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Background Methods Results Conclusions Life‐space mobility captures the daily, enacted mobility of older adults. We determined cross‐sectional associations between life‐space mobility and cognitive impairment (CI) among community‐dwelling women in the 9th and 10th decades of life.A total of 1375 (mean age 88 years; 88% White) community‐dwelling women enrolled in a prospective cohort of older women. Life‐space score was calculated with range 0 (daily restriction to one's bedroom) to 120 (daily trips leaving town without assistance) and categorized (0–20, 21–40, 41–60, 61–80, 81–120). The primary outcome was adjudicated CI defined as mild cognitive impairment or dementia; scores on a 6‐test cognitive battery were secondary outcomes.Compared to women with life‐space scores of 81–120 and after adjustment for demographics and depressive symptoms, the odds of CI was 1.4‐fold (OR 1.36, 95% CI 0.91–2.03) higher for women with life‐space scores of 61–80, twofold (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.33–2.94) higher for women with life‐space scores of 41–60, 2.6‐fold (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.71–4.01) higher for women with life‐space scores of 21–40, and 2.7‐fold (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.27–5.79) higher for women with life‐space scores of 0–20. The association of life‐space scores with adjudicated CI was primarily due to higher odds of dementia; the odds of dementia versus normal cognition was eightfold (OR 8.63, 95% CI 3.20–23.26) higher among women with life‐space scores of 0–20 compared to women with life‐space scores of 81–120. Lower life‐space scores were associated in a graded manner with lower mean scores on tests of delayed recall (California Verbal Learning Test‐II delayed recall) and language and executive function (phonemic fluency, category fluency, and Trails B). Life‐space score was not associated with scores on tests of attention and working memory (forward and backward digit span).Lower life‐space mobility is associated in a graded manner with CI among community‐dwelling White women in the 9th and 10th decades of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Working memory (WM) impairment is a common phenomenon after stroke; however, its management in rehabilitation is less researched. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to provide a quantitative synthesis of the impact of computerised cognitive training (CCT) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on WM span in post-stroke individuals. Methods: The literature search in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library focused on randomized controlled trials testing the effect of CCT and tDCS on treated stroke patients as compared to untreated controls. Neuropsychological instruments such as Digit Span Forward/Backward and Visual Span Forward Tests defined the outcome of WM span. After extracting study characteristics and quality assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, we conducted a meta-analysis and meta-regression using standardised mean differences. Results: The search yielded 4142 articles, nine of which (N = 461) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In the case of CCT, we found significant improvement in Digit Span Backward Test (Z = 2.65, P = 0.008; 95% CI [0.10, 0.67]) and Visual Span Forward Test performance (Z = 3.05, P = 0.002; 95% CI [0.15, 0.69]), while for tDCS, we could not find a sufficient number of studies for the analysis. Furthermore, no significant moderating factor was found in the meta-regression. Conclusions: In conclusion, CCT appears to be a suitable choice to enhance WM span performance after stroke. However, further research is needed to investigate the effect of tDCS due to the limited number of studies. Trial registration: The meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) standards with a PROSPERO registration protocol (ID: CRD42023387182). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous trials have indicated that multimodal training could improve cognitive functions and moods in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, evidence was mainly obtained from studies in high-income countries. Objective: This trial aims to investigate the efficacy, safety, and potential mechanism of a multimodal intervention on cognitive function in individuals with MCI living in a community. Methods: In this single-blind, randomized controlled trial, 120 participants with MCI were randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group received the multimodal intervention, while the control group received regular health education. Neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were conducted at baseline and after the 12-week intervention. Results: Fifty-nine and fifty-seven participants respectively in the intervention and control groups completed the trial. The intervention group shown improvements in primary outcome, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) total score (mean difference –0.96, 95% CI [–1.58, –0.34], p = 0.003), and secondary outcomes: MMSE recall (–0.39, 95% CI [–0.71, –0.07], p = 0.019), MMSE language (–0.26, 95% CI [–0.44, –0.07], p = 0.007), Auditory Verbal Learning Test instantaneous memory (–3.30, 95% CI [–5.70, –0.89], p = 0.008), Digit Symbol Substitution Test total score (–2.91, 95% CI [–5.67, –0.15], p = 0.039), digit span forwards (–1.25, 95% CI [–1.93, –0.56], p < 0.001), and Digit Span Test (–1.33, 95% CI [–2.33, –0.34], p = 0.009) compared to the control group. Improvements were observed in structural and functional connectivity related to language, concentration, executive function, memory, and recall functioning via MRI in the intervention group. Conclusions: The multimodal intervention improved cognitive function in individuals with MCI in cognitive performance and neuroimaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questionnaire-based symptom validity tests (SVTs) are an indispensable diagnostic tool for evaluating the credibility of patients' claimed symptomatology, both in forensic and in clinical assessment contexts. In 2019, the comprehensive professional manual of a new SVT, the Self-Report Symptom Inventory (SRSI), was published in German. Its English-language version was first tested in the UK. This experimental analogue study investigated 20 adults simulating minor head injury symptoms and 21 honestly responding participants. The effect sizes of differences between the two groups were large, with the simulating group endorsing a higher number of pseudosymptoms, both on the SRSI and the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology, and scoring lower on the Reliable Digit Span than the control group. The results are similar to those obtained in previous research of different SRSI language versions, supporting the effort to validate the English-language SRSI version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate multiple embedded performance validity indicators within the Digits Forward and Digits Backward subtests of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB), including Reliable Digit Span (RDS), as no published papers have examined embedded digit span validity indicators within these subtests of the NAB. Retrospective archival chart review was conducted at an outpatient neuropsychology clinic. Participants were 92 adults (ages 19−68) who completed NAB Digits Forward and Digits Backward, and the Word Choice Test (WCT). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, t-tests, and sensitivity and specificity analyses were conducted. Analyses showed that RDS demonstrated acceptable classification accuracy between those who passed the WCT and those who did not. The area under the curve (AUC) value for RDS was 0.702; however, AUC values for all other digit span indices were unacceptably low. The optimal cutoff for RDS was identified (<8). RDS for the NAB appears to be an adequate indicator of performance validity; however, considering the very small number of participants who were invalid on the WCT (n = 15), as well as the utilization of only one stand-alone PVT to classify validity status, these findings are preliminary and in need of replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study proposed and evaluated a theoretical model for exploring the relationships between neurocognition, self-defeatist beliefs, experiential negative symptoms, and social functioning in individuals with chronic schizophrenia. Method: The study recruited 229 individuals given a diagnosis of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders from outpatient clinics and the day ward of a mental health hospital. After informed consent was obtained, the participants underwent assessments using the backward digit span, the digit symbol, and measures of self-defeatist beliefs, experiential negative symptoms, and social functioning. A structural equation model was applied to assess the fitness of the hypothesized model, with indices such as the goodness-of-fit index, comparative fit index, root mean square error of approximation, and standardized root mean square residual being used for model evaluation. Results: The hypothesized model had an adequate fit. The study findings indicated that neurocognition might indirectly influence self-defeatist beliefs through its effect on experiential negative symptoms. Contrary to expectations, the study did not observe a direct influence of neurocognition, self-defeatist beliefs, or negative symptoms on social functioning. The revised model revealed the role of experiential negative symptoms in mediating the association between neurocognition and social functioning. However, self-defeatist beliefs did not significantly affect social functioning. Discussion: Before modifying negative thoughts, enhancement of self-awareness ability can help improve negative symptoms and thereby improve the performance of social functions. Future research should develop a hierarchical program of negative symptoms, from cognition rehabilitation to enhancement of self-awareness, and end with modifying maladaptive beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjective: This study examined the performance validity test (PVT) pass/fail rate in a sample of