Applied Neuropsychology-Adult最新文献

Cross-cultural differences in the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms and Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers are not well understood. This study aimed to (1) compare depressive symptoms and frequency of reported apathy across diagnostic groups of participants with normal cognition (CN), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia, as well as ethnic groups of Hispanic Americans (HA) and European Americans (EA); (2) evaluate the relationship between depression and apathy with Aβ deposition and brain atrophy. Statistical analyses included ANCOVAs, chi-squared, nonparametric tests, correlations, and logistic regressions. Higher scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) were reported in the MCI and dementia cohorts, while older age corresponded with lower GDS-15 scores. The frequency of apathy differed across diagnoses within each ethnicity, but not when comparing ethnic groups. Reduced volume in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) significantly correlated with and predicted apathy for the total sample after applying false discovery rate corrections (FDR), controlling for covariates. The EA group separately demonstrated a significant negative relationship between apathy and superior frontal volume, while for HA, there was a relationship between rostral ACC volume and apathy. Apathy corresponded with higher Aβ levels for the total sample and for the CN and HA groups.

The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that the total word length on the Memory subtest of the Czech version of the MoCA, which is 12 syllables compared to the English version of 7 syllables, would have a significant effect on Delayed Recall scores compared to the newly created well-balanced version of the test (further MoCA-WLE). In the original Czech version of MoCA, we replaced the 12-syllable word list in the Memory subtest with a 7-syllable list (MoCA-WLE) to make it equivalent to the standard English version in this respect. We analyzed data from 83 participants in the original MoCA group (70.63 ± 7.01 years old, 14.61 ± 3.17 years of education, 30.12% males) and 83 participants in the MoCA-WLE group (70.72 ± 6.95 years old, 14.93 ± 3.48 years of education, 30.12% males). We did not find evidence for a significant word-length effect in the original MoCA versus MoCA-WLE Delayed Recall in either the Mann-Whitney U test (W = 3418.0, p = .932) or multilevel binomial regression (b = 0.10, 95% posterior probability interval [-0.46, 0.68]). The present study shows cross-cultural limits in the adaptation of the test material. The results underline the caveats of such an approach to test adaptation. Fortunately, 12-syllables in the MoCA Memory Czech version versus the original 7-syllable list did not show a detectable word-length effect. We did not find evidence for differential item functioning or cultural item bias. The original MoCA Czech version is psychometrically comparable to the original English version.

Our objective was to establish normative data and reliable change indices (RCI) for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment's auditory items (MoCA-22). 4,935 cognitively unimpaired participants were administered the MoCA during an in-person visit to an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (M_age = 67.9, M_education = 16.2, 65.8% women, 75.9% non-Hispanic-White), with 2,319 unimpaired participants returning for follow-up. Normative values and cutoffs were developed using demographic predictions from ordinary and quantile regression. Test-retest reliability was calculated using Spearman and intraclass correlations. RCI values were calculated using Chelune and colleagues' (1993) formula. Education, age, and sex were all statistically related to MoCA-22 scores, with education having the strongest relationship. Notably, these relationships were not consistent across MoCA-22 quantiles, with education becoming more important and sex becoming less important for predicting low scores. These models were integrated into a calculator for deriving normative scores for an individual case. Furthermore, there was adequate-to-good test-retest reliability (ϱ = 0.56 95% CI [.54, .59]; ICC = 0.75, 95% CI [.73, .77]) and changes of at least 2-3 points are necessary to identify reliable change at 1-3-year follow-up. These findings add to the literature regarding utility of the MoCA-22 in the cognitive screening of older adults.

Despite a high prevalence of injection drug use (IDU) in Puerto Rico, little is known about how it affects neuropsychological functioning in this population. Investigations of intra-individual variability (IIV) have alluded to its utility as a potential indicator of neural decline. The purpose of this study was to characterize IIV among Hispanic residents of Puerto Rico who engage in IDU. Injectors and non-injectors completed the Neuropsí Atención y Memoria battery. Measures of IIV were calculated for the overall test battery (OTB), the three battery indices, and three domains of attention, memory, and executive functioning. The injector group showed significantly greater IIV than the non-injector group on all measures (OTB, indices, and individual domains). Additionally, injectors showed significantly higher IIV in the domain of executive functioning compared to other cognitive domains and battery indices. In contrast, non-injectors did not show any significant within-group differences on any IIV measures. The higher performance variability observed in the IDU group suggests a negative influence of IDU on cognition, with executive functioning being more susceptible to these effects. These findings support the need for continued investigations into the clinical application of IIV for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in the Hispanic IDU population.

Introduction: the work aims to observe the associations between psychoactive substance use and gambling and executive functioning as well as to validate the Italian version of the "Adult Executive Functioning Inventory" (ADEXI) scale.

Methods: data were collected through a representative cross-sectional study among 5,160 people (18-84 years old) called IPSAD^® (Italian Population Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed to explore the associations between ADEXI and other behaviors measured with standardized questionnaires. Cronbach α has been performed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the ADEXI scale.

