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Background: Greater neuroticism has been associated with higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia. However, the directionality of this association is unclear. We examined whether personality traits differ between cognitively-unimpaired carriers of autosomal-dominant AD (ADAD) and non-carriers, and are associated with in vivo AD pathology. Objective: To determine whether personality traits differ between cognitively unimpaired ADAD mutation carriers and non-carriers, and whether the traits are related to age and AD biomarkers. Methods: A total of 33 cognitively-unimpaired Presenilin-1 E280A mutation carriers and 41 non-carriers (ages 27–46) completed neuropsychological testing and the NEO Five-Factor Personality Inventory. A subsample (n = 46; 20 carriers) also underwent tau and amyloid PET imaging. Results: Carriers reported higher neuroticism relative to non-carriers, although this difference was not significant after controlling for sex. Neuroticism was positively correlated with entorhinal tau levels only in carriers, but not with amyloid levels. Conclusion: The finding of higher neuroticism in carriers and the association of this trait with tau pathology in preclinical stages of AD highlights the importance of including personality measures in the evaluation of individuals at increased risk for cognitive impairment and dementia. Further research is needed to characterize the mechanisms of these relationships.

Objective To investigate the association between the functional activities questionnaire (FAQ) and brain biomarkers (bilateral hippocampal volume [HV], bilateral entorhinal volume [ERV], and entorhinal cortical thickness [ERT]) in cognitively normal (CN) individuals, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia. Method In total, 226 participants (137 females; mean age = 71.76, SD = 7.93; Hispanic Americans = 137; European Americans = 89) were assessed with a comprehensive clinical examination, a neuropsychological battery, a structural magnetic resonance imaging, and were classified as CN or diagnosed with MCI or dementia. Linear regression analyses examined the association between functional activities as measured by the FAQ on brain biomarkers, including HV, ERV, and ERT, controlling for age, education, global cognition, gender, and ethnicity. Results The FAQ significantly predicted HV, ERV, and ERT for the entire sample. However, this association was not significant for ERV and ERT when excluding the dementia group. The FAQ score remained a significant predictor of HV for the non-dementia group. Age, education, gender, ethnicity, Montreal Cognitive Assessment score, and FAQ were also significant predictors of HV for the overall sample, suggesting that younger Hispanic females with fewer years of education, higher global mental status, and better functioning, were more likely to have larger HV. Conclusion FAQ scores were related to HV in older adults across clinical groups (CN, MCI, and dementia), but its association with the entorhinal cortex was driven by individuals with dementia. Demographic variables, including ethnicity, additionally influenced these associations.

Objective This research aimed to determine whether qualitative analysis of different types of intrusion errors on a verbal cognitive task was useful in detecting subtle cognitive impairment in preclinical stages prior to the progression to dementia. Method Different types of semantic intrusions on the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales of Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) were compared across 160 individuals diagnosed as cognitively normal (CN), amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), and dementia. The sample included Hispanics and non-Hispanic European Americans. Results Across diagnostic groups, the most common type of intrusion error was actual targets presented from a competing word list under conditions eliciting proactive semantic interference (PSI), and retroactive semantic interference (RSI), followed by intrusions that represented one of three overlapping semantic categories but none of the targets from List A or B. Nonsemantic intrusions rarely occurred. These competing list intrusions (CLI) and semantically related intrusions (SRI) differentiated between aMCI and CN participants. Further, these intrusion error were related to brain amyloid load, indicating their importance as potential primary markers of AD-related neurodegeneration. Ethnicity effects were not seen across the types of intrusion errors. Conclusions Two types of intrusion errors (CLI and SRI) showed differences between the CN and aMCI group, with the aMCI group evidencing a higher rate of these intrusion errors compared with the CN group. These results support previous literature about the LASSI-L's sensitivity at the earliest stages of abnormal aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

OBJECTIVE: Neuropsychologists continue to face challenges when assessing Spanish-speaking individuals due to limited availability of normative data. We developed comprehensive normative data stratified by age and education for a Spanish neuropsychological test battery used by the Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia (Colombia) and the Colombian Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative Registry, which have followed large families at risk for autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADAD) since the 1990s. Approximately 75% of these individuals are cognitively-unimpaired and are not genetically predisposed to develop ADAD. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study on neuropsychological evaluations from 2,673 cognitively unimpaired individuals (56% female), with ages ranging from 18 to 86 years and education from 1 to 25 years. Neuropsychological measures included the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease-Colombia, and other multi-domain Spanish tests. We examined associations between age, education, and sex with cognitive performance. RESULTS: Norms stratified by age and education are presented. Cognitive performance showed small associations with age and education and was unrelated to sex. CONCLUSIONS: We provided population-based norms for Spanish tests targeting multiple cognitive domains using a large Colombian sample. These normative data may be helpful for the neuropsychological characterization of Spanish speakers from Latin America in clinical and research settings.