presurgical epilepsy candidates; assessed whether performance validity was associated with reduced performance across cognitive domains; investigated the relationship between performance validity and self-report mood questionnaires; and assessed whether PVT performance was associated with demographic or clinical factors (i.e. sex, race/ethnicity, age, years of education, reported history of special education, seizure longevity, and number of anti-seizure medications). Methods: One hundred and eighty-three presurgical epilepsy candidates were examined. Each patient’s assessment battery included a stand-alone performance validity measure and two embedded validity measures. Results: PVT failure rate in this sample (10%) was associated with reduced performance on all neurocognitive measures: Full Scale IQ (FSIQ; r = −0.26), CVLT-II Total Learning (r = −0.36) and Long Delay Free Recall (LDFR; r = −0.38), BVMT-R Delayed Recall (r = −0.28), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Categories Completed; r = −0.32). In addition, PVT failure rate was associated with elevated scores on the Beck Anxiety Inventory (r = .22) but not on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II; r = .14). Correlations that were significant at the α = 0.05 level maintained significance following post hoc Bonferroni correction. The valid and invalid groups did not differ significantly in sex, race/ethnicity, age, years of education, reported history of special education, seizure longevity, and number of anti-seizure medications. Conclusions: Results from this study suggest that PVT performance was not impacted by demographic or clinical factors and therefore may be a reliable indicator of performance validity in a presurgical epilepsy sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Information about the development of cognitive skills and the effect of sensory integration in children using auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) is still limited. Objective: This study primarily aims to investigate the relationship between sensory processing skills and attention and memory abilities in children with ABI, and secondarily aims to examine the effects of implant duration on sensory processing and cognitive skills in these children. Methods: The study included 25 children between the ages of 6 and 10 years (mean age: 14 girls and 11 boys) with inner ear and/or auditory nerve anomalies using auditory brainstem implants. Visual‐Aural Digit Span Test B, Marking Test, Dunn Sensory Profile Questionnaire were applied to all children. Results: The sensory processing skills of children are statistically significant and positive, and moderately related to their cognitive skills. As the duration of implant use increases, better attention and memory performances have been observed (p <.05). Conclusion: The study demonstrated the positive impact of sensory processing on the development of memory and attention skills in children with ABI. It will contribute to evaluating the effectiveness of attention, memory, and sensory integration skills, and aiding in the development of more effective educational strategies for these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Exergames are an innovative method that can promote neuroplasticity and improve the cognitive abilities of the elderly. This study aimed to compare the effects of single-task and multi-task exergames on the cognitive ability of the elderly with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: Computerized literature search was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Elsevier, ProQuest, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang and VIP database to identify relevant articles from the establishment of the database from inception to April 1, 2024. The inclusion criteria were: (i) participants aged 60 or older diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, regardless of gender; (ii) use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs); (iii) interventions involving exergames with physical activity or as the primary variable; and (iv) outcome measures using standardized neuropsychological instruments to assess cognitive function, including statistical data on sample size, mean, and standard deviation. Finally, the included study comprised a total of 526 participants. Mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to synthesize the effect size in the data. Results: 11 studies were included. Due to the differences in the intervention methods, subgroup analysis was performed on the included research. Compared with the control group assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale, the single-task intervention improved the cognitive ability of the elderly with MCI (MD 3.40, 95% CI 2.43-4.37), the Mini-Mental State Examination Scale (MD 2.38, 95% CI μ2.03 to 2.72), the Trail Making Test (MD μ3.89, 95% CI â6.45 to â1.33), and the Digit Span Forward test (MD 1.16, 95% CI 0.73-1.60). Conclusion: This meta-analysis supports that exergames could be an effective cognitive rehabilitation method for MCI patients. Our study recommends that patients implement a customized exergames program and adhere to it for a long time. It is necessary to pay attention to the exercise guidelines and provide evidence from clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies have suggested concurrent correlations between working memory and linguistic skills for children with intellectual disabilities; however, evidence for the longitudinal relationship is sparse. This study collected longitudinal data on working memory and linguistic skills from 103 Chinese school-aged children with intellectual disabilities. At the first time of testing, children were 6 to 16 years old and completed measurements of working memory and receptive vocabulary. The same measurements were administered 1 and 2 years later. Children's working memory was assessed by backward digit span and starting position selection, and receptive vocabulary was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test. The random intercept cross-lagged panel model results demonstrated that working memory scores significantly predicted changes in receptive vocabulary for children with intellectual disabilities over time, but the reverse pattern was not evident. To some extent, our findings suggested that interventions targeting boosting working memory may subsequently enhance receptive vocabulary in children with intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of non-invasive neurostimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), is increasingly prevalent in psychiatry due to their efficacy and safety. Although the precise therapeutic mechanisms remain partially unclear, repetitive TMS, particularly high-frequency stimulation, may enhance cognitive functions, contributing to therapeutic benefits. This within-subjects study examined the impact of TMS on cognitive and symptomatic outcomes in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), substance use disorder (SUD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). A total of 44 patients underwent cognitive tests and symptom assessments before and after an intensive four-week TMS treatment phase, followed by a four-week maintenance phase. Cognitive assessments included Raven's matrices, verbal fluency, and digit span tests, while symptom severity was measured using the Italian version of the SCL-90-R. Decision-making performance was also evaluated by administering a delay discounting (DD) test. Principal component analysis was used to generate a dimensional characterization of subjects along cognitive and symptom-related axes before and after treatment. The results indicated that TMS significantly improved symptom scores, but no significant cognitive enhancement was observed. Statistical analysis based on linear mixed-effects models confirmed these findings, showing a significant fixed effect of TMS treatment on symptoms but not on cognitive performance. DD metrics remained unchanged. These findings suggest that while TMS effectively alleviates clinical symptoms, it does not produce consistent or appreciable enhancement of cognitive functions in these protocols. This study highlights the need for more personalized and combined therapeutic approaches to maximize the benefits of TMS, potentially incorporating cognitive enhancement strategies. Future studies will be useful to explore whether the results we obtained are valid for other pathologies, cognitive tests, and stimulation protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety can have adverse effects on cognition such as impairing test performance or restricting working memory. One way of reducing anxiety is through humor, and the present research investigated if the perception of laughter, which is often seen as a reaction to humor, could impact self-reported anxiety. Participants completed the STAI battery containing subscales for both state and trait anxiety before and after one of three manipulations: a laughter sounds rating task, a neutral sounds rating task, or a working memory span task. Results showed that perceiving laughter decreased both state and trait anxiety, taking a working memory test increased state anxiety, and perceiving neutral sounds had no effect on either type of anxiety. These findings are interpreted as evidence that the positive emotions induced by hearing laughter help to regulate anxiety by undoing arousal, even when negative emotions are not present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired cognition has been demonstrated in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). The subcortical limbic structures play a key role in PBD. However, alternations of anatomical and functional characteristics of subcortical limbic structures and their relationship with neurocognition of PBD remain unclear. Thirty-six PBD type I (PBD-I) (15.36 ± 0.32 years old), twenty PBD type II (PBD-II) (14.80 ± 0.32 years old) and nineteen age-gender matched healthy controls (HCs) (14.16 ± 0.36 years old) were enlisted. Primarily, the volumes of the subcortical limbic structures were obtained and differences in the volumes were evaluated. Then, these structures served as seeds of regions of interest to calculate the voxel-wised functional connectivity (FC). After