bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
35 Correlations Between Sleep and Cognitive Functioning in Healthy, Older Adults
Authors: Bornazyan Krikor , Bridget Zimmerman M , Collins Sam M , Toovey Cole R , Denburg Natalie L
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a leading cause of dementia worldwide, affected an estimated 47 million people in 2015, placing a burden of over $1 trillion on health systems. Subclinical markers of AD pathology are seen many years before the clinical onset of dementia, suggesting that steps could be taken to prevent progression to disease in healthy individuals. Sleep optimizes cognition by creating a window of opportunity to consolidate memories, prune synaptic networks, and clear waste products. Studies that characterize the relationship between sleep and cognitive function prior to the onset of clinical AD could guide research into effective methods of delaying AD onset or preventing it altogether. The objective of our study is to describe how sleep quality and quantity correlate with performance on cognitive assessments within a healthy, aging population.

Participants and Methods:

Seventeen participants, between 62-82 years of age enrolled in an ongoing clinical trial assessing the effects of melatonin (5mg daily) versus placebo, were included in our study. Participants were observed over a 2-month period, during which no experimental interventions were administered. At study entry, participants underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation evaluating cognitive domains of attention, memory, speed of information processing, language, executive functioning, and mood. Afterwards, all participants wore a watch that measured actigraphy and light data (Philips Actiwatch Spectrum Pro actigraphy monitor) for 8 weeks to evaluate their sleep habits. Pearson and Spearman partial correlations were used to evaluate relationships between objective sleep parameters and baseline cognitive function test scores.

Results:

Aberrations of sleep length, sleep fragmentation, and daytime activity measures significantly correlated with cognitive performance on memory, language, visuospatial skills, and speed of processing tests (p = <0.05). Greater variability of awakenings at nighttime associated with better scores on memory tests but worse scores on language tests. Longer sleep times associated with worse language scores, while greater variability in daily activity correlated with poorer scores on visuospatial skills tests and speed of processing tests.

Conclusions:

This study establishes a framework for obtaining longitudinal sleep data in conjunction with serial cognitive function testing, encouraging further exploration into how sleep metrics affect specific domains of cognitive function. Findings suggest that having a less consistent sleep routine correlates with poorer cognitive function across multiple domains. The authors recommend broader analysis of actigraphy and cognitive function testing as objective measures of sleep and cognition in research and clinical practice.
83 Computational Modeling of Planning and Inhibition in the Tower of London
Authors: van Rentergem Joost A Agelink , Schagen Sanne B
Published: December 2023

Objective:

The Tower of London is commonly used to assess planning ability. Deficient outcomes may however have different causes: A participant may not have the ability to think a sufficient number of steps into the future, or may become, for example, impatient to evaluate different possible paths. Outcomes are thus not pure measures of the "planning" construct of primary interest, which may have contributed to findings of low reliability and low validity of these outcomes in the literature. The advent of computerized testing combined with computational modeling potentially allows to go beyond traditional outcomes such as "total number of moves" and "total time taken" and disentangle different processes that are of primary interest. The goal of the current study is to establish whether a model that consists of "planning ability" and "response inhibition" parameters can be used to describe Tower of London data.

Participants and Methods:

We constructed an algorithm that produces Tower of London data, and a computational model that uses every single decision of a participant as input (e.g., whether a participant moves the red or the blue ball to the right peg in setting 15 when trying to get to setting 28). There are 210 unique decision situations that participants can encounter. Our algorithm and Bayesian hierarchical model uses two parameters for each participant as well as a guessing rule, that together determine the participant's decision at every step. The appropriateness of the model was evaluated in a simulation study, where the simulated distribution of data implied by this model is compared to the empirical distribution of total number of moves observed in real datasets. Data were simulated for 10 items with a sample size of 200 participants.

Results:

Our simulation study shows that with our model the empirical distribution of total number of moves is successfully replicated in the distribution of the simulated data.

Conclusions:

Computational modeling provides a new window into Tower of London performance by identifying different processes. Modeling thus allows us to go beyond aspecific descriptions of planning ability. Furthermore, using the high-resolution data of computerized testing allows us to estimate these parameters reliably without requiring "big data", keeping participant burden low. This study will be followed up in three ways. First, predictions will be preregistered and tested for these new cognitive outcomes in several large oncological patient samples. Second, the model will be extended to include reaction times, to include an additional metric of cognitive computation. Third, the new cognitive process outcomes will be analyzed in conjunction with cognitive process outcomes on other tests to establish process communalities.
89 Depression and Executive Function in a Mexican Population
Authors: Acosta Natalia Lozano , De Jesus Yvette , Smith Krissy E , Munoz Isabel D.C. , Cancino Adriana Cuello , Gomez Mariam , Cervantes Raymundo , Hernandez Daniel W Lopez
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Depression is a mood or emotional state that is characterized by feelings of sadness (i.e., a loss of interest in activities, low self-worth) for a minimum of two weeks. Executive function is a set of mental processes that are necessary for cognitive control of behavior to achieve and successfully execute a specific goal (e.g., inhibition). Researchers have reported that people with abnormal symptoms of depression (ASD) demonstrate worse executive functioning abilities (e.g., planning) compared to persons with normal symptoms of depression (NSD). Currently, there is a lack of research studies examining how depressive symptoms influence executive functioning in people that identify as Mexican. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of depression on executive functioning in a healthy Mexican Spanish speaking population. We hypothesized that participants with NSD would demonstrate better executive functioning abilities compared to participants with ASD.

