Neuropsychology Review最新文献

Semantic interference (SI) and phonological facilitation (PF) effects occur when multiple representations are co-activated simultaneously in complex naming paradigms, manipulating the context in which word production is set. Although the behavioral consequences of these psycholinguistic effects are well-known, the involved brain structures are still controversial. This paper aims to provide a systematic review and a coordinate-based meta-analysis of the available functional neuroimaging studies investigating SI and PF in picture naming paradigms. The included studies were fMRI experiments on healthy subjects, employing paradigms in which co-activations of representations were obtained by manipulating the naming context using semantically or phonologically related items. We examined the principal methodological aspects of the included studies, emphasizing the existing commonalities and discrepancies across single investigations. We then performed an exploratory coordinate-based meta-analysis of the reported activation peaks of neural response related to SI and PF. Our results consolidated previous findings regarding the involvement of the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left middle temporal gyrus in SI and brought out the role of bilateral inferior parietal regions in PF.

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform planned actions in a future moment and it is of fundamental importance for an independent and autonomous lifestyle from development to late adulthood. Deficits in episodic memory and executive functions, which are involved in PM are characteristic features of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Considering that the number of older adults is drastically increasing over the next decades, it is of great interest to understand how PM decline in healthy older adults and patients with different degree of cognitive decline. The present meta-analysis included 46 studies investigating PM performance in AD patients (17 studies) and people with MCI (24 studies); 5 studies included both clinical conditions in the same article. The 46 studies contributed a total of 63 independent samples and 129 effect sizes from 4668 participants (2115 patients and 2553 controls). Unlike previous reviews of the literature, our results with a larger and updated sample of studies confirmed lower PM abilities in AD compared to MCI and controls, although we did not observe conclusive differences between event-based and time-based PM in patients. Surprisingly, PM deficits shown by MCI and AD patients have decreased across years, in parallel to a reduction of the evidence of publication bias and an increase in the number of observations per task. We propose the use of more reliable research designs as one plausible explanation for the reduction of PM impairments.

Individuals possessing a Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) demonstrate an exceptional ability to recall their own past, excelling most when dates from their lifetime are used as retrieval cues. Fully understanding how neurocognitive mechanisms support exceptional memory could lead to benefits in areas of healthcare in which memory plays a central role and in legal fields reliant on witnesses' memories. Predominantly due to the rareness of the phenomenon, existing HSAM literature is highly heterogenous in its methodologies used. Therefore, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we performed the first systematic review on this topic, to collate the existing behavioural, neuroanatomical, and functional HSAM data. Results from the 20 experimental selected studies revealed that HSAM is categorised by rapidly retrieved, detailed and accurate autobiographical memories, and appears to avoid the normal aging process. Functional neuroimaging studies showed HSAM retrieval seems characterised by an intense overactivation of the usual autobiographical memory network, including posterior visual areas (e.g., the precuneus). Structural neuroanatomical differences do not appear to characterise HSAM, but altered hippocampal resting-state connectivity was commonly observed. We discuss theories of HSAM in relation to autobiographical encoding, consolidation, and retrieval, and suggest future directions for this research.

CTNNB1 syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a likely pathogenic or pathogenic variant in the CTNNB1 gene. A systematic review was conducted to examine previous research that provided CTNNB1 syndrome patients, specifically those that described intellectual quotient, motor development, language impairments, behavioural problems and features of autism. Databases examined were PubMed and Scopus. The inclusion criteria were (a) reported human patients diagnosed with CTNNB1 syndrome by a genetic test; (b) were related to cognition, intelligence quotient, motor development, language impairment, behavioural problems or features of autism; (c) did not have another genetic diagnosis and (d) were written in Spanish or English. A total of 42 studies were included. Overall, the symptomatology described was very heterogeneous with varying degrees of impairment among patients. However, individuals reached most significant developmental milestones later than expected and with different degrees of impairment. The use of standardised methodology to assess cognitive and behavioural domains was scarce in most studies, and the vast majority did not include a specific assessment protocol based on the symptomatology of CTNNB1 syndrome individuals. In addition, only two adult patients were described in depth, which implies that there are many unknowns about the progression of the syndrome later in life. Therefore, future research should focus on increasing the sample assessed and count with a standardised protocol in order to characterise the cognitive and behavioural phenotype of CTNNB1 syndrome.

