bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The decline of verbal memory after stroke is associated with decreased functional connectivity of hippocampal subregions
Authors: Li Rui , Khlif Mohamed Salah , Egorova Natalia , Restrepo Carolina , Ebaid Deena , Brodtmann Amy 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe hippocampus plays an important role in learning and integrating events to form episodic memory. Many ischemic stroke survivors experience memory impairments, and some report decline in memory function. We examined changes in functional connectivity (FC) of the hippocampus and its subregions in stroke survivors over 3 years compared to age‐matched stroke‐free healthy controls (HC), and the associations between hippocampal FC and verbal memory performance.MethodParticipants from the Cognition And Neocortical Volume After Stroke Study were analysed at 3‐months, 1‐year and 3‐years post‐stroke. Verbal memory performance at each timepoint was evaluated with delayed recall of the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test‐Revised that was standardized using appropriate age stratified normative data. Evaluable resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging sequences were compared with age‐matched healthy controls (see Table 1 for demographics) following pre‐processing. The hippocampus was parcellated into whole hippocampus and four subregions (body, head‐medial, head‐lateral and tail) and bilateral seed‐based FC analyses were conducted for each region using CONN toolbox (V20.b). Longitudinal changes of FC between two timepoints were computed by the direct subtraction.ResultGroups were age‐ and sex‐matched but HC had significantly greater years of education (see Table 1). Greater FC change was seen in stroke survivors between 3‐months to 1‐year in left hippocampal head‐medial (right lateral occipital; p‐FDR = 0.012) with years of education adjusted. Stroke patients displayed significant decline in verbal memory between the 1‐ and 3‐year timepoints. Significantly decreased FC of left hippocampal head‐medial (precuneus; p‐FDR = 0.011) correlated with verbal memory decline between 3‐months and 3 years after adjusting years of education and gender. There was no significant decline or change of verbal memory observed in HC, and the correlated hippocampal FC changes were not present in HC group either.ConclusionChange in left hippocampal subregional FC is different in stroke survivors compared to HC. Subregional hippocampal FC changes correlate with verbal memory decline. Subfield FC analyses may shed new light into mechanisms of post‐stroke memory impairment.
The “COGS CLUB” : A psychosocial intervention for people with Alzhiemer’s disease
Authors: Fabbo Andrea , Bevilacqua Petra , Garzetta Glenda , Zavatta Elenza , Bergamini Lucia 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe “Cogs Club” is a multi‐modal intervention based on the Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST, Spector A.).CST is cost‐effective for people with mild‐to‐moderate dementia and is recommended in the UK by NICE. CST, in our adaptative model, is related to other psycho‐social activities (OT, music, physical activity). Cogs Club changes a traditional session of about an hour into 4 hours of activities.Objectives: the aim of this study is to verify the efficacy of this muldimodal psychosocial interventionMethodthe project is promoted by the local Alzhemer’s associations situated in Modena (Italy) and conducted by 3 professionals (a psychologist, an OT and a fisioterapist) who provide scheduled interventions ad : cognitive stimulation therapy (CST), occupational therapy and physical activities with music. Partecipants who took part in the study (n° 26 people with mild‐ moderate Alzheimer’s dementia, M9: F17, mean age 78.23 ±5.11 years, education: 7.2 ± 3.86 years) were submitted at T0 (basal evaluation) and T1 (after 3 months) to an assessment composed by ACE‐R, GDS‐15, DAD, QoL‐AD and ZBI. People with sensorial deficit, motor or behaviour disorder was excluded.Resultat T1 all indicators (cognitive: MMSE 22,6 vs 23,4, p 0,096; ACE – R 63,54 vs 65,96 p 0,066; functional: DAD 0,68 vs 0,69, p 0,103; emotional‐affective : GDS 5,35 vs 4,12 p 0,039 and quality of life : QoL AD pz 31,5 vs 33,38, p 0.129; Qol AD cg: 29,04 vs 30,96, p 0,459) of the PWD have improved even if only the depression is of clinical relevance. Regarding the caregiver we found an improvement in their quality of life even with an increase in perceived care stress (Zarit 34,09 vs 36,65, p 0,098).Conclusionthe purpose of the project is also to create a context for the socialisation and a net of formal and informal connection to people with mild‐ moderate dementia who traditionally don’t ask to access health services. The main goal is to delay as much as possible the development of the disability but further studies are necessary to encourage this preliminary results.
