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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]

Children with developmental dyslexia (DD) often struggle with executive function difficulties which can continue into adulthood if not addressed. This double-blinded randomized clinical trial study evaluated the short-term effects of the Verbal Working Memory-Balance (VWM-B) program on reading-related executive functions, reading skills, and reading comprehension in Persian children with DD. The active control group [12 children with DD with a mean age of 9 years (SD = 0.90)] received training using the single-task VWM program, while the experiment group [15 children with DD with a mean age of 8 years (SD = 0.74)] received training with the dual-task VWM-B program. Both groups received fifteen training sessions, and assessments were conducted before and after the intervention. The groups were homogenized for possible confounders of age, gender, IQ level, and attention level. The study employed separate mixed ANOVA analyses to estimate the impact of training programs on various measured functions. Significant improvements were observed in the outcome measures of backward digit span, text comprehension, verbal fluency, Stroop color–word test and interference, and the reading subtests. Additionally, significant correlations were found between reading skills and backward digit span, text comprehension, verbal fluency, and Stroop variables. In conclusion, the dual-task VWM-B program was found to be more effective than the single-task VWM program in improving selective attention, cognitive inhibition, verbal working memory capacity, information processing speed, naming ability, and lexical access speed. These enhanced executive functions were associated with improved reading skills in children with DD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated whether combining simultaneous physical and cognitive training yields superior cognitive outcomes compared with aerobic training alone in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and whether these benefits persist after four weeks of detraining. Methods: Forty-four people with MCI (11 males and 33 females) aged 65 to 75 years were randomly assigned to an 8-week, twice-weekly program of either aerobic training (AT group, n = 15), aerobic training combined with cognitive games (ACT group, n = 15), or simply reading for controls (CG group, n = 14). Selective attention (Stroop), problem-solving (Hanoi Tower), and working memory (Digit Span) tasks were used to assess cognitive performances at baseline, in the 4th (W4) and 8th weeks (W8) of training, and after 4 weeks of rest (W12). Results: Both training interventions induced beneficial effects on all tested cognitive performance at W4 (except for the number of moves in the Hanoi tower task) and W8 (all p <0.001), with the ACT group exhibiting a more pronounced positive impact than the AT group (p < 0.05). This advantage was specifically observed at W8 in tasks such as the Stroop and Tower of Hanoi (% gain ≈40% vs. ≈30% for ACT and AT, respectively) and the digit span test (% gain ≈13% vs. ≈10% for ACT and AT, respectively). These cognitive improvements in both groups, with the greater ones in ACT, persisted even after four weeks of detraining, as evidenced by the absence of a significant difference between W8 and W12 (p > 0.05). Concerning neuropsychological assessments, comparable beneficial effects were recorded following both training regimens (all p < 0.05 from pre- to post-intervention). The control group did not show any significant improvement in most of the cognitive tasks. Conclusions: The greater mid-term and long-lasting effects of combined simultaneous physical–cognitive training underscores its potential as a cost-effective intervention for the prevention and management of cognitive decline. While these results are valuable in guiding optimal physical and mental activity recommendations for adults with MCI, further neurophysiological-based studies are essential to offer robust support and deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these promising findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to determine the criteria used for screening and diagnosing cases with central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) in India. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey design was used in the present study. A questionnaire was developed to determine the criteria used for screening and diagnosing CAPD across clinics in India. Responses were obtained from 83 participants from all over India. Results indicated that 78% of respondents were currently doing CAPD evaluation. In that, the majority of respondents (63%) had a predetermined minimum battery that was relatively adaptable depending on the case history and age of the patient. In screening, most respondents used a screening questionnaire (SCAP, 75%) and a screening test (STAP, 60%). In the diagnostic protocol, the most used tests by the respondents were masking level difference (MLD), repetition of words (RW), gap detection test (GDT), pitch pattern test (PPT), speech perception in noise (SPIN), digit span test (DST), dichotic digit test (DDT), binaural fusion test (BFT), auditory brainstem response (ABR), dichotic CV test (DCVT), and duration pattern test (DPT). The current study's result will help professionals choose the minimum test battery for diagnosing CAPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To describe the characteristics of patients receiving a clinical referral for neuropsychological evaluation in two Huntington's Disease Society of America Centers of Excellence (HDSA COE). In this exploratory pilot study, we used an empirically supported clinical neuropsychological battery to assess differences in cognitive performance between premanifest and manifest HD patient groups (compared with each other and normative expectations). Method Clinical data from 76 adult genetically confirmed patients referred for neuropsychological evaluations was retrospectively collected from two HDSA COEs. ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to compare variables between pre-manifest (n  = 14) and manifest (n  = 62) groups for demographic, cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and disease severity variables. Results Our clinics serviced a disproportionate number of motor manifest patients. Six measures were excluded from analyses due to infrequent administration. The full WAIS-IV Digit Span was disproportionately administered to the manifest group. The premanifest group showed stronger cognitive performance with effect sizes in the large range on subtests of the WAIS-IV Digit Span, HVLT-R, SDMT, and verbal fluency. Conclusions This is the first study to assess an empirically supported neuropsychological research battery in a clinical setting with a relatively large sample size given the rarity of HD. The battery adequately captured areas of impairment across the disease spectrum. Application of the current battery with larger premanifest samples is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of the current investigation was to validate and establish the psychometric properties of an abbreviated, 10-item version of the Word Choice Test (WCT). Method: Data from one hundred ten clinically-referred participants (M age = 55.92, SD = 14.07; M education = 13.74, SD = 2.43; 84.5% Male) in a Veterans Affairs neuropsychology outpatient clinic was analyzed. All participants completed the WCT, the TOMM T1, the WMT, and the Digit Span subtest of the WAIS-IV as part of a larger battery of neuropsychological tests. Results: Correlation analyses revealed significant relationships between the 10-item WCT-10, the TOMM T1, the RDS forward/backward, as well as the IR, DR, and CNS subtests of the WMT. ROC analysis for the WCT-10 indicated optimal cutoff of 2 or more errors, with 52% sensitivity and 97% specificity (AUC=.786, p<.001), compared with the standard administration of the WCT with a cutoff of 8 or more errors, which had 67% sensitivity and 91% specificity. Specificity/sensitivity values remained adequate at a cutoff of two or more errors when participants with cognitive impairment (Sensitivity=.52, Specificity=.92) and without cognitive impairment (Sensitivity=.52, Specificity = 1.0) were examined separately. Conclusions: The present investigation revealed that the WCT-10, an abbreviated free-standing PVT comprised of the initial 10 items of the WCT, demonstrated clinical utility in a mixed clinical sample of Veterans and was robust to cognitive impairment. This abbreviated PVT may benefit researchers and clinicians through adequate identification of invalid performance while minimizing completion time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is common to use normative adjustments based on race to maintain accuracy when interpreting cognitive test results during neuropsychological assessment. However, embedded performance validity tests (PVTs) do not adjust for these racial differences and may result in elevated rates of false positives in African American/Black (AA) samples compared to European American/White (EA) samples. Veterans without Major Neurocognitive Disorder completed an outpatient neuropsychological assessment and were deemed to be performing in a valid manner (e.g., passing both the Test of Memory Malingering Trial 1 (TOMM1) and the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT), (n = 531, EA = 473, AA = 58). Five embedded PVTs were administered to all patients: WAIS-III/IV Processing Speed Index (PSI), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised: Discrimination Index (BVMT-R), TMT-A (secs), California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) Forced Choice, and WAIS-III/IV Digit Span Scaled Score. Individual PVT false positive rates, as well as the rate of failing two or more embedded PVTs, were calculated. Failure rates of two embedded PVTs (PSI, TMT-A), and the total number of PVTs failed, were higher in the AA sample. The PSI and TMT-A remained significantly impacted by race after accounting for age, education, sex, and presence of Mild Neurocognitive Disorder. There were PVT failure rates greater than 10% (and considered false positives) in both groups (AA: PSI, TMT-A, and BVMT-R, 12–24%; EA: BVMT-R, 17%). Failing 2 or more PVTs (AA = 9%, EA = 4%) was impacted by education and Mild Neurocognitive Disorder but not by race. Individual (timed) PVTs showed higher false positive rates in the AA sample even after accounting for demographic factors and diagnosis of Mild Neurocognitive Disorder. Requiring failure on 2 or more embedded PVTs reduced false positive rates to acceptable levels across both groups (10% or less) and was not significantly influenced by race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies have shown unique variance contributions from performance invalidity, it is difficult to interpret the meaning of cognitive data in the setting of performance validity test (PVT) failure. The current study aimed to examine cognitive outcomes in this context. Two hundred and twenty-two veterans with a history of mild traumatic brain injury referred for clinical evaluation completed cognitive and performance validity measures. Standardized scores were characterized as Within Normal Limits (≥16th normative percentile) and Below Normal Limits (<16th percentile). Cognitive outcomes are examined across four commonly used PVTs. Self-reported employment and student status were used as indicators of "productivity" to assess potential functional differences related to lower cognitive performance. Among participants who performed in the invalid range on Test of Memory Malingering trial 1, Word Memory Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Digit Span aged corrected scaled score, and the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition Forced Choice index, 16–88% earned broadly within normal limits scores across cognitive testing. Depending on which PVT measure was applied, the average number of cognitive performances below the 16th percentile ranged from 5 to 7 of 14 tasks. There were no differences in the total number of below normal limits performances on cognitive measures between "productive" and "non-productive" participants (T = 1.65, p = 1.00). Results of the current study suggest that the range of within normal limits cognitive performance in the context of failed PVTs varies greatly. Importantly, our findings indicate that neurocognitive data may still provide important practical information regarding cognitive abilities, despite poor PVT outcomes. Further, given that rates of below normal limits cognitive performance did not differ among "productivity" groups, results have important implications for functional abilities and recommendations in a clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by disruptions to cognitive functioning. Two studies were conducted to examine the relevance of military-related PTSD to two cognitive functions – visual working memory and visual imagery. Participants were military personnel who reported their PTSD diagnosis history and completed a self-administered screening tool for PTSD, the PTSD Checklist – Military Version. In Study 1, 138 personnel also completed a memory span task and a 2-back task using colored words in which Stroop interference was introduced via the semantic content of the words. In Study 2, a separate group of 211 personnel completed measures of perceived imagery vividness and spontaneous use of visual imagery. Interference effects on working memory in PTSD-diagnosed military personnel were not replicated. However, ANCOVA and structural equation modelling revealed that PTSD-intrusions were associated with poorer working memory whereas PTSD-arousal was associated with spontaneous use of visual imagery. We interpret these results as evidence that intrusive flashbacks disrupt working memory performance not by limiting memory capacity nor by interfering directly with memory functions such as inhibition, but by adding internal noise in the form of task-irrelevant memories and emotions. Visual imagery appears to be unrelated to these flashbacks but with arousal symptoms of PTSD, perhaps in the form of flashforwards about feared/anticipated threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To profile the participants using a system of self-organizing maps (SOM) based on their motor and cognitive performance during a dual-task version of the Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (Cognitive CAMSA). Methods: A total of 169 secondary school students (39.3% girls) volunteered to participate. The original CAMSA, cognitive CAMSA, the Corsi and Digit Span tests were used to assess (a) motor competence, (b) motor competence with cognitive load, and (c) cognitive performance, respectively. SOMs and the k-means clustering algorithm were used to establish the adolescents’ dual-task performance profiles. Results: Including decision making based on verbal and visual cues in the original CAMSA significantly increased the participants’ total scores but also the time required to complete the test, while the skill score remained unchanged. However, not all the participants showed changes in their performance in the same direction during the cognitive CAMSA. Person-centered analyses by SOMs and k-means clustering identified six performance profiles with variations in the cognitive, motor skill, and time scores (H5 = 146.15, H5 = 102.68, and H5 = 108.07, respectively; all p < 0.01). Conclusion: The cognitive CAMSA was shown to be a feasible field-motor test for assessing motor competence with a cognitive load in an ecological setting. Some of the profiles identified in the SOM approach represented adolescents with similar motor and cognitive performance in dual-task or single-task contexts, although other participants obtained high motor competence in single and dual-tasking while their cognitive performance declined or rose more in dual-task than in single task situations. The cognitive CAMSA emerges as a tool of great potential, applicable in educational and sports environments, to know subjects’ characteristics and try to individualize the interventions accordingly with their dual-task profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divergent thinking (DT) is widely considered an essential cognitive dimension of creativity, which involves goal-oriented processes, including working memory (WM), which allows for retrieving and loading of information into the attentional stream and, consequently, enhancing divergence of thinking. Despite the critical role of WM in DT, little work has been done on the mechanism affecting this interplay. The current study addressed the involvement of a formal musical background in the relationship between WM and DT and was conducted with 83 healthy young adults (M = 19.64 years; SD = 0.52 years; 33 females). The participants were requested to indicate if they had a formal background in music in the conservatory (M = 4.78 years; SD = 5.50 years) as well as perform the digit span forward test (DSFT) and the alternative uses task—AUT from the Torrance test of creative thinking (TTCT). The results indicated that years of formal musical background moderated the association between WM and DT. These findings suggest that music enhances the positive effect of high-order cognitive processes, such as WM, on the ability to think divergently. Theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: The cornerstone on which the burden of proof rests in criminal cases is the credibility attributed to the complainant's testimony. Two models have been formulated for the assessment of the credibility of testimony: a social one, performed by the general population based on socially learned experience and