Results: SEM showed that both WM and INH were correlated with problematic cannabis use (WM r = 0.112; INH r = 0.251) and gambling (WM r = 0.101; INH r = 0.168), while problematic alcohol use was correlated only with INH (r = 0.233). Cronbach α for the WM subscale was 0.833 (CI 0.826-0.840), while for INH was 0.694 (CI 0.680-0.708).

Conclusion: results pointed out a strong correlation between addictions (substance-related and non-substance-related) and WM and INH impairments among the adult general population. Moreover, the ADEXI scale could be considered a valuable tool for general population surveys to detect working memory and inhibition characteristics.

Multitasking assessments based on everyday scenarios are useful assessment tools that can reveal the consequences of language and cognitive impairments on functioning. Unfortunately, many existing multitasking assessments require a high degree of linguistic processing that may preclude their use with adults with aphasia. The purposes of this paper are to (1) describe the development of a multitasking assessment relevant to everyday activities, the Catalog Ordering Task (COT), specifically designed for aphasia, (2) investigate differences between the performances of adults without aphasia and adults with aphasia on the COT, and (3) explore the relationships between language and cognitive performances and the COT to facilitate clinical utility. Seventy-four participants, 40 adults with aphasia and 34 people without aphasia, completed the multitasking assessment in single and dual task conditions. The secondary task in the dual task condition was a tone detection task requiring a foot-pedal press. Participants with aphasia also completed additional language and cognitive assessments. We systematically developed the Catalog Ordering Test (COT) with considerations for semantics, syntax, and ecological validity. Criterion validity with acceptable levels of inter-rater and test-retest reliability were observed. Adults with aphasia performed with about half the accuracy and twice as slowly as people without aphasia. Adults with all severity levels of aphasia were able to complete the COT. Multitasking performance on the COT was related to impairment-level measures of language and cognition. The COT is a potentially clinically useful assessment of multitasking, specially designed for aphasia.

Introduction: Memory deficits are the primary symptom in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI); however, executive function (EF) deficits are common. The current study examined EF in aMCI based upon amyloid status (A+/A-) and regional atrophy in signature areas of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Method: Participants included 110 individuals with aMCI (A+ = 66; A- = 44) and 33 cognitively healthy participants (HP). EF was assessed using four neuropsychological assessment measures. The cortical thickness of the AD signature areas was calculated using structural MRI data.

Results: A + had greater EF deficits and cortical atrophy relative to A - in the supramarginal gyrus and superior parietal lobule. A - had greater EF deficits relative to HP, but no difference in signature area cortical thickness.

Discussion: The current study found that the degree of EF deficits in aMCI are a function of amyloid status and cortical thinning in the parietal cortex.

Objective: To reveal the discriminative value of gait parameters between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects.

Methods: We included all consecutive patients with newly diagnosed AD and those with a diagnosis of PD who applied to our polyclinic between March 2022 and June 2022. The demographic and clinical features were evaluated during interviews. The gait analyses were performed using a quantitative, smartphone-based gait analyses program. Using this program, the step time (ST), step length (SL), step number (SN), gait velocity (GV), and cadence were measured in all individuals.

Results: Overall, 31 patients with AD and 45 with PD were enrolled in the analyses. The mean age of the AD group was higher according to those with PD. As expected, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) values were lower in the AD group. The comparative analyses of the gait parameters between groups did not reveal differences in any of the measures. The correlation analyses to investigate the possible association between the disease severity and gait parameters revealed that the MDS-UPDRS showed low negative correlations with SL and GV.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the evaluation of gait using the gait analyses program does not contribute to the discrimination between AD and PD in clinical practice.

Introduction: Disturbance in naming accuracy and reaction time (RT) is one of the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Naming performance can be considered a diagnostic key in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which has remained diagnostically challenging. Although most of the studies in this field have been conducted on the naming accuracy of common nouns, others have shown that proper nouns are more sensitive for detecting the onset of AD. This study aims to compare the naming of common and proper nouns.

Method: Eighty pictures of common and proper nouns (40 items each) were presented to 18 healthy older adults and 18 people with mild Alzheimer's disease using DMDX software on a laptop computer. The patients' responses were transcribed into a pre-designed form, and their reaction times were captured by DMDX.

Results: Study results indicated a significant difference in the number of errors and RTs between proper and common nouns in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (p-value=), implying that proper nouns may be more sensitive to mild AD. Moreover, patients with mild Alzheimer's had more problems in common and proper nouns than healthy older adults.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that individuals with mild AD experienced greater difficulty recalling proper nouns, which were found to be more susceptible to the effects of AD.

The assessment of performance validity is an important consideration to the interpretation of neuropsychological data. However, commonly used performance validity tests such as the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) and Word Memory Test (WMT) have lengthy administration times (20-30 minutes). Alternatively, utilizing a screener of performance validity (e.g., the TOMM T1 or TOMMe10) has proven to be an effective method of assessing performance validity while conserving time. The present study investigates the use of the WMT Immediate Recognition (IR) Trial scores as a screening measure for performance validity using an archival mTBI polytrauma sample (n = 48). Results show that the WMT IR demonstrates a high degree of accuracy in predicting WMT Delayed Recognition (DR) Trial performance across a range of base rates suggesting that the WMT IR is a useful screening measure for noncredible performance. Clinical implications and selection of optimal cutoff are discussed.