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Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... May 2024Hebb repetition learning (HRL) refers to neurodevelopmental processes characterised by repeated stimulus exposure without feedback, which result in changes in behaviour...
Hebb repetition learning (HRL) refers to neurodevelopmental processes characterised by repeated stimulus exposure without feedback, which result in changes in behaviour and/or responses, e.g., long-term learning of serial order. Here, we investigate effects of HRL on serial order memory. The present research aimed to assess the reliability of new HRL measures and investigate their relationships with language and reading skills (vocabulary, grammar, word reading) in adolescents with intellectual disability (ID). A comparison group of children of similar mental age with typical development (TD) was also assessed. ID and TD groups were tested on HRL tasks, evaluating test-retest and split-half reliability. The relationship between HRL and language and reading was analysed after accounting for the influence of mental age and verbal short-term memory. The HRL tasks displayed moderate test-retest (and split-half) reliability, HRL tasks with different stimuli (verbal, visual) were related, and we identified issues with one method of HRL scoring. The planned regression analyses failed to show relationships between HRL and language/reading skills in both groups when mental age, a very strong predictor, was included. However, further exploratory regression analyses without mental age revealed HRL's predictive capabilities for vocabulary in the ID group and reading in the TD group, results which need further investigation and replication. HRL displays promise as a moderately reliable metric and exhibits varied and interpretable predictive capabilities for language and reading skills across groups.
PubMed: 38878338
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.05.012 -
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on... May 2024Patient-provider communication influences patient health outcomes, and analyzing such communication could help providers identify opportunities for improvement, leading...
Patient-provider communication influences patient health outcomes, and analyzing such communication could help providers identify opportunities for improvement, leading to better care. Interpersonal communication can be assessed through "social-signals" expressed in non-verbal, vocal behaviors like interruptions, turn-taking, and pitch. To automate this assessment, we introduce a machine-learning pipeline that ingests audio-streams of conversations and tracks the magnitude of four social-signals: dominance, interactivity, engagement, and warmth. This pipeline is embedded into ConverSense, a web-application for providers to visualize their communication patterns, both within and across visits. Our user study with 5 clinicians and 10 patient visits demonstrates ConverSense's potential to provide feedback on communication challenges, as well as the need for this feedback to be contextualized within the specific underlying visit and patient interaction. Through this novel approach that uses data-driven self-reflection, ConverSense can help providers improve their communication with patients to deliver improved quality of care.
PubMed: 38872922
DOI: 10.1145/3613904.3641998 -
BMC Neurology Jun 2024Process approach is valuable for memory assessment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), yet its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. This...
BACKGROUND
Process approach is valuable for memory assessment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), yet its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. This study aims to synergize the process approach with brain structure analysis to explore both the discriminative capacity and potential mechanisms underlying the process approach.
METHODS
37 subjects of MCI, 35 subjects of AD and 38 subjects of healthy control (HC) were included. The process approach in Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), including discriminability (A'), response bias (B"), semantic clustering (LBC) and serial clustering (LBC) was performed. The gray matter volume (GMV) was analyzed by voxel-based morphometry. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and partial correlations were conducted to explore the value of the process approach and investigate the relationship between the process approach, traditional indices of AVLT and GMV.
RESULTS
ROC analysis showed the value of A', B" and LBC in differentiating MCI and AD. Combining AVLT-Immediately Recall (AVLT-IR) and LBC showed a higher value in diagnosing MCI. Partial correlations revealed that in the MCI group, A' and B" were mainly positively associated with GMV of the hippocampus and temporal lobe.
CONCLUSION
This study indicated that the process approach is a promising cognitive biomarker to detect MCI and AD.
Topics: Humans; Cognitive Dysfunction; Alzheimer Disease; Male; Female; Aged; Gray Matter; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Biomarkers; Middle Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Neuropsychological Tests
PubMed: 38872077
DOI: 10.1186/s12883-024-03711-2 -
Behavioural Brain Research Jun 2024Medial temporal lobe atrophy has been linked to decline in neuropsychological measures of explicit memory function. While the hippocampus has long been identified as a...
BACKGROUND
Medial temporal lobe atrophy has been linked to decline in neuropsychological measures of explicit memory function. While the hippocampus has long been identified as a critical structure in learning and memory processes, less is known about contributions of the amygdala to these functions. We sought to investigate the relationship between amygdala volume and memory functioning in a clinical sample of older adults with and without cognitive impairment.