knowledge, and a scientific one, supported by scientific evidence and performed by expert psychologists. A study was designed with the aim of developing an empirical model of how social judgements are formed based on an assessment of the quality of memory and to find out the quality of judgements based on this model. Method: A total of 560 (Mage = 36.84 years; 61.6% female) lay people in Psychology from the general population participated in the study and responded to an instrument measuring myths/false beliefs and scientific knowledge about memory. Results: The results showed that the general population (lay people in Psychology of testimony) use myths and false beliefs about memory, together with scientific knowledge, for the assessment of memory quality. In addition, they provided support (exploratory factor analysis) for a three-factor model of memory quality assessment: traumarelated memories, veracity of testimony, and memory span. A confirmatory factor analysis validated the factor structure. Conclusions: These results have direct implications for the assessment of the quality (credibility) of memories (testimony) in the judicial context. Thus, in the evaluation of the quality of the testimony, lay persons in Psychology of testimony, including judicial judgement makers and jurors, base the formation of judgments on erroneous criteria (myths and false beliefs about the quality of memory) and on a model of judgment formation that is not scientifically endorsed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Recent research illuminates a wide range of outcomes associated with COVID-19 illness, including neurological and cognitive dysfunction. While these associations have most often been examined among hospitalized patients, emerging research suggests that cognitive impairments following COVID-19 illness may not be exclusive to hospitalized or severely ill populations. The current study investigates the impact of COVID-19 infection on objective and subjective cognitive functioning among a sample of community-dwelling adults. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected online from a community sample of adults aged 19–67 years (N = 114; Mage = 41.91 years) to examine the associations between those with and without COVID-19 illness history on objective and subjective measures of cognitive functioning. Results: There were no significant differences between those with a history of COVID-19 infection (n = 57) and those without a history of COVID-19 infection (n = 57) in performance on digit span, digit symbol, choice reaction time, Stroop, and the N-back cognitive tasks. Within the COVID-19 positive group, individuals with long-haul (i.e., persisting four or more weeks) COVID-19 symptoms reported significantly greater impairments in subjective cognition compared to those with short-term COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusions: The current findings provide important insight into the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive outcomes among adults drawn from the community. These results highlight the necessity to continue investigating potential factors that impact the course of COVID-19 illness in diverse populations with varying degrees of viral symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that individuals high in the self-control trait are more skilled at avoiding distraction, including higher resistance to affective stimuli. In the current study, we aimed to examine whether self-control moderates working memory performance under the distraction of self-referential stimuli. We assumed that the level of familiarity of a photo of a person presented peripherally as irrelevant stimuli during a goal-directed task, will translate to the level of distractibility. Eighty-six volunteers (10 men) participated in the study. A spatial working memory span task was used as a goal-directed task, while photos of faces varying in their self-reference and attention-capturing propensity were used as distraction. The participants’ task was to focus on the spatial working memory span task while ignoring the distractors. The obtained results show that individuals who are average and high in proactive control (a component of self-control) exhibited higher resistance to the self-reference stimuli presented during the working memory task, thus they were more adept at avoiding distraction than those with low proactive control. Our findings suggest that only certain components of the self-control trait may be at least partially responsible for resistance to self-related distraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Although chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is understood as a disease affecting the peripheral nervous system, mild cognitive dysfunction, particularly in the executive domain, has been described to form part of the condition. Here our interest lay in CIDP‐related theory of mind (ToM) capacities as an aspect of social cognition relevant for many aspects of everyday life. Methods: Twenty‐nine patients with CIDP and 23 healthy controls participated in this study. They were subjected to overview cognitive testing, different executive function (EF) tasks, as well as to the Faux Pas Recognition Task (FPRT) for assessing cognitive ToM and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) with respect to affective ToM. Results: Persons with CIDP and controls did not differ with respect to their overall cognitive state. However, in the German verbal fluency standard, the digit span forward and the digit span backward tests used as EF tasks patients performed significantly worse than controls. Further, performance was abnormally low in the FPRT, whilst the groups did not differ with respect to RMET results. The FPRT and digit span backward results correlated with each other. Conclusions: Patients with CIDP showed deficits in cognitive ToM performance together with EF dysfunction, whilst affective ToM was