Relating attention related activities of daily living with cognitive performance on attentional network task in patients with Dementia of Alzheimer’s Type
Authors: Rai Pooja , Singh Indramani L. , Singh Tara , Tiwari Trayambak , Joshi Deepika 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundAttentional functioning plays a crucial role in task performance in the daily facets of life, and impairments in attention are present in a multitude of psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, and schizophrenia. The assessment of attention has been achieved by Attention Network Test (ANT) in various research which is a computerized testing measure that was developed to measure these three networks of attention viz. alerting, orienting and executive control.MethodThe attentional network task consists of alerting, orienting and executive control. In the present study the relationship between performance on attention network system and activities of daily living was analyzed on 15 mild dementia of Alzheimer’s type. The activities of daily living has been measured through Everyday Activities Scale in India (EASI). Further, correlation has been calculated in alerting, orienting and executive control and scores on EASI.ResultThe result found that alerting has been significantly positive correlated with items on EASI related to understand events, deliver message. The orienting network has been significantly positive correlated with items on EASI related to toilet location, shirt buttoned, lose way in village. The executive control network is significantly positive correlated with items on EASI related to complete task, dress properly.ConclusionThe result showed a relation between attention network and activities of daily living which showed that attention is the prerequisites for various of the daily functioning.
PROTECT Norge: Online assessment of potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia on cognitive performance in a Norwegian ageing cohort
Authors: Testad Ingelin , Aakre Jon Arild , Ushakova Anastasia , Corbett Anne , Gjestsen Martha Therese , Aarsland Dag , Ballard Clive G 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundPROTECT Norge, a fully digital platform, aims to help determine the role of defined genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors on cognition, health and wellbeing in people 50+. Annual questionnaires on demographics, medical conditions and medication use, mental health and lifestyle are completed online. The current study aims to assess whether potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia as presented by the Lancet Commission by Livingston and colleagues (2020) are related to cognitive performance in cognitively healthy people aged 50 and above.MethodA total of 2349 participants completed the PROTECT Cognitive Test System, an online cognitive battery containing six tasks which assess visual episodic memory, spatial and working memory, verbal reasoning, visual attention and task switching. The following risk factors were included in our analysis: physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, social isolation, age, BMI, education, depression, high blood pressure, head trauma and hearing loss. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was performed. Separate analyses were conducted with the average performance across three sessions for each of the six cognitive measures as the dependent variable. Independent variables were included into the model in a hierarchy based on known risk factors for dementia.ResultResults show that age was associated with reduced cognitive performance for all tasks (p<0.001). In addition, for the digit span test, the risk factors were found to influence the test score were: smoking and previously diagnosed stroke. For the paired associate learning task, the only additional significant risk factor appeared to be gender, with male gender associated with poorer performance. For the grammatical reasoning task, the risk factors associated with lower scores were lower education, older age and smoking. For the switching Stroop test, the risk factors of lower scores were older age, smoking and previously diagnosed depression. For Trail‐making B test, the risk factors of lower scores were age, stroke and the history of heart disease.ConclusionThese preliminary results may improve our understanding of potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia and could inform the design and delivery of interventional trials as a mean to protect cognition in later life and to prevent or slow progression of cognitive decline.
A literature review on the beneficial effects of music on aging auditory cortex and memory
Authors: Alatta Lina , Elomeiri Leina , Mohamed Suzan , Joda Malaz , Elsayed Sarah , Patel Krupa , Elshaikh Abeer , Dahab Lubaba , Ibrahim Mohammed B. , Obeid Tamadur , Abdelrahman Nadir G 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundRecent studies examining the impact of music on long‐ and short‐term memory, as well as cognitive function, have emerged with contradictory findings. This study investigates the positive impact of music on memory and the auditory cortex in people of all ages.MethodIn the PubMed database, we searched for studies that have examined the impact of music on memory and auditory function. From January 2011 to June 2021, we searched for studies on the adult population that were “clinical trials, case control cohort and cross‐sectional studies, systematic reviews and meta analyses” in English. In our search, we used a combination of the keywords “Music, Aging, Memory, Auditory Cortex.” Four reviewers independently extracted and assessed the studies based on predetermined criteria. To eliminate bias, the results were double‐checked by six people (fellows, researchers, etc.).ResultWe chose eight studies from a total of 108. Two studies linked music exposure to improved executive function in the aging brain, four studies examined the correlation between music exposure and improved auditory memory, one study compared the aging brains of musicians and non‐musicians, and two studies pointed at music in dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. The total number of participants in the study was 409, with an average age of 54 years and a range of 17 to 91 years. The duration of exposure to music varies between less than five and eleven years, with an average of eight and a half years. The primary finding is that music has a positive influence on aging brains' auditory cortex, memory, and executive skills. The impact of music on specific parts of the aging brain is a secondary outcome.ConclusionMusic has a positive influence on the auditory cortex, memory, and several brain executive functions, according to our findings. Adults should participate in music‐related activities to promote a healthy auditory cortex and memory aging. The absence of prior research on this topic was one of the study’s limitations. More research is needed to better understand the impact of music on the aging brain.