Primary progressive aphasias (PPA) represent a group of neurodegenerative conditions affecting verbal communication abilities for which no effective medication is currently available. Noninvasive brain stimulation (NiBS) has been mainly explored as adjunctive therapy to conventional speech and language therapy (SLT) with promising results. The present meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) aims to evaluate the efficacy of NiBS in PPA patients on a range of linguistic tasks (naming, phonemic fluency, semantic fluency). A literature search was carried out using EMBASE and PUBMED, searching for multi-session RCTs administering NiBS on PPA patients as stand-alone or with SLT. The results were not significant overall, indicating a null difference between the active and the sham condition on language functions; pooled effects tended to be higher in parallel than in crossover studies and for follow-ups than post-treatment. In the naming analyses, the combined effects for the studies that coupled NiBS with SLT were slightly higher than the overall effect at each time point, although not significant. These results need to be considered with caution given the low number of included studies and small sample sizes, but offer relevant indications for future research in terms of optimal treatment protocols and personalization of therapies.

While Category Fluency (CF) is widely used to help profile semantic memory, item-level scoring (ILS) approaches to this test have been proposed to obtain indices that are less influenced by non-semantic supportive functions. We systematically reviewed the literature to test the hypotheses that (1) compared with healthy adults, individuals with a clinical diagnosis suggestive of neurodegeneration generate words of lower semantic complexity; (2) compared with young adults, older adults generate words of higher semantic complexity. We searched six databases (date of search: 8 December 2023) for studies that relied on CF and ILS methods, in normal ageing and in age-associated neurodegeneration. Thirty-four studies were shortlisted: 27 on neurodegenerative conditions; 7 on normal ageing. Risk of bias was evaluated via a published checklist. Data were presented via qualitative synthesis. Most studies reported words of lower semantic complexity in relation to at least one item-level feature in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's dementia (AD), and other neurodegenerative diseases. Post-hoc meta-analyses focussing on the MCI/AD continuum confirmed an effect on words' frequency (385 MCI/AD individuals and 350 controls; Hedges's G = 0.59) and age-of-acquisition (193 MCI/AD individuals and 161 controls; Hedges's G =  - 1.51). Studies on normal ageing, conversely, failed to demonstrate any overall effect. Most studies on MCI and AD have not relied on neurobiological diagnostic criteria. Moreover, only a small number of studies analysed ILS controlling for quantitative CF performance. Despite these two limitations, this study suggests that ILS can contribute to an in-depth characterisation of semantic memory in neurological ageing.

To date, few studies have focused on the benefits of dopaminergic treatment on episodic memory functions in patients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD). We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the effects of pharmacological therapy with dopamine in alleviating episodic memory deficits in Parkinson's patients. A secondary aim was to evaluate the role of dopamine in episodic memory circuits and thus in different memory systems. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in PubMed (1971-2022) to find studies that met specific inclusion criteria. The studies had to provide sufficient data (means and standard deviations) to evaluate performance on neuropsychological tests of episodic memory. A total of k = 36 measures were included in the analysis. A statistically significant difference suggested better performance following dopaminergic therapy assumption (ON condition) than following dopaminergic withdrawal (OFF condition), specifically the estimated pooled effect calculated through a random-effects restricted maximum likelihood model was log ratio of means (RoM) = 0.047 (p = 0.011). The back-transformed RoM, indicating a 4.8% improvement, provides an interpretable measure of the effect size, as it reflects the multiplicative change in performance associated with the ON condition. A meta-regression analysis was also performed to assess the influence of specific memory tasks and relevant covariates/factors on the overall meta-analytic effect: four memory contrasts (verbal/visual, immediate/delayed, recall/recognition, word-list/short-story), age of participants, years of education, severity of illness, duration of illness in years, country of study, proportion of women in the sample, type of medication, counterbalancing. Word list/short story and proportion of women in the sample were the only two statistically significant predictors in the model, both associated with a positive higher pooled effect size. The present study revealed a significant overall difference between the results obtained in the ON and OFF conditions. We also found a significantly greater pharmacological effect in the recall of short stories than word lists, which supports the hypothesis of a beneficial effect of dopamine on the hippocampal circuit rather than on prefrontal cortical areas.