Participants and Methods:

The sample in the present study consisted of 87 neurologically and psychologically healthy Mexican participants all residing in Mexico. Mean age was 24.71 (SD = 9.66) and 14.78 (SD = 4.50) years of education completed. Participants completed a neuropsychological battery in Spanish and were divided into two groups: NSD (n = 61) and ASD (n = 26). The Stroop Color Word Test - Color-Word (SCWT-CW) task, phonemic verbal fluency task consisting of three trials, and semantic verbal fluency task consisting of one trial were used to evaluate executive functioning. In addition, participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in Spanish to report the current level of depression. ANCOVAS, controlling for age were used to examine executive functioning performance. We used a threshold of p < .05 for statistical significance.

Results:

ANCOVAS revealed the NSD group outperformed the ASD group on the SCWT-CW task, p = .004, np2 = .10. We also found the NSD group outperformed the ASD group on the phonemic verbal fluency task, p = .045, np2 = .05. Finally, no significant differences were found between depression groups on the semantic verbal fluency task.

Conclusions:

As we predicted, the NSD group demonstrated better executive functioning abilities compared to the ASD group, except on the semantic verbal fluency task. Our data suggests that the current level of depression have a significant influence on verbal executive functioning abilities in a Spanish speaking population. Future studies with larger sample size should evaluate if current symptoms of depression influence non-verbal executive functioning abilities in a Spanish speaking Mexican population.
95 Examining the Utility of Demographically Adjusted Scores on the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia in Congolese Older Adults
Authors: Reyes Anny , De Wit Liselotte , Winston Molly R. , Hammers Dustin B. , Alonso Alvaro , Ikanga Jean
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Given the lack of comprehensive neuropsychological tools and neuropsychological services in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), cognitive screeners for dementia can be useful tools to screen for suspected dementia at the population level. However, most available screeners have not been developed or validated in SSA populations. The Community Screening Instrument for Dementia (CSID) was developed for cross-cultural use, and it has a cognitive testing component and informant interview. We have previously demonstrated that lower years of education and female sex are associated with lower scores on the CSID. Here, we examine the utility of demographically adjusted CSID scores in a community sample of Congolese older adults.

Participants and Methods:

354 participants (mean age=73.6±6.7, mean education (years) =7.3±4.7; 50% female) were randomly recruited in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and completed the CSID and the Alzheimer's Questionnaire (AQ) to examine functional abilities. Raw scores were demographically adjusted for education and sex by adding 1 point for <12 years of education and 1 point for female. Cognitive impairment was classified as a total score below 25.5. Rates of impairment were compared between raw scores and demographically-adjusted scores. Demographic profiles were examined between both classifications

Results:

Average raw CSID scores were 25.23 (SD=4.19) and average demographically-adjusted scores were 26.59 (SD= 4.09). Approximately 43.1% of the sample was impaired based on the raw CSID scores compared to 30.4% with the demographically-adjusted scores (x2= 12.334, p<.001). There was a higher proportion of females (n=95; 26.8%) classified as impaired with the raw SCID scores compared to the demographically-adjusted scores (n=62; 17.5%; x2= 8.87, p=0.003). Approximately 27.4% (n=97) of the participants classified as impaired with the raw SCID scores had primary education or less (i.e., 1-6 years) compared to 18.9% with the demographically-adjusted scores (n=67; (x2= 107.77, p<.001). Forty-five participants were re-classified as not impaired with the demographically-adjusted scores with the majority of these participants being female (73.3%), having primary education (66.7%), and being functionally unimpaired on the AQ (91.1% unimpaired).