that, correlation analysis was completed between volumes and FC of brain regions showing significant differences and neuropsychological tests. Compared to HCs, both PBD-I and PBD-II patients showed a decrease in the Stroop color word test (SCWT) and digit span backward test scores. Compared with HCs, PBD-II patients exhibited a significantly increased volume of right septal nuclei, and PBD-I patients presented increased FC of right nucleus accumbens and bilateral pallidum, of right basal forebrain with right putamen and left pallidum. Both the significantly altered volumes and FC were negatively correlated with SCWT scores. The study revealed the role of subcortical limbic structural and functional abnormalities on cognitive impairments in PBD patients. These may have far-reaching significance for the etiology of PBD and provide neuroimaging clues for the differential diagnosis of PBD subtypes. Distinctive features of neural structure and function in PBD subtypes may contribute to better comprehending the potential mechanisms of PBD. • Increased volume of the right septal nuclei. • Aberrated functional connectivity of subcortical limbic structures. • Alternations of structural and functional characteristics were negatively correlated with Stroop color word test scores in pediatric bipolar disorder subtypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infra-low frequency neurofeedback training (ILF-NFT) has shown promise in addressing cognitive and affective distress symptoms across a range of psychiatric disorders. This study tested ILF-NFT's effects in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled longitudinal context in healthy psychology students. Across five weeks, forty-two healthy psychology students (aged 18–35) were randomly allocated into two groups, receiving ten sessions of 30 minutes of active and sham ILF-NFT. Dependent variables were measured before, following, and two months after the intervention and were comprised of: heartrate variability assessments as a measure of stress resilience; digit span, n-back, trail making and go-no-go task measures of executive functioning performance; and SCL-90-R, WHOQOL-Bref, and peak performance measures of subjective self-report. Statistical analysis was performed using an ANCOVA and compared across groups correcting for baseline differences and multiple comparisons. ANCOVA analyses revealed no significant differences across active and placebo groups in any dependent variables, when correcting for multiple comparisons. Thus, the remaining analyses focused on questionnaire correlations. Here, significant correlations were observed between the novel peak performance questionnaire with the SCL-90-R and WHOQOL-Bref, confirming its construct and retest validity. Despite several methodological limitations, including a potential type-2 error, this study highlights limited effects of ILF-NFT in healthy volunteers. Future research should thus focus on clinically driven experimental designs to explore ILF-NFT's potential in psychiatric contexts. Further research utilization of the novel peak performance questionnaire is recommended for measures of peak performance. • The present study intervention of infra-low frequency neurofeedback training: •did not beat placebo in physiological, cognitive performance or self-report domains •was compromised by several methodological limitations, including •ten rather than 20 ILF-NFT sessions administered by non-expert clinicians •which points towards further exploring its potential in clinical psychiatric contexts • A novel performance questionnaire significantly correlated with SCL-90-R and WHO [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to investigate the role of aerobic capacity on cognitive functions during hypoxic conditions. Possessing a mishap risk in aviation, acute hypobaric hypoxia has some negative effects on cognitive functions. Therefore, it is important to develop hypoxia tolerance to preserve the mental functions of pilots against possible hypoxic conditions during flight. A total of 25 pilot candidates were included in this study. The subjects were dichotomized into two groups as high-fit and low-fit according to aerobic capacities. Hypoxia was applied at an altitude equivalent pressure of 18,000 ft. Go/NoGo and Digit Span cognitive tests were applied in two phases before hypoxia training and during hypoxia. In the low-fit group, for the Go/NoGo test parameters, the mean R-Go reaction time increased significantly during hypoxia when compared to before hypoxia training. Additionally, in the low-fit group for the Digit Span test parameters, the memory span and the sum of correct answers both decreased significantly during hypoxia. In the high-fit group, there was no significant difference between the two test parameters during hypoxia. The results of this study indicate that physical fitness has a positive effect on the deterioration of cognitive functions during hypoxia. It could be useful to suggest regular physical exercise habits for aircrews to increase their acute hypoxia tolerance in terms of cognitive function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction In clinical practice, patients with the same degree and configuration of hearing loss, or even with normal audiometric thresholds, present substantially different performances in terms of speech perception. This probably happens because other factors, in addition to auditory sensitivity, interfere with speech perception. Thus, studies are needed to investigate the performance of listeners in unfavorable listening conditions to identify the processes that interfere in the speech perception of these subjects. Objective To verify the influence of age, temporal processing, and working memory on speech recognition in noise. Methods Thirty-eight adult and elderly individuals with normal hearing thresholds participated in the study. Participants were divided into two groups: The adult group (G1), composed of 10 individuals aged 21 to 33 years, and the elderly group (G2), with 28 participants aged 60 to 81 years. They underwent audiological assessment with the Portuguese Sentence List Test, Gaps-in-Noise test, Digit Span Memory test, Running Span Task, Corsi Block-Tapping test, and Visual Pattern test. Results The Running Span Task score proved to be a statistically significant predictor of the listening-in-noise variable. This result showed that the difference in performance between groups G1 and G2 in relation to listening in noise is due not only to aging, but also to changes in working memory. Conclusion The study showed that working memory is a predictor of listening performance in noise in individuals with normal hearing, and that this task can provide important information for investigation in individuals who have difficulty hearing in unfavorable environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The digit span test (DST) is one of the most widely used neuropsychological tools to measure two neurocognitive functions of working memory and attention. Objectives: This study aimed to collect Iranian normative data on DST and examine the association between three demographic variables and performance in DST. Materials & Methods: As part of the Iranian brain imaging database (IBID) project, the present study was conducted in 2017-2018 on three hundred normal people aged 20 to 70. They were recruited using convenience sampling in Tehran City, Iran. Each decade consisted of 60 participants, and the gender proportion was equal. Five decades of age, gender and education were the independent variables. The dependent variables were DST scores (the longest digit sequence and total digit span). Results: Age and education had a significant negative and positive correlation with both subtests (P=0.01), respectively; however, no significant correlation was observed between gender and DST scores (P>0.05). According to multivariate analysis of variance, the interaction of age, gender and education did not lead to a significant difference in the DST scores (P=0.309). In addition, The Tukey post hoc test showed that participants under 40 had significantly higher DST scores than older participants (P<0.05). Conclusion: The demographic variables have a significant association with the working memory and attention performance of the normal Iranian population, and it is necessary to interpret DST scores using regional normative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children, especially those with neurodevelopmental disorders, often experience challenges in memory functioning. This literature directs to the imperative implications of working memory (WM), especially in academics. Objective: Given the distinct nature of WM in children and those with neurodevelopmental disorders, our study explored the role of alpha and beta visual entrainment on their WM performances. Methods: NCPs (n = 19) and CPs with ADHD and comorbid conditions of autism (n = 15) participated in our study. We adopted a repeated measure intervention-based design along with alpha-and-beta visual entrainment. Pretest, posttest, and follow-up data were collected using digit span tests. Electroencephalography (EEG) was further recorded during the entrainment phase. We administered statistical and coherence factor analysis to derive our results. Results: We observed that experimental participants performed better following the visual entrainment sessions. We further observed that alpha entrainment affected the digit span scores among clinical participants, whereas beta entrainment affected the performance of the nonclinical group. The entrainment effects additionally varied depending on the participant's clinical symptoms. However, we found negligible long-term entrainment effects on their WM. Conclusion: Our observations explore the probability of individual effects of alpha and beta entrainment sessions on children's WM performances and open an avenue for further research in the clinical domain. The study suggests translating brainwave entrainment into an intervention to promote cognition among children, especially those with neurodevelopmental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Localization of a sound source in the horizontal plane depends on the listener's interaural comparison of arrival time and level. Hearing loss (HL) can reduce access to these binaural cues, possibly disrupting the localization and memory of spatial information. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the horizontal sound localization performance and the spatial short-term memory in listeners with actual and simulated HL. Subjects and Methods: Seventeen listeners with bilateral symmetric HL and 17 listeners with normal hearing (NH) participated in the study. The hearing thresholds of NH listeners were elevated by a spectrally shaped masking noise for the simulations of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and bilateral hearing loss (BHL). The localization accuracy and errors as well as the spatial short-term memory span were measured in the free field using a set of 11 loudspeakers arrayed over a 150° arc. Results: The localization abilities and spatial short-term memory span did not significantly differ between actual BHL listeners and BHL-simulated NH listeners. Overall, the localization performance with the UHL simulation was approximately twofold worse than that with the BHL simulation, and the hearing asymmetry led to a detrimental effect on spatial memory. The mean localization score as a function of stimulus location in the UHL simulation was less than 30% even for the front (0° azimuth) stimuli and much worse on the side closer to the simulated ear. In the UHL simulation, the localization responses were biased toward the side of the intact ear even when sounds were coming from the front. Conclusions: Hearing asymmetry induced by the UHL simulation substantially disrupted the localization performance and recall abilities of spatial positions encoded and stored in the memory, due to fewer chances to learn strategies to improve localization. The marked effect of hearing asymmetry on sound localization highlights the need for clinical assessments of spatial hearing in addition to conventional hearing tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dementia affects multiple aspects of cognitive functioning, including working memory and executive functioning. Memory self-efficacy (MSE) has previously been related to episodic memory performance and to executive functioning, but little research has examined the relations between MSE and working memory. United States older adults (N = 197) were recruited via MTurk to complete an MSE questionnaire before completing a digit span working memory task. Hierarchical regression results revealed that the model accounted for a significant amount of variance in working memory performance after statistically controlling for several covariates, F(11, 179) = 4.94, p <.001, adjusted R2 =.19. MSE explained a large and unique portion of variance (B = 1.02, SE = 0.17, p <.001). Based on our findings, one's beliefs about their memory are positively associated with their working memory performance. These novel findings provide support for neuropsychologists to consider using MSE measures and utilizing MSE interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing prevalence of age-related cognitive decline, alongside the aging global population, underscores the urgent need for innovative and effective preventative strategies. While the advantages of combining physical and cognitive exercises have been recognized as a promising approach to address these socioeconomic challenges, the acute effects of such interventions on cognitive functions remain understudied. This study aimed to investigate whether simultaneous physical and cognitive exercise has a greater beneficial impact on the cognitive functions of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) than physical exercise alone or reading activities. A total of 44 MCI patients (75% females aged between 65 and 75 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: aerobic exercise alone (EG group, n = 15), aerobic combined with cognitive exercises (CEG group, n = 15), or a reading task for controls (CG group, n = 14). Attention, memory, and problem solving were assessed before and after the acute intervention using the Tower of Hanoi, Digit Span, and Stroop tasks, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that both of the experimental interventions appeared to enhance cognitive function scores (p < 0.05), except for the number of moves in the Tower of Hanoi task, where no improvement was noted. In contrast, no significant differences in any cognitive performance measures were observed following the reading session. Notably, the CEG group exhibited a more pronounced positive impact, especially on working memory. This advantage was specifically evident in the digit span tasks, where significantly greater percentage gains were found in the CEG than in the CG (p = 0.02), while no significant difference existed between the EG and CG. Simultaneous combined exercise has proven to be a more effective method than aerobic physical exercise alone for improving cognitive function. The results of this study are recommended for inclusion in clinical practice guidelines to maintain the mental health of older adults, as simultaneous exercise seems to offer a time-efficient strategy to enhance cognitive performance in adults with MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has successfully changed the clinical course of people with HIV, leading to a significant decline in the incidence of HIV-related neurocognitive disorders. Integrase strand transferase inhibitors (INSTI) are recommended and preferred first-line ART for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in ART-naïve subjects. This type of therapy regimen is expected to have higher CNS penetration, which may bring more cognitive stability or even make significant cognitive improvement in people with HIV. The study aimed to follow up on neurocognitive performance in HIV subjects on two types of INSTI therapy regimens at two-time points, one year apart. The study sample consisted of 61 ART naïve male participants, of which 32 were prescribed raltegravir (RAL) and 29 dolutegravir (DTG). There was no significant difference between subsamples according to the main sociodemographic (age, education level) and clinical characteristics (duration of therapy, nadir CD4 cells level, CD4 cells count, CD8 cells, CD4/CD8 ratio). For neurocognitive assessment, six measures were used: general cognitive ability (MoCA test), verbal fluency (total sum score for phonemic and category fluency), verbal working memory (digit span forward), cognitive capacity (digit span backwards), sustained attention (Color Trail Test 1), and divided attention (Color Trail Test 2). In both therapy groups (RAL and DTG), there was no significant decrease in neurocognitive achievement on all used measures over a one-year follow-up in both therapy groups. A statistically significant interactive effect of time and type of therapy was found on the measure of divided attention—DTG group showed slight improvement, whereas RAL group showed slight decrease in performance. During the one-year follow-up of persons on INSTI-based regimen, no significant changes in cognitive achievement were recorded, which suggests that the existing therapy can have a potentially positive effect on the maintenance of neurocognitive achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the predictive power of working memory and task type for syntactic complexity in EFL adult learners’ academic writing. One hundred forty-eight Chinese adult students were recruited as participants. Their working memory was assessed with an operation span task, a set of digit span tasks, and a symmetry span task. The syntactic complexity of their written products from two different TOEFL iBT writing tasks, an integrated writing task and an independent writing task, was measured using a natural language processing tool. Results showed a significant positive association between operation span and coordination in the students’ written products. In addition, a significant difference was found between the integrated task and the independent task with respect to phrasal complexity, with the integrated task eliciting more complex nominals per clause than the independent task. No significant effects were identified for other components of working memory or other measures of syntactic complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive decline is a significant health concern in our aging society. Here, we used the model organism C. elegans to investigate the impact of the IIS/FOXO pathway on age-related cognitive decline. The daf-2 Insulin/IGF-1 receptor mutant exhibits a significant extension of learning and memory span with age compared to wild-type worms, an effect that is dependent on the DAF-16 transcription factor. To identify possible mechanisms by which aging daf-2 mutants maintain learning and memory with age while wild-type worms lose neuronal function, we carried out neuron-specific transcriptomic analysis in aged animals. We observed downregulation of neuronal genes and upregulation of transcriptional regulation genes in aging wild-type neurons. By contrast, IIS/FOXO pathway mutants exhibit distinct neuronal transcriptomic alterations in response to cognitive aging, including upregulation of stress response genes and downregulation of specific insulin signaling genes. We tested the roles of significantly transcriptionally-changed genes in regulating cognitive functions, identifying novel regulators of learning and memory. In addition to other mechanistic insights, a comparison of the aged vs young daf-2 neuronal transcriptome revealed that a new set of potentially neuroprotective genes is upregulated; instead of simply mimicking a young state, daf-2 may enhance neuronal resilience to accumulation of harm and take a more active approach to combat aging. These findings suggest a potential mechanism for regulating cognitive function with age and offer insights into novel therapeutic targets for age-related cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the unit of information and the size of the unit for designing a voice user interface. Through two experiments, this study investigated what form the information (the unit of information) should take and what size of that (the size of unit) should be when people were provided information by voice interfaces. Participants were