The Total CES‐D score from the 14‐item version as a predictor of cognitive decline
Authors: Zinkunegi Ainara Jauregi , Koscik Rebecca Langhough , Johnson Sterling C. , Mueller Kimberly D , Bruno Davide 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundDepressive symptomatology is associated with cognitive decline and greater risk for dementia. Studies have examined this association using self‐report measures such as the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies‐Depression Scale (CES‐D; Radloff, 1991). Although the CES‐D was originally designed as a 20‐item scale, certain items have been reported to misrepresent depressive symptoms due to sex and cultural differences, which are addressed in the 14‐item version of this measure (Carleton et al., 2013). The aim of this study was to examine how the CES‐D total score from the 14‐item version compared to the 20‐item version in predicting progression to cognitive decline from a cognitively unimpaired baseline, across genders.MethodData were extracted from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention. A total of 1,055 participants were included who were cognitively unimpaired and stable at baseline and had at least one follow‐up assessment. Bivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted using follow‐up consensus diagnosis as outcome (cognitively unimpaired stable vs. cognitive unimpaired declining, mild cognitive impairment or dementia); baseline total CES‐D scores from either the 14‐item or 20‐item version were used as predictors in separate analyses; age at last follow‐up assessment, age difference between baseline and last follow‐up assessment, years of education, and polygenic risk score were covariates (see Table 1).ResultIn female participants, we observed that the logistic regression model with the total CES‐D score from the 14‐item version was statistically significant (χ2(5) = 54.674, p = .001) and explained 15.2% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in predicting cognitive decline; this result was comparable to that with the 20‐item version, which was also statistically significant (χ2(5) = 53.276, p = .001) and explained 14.8% of the variance. In male participants, the model with the total score from the 14‐item version was statistically significant (χ2(5) = 14.846, p = .011) and explained 9.9% of the variance, whereas the model with the total score from the 20‐item version was statistically significant (χ2(5) = 14.070, p = .015) and explained 9.4% of the variance.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the total CES‐D score from the 14‐item version is comparable to, if not slightly better than, the score from the 20‐item version in predicting progression to a clinical level of cognitive decline in both males and females.
Plasma levels of soluble ADAM10 are increased in persons with Alzheimer’s disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Grigoli Marina Mantellatto , Manzine Patricia Regina , Cominetti Marcia Regina 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundActive ADAM10 is a transmembrane protein with α‐secretase function that inhibits β‐amyloid (Aβ) peptide formation, an important neuropathological agent of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In addition, persons with cognitive decline, such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), have a high conversion rate to AD. Previous studies show that the levels of active platelet ADAM10 are reduced in persons with AD dementia, compared with cognitively healthy individuals. In blood plasma the inactive and soluble form of ADAM10 is found. In this study we investigated the levels of inactive ADAM10 in plasma in order to corroborate with previous results found in platelets.MethodThis study was approved by the UFSCar’s Research Ethics Committee (CAAE: 02763012.0.0000.5504). Altogether, samples from 88 participants (n = 28 MCI, n = 31 AD and n = 29 controls) were analysed in this study. Blood samples were collected, plasma was separated and total protein content (15µg) was run on gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE). Soluble ADAM10 (50‐55kDa) was identified by western blotting, using the anti‐ADAM10 antibody (Abcam, Ab39180) followed by the secondary antibody (Abcam, Ab97051). The serum albumin protein (66kDa) and a “young control” performed with plasma samples from a young donnor were used as endogen controls to avoid interassay biases in the densitometry analyses. Bands were measured by volume adjusted in Image Lab software and statistical analysis were performed in GraphPad Prism software.ResultPlasma levels of soluble ADAM10 are increased in persons with MCI (p = 0.0325) and AD (p = 0.0129), compared with cognitively healthy older adults.ConclusionPlasma‐soluble ADAM10 has potential as a biomarker molecule for AD. Analyses in plasma are advantageous as they represent an easily accessible and low‐cost tool that can be used in the future by health services to aid in the early diagnosis of AD.