METHODS
A serial clinical sample of older adults that underwent neuropsychological assessment at an outpatient neurology clinic was selected for retrospective chart review. Patients were included in the study if they completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment within six months of a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. Regional brain volumes were quantified using Neuroreader® software. Associations between bilateral hippocampal and amygdala volumes and memory scores, derived from immediate and delayed recall conditions of a verbal story learning task and a visual design reconstruction task, were examined using mixed-effects general linear models, controlling for total intracranial volume, scanner model, age, sex and education. Partial correlation coefficients, adjusted for these covariates, were calculated to estimate the strength of the association between volumes and memory scores.
RESULTS
A total of 68 (39 F, 29 M) participants were included in the analyses, with a mean (SD) adjusted age of 80.1 (6.0) and educational level of 15.9 (2.5) years. Controlling for age, sex, education, and total intracranial volume, greater amygdala volumes were associated with better verbal and visual memory performance, with effect sizes comparable to hippocampal volume. No significant lateralized effects were observed. Partial correlation coefficients ranged from 0.47 to 0.33 (p<.001).
CONCLUSION
These findings contribute to a growing body of knowledge identifying the amygdala as a target for further research in memory functioning. This highlights the importance of considering the broader functioning of the limbic system in which multiple subcortical structures contribute to memory processes and decline in older adults.
PubMed: 38871129
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115112 -
Journal of Safety Research Jun 2024Highly automated driving is expected to reduce the accident risk occurrence by human errors, but it can also increase driver distraction. Previous evidence shows that...
INTRODUCTION
Highly automated driving is expected to reduce the accident risk occurrence by human errors, but it can also increase driver distraction. Previous evidence shows that auditory signals can help drivers take over in critical situations. However, it is still uncertain whether the potential benefit of verbal auditory signals could be generalized to driving situations where drivers are visually and auditorily distracted.
METHOD
Our first objective was to compare the effectiveness of complementary audio messages (audio + visual condition) and visual only (visual condition) variable message signs (VMS) messages. The second objective was to explore the potential use of oral messages with traffic information to help highly-automated vehicle drivers identify critical situations. Eye-tracking data were also registered. Twenty-four volunteers participated in a driving simulator study, completing two tasks: (a) a TV series task, where they had to pay attention to an episode of a TV series while traveling along the route; and (b) a VMS task, where they had to recover the manual control of the car if the VMS message was a 'critical message.'
RESULTS
General results showed that, when the audio was available, the participants: (a) had a higher ability to discriminate the VMS messages, (b) were less conservative, (c) responded earlier, and (d) their pattern of fixations was more efficient. A complementary analysis showed that the counterbalance order was a moderating factor for the discrimination ability and the response distance measures. This evidence suggests a potential learning effect, not cancelled by counterbalancing the order of the conditions.
CONCLUSION
The processing of traffic messages may improve when provided as oral and visual messages.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
These results would be of special interest for engineers designing highly automated cars, considering that the design of automated systems must ensure that the driver's attention is sufficient to take over control.
Topics: Humans; Male; Adult; Distracted Driving; Female; Attention; Young Adult; Automobile Driving; Computer Simulation; Eye-Tracking Technology; Automation; Accidents, Traffic
PubMed: 38858040
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2024.01.014 -
Industrial Psychiatry Journal 2024Alcohol is a widely consumed substance associated with around 5.6% of all causes of death. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing and remitting illness and...
BACKGROUND
Alcohol is a widely consumed substance associated with around 5.6% of all causes of death. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing and remitting illness and has been known to be associated with impaired executive functions, processing speed, memory, attention, and fluency. It is also associated with impaired quality of life (QoL), which in turn can affect overall prognosis.
AIM
To assess neurocognition in patients with alcohol dependence and correlate it with QoL and relapse.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was a prospective, longitudinal study of sixty alcohol dependence patients from January 2020 to June 2021 after appropriate ethical approval. Participants were assessed for baseline alcohol dependence, neurocognition (focused, sustained and divided attention; processing speed; verbal and category fluency; working memory; response inhibition; verbal comprehension; verbal learning and memory; visuospatial construction; visual learning and memory) and QoL using Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) battery for neurocognition and WHO-BREF (WHO-Quality of Life-short-form scale) World Health Organization-scale, respectively. A follow-up was conducted in three months to assess relapse in the patients. Statistical analysis was conducted by International Business Machines Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) v16.