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that the failure to recover from the effects of proactive semantic interference [frPSI] represents an early cognitive manifestation of preclinical Alzheimer's disease. A limitation of this novel paradigm has been a singular focus on the number of targets correctly recalled, without examining co-occurring semantic intrusions [SI] that may highlight specific breakdowns in memory. Objectives: We focused on SI and their relationship to amyloid load and regional cortical thickness among persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Methods: Thirty-three elders diagnosed with aMCI underwent F-18 florbetaben amyloid PET scanning with MRI scans of the brain. We measured the correlation of SI elicited on cued recall trials of the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning [LASSI-L] with mean cortical amyloid load and regional cortical thickness in AD prone regions. Results: SI on measures sensitive to frPSI was related to greater total amyloid load and lower overall cortical thickness [CTh]. In particular, SI were highly associated with reduced CTh in the left entorhinal cortex [r=-.71; p Conclusion. Semantic intrusions on measures susceptible to frPSI related to greater brain amyloid load and lower cortical thickness. These findings further support the hypothesis that frPSI, as expressed by the percentage of intrusions, may be a cognitive marker of initial neurodegeneration and may serve as an early and distinguishing test for preclinical AD that may be used in primary care or clinical trial settings.

OBJECTIVE: The Face-Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME) has been used to detect subtle cognitive changes in clinically normal older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. FNAME assesses learning and delayed recall for face-name pairs. The aim of this study is to introduce a Latin American Spanish version of the FNAME (LAS-FNAME), examine its psychometric properties, and provide preliminary normative data in a sample of clinically normal, Spanish-speaking individuals from Antioquia, Colombia. METHOD: 59 clinically normal individuals (71% females) were recruited by the Grupo de Neurociencias in Antioquia (Colombia). Age ranged from 27 to 82 years ( M=50.31, SD=15.32) and years of education ranged from 2 to 17 years (M=9.02, SD=4.11). All participants completed the LAS-FNAME and a brief neuropsychological evaluation. We examined associations between age, education, and sex and performance on the LAS-FNAME. Internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity were also assessed. Test-restest reliability was computed for a subset of participants (n = 32). RESULTS: LAS-FNAME exhibited moderate convergent validity with other memory measures (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Scale, r(s)=.465, p65) and low and high educational attainment (≤8 and >8 years of education, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The LAS-FNAME is a valid and reliable measure to assess memory in clinically normal, Spanish-speaking individuals from Colombia for clinical and research purposes.

Objective To analyze (1) whether there are ethnic differences in the severity of depressive symptoms between groups of elders classified as cognitively normal (CN) or amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and (2) the influence of depressive symptoms on specific cognitive performance by ethnicity across diagnoses, controlling for covariates. Methods 164 Hispanics residing in the United States (HAs) and European Americans (EAs) (100 women; Mage = 72.1, SD = 8.0) were diagnosed as either CN or aMCI. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Cognition was assessed using the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (semantic memory), Multilingual Naming Test (confrontation naming), and the Stroop Test (Color–Word condition; executive function). A 2 × 2 univariate ANCOVA as well as linear and logistic regressions explored differences in depressive symptoms among diagnostic and ethnic groups. Results Higher depression was seen in aMCI compared to the CN group for both ethnicities, after controlling for age, education, gender, and Mini-Mental State Examination score. Greater levels of depression also predicted lower scores in confrontation naming and semantic memory for only the EA group and marginally in scores of executive function for HA participants. GDS-15 scores of ≤ 4 also predicted less likelihood of aMCI diagnosis. Conclusions Severity of depressive symptoms was associated with greater cognitive impairment, independent of ethnicity. Significant results suggest detrimental effects of depression on clinical diagnoses most evidently for subjects from the EA group.

Objectives:Maintaining two active languages may increase cognitive and brain reserve among bilingual individuals. We explored whether such a neuroprotective effect was manifested in the performance of memory tests for participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).Methods:We compared 42 bilinguals to 25 monolinguals on verbal and nonverbal memory tests. We used: (a) the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L), a sensitive test that taps into proactive, retroactive, and recovery from proactive semantic interference (verbal memory), and (b) the Benson Figure delayed recall (nonverbal memory). A subsample had volumetric MRI scans.Results:The bilingual group significantly outperformed the monolingual group on two LASSI-L cued recall measures (Cued A2 and Cued B2). A measure of maximum learning (Cued A2) showed a correlation with the volume of the left hippocampus in the bilingual group only. Cued B2 recall (sensitive to recovery from proactive semantic interference) was correlated with the volume of the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex of both cerebral hemispheres in the bilingual group, as well as with the left and right hippocampus in the monolingual group. The memory advantage in bilinguals on these measures was associated with higher inhibitory control as measured by the Stroop Color-Word test.Conclusions:Our results demonstrated a superior performance of aMCI bilinguals over aMCI monolinguals on selected verbal memory tasks. This advantage was not observed in nonverbal memory. Superior memory performance of bilinguals over monolinguals suggests that bilinguals develop a different and perhaps more efficient semantic association system that influences verbal recall. (JINS, 2019, 25, 15–28)