Cognitive function and hearing loss: A longitudinal investigation of the effect of hearing aid use on cognitive performance in older adults
Authors: Sarant Julia Z , Harris David , Maruff Paul , Schembri Adrian , Busby Peter , Phillips Jocelyn , Nixon Grace , Davine Ella , Anderson Charlotte 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundHearing loss is highly prevalent in older adults and has been identified as the largest single potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia. Although hearing aids are a successful treatment for hearing loss, it is unknown whether their use can delay the onset of cognitive decline or improve cognitive function. Less than 20% of adults who would benefit from hearing aids actually using them. Results at 18‐ and 36‐months post‐hearing aid fitting in this prospective Australian longitudinal study will be presented.MethodParticipants were assessed before and every 18 months after hearing aid fitting. Results were compared with those of a control group of participants of a cohort study of aging in older adults (AIBL) and also with a large normative group using the cognitive assessment tool. Assessments included cognitive function (visually presented computerized assessment battery), hearing, speech perception, quality of life, activity, diet, loneliness and isolation, anxiety, depression, medical health, and genetic riskResultAfter 18 months of hearing aid use there was no significant cognitive decline for hearing aid participants, and group mean scores for executive function significantly improved, with stability or improvement for 92%. Comparative group results showed no improvement at 18 months. At 36‐month follow‐up, after almost 18 months of repeated COVID lockdowns, hearing aid use had decreased, and loneliness had increased. The previously observed improvement in executive function was no longer evident, but performance on 4/5 subtests remained stable.ConclusionThis is the first study to follow participants for this length of time. After 36 months of hearing aid use, most participants had remained stable, and a subset had improved cognitive function. These results suggest that hearing aid use may not only delay cognitive decline but could improve cognitive function. This study will continue to investigate whether cognitive function could continue to improve for some participants, and the longer‐term trajectory of effects of hearing aid use.
Visual mental imagery in Lewy Body Dementia patients with visual hallucinations: preliminary results
Authors: D'Antonio Fabrizia , Vita Antonella Di , Margiotta Roberta , Panigutti Massimiliano , Boccia Maddalena , Sepe‐Monti Micaela , Canevelli Marco , Ferracuti Stefano , de Lena Carlo , Guariglia Cecilia , Bruno Giuseppe 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundLewy body dementia (LBD) is characterized by the presence of visual hallucinations (VH), however mechanisms underpinning these phenomena are still unknown. Visual mental imagery (VMI) is defined as the ability to see with the mind’s eye, in the absence of adequate sensory input (Kosslyn, 1987). Hallucinations are defined as percepts in the absence of an appropriate stimulus from the external world. Both visual mental images and VH consist of a “stimulus‐independent” image production, however the association between VH and VMI has not yet been investigated in LBD. The aim of the study was to investigate VMI processes in patients LBD with VH.MethodNineteen LBD patients (mean age = 75.4, SD = 6.9; mean education = 10.2, SD = 4) attending the “Sapienza” University Hospital in Rome and 13 Healthy controls (HC) (mean age = 71.9,DS = 7.9; mean education = 12.8, SD = 4.9) matched for age and education were enrolled. VMI was assessed in patients and HC by means of an adapted version of The Complete Visual Mental Imagery Battery (CVMIB; Palermo et al., 2016), including tasks probing the generation of different visual mental images (i.e. object; building and face), maintenance, inspection and transformation processes, and through the O’Clock test (Grossi et al.,1994) including a perceptual and imaginative tasks.ResultNon‐parametric analyses revealed that LBD performed worse than HC in all CVMIB tasks. Furthermore LBD performed worse than HC in both O’clock tests, imaginative and perceptual ones, suggesting a role of the visuoperceptual deficits in VMI alterations. It is worth noting LBD and HC did not differ in response time.ConclusionLBD patients with VH show alterations of VMI compared to HC. Alterations of VMI process might influence VH occurrence. Thus, it is possible that VH and VMI share neural mechanisms and are placed on a continuum along the perceptual processes. Future studies are needed to disentangle the possible role of perceptual difficulties in VMI alterations in LBD and to clarify how VMI alterations are related to VH occurrence. Furthermore, investigating VMI and its relationship with visuoperceptual skills in LBD patients could help to better characterize their neuropsychological profile.