The perisylvian variant, also known as congenital bilateral perisylvian syndrome (CBPS), is believed to occur in the context of post-migrational trauma during gestational development. Due to the heterogeneity and low prevalence of CBPS, few case studies have characterized its neuropsychological sequelae. We describe an illustrative case study of a 20-year-old young adult male with intellectual and expressive language impairments. Patient's history was notable for significantly delayed developmental milestones such that he was never able to speak beyond single words/syllables. He experienced his first seizure at the age of 6 and, at the time of the evaluation, he was experiencing breakthrough seizures despite being on anti-seizure medication. Given limited expressive language abilities, a bottom-up approach was utilized wherein abilities were assessed iteratively. Data were broadly consistent with moderate-to-severe intellectual disability with deficits in basic and higher-order language globally influencing domains such as spatial attention, working memory and visual learning/recall. He benefited from recognition cues. Motor testing revealed bilaterally impaired strength and fine motor speed/dexterity that were non-lateralized. Collateral report indicated that he required significant support in adaptive functioning and prompting to complete even basic Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Although fairly brief, this evaluation largely utilized measures that did not require expressive language. This case further highlights the challenges in characterizing cognitive abilities in CBPS patients who fall on the severe end of the spectrum and also have a concomitant history of epilepsy.

We identified in two awake surgery cases a postoperative double dissociation between phonological and graphemic output buffer deficits. Using lesion-symptom mapping from ischaemic mini-strokes and preoperative tractography, we demonstrated that the phonological (resp. graphemic) disorder fitted with ventral (resp. dorsal) damage to the AF. Further studies are needed to confirm our hypothesis of a ventro-dorsal functional organization within the AF for phonological versus graphemic processing.

Dissonant approaches for measuring persisting symptoms after concussion (PSaC) make it difficult to predict who will experience prolonged symptoms. We sought to identify medical and sociodemographic characteristics associated with symptom burden and assess how such factors shape symptom evolution and PSaC classification after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This analysis involved 1947 Post-Concussion Symptom Scale reports from 1117 youths (11-21 years): 380 with mTBI, 737 without mTBI (194 healthy non-mTBI; 543 non-mTBI with underlying medical conditions). Multivariate regressions were used to assess the relationship of symptom burden with medical and sociodemographic factors among non-mTBI youths, and interrogate how these factors impacted longitudinal symptom burden among mTBI participants. PSaC rates were characterized in the mTBI group 30 days after injury using 5 definitions: symptom burden, symptom severity, simple change in symptom burden and severity, and response to, 'What percent of normal do you feel?' In the absence of mTBI (i.e. baseline), symptom burden was associated with female sex, neuropsychiatric history, BMI and orthopaedic injury. In the 30 days following mTBI, age, sex and neuropsychiatric history were associated with symptom burden. Smaller household size, sports participation and parent education were protective. Rates of PSaC were 14.7-18.9%, displaying 84% agreement across the 5 definitions. However, PSaC misclassification was high among non-mTBI youths with underlying medical conditions (37.2-50.6%), especially with the single-item screener. Medical and sociodemographic factors affect concussion symptom reports and influence PSaC rates. A single-item screener for PSaC may be useful but risks over-detection among certain youths.