preserved. Altogether, the results suggest that low cognitive ToM capacities in patients with CIDP arise as a particular aspect of disease‐related executive dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the age trends in various types of memory, including priming, working memory (WM), episodic memory (EM), and semantic memory (SM) from adulthood to old age, as well as the mediating role of inhibition control (IC) in the relationship between age and memory. Methods: A total of 796 healthy adults aged between 25 and 83 years participated in this cross-sectional study. They underwent assessment using a comprehensive battery of memory tests (adapted from the Betula battery), digit span tasks (to measure WM), and the Stroop colorword test (to measure IC). Results: The scatter plot with locally estimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) fitting line showed EM and WM declined steadily from age 25, while SM exhibited a mild increase up to age 55 followed by a decline. Priming did not show significant changes with age. Mediation analysis and bootstrap tests indicated that IC mediated the relationship between age and EM (β = -0.097, P=0.002) and between age and SM (β=-0.086, P=0.001). Conclusion: Our results showed that age affects various types of memory differently, and inhibition control plays a fundamental mediating role in explaining age-related declines in SM and EM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although computational linguistic methods have been applied to spoken and written text, they have only recently been used to study poetry. Here, we examine the linguistic components of contest-winning haiku and compare them to a control sample of poems published in an industry-standard journal. We look also at differences between haiku and senryu and what stylistic trends may have affected these poems over time. The results show that winning haiku are shorter than those in a representative journal. Journal poems also have fewer pronouns and more adjectives and nouns. All of the poems show a decrease in words over a decade-long time span. This trend may reflect changes in stylistic writing conventions. The length of such poems probably also relates to innate working memory span limitations. Haiku that limit the number of images and ideas within this limit likely facilitate cognitive processing and increase aesthetic appeal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical inactivity leads to stress-related unconstructive repetitive thought, negatively affecting student's cognitive health. The present study tried to find a way to enhance students' cognition through yoga. The study assessed the effect of "Om" Chanting, Bhramari Pranayama, and Nadi Shodhana Pranayama on cognition of medical students. Methods: One hundred and fifty participants (75 in each group aged 18-27 years) were selected from SGRR Medical College, Dehradun, in the northern region of India. They were randomized into the yoga group (n = 75) and control group (n = 75). Cognitive functions were assessed using psychological tools. Attention was assessed for six letter cancelation tasks. Reaction time was assessed with reaction time apparatus. Metacognition was evaluated with the metacognitive inventory. Working memory was assessed with the digit span (forward and backward) test. Results: A total of 73 (49%) male and 77 (51%) female participants were included in the study. Participants' mean age was 20.10 (standard deviation -- 0.89102). There was a statistically significant mean difference between both the groups at postintervention concerning digit span forward (0.000), digit span backward (0.000), letter cancellation test (total attempted -- 0.000, wrongly attempted -- 0.009, and net attempted -- 0.000), and metacognition test (0.002) variables were <0.05. Visual and auditory average reaction time was also statistically significant in both the groups after intervention (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Yoga effectively improved medical students' attention, memory, metacognition, and reaction time. Findings need to be supported with a larger scale randomized controlled trial to find the effect of "Om" Chanting, Bhramari Pranayama, and Nadi Shodhana Pranayama on the cognition of medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) protects India's strategic assets, a role burdened with stress that may affect cognitive functions in hypertensive personnel. This study investigates yoga's potential to enhance cognitive abilities in these individuals. Methods: In our study, 88 male CISF personnel at the Indian Space Research Organisation, Bangalore, aged 25-60 years, were divided into yoga and control groups. The yoga group underwent a 3-month regimen, daily 1-h sessions for 5 days each week. These sessions included a combination of loosening exercises, breathing practices, asanas, pranayama, and relaxation techniques. Cognitive evaluations were performed using Psychological Experimental Building Language software, encompassing the digit span, Stroop task, and Tower of London tests. Results: Postintervention, the yoga group marginally improved in the digit forward task without significant difference (p = 0.12), while in the digit backward task, they showed a slight decline compared to the control group's pronounced decrease (p = 0.03). In the Stroop task, across all conditions-reaction time for the congruent condition (RTC), neutral condition (RTN), and incongruent condition (RTI)-the yoga group demonstrated either stable or slightly increased reaction times. In contrast, the control group exhibited significant increases in reaction times across these conditions. Significant differences were observed across conditions (RTC: p < 0.001, r = -0.67; RTN: p < 0.001, r = -0.65; RTI: p < 0.001, r = -0.70). Post-intervention, the yoga group demonstrated improved accuracy across all conditions: congruent (96%), incongruent (80%), and neutral (92%). Post-intervention, the