Applied Neuropsychology-Adult最新文献

Dandachi-FitzGerald et al. (2022), published the article "Cry for help as a root cause of poor symptom validity: A critical note," in Applied Neuropsychology: Adult [Advance Online], arguing that the cry for help in forensic disability and related assessments is not a valid interpretation for poor symptom validity test results. This rebuttal contests the criticisms of the use of the cry for help in this context, as presented in Young (2019); "The Cry for help in a psychological injury and law: Concepts and review" that appeared in Psychological Injury and Law, Vol. 12, pp. 225-237. It calls for more programmatic research, for example, based on the cry for help questionnaire suggested by the author. In particular, it indicates, for example, that one SVT test failure in a test battery constitutes an assessment result that could allow for attributing the cry for help, everything else being equal. It suggests that the adaptational theory explains the cry for help as much as malingering. It suggests practice and court recommendations that will allow better rebuttals of unethical assessors who overuse/misuse/abuse the cry for help interpretation of poor symptom validity test results in forensic disability and related assessments.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder commonly associated with motor deficits. However, cognitive impairment is also common in patients with PD. Cognitive concerns in PD may affect multiple domains of neurocognition and vary across different stages of the disease. Extant research has focused mainly on cognitive deficits in middle to late stages of PD, whereas few studies have examined the unique cognitive profiles of patients with early-stage PD. This study addressed this gap in the published literature and examined neurocognitive functioning and functional capacity of patients with de novo PD, focusing on the unique pattern of cognitive deficits specific to the early stage of the disease. Results indicated that the pattern of cognitive deficits in patients with PD (n = 55; mean age = 72.93) was significantly different from healthy controls (n = 59; mean age = 71.88). Specifically, tasks related to executive functioning, attention, and verbal memory demonstrated the most pronounced deficits in patients with early-stage PD. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Objectives: (1) Cross-validation of neuropsychological test data sets of moderate-severe TBI (N = 30) with test data from moderate-severe (N = 74); somatization (N = 24) and PCS (N = 22) cases in a database, (2) Determine if cognitive test data sets alone differentiated TBI from other groups, and (3) Evaluate the efficacy of measures in comparisons: Kullback-Leibler, Correlation, Patterns, Cohen's d, and MNB.

Materials and methods: Meyer's Neuropsychological System; Comparison groups -TBI sample with structural evidence of brain injury (CT/MRI); comparison of 5 statistical measures' efficacy in test data analysis comparing a community sample of moderate TBI (N=30) with a data base containing moderate-severe TBI (N = 74) + co-occurring groups (PCS N = 22) + Somatization (N = 24). Measures utilized: Correlation, Kullbeck-Leibler divergence, Cohen's d, MNB code, Configuration.

Results: Combining the five measures most accurately matched the TBI sample (30/30 cases) with MNB comparison groups of similar TBI severity while differentiating those cases from PCS and Somatoform cognitive testdata. Both Kullback Leibler & Cohens' d reduced false positive errors in comparison with the other measures.

Self-reported histories of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are prevalent among post-9/11 veterans. Both are associated with subjective and often overlapping symptom complaints, but variably with objective neuropsychological test performances. These outcomes are seldom explored in relation to lifetime mTBI burden. This cross-sectional study examined associations of PTSD and lifetime mTBI with subjective (persistent symptoms after concussion and cognitive complaints) and objective (performances across five cognitive domains) measures among 46 veterans. Within this sample, 20 veterans had Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) confirmed PTSD (PTSD+), whereas 26 demographically-similar participants did not meet criteria (PTSD-). The Boston Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury-Lifetime (BAT-L) yielded total mTBI scores ranging from 0 to 8. Regressions showed PTSD was associated with increased subjective symptoms/cognitive complaints, along with reduced verbal fluency, visuospatial memory, and processing speed performances. Lifetime mTBI burden was associated with subjective symptoms, but not with objective cognitive test performance, after controlling for PTSD. No significant interactions were observed. Exploratory correlations suggested that all PTSD symptom clusters were generally associated with the subjective and objective measures. However, fewer significant associations emerged within the PTSD+/- groups separately, with each group yielding somewhat different patterns of relationships. PTSD and increasing mTBI burden are consistently associated with negative subjective symptoms, including cognitive complaints. Each condition likely explains some degree of unique variance in symptom reporting. PTSD is associated with poorer objective cognition on some tasks, including processing speed, executive functioning, and learning/memory. Implications are explored.

Following severe cerebrovascular accidents, patients are often unable to dress themselves. Little is known about the persistence and treatment of this impairment. Study 1 followed 23 patients who were (1) completely dependent on others for help with dressing (2) for two weeks continually until their discharge from the rehabilitation unit. Study 2, a randomized controlled trial of 24 patients, examined the effects of errorless learning and RehaGoal App-based dressing practice on recovery in dressing ability-impaired patients who also experienced visuospatial neglect and/or apraxia. The control and intervention groups both underwent a standard therapy in the rehab unit; the intervention group additionally received dressing training (seven sessions of 45 min). The primary outcome measure was the score on an adapted version of the Nottingham Stroke Dressing Assessment; secondary outcome measures were the Barthel Index and Functional Independence Measure. Less than one-third of the patients in Study1, showed improvement. In Study 2, the intervention produced no specific effect on patients' dressing ability. However, apraxia and neglect predicted improvement for both groups. If patients depend completely on assistance for dressing for two weeks, prospects for recovery are limited. Future studies should include additional intervention sessions and incorporate treatments for neglect or apraxia.

Recent studies suggest that Omeprazole, a widely used treatment for gastric acid-related disorders, may have a significant effect on human cognition. However, there is no consensus on the matter. Though some studies suggest the drug is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, memory impairment, and dementia, this issue has not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the cognitive impairments associated with long-term Omeprazole treatment, with a focus on memory, attention, and executive functions. Additionally, we sought to verify whether the duration of treatment was associated with the magnitude of the associated cognitive impairments. The sample consisted of 30 participants of both genders treated with Omeprazole (experimental group) and 30 participants who did not use the drug (control group). The cognitive assessment battery: Verbal Fluency, Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning, Attention Assessment Battery, Five Digit Test, Hayling Test, and NEUPSILIN Subtest. The groups were compared using Student's T-tests, and the association between treatment duration and cognitive performance was examined using Pearson's coefficients. The results showed significant group differences in verbal fluency, short-term episodic memory, selective attention, and executive functions. The duration of Omeprazole treatment was also positively associated with the magnitude of cognitive impairment.

Individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often complain of executive functioning (EF) difficulties. There is a discrepancy between self-reported EF impairment and EF deficits on neuropsychological tests, with some arguing that self-report EF is more related to real-world functioning than EF tests. However, research suggests that self-reported EF may be related more to emotional distress and is vulnerable to invalid reporting. We examined the vulnerability of the short form Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS) to invalid reporting, using a simulated mTBI paradigm. We included four groups: individuals simulating mTBI with (N = 24) and without (N = 21) histories of mTBI/other psychological conditions and controls with (N = 21) and without (N = 25) histories of mTBI/other psychological conditions. As hypothesized, simulators performed worse on the BDEFS Total Score and EF Symptom Count relative to controls; however, this effect was larger within those who had no self-reported history of mTBI/other psychological conditions. We identified a preliminary cutoff on the EF Symptom Count that detected 42.8% of simulators, with 95% specificity relative to the controls with histories of mTBI/other psychological conditions. The present study emphasizes the need for validity scales on self-report EF measures such as the BDEFS.