Conclusions:

We demonstrate that raw scores on the CSID can lead to misclassification of impairment in females and in individuals with lower years of education. Demographically-adjusted scores on the CSID can help properly capture those with suspected dementia while reducing false positives. Given the effects of education and sex on performance, future studies should examine if demographically adjusted scores improve the sensitivity and specificity of the CSID in Congolese populations and compare its performance to other screening tools to determine the most appropriate screener for this population.
Symposium 06: Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders With Considerations for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Authors: Price Catherine
Published: December 2023

Summary Abstract

Low- and high-risk surgical procedures are performed annually on more than half a million patients aged 65 and older. Yet, at least 20-35% of older patients undergoing surgery have undiagnosed signs of a mild to major neurocognitive disorder. These facts are alarming as older age, and preoperative memory/cognitive/affective vulnerabilities are significant predictors of postoperative cognitive complications such as delirium, cognitive decline, and mortality. Given the expected rate increase of neurodegenerative disorders in the populous, perioperative health care systems will face more significant numbers of individuals with undiagnosed Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) needing procedures with anesthesia due to severe health-related conditions (e.g., cardiac) or requesting surgeries for quality of life improvement (e.g., joint replacement). Through this symposium, attendees will learn from experts about the urgency of appreciating Perioperative Cognitive Disorders and the need for evidence-based perioperative ADRD assessment and intervention methods. Symposium speakers represent the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment’s “Perioperative Cognition and Delirium” Professional Interest Area. Lisbeth Evered, Ph.D., University of Melbourne, Australia, will begin the symposium by discussing the nomenclature for Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders and the need to include neuropsychologists as part of the multidisciplinary diagnostic team. Robert Whittington, MD, University of California, Los Angeles, will present a bench-to-beside review of how tau protein is altered by perioperative factors and its potential relationship to cognition impairment after surgery and anesthesia. Miles Berger, M.D., Ph.D., Duke University, will present his team’s federally funded research showing how anesthesia is a stress test for the brain and the potential implications for incorporating intraoperative EEG monitoring into routine care. Kristin Hamlet, Ph.D., University of Florida, will round out the symposium by presenting a novel perioperative care environment where neuropsychologists identify at-risk undiagnosed ADRD patients before surgery for multidisciplinary care interventions. She will also highlight a cognitive “rescue” multidisciplinary intervention case. Attendees will leave the symposium with an improved understanding of Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders and how neuropsychologists can work with other disciplines to advance evidence-based perioperative care for at-risk older adults electing surgery with anesthesia.
16 Does Cognitive Test Performance Upon Admission to Nursing Homes Predict Long Term Care Residents’ Psychological Functioning?
Authors: Ertle Emilee M , Mast Benjamin T , Simon Darby M , Meeks Suzanne
Published: December 2023

Objective:

The current study investigated whether older adults’ cognitive test scores at the time of long-term care nursing home admission are associated with psychological well-being over the first six months. We analyzed the link between Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS-2) subscale scores and anxiety, depression, quality of life, and positive/negative affect.

Participants and Methods:

Participants were recently admitted long-term care residents from 13 nursing homes in the Louisville, KY area. Sixty-two older adults were administered the DRS-2 shortly after nursing home admission. Using a cutoff of less than 6 scaled score on the DRS-2, 52% of participants scored as cognitively impaired. Self-report measures of anxiety (RAID), depression (PHQ9), quality of life (QoL-AD), and positive/negative affect (Philadelphia Geriatric Center Affect Rating Scale) were collected at time of admission, and 3 and 6 months later.

Results:

The DRS-2 attention subscale significantly correlated with baseline depression symptoms. No other DRS-2 subscale or the DRS-2 total score correlated with anxiety, depression, quality of life, or affect ratings at admission. Baseline DRS-2 attention, initiation/perseveration, and memory had significant correlations with self-report measures at 3 and 6 months; these DRS-2 scores were selected for further analysis. Mixed ANOVAs found a significant main effect of group (impaired vs. not-impaired) for the initiation/perseveration subscale, memory subscale, and DRS-2 total score on negative affect; impairment in any of these domains was associated with lower reported negative affect at all three time points. There was no significant effect of cognitive scores on any other self-report measure. There was a significant, positive linear trend in quality of life over time. There was a significant quadratic trend in depression symptoms, with decreased depression reported at 3 months and increase at 6 months.

Conclusions:

Impaired performance on the DRS-2 was associated with lower negative affect over time. Cognitive impairment was not associated with anxiety, depression, quality of life, or positive affect. There appear to be reliable trends in some psychological factors regardless of cognitive scores, with an increase in quality of life over time and a temporary decrease in reported depression captured at 3 months. The relationship between cognitive impairment and negative affect should be interpreted with caution, as only 22 residents completed the affect self-report at all three time points. Overall, we found limited evidence of an association between cognitive scores at time of admission and self-reported psychological factors at 3 and 6 months.
31 Understanding Health Beliefs and Health Behaviors in Older Adults at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Zakrzewski Jessica J. , Gemelli Zachary , Davis Jennifer , Korthauer Laura
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Given the aging population, there are significant public health benefits to delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in individuals at risk. However, adherence to health behaviors (e.g., diet, exercise, sleep hygiene) is low in the general population. The Health Belief Model proposes that beliefs such as perceived threat of disease, perceived benefits and barriers to behavior change, and cues to action are mediators of behavior change. The aim of this study was to gain additional information on current health behaviors and beliefs for individuals at risk for developing AD. This information can then be used to inform behavioral interventions and individualized strategies to improve health behaviors that may reduce AD risk or delay symptom onset.