There is a widespread view that episodic autobiographical memories (EAMs) can be retrieved "directly" or "generatively." However, the neural mechanisms underlying these retrieval modes have been overlooked in the literature, likely due to the difficulty of operationalizing the two notions. Here, we propose to operationalize direct vs. generative retrieval based on memory cue specificity, in terms of EAMs elicited by specific/personalized vs. generic memory cues, respectively. After completing a literature search in four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science) in 2023, we performed a multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA) to directly compare activations from 32 neuroimaging studies investigating these two EAM retrieval modalities with the above memory cue distinction. Both direct and generative retrieval showed common activations of the left hippocampus, bilateral angular gyrus, and posterior cingulate cortex. The direct vs. generative comparison revealed the activation of a brain circuit comprising the anterior and posterior cortical midline, the left angular gyrus, and the right cerebellum. Previous literature suggests that these regions play a role in self-referential processes, indicating that direct access to EAMs may be supported by the recruitment of self-related neural resources that facilitate the retrieval of personal memories. Conversely, generative vs. direct MKDA revealed the activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. As this region has been previously associated with schematic memory, its involvement may emphasize the "constructive" nature of generative EAM retrieval. Overall, the current findings extend the previous literature by providing the neurobiological foundation of direct and generative EAM retrieval.

Delivery of neuropsychological interventions addressing the cognitive, psychological, and behavioural consequences of brain conditions is increasingly recognised as an important, if not essential, skill set for clinical neuropsychologists. It has the potential to add substantial value and impact to our role across clinical settings. However, there are numerous approaches to neuropsychological intervention, requiring different sets of skills, and with varying levels of supporting evidence across different diagnostic groups. This clinical guidance paper provides an overview of considerations and recommendations to help guide selection, delivery, and implementation of neuropsychological interventions for adults and older adults. We aimed to provide a useful source of information and guidance for clinicians, health service managers, policy-makers, educators, and researchers regarding the value and impact of such interventions. Considerations and recommendations were developed by an expert working group of neuropsychologists in Australia, based on relevant evidence and consensus opinion in consultation with members of a national clinical neuropsychology body. While the considerations and recommendations sit within the Australian context, many have international relevance. We include (i) principles important for neuropsychological intervention delivery (e.g. being based on biopsychosocial case formulation and person-centred goals); (ii) a description of clinical competencies important for effective intervention delivery; (iii) a summary of relevant evidence in three key cohorts: acquired brain injury, psychiatric disorders, and older adults, focusing on interventions with sound evidence for improving activity and participation outcomes; (iv) an overview of considerations for sustainable implementation of neuropsychological interventions as 'core business'; and finally, (v) a call to action.

Interventions addressing cognitive and emotional difficulties after acquired brain injury (ABI) often focus on specific impairments in cognition or mood. These interventions can be effective at addressing their specific target, but do not routinely translate to improved activity and participation outcomes. Approaches that combine cognitive and psychological rehabilitation are increasingly popular; however, to date, there have been no systematic evaluations of their efficacy. We conducted a systematic review of five databases, searching for randomised controlled trials of adults with diagnoses of non-progressive ABI at least 1-month post injury, in receipt of interventions that combined cognitive and psychological components compared to any control. Screening and data extraction were evaluated by two independent reviewers using a standardised protocol. Effect sizes were calculated using Hedge's g and estimated using a random-effects model. Risk of bias was assessed using the PEDro-P rating system, and quality of evidence evaluated using the grading of recommendation, assessment, development and evaluation (GRADE) approach. Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis (n = 684). There was an overall small-to-medium effect (g = 0.42) for combined interventions compared with controls, with gains maintained at 6-month follow-up. Improvements were observed at the level of impairment, activity, participation and quality of life. GRADE ratings and analyses investigating sensitivity, heterogeneity and publication bias indicated that these effects were robust. No a priori variables moderated these effects. Overall, this review provides strong evidence that combined cognitive and psychological interventions create meaningful change in the lives of people with ABI.