presented with a task to recall (OX quiz) by listening to and remembering information (based on an encyclopedia) provided by smart speakers. In Experiment 1, it was revealed that participants stored information in their memory span on a sentence-by-sentences basis to determine how much information they could remember. In Experiment 2, sentence-based information was presented in various sizes, and participants evaluated 17 information units consisting of up to nine words as their memory limit. This information unit-based voice interface design could help improve users' memory performance and usability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explores comparatively the effectiveness of a cognitive (verbal short-term memory (vSTM), verbal working memory (vWM)) and of a linguistic training (10-week duration each) in the diffusion of gains in cognitive abilities (vSTM and vWM) of in school-aged Greek-speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD). To this purpose, two computerized training programs i.e., a linguistic and a cognitive one, were developed and applied to three groups (A, B, and C) of children with DLD (N = 49, in total). There were three assessments with two vSTM tasks (non-word repetition and forward digit span) and a vWM task (backward digit span): pre-therapeutically (time 1), where no significant between-group differences were found, post-therapeutically I (time 2), and post-therapeutically II (time 3) and two training phases. In phase Ι, group A received meta-syntactic training, whereas group B vSTM/vWM training and group C received no training. In phase ΙΙ, a reversal of treatment was performed for groups A and B: group A received vSTM/vWM while group B meta-syntactic training. Again, group C received no training. Overall, the results indicated a significant performance improvement for the treatment groups and revealed beneficial far-transfer effects as language therapy can affect vSTM and vWM in addition to direct and near transfer effects. In addition, the intervention type order affected performance as follows: first, better performance on the vSTM task (non-word repetition) was shown when the linguistic treatment was delivered first; second, better performance on the vWM in Time 2 and Time 3 was shown by group B, for which the cognitive treatment was delivered first. Concluding, not only intervention type but also intervention type order can affect performance in DLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Neurofeedback training (NFT) has emerged as a promising approach for enhancing cognitive functions and reducing anxiety, yet its specific impact on university student populations requires further investigation. This study aims to examine the effects of NFT on working memory improvement and anxiety reduction within this demographic. (2) Methods: A total of forty healthy university student volunteers were randomized into two groups: an experimental group that received NFT and a control group. The NFT protocol was administered using a 14-channel Emotiv Epoc X headset (EMOTIV, Inc., San Francisco, CA 94102, USA) and BrainViz software version Brain Visualizer 1.1 (EMOTIV, Inc., San Francisco, CA 94102, USA), focusing on the alpha frequency band to target improvements in working memory and reductions in anxiety. Assessment tools, including the Corsi Block and Memory Span tests for working memory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-2 (STAI-2) for anxiety, were applied pre- and post-intervention. (3) Results: The findings indicated an increase in alpha wave amplitude in the experimental group from the second day of NFT, with statistically significant differences observed on days 2 (p < 0.05) and 8 (p < 0.01). Contrary to expectations based on the previous literature, the study did not observe a concurrent positive impact on working memory. Nonetheless, a significant reduction in state anxiety levels was recorded in the experimental group (p < 0.001), corroborating NFT's potential for anxiety management. (4) Conclusions: While these results suggest some potential of the technique in enhancing neural efficiency, the variability across different days highlights the need for further investigation to fully ascertain its effectiveness. The study confirms the beneficial impact of NFT on reducing state anxiety among university students, underscoring its value in psychological and cognitive performance enhancement. Despite the lack of observed improvements in working memory, these results highlight the need for continued exploration of NFT applications across different populations and settings, emphasizing its potential utility in educational and therapeutic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study aimed to determine the predictive values of informant-reported memory decline (IMD) among subjective cognitive decline (SCD) older adults from a 7-year community-based cohort study. Method Ninety SCD participants were included. Demographic data and neuropsychological test scores at both baseline and 7-year follow-up were collected. Differences between SCD with IMD (+IMD) and SCD without IMD (−IMD) were compared. Logistic regression models were used to determine whether baseline IMD could predict diagnostic outcomes at 7-year follow-up. Results Forty-one percent of SCD adults had IMD. At baseline, the +IMD group showed more depressive symptoms (p  = 0.016) than the −IMD group. Furthermore, the Beijing-version Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Digit Span Test-Forward, Visual Matching and Reasoning, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-RC Picture Completion (WAIS-PC) scores in the +IMD group were significantly lower than those in the −IMD group. Fifty-four percent of +IMD participants converted to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia at follow-up, and 22.6% of the −IMD participants converted to MCI. Follow-up Mini-Mental State Examination, MoCA, and Verbal Fluency Test scores of the +IMD group were significantly lower than those in the −IMD group. The +IMD group was more likely to progress to cognitive impairment at 7-year follow-up (OR = 3.361, p  = 0.028). Conclusions SCD participants with +IMD may have poorer cognition and are more likely to convert to cognitive impairment over time. Our long-term follow-up study confirmed the importance of informants' perceptions of SCD, which can help clinicians identify individuals at risk of cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the effect of Ramadan intermittent fasting on cognitive work performance using a more natural approach. To achieve the objective of this study, a natural experimental approach was employed by incorporating a pretest-posttest control group design. A forward-type Digit Span Test (DST) was utilized as the measure of the cognitive work performance and was administered to participants twice, before and during Ramadan, with one-month gap between the tests. Two hundred and sixty-seven participants were naturally grouped into fasting and non-fasting groups according to their report during Ramadan session and into morning and afternoon periods, or AM and PM hours, according to their module scheduling. The results of the analyses suggest that the cognitive work performance of the fasting participants during the PM hours is better, after controlling the DST scores before Ramadan. The study also concludes that the cognitive work performance of the fasting participants between AM and PM hours does not differ. This result could be explained using the perspectives of post-lunch performance dip and the beneficial effect of breakfast. Methodological limitations and potential practical implementation of this study are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of either short-term memory (STM) or working memory (WM) in sentence comprehension is a matter of debate. Although it is commonly accepted that memory resources are necessary for sentence comprehension, there is no agreement regarding the nature of their role. The aim of this review is to investigate and synthesize assessment tools and correlation data between STM or WM and sentence comprehension in probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). To this aim, a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, and LLBA databases were searched. Two independent authors selected peer-reviewed articles published in English and focused on the relationship between STM or WM and sentence comprehension in probable AD. A total of 11 case–control studies were included at the end of the selection process. Most studies adopted offline tasks to evaluate sentence comprehension, while a small number of authors applied online experimental tasks. The digit span forward and backward were the most employed standardized tests to evaluate phonological STM and WM, respectively. The meta-analysis results supported the association between performance on STM and WM and comprehension tasks. However, moderate heterogeneity was found, mainly due to the small number of included studies, especially for STM, and the substantial variability of the adopted tasks. Therefore, in order to clarify the specific source of language comprehension deficits, new and sophisticated experiments should be conducted using adequate material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction (PVD) suffer from nonspatial cognitive problems, including executive impairments. However, previous studies that assessed executive functions are conflicting, limited to single executive components, and assessments are confounded by other cognitive functions. We compared performance in a comprehensive executive test battery in a large sample of 83 patients with several conditions of PVD (34 bilateral, 29 chronic unilateral, 20 acute unilateral) to healthy controls who were pairwise matched to patients regarding age, sex, and education. We assessed basic and complex executive functions with validated neuropsychological tests. Patients with bilateral PVD performed worse than controls in verbal initiation and working memory span, while other executive functions were preserved. Patients with chronic unilateral PVD had equal executive performance as controls. Patients with acute unilateral PVD performed worse than controls in the exact same tests as patients with bilateral PVD (verbal