Participants and Methods:

Surveys were sent to the Rhode Island AD Prevention Registry, which is enriched for at-risk, cognitively normal adults (i.e., majority with a family history and/or an APOE e4 allele). A total of 177 individuals participated in this study. Participants were 68% female; 93% Caucasian and non-Hispanic; mean age of 69.2; 74% with family history of dementia; 40% with subjective memory decline. The survey included measures from the Science of Behavior Change (SoBC) Research Network to measure specific health belief factors, including individual AD risk, perceived future time remaining in one’s life, generalized self-efficacy, deferment of gratification, consideration of future consequences as well as dementia risk awareness and a total risk score for dementia calculated from a combination demographic, health and lifestyle behaviors.

Results:

Participants who were older had higher scores for dementia risk (r=0.78), lower future time perspective (r=-0.33), and lower generalized self-efficacy (r=-0.31) (all at p<0.001). Higher education correlated with higher consideration of future consequences (r=-.31, p<0.001) and lower overall dementia risk score (r=-0.23, p=0.006). Of all scales examined, only generalized self-efficacy had a significant linear relationship to both frequency (r2=0.06) and duration (r2=0.08) of weekly physical activity (p<0.001). Total dementia risk score also had significant linear relationships (r2=0.19) with future time perspective (p<0.001) and generalized self-efficacy (p=0.48).

Conclusions:

Overall, individuals who rated themselves higher in self-efficacy were more likely to exercise more frequently and for a longer duration. Individuals who had lower overall risk for dementia due to both demographic and behavioral factors were more likely to endorse higher self-efficacy and more perceived time remaining in their lives. Increasing self-efficacy and targeting perceived future time limitations may be key areas to increase motivation and participation in behavioral strategies to reduce AD risk. Developing individual profiles based on these scales may further allow for individually tailored intervention opportunities.
70 Childhood SES and Midlife CVD on Late-life Cognition
Authors: Adrien Tamare V. , Hirst Andrew , Tsai Ai-Lin , Chen Ruijia , Hayes-Larson Eleanor , Levy Shellie-Anne , Zahodne Laura , Crane Paul K. , Peterson Rachel , Gilsanz Paola , Turney Indira
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a well-known risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia, particularly among minoritized groups that have experienced a history of low childhood socioeconomic status (SES). Although previous literature has linked all levels of SES to varying degrees of stress exposure, children raised in higher SES households have more access to resources and services that encourage optimal growth and development than children who grow up in lower SES households. Given the disproportionate burden of dementia and cognitive deficits within minoritized groups, the present study examined whether childhood SES is associated with later life cognition among Black and White older adults and if this association persists after accounting for hypertension, a possible mediator of the relationship between childhood SES.

Participants and Methods:

1,184 participants were from the first wave of the STAR (n = 397 Black [Mage= 75.0 ±6.8 years]) and KHANDLE (386 Black [Mage= 76.2 ±7.2 years] and 401 White [Mage= 78.4 ±7.5 years]) cohorts. We used general linear models to examine the relationship between childhood SES and later-life executive function, semantic memory, and verbal memory scores, and midlife hypertension. Childhood SES was measured by self-reported perceived financial status (with participants given the following options: ‘pretty well off financially’, ‘about average’, ‘poor’, or ‘it varied’). These models were assessed in the full sample and also stratified by race.

Results:

In the full sample, childhood financial status was not associated with semantic memory, verbal episodic memory, or executive function. Financial status was associated with semantic memory in Black adults (β = -.124, t(771) = -2.52, p = .01) and this association persisted after accounting for hypertension (β = -.124, t(770) = -2.53, p = .01). There was no association between childhood financial status and later life semantic memory among White adults. There was no association between childhood financial status and later life verbal episodic memory or executive function in either Black or White adults in models with or without adjustment for hypertension.

Conclusions:

Our findings showed no relationship between childhood SES and cognition, except for semantic memory in Black participants; this relationship persisted after accounting for midlife CVD. Future analyses will assess both direct and indirect effects of more predictive measures of childhood SES on late-life cognition with midlife CVD as a mediator.
85 Predicting Conversion to Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease: a Random Forest Machine Learning Model Based on Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative Dataset.
Authors: Ronat Lucas A , Hanganu Alexandru
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is common in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent scientific advances show that MCI in PD could also be impacted by neuropsychiatric symptoms (such as apathy, anxiety, depression), dopaminergic deficiency (more striatal denervation associated with MCI) and certain genotypes such as in APOE E4, MAPT H1 or SNCA C/C carriers. We used a python-based random forest machine-learning algorithm (scikit-learn) in order to evaluate the factors that are mostly involved in the MCI conversion over a 5-year follow-up period.