RESULTS
Mean age of the study participants was 41.3 ± 5.03 years, mean age of onset of alcohol use was 20.88 ± 4.27 years, mean duration of alcohol use of 16.6 ± 7.92 years, and average 14.55 ± 4.86 drinks per day. The mean AUDIT score of the study population was 25.21 ± 7.18. There was significant positive correlation between duration of use and CTT-2; 37 out of 57 participants relapsed to alcohol (three participants had died in follow-up) with mean 37.48 ± 23.27 days of relapse, mean 3.32 ± 1.2 drinking days per week, and mean 6 ± 1.2 drinks per drinking day. There was negative and positive correlation between neurocognition and relapse and between neurocognition and QoL.
CONCLUSION
Alcohol use also resulted in impaired cognitive function of the study participants. There was also significant difference in score for neurocognition test between relapse and abstinent group. The significant correlation between neurocognition and QoL as well as neurocognition and relapse proves the deleterious effect of alcohol in every aspect of life.
PubMed: 38853790
DOI: 10.4103/ipj.ipj_158_23 -
Molecular Psychiatry Jun 2024This study aims to determine whether 1) individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia display early cognitive impairment compared to treatment-responders and...
This study aims to determine whether 1) individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia display early cognitive impairment compared to treatment-responders and healthy controls and 2) N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor hypofunction is an underlying mechanism of cognitive deficits in treatment-resistance. In this case‒control 3-year-follow-up longitudinal study, n = 697 patients with first-episode psychosis, aged 18 to 35, were screened for Treatment Response and Resistance in Psychosis criteria through an algorithm that assigns patients to responder, limited-response or treatment-resistant category (respectively resistant to 0, 1 or 2 antipsychotics). Assessments at baseline: MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery; N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor co-agonists biomarkers in brain by MRS (prefrontal glutamate levels) and plasma (D-serine and glutamate pathways key markers). Patients were compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 114). Results: patient mean age 23, 27% female. Treatment-resistant (n = 51) showed lower scores than responders (n = 183) in processing speed, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning and visual learning. Limited responders (n = 59) displayed an intermediary phenotype. Treatment-resistant and limited responders were merged in one group for the subsequent D-serine and glutamate pathway analyses. This group showed D-serine pathway dysregulation, with lower levels of the enzymes serine racemase and serine-hydroxymethyltransferase 1, and higher levels of the glutamate-cysteine transporter 3 than in responders. Better cognition was associated with higher D-serine and lower glutamate-cysteine transporter 3 levels only in responders; this association was disrupted in the treatment resistant group. Treatment resistant patients and limited responders displayed early cognitive and persistent functioning impairment. The dysregulation of NMDAR co-agonist pathways provides underlying molecular mechanisms for cognitive deficits in treatment-resistant first-episode psychosis. If replicated, our findings would open ways to mechanistic biomarkers guiding response-based patient stratification and targeting cognitive improvement in clinical trials.
PubMed: 38849515
DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02631-4 -
Cognitive Impairments in Drug-Naive Patients With First-Episode Negative Symptom-Dominant Psychosis.JAMA Network Open Jun 2024Available antipsychotic medications are predominantly used to treat positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, in patients with first-episode psychosis...
IMPORTANCE
Available antipsychotic medications are predominantly used to treat positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, treating negative and cognitive symptoms, which are closely related to functional outcomes, remains a challenge.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the cognitive characteristics of patients with negative symptom-dominant (NSD) psychosis.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This large-scale cross-sectional study of patients with FEP was led by the Shanghai Mental Health Center in China from 2016 to 2021, with participants recruited from 10 psychiatric tertiary hospitals. A comprehensive cognitive assessment was performed among 788 patients with FEP who were drug-naive. Symptom profiles were determined using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS), and NSD was defined as a PANSS score for negative symptoms higher than that for positive and general symptoms. Positive symptom-dominant (PSD) and general symptom-dominant (GSD) psychosis were defined similarly. Data were analyzed in 2023.
EXPOSURE
Psychotic symptoms were categorized into 3 groups: NSD, PSD, and GSD.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Neurocognitive performance, assessed using the Chinese version of the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery.