initiation, working memory span); however, this effect in patients with acute PVD diminished after correcting for multiple comparisons. Hearing loss and affective disorders did not influence our results. Vestibular related variables (disease duration, symptoms, dizziness handicap, deafferentation degree, and compensation) did not predict verbal initiation or working memory span in patients with bilateral PVD. The results suggest that bilateral PVD not only manifests in difficulties when solving spatial tasks but leads to more general neurocognitive deficits. This understanding is important for multidisciplinary workgroups (e.g., neurotologists, neurologists, audiologists) that are involved in diagnosing and treating patients with PVD. We recommend screening patients with PVD for executive impairments and if indicated providing them with cognitive training or psychoeducational support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations in the CRB1 gene are associated with a diverse spectrum of retinopathies with phenotypic variability causing severe visual impairment. The CRB1 gene has a role in retinal development and is expressed in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, but its role in cognition has not been described before. This study compares cognitive function in CRB1 retinopathy individuals with subjects with other retinopathies and the normal population. Methods: Neuropsychological tests of cognitive function were used to test individuals with CRB1 and non-CRB1 retinopathies and compare results with a standardised normative dataset. Results: CRB1 retinopathy subjects significantly outperformed those with non-CRB1 retinopathy in list learning tasks of immediate (p = 0.001) and delayed memory (p = 0.007), tests of semantic verbal fluency (p = 0.017), verbal IQ digit span subtest (p = 0.037), and estimation test of higher execution function (p = 0.020) but not in the remaining tests of cognitive function (p > 0.05). CRB1 retinopathy subjects scored significantly higher than the normal population in all areas of memory testing (p < 0.05) and overall verbal IQ tests (p = 0.0012). Non-CRB1 retinopathy subjects scored significantly higher than the normal population in story recall, verbal fluency, and overall verbal IQ tests (p = 0.0016). Conclusions: Subjects with CRB1 retinopathy may have enhanced cognitive function in areas of memory and learning. Further work is required to understand the role of CRB1 in cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite the high prevalence of anxiety disorders in BD and its known impact on cognitive performance, the presence and severity of anxious symptoms is not systematically evaluated in studies on cognition in BD. Our aim was to determine if attention and/or inhibition of cognitive interference in euthymic patients with type I Bipolar Disorder (BD-I) is affected by symptoms of anxiety. Patients and Methods: Eighty-seven euthymic BD-I patients were included. Patients with comorbidities other than Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or Panic Disorder (PD) were excluded. State anxiety was measured with the Brief Inventory of Anxious Responses and Situations (ISRA-B). Subjective cognitive performance was evaluated with the COBRA scale, attention with the Digit-Span Forward task and inhibition of cognitive interference was assessed with the StroopTest interference score. Multiple linear regression models were used to test if anxious symptoms were associated with attention or inhibition of cognitive interference, considering other known contributors for cognitive impairment. Results: Attention was unaffected by anxiety symptoms, but the overall regression for inhibition of cognitive interference was significant: years of schooling (β=1.12, p = 0.001), cognitive complaints (β=0.44, p = 0.008), and anxiety (β=− 0.21, p = 0.017) explained 15% of the interference score of the Stroop test (R2 = 0.15). Conclusion: Beyond residual affective symptoms, anxious symptoms seem to affect inhibition of cognitive interference. We recommend routine testing of anxiety when considering cognitive evaluations, especially when screening for cognitive deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This is the first study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among young adolescents in Hong Kong. Methods: This double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial included a TPS group and a sham TPS group, encompassing a total of 30 subjects aged 12-17 years who were diagnosed with ADHD. Baseline measurements SNAPIV, ADHD RS-IV, CGI and executive functions (Stroop tests, Digit Span) and post-TPS evaluation were collected. Both groups were assessed at baseline, immediately after intervention, and at 1-month and 3-month follow-ups. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to analyze data. Results: The TPS group exhibited a 30% reduction in the mean SNAP-IV score at postintervention that was maintained at 1- and 3-month follow-ups. Conclusion: TPS is an effective and safe adjunct treatment for the clinical management of ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed at developing and standardizing the Telephone Language Screener (TLS), a novel, disease-nonspecific, telephone-based screening test for language disorders. Methods: The TLS was developed in strict pursuance to the current psycholinguistic standards. It comprises nine tasks assessing phonological, lexical-semantic and morpho-syntactic components, as well as an extra Backward Digit Span task. The TLS was administered to 480 healthy participants (HPs), along with the Telephone-based Semantic Verbal Fluency (t-SVF) test and a Telephone-based Composite Language Index (TBCLI), as well as to 37 cerebrovascular/neurodegenerative patients—who also underwent the language subscale of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-L). An HP subsample was also administered an in-person language battery. Construct validity, factorial structure, internal consistency, test–retest and inter-rater reliability were tested. Norms were derived via Equivalent Scores. The capability of the TLS to discriminate patients from HPs and to identify, among the patient cohort, those with a defective TICS-L, was also examined. Results: The TLS was underpinned by a mono-component structure and converged with the t-SVF (p <.001), the TBCLI (p <.001) and the in-person language battery (p =.002). It was internally consistent (McDonald's ω = 0.67) and reliable between raters (ICC = 0.99) and at retest (ICC = 0.83). Age and education, but not sex, were predictors of TLS scores. The TLS optimally discriminated patients from HPs (AUC = 0.80) and successfully identified patients with an impaired TICS-L (AUC = 0.92). In patients, the TLS converged with TICS-L scores (p = 0.016). Discussion: The TLS is a valid, reliable, normed and clinically feasible telephone-based screener for language impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The triple pathway model suggests that different neuropsychological factors underlie symptoms of inattention (i.e., time, cognition and/or motivation problems). However, screening instruments asking individuals to judge the link between these neuropsychological factors and inattention are lacking. The recently developed screening questionnaire, PASSC, aims to examine these factors possibly causing inattention by asking parents to indicate to what extent their child experiences inattention symptoms and to what extent different neuropsychological factors explain this inattention. The present study extends prior validation research of the PASSC by examining associations between PASSC inattention explained by time, cognition, and/or motivation and children's performance on tests measuring these same three constructs. Results indicated positive correlations between PASSC inattention explained by time and less accurate performance on a time discrimination test, and between PASSC inattention explained by cognition and more working memory errors as well as higher attention switching costs. Furthermore, children whose parents indicated that their inattention was best explained by cognition showed higher switching costs than children whose inattention was best explained by motivation. This support for construct validity of the PASSC is limited to two PASSC explanations (i.e., time, cognition) and a subset of tests (i.e., time discrimination, attention switching, memory span). Future research should focus on integrating PASSC and performance test results to differentiate between children with attention problems but different underlying neuropsychological problems. Concluding, the PASSC can be a promising screening tool to identify inattention in children and the underlying explanation indicated by parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia robustly predict functional outcomes but remain relatively resistant to available treatments. Better measures of negative symptoms, especially motivational deficits, are needed to better understand these symptoms and improve treatment development. Recent research shows promise in linking behavioral effort tasks to motivational negative symptoms, reward processing deficits, and defeatist attitudes, but few studies account for individual or group (patient v. control) differences in cognitive ability to perform the tasks. Individuals with poorer abilities might be less motivated to perform tasks because they find them more difficult to perform. This study used a personalized digit span task to control task difficulty while measuring task effort via pupillary responses (greater dilation indicates greater cognitive effort) at varying monetary rewards ($1 & $2). Participants with schizophrenia (N = 34) and healthy controls (N = 41) performed a digit span task with personalized max span lengths and easy (max− 2 digits) and overload (max+ 2 digits) conditions. Consistent with many studies, pupillary responses (cognitive effort) increased with greater difficulty until exceeding capacity. A similar pattern of reward responsivity was seen in both groups, such that greater reward increased dilation (effort) comparably for both groups when difficulty was within capacity. Neither patients nor controls exerted increased effort for greater reward when difficulty exceeded