Participants and Methods:

Baseline data of healthy individuals and participants with Parkinson’s disease were extracted from the PPMI dataset. All participants also had the evaluations of their cognitive status, neuropsychiatric symptoms (hallucinations, anxiety, apathy, depression, sleepiness, impulse control disorders and rapid eye movement behaviors), dopaminergic uptake (DaT-Scan) and genetic status (APOE, MAPT and SNCA) at baseline and after 5 years. Baseline demographic (age, sex, education years) and clinical values (duration of disease, age of onset) were also included in the model. The algorithm defined (1) the most important variables in predicting MCI, (2) the threshold values to distinguish “converting” vs. “non-converting” subgroups.

Results:

The algorithm showed that (1) age onset of disease, (2) dopaminergic uptake, (3) age, (4) anxiety, and (5) years of education were the most important factors in predicting MCI over 5 years. Among the factors involved in predicting conversion to MCI, a lower number of years of education associated with lower dopaminergic uptake in the right putamen increased the risk of conversion. Individuals with more years of education are at higher risk of conversion if they have symptoms of depression, anxiety, and lower right striatal dopamine uptake. Other factors that were involved in increasing the risk, were the presence of sleepiness and the presence of rapid eye movement disorders. Interestingly, the genetic factors were of negligible importance and were not considered by the algorithm. Finally, the model showed an accuracy of classification of participants (converters vs. non-converters) of 92.53%.

Conclusions:

Random forest algorithm shows that (1) depression and anxiety are probably important factors for MCI conversion; (2) years of education influences the conversion; (3) presence of sleepiness and rapid eye movement increases the risk of conversion to MCI. Since the algorithm considers the disease’s age onset, but not the diagnosis of individuals, it would be necessary to generate a model for each group (Healthy on the one hand, Parkinson’s on the other).
21 Socioeconomic Influences on Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Older Black Adults
Authors: Davis Katrail , Calamia Matthew
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Socioeconomic factors, spanning from childhood to mid-adulthood, were examined in an older adult Black cohort to better understand their influence on the ability to complete instrumental activities of daily living. Previous research with socioeconomic factors has primarily focused on cognitive changes rather than everyday functioning. Additionally, research that has been conducted examining functioning has been with predominantly White samples.

Participants and Methods:

Data on Black participants were obtained from Rush University’s Memory and Aging Project (MAP), Minority Aging Research Study (MARS), and the Latino CORE study (CORE). Participants (n = 1,273) were predominately female (79.9%) and ranged in age from 54 - 97 years (M = 73 years old). Participants were stratified into two groups based on their consensus diagnosis: no cognitive impairment (NCI; 76.1%) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Linear regression analyses were utilized on each group to examine predictors of decreased functioning in instrumental activities of daily living. Predictors included income levels during childhood, at age 40, and current income level. Additionally, sex, education level, and parental education levels were included in the models.

Results:

Impairment of functioning in instrumental activities of daily living was predicted by the age of the participants at the time of their visit in both NCI and MCI groups (p < 0.001). Current income levels for the NCI participants significantly predicted functioning in IADLs (p < 0.001). This relationship was not present for the MCI group, rather, total family income at age 40 better predicted functioning (p = 0.043).

Conclusions:

Previous research has found that early and mid-life socioeconomic circumstances have cascading and complex effects on late life cognition. These same associations may be applicable to functioning with instrumental activities of daily living as they are with cognition. In the present study, current income levels were influential on the functioning of participants without cognitive impairment. Although, when examining those with mild cognitive impairment, mid-life economic circumstances were more impactful on everyday functioning. While the economic status of both groups were predictors of functioning, these findings highlight the importance of better understanding socioeconomic factors across the lifespan and all levels of cognition.
76 More Than One Way to Skin a Cortex: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Neuroimaging and Personality Testing
Authors: Asencio-Ortiz Paola N. , Ikonomou Vasilios C. , Harrell Murphy N. , Maladkar Rhea , Hill Benjamin D.
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Neuroimaging is commonly used in medicine to identify neuropathology and is widely considered to be a reliable and valid diagnostic modality. Personality testing is commonly used to identify psychopathology but is generally perceived to have less clinical efficacy than neuroimaging. The purpose of the current study was to compare the clinical efficacy of personality tests to neuroimaging using meta-analysis.