RESULTS
This study included 788 individuals with FEP (median age, 22 [IQR, 17-28] years; 399 men [50.6%]). Patients with NSD exhibited more-pronounced cognitive impairment than did those with PSD or GSD. Specifically, cognitive differences between the NSD and PSD group, as well as between the NSD and GSD group, were most notable in the processing speed and attention domains (Trail Making [F = 4.410; P = .01], Symbol Coding [F = 4.957; P = .007], Verbal Learning [F = 3.198; P = .04], and Continuous Performance [F = 3.057; P = .05]). Patients with PSD and GSD showed no significant cognitive differences. Cognitive impairment was positively associated with the severity of negative symptoms. Most of the cognitive function tests used were able to differentiate patients with NSD from those with PSD and GSD, with significant differences observed across a range of tests, from Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (χ2 = 3.968; P = .05) to Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia symbol coding (χ2 = 9.765; P = .002).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The findings of this cross-sectional study of patients with FEP suggest the presence of a clinical subtype characterized by a predominance of negative symptoms and cognitive impairment.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cognitive Dysfunction; Psychotic Disorders; Adult; China; Young Adult; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Schizophrenia; Adolescent; Neuropsychological Tests
PubMed: 38842809
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15110 -
Brain and Behavior Jun 2024Cerebral specialization and interhemispheric cooperation are two vital features of the human brain. Their dysfunction may be associated with disease progression in...
BACKGROUND
Cerebral specialization and interhemispheric cooperation are two vital features of the human brain. Their dysfunction may be associated with disease progression in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is featured as progressive cognitive degeneration and asymmetric neuropathology.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to examine and define two inherent properties of hemispheric function in patients with AD by utilizing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).
METHODS
Sixty-four clinically diagnosed AD patients and 52 age- and sex-matched cognitively normal subjects were recruited and underwent MRI and clinical evaluation. We calculated and compared brain specialization (autonomy index, AI) and interhemispheric cooperation (connectivity between functionally homotopic voxels, CFH).
RESULTS
In comparison to healthy controls, patients with AD exhibited enhanced AI in the left middle occipital gyrus. This increase in specialization can be attributed to reduced functional connectivity in the contralateral region, such as the right temporal lobe. The CFH of the bilateral precuneus and prefrontal areas was significantly decreased in AD patients compared to controls. Imaging-cognitive correlation analysis indicated that the CFH of the right prefrontal cortex was marginally positively related to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score in patients and the Auditory Verbal Learning Test score. Moreover, taking abnormal AI and CFH values as features, support vector machine-based classification achieved good accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve by leave-one-out cross-validation.
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that individuals with AD have abnormal cerebral specialization and interhemispheric cooperation. This provides new insights for further elucidation of the pathological mechanisms of AD.
Topics: Humans; Alzheimer Disease; Female; Male; Aged; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Brain; Middle Aged; Support Vector Machine; Aged, 80 and over
PubMed: 38841739
DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3550 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Jun 2024Age at first onset of depression as a clinical factor affecting cognitive improvement in late life depression was investigated.
Cognitive improvement in late-life depression treated with vortioxetine and duloxetine in an eight-week randomized controlled trial: The role of age at first onset and change in depressive symptoms.
BACKGROUND
Age at first onset of depression as a clinical factor affecting cognitive improvement in late life depression was investigated.
METHODS
This is a secondary analysis of an eight-week randomized controlled trial involving 452 elderly patients treated by vortioxetine, duloxetine or placebo (1:1:1). Patients were subcategorized into early-onset (LLD-EO) and late-onset (LLD-LO) groups divided by onset age of 50. Cognitive performance was assessed by composite score of Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) tasks, while depressive symptoms were assessed by Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).
RESULTS
Vortioxetine and duloxetine exhibited advantages versus placebo in improving cognitive performance in the LLD-LO group, yet not in the LLD-EO group after eight weeks. Patients in the LLD-EO group showed overall advantage to placebo in depressive symptoms before endpoint (week 8) of treatment, while patients in the LLO-LO group showed no advantage until endpoint. Path analysis suggested a direct effect of vortioxetine (B = 0.656, p = .036) and duloxetine (B = 0.726, p = .028) on improving cognition in the LLD-LO group, yet in all-patients treated set both medications improved cognition indirectly through changes of depressive symptoms.
LIMITATION
Reliability of clinical history could raise caution as it was collected by subjective recall of patients.
CONCLUSION
Age at first onset might affect cognitive improvement as well as change in depressive symptoms and its mediation towards cognitive improvement in late life depression treated with vortioxetine and duloxetine.
PubMed: 38838790
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.003