capacity. In patients, positive relationships were found between pupil dilation and defeatist performance beliefs if task difficulty was within capacity; a relationship that reversed if the task was too difficult. The findings demonstrate the importance of accounting for cognitive capacity and task difficulty when evaluating motivation and reward sensitivity and illustrate the utility of pupillary responses as an objective measure of effort in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia is a multicultural country with hundreds of local languages used by Indonesians with Bahasa Indonesia as a national language and used by the mass media, in formal conversation, at all levels of education, and in written language. This study aimed to investigate whether speaking Bahasa Indonesia in public and at home or not, and whether speaking only Bahasa or besides Bahasa (another language) affects the performance of seven cognitive tests when the assessment was done in Bahasa Indonesia. In case large effects will be obtained, this may demand different norm referenced scores. Data of 840 subjects, in age ranging from 16–80 with various levels of education from six regions were included. The results showed that there was a small disadvantage in the Digit Span for people who do not speak Bahasa Indonesia in public and a small advantage of speaking besides Bahasa (another language) in public on Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test and on time to complete the Figure Reproduction tests. Other tests, such as the TMT, Stroop, 5PT, and Bourdon were without any effect. It can be concluded that corrections for the normative data, as is commonly done for education, age and sometimes sex, for people who do not speak Bahasa daily and for speaking besides Bahasa (another language) considering that the differences were only small, is not indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sequential working memory is the ability to maintain and manipulate sequential information at a second time scale. Patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or Parkinson's disease (PD) perform poorly in tests that require the flexible arrangement of thoughts or actions. This study investigated whether sequential working memory is differently impaired in patients with PSP versus PD. Method: Twenty‐nine patients with PSP Richardson's syndrome (PSP‐RS), 36 patients with PD, and 36 healthy controls (HC) completed 3 well‐established neuropsychological tests, including digit span forward (DST‐F), digit span backward (DST‐B), and adaptive digit ordering tests (DOT‐A). The DST‐F required maintaining digit sequences, and the DST‐B and DOT‐A required maintaining and manipulating digit sequences. Finding: The PSP‐RS group scored lower than the PD and HC groups in the DST‐B and DOT‐A but not in the DST‐F, indicating that the ability to manipulate sequences was impaired, but the maintenance ability was preserved in PSP‐RS patients. Moreover, in PSP‐RS, the DST‐B score negatively correlated with the severity of motor symptoms. The actual levodopa dose positively correlated with the DST‐B ordering cost (DST‐F score vs. DST‐B score). The PSP patients who took a greater dose of levodopa tended to have higher DST‐B ordering cost. There was no effect of levodopa on DST‐B or DOT‐A in PD. Conclusion: These results suggested that the ability to manipulate sequence was already reduced in patients with PSP‐RS and was worse than in patients with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bimodal stimulation, a cochlear implant (CI) in one ear and a hearing aid (HA) in the other, provides highly asymmetrical inputs. To understand how asymmetry affects perception and memory, forward and backward digit spans were measured in nine bimodal listeners. Spans were unchanged from monotic to diotic presentation; there was an average two-digit decrease for dichotic presentation with some extreme cases of decreases to zero spans. Interaurally asymmetrical decreases were not predicted based on the device or better-functioning ear. Therefore, bimodal listeners can demonstrate a strong ear dominance, diminishing memory recall dichotically even when perception was intact monaurally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the influence of chronotype and time of day (TOD) on cognitive performance, especially in children, is limited. We explored potential interactive effects, hypothesizing that performance differs when comparing preferred vs. non-preferred TOD. In total, 76 morning-type (MT = 37) or evening-type (ET = 39) children from the third and fourth grades (48.7% girls; M age = 8.05; SD age = 0.51), identified through the Children Chronotype Questionnaire, completed two 30-min neuropsychological assessment sessions via videoconference on the first (9:00) or last hour (16:00) of the school day. The protocol included neuropsychological tests targeting memory, language, and attention/executive domains. The results revealed an interactive effect of medium size between chronotype and TOD on a Rapid Alternating Stimulus (Naming) Task. MT and ET performed faster in asynchrony conditions (morning for ET; afternoon for MT). Additionally, ET outperformed MT in a Backward Digit Span Task, irrespective of TOD. TOD also influenced performance on an Alternating Verbal Fluency Task, with both MT and ET children performing better in the morning. These results underscore the importance of chronotype and TOD in children's cognitive performance, particularly in working memory and verbal fluency. Children assessed during non-preferred TOD exhibited better performance on some cognitive tasks, challenging the assumption that optimal times always yield superior results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transition state in which individuals have cognitive abilities that are in between those of normal aging and dementia. Although not everyone with MCI develops dementia, the risk of progression to dementia is higher in people with MCI. Interventions at this stage can prevent or delay the onset of dementia. In recent years, studies on non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, namely transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have gained momentum for cognitive enhancement in MCI. Since there are very few studies that also report varied results, it becomes important to analyze the effect of tDCS in MCI. The aim of this study was to systematically review the available evidence about using tDCS for MCI and to assess its efficacy using meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Eight single- or double-blinded randomized controlled trials were included in the study. Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) for global cognition; and digit span test forward and backward, trail-making test (TMT) A and B; and logical memory test (LMT) assessing specific cognitive domains were considered. A random-effects model was used wherein the standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence intervals were reported. Results: The effect of the active tDCS (MoCA [SMD 0.37, 95% CI -0.22-0.95], MMSE [SMD 0.26, 95% CI 0.25-0.77], TMT-A [SMD -0.01, 95% CI -0.42-0.40], and LMT [SMD 0.80, 95% CI -0.24-1.83]) when compared with the sham tDCS was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The current meta-analysis identified insignificant improvement in cognitive performance with active tDCS treatment as compared to sham tDCS among people with MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is typically asymmetric. Case reports suggest that left-hemisphere CBS (lhCBS) is associated with major language impairment, and right-hemisphere CBS (rhCBS) is associated with major visuospatial deficits, but no group study has ever verified these observations. In our study, we enrolled 49 patients with CBS, classified them as lhCBS or rhCBS based on asymmetry of hypometabolism on brain FDG-PET and compared their cognitive and behavioural profiles. Methods: We defined asymmetry of hypometabolism upon visual inspection of qualitative PET images and confirmed it through paired comparison of left- and right-hemisphere FDG uptake values. The two groups were also matched for severity of hypometabolism within the more affected and more preserved hemispheres, to unravel differences in the cognitive profiles ascribable specifically to each hemisphere's functional specializations. All patients were assessed for memory, language, executive and visuospatial deficits, apraxia, neglect, dyscalculia, agraphia and behavioural disturbances. Results: LhCBS (n. 26) and rhCBS (n. 23) patients did not differ for demographics, disease duration and severity of global cognitive impairment. The two cognitive profiles were largely overlapping, with two exceptions: Digit span forward was poorer in lhCBS, and visual neglect was more frequent in rhCBS. Conclusions: After balancing out patients for hemispheric hypometabolism, we did not confirm worse language or visuospatial deficits in, respectively, lhCBS and rhCBS. However, verbal short-term memory was more impaired in lhCBS, and spatial attention was more impaired in rhCBS. Both of these functions reflect the functional specialization of the left and right fronto-parietal pathways, i.e. of the main loci of neurodegeneration in CBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate attention, memory, and language skills in children with auditory brainstem implants and cochlear implants. Methods: This study included 20 children with auditory brainstem implants (ABI) and 20 cochlear implanted (CI) children between the ages of 6 years and 8 years 11 months and their families. "Test of Language Development: Primary (TOLD-P:4)" was used to assess language skills, "STROOP Test, Visual-Aural Digit Span (VADS) test, and Cancellation Test" were used to evaluate attention and memory skills. In addition, the functional outcomes of hearing skills in daily life were scored by "Auditory Behavior in Everyday Life (ABEL) scale". The significance level was determined as 0.05. Results: Children with ABI showed lower language skills than children with CI in terms of TOLD-P:4 language test scores, STROOP sub-test completion times, and the VADS and Cancellation test scores (p < 0.05). In addition, statistically significant correlations were found between