Participants and Methods:

Multiple databases were searched for original research utilizing either personality tests or neuroimaging. The search interval covered articles published within the last 10 years. Studies were selected based on the criteria of having a clinical group and a healthy control sample with a reported diagnostic outcome. For this meta-analysis, neuroimaging studies focusing on diagnostic utility for Alzheimer’s dementia were included. Personality testing studies were included if they broadly reported a clinical outcome, due to fewer studies in this area. Studies were coded using a complex multi-comparison, outcome, and subgroup schema, and were analyzed under random-effects modeling.

Results:

Out of the 240 studies identified for the personality domain, 13 were selected for the meta-analysis. Out of 6522 studies identified for the neuroimaging domain, 21 studies were selected for the meta-analysis. Results indicated a significant difference between the neuroimaging and personality testing effect sizes. Specifically, neuroimaging [Hedge’s g = -1.623, 95% CI = -1.973 to -1.273, p<.001] yielded a greater effect size in comparison to the personality tests effect size [Hedge’s g = -0.658, 95% CI = -0.751 to -0.565, p<.001]. The effect size for clinical utility of neuroimaging was close to double that of the effect for personality tests diagnostic utility.

Conclusions:

Findings from this meta-analysis showed a significant difference in the effect sizes obtained from neuroimaging studies compared to the studies of personality tests. While both neuroimaging and personality testing demonstrated meaningful clinical utility, neuroimaging studied had a larger effect size.
85 Smartwatch reminders support prospective memory in Korsakoff’s syndrome
Authors: Oudman Erik , Lloyd Beth , Smits Sterre , Altgassen Mareike , Postma Albert
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder, caused by malnutrition. Central to KS are severe amnesia and executive dysfunctions. KS patients often fail to remember future intentions (prospective memory),and rely heavily on external support by caregivers. Recently, specialized smartwatches have been developed to support prospective memory verbally and by displaying pictures of future events. We investigated the benefit of a smartwatch and smartphone compared to no aid in supporting time accuracy and the ability to carry out future intentions in one case study. In three subsequent case studies, we investigated the possible benefits of a smartwatch aid for prospective memory (PM) compared to verbal in-person reminders.

Participants and Methods:

In the first case study, one high-functioning KS patient with a WAIS IQ of 127 points, performed a total of 36 novel prospective memory tasks in three conditions (smartwatch, smartphone and no-aid).

In the second case series, three KS patients with average IQ performed 30 everyday PM tasks in two conditions (smartwatch, in-person).

Two dependent variables were indexed in both studies: PM time accuracy (in minutes), this was calculated as minutes difference from the assigned time, and precision of the PM task (correct or incorrect).

Results:

In the first study, time accuracy was improved with a smartwatch compared to a smartphone and no-aid condition. Furthermore, the smartwatch and smartphone conditions were more effective than no aid in assisting memory for task content. In the second study, both the smartwatch and in-person instructions were equally effective in supporting prospective memory tasks.

Conclusions:

Since prospective memory is compromised in KS, patients require assistance throughout the day in performing everyday and non-everyday tasks. The results of our case studies suggest that a smartwatch that gives specific verbal and visual reminders can be particularly helpful in supporting prospective memory for KS patients. Giving in-person instructions was equally effective as the use of this smartwatch, highlighting the possibility to support KS patients with less intensive everyday coaching. Together, these results are promising in applying smartwatches clinically to support prospective memory.
Plenary D: (Birch Memorial Lecture) Networking towards a Global Neuropsychology: An Invitation to Action
Authors: Koltai Deborah
Published: December 2023

Abstract & Learning Objectives:

This lecture will review the progress that we have made in becoming a global field of clinical practice and research and the challenges that await us to consider ourselves a field with worldwide reach and utility. We will inventory the spread of neuropsychology over the last decades, and highlight geographical areas where we are most under-represented. The challenges of supporting the training and subsequent work of neuropsychologists in developing countries will be discussed, as well as the complexity of instrumentation validation and normative standard development in settings with substantial linguistic and ethnic diversity. Importantly, we will explore avenues that each participant can consider leaning into to participate effectively in the development of a global neuropsychology.

Upon conclusion of this course, learners will be able to:

1.

Describe what we know of neuropsychology clinical practice, research, and teaching in Africa.

2.

Assess the challenges of developing neuropsychology as a field that are unique to Africa.

3.

Identify multiple ways that they can support the global development of neuropsychology, crossing topics that include cultural humility, instrument development and validation, shared resources, and mentoring.
3 The Effect of Face and Body Expressions on the Process of Learning and Memory of Images Among Healthy Participants and Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Examination Using Eye Movements
Authors: Lugasi Natalie , Sacher Yaron , Vakil Eli
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Context-Dependent Effect (CDE) is a process by which restoring the original learning context enhances recall ability of the material being studied. One type of context is body expressions. Memory is one of the most common areas affected by Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). However, although the performance of people with TBI is lower than that of healthy people in most memory-related parameters, both groups show evidence for CDE. We examined the CDE via behavioral and eye movement measures.