Social adaptation difficulties in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are frequently associated with impairments in social cognition, including theory of mind and emotion recognition. However, social problem-solving (SPS) may also be a crucial yet understudied component of these deficits. This study aimed to develop and conduct an exploratory evaluation of the Interactive Social Problem-Solving Assessment for Alzheimer's Disease (ISPA-AD), an experimental tool addressing the lack of instruments to evaluate SPS in AD. ISPA-AD presents interactive scenarios designed to evaluate verbal and non-verbal components of SPS. Forty-one participants (19 AD patients and 22 healthy controls) completed the task. Psychometric analyses examined internal consistency, construct validity and discriminative ability. ISPA-AD showed good internal consistency (α = .811), strong construct validity and excellent accuracy in distinguishing AD participants from controls (AUC = .906). AD patients exhibited significantly lower SPS performance, revealing a specific pattern of deficits across the task dimensions. ISPA-AD provides a novel, ecologically grounded approach to assessing SPS in AD. These preliminary findings support its clinical relevance and suggest that the tool may offer valuable insights into the social cognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive behaviour in AD. Further validation in larger and more diverse samples, including reliability studies, is warranted.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with negative social outcomes and with impaired social competence in general. There is a wealth of research on cognitive factors that underpin these social challenges. Social cognition is perhaps the most studied contributor to social challenges; however, the lack of ecologically valid assessment tools raises questions about the translation of study results to everyday social functioning. Research has also primarily focussed on categorical approaches to social cognition (i.e. clinical versus control groups). However, there is growing evidence for the utility of a dimensional approach to research, where ASD symptomology is investigated across all children on a continuum, regardless of diagnosis. We adopted a dimensional framework and novel assessment tools from the Test for the Evaluation of Emotions and Socialisation (TEEMS) platform to investigate the relationship between social cognition, everyday social competence and autism symptomology in a sample of 668 children aged 4-18 years. Structural equation modelling showed that social cognition test errors predicted poor social competence. This relationship diminished when intelligence (IQ) and autism symptomology were included as predictors, suggesting a potential moderating effect of IQ and autism symptomology on the association between social cognition and social competence. Furthermore, social cognition errors predicted autism symptomology, which in turn predicted social competence. These findings support the use of a dimensional approach - focussing on symptomology across all children, regardless of diagnosis, rather than clinical samples alone. The findings demonstrate further evidence for the utility of TEEMS as a measure of social cognition.

Neurodevelopmental assessment in childhood is essential in educational, clinical, and research contexts to establish benchmarks and detect early signs of neurodevelopmental disorders. The Developmental Profile 3 (DP-3) is a parent-reported screening tool for measuring neurodevelopment in the general population, though its Spanish adaptation has not been independently assessed. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Spanish DP-3 in 440 toddlers (47.7% female; 78.4% European ethnicity; mean age 29.8 months) from Barcelona, Spain, based on data collected between March 2022 and March 2024. The DP-3 demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > .7) and acceptable to moderate internal structure fit (CFI = .924, TLI = .848). High sensitivity to developmental change across all scales was observed in repeated assessments of a subset of participants. Construct validity was supported by associations with child age, number of siblings, maternal logical reasoning and educational level, and breastfeeding, along with moderate correlations with the corresponding subscales of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (r = -.01; .48). These findings support the Spanish version of the DP-3 as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing neurodevelopment in Spanish toddlers.

This study examines the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and self-concept (SC) in children referred for neuropsychological group rehabilitation due to EF deficits, compared with typically developing (TD) children. EFs and SC are vital for academic performance and social interactions, yet the link between them in clinical populations remains underexplored. The study involved 42 children aged 7-13 with confirmed EF deficits and 104 TD children. EF was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF), while SC was measured with the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children (P-H2). Statistical analyses, including Mann-Whitney tests, Spearman correlations and hierarchical regression, were conducted to explore group differences and associations between EF and SC. Results indicated that children referred for EF intervention exhibited significantly lower SC across all domains compared with TD peers. Despite EF difficulties generally correlating with negative SC, significant associations were primarily observed in TD children, particularly in metacognition-related domains. Gender and age influenced SC, with girls showing more positive SC than boys, and older children experiencing more SC challenges. Learning support levels also impacted SC, with intensified support linked to more negative SC. In conclusion, EF deficits are associated with negative SC in school-aged children, with a more pronounced relationship in TD children than those referred for intervention. The study highlights the importance of considering individual variation in SC among children with EF challenges and suggests that future research should explore developmental trajectories and mediators between EF and SC, emphasizing tailored interventions to enhance positive SC in clinical populations.