yoga group significantly reduced their errors compared to the control group, as indicated by a notable decrease in error rate (p < 0.001, r = -0.68). Postintervention, the yoga group exhibited enhanced planning abilities ( p = 0.0038, r = -0.36). Conclusion: Our study highlights the potential of yoga-based interventions in boosting cognitive abilities among hypertensive members of India's CISF. However, a deeper exploration is essential to comprehensively understand yoga's cognitive impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Background: Omitting breakfast occurs when you don't eat it at least three times a week. Eating breakfast is recommended as part of a balanced diet since it is linked to getting enough macro and micronutrients and keeping your body mass index where it should be. Material and Methods: The study was an observational one done at the Department of Physiology, Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences, Warangal, Telangana, India. The Physiology lab was responsible for recording physiological indicators, conducting clinical examinations, and conducting mental tasks. Blood glucose levels were measured before and after eating in the Department of Physiology. Research was performed from June 2023 to November 2023. Results: We found that among the people who admitted to skipping breakfast at random, more women than men participated. Numerous studies have found that men and women eat breakfast differently. Our research confirms that women are more likely than males to forgo breakfast. Girls may be more likely to skip breakfast than boys because of the widespread belief that doing so will help them lose weight. This finding suggests that efforts to improve breakfast consumption should concentrate on women. Conclusion: Skipping breakfast is connected with poor performance in the digit span task. Blood sugar levels were found to be inversely related to the number of hours spent sleeping. In breakfast skippers, a low blood sugar level was correlated with poor performance on a digit span test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Physical exercise can improve cognitive function, and the degree of impact on cognitive function is related to exercise modality, intensity, and duration. However, few studies have been conducted on the effects of competitive sports on cognitive function. The 1,500 m freestyle is the longest pool-based swimming event in the Olympic Games. This study explores the effects of 1,500 m freestyle at maximal speed on athletes’ cognitive function and analyzes the potential mechanism of cognitive function reduction in freestyle at maximal speed from the perspective of hemoglobin oxygenation difference (Hbdiff). Methods: A total of 13 male university swimmers were required to take part in a 1,500 m freestyle competition, swimming at maximal speed. The relevant indicators, including cognitive function and freestyle at maximal speed, before and after the competition were tested and analyzed. Cognitive function was assessed using the Schulte grid test (SGT), the trail-making test (TMT), and the digit span test (DST). The neurobiological characteristics of cognitive function, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), response time (RT), and accuracy rate (ACC), were tested using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Results: A significant decrease in scores for SGT, TMT, and digit span test-backward (DST-B) (p < 0.01). Oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) concentrations in the right frontopolar area (R-FPA) of brain channels 8 (p < 0.01) and 9 (CH8, 9) (p < 0.05), the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (R-DLPFC) CH10 (p < 0.05), and the middle dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (M-DLPFC) CH18 (p < 0.01) were significantly altered, and the right area of the brain was activated. The total Oxy-Hb concentrations in the regions of interest (ROIs) of R-FPA, R-DLFPC, and M-DLFPC were changed significantly (p < 0.01). Discussion: The exhaustive performance of a 1,500 m freestyle event resulted in both physical fatigue and a decline in cognitive function. This decline may be attributed to the activation of specific regions of interest, namely the FPA, DLPFC, and M-DLPFC, within the prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as alterations in functional connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) on the incidence of poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) in anterior circulation stroke. Methods: Literature research was performed on PubMed/OVID/Cochrane CENTRAL for studies published in 2015–2022. A review of the references of the included papers was performed for further eligible articles. Clinical characteristics, NIHSS, dementia tests, and outcomes were recorded. The exclusion criteria were nonhuman and non-English. Studies qualities were assessed with MINORS/RoB2 and GRADE. A meta-analysis was performed using the standardized mean difference (Cohen's d) to measure effect size. Results: Four studies were included in the systematic review after screening 749 articles. No significant differences were found for age and gender (years: 66.70 ± 11.14 vs. 67.59 ± 10.11, p = 0.37; male 53.8% vs. 56.4%, p = 0.57). MT patients had a more severe stroke than that of the control group (NIHSS: 14.70 ± 4.31 vs. 11.17 ± 4.12; p < 0.0001). The control group consisted of medical therapy-alone patients in all studies. I2 was 76.95%, and Q was 43.4%. MT patients have better performance in overall cognition (d = 0.33 [0.074–0.58]) and in several cognitive domains than in the control group (TMT-A, d = 0.37 [0.04–0.70]; TMT-B, d = 0.35 [0.12–0.58]; digit span test [backward], d = 0.61 [0.18–1.06]; colored progressive matrices, d = 0.48 [0.05–0.91]; Stroop test [word reading], d = 0.60 [0.17–1.03]; color naming, d = 0.51 [0.08–0.94]; Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure [immediate recall], d = 0.79 [0.35–1.23]; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test [immediate recall], d = 0.79 [0.36–1.23]; delayed recall, d = 0.46 [0.035–0.89]; and MOCA, d = 0.46 [−0.04 to 0.96]). Medical therapy patients had a higher score in coping strategy than MT patients (COPE-28 acceptance, d = −1.00 [−1.53 to −0.48]). Conclusions: The incidence of PSCI is lower in MT patients than in the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research studied the bidirectional effects of working memory (WM) capacity and emotional regulation; that is, the effect of WM capacity on spontaneous emotional regulation and whether the emotional valence to be regulated has a differential impact on performance in a second WM task. Participants (79) first completed a WM span task (Digit Span), then a self‐report emotional intelligence task, which was followed by randomly assigned mock Positive‐feedback, Negative‐feedback, or No‐feedback. In the Negative‐feedback and Positive‐feedback conditions, a dummy report based on participants' responses to the Trait Meta Mood‐ 21 was shown on the screen. After that, participants completed another WM task (Running Span). An ordinary least squares multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the predictive power of WM span and experimental condition on post‐feedback test performance. The model yielded a significant effect on post‐feedback test performance for Negative‐feedback and a marginal significant effect for the interaction of this parameter with WM span. The results showed that participants in the Negative‐feedback condition performed worse than those assigned to other conditions, and individuals with a higher WM capacity were less susceptible to negative experimental stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active breaks (AB) are short periods of physical activity in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of 5-minute dance break with an aerobic and a sedentary group on the executive functions, math performance and enjoyment of elementary school children. A total of 67 children (10.41±.13 years) of three fifth grade classes were randomly assigned to the three groups: dance (21 children), aerobic (24 children) and control (22 children). At the beginning and at the end of the intervention, all participants completed the Flanker task, the Digit Span test, the tower of London and a math test (mental calculations). In addition, the dance and the aerobic group were evaluated on their enjoyment level and physical activity intensity. At the end of the intervention both the dance and the aerobic group showed significant improvement in inhibition compared to pre-test. Moreover, the dance group showed higher levels of enjoyment compared to the aerobic group. The findings of the study suggest that even 5-minute dance break may positively affect children's inhibition and enjoyment. Children's enjoyment is crucial for AB participation and affects their academic performance. Therefore, children's enjoyment should also be considered in AB planning, and dance could be a suitable alternative compared to other AB physical activities (aerobic/strength activities). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Creatine is an organic compound that facilitates the recycling of energy-providing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in muscle and brain tissue. It is a safe, well-studied supplement for strength training. Previous studies have shown that supplementation increases brain creatine levels, which might increase cognitive performance. The results of studies that have tested cognitive performance differ greatly, possibly due to different populations, supplementation regimens, and cognitive tasks. This is the largest study on the effect of creatine supplementation on cognitive performance to date. Methods: Our trial was preregistered, cross-over, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomised, with daily supplementation of 5 g for 6 weeks each. We tested participants on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) and on the Backward Digit Span (BDS). In addition, we included eight exploratory cognitive tests. About half of our 123 participants were vegetarians and half were omnivores. Results: Bayesian evidence supported a small beneficial effect of creatine. The creatine effect bordered significance for BDS (p = 0.064, η2P = 0.029) but not RAPM (p = 0.327, η2P = 0.008). There was no indication that creatine improved the performance of our exploratory cognitive tasks. Side effects were reported significantly more often for creatine than for placebo supplementation (p = 0.002, RR = 4.25). Vegetarians did not benefit more from creatine than omnivores. Conclusions: Our study, in combination with the literature, implies that creatine might have a small beneficial effect. Larger studies are needed to confirm or rule out this effect. Given the safety and broad availability of creatine, this is well worth investigating; a small effect could have large benefits when scaled over time and over many people. Trial registration: The trial was prospectively registered (drks.de identifier: DRKS00017250, https://osf.io/xpwkc/). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The ability to speak is grounded in general memory and control processes and likely changes across the lifespan. However, our knowledge on how word production abilities naturally evolve from childhood to old age remains marginally investigated. Our aim was to shed further light on this issue by exploiting the contrast between two ways to elicit word production: referential picture naming and inferential naming from definition. Methods: We collected accuracy and production latencies in a picture naming task and in a naming from definition task from 130 participants ranging from 10 to 80 years old. Measures of vocabulary size, digit span memory, semantic and phonemic fluencies and processing speed were also collected. We used multivariate adaptative regression splines and regression models to characterize lifespan patterns of the two tasks. Results: Patterns of increase in performance were similar for picture naming and naming from definition only from childhood to young adulthood. In the second half of the lifespan, significant decrease of performance was found in older adults for picture naming (from around 60 years-old) but not for naming from definition. Clearly, word production elicited with an inferential task (naming from definition) yields different age-related patterns than usually described in the literature with a referential task (picture naming). Discussion: We discuss how cognitive processes such as visual-conceptual processes and lexical prediction may explain the differential pattern of results in aging in referential and inferential production tasks. We argue for more lifespan studies and the need to investigate language production beyond picture naming, in particular with respect to aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliability of teleneuropsychology (teleNP) within pediatric populations, particularly those with low intellectual functioning (LIF; i.e., Intellectual Quotient <80), is largely unknown. This repeated-measures study compared performance on WISC-V and WAIS-IV subtests administered in-person before the COVID-19 pandemic and via teleNP during the pandemic in individuals with LIF versus broadly average (BA) intellectual functioning in a clinically referred pediatric cohort. Data were collected from a retrospective chart review of 35 pediatric patients who underwent in-person neuropsychological evaluation at an academic medical center before the pandemic (Mage = 10.10 years, SD = 2.93) and videoconference teleNP assessment during the pandemic (Mage = 13.47 years, SD = 2.88). Participants completed the Similarities, Matrix Reasoning, and Digit Span subtests from the WISC-V or WAIS-IV at both time points. After controlling for test–retest time interval, partial correlations showed relatively strong associations in test–retest performance across subtests in the whole sample and among the subset of LIF patients. Distribution of significant reliable change indices (RCI) between the LIF and BA groups were similar. Strong correlations were observed between performances on select Wechsler subtests administered in-person and via teleNP. Results lend initial support toward the utility of teleNP administration of these measures in children with a broad range of intellectual functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contentment is a positive emotion characterized by perceived goal attainment, a sense of having or being enough, and a focus on the present. Research on this new construct is thin, and no studies have examined its cognitive properties, particularly whether it facilitates or impairs controlled cognitive processes. We hypothesize that contentment positively predicts working memory. We found support for this hypothesis in two experimental studies (Studies 1 and 2) which showed that induced contentment improved working memory in the operation span task, and in one non-experimental study (Study 3) which showed that measured contentment positively correlated with working memory on the backward digit span task. In addition, induced amusement (Study 1) and hope (Study 2) did not affect working memory, and measured happiness did not correlate with working memory (Study 3), supporting the uniqueness of contentment as a predictor of greater working memory. We discuss the implications that the combined characteristics of contentment, including perceptions of goal attainment and being low in arousal and approach, and its associations with relevant constructs of negative affectivity and mindfulness, could enable it to be uniquely predictive of better working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurocognitive assessment tools have been proposed to optimize, maintain, and improve perceptual-cognitive performance. Here, we investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a novel neurofeedback system, neuroMoon (nM), on cognitive abilities compared with one of the most popular perceptual-cognitive training (PCT) tools both in sports and rehabilitation called NeuroTracker (NT). Thirty-one young athletes performed a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests from the Vienna Test System before and after a 12-session computer-based cognitive training program using nM (n = 11, age 22.6 ± 3.8 years), nM sham (CON, n = 10, age 20.3 ± 1.2 years) or NT (n = 10, age 20.5 ± 1.7 years) device. A series of repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to detect changes in cognitive abilities in response to the training. Participants had faster median reaction time in both the color-naming and word-reading conditions of the Stroop test (all p < 0.005), regardless of group. Regarding the task switching test, statistical analysis indicated faster working time and mean reaction time of the incongruent stimuli, repetition task, and shifting task (all p < 0.005), nevertheless, these changes were also regardless of group. In addition, we found fewer omitted (pre: 17.5 ± 8.3, post: 6.4 ± 1.5, d = 1.311) and more correct (pre: 261.6 ± 36.1, post: 278.6 ± 38.7, d = − 1.020) post-intervention answers in the determination test, regardless of group. Finally, participants in each group performed the digit span backward test with larger post (6.42 ± 1.54) vs. pre (5.55 ± 1.43) scores following the PCT (d = − 0.801). Overall, PCT with nM as compared with NT induced similar results in cognitive abilities suggesting its potential to be used to achieve and maintain better mental performance. However, considering that the sham stimulation also induced similar improvements in cognitive abilities, future studies should clearly determine the cognitive measures that could benefit from NF training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]