Participants and Methods:

Twenty-four healthy individuals and 27 patients with moderate-tosevere TBI participated in a memory task. Participants were exposed to pictures of people with neutral facial expression and neutral body expression and were asked to remember them for a subsequent memory test. In the testing session, they were asked to determine whether or not the person presented to them had appeared before, under two conditions: (1) where the context remains constant (facial expression and body expression remained neutral- the Repeat condition) (2) where the context changes (facial expression remained neutral and the body changed to angry or happy expression - the Re-pair condition).

Results:

While memory of the individuals with TBI was poorer than that of the control group, both groups exhibited CDE, as this effect was stronger in the Repeat condition compared to the Re-pair angry condition. We found that participants spent most of their time looking at the head. In addition, in both groups, we found a CDE and a group effect with regard to the difference in Dwell Time, so DT toward faces in the Repeat condition was higher than toward faces in the Re-pair condition. Also, DT toward correctly recognized people was higher among the control group than the TBI group. This effect appeared in the study and test phases.

Conclusions:

This study supports previous research showing evidence for CDE using body expression in the TBI group, like the control group, and extends our comprehension of the relationship between eye movements, memory, and context of facial and body expression.
Plenary E: Learning from patients: people who have changed my way of thinking
Authors: Wilson Barbara
Published: December 2023

Abstract & Learning Objectives:

This presentation discusses six patients with different problems, referred for rehabilitation, who challenged my views on how to apply neuropsychological principles to their treatment. We begin with Derek, who had sustained a traumatic brain injury from a gunshot wound. I was asked to reduce his weight, but he could not read or write because of the brain injury so I had to find another way to achieve the weight loss. This made me realize that neuropsychologists have to "think on their feet" and be flexible. The second patient is Kate, who developed brain stem encephalitis. Expected to die, and unable to speak, she convinced me that, however severe the injury, we should not give up and recovery can continue for many years. Kate, managed to speak intelligibly fourteen years after her illness! The next patient, Claire, a school nurse, had herpes simplex encephalitis which left her with prosopagnosia and extreme anxiety. Her story made me realize the personal consequences of prosopagnosia that is typically overlooked by most neuropsychologists. The fourth patient, Gary, was attacked by a gang while saving his father. He remained in a state of unconsciousness for 19 months and, thus, had a very poor prognosis. Nevertheless, he defied the predictions of all medical staff, woke up and did very well. The penultimate patient is Natasha, who, as far as we know is the only person in the world to have two syndromes, "Sheehans Syndrome" which is very rare in developed countries and "Sickle cell disease" which is not rare. As a result of the Sheehan's she developed Balint's Syndrome. Her case made me learn about Sheehan's Syndrome and accept that Natasha's main goal in life, was not what I expected it to be. The final patient is Paul, an opera singer, who was diagnosed with" Locked-in Syndrome" following a brain stem stroke. Not only was he a good communicator once a good system was found, but he felt he had a good quality of life by" living within his head". Although many of us feel that to be fully conscious but totally dependent on others, is a very cruel situation to be in, Paul did not feel this. All these patients taught me a great deal and I thank them for this.

Upon conclusion of this course, learners will be able to:

1.

Describe the main purposes of neuropsychological rehabilitation

2.

Discuss about six patients who challenged typical concepts about neuropsychological rehabilitation

3.

Gain some knowledge about Sheehan's syndrome

4.

Explain the three components of Balint's syndrome

5.

Summarize the difference between Locked-in syndrome and the minimally conscious state

6.

Recognize some of the anatomy associated with these syndromes
1 Adaptation of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination III for the Bengali speaking population in India: A systematic approach to reducing cultural and linguistic bias
Authors: Dutt Aparna , Nandi Ranita , Sulakshana Rao P. , Bhargava Pallavi , Goplakrishnan Subha , Bose Arpita , Ghosh Amitabha , Evans Jonathan J
Published: December 2023

Objective:

A systematic approach is vital for adapting neuropsychological tests developed and validated in western monocultural, educated and English-speaking populations. However, rigorous and uniform methods are often not implemented during adaptation of neuropsychological tests and cognitive screening tools across different languages and cultures. This has serious clinical implications. Our group has adapted the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE) III for the Bengali speaking population in India. We have taken a 'culture-specific’ approach to adaptation and illustrate this by describing the process of adapting the ACE III naming sub-test, with a focus on the process of selecting culturally appropriate and psychometrically reliable items

Participants and Methods:

Two studies were conducted in seven phases for adapting the ACE III naming test. Twenty-three items from the naming test in the English and the different Indian ACE-R versions were administered to healthy Bengali speaking literate adults to determine image agreement, naming and familiarity of the items. Eleven items were identified as outliers. We then included 16 culturally appropriate items that were semantically similar to the items in the selected ACE-R versions of which 3 were identified as outliers. The final corpus consisting of 24 items was administered to 30 patients with mild cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, and 60 healthy controls matched for age and education to determine which items in the corpus best discriminated patients and the controls, and to examine their difficulty levels.