language, attention, memory skills, and auditory behavior scale. Conclusions: This study is one of the limited numbers of studies investigating cognitive processes in children with ABI. Since attention and memory are correlated with language skills, it is recommended that the development of cognition should be considered in follow-up and intervention approaches of children with ABI and/or CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research exploring the impact of development and aging on working memory (WM) has primarily concentrated on visual and verbal domains, with limited attention paid to the tactile modality. The current study sought to evaluate WM encompassing storage and manipulation across these three modalities, spanning from childhood to old age. The study included 134 participants, divided into four age groups: 7–8, 11–12, 25–35, and 60–69. Each participant completed the Visuospatial Span, Digit Span, and Tactual Span, with forward and backward recall. The findings demonstrated a consistent trend in both forward and backward stages. Performance improved until young adulthood, progressively diminishing with advancing age. In the forward stage, the Tactual Span performance was worse than that of the Digit and Visuospatial Span for all participants. In the backward stage, the Visuospatial Span outperformed the Digit and Tactual Span across all age groups. Furthermore, the Tactual Span backward recall exhibited significantly poorer performance than the other modalities, primarily in the youngest and oldest age groups. In conclusion, age impacts WM differently across modalities, with tactile storage capacity being the most vulnerable. Additionally, tactile manipulation skills develop later in childhood but deteriorate sooner in adulthood, indicating a distinct component within tactile WM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Attentional Control Theory (ACT) posits that, while trait anxiety may not directly impact performance, it can influence processing efficiency by prompting the use of compensatory mechanisms. The specific nature of these mechanisms, which might be reflective, is not detailed by the ACT. In a study involving 110 students (M = 20.12; SD = 2.10), surveys were administered to assess the students' metacognitive beliefs, trait anxiety, and emotion regulation strategies (ERSs). The participants engaged in two working memory exercises: the digit span task from the WAIS-IV and an emotional n-back task. The findings indicated that anxiety, metacognitive beliefs, and maladaptive ERSs did not affect task performance but were correlated with increased response times. Several regression analyses demonstrated that a lack of confidence in one's cognitive abilities and maladaptive ERSs predict higher reaction times (RT) in the n-back task. Additionally, maladaptive ERSs also predict an increased use of strategies in the digit span task. Finally, two mediation analyses revealed that anxiety increases processing efficiency, and this relation is mediated by the use of maladaptive ERSs. These results underscore the importance of the reflective level in mediating the effects of trait anxiety on efficiency. They highlight the necessity of incorporating metacognitive beliefs and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies for a thorough comprehension of the Attentional Control Theory. Recognizing these factors offers valuable perspectives for enhancing cognitive capabilities and fostering academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 130 participants living near a ferromanganese alloy plant, analyzing Pb and Mn exposure by biomarkers (blood, hair, and fingernails) and particulate matter personal environmental monitors (PEMs). Cognitive and motor function were assessed by five and three tests, respectively. Mean differences (MDs) adjusted for age, sex, and study level were determined. In addition, MDs for Pb were adjusted for Mn levels and vice versa. Medians of 9.14 µg/L, 149.04 ng/g, and 96.04 ng/g were obtained for blood, scalp hair, and fingernails Pb levels, respectively. Regarding PEMs, median Pb levels were 6.56 ng/m3 for the fine fraction and, for the coarse fraction, they were below the limit of detection in 97% of participants. Exposure to Pb at low levels was not associated with worse cognitive function. In comparison, exposure to high levels of Mn was associated with worse cognitive function at least in the domains evaluated through Stroop, Digit Span, and Verbal Fluency tests. In terms of motor function, our results suggest that even the currently low Pb levels may have negative health effects on dynamometer-determined strength—adjusted MD on dominant hand = −2.68; 95%CI (−4.85 to −0.51), p = 0.016. Further studies should investigate this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common congenital birth defects. As surgical and interventional techniques have improved, the mortality has been greatly reduced and the focus has shifted to quality of life and long-term outcomes. The impact of CHD on development and cognition is becoming increasingly recognized. However, more research is needed to understand how children with CHD perform across various cognitive and intellectual domains. This study explored the performance of children with CHD on the newest version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children compared to normative controls. Children with CHD performed more poorly than normal controls across all indices and most subtests with large effect sizes. Additionally, we explored the patterns of impairment across indices and subtests, as well as the relationships between heard disease variables and WISC-V performance. Block design, Digit Span, and Similarities were the most commonly impaired scores in children with CHD, while Symbol Search, Picture Span, Figure Weights, and Vocabulary were least likely to be impaired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is a paucity of clinical studies examining the long-term effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on cognition, although a recent study of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) treated with VNS therapy demonstrated significant improvement in executive functions as measured by the EpiTrack composite score. The present study aimed to investigate performance variability in three cognitive tests assessing executive functions and working memory in a cohort of DRE patients receiving VNS therapy during a follow-up duration of up to 5 years. Methods: The study included 46 DRE patients who were assessed with the Trail Making Test (TMT) (Parts A and B) and Digit Span Backward (DB) task prior to VNS implantation, 6 months and 12 months after implantation, and yearly thereafter as a part of the clinical VNS protocol. A linear mixed-effects (LME) model was used to analyze changes in test z scores over time, accounting for variations in follow-up duration when predicting changes over 5 years. Additionally, we conducted descriptive analyses to illustrate individual changes. Results: On average, TMT-A z scores improved by 0.024 units (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.006 to 0.042, p = 0.009), TMT-B z scores by 0.034 units (95% CI: 0.012 to 0.057, p = 0.003), and DB z scores by 0.019 units per month (95% CI: 0.011 to 0.028, p < 0.001). Patients with psychiatric comorbidities achieved the greatest improvements in TMT-B and DB z scores among all groups (0.0058 units/month, p = 0.036 and 0.028 units/month, p = 0.003, respectively). TMT-A z scores improved the most in patients taking 1-2 ASMs as well as in patients with psychiatric comorbidities (0.042 units/month, p = 0.002 and p = 0.003, respectively). Conclusion: Performance in all three tests improved at the group level during the follow-up period, with the most robust improvement observed in TMT-B, which requires inhibition control and set-switching in addition to the visuoperceptual processing speed that is crucial in TMT-A and working-memory performance that is essential in DB. Moreover, the improvement in TMT-B was further enhanced if the patient had psychiatric comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Listening effort (LE) varies as a function of listening demands, motivation and resource availability, among other things. Motivation is posited to have a greater influence on listening effort under high, compared to low, listening demands. Methods: To test this prediction, we manipulated the listening demands of a speech recognition task using tone vocoders to create moderate and high listening demand conditions. We manipulated motivation using evaluative threat, i.e., informing participants that they must reach a particular “score” for their results to be usable. Resource availability was assessed by means of working memory span and included as a fixed effects predictor. Outcome measures were indices of LE, including reaction times (RTs), self-rated work and self-rated tiredness, in addition to task performance (correct response rates). Given the recent popularity of online studies, we also wanted to examine the effect of experimental context (online vs. laboratory) on the efficacy of manipulations of listening demands and motivation. We carried out two highly similar experiments with two groups of 37 young adults, a laboratory experiment and an online experiment. To make listening demands comparable between the two studies, vocoder settings had to differ. All results were analysed using linear mixed models. Results: Results showed that under laboratory conditions, listening demands affected all outcomes, with significantly lower correct response rates, slower RTs and greater self-rated work with higher listening demands. In the online study, listening demands only affected RTs. In addition, motivation affected selfrated work. Resource availability was only a significant predictor for RTs in the online study. Discussion: These results show that the influence of motivation and listening demands on LE depends on the type of outcome measures used and the experimental context. It may also depend on the exact vocoder settings. A controlled laboratory settings and/or particular vocoder settings may be necessary to observe all expected effects of listening demands and motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]