Results:

The ACE III Bengali naming test with an internal consistency of .76 included 12 psychometrically reliable, culturally relevant high naming-high familiarity and high naming-low familiarity living and non-living items. Item difficulty ranged from .47 to .88 and had discrimination indices >.44.

Conclusions:

A key question for test development/adaptation is whether to aim for culture-broad or culture-specific tests. Either way, a systematic approach to test adaption will increase the likelihood that a test is appropriate for the linguistic/cultural context in which it is intended to be used. Adaptation of neuropsychological tests based on a familiarity driven approach helps to reduce cultural bias at the content level. This coupled with appropriate item selection statistics helps to improve the validity of the adapted tests and ensure cross-cultural comparability of test scores both across and within nations.
18 Improving Job Interview Skills in Autistic Youth Using a Combined Intervention Approach Inspired by Positive Psychology
Authors: Genova Helen M , Haas Mikayla , Elsayed Heba , Dacanay Michael , Hendrix Lauren , DeLuca John
Published: December 2023

Objective:

Nearly 85% of adults on the autism spectrum are unemployed, although nearly 70% of those who are unemployed express a desire and willingness to work. The job interview has been identified as a significant obstacle to obtaining employment by young adults on the spectrum. A growing field of research has been focused on evaluating innovative training tools to improve interview skills. Our previous work shows that a virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT) tool improves certain job interview skills (such as sounding professional, establishing rapport), but does not improve the ability to speak about personal strengths and abilities. The current study combined VR-JIT with a new training tool: Kessler Foundation Strength Identification and Expression (KF-STRIDE), an intervention grounded in principles of positive psychology. KF-STRIDE targets identification of personal character strengths and expressing those strengths to employers in a socially appropriate way.

Participants and Methods:

The current study evaluated data from 20 autistic youth, randomized to an experimental group (n=10) and a services-as-usual (SAU) control group (n=10). Those in the experimental group participated in a 12 session intervention (9 sessions using VR-JIT and 3 sessions in KF-STRIDE). Each session was roughly one hour. Job interview performance was assessed by video-recorded mock job interviews rated by blinded assessors pre- and post- the intervention. Paired samples t-tests were conducted to examine differences in job interview skills from baseline to follow up in both groups.

Results:

The intervention group showed a significant improvement from baseline to follow-up in job interview skills in general (p = .004), and specifically sharing strengths about themselves to a future employer (p = .004). No significant differences were seen from baseline to follow-up in the SAU group. Conclusions: Individuals on the autism spectrum are significantly underemployed, which negatively impacts one’s ability to lead an independent life. Two innovative tools: VR-JIT and KF-STRIDE successfully improved job interview skills, including the ability to identify and express personal strengths. These findings indicate that these combined tools may help to improve employment skills for individuals on the autism spectrum.
Symposium 11: Military TBI: Neural and Clinical Correlates of Cognitive Function
Authors: Hungerford Lars
Published: December 2023

Summary Abstract:

This symposium will highlight recent advances in understanding, assessment, and treatment of the effect traumatic brain injury has on cognitive functioning in military Service Members and Veterans. Since 2000, U.S. Service Members have sustained over 450,000 brain injuries, the majority of which are mild. Although TBI mechanisms and characteristics among Service Members can differ from civilians in significant ways, research being conducted at Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs sites to address this problem can also yield benefits to civilians with TBI. Four presentations will focus on various aspects of TBI evaluation and treatment based on findings from their own research. Dr. Mark Ettenhofer will present findings relating to promising new eye tracking measures and their relationship to standardized cognitive test results among Service Members with mild traumatic brain injury. Next, Dr. Victoria Merritt will examine the role of symptom attribution on treatment-seeking Veterans with a remote history of traumatic brain injury. In particular, Dr. Merritt will be examining both self-reported symptoms as well as performance on objective neurocognitive tests. Dr. Jason Bailie will describe an ongoing study comparing a novel approach to cognitive rehabilitation, Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART), to traditional cognitive rehabilitation interventions in Active Duty Service Members. The results of this study have significant implications for treatment of all individuals with chronic symptoms following mTBI, regardless of military status. Finally, Dr. Jared Rowland will present findings on the influence of mild traumatic brain injury and blast exposure on the relationship between brain function, cognitive outcomes, and symptom severity in a sample of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans. This study will demonstrate how the relationship between aspects of the functional connectome and cognitive function are changed by TBI and blast. Overall, these studies highlight novel approaches to the understanding, assessment, and treatment of TBI being implemented in the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs that have high applicability to the civilian population.